WATERING EEES. 243 



gravely told by Mr. Langstroth, seemingly upon the 

 authority of certain German authors, and perhaps a 

 few superficial observers for perhaps one or two 

 years, and without experimenting himself to prove 

 the truth or fallacy of the theory, that bees suffer 

 much for want of water during winter, and he urges 

 the necessity of giving them water; which I fear 

 will lead many inexperienced bee-keepers into diffi- 

 culty, and result in loss and disappointment. 



After reading Mr. Langstroth's articles on the ne- 

 cessity of giving bees water in the winter, I thought 

 it possible I was mistaken, and that under some pe- 

 culiar circumstances water might be necessary. With 

 a view of ascertaining the opinions of others that I 

 knew had experimented for themselves, and also to ar- 

 rive at the facts in the case, I wrote to Mr. Quinby, 

 to know what his experience and views were respect- 

 ing it, and find they coincide exactly with my own. 

 I herewith give his letter in full in reply to my inter- 

 rogatories : 



MR. QTTINBY's LETTER ON WATERING BEES. 



St. Johnsvillk, N. Y., Jan. 4th, 1860. 



Mr. Harbison : Dear Sir — In regard to the neces- 

 sity of giving bees water during winter, I cannot say 

 at present that my views are in accordance with those 

 set forth by Mr. Langstroth on pages 342, 343 and 

 346 of his last edition. I fear his remarks, and the 

 translation from the German, by Mr. Wagner, will 

 give very many inexperienced bee-keepers much un- 

 necessary trouble. A constant supervision is indi- 



