Page:How to Keep Bees.djvu/222

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HOW TO KEEP BEES

for thus they preserve the cleanliness of their home. The first symptom of the disease is the soiling of the hive entrance with brownish excrement; the bees are also likely to die in great numbers, their bodies being much swollen.

The cause of the disease is attributed to cold and dampness, and poor food. If, in the fall, the bees store honey made from the juices of rotting fruit or cider refuse, or from honey-dew excreted by plant lice, they are very likely to perish by feeding upon it during the winter. But even with good honey bees wintered in cold, damp hives are liable to contract the disease.

PREVENTION

Give the bees plenty of good food for winter. If the honey they have gathered in August is extracted, feed them syrup from the best of sugar. In winter keep the hives in proper temperature, with sufficient good air and ventilation. After the disease once appears, there is no remedy, except warm weather, which will promptly bring relief.