68 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



CHAPTER VII. 



VENTILATION OF THE BEE-HIVE. 



IF a populous stock is examined on a warm day, a num- 

 ber of bees may be seen standing upon the alighting- 

 board, with their heads turned towards the entrance of 

 the hive, their abdomens slightly elevated, and their wings 

 in such rapid motion, that they are almost as indistinct as 

 the spokes of a wheel, in swift rotation on its axis. A 

 brisk current of air may be felt proceeding from the hive ; 

 and if a small piece of down be suspended at its entrance, 

 by a thread, it will be blown out from one part and 

 drawn in at another. Why are these bees so deeply ab- 

 sorbed in their fanning occupation, that they pay no atten- 

 tion to the busy numbers constantly crowding in and out 

 of the hive ? and what is the meaning of this double cur- 

 rent of air ? To Huber, we owe the satisfactory explana- 

 tion of these curious phenomena. The bees thus singu- 

 larly plying their rapid wings, are ventilating the hive ; 

 and this double current is caused by pure air rushing in, 

 to supply the place of the foul air which is forced out. 

 By a series of beautiful experiments, Huber ascertained 

 that the air of a crowded hive is almost as pure as the sur- 

 rounding atmosphere. Now, as the entrance to such a 

 hive is often very small, the air within cannot be renewed, 

 without resort to artificial means. If a lamp is put into a 

 close vessel, with only one small orifice, it will soon ex- 

 haust the oxygen, and cease to burn. If another small 

 orifice is made, the same result will follow; but if a 

 current of air is by some device drawn out from one open- 



