ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY NEw YorkK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HoME ECONOMICS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS BEEKEEPING LIBRARY This book is slaced in the Cornell Beekeeping Library by Dr.J. H. Merrill, Raynham, Massachusetts, under date of March 15, 1926 as a loan. It is donated to the Library, but with the proviso that it may be withdrawn at any time before March 15, 1938. This stipu- lation is made by Doctor Merrill because if his son decides to engare in a study of bees, the booxs are to fo to him. Withdrawal may he made cither by Doctor Merrill personally, by his wife or by his son. re Ithaca, New York E, F. Phillins March 15, 1926 Yorkers W. W. Bllie Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003082595 penne ec cettcere a EWRobinson Delt etScF1869, . - THE APIARY; oR, BEES, BEE-HIVES, AND BEE- CULTURE. BEING A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT OF THE HABITS OF BEES AND THE MOST IMPROVED METHODS OF MANAGEMENT, WITH FULL DIRECTIONS, ADAPTED FOR THE COTTAGER, FARMER, OR SCIENTIFIC APIARIAN. By ALFRED NEIGHBOUR. “6 Beaucoup de gens aiment les abeilles: je n'ai vu personne qui les aima médiocrement: on se passionne pour elles."—GELIEU, LONDON: KENT AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW ;: GEO, NEIGHBOUR AND SONS, 149, REGENT STREET, AND 127, HIGH HOLBORN; AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1866. SF523 (bya \$66 FOLKARD AND SON, PRINTERS, DEVONSHIRE STREET, QUEEN SQUARE, CLIO SS PREFACE TO THE SECOND : EDITION. sgejt is a source of much gratification to find that ff we are called upon to prepare another edition of this work in less than twelve months from its first publication. No greater proof could have been afforded of the ‘rapid advance which the pursuit of bee-keeping is now making in this country. In the hope of rendering the present volume more useful and instructive than its predecessor, and also in acknowledgment of the kind approbation with which our earlier efforts have been received, we have made several additions, and trust that the same may prove acceptable to our readers. A2 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 0, “UR apology for preparing a bee-book is a very Ew aN {), simple one. We are so frequently applied to for advice on matters connected with bees and bee-hives, that it seemed likely to prové a great advantage, alike to our correspondents and ourselves, if we could point toa “handy book” of our own, which should contain: full and detailed replies sufficient to meet all ordinary in- quiries. Most of the apiarian manuals possess some special excellence or other, and we have no wish to disparage any of them; yet, in all, we have found a want of explanations relating to several of the more recent improvements. It has more especially been our aim to give explicit and detailed directions on most subjects connected with ii PREFACE. the hiving and removing of bees, and also, to show how, by judicious application of the ‘depriving”’ sys- tem, the productive powers of the bees may be enor- mously increased. We need say little here as to the interest that attaches to the apiary as a source of perennial pleasure for the amateur naturalist. Many of the hives and methods of management are described with a direct reference to this class of bee-keepers, so that, besides plain and simple directions suitable for cottagers with their ordinary hives, this work will be found to include instructions useful for the scientific apiarian, or, at least, valuable, for those who desire to gain a much wider acquaintance with the secrets of bee-keeping than is now usually pos- sessed. We would lay stress on the term ‘‘acquaint- ance,’ for there is nothing in the management of the various bar-and-frame hives which is at all difficult when frequent practice has rendered the bee-keeper familiar with them. Such explicit directions are herein given as to how the right operations may be performed at the right times, that a novice may at once commence to use the modern hives. The word ‘ new-fangled’’ has done good service for the indolent and prejudiced, but we trust that our readers will be of a very different class.. PREFACE. ii Let them give a fair trial to the modern appliances for the humane and depriving system of bee-keeping, and they will find offered to them an entirely new field of interest and observation. At present, our continental neighbours far surpass us as bee-masters; but we trust that the following season, if the summer be fine, will prove a turning point in the course of English bee- keeping. There is little doubt that a greater number of intelligent and influential persons in this country will become bee-keepers than has ever been the case before. Our task would have lost half its interest, did we not hope that it would result in something beyond the en- couragement of a refined and interesting amusement for the leisurely classes. The social importance of bee- keeping, as a source of pecuniary profit for small farmers and agricultural labourers, has never been appreciated as it deserves. Yet these persons will not, of them- selves, lay aside the bungling and wasteful plan of destroying the bees, or learn without being taught the only proper method, that of deprivation. Their edu- cated neighbours, when once interested in bee-keeping, will be the persons to introduce the more profitable system of humane bee-keeping. The clergy especially, as permanent residents in the country, may have great iv PREFACE. influence in this respect. There is not a rural or suburban parish in the kingdom in which bee-keeping might not be largely extended, and the well-being of all but the very poorest inhabitants would be greatly pro- moted. Not only would the general practice of bee- keeping add largely to the national resources, but that addition would chiefly fall to the share of those classes to whom it would be of most value. Moreover, in ‘the course of thus adding to their income, the uneducated classes would become interested in an elevating and instructive pursuit. It is curious to observe that honey, whether regarded as a manufactured article or as an agricultural product, is obtained under economical conditions of exceptional advantage. If regarded as a manufactured article, we notice that there is no outlay required for ‘‘labour,”’ nor any expense for “raw material’? The industrious labourers are eager to utilize all their strength: they never ‘‘combine’”’ except for the benefit of their master, they never “strike’’ for wages, and they provide their own subsistence. All that the master-manufacturer of honey has to do financially is, to make a little outlay for ‘fixed capital’’ in the needful ‘plant of hives’”’ and utensils—no ‘‘floating capital’? is needed. Then, PREFACE. Vv on the other hand, if we regard honey as an agricul- tural product, it presents as such a still more striking contrast to the economists’ theory of what are the “requisites of production.’’ Not only is there no outlay needed for wages, and none for raw material, but there is nothing to be paid for “use of a natural agent.” Every square yard of land in the United Kingdom may come to be cultivated, as in China, but no proprietor will ever be able to claim ‘‘rent”’ for those ‘‘ waste products’”’ of the flowers and leaves which none but the winged workers of the hive can ever utilize. The recent domestication in England of the Ligurian or ‘‘Italian Alp ’”’ bee adds a new and additional source of interest to bee-culture. We have, therefore, gone pretty fully into this part of the subject ; and believe that what is here published with regard to their introduc- tion embodies the most recent and reliable information respecting them that is possessed by English apiarians.* * Some of our apiarian friends may be inclined to be dis- couraged from cultivating the Ligurian bees in consequence of the liability to their becoming hybridised when located in prox- imity to the black bees. We can dispel these fears by stating that we have not unfrequently found that hybrid queens possess vi PREFACE. We are under many obligations for the advice and assistance that we have on many occasions received from Mr. T. W. Woodbury, of Exeter, whose apiarian skill is unrivalled in this country. Our acknowledg- ments are also due to Mr. Henry Taylor, author of an excellent ‘‘Bee-keeper’s Manual,” for his help and counsel during the earlier years of our apiarian expe- rience. Both the before-mentioned gentlemen have fre- quently communicated to us their contrivances and suggestions, without thought of fee or reward for them. In common with most recent writers on bee-culture, we are necessarily largely indebted to the standard works of Huber and succeeding apiarians. From the more recent volume of the Rev. L. L. Langstroth we have also obtained useful information. But -having ourselves, of later years, had considerable experience in the mani- pulation and practical management of bees, we are enabled to confirm or qualify the statement of others, as well as to summarize information gleaned from many. various sources. Let it be understood, that we have no patented devices the surprising fecundity of the genuine Italian ones, whilst the English stocks in course of time become strengthened by the infusion of foreign blood. PREFACE. vii to push : we are free to choose out of the many apiarian contrivances that have been offered of late years, and we feel perfectly at liberty to praise or. blame as our experience warrants us in doing. It does not follow that we necessarily disparage hives which are not described herein ; we have sought, as much as possible, to indicate the prénciples on which good hives must be constructed, whatever their outward size or shape. All through the work, we have endeavoured to adopt the golden rule of ‘‘submission to Nature’’ by reference to which all the fancied difficulties of bee-keeping may be easily overcome. In none of the attempts of men to hold sway over natural objects is the truth of Bacon’s leading doctrine more beautifully illustrated than in the power that the apiarian exercises in the little world of bees. Some persons may consider we have used too many poetical quotations in a book dealing wholly with matters of fact. We trust, however, that the examination of the extracts will at once remove that feeling of objection. We venture to hope that the following pages contain many valuable hints and interesting statements which may tend to excite increased and renewed attention to the most useful and industrious of all insects. viii PREFACE. Although bees have neither reason nor religion for their guide, yet from them man may learn many a lesson of virtue and industry, and may even draw from them thoughts suggestive of trust and faith in God. . We beg leave to conclude our preface, and introduce the subject, by the following extract from Shakspeare, who, without doubt, kept bees in that garden at Strat- ford wherein he used to meditate :— “« So work the honey-bees ; Creatures that, by a rule in Nature, teach The art of order to a peopled kingdom. They have a king and officers of sorts ; Where some, like magistrates, correct at home ; Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad ; Others, like soldiers, arméd in their stings, Make boot upon the Summer’s velvet buds, Which pillage they, with merry march, bring home To the tent royal of their emperor : Who, busied in his majesty, surveys The singing masons building roofs of gold ; The civil citizens kneading up the honey ; The poor mechanic porters crowding in Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate ; The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum, Delivering o’er to executors pale The lazy, yawning drone.” SHAKSPEARE’S Henry V., Act 1., Scene 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PreFacE— Introductory SECTION I. Natural History of the Inhabitants of the Hive The Queen The Drone The Worker-bee Eggs of Bees Increase of Bees . Swarming SECTION II. Anatomy and Physiology of the Bee Head Thorax, or Chest Abdomen PAGE xvi CONTENTS. SECTION III. Mopern Bez-Hives. PAGE Nutt’s Collateral Hive. : : 50 Neighbour’s Improved Single Box Hive ‘ . 62 Taylor’s Amateur Shallow Box or Eight-bar Hive . 65 Neighbour’s Improved Cottage . ‘ . 68 Improved Cottage, without Windows. ‘ : 76 Ladies’ Observatory or Crystal Bee-hive ‘ 77 Cottagers’ Hive for taking Honey in Straw Caps without the Destruction of the Bees ‘ e - 80 Woodbury Bar and Frame Hives :—Wood ; ‘ 84 Straw. : 7 . ‘ ‘ z 85 Glass, ‘ 7 2 ‘ &8 Frame : : : : : 89 Improved Comb Bar 3 , : ; 90 Compound Bar and Frame : : ‘ gt Super and Cover ‘ ‘ 93 Taylor’s Improved Cottage Hive : . 96 » Eight-Bar Straw : ‘ F ‘ 96 Neighbour’s Unicomb Observatory Hive ; 97 Woodbury : é ‘ ‘ : » 102 Stewarton or Ayrshire Hive F 7 ? 109 Huber’s Hive. & : ; A - 118 SECTION IV. EXTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS AND APPARATUS, Bee House to contain T'wo Hives 123 55 5 Twelve Hives : ; - 126 » ” Nine Hives 128 CONTENTS. Evening Thoughts in January Ornamental Zinc Cover ‘Zinc Cover 3 ‘ Taylor's Cover of Zinc Bell Glasses Taylor’s Glasses . Payne’s Glass Taylor’s Bell Glass with lid Guide-Comb for Glasses . Exterior and Interior of an Apiary The New Bottle-Feeder . Round Bee-Feeder Zinc Fountain Bee-Feeder Honey Cutters Fumigator Tube Fumigator Bee-Dress or Protector 138 and 13 Engraved Pressing Roller, for ie Gitieas of Bees j in the Construction of Honey-comb on the Bars Impressed Wax Sheets for Artificial Combs SECTION V. Manipulation and Uses of Bar and Frame Hives. Putting on Super Hive Taking out Frames with Combs. Advantages of Bar and Frame Hives, Artificial Swarming Royal Brood Queen Cages XViii CONTENTS. Driving . ‘ Changing Old Stocks to Nes Hives Weighing Hives, &c. SECTION VI. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Stings : their Prevention and Cure Pollen, or Food for Infant-Bees . Propolis, or Bees’ Cement Pasturage for Bees The Ligurian or Italian Alp ee : Living Bees at the International Exhibition of 1862, Sending Bees to Australia, &c. Bee-keeping in London Wasps and Moths ‘ Draining Honey from the Combs Diseases of Bees . General Remarks On the First Flight of Bees in Spring APPENDIX. TESTIMONIALS OF THE Press. Great Exhibition of 1851 :— From the ‘“‘ Cottage Gardener ” 55 ‘* Tilustrated London News” $3 “ Express ”’ International Exhibition of 1862:— From the “ Illustrated London News ” i Le ——! he on opie PAGE 179 182 185 189 193 195 197 200 213 215 223 230 232 238 250 CONTENTS. International Exhibition of 1862, (continued) — 5 ‘¢ Journal of Horticulture’. A 7 ee “6 Illustrated News of the World” . 53 “© Gardener's Weekly Magazine , i Bath and West of England Agricultural Show at Exeter in June, 1863 :— From the “ Journal of Horticulture” 35 * Western Times” . ‘ . 5 3 “« Devon Weekly Times” . ‘* Exeter Gazette” . A . » Royal Agricultural Show, Newcastle, 1864 :— From the ‘ Northern Daily Express ” Royal Agricultural Show, Plymouth, 1865 :— From the “ Journal of Horticulture ” ERRATUM. At eleventh line from bottom of page 111, for “ three,” * those.”” xix PAGE 259 261 261 264, 264 267 267 268 270 read DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. PLATE I.—(FRonrTIsPIECE.) Queen-Bee. Antenna of ditto. Hind leg of ditto. . Front view of head of ditto. Mandible of ditto. Worker, or imperfect female. Antenna of ditto. Hind leg of ditto, inner side showing the pollen-brushes. . Ditto, outer side showing the pollen-basket. . Side view of head. Back view of ditto, showing the junction of the gullet with the thorax, and position of the tongue and its appendages. Mandible. Male, or drone. Antenna of ditto. Hind leg of ditto. Front view of head of ditto. Mandible of ditto Enlarged view of the wing. 38. Hind edge of fore wing showing the thickened margin, and fore edge of hind wing, showing the hooks, which hold on to the thickened margin of the fore wing and keep them together during flight. Xxil DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. PLATE II.—Pace 31. Body of a bee divested of antennz, legs, and wings, showing the anatomy of the thorax and natural position of the stomach. The eyes. The ocelli. . The muscles that move the wings. The external covering of the thorax. The bases of the wings. The honey-bag, or first stomach. The ventricle, or true stomach, distended with food. The rectum. The biliary vessels, Portion of the membranous tissue lining the inner surface of the segments, and enclosing the stomach and intestines. The stomach emptied of its contents, to show the muscular contraction of the ventricle. The honey-bag. The ventricle. The rectum. The biliary vessels. The ligula, or tongue, and its appendages. The base of the ligula. Maxillary palpi. The maxilla. The labial palpi. The tongue. The sting and its muscles. DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. xxiii The attachment of the muscles to the outer covering of the abdomen. Muscles that move the sting. Curved base of the sheaths that enclose the sting. Poison-bag. Glands connected with the poison-bag. Honey-plates covering the muscles r, and to which the sheaths of the stings are attached at s. . Base of sting connecting with the poison-bag ¢. Magnified view of paint of sting, showing the serrations on each side. Three hexagonal prisms of a bee’s eye (Swammerdam). Abdominal plates of the bee, detached to show the wax- cells, Eggs of bee, natural size, and magnified (from Reaumur) Helminthimorphous, or apodal larva of a bee (Reaumur). SOgy ate WH ANE we > THE APIARY; OR, BEES, BEE-HIVES, & BEE-CULTURE. BESMHERE are two classes of persons for whom bee-culture should have a strong interest, and two distinct purposes for which the pursuit may be followed. First, there is the cottager or small farmer, who, in thousands of instances, might add considerably to his income by bee-keeping ; and, secondly, there is the man of ‘retired leisure’’ and refinement, who, in the personal tendance of an apiary, would find an easy and interesting occupation, and one which could not fail to quicken his faculties of general scientific observation. Moreover, in contemplating the wonderful skill, industry, and prevision of his insect-artizans, the bee-keeper would find in his apiary constant illustrations of creative wisdom. Amongst the humbler classes in the rural districts, the neglect of bee-keeping is to be attributed to an exag- B 2 THE APIARY. gerated idea of the trouble needful for the care of a few hives, and also to ignorance of the easier and more profitable methods of modern management. Many of the wealthier country or suburban residents, also, are averse to the personal trouble which they fancy needful in keeping an apiary; and, perhaps, some gentlemen are more afraid than they would like to own of that very efficient weapon of defence with which the honey bee is provided. But the prejudices against bees are quite un- necessary ; bees are as tractable as they are intelligent, and it is the purpose of this little book to show that bee- culture is an easy and safe, as well as a deeply interest- ing, pursuit. Possibly, also, some who do us the favour to read our detailed explanations will see how the rural clergyman, or the benevolent landlord, who keeps an apiary of his own, may be of signal service to his poorer neighbours in explaining to them the mysteries of bee- keeping. I—NATURAL HISTORY OF THE INHABIT- ANTS OF THE HIVE. #29) VERY hive or bee colony comprises in summer Wex> three distinct classes of bees, each class having functions peculiar to itself, and which are essential to the well-being of the whole community. As each bee knows its own proper duties, they all work harmoniously and zealously together, for the common weal. Certain apparent exceptions to the good-fellowship of the bees will be hereafter noticed, but those arise out of essential conditions in the social economy of the bee community. That Aoney bees should live in society, as they do in hives, is absolutely needful. A bee, in an isolated condition, is a very helpless, delicate little creature, soon susceptible. ‘of cold, and paralysed thereby, unless able to join her companions before night comes on. By congregating in large numbers, bees maintain warmth, whatever the external temperature may be. B2 4 THE APIARY. The three classes of bees are :—the queen-bee, with the pupz or embryos intended for queens ; the working bees ; and the drones, or male bees. THE QUEEN. Appropriately styled, by German bee-keepers, the mother-bee, is the only perfectly developed female among the whole population of each separate colony. Thus her majesty indisputably sways her sceptre by a divine right, because she lives and reigns in the hearts of loving children and subjects. Dr. Evans* introduces the queen-bee to our notice thus :— “¢ First of the throng, and foremost of the whole, One ‘stands confest the sovereign and the soul.’ ” The queen may very readily be distinguished from the rest of the bees by the greater length of her body and the comparative shortness of her wings; her legs are longer, and are not furnished with either brushes or baskets as those of the working bee, for, being constantly fed by the latter, she does not need those implements ; the upper surface of her body is of a brighter black than * Dr. Evans—who may be styled the poet-laureate of the bees —lived at Shrewsbury, where he practised as « physician. His poem on bees is written with great taste and careful elaboration, and it describes the habits of bees with a degree of accuracy only attainable after continuous scientific observation. THE QUEEN-BEE. 5 the other bees, whilst her colour underneath is a yellow- ish brown ;* her wings, which do not extend more than half the length of her body, are sinewy and strong; her long abdomen tapers nearly to a point; her head is rounder, her tongue more slender, and not nearly so long, as that of the working bee, and her sting is curved, Her movements are measured and majestic ; as she moves in the hive the other bees form a circle round her, none venturing to turn their backs upon her, but all anxious to show that respect and attention due to her rank and station. "Whenever, in the exercise of her sovereign will, the queen wishes to travel amongst her subjects, she experiences no inconvenience from over- crowding ; although the part of the hive to which she is journeying may be the most populous, way is immediately made, the common bees tumbling over each -other to get out of her path, so great is their anxiety not to interfere with the royal progress. It is the chief function of the queen to lay the eggs from which all future bees originate, the multiplication of the species being the purpose of her existence ; and she follows it up with an assiduity similar to that with which the workers construct combs or collect honey. A queen is estimated to lay in the breeding season from 1,500 to 2,000 eggs a-day, and in the course of one year is supposed to produce more than 100,000 bees. This is * Yellow Italian queens form an exception in point of colour. See frontispiece, fig. 1. 6 THE APIARY. indeed a vast number ; but when there is taken into con- sideration the great number required ‘for swarms, the constant lessening of their strength by death in various ways, and the many casualties attending them in their distant travels in search of the luscious store, it does not seem that the case is over-stated. In a Glass Unicomb Hive,—which we shall hereinafter describe,—all the movements of the queen-bee may be traced ; she may be seen thrusting her head into a cell to discover whether it be occupied with an egg or honey, and if empty, she turns round in a dignified manner and inserts her long body—so long, that she is able to deposit the egg at the bottom of the cell; she then passes on to another, and so continues industriously multiplying her laborious subjects. It not unfrequently happens when the queen is prolific, and if it be an early season, that many eggs are wasted for want of unoccupied cells; for in that case the queen leaves them exposed at the bottom of the hive, when they are greedily devoured by the bees. The queen-bee, unlike the great majority of her subjects, is a stayer at home; generally speaking, she only quits the hive twice in her life. _ The first occasion is on the all-important day of her marriage, which always takes place at a great height in the air, and generally on the second or third day of her princess-life ; she never afterwards leaves the hive, except to lead off an emigrating swarm. Evans, with proper loyalty, has THE QUEEN-BEE. 7 duly furnished a glowing epithalamium for the queen- bee :—thus, “* When noon-tide Sirius glares on high, Young love ascends the glowing sky, From vein to vein swift shoots prolific fire, And thrills each insect fibre with desire ; Then Nature, to fulfil thy prime decree, Wheels round, in wanton rings, the courtier Bee ; Now shyly distant, now with bolder air, He woos and wins the all-complying fair ; Through fields of ether, veiled in vap’ry gloom They seek, with amorous haste, the nuptial room ; As erst the immortal pair, on Ida’s height, Wreath’d round their noon of joy ambrosial night.”’ The loyalty and attachment of bees to their queen is one of their most remarkable characteristics ; they con- stantly supply her with food, and fawn upon and caress her, softly touching her with their antenne—a favour which she occasionally returns. "When she moves about the hive, all the bees through whom she successively passes pay her the same homage; those whom she leaves behind in her track close together, and resume their accustomed occupations. The majestic deportment of the queen-bee and the homage paid to her is, with a little poetic licence, thus described by Evans :-— “« But mark, of royal port and awful mien, Where moves with measured pace the insect Queen ! Twelve chosen guards, with slow and solemn gait, Bend at her nod, and round her person wait.” 8 THE APIARY. This homage is, however, only paid to matron queens. Whilst they continue princesses, they receive no distinctive marks of respect. Dr. Dunbar, the noted Scotch apiarian, observed a very striking instance of this whilst experi- menting on the combative qualities of the queen-bee «So long,’”’ says he, ‘‘as the queen which survived the rencontre with her rival remained a virgin, not the slightest degree of respect or attention was paid her; not a single bee gave her food; she was obliged, as often as she required it, to help herself; and in crossing the honey cells for that purpose, she had to scramble, often with difficulty, over the crowd, not an individual of which got out of her way, or seemed to care whether she fed or starved: but no sooner did she become a mother, than the scene was changed, and all testified towards her that most affectionate attention, which is uniformly exhi- bited to fertile queens.”’ The queen-bee, though provided with a sting, never uses it on any account, except in combat with her sister- queens. But she admits of no rival to her throne ; almost her first act, on coming forth from the cell, is an attempt to tear open and destroy the cells containing the pupze of princesses likely to become competitors. Should it so happen that another queen of similar age does exist in the hive at the same time, the two are speedily brought into contact with each other, in order to fight it out and decide by a struggle, mortal to one of them, which is to be the ruler ;—the stronger of course is victorious, and THE QUEEN-BEE. 9 remains supreme. This, it must be admitted, is a wiser method of settling the affair than it would be to range the whole hive under two distinct banners, and so create a civil war, in which the members of the rival bands would kill and destroy each other for matters they indi- vidually have little or no concern about : for the bees care not which queen it is, so long as they are certain of having one to rule over them and perpetuate the community. After perusing the description given above of the attachment of bees to their queen, it may be easy to imagine the consternation a hive is thrown into when deprived of her presence. The bees first make a dili- gent search for their monarch in the hive, and then afterwards rush forth in immense numbers to seek her. ‘When such a commotion is observed in an apiary, the experienced bee-master will repair the loss by giving a queen: the bees have generally their own remedy for such a calamity, in their power of raising a new queen from amongst their larvee ; but if neither of these means be available, the whole colony dwindles and dies. The following is the method by which working bees provide a successor to the throne when deprived of their queen by accident, or in anticipation of the first swarm, which is always led by the old queen :— They select, when not more than three days old, an egg or grub previously intended for a worker-bee, and then enlarge the cell so selected by destroying the surround- ing partitions; they thus form a royal cradle, in ‘shape 10 THE APIARY. very much like an acorn cup inverted. The chosen embryo is then fed liberally with a peculiar description of nurture, called by naturalists ‘‘royal jelly’’—a pun- gent food, prepared by the working bees exclusively for those of the larvee that are destined to become candidates for the honour of royalty. Should a queen be forcibly separated from her subjects, she resents the interference, refuses food, pines, and dies. The whole natural history of the queen-bee is in itself a subject that will well repay for continuous study. Those who desire to follow it, we would refer to the complete works of Husrr—the greatest of apiarians, —Swammer- pam, Brvan, Lanestrotu, &c. The observations upon the queen-bee needful to verify the above-mentioned facts can only be made in hives constructed for the pur- pose, of which the ‘‘ Unicomb Observatory Hive’’ is the best. In ordinary hives the queen is scarcely ever to be seen; where there are several rows of comb, she invari- ably keeps between them, both for warmth and to be more secure from danger. The writer has frequently observed in stocks which have unfortunately died, that the queen was one of the last to expire; and she is always more difficult to gain possession of than other bees, being by instinct taught that she is indispensable to the welfare of her subjects. The queen enjoys a far longer life than any of her subjects, her age ‘generally extending to four, or even five years. The drones, which are mostly hatched in the THE DRONE. II early spring, seldom live more than three or four months, even if they should escape the sting of the executioner, to which they generally fall victims. The worker-bee, it is now a well-ascertained fact, lives from six to eight months, in no case exceeding the latter; so that we may reckon that the bees hatched in April and May expire about the end of the year; and it is those of the autumn who carry on the duties of the hive until the spring and summer, that being the time when the greatest number of eggs are laid. The population of a hive is very small during the winter, in comparison with the vast numbers gathering produce in the summer,—produce which they themselves live to enjoy but for a short period. So that not only, as of old, may lessons of industry be learned from bees, but they also teach self-denial to mankind, since they labour for the community rather than for them- selves. Evans, in describing the age of bees, thus para- phrases the well known couplet of Homer, in allusion to the fleeting generations of men :— “€ Like leaves on trees the race of bees is found, Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; Another race the spring or fall supplies, They droop successive, and successive rise.”” THE DRONE. The drones are male bees; they possess no sting, are more hairy and larger than the common bee, and may 12 THE APIARY. be easily distinguished by their heavy motion, thick- set form, and louder humming. Evans thus describes the drones :— ‘Their short proboscis sips No luscious nectar from the wild thyme’s lips ; From the lime leaf no amber drops they steal, Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful meal : On others’ toils, in pampered leisure, thrive The lazy fathers of the industrious hive ; Yet oft, we’re told, these seeming idlers share The pleasing duties of parental care ; With fond attention guard each genial cell, And watch the embryo bursting from the shell.”” But Dr. Evans had been ‘‘told’”’ what was not correct when he sought to dignify drones with the office of ‘nursing fathers,’’—that task is undertaken by the younger of the working bees. No occupation falls to the lot of the drones in gathering honey, nor have they the means provided them by Nature for assisting in the labours of the hive. The drones are the progenitors of working bees, and nothing more; so far as is known, that is the only purpose of their short existence. In a well-populated hive the number of drones is com- puted at from one to two thousand. “ Naturalists,’’ says Huber, ‘“‘have been extremely embarrassed to account for the number of males in most hives, and which seem only a burden to the community, since they appear to fulfil no function. But we now begin to discern the object THE DRONE. 13 of Nature in multiplying them to such an extent. As fecundation cannot be accomplished within the hive, and as the queen is obliged to traverse the expanse of the atmosphere, it is requisite that the males should be numerous, that she may have the chance of meeting some one of them inher flight. Were only two or three in each hive, there would be little probability of their departure at the same instant with the queen, or that they would meet her in their excursions ; and most of the females might thus remain sterile.’’ It is important for the safety of the queen-bee that her stay in the air should be as brief as possible: her large size and slowness of flight render her an easy prey to birds. It is not now thought that the queen always pairs with a drone of the same hive, as Huber seems to have supposed. The drone that happens to be the selected: husband is by no means so fortunate as at first sight may appear, for it is a law of nature that the bridegroom does not survive the wedding-day. Her majesty, although thus left.a widowed, is by no means a sorrowful, bride, for she soon becomes the happy mother of a large family. It cannot be said that she pays no respect to the memory of her departed lord, for she never marries again. Once impregnated,—as is the case with most insects,—the queen-bee continues productive during the remainder of her existence. It has, however, been found that though old queens cease to lay worker eggs, they may continue to lay those of drones. The swarming season being 14 THE APIARY. over, — that is about the end of July,—a general massacre of the ‘‘lazy fathers’? takes place. Dr. Bevan, in the ‘Honey Bee,”’ observes on this point: ‘‘ The work of the drones being now completed, they are regarded as use- less consumers of the fruits of others’ labour; love is at once converted into hate, and a general proscription takes place. The unfortunate victims evidently per- ceive their danger, for they are never at this time seen resting in one place, but darting in and out of the hive with the utmost precipitation, as if in fear of being seized.”’ Their destruction is thought, by some, to be caused by their being harassed until they quit the hive; but Huber says he ascertained that the death of the drones was caused by the stings of the workers. Supposing the drones come forth in May, which is the average period of their being hatched, their destruction takes place somewhere about the commencement of August, so that three months is the usual extent of their existence; but should it so happen that the usual development of the queen has been retarded, or that the hive has by chance been deprived of her, the massacre of the drones is deferred. In any case, the natural term of the life of drone-bees does not exceed four months, so that they are all dead before the winter, and are not allowed to be useless consumers of the general store. THE WORKER-BEE. 1S THE WORKER-BEE. The working bees form, by far, the most numerous class of the three kinds contained in the hive, and least of all require description. They are the smallest of the bees, are dark brown in colour, or nearly black,* and much more active on the wing than are either drones or queens. The usual number in a healthy hive varies from twelve to thirty thousand; and, previous to swarming, exceeds the larger number. The worker-bee is of the same sex as the queen, but is only partially de- veloped. Any egg of a worker-bee—by the cell being enlarged, as already described, and the ‘‘royal jelly ”’ being supplied to the larva—may be hatched into a mature and perfect queen. ‘This, one of the most curious facts connected with the natural history of bees, may be verified in any apiary by most interesting experi- ments, which may be turned to important use. With regard to the supposed distinctions between ‘‘nursing ’’ and working bees, it is now agreed that it only consists in a division of labour, the young workers staying at home to feed the larvee until they are themselves vigorous enough to range the fields in quest of supplies. But, for many details of unfailing interest, we must again refer * Italian workers form an exception in point of colour. See Plate I., fig. 2. 16 THE APIARF. our readers to the standard works on bees that have already been named. THE EGGS OF BEES. It is necessary that some explanation should be given as to the existence of the bee before it emerges from the cell. The eggs (Plate II, fig. 7) of all the three kinds of bees, when first deposited, are of an oval shape, and of a pearly-white colour. In four or five days the egg changes to a worm, and in this stage is known by the names of larva or grub (Plate IL, fig. 8), in which state it remains four to six days more. During this period it is fed by the nurse-bees with a mixture of farina and honey, a constant supply of which is given to it. The next transformation is to the nymph or pupa form. The nurse-bees now seal up the cells with a preparation similar to wax, and then the pupa spins round itself a film or cocoon, just as a silkworm does in its chrysalis state. The microscope shows that this cradle-curtain is perforated with very minute holes, through which the baby-bee is duly supplied with air. No further attention on the part of the bees is now requisite, except a proper degree of heat, which they take care to keep up—a position for the breeding cells being selected in the centre of the hive, where the temperature is likely to be most congenial. THE EGGS OF BEES. 17 Twenty-one days after the egg is first laid (unless cold weather should have retarded it) the bee quits the pupa state, and, nibbling its way through the waxen covering that has enclosed it, comes forth a winged insect. The eggs of drones require twenty-four days, and those of queens sixteen days, to arrive at maturity, and are hatched in warm summer weather, a higher temperature being necessary. In the Unicomb Obser- vatory Hives, the young bees may distinctly be seen as they literally fight their way into the world, for the other bees do not take the slightest notice, nor afford them any assistance. We have frequently been amused in watch- ing the eager little new-comer, now obtruding its head, and anon compelled to withdraw into the cell to escape being trampled on by the apparently unfeeling throng, until at last it has succeeded in making its exit. The little grey creature, after brushing and shaking itself, enters upon its duties in the hive, such as the nursing before alluded to, or secreting wax, and in (say) a week issues forth to the more laborious occupation of gathering honey in the fields—thus early illustrating that character for industry which has been proverbial at least since the days of Aristotle, and which has in our day been rendered familiar even to infant minds through the nursery rhymes of Dr. Watts. 18 THE APIARY. INCREASE OF BEES, Every one is familiar with the natural process of ‘swarming,’ by which bees provide themselves with fresh space, and seek to plant colonies to absorb their increase of population. But the object of the bee- master is to train and educate his bees, and in so doing he avoids much of the risk and trouble which is incurred by allowing the busy folk to follow their own devices. The various methods for this end adopted by apiarians all come under the term of the ‘depriving ”’ system, and they form part of the great object of humane and economical bee-keeping, which is to save the bees alive instead of slaughtering them, as under -the old clumsy system. A very natural question is often asked : —How is it that, upon the depriving system, where our object is to prevent swarming, the increase of numbers is not so great as upon the old plan? It will be seen that the laying of eggs is performed by the queen only, and that there is but one queen to each hive; so that where swarming is prevented, there remains only one hive or stock, as the superfluous princesses are not allowed to come to maturity. If all those princesses were to become monarchs, or mother-bees, and to emigrate with a proportionate number of workers, increase would be going on more rapidly; but the old stock would be so impoverished thereby as possibly to yield no surplus INCREASE OF BEES. 19 honey, whilst the swarms might come off too late for them to collect sufficient store whereon to grow populous enough to withstand the winter. With bees, as with men, “union is strength;’’ and it is often better to induce them to remain as one family, rather than to part numbers at a late period of the honey-gathering season, without a prospect of support- ing themselves, and so perish from cold and hunger during the ordeal of the winter season. Would it not in such cases have been better for the little folk to have kept under one roof through the winter, and to have been able to take full advantage of the following early spring? This is one of the great secrets of successful ‘bee-keeping. Our plan of giving additional store-room will, gene- rally speaking, prevent swarming. This stay-at-home policy, we contend, is an advantage; for instead of the loss of time consequent upon a swarm hanging out pre- paratory to flight, all the bees are engaged in collecting honey, and that at a time when the weather is most favourable and the food most abundant. Upon the old system, the swarm leaves the hive simply because the dwelling has not been enlarged at the time when the bees are increasing. The emigrants are always led off ‘by the old queen, leaving either young or embryo queens to lead off after-swarms, and to furnish a mistress for the old stock, and carry on the multiplication of the species. Upon the antiquated and inhuman plan, where Cc 2 20 THE APIARY. so great a destruction takes place by the brimstone match, breeding must, of course, be allowed to go on to its full extent to make up for such sacrifices. Our chief object under the new system is to obtain honey free from all extraneous matter. Pure honey cannot be gathered from combs where storing and breeding are performed in the same compartment. For fuller explanations on this point, we refer to the various descriptions of our’ improved hives in a subsequent section of this work. There can now be scarcely two opinions as to the use- lessness of the rustic plan of immolating the poor bees after they have striven through the summer so to “im- prove each shining hour.’ The ancients in Greece and Italy took the surplus honey and spared the bees, and now for every intelligent bee-keeper there are ample appliances wherewith to attain the same results. Mr. Langstroth quotes from the German the following epitaph, which, he says, ‘‘might be properly placed over every pit of brimstoned bees’’:— , Were Rests, CUT OFF FROM USEFUL LABOUR, 4 COLONY OF INDUSTRIOUS BEES, BASELY MURDERED BY ITs UNGRATEFUL AND IGNORANT OWNER. SWARMING. at And Thomson, the poet of ‘‘The Seasons,’’ has recorded an eloquent poetic protest against the barbarous prac- tice, for which, however, in his day there was no. alter- native :— ° «« Ah! see where, robbed and murdered in that pit, Lies the still-heaving hive! at evening snatched, Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, And fix’d o’er sulphur! while, not dreaming ill, The happy people, in their waxen cells, Sat tending public cares. Sudden, the dark, oppressive steam ascends, And, used to milder scents, the tender race By thousands tumble from their honied dome, Into a gulr of blue sulphureous flame !”’ It will be our pleasing task, in subsequent chapters, to show ‘a more excellent way.” SWARMING. The spring is the best period at which to. commence an apiary, and swarming-time is a ‘good starting-point for the new bee-keeper. The period known as the swarming season is during the months of May and June. With a very forward stock, and in exceedingly fine weather, bees do occasionally swarm in April. The earlier the swarm, the greater is its value. if bees swarm in July, they seldom gather sufficient to sustain 22 THE APIARY. themselves through the winter, though by careful feeding they may easily be kept alive, if hived early in the month. The cause of a swarm leaving the stock-hive is, that the population has grown too large for it. Swarming is a provision of Nature for remedying the inconvenience of overcrowding, and is the method whereby the bees seek for space in which to increase their stores. By putting on ‘‘super-hives,’’ the required relief may, in many cases, be given to them; but should the multiplication of stocks be desired, the bee-keeper will defer increasing the space until the swarm has issued forth. In May, when the spring has been fine, the queen-bee is very active in laying eggs, and the increase in a strong, healthy hive is so prodigious that emigration is neces- sary, or the bees would cease to work. It is now a well-established fact that the old queen goes forth with the first swarm, preparation having been made to supply her place as soon as the bees determine upon. the necessity of a division of their commonwealth. ' Thus the sovereignty of the old hive, after the first swarm has issued, devolves upon a young queen. As soon as the swarm builds combs in its new abode, the emigrant-queen, being impregnated and her ovaries full, begins laying eggs in the cells, and thereby speedily multiplies the labourers of the new colony. Although there is now amongst apiarians no doubt that the old queen quits her home, there is no rule as to the compo- SWARMING. 23 sition of the swarm: old and young alike depart. Some show unmistakeable signs of age by their ragged wings, others their extreme youth by their lighter colour; how they determine which shall stay and which shall go has not yet been ascertained. In preparation for flight, bees commence filling their honey bags, taking sufficient, it is said, for three days’ sustenance. This store is needful, not only for food, but to enable the bees to commence the secretion of wax and the building of combs in their new domicile. On the day of emigration, the weather must be fine, warm, and clear, with but little wind stirring; for the old queen, like a prudent matron, will not venture out unless the day is in every way favourable. Whilst her majesty hesitates, either for the reasons we have men- tioned, or because the internal arrangements are not sufficiently matured, the bees will often fly about or hang in clusters at the entrance of the hive for two or three days and nights together, all labour meanwhile being suspended. The agitation of the little folk is well de- cribed by Evans :— , ‘¢ See where, with hurried step, the impassioned throng Pace o’er the hive, and seem, with plaintive song, T°’ invite the loitering queen ; now range the floor, And hang in cluster’d columns from the door ; Or now in restless rings around they fly, Nor spoil thy sip, nor load the hollowed thigh ; E’en the dull drone his wonted ease gives o'er, Flaps his unwieldy wings, and longs to soar.” 24 THE APIARY. But when all is ready, a scene of the most violent agita- tion takes place; the bees rush out in vast numbers, forming quite a dark cloud as they traverse the air. The time selected for the departure of the emigrants is generally between 10a.m. and 3P.M.; most swarms come off within an hour of noon. It is a very general remark that bees choose a Sunday for swarming, and probably this is because then greater stillness reigns around. It will not be difficult to imagine that the care- ful bee-keeper is anxious to keep a strict watch, lest-he should lose such a treasure when once it takes wing. The exciting scene at a bee-swarming has been well described by the apiarian laureate :— ‘Up mounts the chief, and, to the cheated eye, Ten thousand shuttles dart along the sky ; As swift through ther rise the rushing swarms, Gay dancing to the beam their sunbright forms ; And each thin form, still lingering on the sight, Trails, as it shoots, a line of silver light. High poised on buoyant wing, the thoughtful queen, -In gaze attentive, views the varied scene, And soon her far-fetched ken discerns below The light laburnum lift her polished brow, Wave her green leafy ringlets o’er the glade. Swift as the falcon’s sweep the monarch bends Her flight abrupt : the following host descends ; Round the fine twig, like clustered grapes they close In thickening wreaths, and court a short repose.” In many country districts it is a time-honoured custom SWARMING. 25 for the good folks of the village to commence on such occasions a terrible noise of tanging and ringing with frying-pan and key. This is done with the absurd no- tion that the bees are charmed with the clangorous din, and may by it be induced to settle as near as possible to the source of such sweet sounds. This is, however, quite a mistake: there are other and better means for: the purpose. The practice of ringing was originally adopted for a different and far more sensible object—viz., for the purpose of giving notice that a swarm had issued forth, and that the owner was anxious to claim the right of following, even though it should alight on a neighbour’s premises. It would be curious to trace how this ancient ceremony has thus got corrupted from the original design. In case the bees do not speedily after swarming mani- fest signs of settling, a few handfuls of sand or loose mould may be thrown up in the air so as to fall among the winged throng; they mistake this for rain, and then very quickly determine upon settling. Some persons squirt a little water from a garden engine in order to produce the same effect. There are, indeed, many ingenious devices used by apiarians for decoying the swarms. Mr. Langstroth mentions a plan of stringing dead bees together, and tying a bunch of them on any shrub or low tree upon which it is desirable that they should alight; another plan is, to hang some black woven material near the 26 THE APIARY. hives, so that the swarming bees may be led to suppose they see another colony, to which they will hasten to attach themselves. Swarms have a great affinity for each other when they are adrift in the air; but, of course, when the union has been effected, the rival queens have to do battle for supremacy. A more inge- nious device than any of the above is by means of a mirror, to flash a reflection of the sun’s rays amongst a swarm, which bewilders the bees, and checks their flight. It is manifestly often desirable to use some of these en- deavours to induce early settlement, and to prevent, if possible, the bees from clustering in high trees or under the eaves of houses, where it may be difficult to hive them. Should prompt measures not be taken to hive the bees as soon as the cluster is well formed, there is danger of their starting on a second flight; and this is what the apiarian has so much to dread. If the bees set off a second time, it is generally for a long flight, often for miles, so that in such a case it is usually impossible to follow them, and consequently a valuable colony may be irretrievably lost. Too much care cannot be exercised to prevent the sun’s rays falling on a swarm when it has once settled. If exposed to heat in this way, bees are very likely to decamp. We have frequently stretched matting or sheeting on poles, so as to intercept the glare, and thus render their temporary position cool and comfortable. SWARMING. 27 Two swarms sometimes depart at the same time, and join together ; in such a case, we recommend that they be treated as one, by putting them into a hive as before described, taking care to give abundant room and not to delay affording access to the super hive or glasses. They will settle their own notions of sovereignty by one queen destroying the other. There are means of sepa- rating two swarms, if done at the time; but the opera- tion is a formidable one, and does not always repay even those most accustomed to such manipulation. With regard to preparations for taking a swarm, our advice to the bee-keeper must be the reverse of Mrs. Glass’s notable injunction as to the cooking of a hare. Some time before you expect to take a swarm, be sure to have a suitable hive in which to take it, and also every other requisite properly ready. Here we will explain what was said in the introduction as to the safety of moving and handling bees. A bee-veil or dress will preserve the most sensitive from the possibility of being stung. This article, which may be bought with the hives, is made of net close enough to exclude bees, but open enough for the operator’s vision. It is made to go over the hat of a lady or cap of a gentleman; it closes round the waist, and has sleeves fastening at the wrist. A pair of photographer’s india-rubber gloves completes the full dress of the apiarian, who is then in- vulnerable, even to enraged bees. But bees when swarming are in an eminently peaceful frame of mind; 28 THE APIARY. having dined sumptuously, they require to be positively provoked before they will, sting. Yet there may be one or two foolish bees who, having neglected to fill their honey bags, are inclined to vent their ill-humour on the kind apiarian. When all is ready, the new hive is held or placed in an inverted position under the cluster of bees, which the operator detaches from their perch with one or two quick shakes; the floorboard is then placed on the hive, which is then slowly turned up on to its base, and it is well to leave it a short time in the same place, in order to allow of stragglers joining their companions. If the new swarm is intended for transportation to a distance, it is as well for it to be left at the same spot until evening, provided the sun is shaded from it: but if the hive is meant to stand in or near the same garden, it is better to remove it within half an hour to its perma- nent position, because so eager are newly-swarmed bees for pushing forward the work of furnishing their empty house, that they sally forth at once in search of materials, A swarm of bees, in their natural state, contains from 10,000 to 20,000 insects, whilst in an established hive of Italian bees they number 40,000 and upwards. Five thousand bees are said to weigh one pound; a good swarm will weigh from three to five pounds. ‘We have known swarms not heavier than 23 pounds that were in very excellent condition in August as regards store for the winter. SWARMING. 29 Hitherto, all our remarks have had reference to first or ‘‘prime’’ swarms; these are the best, and when a swarm is purchased, such should be bargained for. Second swarms, known amongst cottage bee-keepers as ‘‘casts,’’ usually issue from the hive nine or ten days after the first has departed. It is not always that a second swarm issues, so much depends on the strength of the stock, the weather, and other causes; but should the bees determine to throw out another, the first hatched queen in the stock-hive is prevented by her subjects from destroying the other royal princesses, as she would do if left to her own devices. The consequence is that, like some people who cannot have their own way, she is highly indignant; and, when thwarted in her purpose, utters, in quick succession, shrill, angry sounds, much resembling “ Peep, peep,’’ commonly called ‘‘piping,”’ but which more courtly apiarians have styled the vox regalis. This royal wailing continues during the evening, and is sometimes so loud as to be distinctly audible many yards from the hive. When this is the case, a swarm may be expected either on the next day, or at latest within three days. The second swarm is not quite so chary of weather as the first ;- it was the old lady who exercised so much caution, disliking to leave home except in the best of summer weather. ‘ In some instances, owing to favourable breeding sea- sons and prolific queens, a third swarm issues from the 30 SWARMING. hive; this is termed a ‘‘colt:” and, in remarkable in- stances, even a fourth, which in rustic phrase is desig- nated a ‘filly.’ A swarm from a swarm is called a ‘maiden’ swarm, and, according to bee theory, will again have the old queen for its leader. The bee-master should endeavour to prevent his labourers from swarming more than once; his policy is rather to encourage the industrious gathering of honey, by keeping a good supply of ‘‘supers”’ on the hives. Sometimes, however, he may err in putting on the supers too early or unduly late, and the becs will then swarm a second time, instead of making use of the store- rooms thus provided. In such a case, the clever apiarian, having spread the swarm on the ground, will select the queen, and cause the bees to go back to the hive from whence they came. This operation requires an amount of apiarian skill which, though it may easily be attained, is greater than is usually possessed. Plate, ee, E WRobinson. Deltot 5ct 865, our readers into the way of keeping bees according to the most recent and approved methods, it requires but little apology for thus apparently deviating from our prescribed course, by devoting a small portion of our space to a description of the anatomy of the wonderful little creatures whose labours all our contrivances are intended to assist, and since it will at once be admitted that a knowledge of their habits is not only interesting to the bee-keeper, but enables him to conduct his apiary in accordance therewith. Of the insect tribe, the bee is certainly the most dis- tinguished ; with the exception of the silkworm, none can approach her in ministering to the wants, or rather to the luxuries, of the human family. The instinct bees possess for feeding on flowers, bringing home honey and 32 THE APIARY. + pollen, and secreting wax, entitles them to our close con- sideration of their structure and of the tools provided them by Nature for carrying on their handiwork. In a treatise of this kind, intended to be of a popular character, we shall endeavour to place these details before our readers in a concise and simple manner, avoiding as much as may be technical terms, and refer- ring those who wish to go more deeply into this branch of the subject to the works of Bonnet, Huber, Kirby and Spence, Dr. Bevan, &c. , In the course of our description, we shall frequently have to refer to the steel engravings, Plates I. and IL, drawn by Mr. E. W. Robinson, artist to the Entomo- logical Society of London, who has most carefully dis- sected bees we sent him for the purpose, subjected these dissections to the microscope, and skilfully produced the accompanying illustrations, which will so much assist us in our agreeable task. These delineations are so clear, that a little explanation will suffice to bring home to the understanding of the curious the component parts of the bee, and the uses to which the various members are applied. Because the bee is so small an insect, its organization ought not to be neglected to be investigated. ‘The bee is little among such as fly, but her fruit is the chief of sweet things.’””? The enlightened Boyle, when con- templating the wonders of Nature, declared that his asto- nishment had been more excited by the mite than by the ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 33 elephant ; and that his admiration dwelt ‘‘not so much on the clocks as on the watches of creation.’’* The figures 1, 2, and 3, Plate I, in the frontispiece, respectively represent the exterior forms of the queen, the worker, and the drone. They are thus coloured to illustrate the Yellow Italian Alp, or Ligurian bee, now deservedly held in such high estimation by bee- keepers, and of whose good qualities we shall, in a subsequent section of this work, have occasion more fully to treat. All the bees constituting a stock may not be of quite so bright a colour as those represented: the old bees differ in appearance from the younger ones ;— darkened bodies and ragged wings, not grey hairs and wrinkled faces, are the signs of old age; so that with bees (especially Ligurians), as with the gentler sex of the human race, there is appointed a period both of youth and beauty. The anatomical structure of our English bee is much the same as that of the Italian ;+ a description of the one will therefore serve for the other. The most apparent difference consists in the colour. The English bee is of a blackish brown ; both varieties have their bodies wholly covered with close-set hairs. These hairs deserve par- ticular attention, because, although so small, each hair is * Dr. Bevan. + Naturalists consider the Italian bee a very superior race, and that the various organs are stronger and of greater capa~ city ; it is, however, not easy to define the precise anatomical superiority. D 34 , THE APIARY. Jeather-shaped, consisting of a stem and branches some- what analogous to the feathers of birds. This form is extremely serviceable to the insect, when revelling in the corolla of flowers, to collect the farina, and, besides thus useful, is peculiarly adapted for retaining animal heat.* The insect is divided into three parts—the head, the thorax or chest, and the abdomen. ' The head of the queen (Plate L, fig. 1 c), as also that of the drone (Plate L, fig. 3 ¢), is rounder than that of the worker-bee. The latter (Plate I, fig. 2 ¢) is of a triangular shape, and much flattened, as in Plate I, fig. 2* ¢, which shows the side view. In common with other creatures, the head contains the inlet for nutrition, and is the seat of the principal organs of sensation. In the figures before alluded to may be seen the double visual apparatus with which bees are provided. The oval divisions on each side of the head are the two eyes, the secondary organs of vision being the three small eyes on the top of the head, called the ocellz. We shall first describe the two larger eyes, which, as seems to be the case with all insects, are immovable, and have neither irides nor pupils, nor eyelids to cover them, but are pro- tected from the dust or pollen of flowers by a number of small hairs, as well as by a horny tunicle, which defends and secures them from injury. The multitude of hexa- gonal lenses which compose the eye of a bee make it * « Naturalist’s Library.” ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 35 appear, when viewed through a microscope, exactly like honey-comb.