30 CONSTRUCTIVE BEEKEEPING 



bees will be back in the hive about their work. The hive walls 

 are cooled by the evaporation of the water from the cloth, bring- 

 ing on condensation of hive moisture, consequently lowering the 

 dewpoint. 



ABSCONDING SWARMS 



Many beekeepers report swarms leaving a short time after 

 being hived. When they have mentioned anything about con- 

 ditions, a high temperature and a new hive are noted. These 

 make just the right combination to give a high dewpoint in the 

 hive. The parts of a new hive naturally would fit close, and wood 

 being a very poor radiator of heat, no condensation takes piace. 

 The swarm objecting to the close stuffy air, and having no home 

 ties, leave for a more suitable place. The remedy for bees' that 

 will not stay hived is a few days in the cellar. The cellar temper- 

 ature is enough colder than the hive a'r to condense the hive mois- 

 ture on the wood. 



WILD BEES 



Bees in selecting a home for themselves in a tree, consider 

 two things upon which their future welfare depends, and in doing 

 this we can believe that their instinct led them right. First, a 

 small entrance so that they could easily protect themselves from, 

 their enemies. Second, a cavity in the tree of sufficient capacity 

 to carry on the work of the hive, and small enough to keep them- 

 selves and their brood from being harmed by outside weather 

 conditions. Never do we find them, in the selection of a home, 

 paying the least attention to ventilation. Natural ventilation 

 is a thing that the bees ignore. Every beekeeper has visible 

 evidence of this truth in his aipary and it cannot be made more 

 clear by further discussion. 



LATENT HEAT 



Evaporating by the aid of condensation has the advantage 

 that it retains the latent heat in the hive. This might be con- 

 sidered too small a thing to claim our attention. Most things 

 pertaining to a colony of bees are small, but the result of many 



