WIKTEBIN-G. 355 



and allowed a purifying flight, they will all be lost. One 

 bushel of bees upon a cellar floor, where 100 hives are 

 stored, seems an alarming waste ; yet when they are 

 placed upon their summer stands so early as to be exposed 

 to chilly weather and piercing winds, three or four times 

 that quantity may be lost, but being scattered broadcast 

 about the grounds, or to whatever distance they may ven- 

 ture for water or pollen, they are unnoticed, and the loss 

 is not appreciated. This extreme should be carefully 

 avoided. It is a good rule to leave them as long as 

 they will remain quiet. In my own practice I prefer not 

 to set them out until just as the Soft or Bed Maple 

 begins to blossom. 



HEALTHY BXCEEMBNT IS ALWAYS LEY. 



Every observing bee-keeper has noticed in winter, 

 upon the bottom-board, directly under a healthy swarm, 

 ridges of dust which has fallen from between the combs. 



Mr. Quinby made many experiments with this dust, 

 having it carefully analyzed, and became convinced, be- 

 yond doubt, that it contained the excrement of the bee, 

 voided in a dry state. 



The correctness of this conclusion can be tested, by 

 placing a small quantity of this dust in a little water, 

 and heating it suflBciently to melt the wax, coming from 

 the uncapping of the combs, mingled with it; the residue 

 then will be found to be precisely the same substance 

 as the liquid excrement of the bee, when it has been con- 

 fined to damp and unwholesome quarters. This discovery 

 Mr. Quinby conceived to have an important bearing upon 

 successful wintering, as heretofore mentioned, and to 

 indicate the necessity of furnishing dry and warm sur- 

 roundings to promote healthful conditions. 



Careful observations, by others, as well as myself, con- 

 firm the truth and importance of his conclusion. An 