* A German writer computes that in each eye there are 3,500 lenses. In Plate IIL., fig. 5 represents three of these hexagonal prisms or lenses, magnified. The construction of the eye for seeing objects best at a moderate distance will account for the fact that bees mount high up into the air after collecting their store of food, and then, having determined the point, no matter how far off, they fly homewards with the directness of a cannon ball, and alight at the door of their own habitation, though the country around may be crowded with hives: but on reaching the entrance, their vision appears defective, for they then feel their way with the antennez as if totally blind; and should the hive have been moved a little, they will rise again into the air to obtain a more distant view, suited to the lengthened focus of their sight. When a stock or swarm is brought from a distance, bees do not take their departure at once, but reconnoitre awhile, visiting surrounding objects so as to well know the spot again, in order to return thereto. The precise purpose or use of the three small eyes does not appear to be exactly known, except that they are intended to heighten the general sense of seeing which the creature so peculiarly requires. Some natural- ists suggest that they are to give a defensive vision upwards from the cups of flowers. * Dr. Bevan. 36 THE APIARFY. The mouth of the bee is a most complex structure, marvellously adapted for its duties, and consists of the mandibles, the ligula, or tongue, also called the pro- boscis, and other less important parts. The mandibles are the two sides of the upper jaw. Plate I, fig. 1 d, shows the mandible of the queen, which, similar to that of the drone (Plate I, fig. 3 2), is provided with two teeth, whilst the mandible of the worker (Plate L, fig. 2 d) is without teeth. The latter having to manipulate the wax with smoothness, the teeth would doubtless be objectionable. These mandibles are strong, horny, and sharp-pointed, to assist in breaking down food between them, and, in other respects, constitute serviceable tools with which to seize their enemies, destroy the drones, &c. The tongue (Plate IL, fig. 3), or proboscis, is a long, slender projection, flattish in form, and about the thick- ness of a bristle. It has about forty cartilaginous rings, each of which is fringed with minute hairs, having also a small tuft of hair at its extremity, where it is somewhat serrated. The tongue acts by rolling about, sweeping or lapping up, by means of the fringes around it, every- thing to which it is applied; thus, when a bee alights upon a flower, it pierces the petals and stamina, where the nectar is secreted, deposits its collection on the -tongue, which, when withdrawn into the mouth, propels the gathered material into the gullet (Plate L, fig. 2c) at its base, and from thence passes into the various internal organs, to which reference will be made hereafter. At ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 37 times, in building combs, the tongue is used as a trowel, with which the minute scales of wax are deposited in their appropriate places, and the desired finish is given to the cells. This organ was formerly described by naturalists as a hollow tube, but we now know, by dis- section, that this is not the case, but that it acts as a brush, and, by a peculiar muscular contraction externally, draws the liquid into the mouth. Thus, when a bee is imbibing food, the rings of the abdomen have a vibratory motion similar to pumping, showing to the casual observer that suction is rapidly going on in some form or other, | The labial palpi (Plate IL, fig. 30) rise from the base of each side of this lapping instrument, and are also ciliated exteriorly; outside these are the lower jaws, or maxilla (Plate IL, fig. 2 2), similarly provided with hairs. When the jaws (Plate IL, fig. 3 2 and 0) close on the tongue, they form a sheath or defence thereto. With the mandibles of the upper jaw opening right and left, and the maxillze or lower jaws, which serve to hold the object laboured upon, the insect prepares its work for the sweeping-up apparatus of the lower parts. Thus, when combs become mouldy, or in any way unfit recep- tacles for brood or honey, these tools provided by Nature serve the place of hands, and the bees are able to chop up in small pieces, and remove from their dwelling, what- ever lumber of this kind may be offensive to them, The whole of this apparatus, while perfect in action in an expanded state, can be folded or coiled together when 38 THE APIARY. not in use, so as to form one strong and well-protected instrument. The antennz (Plate L, figs. 1a, 2a, 3@,) are most im- portant instruments, and are planted between or below the eyes and a little below the ocelli, one on either side : they consist of a number of tubular joints, each having a separate motion; being thus jointed throughout their whole length, they are, therefore, capable of every variety of flexure, and their extremities are exquisitely sensitive. With the antenne, these insects recognise their queen, and appear to communicate to each other their joys and sorrows. For instance, if a colony be de- prived of its queen, bees may be seen rushing about the hive, and, with a nervous twinge, crossing their antenne and conveying the intelligence of their forlorn state. The sense of touch is here most acute. Huber points out a moonlight night as the best time for observing the antennze in this respect. The bees guarding against the intrusion of moths, and not having light enough to see fully, circumambulate their doors like vigilant senti- nels, with the antennze stretched right before them; and woe to the moth that comes within reach—the instant it is felt, its death follows. The sense of hearing has been denied bees, whilst others contend that these organs are situate in their antennze. The sounds which bees emit, particularly at swarming time, are conclusive that they possess this faculty; the only reason for arriving at an opposite conclusion seems to be, that no precise organ of -LVATOMY OF THE BEE. 39 hearing can be found. Naturalists are now more united in the opinion that the seat of hearing is here located. The antennze are said to have also another office, viz., that they act as a barometer, by which bees know the state of the weather and are premonished of storms; so that this pair of horns play an important part, since such useful faculties are thus combined. In the dark recesses of the hive the antenne are exceedingly serviceable, and may truly be denominated ‘eyes to the blind.”” Bees possess acutely the senses of taste and smell. In conse+ quence of their being detected occasionally lapping the impure liquids from stable or other foetid drains, Huber considered the former the least perfect of their senses. It is now ascertained that bees, like most animals, are fond of salt; and in spring, more especially, their instinct teaches them that salt is beneficial for their health after their winter confinement, and they therefore resort to dunghills and stagnant marshes, from which they are, doubtless, able to extract saline draughts. It cannot be denied, however, that, according to our ideas, bees’ taste is otherwise at fault; it sometimes happens that, where onions and leeks abound and are alidwed to run to seed, bees are so anxious to complete their winter stores, that, from feeding on these plants, a disagreeable flavour is‘communicated to the honey. Again, the fact, well known in history, re- lated by Xenophon in the retreat of the Ten Thousand, that bees in Asia Minor extracted honey from plants which: 49 THE APIARY, had not only a disagreeable but a poisonous tendency ta man, shows that it is quite possible, where such poisonous plants abound, for the bees to extract the juices without any injury to themselves. The sense of smell, so largely possessed by bees, is extremely serviceable to them. Attracted by the fra- grance of flowers, bees may be seen winging their way a considerable distance in an undeviating course, even sometimes in the face of weather which one might have thought they would not have braved. The thorax or chest approaches in figure to a sphere, and is united to the head by a thread-like ligament. This is the centre of the organs of motion. Here are attached both the muscles that move the legs and wings, and the legs and wings themselves. In Plate IL, fig. 1, 4, 4, 6, show the muscles that move the wings; ¢, e, the bases of the wings. The wings consist of two pairs of unequal size, which are hooked tooneanother. In Plate L, fig. a, will be seen the margins of the twowings. In fig. B are the eighteen or twenty hooks placed on the anterior margin of the hinder wing, whilst the posterior margin of the fore wing is beautifully folded over to receive them, so that, when distended for flying, the two wings on each side act as one to steady their movements in flight. The bee has six legs, three on either side. Each leg is composed of several joints, having articulations ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 41 like a man’s arm, for the thigh, the leg, and the foot. The foremost pair of these are the shortest ; with them. the bee unloads the little pellets from the baskets on her thighs: the middle pair are somewhat longer, and the hindmost the longest of all. On the outside of the middle joint of these last there is, in each leg, a small cavity, in the form of a marrow spoon, called the ‘‘pollen basket.’’ In Plate L, fig. 2 4 shows the inner side of the hind leg and pollen brush ; 2 4*, same figure, the outer side and pollen basket. The legs are covered with. hairs, more particularly the edges of the cavity mentioned, in which the kneaded: pollen requires to be maintained securely. In this they convey those loads of pollen which are so constantly seen carried into a hive. This basket, or pollen groove, in the thigh is peculiar to the worker ; neither queen nor drone have anything of the kind. Another provision of the bee’s limbs consists in a pair of hooks attached to each foot, with their points opposite to each other, by means of which the bees suspend themselves from the roof or sides of hives, and. cling to each other as they do at swarming time or prior to and during the formation of new comb, thus forming a living curtain. In these circumstances, each bee, with its two fore claws, takes hold of the two hinder legs of the one next above it. This mode of suspension is, no doubt, agreeable to 42 THE APIARY. them, although the uppermost bees appear to be dragged by the weight of the whole. Wildman sup- posed that bees had a power of distending themselves with air, to acquire buoyancy, and thus lessen the burden of the topmost bees. They find no difficulty in extricating themselves from the mass; the most central of the group can make its way without en- dangering the stability of the grape-like cluster. Bees are able to walk freely in an inverted position, either on glass or other slippery substances. The peculiar mechanism of their feet, which enables them to do so, consists in their having in the middle of each hook a thin membranous little cup or sucker that is alternately exhausted and filled with air. Flies have the same beautiful apparatus—hence a fly com- monly selects the ceiling for a resting-place. These little air-cups, or exhausted receivers, may be seen by applying a strong magnifying-glass to a window that has a bee traversing the reverse side. The edges of these little suckers are serrated, so as to close “against any kind of surface to which their legs may be applied. This apparatus may be also serviceable for gathering the pollen before transmitting it to the baskets on the hind legs. Besides these appendages and appa- ratus of the thorax, that region is traversed by the cesophagus or gullet (the opening to which will be found in Plate I, fig. 2 ¢), on its way to the digestive and other organs, situate in the third part of the insect— ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 43 viz., the abdomen. The covering of the thorax, with the external covering of the gullet, may be seen in the drawing of the magnified dissected body of the bee (Plate II., fig. 1). The breathing apparatus of bees is a very remarkable feature: they have no lungs, but, instead, air-vessels or tubes, ramifying through every part of the frame. These openings, called ‘‘spiracles,’’ are found in the sides of their bodies, behind the wings. Two of the openings are located in the thorax, and one on: each side of the scales of the abdomen. These air-vessels would be difficult to show in a draw- ing, the multitude of hairs which protect them are in the way of getting at a very distinct delineation. The writer has traced their oval form by the aid of Messrs. Smith and Beck’s ‘‘ Binocular Microscope,’’ and exceedingly interesting objects they appeared. From the circum- stance of bees breathing through these orifices in their bodies, it will not be difficult to understand how sadly the little creatures must be inconvenienced when, by accident, they fall on loose mould, and thus have their breathing ~ pores choked with dust: it also shows how needful it is to prevent bees being besmeared with honey (by using bad appliances for feeding), which is still more injurious to them. These air-vessels are the only real circu- lating system, as bees have neither lungs, heart, liver, nor blood. It appears, however, that a white fluid matter, called “‘chyle,’’ which, in degree, answers the purpose 44 THE APIARY. of blood, is produced in the intestines, nourishes the body, receives the oxygen from the air-vessels, and gene- rates that animal warmth so necessary for the insect’s well-being. Bees have the power of counteracting super- abundant heat by perspiration. Not unfrequently, on a hot summer’s morning, a good deal of moisture may be noticed at the entrance of a crowded hive, which the inmates have been enabled to throw off. This is a healthy sign, because a sign of great numerical strength. The abdomen, attached to the posterior part of the thorax by a slender ligament, has, for an outer covering, six folds or scales of unequal breadth, overlapping each other, and contains the honey-bag, or first stomach, the ventricle, or true stomach (Plate IL, figs. 1 and 2), with other intestines, to be hereafter referred to. The honey-bag (Plate IL, figs. 1 and 2, d) is an enlargement of the gullet, and, although called the first stomach, no digestion takes place here. In shape it is like a taper oil flask ; when full, it is about the size of a small pea, and so transparent that the colour of the honey may be seen through it. This sac, as it is sometimes called, is susceptible of contraction, and so organized as to enable the bee to disgorge a part of its contents at pleasure, to fill the honey-cells of the hive. It has formed a subject of some controversy whether any or what change takes place in the nectar of flowers whilst in the bee’s stomach. A short passage (Plate IL, figs. 1 and 2, 7) leads to the ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 45 ventricle or true stomach, which is somewhat larger. This receives the food from the honey-bag, for the nourish- ment of the bee and the secretion of wax. The stomach, like the honey-bag, has a considerable number of muscles, which are brought into play to help the digestive and other organs. The biliary vessels (Plate IL, figs. 1 and 2, h, h) receive the chyle from the digested food in the stomach, which from thence is conveyed to all parts of the body for its support. Formerly, naturalists thought that wax was elaborated from pollen ; but it is now fully known that it is the ani- mal fat of the bees, and to produce it requires a con- siderable consumption of honey to supply the drain upon the system. Whilst this secretion is going on, bees keep themselves very still. In order to pass through the pores of the abdomen, the wax is, no doubt, a liquid oily matter, which, on making its appearance outside the abdominal rings, thickens, and exudes from under the four medial rings, in flakes like fish scales, one on either side ; so that there are eight of these secreting cavities, which are peculiar to the worker: they are not found either in the queen or drone. The shape of these cavities is that of an irregular pentagon, and the plates of wax, being moulded in them, exhibit accordingly the same form (see Plate IL, fig. 5, w). No direct channel of communication between the stomach and these receptacles, or wax-pockets, has yet been discovered; but Huber conjectures that the secret- 46 | THE APIARY. ing vessels are contained in the membrane which lines these receptacles, and which is covered with a reticula- tion of hexagonal meshes, analogous to the inner coat of the second stomach of ruminant quadrupeds. The little plates of wax are withdrawn by the bee itself, with its hind feet, carried to the mouth with its fore feet, where the wax is made soft and ductile. When a cluster or swarm is placed in a new hive, and the bees suspend themselves in the form of a garland, as before described, it seems feasible that the lower bees pass their secretions up the living ladder to the uppermost ones, to be moulded by them into those beautiful white hexagonal shapes of which new comb is composed. The rapidity with which comb-building progresses at such times would lead to the supposition that there is a division of labour of this kind among them, just as our labourers convey building material to the artisan on the scaffold above. This work of comb-building is carried forward in warm weather ; a cold temperature interferes with the secre- tion of wax. — The last important organ of the abdomen is the sting : this small but effective weapon is situate close to the stomach, and is found in the queen and worker, but is absent in the drone. Our engraving (Plate II., fig. 4) exhibits the sting of the worker-bee, with its muscles and attachments : + shows the muscles that move the sting, and g the curved base of the sheath that encloses the sting. ANATOMY OF THE BEE. 47 Much beautiful mechanism is observed on a microscopic examination of this weapon and its appendages, so powerful in comparison with their bulk. The sting is composed of three separate portions, 7. ¢., two sheaths (as seen in Plate IL, fig. 4) and the barb. The sheaths, which are attached to the powerful muscles on either side at s, are first protruded in the act of stinging, and, clasping the barb, enables the insect to bury it in the flesh to the depth of one-twelfth of an inch; at the same time, by a muscular contraction, the poison is forced along the groove, and the barb enters the wound, causing the well-known painful effects which arise from the sting of a bee. : The darts composing this instrument are furnished with teeth or barbs, set obliquely on their outer side, which give it the appearance of an arrow, and by which it is retained in the wound until the poison has been ejected. If the sufferer could only command himself so as to remain perfectly passive, the bee might be able to draw in these barbs which protrude. beyond the sheath, and would then have a chance of withdrawing the sting : the little insect would consequently inflict less pain, and might perhaps escape paying the penalty of her life. It generally happens, however, that the excitement of both parties is so great, that the poor bee leaves behind the whole apparatus, and even part of her intestines, $o that her death is the result, and the wound is more 48 THE APIARY. severe. The sting is about the sixth» part of an inch long, and is largest at the base. Here are situated the glands or ducts (Plate IL, fig. 4, z). By these the poison is secreted, and passed into the poison-bag (Plate IL, fig. 4, 7), which acts as a reservoir for retaining it till required. On the subject of the sting, Paley remarks :—‘‘ The action of the sting affords a beautiful example of the union of chemistry and mechanism: of chemistry, in respect to the venom, which in so small a quantity can produce such powerful effects; of mechanism, as the sting is not a simple, but a compound instrument. The machinery would have been comparatively useless had it not been for the chemical process, by which, in the insect’s body, honey is converted into poison; and, on the other hand, the poison would have been ineffectual without an instrument to wound, and a syringe to inject the fluid.”’ As before stated, the drone has no sting, but, in place thereof, the organs of reproduction. And now, in con- cluding this section, we would remark the wonderful mechanism and finish all the works of the Great Master Builder unfold. In the works of man we see, perhaps, a piece of mechanism of unquestioned beauty and excel- lence ; but there is a bolt here or screw there that might have been dispensed with, and does not possess any defi- nite use, whilst in the works of Nature everything has a place; we may not at once comprehend the exact ANATOMY OF THE BEL: 49 ‘purpose of some intricate parts, but that only implies that we have not made a thorough investigation. The most minute hair serves its required end. ‘‘ Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out ‘the Almighty unto perfection? ”’ II—MODERN BEE-HIVES. NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. VQHE late Mr. Nutt, author of “Humanity to: 4? Honey Bees,”’ may be regarded as a pioneer of modern apiarians ; we therefore select his hive where- with to begin a description of those we have confidence in recommending. Besides, an account of Mr. Nutt’s hive will necessarily include references to the various. principles which subsequent inventors have kept in view. Nutt’s Collateral Hive consists of three boxes placed side by side (c, a, c), with an octagonal box 8 on the top, which covers a bell-glass. Each of the three boxes is _ nine inches high, nine inches wide, and eleven inches. from back to front. Thin wooden partitions, in which . six or seven openings corresponding with each other are made, divide these compartments, so that free access from one box to the other is afforded to the bees; this communication is stopped, when necessary, by a zinc NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. SI slide passing down between each box. The octagonal cover B is about ten inches in diameter and twenty high, including the sloping octagonal roof, surmounted with an acorn as a finish. There are two large windows’ in each of the end boxes, and one in. the centre box. Across the latter is a thermometer, scaled and marked, so as to be an easy guide to the bee-master, showing him, by the rise in temperature, the increased accommo- dation required ; this thermometer is a fixture, the indi- cating part being protected by two pieces of glass, to prevent the bees from coming between it and the win- dow, and thereby obstructing the view. Dp are ventilators. In the centre of each of the end E2 52 THE APIARF. boxes is a double zinc tube, reaching down a little below the middle : the outer tube is a casing of plain zinc, with holes, about a quarter of an inch wide, dispersed over it ; the inside one is of perforated zinc, with’ openings so small as to prevent the escape of the bees; a flange or rim keeps the tubes suspended through a hole made to receive it. The object in having double tubing is to allow the inner one to be drawn up, and the perforations to be opened by pricking out the wax, or rather the propolis, with which bees close all openings in their hives. These tubes admit a thermometer, enclosed in a cylindrical glass, to be occasionally inserted during the gathering season; it requires to be left in the tube for about a quarter of an hour, and on its withdrawal, if found indicating ninety degrees or more, ventilation must be adopted to lower the temperature. The orna- mental zinc top p must be left raised, and is easily kept in that position by putting the perforated part a little on one side. The boxes before described are placed on a raised double floor-board, extending the whole length—viz., about thirty-six inches. “The floor-board projects a few inches in front. In the centre is the entrance (as our engraving only shows the back of the hive, we must imagine it on the other side) ; it is made by cutting a sunken way, of about half an inch deep and three inches wide, in the floor-board, communicating only with the middle box; it is through this entrance alone that the NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. 53 bees find their way into the hive, access to the end boxes and the super being obtained from the inside. An alighting-board is fitted close under the entrance, for the bees to settle upon when returning laden with honey. This alighting-board is removable for the convenience of packing. The centre, or stock-box a, called by Mr. Nutt the Pavilion of Nature, is the receptacle for the swarm. For stocking this, it will be necessary to tack the side tins so as to close the side openings in the partition, and to tack some perforated zinc over the holes at top; the swarm may then be hived into it just the same as with a common hive. A temporary bottom board may be used if the box has to be sent any distance, or a cloth may be tied round to close the bottom (the latter plan is best, because allowing plenty of air) ; and when brought home at night, the bees being clustered at the top, the cloth or temporary bottom must be re- moved, the box gently placed on its own floor-board, and the hive set in the place it is permanently to occupy. E E are two block fronts, which open with a hinge. A semicircular hole, three inches long and two inches wide in the middle, is cut in the upper bottom-board, imme- diately under the window of each box; these apertures are closed by separate perforated zinc slides. These blocks, when opened, afford a ready means of reducing the temperature of the side boxes, a current of air being quickly obtained, and are also useful for allowing the bees to throw out any retuse. 54 THE APIARY. The centre r is a drawer, in which is a feeding- trough, so constructed that the bees can descend through the opening before mentioned on to a false bottom of perforated zinc. Liquid food is easily poured in by pull- ing out the drawer a little way; the bees readily come down on to the perforated zinc, and take the food by inserting their probosces through the perforations, with no danger of being drowned. Care must be exer- cised that the food is not given in such quantity as to come above the holes; by this means; each hive has a supply of food accessible only to the inmates, with no possibility, when closely shut in, of attracting robber-bees from other hives. The exterior of these hives is wed? painted with two coats of lead colour, covered with two coats of green, and varnished. Notwithstanding this preservation, it is absolutely essential to place such a hive under a shed or cover of some sort, as the action of the sun and rain is likely to decay the wood, whilst the extreme heat of a summer sun might cause the combs to fall from their foundations. Neat and tasteful sheds may be erected, either of zinc supported by iron or wooden rods, or a thatched roof may be sustained in the same manner, and will form a pretty addition to the flower-garden. When erecting a covering, it will be well ~ make it a NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. 55 -foot or two longer, so as to allow of a cottage hive on either side, as the appearance of the whole is much im- proved by such an arrangement. The following directions, with some adaptation, are from ‘“ Nutt on Honey-Bees ’’:—: ‘*In the middle box the bees are to be first placed : in it they should first construct their beautiful combs, and under the government of one sovereign, the mother of the hive, carry on their curious work, and display their astonishing architectural ingenuity. In this box, the regina of the colony, surrounded by her industrious, happy, humming subjects, carries on the propagation of her species, deposits in the cells prepared for the pur- pose by the other bees thousands of eggs, though she seldom deposits more than one egg in a cell at a time: these eggs are nursed up into a numerous progeny by the other inhabitants of the hive. It is at this time, when hundreds of young bees are daily coming into existence, that the collateral boxes are of the utmost importance, both to the bees domiciled in them and to their proprietors ; for when the brood become perfect bees in a common cottager’s hive, a swarm is the necessary consequence. The queen, accompanied by a vast number of her sub- jects, leaves the colony, and seeks some other place in which to carry on the work Nature has assigned her. - But as swarming may, by proper precaution and atten- tion to this mode of management, generally be pre- -wented, it is good practice to do so, because the time 56 THE APIARY. necessarily required to establish a new colony, even sup- posing the cottager succeeds in saving the swarm, would otherwise be employed in collecting honey, and in enriching the old hive. Here, then, is one of the features of this plan—viz., ¢he prevention of swarming. The period when symptoms of swarming begin to present them- selves may be known by an unusual noise,’ the appear- ance of more than common activity among the bees in the middle box, and, above all, by a sudden rise of tem- perature, which will be indicated by the. quicksilver in the thermometer rising to seventy-five degrees, as scaled on the thermometer in the box; when these symptoms are apparent, the bee-master may conclude that addi- tional space is required. The top sliding tin should now be withdrawn from under the bell-glass, which will open _ to the bees a new store-room ; this they will soon occupy, and fill with combs and honey of pure whiteness, if the weather be favourable for their uninterrupted labour. It may be well here to mention, that if the glass have a small piece of clean worker comb attached to the perforated ventilating tube, the bees will more speedily commence their operations in it. "When the glass is nearly filled, which in a good season will be in a very short space of time, the bees will again require increased accommoda- tion; this will also be indicated by the thermometer further rising to eighty-five degrees. The end box, as thereon marked, must now be given them. Previously to: drawing up a slide to enlarge their crowded house, the NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. 57 manager should carefully take off the empty end box he intends to open to them, and thoroughly cleanse it, and then smear or dress the inside of it with a little liquid honey. Thus prepared, he must return the box to its proper situation, and then withdraw the sliding tin that hitherto has cut it off from the middle box; by so doing, the store-room is again enlarged. The bees will com- mence operations in this new apartment. This simple operation, performed at the proper time, generally pre- vents swarming ; by it the queen gains a vast addition to her dominions, and, consequently, increasing space for the multiplying population of her domicile. Provided the weather continue fine, and the thermometer has risen to ninety-five degrees, as marked on the scale, the remain- ing tin may be also withdrawn, thereby giving the bees admittance to another box. There is now no lack of store-rooms or of employment for our indefatigable labourers. The cylinder thermometer is required to be occasionally dropped into the ventilating tube of the side boxes to ascertain their temperature; for, if exceeding or approaching that of the middle box, it must be reduced by ventilating : this is done by raising the zinc tops, to allow the air to pass through the perforations. The grand object of this system is to keep the end boxes and the bell-glass cooler than the pavilion or middle box, so as to induce the queen to propagate her species there and there only, and not in the depriving part of the hive; by this means the side and upper combs are 58 THE APIARY. in no way discoloured by brood. The queen requires a considerable degree of warmth; the middle box does not require more ventilation than the additional openings afiord. The bees enjoy coolness in the side boxes, and thereby the whiteness and purity of the luscious store are increased. After the foregoing directions for the working of the hive, it remains to be told how to obtain possession of the store, and to get rid of our industrious tenants from the super and end boxes, of which the super glass will be almost sure to be filled first, having been first given to them. The operation of taking honey is best performed in the middle of a fine sunny day. The mode we prefer is as follows :—Pass an ordinary table-knife all round underneath the rim of the glass, to loosen the cement, properly called propolis; then take a piece of fine wire, -or a piece of string will do, and, having hold of the two ends, draw it under the glass very slowly, so as to allow the bees to get out of the way. Having brought the string through, the glass is now separated from the hive ; but it is as well to leave the glass in its place for an hour -or so; the commotion of the bees will then have subsided: and another advantage we find is, that the bees suck up the liquid and seal up the cells broken by the cutting off. You can then pass underneath the glass two pieces of tin or zinc; the one may be the proper slide to prevent ‘the inmates of the hive coming out at the apertures, the other tin keeps all the bees in the glass close prisoners. NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. 59 After having confined the bees in the glass for a short time, you must see whether they manifest symptoms of uneasiness, because, if they do not, it may be concluded ‘that the queen is among them. In such a case, replace the glass, and recommence the operation on a future day. It is not often that her majesty is in the depriving hive or glass; but this circumstance does sometimes happen, and the removal at such a time must be avoided. When the bees that are prisoners run about in great confusion and restlessness, the operator may conclude that the queen is absent, and that all is right. The glass may be taken away a little distance off, and placed in a flower-pot or other receptacle, where it will be safe when inverted and the tin taken away: the bees will then be glad to make their escape back to their hive. A little tapping at the sides of the glass will render their tarriance uncomfortable, and the glass may then be taken into a darkened room or out-house, with only a small aperture admitting light, which must be open; the bees, like all insects, make towards the light, -and so escape. The bee-master should brush them off with a feather from the comb as they can be reached ; but on no account, if there are many bees, should the glass be left, because the bees that are in the glass will gorge themselves to their full, and speedily bring a host of others from the adjacent hives, who, in a very little time, would leave only the empty combs. It is truly marvellous how soon they will carry all the store back 60 THE APIARYF. again, if allowed to do so. An empty glass should be put on to the hive in place of the full one, as it will attract the bees up, thereby preventing the too close crowding of the hive; and, if the summer be not too far advanced, they will work more honeycomb in it. The removal of the end boxes is a somewhat similar process, but they should on no account be taken away. at the same time as the glass, or, indeed, at a time when any other hive is being—rodded we were going to say, for it is robbery to the bees: they intended the honey for their winter food, and are much enraged at being deprived of it. First shut down the dividing tin ; the bees in the end box are now prisoners separated from the hive ; keep them so half an hour, and then take away the box bodily to another part of the garden, or into the dark out-house, as before recommended. It may not be out of place here to say something respecting the enthusiastic inventor of the collateral hive—Thomas Nutt—who was an inhabitant of Spalding, in Lincolnshire. Having been disabled during a con- siderable period by rheumatic fever, he devoted all his attention to bees, at a time when bee-culture was but little valued ; and, although it must be admitted that two boxes were used side by side long before Mr. Nutt’s day, still it is due to him to state that the adop- tion of three boxes was entirely his own idea, and that, so far as he then knew, the collateral system was his original invention. His statements have been NUTT’S COLLATERAL HIVE. 61 severely criticised, and it does appear almost incredible that the weight of honey which he names could have been produced in one season. But as in the district where he lived there is grown an immense quantity of mustard seed—the flowers of which afford excel- lent forage for bees—the honey harvests there would, doubtless, be very large. If Mr. Nutt has given his little favourites too much praise, it will be only charitable now to account for his statements by an excess of zeal and enthusiasm in this his study of bee-culture. It may be that the golden harvests he spoke and wrote of have been so far useful that they have induced many to com- mence bee-keeping, some of whom, whilst they con- demned his statements, have themselves written really useful and practical works on the subject, which other- wise might possibly never have appeared. As the monks of old kept the lamp of religion burning, however dimly, until a more enlightened age, so Thomas Nutt may have assisted in a somewhat similar manner by energetically propounding his views, and thereby causing other api- arians to rise up, whose names are now as familiar to us as household words, and whose works posterity will value. The writer of these pages has often accom- panied Mr. Nutt on his visits to his patrons in the neighbourhood of London, and seen him perform his operations regardless of the anger of the bees, and free from all fear of their stings. He often expatiated on the cruelty of the brimstone match and suffocation, denounc- 62: THE APIARY. ing the barbarous custom in the following terms : ‘ You. may as well kill the cow for her milk, or the hen for her ~ eggs, as the bee for its honey ; why continue to light the fatal match, when every cottager in England has the | means of saving this most useful and valuable insect ? ’’ NEIGHBOUR’S IMPROVED SINGLE BOX HIVE. We have introduced the ‘“‘ Single Box Hive’’ to suit. . the convenience of those who, though desirous of keep- ing bees on the improved principle, do not wish to incur the expense or devote the space which is necessary for Nutt’s hive. NEIGHBOUR'S SINGLE BOX HIVE. 63: It consists of a lower or stock-box a, eleven inches square, nine inches deep, with. three large windows, a thermometer p, as in Nutt’s, being fixed across the front one, protected at the sides by strips.of glass, to prevent the bees obscuring the quicksilver from sight. B isa cover’ the same size as the lower hive, large enough to allow space for a bell-glass nine inches wide, six inches deep. E is the ventilator between the glass and the stock-hive, in- tended to prevent the queen travelling into the super hive, and also, by cooling the hive, to endeavour to prevent swarming ; asloping pagoda roof, with an acorn top, com- pletes the upper story. A floor-board with a block front, as in Nutt’s collateral, forms the base, the entrance being sunk, as before described, and furnished with zinc slides to reduce or close it as may be required. To stock a hive of this description, it is necessary to send the stock- box to the party with whom you have agreed-for the supply of a swarm. In the evening of the day the hive. is thus tenanted, remove it to the position it is designed permanently to occupy ; if the swarm has to be procured’ from a distance, and is transported by rail or other con- veyance, a perforated zinc slide should be substituted for the plain slide that covers the top, and a large piece ot perforated zinc must also be tacked to the bottom after’ the swarm has settled in. Thus securely confined, with a free circulation of air throughout, bees that have been: swarmed the day before may be safely sent any distance- that will allow of their being released the day after; 64 THE APIARY. because bees, though they provision themselves for a couple of days, cannot with safety be confined in an empty hive much longer. Having now, we will suppose, procured your swarm, and placed it in a south or south-east aspect, you may, with advantage if the weather be wet, give a little liquid food : the feeding in this hive is performed at the top of the stock-box, where the glass is worked. Our round feeding pan, or the new feeding bottle, may here be used. Any fancy as to the position may be indulged in, but must be settled on by the time the bees are set at liberty, because any alteration afterwards is detrimental to the working of the hive. The bees, on first issuing forth, carefully mark their new abode and the surround- ing objects, so that, if a change be made, they are com- pletely thrown out in their observations, which confuses them not a little, and occasions loss. Bees always return to the same spot; it is the locality that they know, and if the hive is moved a less distance than a mile, thousands return to the spot on which the hive has been accustomed to stand. : Allow your bees to collect honey and build their combs for ten days or a fortnight. Much now depends on the weather ; if fine, by this time they will require additional room, which will be indicated by the thermometer D rapidly rising; 100 degrees is the swarming point. The hive must be kept below this by ventilation. Access must now be given to the flat bell-glass at the TAYLOR'S SHALLOW BOX-HIVE. 65 ‘top, which is done by withdrawing the top slide. Ina few hours, sometimes immediately, the work of comb- building begins in the glass—all the sooner, if a piece of clean empty comb be placed therein. It is of service to keep the glass warm by means of a worsted or baize bag; it prevents the temperature from falling at night, when much comb-building is carried on, providing the heat is not allowed to escape. Probably, if all goes on well, in three weeks the glass will be found filled with fine white honey-comb. When you find that the comb is well sealed up, it is time to take it off; but if the cells are unfilled and unsealed, let the labourers complete their work—a little experience will soon enable the bee-keeper to determine this point. The plan to be adopted for taking glasses of honey-. comb is the same as described for Nutt’s hive. TAYLOR’S AMATEUR SHALLOW BOX OR EIGHT-BAR HIVE. Taylor’s Amateur Hive, as seen by reference to the engraving, consists of three boxes—the lower one, a, is the stock-box, in which the swarm is first placed; B is the first super ; and c, the centre box : all three boxes are of the same diameter, viz., thirteen and a half inches square inside. a, the stock-box, is seven and a half inches deep ; 8, six and a half inches: both are fitted with eight moveable bars, each bar being one inch and an eighth wide, with spaces of half an inch between, and all F 66 THE APIARY. easily removed by unscrewing the crown-board, in which’ are two openings closed by zinc slides. The middle box, c, has no bars, and is still shallower than either of the en i i : le other boxes, being five inches deep. In many localities and seasons, the third box may not be required. Each box has two windows, one at the back and another at the side, a zinc shutter, sliding in a groove, excluding TAYLOR'S SHALLOW BOX-HIVE. 67 light and retaining warmth. The box c differs from the others in another respect; instead of bars, it has a grating made by seven openings, each half an inch wide and nine inches long : these three boxes stand on a stout floor-board, in which is cut the entrance way, four inches wide and three-eighths of an inch high. The floor-board projects so as to support an outer cover of half-inch wood, surmounted by a sloping roof. This is an effectual protec- tion from the weather, and is necessary when hives are exposed ; of course, if placed in a bee-house, such pro- tection may be dispensed with. The outer case is well painted, of a green colour, and when it is used the hive may be placed in any part of the garden. The dimen- sions of this hive, with outside cover, are eighteen inches square, and two feet six inches high. Suitable stands are provided, consisting of a stout pedestal with four feet. Stakes should be driven into the ground to secure the whole against wind. Height from the ground, four feet three inches. . The bars before alluded to are for the purpose of inducing the bees to build parallel combs, for without such an arrangement extraction would be impossible. It is a great convenience, in many ways, to be able to take out a bar of comb; it gives such a complete control over the hive. To ensure comb-building on the bars, pieces of clean worker-comb should always be carefully preserved; and before a swarm is put in, either every bar or, if F 2 68 THE APIARY. guide comb is not plentiful, every other bar should have a piece fixed to it in the following manner :—Cut a piece of clean empty comb of the required size, say two inches square, not less; heat a common flat iron, with which slightly warm the bar ; then melt a little bees’-wax upon it; draw the comb quickly over the heated iron, hold it down on the centre of the bar, giving a very slight movement backwards and forwards ; then leave the wax to grow cold, and, if cleverly managed, the guide will be found firmly attached. Care must be taken that the pitch or inclination of the comb be the same as it is in the hives—upwards from the centre of each comb. A new plan has lately been introduced by Mr. Woodbury, of Exeter, to facilitate the correct construction of parallel combs. / NEIGHBOUR’S IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE, Our Improved Cottage Hive is neatly made of straw, bound with cane, and therefore very durable.