130 FOOD or BEES. 



filled with water, and inverted on a jilate ccivered with a 

 small pieee of c-aipel, will Ije sufficient. Il can also be gi\eii 

 in the combs. Mr. Vogel, editor of the Bu'iieiiicitung, on 

 the 19th of March t;ave to a colony a comb containing crystal- 

 lized honey, and another containing about three-fourths of a 

 jKiund of water. ^Yithin sixteen hour.s, both coniljs were 

 altogether emptied by the ^)(■(^-^. 



S'J'S. A learned French l)ce-keeper, ilr. De Layens, made 

 many experiments in regard to this matter. 



"In the month of JNiay, ls7s, I put a lump of sugar near a 

 spot whi're a great many Ijees came for water; they paid no 

 attention to it. The sugar .was then moistened and covered 

 with honey. The bees, attractril Ijj- the honey, came in great 

 numbers, and sucked up most of tlie moist sugar. After they 

 lircame accustomed to this, I decreased tlie moistening, till T 

 gave them nothing liut dry sugar, when they brought water to 

 dissolve the sugar, and removed all exiopt the parts which were 

 too hard to be dissolved easily." — (Bulletin dc la Suisse, Nov., 

 18S0.) 



The same writer has noticed that, in Spring, if the bees 

 are compelled to go very far for water, many of them perish, 

 lie found a loss of three hundred and fiity grammes of bees — 

 four-fifths iif a pound — from a hive, during a sudden Spring 

 storm (006). 



From the 10th of April to the .31st of July, forty colonies 

 consumed IS? litres of water, about fifty gallons; the greatest 

 quantity used in a day being seven litres, or about fifteen 

 pints. 



That bees do not need water, in circumstances othtr than 

 those named above, is evidenci'd from the fact that, in im- 

 liorting bees from Italy, we did not succeed in recei\ing them 

 ali\i', until our shipi)ers reluctantly consented to send them 

 without water (.'il).')). 



Salt. 



"27 i. Bees seem to be so fond of salt, that they will often 

 alig-ht upon our hands to liek up the salme perspiration. 



