FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 2»/ 



or early in the spring. At such times I open up the cellar at 

 dark. If very warm, all doors and windows are opened wide 

 and by morning generally all are quiet. I leave all open as 

 long as possible in the morning; sometimes till noon; when the 

 bees begin to fly out all must be darkened. Very likely it would 

 be better if there were a way to admit air in abundance without 

 admitting light. 



COOLING AND AIRING CELLAR. 



Years ago, when the temperature became too high in the 

 cellar in spring, and I wanted to keep the bees in the cellar still 

 longer, I tried cooling down with cakes of ice. But it was not 

 satisfactoiy. The trouble was not so much with the tempera- 

 ture as the quality of the air. Then I learned that opening the 

 cellar was more effectual. 



OPENING GELhAR AT NIGHT. 



The first time I tried that trick I got a pretty bad scare. It 

 was in the spring, and there came a warm spell, lasting perhaps 

 two or three days. It kept getting warmer in the cellar, and 

 the bees kept getting noisier. At the same time I kept getting 

 more uneasy, nol knowing iust what the end vvould be. After tlie 

 trouble got pretty bad, I thought I would venture to open the 

 cellar wide in the evening, hoping that it might become cooler 

 through the night. I think it was 50 or 60 degrees outside, and 

 not far from that in the cellar. The bees were quite noisy when 

 the cellar was opened, and I listened closely for the quieting 

 down. It didn't come. On the contrary, the noise increased to 

 a roar that could be heard some distance from the cellar, and 

 the bees were running all over the hives, some of them hanging 

 out in great clusters as if getting ready to swarm. I felt afraid 

 they would all leave their hives and make a wreck. I assure 

 you I was badly frightened; but I didn't know of any thing to 

 do, so I didn't do any thing. As nearly as I now remember, I 

 did not go to bed till I could recognize a little subsiding, and 

 in the morning the bees were back in their hives as quiet as 

 mice. More than once since then I have gone through the same 

 performance without being troubled by it; only the cellar is 

 not allowed to get so bad before it is opened. 