* The lower hive is covered with a wooden top, having in it three holes, through which the bees convey their honey into three middle-sized bell glasses with ventilators, * This is the hive referred to by the Bee-Master of the Times, when he says:—‘‘ The second kind of hive I alluded to is made of straw, and may be purchased at Neighbour’s, in Holborn... . It is so well made that it will last very long. I have had one in constant use during ten years, and it is still as good as when it was bought.” e IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE. 69 which, when filled, hold about 6 lbs. each. There is a hoop at the bottom, another round the top of the lower hive ; to this the wooden crown-board is fastened. These hoops are a great improvement, and are less liable to harbour insects than if straw alone were used. The floor-board, as its name implies, is a wooden board one and a quarter inch thick, with a projection of three or four inches under the entrance to form an alighting place. This entrance is cut out of, or sunk in, the board. There are three windows in the lower hive, each closed with a shutter ; these are very useful and interesting for inspecting the progress made. Across the centre window is a thermometer, enclosed at the sides by slips of glass. The window shutters being painted green, add very much to its appearance. The upper hive, which is merely a cover for the glasses, is a conical- 70 THE APIARY. topped hive, also made of straw bound with cane; a hoop is worked into the straw, and made sufficiently large to allow the cover to drop over the top hoop of the lower hive, keeping the whole close, and preventing wet from drifting in. A zinc ventilator, ornamentally painted, forms the apex: this is useful in letting the confined hot air pass away in warm weather. The ven- tilator is opened by raising it. The dimensions of the lower or stock-hive are fifteen inches diameter, nine and a half inches deep outside; its weight, when empty, seven anda half pounds. The cover, or top hive, is twelve inches deep and fifteen inches in diameter; the orna- mental zinc top being four inches deep. The whole is about twenty-four inches high. The weight of a hive packed, including glasses, &c., is about 18 lbs. These hives have a tasteful appearance in the garden, but they require some further protection from the weather in the form of a cover or of a bee-house—contrivances that have yet to be described. In extreme cold weather, a little additional protection, by having matting folded round them, will be advisable. One of the advantages this hive has over the common cottage hive is, that it affords opportunity for the humane management of bees. The owner has also the power of taking a glass of honey-comb of pure quality, free from the extraneous matter known as ‘ bee-bread,’’ instead of combs that are darkened by having brood hatched in them. By this system, we have combs newly made and IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE. 7i used only for depositing the honey first put into them ; hence the name ‘‘virgin honey.’ These glasses have a very pretty appearance, and, when nicely filled, are very convenient for home use or for making presents. The lower hive is the receptacle for the bees; when a swarm is placed in this hive, they immediately proceed to fill it with combs, in which to store honey for themselves, and for cells to breed in. This hive remains undisturbed. The best mode of tenanting a hive of this description is by placing an early and strong swarm in it, which may be generally procured of a neighbouring bee- keeper ; if from a distance, considerable care is necessary to admit plenty of air; the shaking attendant upon carriage irritates the bees so much, that, if not well venti- lated, there is danger of the swarm being stifled, and the finer the swarm, the greater the danger. For the purpose of ventilation, remove the slides and substitute perforated zinc, wrapping the hive up in a coarse cloth of open texture (dispensing with the floor-board during transit when the distance is great). It is necessary only to send the lower or stock hive to the party furnishing the swarm, taking the precaution to fix the slides at top with tacks, as the hive has to be in- verted to receive the bees. They are shaken into it in the usual manner,* as they cluster around the branch of the tree or shrub on which they may have chosen to * Sometimes swarms alight on trunks of trees or on walls, where it may be difficult to shake or brush them off. In the Sournal of Horticulture, Mr. Woodbury mentions an instance of 72 THE APIARY. alight. After the hiving is accomplished, the hive should be left near to catch any’stragglers, for there will‘always be a few; towards evening, close the entrance, and remove them to the exact position they are intended. permanently to occupy. Success depends on this, and also on their careful removal on the day or evening of swarming. The following morning the bees labour in the new location, marking well their habitation before they take flight, and to which they will not fail to return, loaded with luscious store. A fortnight must be allowed for filling the stock-hive ; then, if the weather be fine and warm, they will prepare to swarm again, as will be indicated by the thermometer rising rapidly to 100 degrees or upwards. One of the zinc slides on the wooden top must now be withdrawn, and a bell-glass put on, covered and protected by the upper hive; the other glasses may then be given in the same manner, a day or two after which, should the weather continue favourable, all signs of swarming will at once disappear, the bees now having increased store this kind, which he experienced last summer :—‘‘ A swarm clus- tered among the large branches of a pear-tree, just at their point of union with the trunk. In this case he merely supported a straw hive just over the swarm with the left hand, whilst he struck the trunk of the tree with the open palm of the right. The vibration thus produced sent the bees up into the hive with great rapidity, and the entire swarm was speedily hived in the most satisfactory manner.” A few whiffs of smoke will accelerate upward movement of swarms in such circumstances. IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE. 73 room, which they will readily fill with comb. It is often found useful to attach a piece of clean empty honey- comb to the ventilating tube of the glass ; it is an attrac- tion, and induces the bees to commence working in it sooner than they otherwise would do. The ventilator should always remain open during the day, to allow the hot air to pass away from the interior, thereby con- tributing to the whiteness and beauty of the work; the bees enjoy the refreshment of coolness thereby afforded, and they work the faster for it. At evening, all ventila- tion should be stopped, and the glasses wrapped round with flannel or some warm material, for the reasons mentioned at page 65. The directions for taking honey are much the same as ° before mentioned. Some apiarians, however, consider that deprivation is more easily accomplished by discon- necting the super over night, in the manner described at page 58. The bee-keeper, equipped with bee-dress and gloves, must first raise the glass of comb, and, blowing a little smoke to intimidate and drive back the bees, wedge it up all round, an inch or so from the crown-board, by means of three or four blocks, thus to remain all night. This operation is best performed a little before dusk. Bees are then less likely to come out, and if they should do so, will speedily return. The opening in the crown- board remains uncloseq, to afford the bees the oppor- tunity of descending, and joining the stock-hive below, which they will naturally do for warmth. The upper 74 THE APIARY. straw-hive, or cover for the glasses, is better placed on for the night, Early in the following morning, before the bees are much about, the super will be ready for removal. The few bees that remain within may be speedily induced to quit, and will fly to the en- trance. The slides covering the holes in the crown- board must be inserted, or an empty glass can be put on, to take the full one’s place. A slide seven and a half inches square is furnished with the hive; this is useful to remove the glass upon. The holes in the wooden top of this hive are of a peaked shape, to act as a preventive against slaughtering any bees whilst pushing the slide in for the purpose of removing the glass when full. The tacks before alluded to should be removed from the slides when the hive is fixed in its place; they are now in the way of cutting off the glass. The entrance slide is very serviceable during the winter months, to lessen the passage way, thereby’ preventing the admission of too much cold air: it is also occasionally useful on a summer evening, to lessen the entrance when moths are troublesome; for if there be only a small opening, the bees can guard it, and easily repulse intruders. During the time of gathering, they require the whole width to remain open. When the weather is so unfavourable as to prevent the bees leaving home for a few days after being hived, it will be necessary to feed them. Bees should not be IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE. 75 fed in the midst of winter; the proper time is in the autumn or in the spring. The best mode of feeding is ‘at the top » of the stock hive. This is done by using the round feeder. The bottle feeder may be used instead of the round feeder, and in the same place, by those who give the preference to that method. Whilst on the subject of feeding, it may be well to. suggest to the bee-keeper, that, after the honey harvest, he should ascertain the state of the stock-hive, because we have sometimes found that hives which were very strong during summer, and which have yielded a good supply of honey, have been left rather poorly off for the winter. No doubt, under the im- pression that those nicely-filled supers which the bees intended for themselves would be amply sufficient for their sustenance, they have, for the most part, devoted the space below to the queen for breeding, little ima- gining that the precious store would be taken away, and consequently have left themselves too small provision for autumn and winter. The apiarian having, therefore, so richly reaped the fruit of his bees’ labours, it is but right that he should guard against the labourers themselves suffering any want therefrom. The state of the interior of the hive may be ascertained by applying a weighing machine, and the requisite supply administered by feeding. Both weighing machine and feeder are described further on. 76 THE APIARY. The simplicity and easy management of this hive have deservedly rendered it an especial favourite, combining, as it does, real utility with many conveniences to satisfy the curious. Not a few bee-keepers desire to unite the two qualifications, and no hives combine these advan- tages in a greater degree than Neighbour’s improved cottage hive. IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE WITHOUT WINDOWS. This hive is of precisely the same size, construction, and management as the last mentioned, with the excep- tion that it has no windows or thermometer in the lower or stock hive. The apiarian, with this hive, will have to trust more to his own judgment as regards the likelihood of swarming, and must watch the appearance the bees present at the entrance. When it is time to put on supers, in order to prevent swarming, premonition will be given by the unusual numbers crowding about the entrance, as well as by the heat of the weather, making it evident that more room is required for the increasing population. . Not being able to form an idea of the state of the hive in spring and autumn by looking into the stock- hive, it will be advisable to adopt the means of weighing. A stock at Michaelmas should weigh 20 Ibs., exclusive of the hive, or be made up to that weight by feeding. LADIES OBSERVATORY HIVE. ve) THE LADIES’ OBSERVATORY OR CRYSTAL BEE-HIVE. The following engraving illustrates the construction of the Ladies’ Observatory Hive. The stock-hive is cylindrical, with a flat top and ; a hole in the centre; the di- mensions twelve and a half inches inside, eight and a half inches deep; the outer cover being raised, and made of stout glass, so as not easily to break. A support, composed of even wooden bars fixed on a pedestal from the floor- board, is very useful for the bees to cling to and attach their combs, instead of resting wholly against the glass. The floor-board is of mahogany, the border being French polished. A middle-sized bell-glass, for depriva- tion, is placed over the hole ; this hole may be closed by a zinc slide. A cover of straw, eighteen inches deep, fifteen inches wide, with a zinc ventilating top similar to that affixed to the cottage hive, completes the arrangements. The weight of the stock-hive and board is about 16 lbs. This hive is well adapted for those persons who are desirous of having the opportunity of more closely ex- amining the workmanship of these industrious and inte- resting insects, as the whole of the interior may be 78 THE APIARY. exposed to view ; it is particularly suitable fora window or an indoor apiary, and will also be found a valuable addition to the greenhouse. Under these circumstances, the entrance-way should be covered with a flat piece of glass, and an aperture cut in the sash corresponding with the entrance to the hive; through the glazed pas- sage the bees may then find egress and ingress without being able to gain access tothe apartment. An alighting board, four inches wide, must be fixed outside, on a level with the entrance. We had a hive of this kind in operation at the Great Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862, fixed after the manner above described. It answered admirably, and excited much interest and curiosity, though placed there under many disadvantages. ‘When a hive of this kind is to be stocked, procure an early and strong swarm, which must be temporarily hived in a common straw hive, from which dislodge the bees into the glass hive, but for this purpose a little pre- paration will have to be made. Spread a sheet on the ground, place the mahogany floor-board on it with the support, put three bricks, or some solid blocks of about the same substance, upon which the glass will rest; then, with a sharp and sudden blow, precipitate the swarm out of the straw hive on to the floor-board and support, place the glass hive on the bricks, and the bees will collect under the bars and on to the pedestal. In about one hour’s time the whole will have settled quietly LADIES’ OBSERVATORY HIVE. 79: and all the stragglers on the board will have collected together, the swarm hanging pear-shaped from the bar support; the bricks can now be removed, and the glass put in its right place on the floor-board. The straw cover being put on the hive, it can be removed to the place it is destined permanently to occupy. The light should not be admitted for some days after hiving ; if undisturbed, the bees will speedily build comb, working from the wooden bars, which are placed there for their assistance and support. In ten days or a fort- night, if the weather continue fine and warm, they will prepare to swarm again ; the opening at the top must now be unstopped, and the bell-glass put on, guide- comb having been previously fixed. The directions given for the improved cottage hive equally apply to the ladies’ observatory hive. It is advisable, in winter, to furnish the glass stock- hive with more protection from cold than is afforded by the straw cover alone ; some thick baize, or wrapper of wadding, for which there is space between the glass hive and the cover, will prevent so much moisture condensing” on the sides of the glass. Moisture is injurious, causing the combs to grow mouldy; a little protection in the- way of wrapping very much prevents this. The hole at top is used for supplying food, should the: apiarian fear the stock of honey is in danger of running short ; either the bottle feeder or the round feeder may be used for the purpose. 