CHAPTER XXXIX. 
DISEASE OF BEES AND BROOD. 
Some apiarians have much to say about the diseases of bees, such as 
dysentery, diarrhcea, and diseased blood ; but I have never experienced 
any difficulty from these diseases; and I am confident, in my own 
opinion, that if bees are kept in hives properly ventilated, and attend- 
ed to, that there need be but little fears apprehended from these dis- 
eases. In the first place, I believe that the causes that produce these 
diseases, are a want of ventilation in the hive during winter. 
Hives that are not sufficiently ventilated, retain so much of the va- 
por and dampness that arise from the breath of the bees, that the 
combs often mould and sour; and in some instances even the honey 
will ferment and sour. This, with the impure atmosphere in the hive, 
will not only ruin the combs, but the bees also. 
All hives should be so constructed as to admit a free circulation of 
pure air at the bottom, and at the same time exclude moths and other 
insects, and have an opening (or openings) at the top, to let the vapor 
and dampness that arise from the breath of the bees escape from the 
hive. This opening should be covered with a box, to exclude the light 
and insects, and to prevent too strong a current of air passing through 
the hive, at some seasons of the year. Bees that are scantily supplied 
with honey are more liable to become diseased than those that are well 
supplied; and it is well to see to it in the fall, that every colony have 
a sufficient store in to sustain them during winter, and if supplied with 
pure air, not one colony in a hundred will perish from any cause. 
CHAPTER Xb. 
TOOLS FOR CUTTING COMBS, 
Ir is necessary that every person using the common hive should 
have tools suitable for cutting out combs. They may be made by any 
blacksmith, and at a trifling expense, 
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