292 | BEE-CULTURE. 
it, is in feeding or rearing their young while in the larve or worm 
state; that what is stored up is for use early in the spring, when the 
hatching of the young commences, before fresh pollen can be gathered 
abroad. Mature Bees do not subsist upon it, but often die of starvation 
with a plenty of it in the hive. 
Orn PARR Ve 
BEE-HOUSE. : 
THE Bee-house which was once thought to be essential to Bee-cul- 
ture, is found in various respects to operate unfavorably; and all the 
advantages which it affords can be secured much better in some other 
way. Bees should never be exposed to the direct rays of the sun, ex- 
cept in the morning and at evening. The intense heat of the sun often 
causes them to lie in a cluster upon the outside of the hive or to melt 
down — a circumstance which proves fatal to them. ‘The Bee-house, if 
properly constructed, may afford protection from the injurious and 
excessive heat of the sun; but as it is' usually constructed it is too 
narrow even for this. Being open on one side, as it usually is, with a 
southern exposure, the sun acts with all its intensity upon the Bees (or 
hive) in spite of the Bee-house. The Bee-house attracts the sun in 
winter, and so much warmth is occasioned that the Bees are induced to 
leave the hive and are soon chilled. They fall upon the snow, and, 
being unable to rise, soon die. Great numbers are lost from this cause 
alone, when they would have remained in the hive had it not been for 
the accumulated and reflected heat of the sun occasioned by the 
presence of the Bee-house. Its protection in winter against the cold 
the Bees do not need. It is impossible to freeze them in our climate, 
unless the swarm is quite small: in that case the probability is they will 
perish from some other cause. Those swarms which lie the most 
dormant in winter (that is, occupy the coldest place), eat the least, 
come out brightest in the spring, and increase and prosper most during 
the following summer. The kind of protection from the excessive heat 
of the sun which the Bees need, will be spoken of when I come to treat 
of the Bee-hive. The Bee-house furnishes the best kind of protection 
