494 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



J U IN t, X 



well under seemingly contrary conditions. 

 At the outset I must confess that I can not 

 shed much light on the problem; still, I 

 may be able to give you a clue to a solution. 



First, we have not yet had a full and e.r- 

 act statement of the conditions of Mr. Bar- 

 ber's and Mr. Doolittle's cellars. From 

 such descriptions as I have read I should 

 say that each afforded a greater or less 

 amount of slow but sure change of air. If 

 you will consider the great difference in 

 temperature between the inside and outside 

 air, the porosity of the walls, roof, and 

 earth surrounding them, you will, I think, 

 see the necessity of taking them into ac- 

 count in attempting to find a solution. 

 Moisture of the surrounding soil is also a 

 factor of some moment, also the chemical 

 composition of the soil, as well as its na- 

 ture — whether sandy, gravelly, clayey, etc. 



If the soil surrounding the cellar or the 

 cellar itself contains much decaying (even 

 if slowly so) vegetable matter, the necessity 

 for ventilation is increased; for such matter 

 tends to give out carbonic-acid gas. But if 

 the ground is very moist, even if drains pre- 

 vent the water accumulating in the cellar, 

 such moisture absorbs some of the carbonic 

 gas produced by the bees' respiration, ard 

 limey soils, under some circumstances, ab- 

 sorb carbonic gas so as to produce a so call- 

 ed bicarbonate of lime. 



Among other factors are the number of 

 colonies to cubic feet of cellar, size of such 

 colonies, and temperature of cellar. The 

 colder the cellar the more honey the bees 

 must oxidize in order to live, and the con- 

 sequently greater production of noxious gas; 

 also inferior stores or other disturbing con- 

 ditions will have weight in that they cause 

 increased activity, which results in using 

 more oxygen. 



You are up against the real thing in \ry- 

 ing to solve that problem, and you will have 

 to get down to science to do so. The old 

 ways won't work. It won't do to accept 

 the statement, "My cellar is drj'." You 

 must know how dry it is. It won't do to 

 accept the statement that "three doors keep 

 out all fresh air," or that the "air is never 

 changed in my cellar all winter." You 

 have got to knoiu. You must also know the 

 decree of purity of the contained air. 



Mr. Cheshire's work contains, in the 

 chapter on Wintering (Vol. 2), a very good 

 essay on the need, value, and use of oxj'gen 

 by the bees. It applies particular!}' to bees 

 wintered in the open; but if you will allow 

 for the difference in the cellar temperature 

 you can form some idea of the amount of 

 air needed in the cellar. 



I do not have to winter my bees in a cel- 

 lar, though doubtless it would save honey, 

 though at a cost in other ways, but I should 

 like to see the why of the ventilation of cel- 

 lars settled. Get the exact and complete 

 facts, and the problem will cease to be. 



Providence, R. I. 



[I would gather from what you say that 

 you are of the opinion that there is more 



actual ventilation in those bee-cellars where 

 there is supposed to be practically none 

 than the owners of those cellars imagine. 

 This is possibly true; but a very important 

 point to be considered is uniform tempera- 

 ture. I think we may set it down as a fact 

 not to be disputed by any one, that in an 

 absolutely uniform temperature of the right 

 degree, bees require less ventilation than 

 where there is a variation. A warm tem- 

 perature especially seems to require a 

 change of air. — Ed.] 



MOVING BEES A SHORT DISTANCE; SOME OF 

 THE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED. 



To move bees a short distance in the sum- 

 mer, and do it rightly, causing- no confu- 

 sion, is quite a trick after all. Did you 

 move those bees from the south to the north 

 side of that tree at once, or did you move 

 them the length of the hive at a time, once 

 a day? Bees can be moved ahead or back- 

 ward better than sidewise, especially if 

 they are in close-sitting groups. Move them 

 endwise the length of the hive at a time, 

 and they will hardly notice it; but move 

 them sidewise, even as little as the width 

 of the hive, and a great confusion will be 

 the result. As I said before, it is mainly 

 by being accustomed to location that they 

 find their home. By moving endwise, loca- 

 tion is not changed (for practical purposes) ; 

 only the distance is varied a little, one way 

 or the other, as the case may be; but move 

 them sidewise, and every colony except one 

 end one has taken the place of another. 

 Although their relative position (appear- 

 ance) may be retained, their location is 

 completel}' changed, giving them an extra 

 good chance for a general mix-up. 



Your compositor has made another mis- 

 take. My manuscript says, " in groups of 

 five ten feet apart," meaning, of course, in 

 groups of five colonies each, ten feet apart. 

 The insertion of the little word or between 

 five and ten changes the meaning of the 

 sentence, and makes it illogical. In groups 

 of five colonies five feet apart, there is a differ- 

 ence and economy in room and steps, but 

 not when ten feet apart. G. C. Greinkr. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



[That row of hives was moved about three 

 times their length directly backward, i. e., 

 northward. They had been stationed, by 

 mistake of one of our men, as I explained, 

 on the south side of the trees. When I ar- 

 rived at the yard and saw what had been 

 done I was disgusted, and decided I would 

 move the whole row of hives backward, even 