80 THE APIARF. COTTAGER’S HIVE, FOR TAKING HONEY IN STRAW CAPS, WITHOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BEES. A very prevalent opinion exists, that bees do better in straw than in hives made of any other material. An- other opinion prevails, viz., that the old-fashioned straw hive is the least expensive, the most simple, and the most productive, Although we cannot go so far as this, we are willing to admit that a simplified adaptation of the humane system to the old common straw hive is the most suitable to put into the hands of that large class of bee-keepers—cof/agers. By these the more fanciful hives will be instantly condemned ; besides, the expense puts them quite beyond the reach of the poorer class. The object aimed at in planning our Cottager’s Hive has been to furnish a depriving hive that should be at once easy of management, inexpensive, and convenient. The stock-hive, into which the bees are first hived, is a round straw hive, having a flat top, with a hole in the COTTAGER’S HIVE. 81 centre. The size of this lower hive is seven or eight inches deep, fourteen inches across the bottom, finished with a wooden hoop, which adds very much to the firm- ness and durability of the hive. The floor-board is one and a quarter inch thick, with a way sunk therein for the entrance. A small round mat of straw closes the hole in the top; this mat may be fixed by wooden pegs. We have now described what is termed the s/ock-hzve, which is, in fact, an old-fashioned straw hive, adapted, modernised, and improved to the more humane, viz., the depriving, system. The weight of the stock-hive, with its floor-board, is about 7 lbs. The super or cap hive is about seven inches deep, eight inches in diameter, and, when filled, contains about 10 Ibs. of honey and comb. A glass window, which is placed at the side, is useful for inspecting the pro- gress made in filling it. A common straw hive, ‘sufficiently deep to cover, drops over the super, keeping the window dark, and fitting close on to the stock-hive. This cover-hive may be made fast by driving in two skewers, one on either side, to keep the whole firm. Unless placed in a bee- house or under a shed, the outside should be painted ; or a piece of oil-cloth, or waterproof covering of any kind, shaped so as to shoot off the rain, will save the trouble of paint, and answer the purpose. If no protec- tion of this sort is used, the rain is likely to rot the straw. As a covering, cottagers often use straight stiff thatching G 82 THE APIARY straw, sewed together; this contrivance is termed a “‘hackle,’’ and has a pretty appearance, particularly if a number of hives are in a row. Care has to be exer- cised that mice do not make the covering hive a resting- place. Mortar is often used for fastening round the hive at the bottom: this is a bad plan, as it forms a harbour for insects; the wooden hoop fits so close as to leave little necessity for anything of the kind. The principle of the depriving system is so much the same with all our hives, that a good deal of repetition is necessary in describing in detail the management of each separate variety. The object aimed at with the cottager’s hive, as, indeed, with all our hives, is to provide a compartment for the bees to live in with their queen, she being the mother of all. It is intended, by inducing the queen to remain in her original apartment, that all breeding should be there performed, as well as the storing of bee-bread and honey, for the winter sustenance of the bees. The cap hive, or upper cham- ber, known as the ‘‘super,’’ is for the storing of honey, which the bee-keeper looks upon as a surplus, and which, at ;the close of the honey gathering, or as soon as filled, he intends to deprive the bees of, and appropriate to his own use, of course taking care to leave sufficient in the lower or stock hive for winter sustenance. The mode of stocking a hive of this kind is so familiarly known, that any who at all understand the COTTAGER’S HIVE. 83 hiving of bees into a common straw hive can make no mistake or find any difficulty in performing it. Lest these pages should fall into the hands of persons who are not so acquainted, we will refer them to the direc- tions already given at pages 21 and 72. The hive may be smeared inside with a. little honey, if at hand; but this is unimportant, as a clean hive answers well. Some older bee-keepers prefer to give a little dressing, to encourage the bees to like their new home. After the swarm has been in the hive two weeks, the straw super hive may be put on, first removing the straw mat, to give the bees access to it. If the hive be a stock, that is, a swarm of the last or previous years, the super may be put on as soon as the weather is fine and warm, in May. But much depends on the weather and strength of the hive, as regards the time occupied by the bees in filling the super; in favourable weather a fortnight suffices. If, on looking in at the little window, the bee-master sees that the cells are sealed over, the cap of honey may be removed in the mode already described. The cells near the window are the last to be filled, so, when they are sealed, it is safe to conclude that the combs in the unseen parts are also finished. Sometimes the queen ascends and deposits her eggs ; if, on turning up the super, brood be visible, replace the cap for a few days, until the young bees quit their cells. G2 84 THE APIARY. When thus emptied, honey will be deposited in lieu ot the brood. Suitable pedestals for these hives to stand upon may be obtained. It is important that these be firmly fixed, and the hive also made fast to the stand, to prevent its being blown over by high winds. WOODBURY BAR AND FRAME HIVES. Mr. Woodbury’s Bar and Frame Hive, as originally made, consists of a wooden box, fourteen and a half inches square inside, nine inches deep. This is a hive of large size, but the actual habitable space inside is lessened by the room occupied by the frames, of which there are ten; these rest on a rabbet a little below the surface, leaving a space of three-eighths of an inch be- tween the upper side of the bars and the crown-board. This allows a free passage on the top for the bees, | entirely obviating the necessity of making excavations in the crown-board, as has hitherto been recommended. Each frame is seven-eighths of an inch wide, and rests in notches, with a space of half an inch between each. The frames extend to within three-eighths of an inch of WOODBURY BAR AND FRAME HIVE. 85, the floor-board, so as to hang without touching any part, leaving about the same distance from the sides. It will be seen that there is a free passage for the bees on every side, and they are thus kept from coming in contact with the sides of the hive. Our engraving shows the hive open, and exposes to view the top of the ten bars and frames, as they range from back to front. A window is also shown; this is placed in the engraving over the entrance, but the proper position would be just opposite. The drawing is made so as to show back and front at once. The floor-board is one and a quarter inch thick, having two ‘“‘keys’’ on the under side to prevent warping. WOODBURY STRAW BAR AND FRAME HIVE. Since the introduction of the wood hive by Mr.;Wood- bury, that gentleman has recommended, in the Journal of Horticulture, that the stock-hive be made of straw, of 86 THE APIARY. exactly the same dimensions ; this material being warmer in winter, slightly ventilating, and allowing of absorp- tion. Bees, during cold weather, cluster together to generate the requisite degree of heat; the temperature of the interior of the hive being thus so much higher than the external atmosphere, a good deal of moisture condenses at the top and on the sides of the hive. The straw, as before stated, prevents this dampness hanging about the hive, and tends to keep the inmates more healthy. Dampness in a hive is a fruitful source of mischief, causing empty combs to grow mouldy, and is injurious in many ways. The square straw hives, and a machine for making them, exhibited in the Austrian department of the Inter- national Exhibition of 1862, suggested the idea of employ- ing that material for English bar and frame hives. We have had a machine made somewhat similar to the one exhibited, and suited to the size of our hives, by which our hive-maker is able to manufacture neat square straw hives. These have a wood frame at top, an inch deep, with the requisite notches to allow the ten-comb frames to hang. A similar frame forms the base, the straw being worked between. The floor-board is one and a quarter inch thick, ‘‘keyed”’ with stout keys, as before mentioned. An inch projection is left on all sides beyond the exterior of the hive, from which it is slightly chamfered down. An entrance, four inches wide, is cut out of the substance of the board, beginning at WOODBURY BAR AND FRAME HIVE. 87 the edge, and continuing on the same level until inside the hive, where it slopes upwards. This entrance is about three-eighths of an inch high where the hive crosses it. These straw hives have been generally made without windows, as Mr. Woodbury and other scientific apiarians so prefer them. They consider that glass windows are unsuited for winter, because then moisture condenses on the glass. There is no doubt that the having a peep- hole or two in a hive adds very agreeably to its value for amateur bee-keepers, and, to meet the wishes of such, we have had straw hives constructed with windows. It is not every one who would like to lift out the frames as often as is necessary for an inspection of the state of the colony, nor, perhaps, is it advisable to be often thus meddling. The windows have also a very neat appear- ance. We have hives with one, and some with two and three windows ; of course, a little extra expense is in- curred where these are made, but that is not objected to by those who approve of the additional convenience. The crown-board (if correct to call a straw top by that name) has, like the hive, a frame of wood all round, and a square piece of wood in the centre, with a two- inch hole; this hole is for the purpose of administering food, in a mode to be explained hereafter. A circular block of wood, four inches in diameter, closes the opening. 88 THE APIARY. WOODBURY’S GLASS BAR AND FRAME HIVES. Some bee-keepers like to be able to make a full and daily inspection of the hive; we have, therefore, pre- pared a few hives, constructed of wooden frames, en- closed on all sides and on the top with window-glass. The dimensions are precisely the same as those before mentioned, and allow the same number of bars and frames (ten). The crown has a round hole cut in the glass to admit of feeding. The four sides are constructed of double glass, to preserve the bees from variations of temperature. We cannot, however, recommend this hive for a winter residence for the bees; we should prefer lifting the combs out with the bees, and placing them in a straw hive of similar construction, to pass through the ordeal of the winter season. part of the box or glass. BOX FUMIGATOR. This fumigator is a tin box, somewhat like a pepper- box upon a foot. It is a simple adaptation of the fumi- gating apparatus described by Mr. Nutt, and is used in the following manner :—Havea straw hive or other vessel ready that will match in circumference the hive intended to be fumi- gated. If the empty hive have a conical top, it will not remain crown downwards without a rest; in this case, it will be convenient to invert it on a pail. Having ascertained that the hive to -be operated upon and the empty one in its reversed posi- tion nearly match in size, take half a packet of the pre- pared fungus, fire it well, and place it in the box or fumigator; place this in the centre of the empty hive, then bring the occupied hive directly over, so as to receive the fumes of smoke. To keep all close, put a L 146 THE APIARY. wet cloth round the place where the two hives meet. In a minute or two, the bees may be heard dropping heavily into the lower empty hive, where they lie stupe- fied. After a little while, the old hive may be tapped upon to make the bees fall more quickly. On removing the upper hive, the bees from it will be found lying quiet at the bottom of the lower one. Place a sheet on the ground, and spread the bees on it; then, with a feather, sort them over, in order to pick out the queen-bee. As soon as the queen is found, pour the rest of the lethargic swarm from off the sheet back into the inverted hive again. The stupefied bees must now be sprinkled freely with a syrup made of honey and water, or sugar and ale boiled together. Some’ apiarians recommend a ‘few drops of peppermint to be mixed with the syrup, in order to drown the peculiar odour which is special to each hive of bees,—this is more necessary when two- hives of bees are fumigated, and whilst under the influ- ence of smoke are well mixed together. The hive con- taining the bees with which it is intended to unite the ‘stupefied bees must now be placed on the top of that ‘containing the latter, just as the hive was from which they have come. A wet cloth must be fastened round the two hives, so as to prevent any of the bees from escaping. The hives in this position must be placed where they are not likely to be knocked down or meddled with. The fresh bees in the upper hive, attracted by the scent of the bees besmeared with honey,,. TUBE FUMIGATOR. 147 go down and commence licking off the sweets from the sleepy ones. The latter gradually revive, when all get mingled together and ascend in company to the upper hive, where they live as if they had not been separate families. The two hives should bé left undisturbed for twenty-four hours, then the upper hive may be removed and placed immediately on the spot from whence it was brought. The reason the queen is recommended to be taker is to prevent any fighting. She should be kept alive and fed as long as she will live, in case any harm should befall the sovereign of the other community. TUBE FUMIGATOR. The tube fumigator* is useful for several purposes. When a frame-hive has to be disturbed it is requisite to raise the lid and blow a little smoke into the hive, so as to check the angry passions of the bees. If it be desirable to stupefy the bees, ignited fungus must be placed in the box and the flattened end applied to the entrance of the hive; the smoke is then blown in, either with bellows or by applying the mouth of the operator, taking care to close all openings through which it can escape. The bees fall down stupefied, * This fumigator will be found to possess many advantages over the box fumigator before mentioned. L2 148 THE APIARY. e x generally in about ten minutes; but the effect varies at according to the populousness of the hive and the quan- tity of comb in it. The projected operations must now be performed speedily, as activity will soon be regained. See preceding directions. THE BEE DRESS OR PROTECTOR. All operations connected with the removal or the hiving of bees should be conducted with calmness ‘and circumspection. Bees, although the busiest of creatures, entertain a great dislike to fussiness in their masters, and become irritable at once if the apiarian allows them to see that he is in a hurry. Hence, there is great advantage in having the face and hands covered whilst at work amongst the bees; for when the operator knows he cannot possibly be stung, he can open his hives, take out the combs, gather. in his swarms, or take the honey, with all the deliberation of a philosopher. Various kinds of bee-dresses have been contrived ; one that we keep ready in stock is of a very simple construction. It is made of strong black net, in shape like an inverted bag, large enough to allow of a gentleman’s wide-awake or a lady’s hat being worn underneath. The projection of the hat or cap causes the dress to stand off from the face, and the meshes, of the net, though much too small for a bee to penetrate, BEE DRESS OR PROTECTOR. 149 are wide enough to allow of clear vision for the operator. An elastic band secures the dress round the waist ; the sleeves also, made of durable black calico, are secured at the wrists by a similar method. The hands of the bee-master may be effectually protected with a pair of india-rubber gloves, which should be put on before the dress is fastened round the wrists. This kind of glove is regularly used by photographers, and allows of greater ease in manipulation than any other description. Thus a very simple and inexpensive means of pro- tection will enable even a novice in bee-keeping to make his observations and conduct his experiments under a sense of perfect security. Still, he need not be careless as to the feelings of his bees; his success and their comfort will be promoted by his ‘‘ handling them gently, and as if he loved them.’”’ ‘‘Familiarity’’ be- “tween bees and their master ‘‘breeds’’ not ‘“‘ contempt,”’ but affection. Any sudden or clumsy movement, which jars the combs or frames, will excite the bees, and if but one should be crushed, the. odour of their slaughtered com- rade rouses the inhabitants of the hive to a pitch of exasperation. Their powers of smelling are very acute. The human breath is abomination to them; therefore, when operating upon bees, be careful to close the mouth and breathe only through the nostrils. The best time for most operations is in. the middle of a fine day. 150 THE APIARY. ENGRAVED PRESSING ROLLER FOR THE GUIDANCE OF BEES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HONEY-COMB ON THE BARS, This is an engraved metal roller, which, when applied to the coated underside of a comb-bar, leaves an ims pression as shown in the diagram. The wax having been spread on the flat bar, the roller, heated by being put into hot water, is heavily pressed over it. The roller has two wooden handles, so that considerable pressure may be given to it. The roller is a little less than two inches in diameter, seven-eighths of an inch wide, and the length from’ handle to handle is six inches. The diagram shows the full size of the impressions as left on the wax, after passing the roller along the comb- bar, in the manner above described. It is a con- trivance invented in Switzerland, and exhibited in the International Exhibition of 1862, when the pattern roller was purchased by ourselves. IMPRESSED WAX SHEETS. 15 ‘The bars of a hive prepared with these markings in wax afford ready-made foundations for regular combs, which very much facilitate the operations of the bees. IMPRESSED WAX SHEETS FOR ARTIFICIAL COMBS, These artificial partition walls for combs are sheets of genuine wax, about the substance of thin cardboard. They receive rhomboidal impressions by being pressed between two metal plates, carefully and mathematically prepared and cast so that the impressions are exactly the same size as the base of the cells of a honey-comb. An inspection of a piece of comb will show that the division of the opposite cells is made by a thin partition wall, common to both. Now the substance of this is said to be only the one hundred and eightieth part of an inch, whilst the artificial ones we are recommending are between the thirtieth and fortieth part of an inch, more than four times the thickness of the handiwork of the bees themselves. It would, indeed, be vain to attempt to furnish sheets of wax at all approaching their own delicate fabric; the impressed sheets are quite as thin as they can be to bear the handling which is requisite for fixing them in the hives. We find, however, that the thickness is no disadvantage; the bees speedily ex- cavate and pare the artificial sheet so as to suit their ovwz notions of the substance required; then, with admirable 152 THE APIARY. economy, they use the surplus thus obtained for the con- struction of the cells. After a sheet has been partly worked at by the bees, it is interesting to hold it up to the light and observe the beautiful transparency of that part of it, contrasted with the opaqueness of the part not yet laboured upon. When it is considered, as writers tell us, that more than 14 lbs. of honey are required for the secretion and elaboration of a single pound of comb, it will not be difficult to form a just estimate of the value of this inven- tion, which thus furnishes cheap and excellent assistance to our industrious favourites. It also shows the bee- keeper that all clean empty combs should be carefully preserved and considered as valuable stock. Another great advantage. that it affords us is, that it renders us independent of gucde-comb, which is not always obtain- able. When a sheet or a strip of this impressed wax is properly fixed to the comb-bar, it is cer/ain to be the guide and foundation of a straight comb. This invention has been derived from Germany, where it has been adopted many years with success. At the International Exhibition of 1862, we purchased the metal plates or castings, so as to manufacture the impressed sheets with which we are now able to supply our customers; and, after the careful trials we have made, we have great confidence in recommending them. In the season of 1863 we furnished a Woodbury glass super, with the wax sheets fixed to the bars, in the IMPRESSED WAX SHEETS. 153 manner hereafter to be explained, and it was truly astonishing to see the rapidity with which these sheets of wax were worked into comb. Receptacles were quickly made ready for the storing of honey, and the new combs soon became beautifully white ; for, although the artifi- cial wax has a yellow tinge, yet, after being worked at and made thinner, it is as good in colour as ordinary combs. For supers we cut the wax plates in half, making one serve for two bars. We have received from Germany the following direc- tions for the fastening of the artificial plates to the comb- bars. Hereafter will be described a plan which we have adopted, and to which preference is given. ( Translation.) —* The unstamped edge of the plate: receives incisions half an inch distant from one another, made with a sharp knife, the plate having been a little warmed ; then it is pinched between two equally strong ledges, which have been well moistened. The projecting edge of the plate which received the incisions is alter-. nately bent to the right and to the left. The comb-bar is well besmeared with artificial sticking wax (a mix- ture of two parts of wax and one part of American resin), and is well warmed at a fire. Afterwards the: besmeared side is laid upon the bent end of the plate, and pressed to it as firmly as possible. A small wooden ledge, besmeared with sticking wax, and fastened by means of pressure to the lower edge of the plate, pre- vents it from bending, which sometimes happens when the bees work it.” 154 THE APIARY. ' To carry out the directions here given, it is necessary to warm the besmeared comb-bar at a fire ; the wax plate has also to be warmed. Having tried this plan, and found inconvenience attending it, especially from the wax _curling with the heat and the difficulty of making it stick. firm, to say nothing of the uncomfortableness of per- forming the operation before a fire on a hot day in July, we began to consider if a litle carpentering might not do the work better and more pleasantly, and adopted the following plan:—We split or cut the comb-bars of the ‘Woodbury super in half, lengthways, and, taking the un- stamped edge between the two strips, joined them together again by small screws at the side, confining the wax plate tightly in the centre, with no possibility of its falling down. Where frames are used, of course the bar could not be cut in two (except with the ‘‘compound bar and frame,’’ where the bar being loose, it might be as easily managed). The plan we adopt with an ordinary frame is to saw out an Opening, about an inch or an inch and a half from either end, where the sides are morticed in; this opening we make with a keyhole-saw. Through it the wax plate is easily put, and, with a heated iron passed over the upper side of the bar, is made sufficiently firm. If the wax plates are too large, a portion may be cut off; an opening of full eleven inches long can be made without materially weakening the bar and frame. Another, and perhaps the simplest, plan is, to fix a strip of wood with brads to the underside of the top IMPRESSED WAX SHEETS. 