The bee is much more dependent upon fresh air than
we are. It is soon suffocated by foul air, and will not allow
a degree of impurity within its hive which would be quite
unnoticed by our senses. It lives in close quarters with
many thousands of its kind,—jin the ordinary hive from
twenty to fifty thousand, —with only a small opening at
the bottom of the hive.
The conditions for ventilation seem to us, therefore, the
worst that could be devised. But such as they are, they
must be accepted ; for an opening at the top permitting a
draught of air would oftentimes chill and prove fatal to the
developing young. The hive must be warm within, and
is kept so by the palpitating bodies of the countless
inhabitants. :

But bees also breathe and. exhale from their bodies
poisonous vapors as we ourselves do. Unlike the air in
our habitations, however, that within the hive is always as
pure, or very nearly so, as the air out of doors.
68 The Honey-Makers


This is accomplished by the bees themselves, who take
turns standing near the entrance and fanning with their
wings. The Jow hum of these living ventilating fans can
be heard outside the hive, and particularly on warm close
days when it is more difficult to supply the needs of the
crowded tenement.
