524 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
therefore, represent forty-eight days’ rations, and make 
the daily essential number of renewals of the air volume 
of the hive to equal 2400 ^ 48 = 50 ; ?>., the air of 
the hive, even during this very restricted food-consump- 
tion, would need to be changed completely during every 
thirty minutes — a fact with which we shall have to deal 
presently, in considering the question of ventilation. 
The escaping vitiated and damp air from the hive 
carries away, in its altered form, nearly the whole of 
the consumed honey, so we see why, during continued 
cold weather, stores are reduced, it may be many pounds, 
while the bees have had no opportunity of discharging 
themselves. Excrementitious matter is scarcely produced 
at all by consumed honey, its saccharine constituents, 
as we have already seen, yielding nothing that does 
not pass off by the breathing apertures; but , every 
activity is associated with wear and tear of the tissues, 
and this provides, although in restricted quantity, 
residua, which collect in the bowel, as do the non- 
digestible substances contained in large’ amount in the 
pollen which the bees consume to make good the 
wear and tear aforesaid. A condition of most complete 
rest — the hybernating condition — is accompanied by so 
little wear and tear, and, consequently, so small a 
consumption of pollen, that the bowel does not become 
unduly distended, even after months of confinement 
by stress of weather; but with inadequate protection, 
accompanied by continued very low temperature, the 
bees being forced to the before-mentioned vigorous 
agitation of the abdomen and a gentle flapping of 
the wings, the bowel becomes loaded beyond endur- 
ance, and the bees, too heavy or too chilled to fly, 
