BEE

410

BEE

Hence, by drawing out the posterior base, the honev may betaken from the back part of the hive, without hurting the bee.;and, when this is done, the base should be pushed in close to theremaining comb, that an intermediate space may remain. Byturning tne hive,'and making the entrance in that part, winch hadbefore been the posterior base, the bees will build new cells in theroom of those taken away; consequently the honey will be whiter,and more pure. Whoever intends to erect an apiary, should pur-chase hives towards the close of the year, when they are cheapest;and such only as are full of combs, and stocked with a sufficientnumber of bees. In order to ascertain the age of the hives, itshould be remarked, that the combs of the last year are white,while those of the former year acquire a darkish yellow. Wherethe combs are black, the hive should be rejected as too old, andliable to the inroads of vermin. Bees never sw arm till the hive istoo much crowded by the young brood. They sometimes beginto swarm in May, or earlier, according to the warmth of tile sea-son. As soon a-> a swarm is settled, the bees should he immedi-ately hived, to prevent their taking wing again. If they settle ona low branch of a tree, it may he cut otf and laid on a cloth, thehive being ready for their reception. If the queen can be placedin the hive, the rest of the bees will follow ; but if it be difficultto reach them, it will be adviseabie to let them remain where theyhave settled till the evening, when there will be less danger of theirescaping. The toual method of uniting swarms, is by spreadinga cloth at night upon the ground close to the hive in which the twoswarms are to be placed. Lay a stick across the cloth, on whichplace the hive, with the next swarm: on giving a smart stroke onthe top of the hive, all the bees will drop in a cluster upon thecloth. Then take the other hive from the stool, and place it overthe bees, when they will ascend into it, and mix with those alreadythere. Another method is, to invert the hive in which the unitedswarms are to live, and strike the bees of the other hive into it, inthe manner before described. All the writers on this subject ac-knowledge, that one of the queens is slain on this occasion, toge-ther with a considerable number of the working-bees ; but Colu-mella has suggested an easy inode of killing the queen of thelatter swarm before the union, and consequently of preserving thelives of the working-bees. This may be effected, by linding herwhen the bees are beaten down upon the cloth. A large swarmweighs eight pounds, and others gradually less, to one pound.Ilence a good swarm should weigh live or six pounds. Such asare less than four pounds weight, should be strengthened by asmall additional swarm. The size of the hive ought to be propor-tionate to the number of the bees, and it should be rather too smallthan too large, as these insects require to be kept warmer than a largehive will admit. During the w inter, bees are in so lethargic a state,that a little food is sufficient for their sustenance: but as everysunny day revives, and prompts them to exercise, food is neces-sary on these occasions. Some hives of bees which are supposedto have died of cold, have in reality perished by famine, espe-cially when a rainy summer preventer! them from collecting a suf-ficient store of provision. Hence the hives-should be carefullyexamined in autumn, and ought then to weigh at least eighteenpounds each. With respect to the feeding of bees the commonpractice is, to leave them as much honev in autumn as will makethe hive weigh twenty pounds. The lionev should be dilutedwith water, and put into an empty comb, split reeds, or upon..clean wool, which the bees will suck perfectly dry. By the dilu-tion with water, however, the honey is apt to become candied,in which state it is prejudicial to the bees. A better method isto replenish the weak hives in September, with such a portionof combs tilled with honey taken from other hives, as may bedeemed a sufficient supply. T his is done by turning up the weakhive, cutting out the empty comb--, and placing full ones intheir stead, secured by pieces of wood, that they may not falldown when the hive is replaced. If this method be consideredtoo troublesome, a plate of honey, unmixed with water, may beplaced under the hive, and straws laid across -the plate, coveredwith paper perforated with several small holes, through which thebees will suck the honey without difficulty. The degree of coldwhich bees can endure has not been ascertained. In the coldparts of Russia , they are often found in hollow trees. Theirhives are frequently made of bark, which does not afford themmuch protection. Hence Mr. White observes, that bees which

