lORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 299 



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 gettiag more uneasy, not knowing just 

 what the end might be. After the 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 dis- 

 tance 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 anything to do, so 

 I didn't do anything. 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. 



LETTING LIGHT IN CELLAR. 



Here is a memorandum written March 14, 1902: 

 "During the past eight days the weather has been un- 

 usually warm for the season, varying from 29 to 65 de- 

 grees. The doors have been wide open day and night 

 except on the two warmest days, and the (east) window 

 part of the time. Three days ago it was 65 degrees in 

 the afternoon. Within twenty-four hours the ground 

 was covered with snow, and yesterday morning the mer- 

 cury stood at 29 degrees. At 7 a. m. to-day, it was 35 

 degrees without and 44 degrees in the cellar, doors and 

 window having been open all night. At 9 a. m. it was 



