Answer.—Whatever may be the cause of your bees dying, you may rely on it that it is not likely to be caused by the raising of the hive as you have done. You can keep the bees from troubling the cellar-bottom by letting the hive down and shutting the bees in with wire cloth, for in that case the bees cannot get out, but they'll die just as fast as ever and perhaps a little faster, for if bees find they are fastened in, they are all the more eager to get out.

There must be something wrong with the bees or the cellar, and knowing nothing about it but that the hive is raised and the bees are dying, it is hard to make any kind of a guess as to the cause of the trouble. If the hive is spotted and daubed about the entrance, then diarrhea is at work. This may come from the quality of the food, or it may come from the condition of the cellar; 45° seems to be the degree of temperature that most agree upon as desirable, and if your cellar is much above 50° it is probably too warm. If below 40°, I would try heating it up, to see what the effect would be. Anything that quiets the bees down may be considered a move in the right direction, for undoubtedly bees that are coming out and dying in large numbers are not quiet.

It may be that the air of the cellar is bad—too close, or poisoned with decaying vegetables—but there isn't much use in going on guessing. The most that can be said is to try to have pure air at about 45°, and see whether the trouble continues.

Increasing an Apiary—Sweet Clover.

1. I have 12 colonies of bees, and I want to increase them. Would I better keep the bees confined to the brood-chamber till they swarm, or would it be best to give them access to one section-case? Or would I better increase by dividing?

2. Where can I get sweet clover seed, that Mr. Newman recommends so highly for bee-pasturage?

J. S.

Long, W. Va.

Answers.—1. If you are anxious for increase and care little for honey, you will do well to put on no supers. Or, you might let part of them have one super each. You may find, however, that it will not make much difference.