166 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



winter and replaced by dry chaff. I 

 also believe that the state of the chaff 

 over the eliisler is, at all times, a re- 

 liable index of the state of the colony. 

 If, on passing llie hand down next to 

 the frames tlie chaff is fonnd to be 

 sensibly warm, tlie temperature will 

 range 5(P or above, when we may 

 know that all is right. 



As the temperature in a hive out- 

 side of tlie cluster recedes towards the 

 freezing point, the hive becomes damp, 

 imtil moisture accumulates on the 

 outside combs and the hive. From 

 this excessive dampness and a rapid 

 fall of the temperature of the cluster, 

 the bees are forced to exercise their 

 wings and to consume more largely 

 of their stores, to keep within the 

 limits of life. The air of the Iiive, 

 being both cold and damp, rapidly 

 takes the heat of the cluster, on the 

 well-known principle that any warm- 

 blooded animal more readily parts 

 with its lieat in a damp atmosphere, 

 at a given low temperature, than in a 

 dry one at the same temperature. 

 Add, now, to this state of things the 

 great dilliculty in the exhalation of 

 vapor from the air tubes, or respira- 

 tory apparatus of the bees, which has 

 been so admirably demonstrated by 

 Mr. S. Corueil (see page 7iS of the 

 Bee .JouitN.\L for 1882), and we have 

 the primary causes of dysentery de- 

 veloped in full force. The normal 

 exhalation of a vapor being arrested 

 by a low temperature in a damp 

 atmosphere, we have necessarily an 

 accumulation of liquid in the intes- 

 tines of the bees, and. being endowed 

 with an instinct not to pass the un- 

 natural excrement in the hive, they 

 become distended often to bursting, 

 and many may be compelled to void 

 within the Iiive. Soon the entire 

 colony becomes more or less wet, 

 filthy, weak and cold, until all become 

 extinct. 



Now, if there is anything else to 

 bee dysentery, it is of secondary ori- 

 gin. Changing states of the honey, 

 as by acetic formentation, from the 

 development of some one of the many 

 forms of bacteria, might thus act, and 

 unsealed honey, as well as sealed, may 

 absorb dampness until quite liquid, if 

 tlie hive becomes cold within, and 

 thus add immediately to the difficulty 

 of exhalation. 



Last of all, it might be supposed 

 that the consuming of pollen could 

 have something to do with it, but I 

 have been unable to see how it 



CdUld. 



Pollen, being a nitrogenous food, is 

 chiefly of service in the repair of the 

 tissues of the bee, and is little con- 

 sumed or required by a colony in a 

 state of rest. If, however, a colony, 

 owing to severe and protracted cold, 

 or insufficient protection, or both, is 

 forced to exercise to keep up the tem- 

 perature, they would probably con- 

 sume more pollen than at other times. 

 But, even in such case.it would be very 

 difticidt to sliow wha*; relation, if any, 

 it might have to the disorder. It will 

 be safe to remember the pollen tlieory 

 as one of the curious explanations of 

 the suppo.sed cause of dysentery. 



But, with proper ventilation and 

 jirotection, the secondary causes may 



be reduced to a minimum, if not en- 

 tirely overcome. In at least one ca.se 

 of a late swarm, which was fed upon 

 unsealed honey, in partly-tilled sec- 

 tions, until there were nine frames 

 nearly full of unsealed lionet as late 

 as Nov. 10. the colony has so far win- 

 tered in prime order. 



The great mistake that has been 

 made in wintering, is in giving too 

 much upward ventilation. The prac- 

 tice has been to permit the escape of 

 the heat of the cluster, in the effort 

 to get rid of the dampness, by provid- 

 ing too many or too large openings in 

 the cover. In permitting the loss of 

 heat we have unwittingly failed of our 

 design, since the heat is essential to 

 force out the dampness. In fact, we 

 have got up a condition to bring about 

 the very thing we had sought to get 

 rid of. 



Proper ventilation of bees, in chaff 

 hives, may be had as follows : Across 

 the brood frames, place 6 or 7 pieces 

 of wood, % i'lch square, and apart 

 about 1 inch. A single thickness of 

 new cotton cloth is laid over them and 

 the frames. The cap, which should 

 contain about 1,000 cubic inches, is 

 then tilled with loose chaff (timothy 

 hay chaff preferred), and gently 

 pressed down until 7 inches deep. All 

 holes for ventilation in the cover, 

 which should tit tight as possible to 

 the hive, are to be stopped with pieces 

 of muslin or other cloth. Ttie en- 

 trance should be ^ inch by 8 inches, 

 or an equivalent space. To prevent 

 high winds from driving into the en- 

 trance, leave a board, 8 inches wide, 

 up against the front of the hive. In 

 very cold sections of the country, the 

 bees should be crowded upon 5 or 6 

 combs, by a division board. Several 

 of my colonies, prepared as above, 

 did not get a flight for nearly three 

 months. 