stand on the nortli side of a building, will not consume moretlian one-half of the honey necessary to supply others which standm the/sun. In winter, however, they should he examined; andif, instead of being clustered between the combs, they are foundin numbers at the bottom of the hive, they should be carried toa warmer place, where they will soon recover. In winters ex-tremely severe, lay on the bottom of an old cask the depth ofhalf a foot of very dry earth, powdered, and pressed down hard.On this place the stool with the hive ; and, to preserve a com-munication w ith the air, cut a hole in the cask, opposite to theentrance of the hive, in which lix a piece of reed, or hollow al-der, and then cover the whole with dry earth, in Britain , it isusual, in taking the honey, to deprive the bees of their lives.The common method is, to suffocate them with the smoke ofbrimstone; but some have adopted a more humane and judici-ous plan: Mr. Manley says, “ I never destroy tiie old stock ofbees; but after lifting them, to examine w luit honey there is,if I think the hive is lull, I put another under it with" a Hat top,having a square hole in the centre. When the bees are in theunder hive, 1 place a shutter, which is of wood, in the hole atthe top ; and that prevents them from going into the upjrer hive.1 then invert it in a bucket, and strike it with a rod till 1 thinkthey are all out, after which they go-into the under hive.” Withregard to the increase of bees, Mr. Hubbard, of Bury St. Ed-munds , advises the owner to wait with patience, until he lias ac-quired twenty stocks, anti in the month of April to separate tenof the strongest hives for swarming; the other ten must be raisedon large empty hives, tbe tops of which should be previouslytaken off, and the joinings of the two hives secured with a littleclay ; which plan prevents the bees from swarming. He also re-commends tbe prime swarms from the other stocks, to be putinto three-peck hives at least; for, wiien they appear very earlv,they will probably swarm again in a few weeks, which shouldalways be prevented, and all the after-swarms be united, twoor three into one ; for the great advantage arises from a largoquantity of bees being kept together; and, by that mode, tenstocks will generally yield lifteen good on;s. Bees are some-times afflicted with a diarrhoea, in consequence of feeding greedilyon the blossoms of the milk-thistle and elm. The best cure is,pounded ’pomegranate seed and honey, moistened with rich,sweet wune; or raisins mixed with similar wine or mead, in whichrosemary has been boiled. When they are infested with verminthe hive mud be cleansed, and perfumed with a branch ol pome-granate, or the wild fig-tree, which will inevitably destroy them.Butterflies are said to conceal themselves in the hives, and ai -noy flip bees : these intruders may easily be exterminated, byplacing lighted candle? in deep tin pots between tint hives; asthe flame will attract them, and conduce to their destruction. Inorder to extirpate hornets preying upon the honey, it is only ne-cessary to expose shallow vessels near the hive, with a little water;to w hich these predatory insects w ill easily repair, to quench their(hirst, and thus easily drown themselves. To prevent bees of onesociety from-attacking or destroying those of another, l)r. Darwinrecommends a board, about an inch thick, to be laid oil the bee-bench, and the hive to lie set on this board with its mouth exactlyon the edge; the month of the hive should also be contracted toabout an inch in length, and a semi-circular hollow made in theboard, immediately under the mouth of the hive. By thi? simplemethod, the assailing bees will be constrained to act w ith greatdisadvantage. If, however, this should not succeed, Dr. Darwinadvises a removal of the bee-hive to a distant part of the garden,and to a more easterly aspect; as he has from experience ob-served tiie good ellects of such a change.

Bees’ Wax, a solid concrete, obtained from tiie honey-combs,after the sweet and liquid parts are extracted, by heating andpressing them between iron plates. The best sort should be bard,compact, of a clear yellow colour, and an agreeable odour, simi-lar to that of honey. Pure bees’-wav, when new, is tough, yeteasily broken : by long keeping, it becomes harder and more brit-tle, loses its fine colour, and partly also its fragrance. The pur-poses to which bees’-wax is applied, are various: great quantitiesof it are annually bleached, and converted into candles. On ac-count of its softening and healing nature, it is much used in ce-rates, plasters, and ointments. Artificial wax may be extractedfrom many vegetable substances, especially from the flowers of tiie

lime-tree.