THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



287 



strongly of the opinion that we do not want 

 absorbents at all ; but, instead, direct top 

 ventilation. We want the colony so ar- 

 ranged that the outside heat, when there is 

 any, can easily reach the colony. I have 

 many times seen bees peeping out the hive 

 entrance in a clear, still, but zero cold day, 

 with the sun shining against the hive front 

 and entrance. That is certainly a decided 

 relief, when the weather is intensely cold ; 

 but if the colony be hid away beneath a mass 

 of chaff or other material so thick as to ex- 

 clude the sun's heat entirely, and all the time 

 the interior becoming more and more moist, 

 it certainly must be a disagreeable and un- 

 healthy place in which to live. An absorb- 

 ing cushion is not what we really want. 

 Packing over head is good so long as it 

 passes off the moisture and abso hs heat. 

 Chaff will allow a slow current to pass 

 througn, and if the cover be removed — or 

 partly so — the moisture passes oft much bet- 

 ter, yet will condense somewhat in a long 

 siege of extreme cold. 



In this climate, nearly all bees are win- 

 tered out-doors, and unprotected. It is a 

 rcvre thing to have a week of cloudy .\ eather 

 at one time ; so, even with sealed covers, but 

 little condensation takes place before a 

 warm sun shining upon the hive drives it out. 



I have been reading over the reports on 

 sealed covers as given in Gleanings at the 

 request of editor Root, yet almost invariably 

 the reports are so limited in detail that no 

 correct judgement can be given upon the 

 matter. 1 believe had the reports told wheth- 

 er the hives were exposed to the sun, or in 

 the shade, or whether there were long sieges 

 of cloudy weather and extreme cold, we 

 might get from these reports something of 

 value. As mentioned elsewhere, we lost 

 some colonies in December because of ac- 

 cumulation of moisture under sealed covers. 

 That siege of cold was also accompanied by 

 some snow, and unusually cloudy weather 

 for about ten days. A part of the time snow 

 lay upon the hive covers. 



At our annual State convention in .Jan- 

 uary I advocated top ventilation. Present at 

 the convention were four foul brood inspec- 

 tors, viz., H. Knight of Littleton, for Ara- 

 pahoe Co., R. H. Rhodes of Arvada, for Jef- 

 ferson Co., J. B. Adams and A. M. Preston 

 of Longmont, for Boulder and Weld coun- 

 ties, respectively. These men inspected in 

 the year 1891, over 3,700 colonies of bees. 

 Mr. Adams at our Honey day meeting in 



September last, reported nearly 5,000 colo- 

 nies inspected ; while Mr. Rhodes reported 

 2,000 for the season to date of meeting. 

 Boulder county was reported to have over 

 ISjOOO colonies, so these gentlemen have had 

 large opportunities to make observations. 

 After their wide and extended observations 

 upon many thousands of colonies, they unan- 

 imously agreed with me in favoring top ven- 

 tilation. They tell me that those colonies 

 having large cracks or openings about the 

 top of the hive, winter the best, and build 

 up first in spring. However, this does not 

 mean that unlimited ventilation is best in 

 spring, but it does prove that upward venti- 

 lation is best in wmter. It is reasonable that 

 if the colony winters well, it will also 

 spring well. We will discuss more fully the 

 springing question in the continuation of 

 this discussion. 



LovELAND, Colo. Aug.' 8, 1893. 



Warmth, Dryness and Wholesome Food 

 Will Prevent Dysentery. 



B. TAYLOK. 



'^ ^ 



IT, 



J never had serious 

 losses in winter- 

 ing my bees from 

 the so called disease, 

 dysentery. In my 

 opinion there are 

 three main factors 

 that cause dysen- 

 tery, viz., cold, 

 dampness and un- 

 suitable food. In 

 regard to food, I be- 

 lieve that any kind 

 of honey that is gathered from flowers by the 

 bees is healthful food if properly stored and 

 sealed and then the hives are so prepared 

 and housed that the honey shall not become 

 thin and sour from absorbing too much 

 moisture. 



One fall my hives were heavy with honey 

 dew, and I was troubled about the result as 

 that kind of stores was declared by high 

 authorities to be unfit for wintering. But it 

 was thick and well sealed, the hives covered 

 with thin porous cushions so all dampness 

 could easily pass off, the hives were raised 

 two inches from the bottom board and 

 placed in a dry, warm cellar where the tern- 



