1430 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15 



they did not take kindly to this sort of usage, and all 

 of them died in transit. The experiment was simply 

 discontinued until this fall, when the whole matter 

 was turned over to me. We had arranged to send 

 another consignment, but were waiting until the prop- 

 er season, and the Philippine gov rnm^nt was evi- 

 dently getting impatient, and cahled the request that 

 gave rise to the newspaper clipping that yoi enclosed. 



On the government transport mailing from San Fran- 

 cisco November 5 there will go a second consignment, 

 this time packed in small refrigera'or baskets, and in 

 the care of two Philippine government students who 

 are returning homf from the United States, The bees 

 are being collected by one of my assistants, Mr. W, J. 

 Phillips, in the vicinity of Richmond, Ind.; and as 

 soon as they are taken they are at once placed in cold 

 storage, and will be kept in a dormant condition until 

 thex are placed on board the tran'port by the two 

 students having them in charge. They will then be 

 put in the refrigerator of the transport, with the re- 

 sult that they have been put to sleep in Indiana and 

 will wake up in Manila Just what they will do over 

 there remains to be seen; but tbe expectation is that 

 they will fertilize the common red clover which the 

 goveri ment is introducing into those islards. The 

 transportation is being carried out by this Bureau in 

 croperation with the Bur. au of Insular Affairs of the 

 War Department F. M. Webster, 



In Charge of Cereal and Forage-plant 



Oct. 22. Insect Investigations. 



VENTILATORS FOR BEE-CKLLARS — WHERE 

 SHALL THEY BE PLACED? 



A SUBSCRIBER asks where the ventilator to 

 a bee-cellar shoulci he placed — at the top or 

 bottom; that is. should it open near the ceil- 

 ing or near the floor? This is a hard ques- 

 tion to answer, as a good deal depends on 

 conditions. If the temperature can be kept 

 very near 45. no higher than 47, and not 

 lower than 43, very little ventilation except 

 what can percolate through the doors and 

 walls will be needed. But if the temperature 

 is likely to vary considerably, and especially 

 if it goes too high, the cellar should have 

 means for ventilation. The ideal plan is to 

 run an eight or ten in<'h sewer-pipe, with the 

 joints well cemented to keep out wet. 100 

 feet from the cellar, and on a level with the 

 cellar bottom. One end i.s to open up near 

 the ceiling of the cellar. The other end shi >uld 

 connect with a perpendicular shaft project- 

 ing above ground outdoors. The passage of 

 the air down through the ground warms it 

 so that it is not so chilling when it arrives at 

 the cellar. At a point remote from the inlet 

 there should be an outlet, the pipe coming 

 down close to the floor, commuijicating with 

 a chimney. 



While the sub-earth ventilator is ideal pro- 

 viding it is dry from end to end, it is not ab- 

 solutely essential. Fresh air may be brought 

 in to an outer cellar, warmed, and then con- 

 ducted into the cellar where the bees are. 

 Where this is not practicable the cellar-dcor 

 may be left open at nightwhen too warm, to let 

 air in that way; but it should be closed be- 

 fore morning. 



If the cellar becomes too cold, say below 

 40, it should be warmed, either by opening 

 the door into the furnace room or by means 

 of a little stove connected with a chimney. 

 But never use a coal-oil stove, as it consumes 

 too much of the oxygen of the air, rendering 

 the atmosphere more impure. 



But care should be taken, during the pro- 

 cess of ventilating, not to make the cellar 

 too cool nor too warm — not higher than 50 



nor lower than 40. During a very warm 

 spell the outside atmosphere may be very 

 much warmer than that of the cellar. The 

 ventilator should then be used only at night. 



To answer our subscriber's question more 

 definitely we may say that the location of 

 the fresh-air ventilator, either at the top or 

 bottom, is not so very important. But the 

 problem may be how to get a circulation, 

 even with the ventilator wide open. It may 

 then be necessary, even when not too cold, 

 to build a little fire in the stove so that the 

 draft up the chimney will draw out the foul 

 air; or, better still, an electric fan in front 

 of the inlet will be found very serviceable 

 providing the premises are equipped with an 

 electric current. But when this can not be 

 obtained it has occurred to us that a good 

 mechanic might rig up a clockwork that 

 would run a small fan for two or three hours 

 after winding it up with heavy weights. 

 This ought to furnish air enough to last three 

 or four hours. 



As we said at the outset, if the temperature 

 can be controlled within three or four de- 

 grees, and held there, very little ventilation 

 will be required, providing, of course, that 

 the cellar is not hermetically sealed Usual- 

 ly enough air will come through the walls 

 and doorway and windows to give the bees 

 all the air 1:hev require if the temperature 

 can be kept at 45, where they will go into 

 that quiescent sleep that nearly approaches 

 hibernation. At that temperature respira- 

 tion is very low and the consumption of 

 stores light. Above a temperature of 50° 

 the bees become active and consume the 

 oxygen in the air, when they become uneasy. 

 In such cellars there must be an abundance 

 of ventilation or there will be trouble. 



THE NATIONAL BEE KEEPERS' CONVENTION 

 AT HARRISBURG, OCTOBER 29, 30. 



While the attendance was not large (as 

 it has been a poor year with bee-keepers 

 generally), the general interest in and the 

 character of the discussions were of the very 

 best. No program had been announced, as 

 the secretary, Mr. J A. Green, owing to a 

 pressure of other duties, was unable to get 

 any program ready; but President Aspin- 

 wall, during the last week, secured a num- 

 ber of valuable papers which were read be- 

 fore the convention, and in all, except one 

 case, by the author himself 



Prof. H A. Stirface, Economic State Zo- 

 ologist, of Harrisburg. gave the address of 

 welcome to the city, and before closing re- 

 ferred to the benefits derived from member- 

 ship in the Association. Some, he said, com- 

 plained because they had never gotten any 

 thing out of the organization, 'The trouble 

 was, too many expected a direct benefit to 

 themselves. As in the case of fire insurance, 

 perhaps only one man out of a large num- 

 ber would get back his money, and yet no 

 one would think of going without insurance. 

 He urged that every one become a member 

 of the National, not only for the direct ben- 

 efit he might or might not secure, but be- 



