286 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



come to the hives that stand within two feet of the stove, for 

 the stove is right in the same room as the bees. A few minutes' 

 attention each morning and evening will keep the fire going 

 continuously, in ease it is needed continuously. There have 

 been winters when fire was kept going nearly all the winter 

 through, and other winters when little was needed. The winter 

 of 1901-2 was one of the mild ones. A fire started Dec. 21 was 

 kept for three days. Another, Jan. 27, lasted one day. A third 

 started Feb. 3 lasted seventeen days. I think the outer temper- 

 ature was at no time more than 15 degrees below zero. 



HEAT FOR DIARRHOEA. 



I do not know for certain, but I think I have had good 

 results at a time when diarrhoea began to trouble the bees in 

 the cellar, by making a hot fire and running up the temperature 

 above 60 degrees. The bees would become very noisy, but after 

 the cellar cooled down to the normal 45 degrees they were quiet- 

 er than before, and I suspect the bees felt better. 



VENTILATION OF CELLAR. 



I believe heartily in the doctrine of pure air and plenty of 

 it for man, beast, and bee. So I consider ventilation a very 

 important afEair. With a two-inch space under the bottom- 

 bars and a 12x2 entrance, there is no trouble about the ven- 

 tilation of the hive; but no matter how well ventilated a hive 

 may be, if the cellar in which it is placed contains nothing but 

 foul air, liow can the air in the hive be sweet? 



FIRE FOR VENTILATION. 



I am not sure but I should want a fire in a cellar for the sake 

 of ventilation even if not needed for heat. 



For the purpose of ventilation alone, the warmer the weather 

 the more the fire in the cellar is needed. Of course there must 

 be some limit to this, for when the tempeiature of the cellar 

 goes above 60 degrees, the bees show signs of uneasiness. 



WARM SPELLS IN VSriNTERING. 



The most difficult time to keep the bees quiet in the cellar, is 

 when a warm spell comes in the fall soon after taking them in, 



