THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



165 



manner Uian in working for comb. 

 AVliere a lionie market is well estali- 

 lislied, the worry and vexation is 

 saved, besides loss in putting up and 

 sending to some city. Each season is 

 lookedl'orward to witli much eager- 

 ness by the apiarist, as well as his cus- 

 tomers, being a mutual benelit to 

 both. 



There is something said alnuit ex- 

 tracting often and ripening afterward 

 by artiiicirtl means ; but can the honey 

 be as perfectly ripened in this way? I 

 would be pleased to see an article from 

 L. C. Root on this subject. 



Kennedy, N. Y. 



For tbo American Bee Journal 



Erroneous Conclusions. 



Dll. G. L. TINIvER. 



Mr. lleddou has given us many 

 thoughts on a priori, or from cause to 

 effect reasoning. Being an expounder 

 of principles, tne inference would be 

 that the master himself ought to be 

 well-nigh infallible in his inductions, 

 deductions, and final conclusion. But 

 is he V Let us see. He says on page 

 6.53 of the Bee Journal, " The reader 

 will clearly see thut m;/ theory can easily 

 be tested by simply preparing numerous 

 colonies in such manner that they can 

 ]3artake only of that most oxygenized 

 food, sugar syrup, removing all other 

 foods.'' The italics are mine. In 

 other words, Mr. Heddon concludes 

 in a very positive manner that if bees 

 can be safely wintered on sugar syrup 

 alone, that the pollen theory is dem- 

 onstrated y 



The writer believes the above con- 

 clusion to be incorrectly drawn, and 

 altogether erroneous. But Mr. II. 

 stakes his all upon the cane sugar 

 test, and adds, " ^Nothing can defeat 

 us from getting what will be to us a 

 perfectly satisfactory proof." 



If the demonstration of the pollen 

 theory is to turn so easily upon this 

 test, why did not Mr. Heddon elabor- 

 ate the idea and endeavor to establish 

 it in the mind of the readers in the 

 course of our late discussion, that the 

 sugar test would be crucial and final V 

 On page 440 of the Bee Journal was 

 given substantial proof that such con- 

 elusion would be erroneous, and Mr. 

 H. never so much as alluded to the 

 matter, and the inference was that the 

 stand taken upon this point was ad- 

 mitted. In the quotation above made, 

 he uses the phrase, " that most oxy- 



f:enized food," meaning, as I take it, 

 hat cane sugar possesses a larger per- 

 centage of the hydro-carbonss or heat 

 producing elements than honey. If 

 this is his meaning, he can see that a 

 colony on cane sugar stores is able to 

 maintain a higher relative degree of 

 temperature in the hive than upon the 

 natural stores, and hence, that the 

 conditions upon which health depends 

 are greatly changed. 



I have several times endeavored to 

 show that, practically, heat is life to a 

 colony of bees in winter, no matter 

 whether their stores be honey and 

 pollen or sugar syrup. I have as- 

 sumed that it is the great antidote to 

 bee diaiThoea, and there has been none 



to dispute ; that a proper degree of 

 heat of the cluster and interior of the 

 hive was potent lo expel all dampness 

 and kee)) the hive and combs dry ; 

 that under most favorable conditions 

 in winter conliru-ment, bees may and 

 do eat iiollen with impunity, and that 

 they void their feces in tl'ie hive, as 

 occasion may rc(|uire, in the form of 

 the so-called "dry powder.'. This I 

 have proved to niy full satisfaction 

 last winter by numerous tests and ob- 

 servations. 



When bees are subject to very lui- 

 favorable conditions in winter, the 

 temperature of theclusterand interior 

 of tlie hive falls below the point of 

 health. The beginning of their ills is 

 here. The hive and combs become 

 damp ; the temperature continues to 

 fall ; the bees become disturbed, not 

 so much with the indigestible parti- 

 cles of the pollen consumed as by a 

 yellowish watery fluid ; and diarrluea 

 is the result quite independently of the 

 effects of the pollen or honey. 



When the excrement of the bees, 

 owing to the unfavorable conditions, 

 cannot be voided in the hive, except 

 in a thin, mushy or fluid state, they 

 have an instinct to retain It, but not 

 otherwise. The idea prevails, that 

 naturally bees retain their excrement 

 in confinement, but I claim that they 

 do not until they get intoan unhealthy 

 condition, and of this fact there is 

 ample evidence. 



