254 WINTERING. 
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 Red Maple 
begins to blossom. 
HEALTHY EXCREMENT IS ALWAYS DRY. 
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 i 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 sufficiently 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- 
