Relation of Moisture to the JViiifcriiig of Bees. 177 



thermometers was usually about three or four degrees, with the wet- 

 bulb instrument standing at about 36 degrees ; but this difference could 

 be increased two or three degrees by warming the air with an oil-stove. 

 If the mercury in the wet-bulb thermometer stands at 36 or 40 degrees, 

 and that in the dry-bulb as much as four degrees higher, I think there 

 need be no worry about moisture ; but if the difference is only two 

 degrees or less, either the temperature ought to be raised or the air 

 dried in some manner. 



Ventilation of cellars has been objected to on the ground that it 

 brought moisture into the cellar. This may be true, but not in freezing 

 weather. Frozen air, if the expression is allowable, has a very low 

 point of saturation. That is, it will hold very little moisture ; and when 

 it is brought into the higher temperature of the cellar, and becomes 

 warmed, its capacity for absorption is greatly increased — it is ready 

 to receive water instead of giving it out. When the outside air comes 

 into the cellar, and deposits moisture upon objects therein, it is evident 

 that the in-coming air is warm and moisture-laden — warmer than the 

 cellar and its contents. 



Mold in bee-repositories is usually looked upon as something un- 

 desirable, and I will admit that its appearance is far from pleasant ; 

 but we must not forget that, in a certain sense, it is a plant — the child 

 of warmth and moisture — and that the conditions necessary for its 

 development may not be injurious to the bees — may be more beneficial 

 than a condition under which mold does not develop, viz., one of mois- 

 ture and cold. A very damp cellar ought to be warm enough for the 

 development of mold. But the cellar need not be damp. It can be 

 made both warm and dry. These matters of temperature and moisture 

 are under our control. Either by fires or by going into the earth, 

 preferably the latter, we can secure the proper temperature ; and by the 

 use of lime to absorb the moisture, a dry atmosphere can be secured. 

 Certainly, it is not much trouble to keep unslacked lime in the cellar. 

 A bushel of lime absorbs 28 pounds of water in the process of slacking. 



While it is evident that moisture in ordinary cellars is not injurious, 

 provided the temperature is high enough, it is a great comfort to know 

 that there is nothing to fear from a dry atmosphere ; that we can indulge 

 our fancy, if you choose to call it that, for dry, sweet-smelling, moldless 

 cellars, and know that the results will be harmless. 



Some bee-keepers have asserted that cellars dug in clay or hard 

 pan are more difficult to keep dry than when dug in a sandy soil. 

 Mr. J. H. Martin, when living in New York, said that a cellar in hard 

 pan, or even in clay, could be much improved by digging down two or 

 three feet, filling in with stones, then with gravel, and finishing up with 

 a covering of cement. 



