BULLETIN 96, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



slight changes in consumption or* increase of stores. By means of a 

 double beam it was possible to counterbalance for extra thermometers 

 or other small special apparatus which might be added temporarily, 

 without necessitating a correction of the hourly readings. The 

 scales were found to be relatively satisfactory, but in times of heavy 

 wind extra precaution was necessary in order to overcome the 

 influence of drafts on the scales. In winter this could easily be 



accomplished by closing the door 

 of the shed in which the experi- 

 ment was carried on. For outdoor 

 work, however, some difficulty was 

 experienced, as will be explained. 

 The agate-set bearings were also 

 sensitive to jar, which was con- 

 stantly guarded against. 



THE THERMOMETERS. 



Seven mercury thermometers 

 were used, of the type known as 

 incubator thermometers, which 

 have a long stem and can be read 

 to fifths of a degree. One instru- 

 ment, however, used to register 

 the temperature of the outside air 

 was an ordinary chemical ther- 

 mometer. These instruments were 

 standardized and were graduated 

 to the centigrade scale. 



THE HFVE AND ITS APPLIANCES. 



Fig. 1.— The hive used in the experiment on the 

 temperature of the bee colony: A , storage cham- 

 ber for accessories, with door; B, bottom board 

 with entrance; C , collar with feeder; D, brood 

 chamber; E, perforated zinc honey board; F, 

 second story for surplus; G, thin board with holes 

 for thermometers; II, case protecting thermome- 

 ters a-e; I, outside cover. 



Figure 1 illustrates the general 

 appearance of the hive, showing 

 the five stories. Only one of these 

 was occupied by bees, as will be 

 explained. The hive was of the 

 standard 1 0-f rame L a n g s t r o t h 



type. Throughout the experiment it stood on the scales (fig. 2) . The 



several parts were as follows : 



A. The lower part consisted of a hive body with one side removed. To the 

 bottom was nailed a thin cover board, which served as the floor of the compart- 

 ment. The purpose of this chamber was to store fixtures, such as frames, "dum- 

 mies," extra thermometers, and the like, while they were not in use. In this way it 

 was unnecessary to compute in the weighings for any change in the apparatus. For 

 example, in the winter, when four frames in the brood chamber were replaced by the 

 "dummies," these were taken from the storage chamber and the frames hung in their 

 place, without altering the weighings. 



