Chapter 8

VENTILATION. Artificial ventilation produced by bees. Purity of air in the hive, 130. Bad air fatal to bees, eggs and larvæ, 131. Bees when disturbed need much air. Dysentery, how produced. Post mortem condition of suffocated bees, 132. Great annoyance of excessive heat. Bees leave the hive to save the comb. Ventilating instinct wonderful, 133. Should shame man for his neglect of ventilation. Comparative expense of ventilation to man and bees, 134. Importance of ventilation to man. Its neglect induces disease, 135. Plants cannot thrive without free air. The union of warmth and ventilation in Winter an important question. House-builder and stove-maker combine against fresh air, 136. Run-away slave boxed up. Evil qualities of bad air aggravated by heat. Dwellings and public buildings generally deficient in ventilation. Degeneracy will ensue, 137. Women the greatest sufferers. Necessity of reform, 138. Public buildings should be required to have plenty of air. Improved hive, its adaptedness to secure ventilation, 139. Nutt's hive too complicated. Ventilation independent of the entrance, 140. Hive may be entirely closed without incommoding the bees. Ventilators should be easily removable to be cleansed. Ventilation from above injurious except when bees are to be moved, 141. Variable size of the entrance adapts it to all seasons. Ventilators should be closed in Spring. Downing on ventilation, (note,) 142.