472 APPENDIX. 



below zero. The last three days, it has been about half of 

 the time below zero, and never more than ten above, while 

 the wind has blown almost a continuous gale. In none of 

 the hives could I detect any frost or dampness, or any bees 

 frozen by being caught away from the main body of the 

 colony. In the upper covers, however, there was an abund- 

 ance of frost, and it was easy to see where the dampness 

 had escaped. In a few of my colonies in which none of ihe 

 holes had been opened, the sides of the hive, many of the 

 combs, and the surface of the honey board next to the bees, 

 were coated with frost ! 



So long as it is too cold for the frost in the hives to thaw, 

 it may subject the bees to little inconvenience, unless they 

 need the food in the frosty combs ; but as soon as a thaw 

 sets in, the combs must become damp and the bees so 

 drenched with wet, as to be e.xposed to disease. If the 

 weather suddenly changes to severe cold, before the hive 

 has time to dry, then the bees being wet, are liable to 

 be entirely destroyed. In this way many colonies perished 

 in the month of March, 1856. The Winter having been 

 intensely cold, the hives were filled with frost, and in some 

 the ice on the sides was nearly 1-4 of an inch thick. A few 

 days of mild weather in which the frost began to thaw out, 

 was followed by extreme cold and furious winds, during 

 which many colonies which had abundant stores, perished. 

 In many instances the bees which were still wet from the 

 previous thaw, were frozen into an almost solid mass ! I 

 find, by- experience, that in very cold climates, unless the 

 dampness is allowed to escape from above, it is almost im- 

 possible to prevent such fatalities, in hives standing in the 

 open air. The intense cold will defy any amount of protec- 

 tion which can be given, and the hives will be damp, the 

 combs mouldy and the bees diseased, even where frost may 

 be entirely excluded. Indeed the greater the protection given 

 to hives that have no upward ventilation, the greater, often, 

 the risk from dampness. A very thin hive, unpainted, so 

 that it may easily absorb the heat of the sun, will dry inside, 

 when the weather becomes mild enough to thaw, much 

 sooner than one painted white, and in every way most 

 thoroughly protected against cold. The first may be com- 



