296 FIFTY TEAKS AMONG THE BEES 



in, 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 AJStO 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 

 satisfactory. 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 CELLAR 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 per- 

 haf)s 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, not knowing just what the end would 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 de- 

 grees 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 con- 

 trary, 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 fright- 

 ened ; 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. 