But if heat is the agent upon which 

 so much depends to avert unhealthy 

 conditions, and sugar or syrup fur- 

 nishes the most heat of any known 

 food that bees consume, how are we 

 to conclude that the sugar test in the 

 absence of pollen is going to demon- 

 strate the pollen theory? Let Mr. 

 Heddon answer, if he can. 



There is only one test that would be 

 fair and free from error, and it is here 

 given for Mr. Ileddon's benefit. If 

 he shall be able to produce bee diar- 

 rhoea by following these directions, I 

 will admit that pollen may be a cause 

 of the disorder. If, however, it can- 

 not be so produced, then Mr. Heddon 



max S®* ^"'-'^ ^'"^* " ^'"P " ^''^^ ''''^ 'i'^ 

 lionbrable company and scuttle her. 



The test is as follows : About the 

 middle of September take from a 

 single-walled standard Langstroth 

 hive containing a full colony upon 

 combs recently built, four brood 

 combs having much pollen. Extract 

 the honey and place them in the super 

 of another colony until all the honey 

 is licked up and the pollen alone re- 

 mains. After the brood has all 

 emerged from the remaining combs of 

 the colony, take them out and return 

 the four prepared ones. Space them 

 in the centre of the hive ^ inch apart, 

 and place thin division-boards at the 

 sides. Do this at a date when nectar 

 ceases to come in in appreciable quant- 

 ity. Then feed rapidly a moderately 

 thick syrup of granulated sugar until 

 the combs are filled. Lay a few short 

 sticks across the frames and put a 

 case 8 inches deep,the same size as the 

 cover on the hive, and make both 

 tight fitting. On the first frnsty 

 morning, put a clean woolen cloth 

 over the frames, and fill into the hive 

 sifted timothy chaff until the case is 



full. Protect the hive on the bottom 

 by setting it up from the gruuiid on a 

 stand as descrilied on page •'iuij of the 

 Bke .Journal, and subseciueiitly ven- 

 tilate and manage the colony as there 

 directed. 



Of course it would be impossible to 

 say how far North such a test might 

 be made in out-door wintering with- 

 out unfavorable conditions arising, 

 but the test should be fair as far North 

 as Grand Rapids, or the 43 parallel. 



I have 3 colonies prepared as above 

 except the combs contained a little 

 sealed honey besides much pollen. 

 From their comparative activity it is 

 plain to be seen that their diet is 

 strongly stimulating or heat-produc- 

 ing. N*o dead bees are to be seen 

 about these hives as yet, while all the 

 others have lost more or less. 



But I must not close this article 

 without saying that Mr. Heddon's 

 earnest and honest efforts to solve the 

 mysteries involved in the causation 

 of bee diarrhiea are appreciated by 

 myself, and I believe by all other bee- 

 keepers. Surely, he can have " noth- 

 ing to regret or to cause remorse ;" far 

 from it. But I have to regret that he 

 should have undertaken such exten- 

 sive and cii.stly experiments in a man- 

 ner to prove nothing for or against 

 the celebrated theory. 



New Philadelphia, O. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Cause and Prevention of Dysentery. 



WM. H. liALCII. 



I am well aware that this is a deli- 

 cate subject to handle. I do not 

 write to start a controversy, nor to 

 wound any one's feelings, but simply 

 to give facts that came under my ob- 

 servation from actual experiments, 

 with some truths that have been 

 brought to light by others that have 

 been experimenting and studying the 

 cause of the great mortality of bees 

 during the winter and spring. 



I have often said that it is no 

 trouble to winter bees until about 

 March 1, or even to April, and then 

 before June to lose ^i or more. 



The cause of dysentery in bees has 

 been discussed until it; would seem 

 that there was not a feature left that 

 had not been examined on all sides, 

 in the light of science, theory, prac- 

 tice and experiment. To enumerate 

 all my experiments is unnecessary. 

 From all that I can gather, the cause 

 is indigestion ; but indigestion is not 

 the primary cause ; there are many 

 causes behind this, that lead to indi- 

 gestion of the food. The one great 

 cause behind this is prostration, par- 

 tially or wholly of the digestive or- 

 gans or nervous system. What brings 

 on tills prostration in summer ? 



Close up a liive of bees that are in 

 a normal condition for 3 or 4 days, 

 and leave them ex'posed to the sun 

 and light, although they may have 

 ventilation sufiicient, yet the excite- 

 ment so prostrates their nervous sys- 

 tem that many are found dead the 

 first day, while on the 3d or 4th day, 

 dysentery is sure to be developed. 

 One asks" : " How is it that my bees 