After so long a confinement, I was 

 surprised that some of them did 

 not spot their hives at all, while the 

 others dropped only tiny specks, which 

 were quite unlike the spotting of 

 those colonies having exclusive lower 

 ventilation. 



In a letter just at hand, Mr. Doolit- 

 tle conlirms the results of my experi- 

 ments as follows : " I believe you 

 are quite right regarding lower venti- 

 lation, in connection with chaff and a 

 tight cover, for I have some colonies 

 in that condition, and they :'.re the 

 best of any." 



A colony of bees, in a chaff hive, on 

 9 Gallup frames, with strips of wood 

 between each, and all sealed up per- 

 fectly tight on top, have wintered in 

 fair condition with an entrance only 

 }4 inch by 2}^ inches, but the bees 

 seemed too warm and are flying out, 

 which, if they did much too often, 

 would spot the hive badly. So also, 

 anothercolony witha larger entrance, 

 1)2 inch by 13 inches. From this it 

 would appear that dampness interferes 

 with exhalation, even in a very warm 

 hive, where the bees are unable to ven- 

 tilate it. But if a slight amount of air 

 can pass upward, through chaff, the 

 benefits of both upward and lower 

 ventilation can be easily secured. 



New Philadelphia, O., March 7, 1883. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



How to Use Bee Papers. 



U. J. KENDALL. 



The article by Mr. G. M. Doolittle, 

 entitled : " The use I make of the bee 

 papers," in your issue of Feb. 14, 1 

 read with a great deal of interest, as I 

 do all his articles. I set considerable 

 store by his articles, and to index 

 them in a memorandum book which I 

 keep for the purpose of noting these 

 subjects, and to speak of it, is one of 

 the objects of this letter. 



The article alluded to, suggested to 

 my mind tliat I might add a word on 

 this subject, supplementing Mr. Doo- 

 little's remarks. When the Bee Jour- 

 nal comes, I get a blue pencil and sit 

 down to read it. marking it as I go 

 along; sometimes pretty fully, some- 

 times s|)ariiigly. When I have finished 

 reading it, or a few days after, I go 

 over it again, and index, under com- 

 prehensive or particular headings, 

 some of the articles and paragraphs in 

 it. I had not hit upon Mr. Doolittle's 

 plan of indexing for times and sea- 

 sons, but I shall at once lake his hint 

 and do so, for I see a valuable advan- 

 tage in it, and excellent addition to 

 my own plan. Mr. Doolittle's article 

 gave me considerable comfort, too. I 

 seem to forget so much that I do read, 

 when compared with the little I re- 

 member. Dr. Johnson once said that 

 " knowledge is of two kinds, the 

 knowledge we have in our heads, and 

 the knowledge we have on our shelves 

 and know wliere to look for ; and of 

 the two kinds, when quantity and 

 quality is considered, I do not know 

 but what the shelf knowledge is the 

 best." I liave often thought of the 

 doctor's remark, and. I confess, have 

 tried to utilize it, with advantage, and 

 it was just this that led me to index- 

 ing my bee papers. I want an index 

 before the one at the volume's end 

 comes. 



I believe much in theory, and Mr. 

 Doolittle's remark that while he had 

 gained considerable knowledge from 

 conventions and visiting other bee 

 masters, yet he obtained more from 

 bee papers, fit me exactly. I can read 

 the Bee Journal for 10 or 15 min- 

 utes after my dinner, when I cannot 

 visit an apiary, and can get out of it 

 good matter, if it is there ; and this 

 leads me to make this remark, that 

 any man who cannot make his busi- 

 ness pay, had better quit the business 

 on his own account and go to work for 

 wages; the odds are against his suc- 

 cess. An apiculturist who does not 

 take a bee journal is to me a problem. 



There is, however, one more thing 

 I want to say and suggest, and it is 

 this : Why do not local bee men form 

 minor or sub-associations or clubs, 

 never mind how few, and even if the 

 clubs are (like Artemas Ward's regi- 

 ment, which was all generals) all of- 

 ficers, they ma^ still do tliemselves, 

 I tliink, much good. Suppose there 

 are one, two or four only in a district ; 

 if these met for a chat and " experi- 

 ence meeting," once in every two 

 weeks, I think it would pay. They 

 could unite on a plan of supplying 



