THE HONEY-BEE. 
237 
Does tlie increase of heat supply, to a certain extent, 
the place of food ? Does it render their aliment 
more nutritive ? I have reason to believe, that dur- 
ing the winter, and previous to the breeding season, 
a small hive consumes as much food as a large one. 
Do the inmates of the small hive consume individu- 
ally a greater quantity ? and Ls this greater consump- 
tion necessary to keep up the requisite degree of 
warmth ? I propose these inquiries to the Naturalist 
After this discovery, as important as it is inexpli- 
cable, I varied my experiments in order to insure ab- 
solute certainty ; and to obtain the most unequivocal 
proofs of the fact, I united three swarms in autumn, 
and when I weighed the hive in spring, I found that 
it had scarcely consumed a pound weight of provi- 
sions more than a single hive. I went farther. 1 
had a large hive, well-peopled, and amply provision- 
ed. Without removing it from its place, I joined to 
it the bees of four other hives. This enormous po- 
pulation produced so strong a heat, that during the 
whole winter, which was severe, there was heard 
from them a loud humming, like that which proceeds 
from a hive on the evening of a fine day in spring. 
The vapour expelled by the continual vibrating of 
their wings was condensed, and formed icicles at the 
entrance of the hive during the hard frosts. Well 
when in spring I weighed this hive, which contained 
five families, and from which had exhaled so much 
moisture, I found it hut three lbs. lighter than my 
ordinary hives. It threw excellent swarms, long 
before the others in the apiary, and I was well re- 