155 frame or bar: place the wax sheet against this, then wedge another strip close to it, and thus hold the wax sheet firmly in the centre of the frame, taking care also to make the second strip of wood fast with brads. The wax plates must not extend to the bottom of the frame ; a space of at least one inch should be left for expansion, because the bees, in working the plate, stretch it down lower. We also use a few pins firmly pressed into the frames, and long enough to reach the edge of the plate; for by fixing three or four pins on either side, both at the sides and at the bottom, the plate may be held in an exactly central position within the frame. As before mentioned, when these directions are carried out, there is no fear of being troubled with crooked combs or bars. The secretion of wax, and the method of its adapta- tion by the bees, is thus admirably described by Evans :— “Thus filtered through your flutterer’s folded mail Clings the cooied wax, and hardens to a scale. Swift at the weli-known call, the ready train (For not a buzz boon Nature breathes in vain) Spring to each falling Zake, and bear along Their glossy burdens to the builder throng. Theze, with sharp sickle, or with sharper tooth, Pare each excrescence and each angle smooth, Till now, in finish’d pride, two radiant rows Of snow-~hite celis one mutual base disclose ; Six shining panels gird each polish’d round, The door’s fine rim, with waxen Allet bound, 156 THE APIARY. While walls so thin, with sister walls combined, Weak in themselves, a sure dependance find. * * * * * * Others in firm phalanx ply their twinkling feet, Stretch out the ductile mass, and form the street, With many a cross-way, path, and postern gate, That shorten to their range the spreading state.”” MANIPULATION AND USES OF BAR AND FRAME HIVES. chanical arrangements of bar and frame hives,, the next thing is, to describe the mode of introducing the bees, and of thus bringing the humane and scientific hives into operation. The swarm should be first hived into a common straw hive fromthe bough or shrub upon which they may have alighted; place this hive, into which we will suppose the bees have been shaken, on the ground, propped up on one side with a brick or a flower-pot, or anything of the sort that may be handy, in order that straggler-bees may join the swarm. The spot selected for this should be as shady an one as can be found, near to the place where the swarm settled; or it may be shaded from the rays of the sun by fixing matting on two poles, so as to prevent the heat falling on the hive; spread a sheet or cloth on the ground where an even BP ence at page 84, given a description of the me- 158 THE APIARY. surface can be obtained; stake this sheet down at the four corners, to’ prevent ruts and inequalities, which are great hindrances to the bees going into the bar and frame hive; place the latter upon the sheet, without its floor- board, having its front raised on blocks or sticks rather more than an inch,—not more, otherwise the bees will cluster, and attach themselves to the lower part of the fraries, instead of going up between. These prepara- tions will, perhaps, occupy ten minutes, by which time the swarm will have become settled and tolerably quiet. Then, with a sharp rap, precipitate the bees out of the straw hive on to the sheet immediately in front of the frame hive; give the straw hive another knock, so as to dislodge all the bees, and then take it quite away, other- wise they may, if it be left near, perversely choose to go into that, instead of the one desired. In some cases, as when the swarm has to be brought from a distance and procured from a cottager about whose skill in carry- ing out these directions there may be misgivings, it is best to give instructions that the swarm be brought home after sunset, and then the foregoing directions for inducing the bees to tenant the frame hive may be better carried out. For ourselves, we much prefer the evening for the purpose. A little water sprinkled over them from a watering-pot is likely to induce the bees to quit the ground and go up into the hive more quickly. Mr. Langstroth, in his admirable book, ‘‘ The Hive and Honey Bee,’’ writes :—‘‘If they are too dilatory in MANIPULATION OF FRAME HIVES. 159 entering the new hive, they may be gently separated with a spoon or leafy twig where they gather in bunches on the sheet, or they may be carefully ‘spooned up’ and shaken out close to the front of the hive. As these go in with fanning wings, they will raise a peculiar note, which communicates to their companions that they have found a home, and in a short time the whole swarm will enter, without injury to a single bee.”’ In the Journal of Horticulture, Mr. Woodbury says :— “Tf combs be fixed in the frames, the crown-board may be removed and the cluster knocked out of the. straw hive on to the top of the exposed frames. The’ bees will disappear between them with the utmost alacrity, delighted to have met with a ready-furnished dwelling, and the top, or crown-board, having been replaced, the hive should at once be removed to the position it is in- tended to permanently occupy.”’ No one should attempt these operations without being protected by a bee dress and a pair of india-rubber gloves, which are sting-proof. Some persons also take the precaution of tying strings round the ancles of the trousers, lest some straggler should determine to attack the outposts of the enemy, which, to say the least, might perplex the operator in the midst of his task. Elastic india-rubber bands are good for this purpose, or a pair of ‘‘knickerbockers’’ would be useful. If Wellington boots are worn, the trousers may be tucked within the leather, in which case no bee can molest the operator, 160 THE APIARY. cand no string or band will be needed. Practice makes perfect in bee-tending, as in other matters, and when a light hand is gained, there is little danger of the apiarian being stung. If the weather be wet the next day or so after hiving, it will be well to give a little assistance to the new colony in the shape of food, for although, when a swarm leaves a hive, almost every bee composing it fills itself with honey, we have known not a few instances, in case ‘of very wet weather, in which the whole swarm has been starved for the want of this little timely help. Of course, the first work of the bees is to build themselves combs, and these combs being produced by the secre- tion of wax from honey, a great drain upon their resources immediately begins, and any little outlay at this juncture is abundantly compensated by its enabling these industrious emigrants the more quickly to push forward the furnishing of their new home. Clean combs from hives that may have lost their bees are readily accepted, and cause a great saving in time and;material to the bees; these combs may easily be fixed by cutting them the proper size to fit within the frames, and making them firm by tying with tape or fixing them with pliable wire. In any case where the combs are too small to fit within the frame, a tempo- rary bar may be fixed, and held firm by being sprung within the two upright sides of a frame, and thus pushed up until it presses the comb; then a piece of tape wound MANIPULATION OF FRAME-HIVES. 161 round, or aclip made of tin or zinc shaped to the top bar, prevents its falling out. All these supports may be removed* as soon as the bees have made the:foundation secure; the comb will then be added to. In this way, every loose piece of comb may be economised.t These preparations must be made prior to‘the bees being hived, so that when a hive is so prepared, a swarm may begin to adapt whatever advantages ‘they find -ready for them ; and it is truly marvellous what a swarm will do when thus furnished with combs in their new ‘habitation. In these the queen can immediately begin to deposit her eggs, and the’ workers to store their honey, without having to wait for the construction of combs, which is a laborious occupation for the bees. In some cases, fine white combs of honey may be taken from the stock-hive; the end frames are always the most free from brood. Care must be exercised not to rob this part of the hive too much; one comb may, perhaps, be removed in the course of the season without impoverishing the bees, but it is not wise to take more. * They should be first dismembered from the comb by running a penknife between. + Artificial comb may be advantageously used, especially if a little time (say a couple of days) be allowed to elapse before jit is put into.the hive; because, at first, so eager is a swarm to push forward the work of comb-building, that the sheets are liable to become mutilated. For guide-comb, scut the sheets in strips of rather more than an inch in depth, and fix them as mentioned at page 154. M 162 THE APIARF. PUTTING ON SUPER HIVE, A colony established a year or more is called a “* stock,”’? by way of distinction from a swarm of the present year. Supposing the hive to be a stock, the super should be given them at the early part of the season, say, if fine and warm, at the latter end of April or beginning of May; if the weather be then unfavourable, it is better to delay doing so until a more genial temperature. If the colony be a swarm of the present year, two weeks should be allowed to elapse from the time of tenanting a hive, before putting on the super ; this delay is necessary to give the bees the opportunity of building combs in their new domicile, and of getting a store of honey for themselves before working for their master. When it is wished to use a super, ¢he crown-board or roof of the stock-hive must be taken away, the thin adapting or honey-board taking ws place. ‘The two long slits at the sides are to give admission to the super. The bees will begin sooner, and work faster, if the eight bars are each furnished with artificial comb (as described at page 152). We have had depriving-hives very quickly filled when the bees were thus assisted. Combs that have been left unfilled may be fixed to the bars as before described ; these must be white and clean, as dark comb should not be used for super hives. The combs, when filled, may be taken out singly, if desired for consump- TAKING OUT FRAMES. 163 tion, substituting an empty bar or comb; or, should the bee-keeper desire to see a handsome super, he must wait until the bees have filled and sealed up all the combs, and then he may proceed to disconnect the super by drawing a string or wire defween the adapting- board and the stock-hive. After waiting a short time for the commotion to subside, the operator must raise the super on its board and blow in alittle smoke. The bees may be induced to quit by adopting either of the means described at pages 58 and 73. When the super has been removed, another may be put on; but if the honey-gathering be over, the crown-board should be replaced.. TAKING OUT FRAMES WITH COMBS. It is well for a beginner to practise the’ directions for opening and shutting up hives, by using an empty hive until he becomes familiar with the handling of the frames. The first thing to do is, to loosen the crown-board, or lid, with a knife, drawing a piece of string underneath it, to divide the wax or cement with which the bees make all secure. This string should be drawn through very slowly, so as not to irritate the bees. In hot weather, the crown-board may be loosened by a lateral move- ment; but sometimes, for want of care, this’ loosen- ing of the lid disturbs the bees, and, as soon as it is removed, a number of them, enraged thereby, rush out and attack the operator. This and all other ope- “ M 2 164 THE APIARY. rations ought to be performed very carefully and gently. Especial care should be taken not to prise the lid upwards, by way of wrenching it off, for the frames and combs are generally secured thereto, and there is a liability of rending the combs with it; this will greatly irritate the bees, and be otherwise injurious. When a hive of bees is enraged, there is little chance of pacify- ing them ; it is best, under such circumstances, to “ give in,” at once, and not attempt to perform any operation, but to shut the hive up and beat a retreat, benefiting by the experience, in order to do better a day or so after- wards. There are various devices for intimidating or conciliating the bees, and one of these already spoken of is—smoke. So next time the experimenter makes his attempt let him raise the lid an inch or so, and blow a few puffs of smoke into the hive, which will cause the bees to retreat. This is best done by using our tube fumigator, with a little of the prepared fungus lighted. Pipes or cigars are not convenient to use for this purpose when the head is enveloped in the dress. As soon as the lid is removed, a few bees will fly out to learn the cause of such an interference. Conciliation should then be offered by having at hand a little. sweetened water; which may be sprinkled, or rather let drop, from a feather or a brush. The sudden motion of the hand required in the act of sprinkling irritates the bees, so that, instead of making them our friends, they may become our foes. Mr. Langstroth recommends that a TAKING OUT FRAMES. 165 fine watering-pot, filled with sweetened water, be used for the purpose. Care must be taken not to drench the bees ; only just sufficient should be given to run down the sides of the combs, as well as sprinkling the top. As soon as the bees really understand that syrup is being given them, they feast upon it, instead of angrily attack- ing the operator. Thus pacified, and with gentle treat- ment, but little difficulty will be found in proceeding with the work required. But the unskilled operator should om no account neglect to put on a bee-dress and gloves, as described above. We would err on the side of caution, although there is an old saying that ‘‘a cat in gloves catches no mice; ” and the apiarian will find that his fingers are not so free to work as he would like, for gloves make them rather clumsy in drawing up the frames. The frames must now be gently prised from front to rear ; this may be-done with a small screw-driver or other stout instrument with a wedged end to go into the notches. The frames fit loosely so as to allow of a little movement from back to front; a lateral or side-way movement might kill the queen, or, if not so fatal as that, might crush some of the bees and injure the brood combs, which must be carefully avoided. Of course, much depends upon the nature of the operation that has to be performed,, whether or no all the frames should be thus loosened. If it. be for making artificial swarms, or for any purpose requiring an interview with her majesty, the 166 THE APIARY. whole of them must be loosened, because it often happens that all the combs have to be examined, sometimes twice over, before she can be discovered. Bees are very apt to build their combs in a slightly waving form, and in extracting one it will be needful to make room both for the comb and bees upon it to pass without scraping the next comb, and there will be a difficulty if the apiarian attempts to draw out one comb whilst the other frames are located in their appropriate notches. Let the operator gently proceed to lift, say, the third frame (allowing it to lodge on the little block that divides the notches) slightly nearer to the fourth frame, and the second nearer the third, so as to admit of sufficient space to lift out the end one. Very carefully and slowly he should lift the frame by taking hold, with thumb and finger, of the projecting shoulders that rest in the notch ; , and he must not let it touch or scrape the next frame or the sides of the hive, so as to crush Or irritate any bees. After the end comb is thus removed, it will be easy to extract the others, as there will now be plenty of room for drawing them out. A hive of exactly the same size should be at hand ; and in case it be desired to remove the combs and bees into another hive, care should be taken that each comb occupies the same relative position that it did in the old hive. In handling the frames, it should be borne in mind that they are to be held perpendicularly. To gain a view of both sides of the comb when searching for the queen,. REPLACING FRAMES. “167 or for any purpose requiring full inspection, with a little dexterity in twirling the frame round, the reverse side may be brought to face the operator, without letting the comb break away by its own weight, and so fall out of the frame, which it will do if allowed to deviate from its upright or downright position. If the operator could see an experienced person perform the operation, he would quickly understand how combs may thus be handled without any risk of a smash. When placing frames in the hive, care must be taken not to crush a bee between the projecting shoulders of the frame and the rabbets or notches on which they rest, and on no account must the frame be let down with a jerk, or the bees will become exceedingly fierce: the frame should be so slowly deposited in its place that a bee on feeling the slightest pressure may have the oppor- tunity of escaping unhurt thereby. The crown-board should be replaced by first resting its front edge in its place, and then slowly lowering the after part, looking carefully under, and momentarily raising it when neces- sary to avoid crushing a bee. Should the hive have its super on, the same directions may be followed. The super with its honey-board may be bodily taken away, and so placed and confined for a time that robber-bees cannot find an entrance, and also be far enough from the apiarian to be out of danger of being broken or overturned by him, 168 THE APIARF. ADVANTAGES OF BAR AND FRAME HIVES. It will be asked, Why all this trouble about bar and frames with straight combs built upon them? We have shown the full command which the bee-keeper has over a. hive so constituted, and we now proceed to show how, in skilful hands, these advantages may be used successfully ; though; in. the hands of the unpractised and unskilful, the contrary may be the result. All the bars and frames in an apiary ought to be of precisely the same dimensions, so as to fit every hive. This is essential for the strengthening of weak hives. A hive that is weakly may often be advantageously strengthened by having put into it a comb of brood from a populous stock, to which an empty frame from the weak one may be given; no bees must be om the brood-comb—these should be shaken off or gently dis- lodged with a feather into the hive from which the comb is taken. The frames of combs should then be, one by one, placed so as to fill in the vacancy, leaving the empty frame nearest the side: When a hive has been in use many years, the combs become very black, and every bee that is bred in a cell’ leaves a film behind. It may be understood how in this way the cells become contracted, and the bees that are bred’ in them correspondingly re- duced in size. After the lapse of at least, say, five years, it may be necessary to begin removing the old combs. This may be done by cutting away the comb, or by sub- ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 169 stituting an empty frame for one with old black comb, gradually moving the frames towards each other. By taking two away in this manner in.the spring or summer of every season, the combs in course of five years may all be reconstructed, and fresh clean ones be secured for breeding in, instead of the old black ones that other- wise would remain as long as the stock could live in the hive. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. Every bee-keeper knows the anxiety he feels in watch- ing and expecting a swarm to come forth, fearful lest his favourites should, ‘‘like riches, take wing and fly away,’’—a mischance that it is desirable to prevent. In our description of natural swarming, this will be found fully treated of; we propose here merely to point out how, with the movable frames, this work of Nature may be assisted—we say assisted, because artificial swarming should, as nearly as possible, resemble natural swarming ; that is, it should be performed at the same time of the year, and when the populous state of the hive makes a division desirable. This is. easily known to be the case when bees hang out in clusters. at. the entrance, wasting their time in enforced idleness instead of being abroad gathering honey. Itis also necessary that the hive contain drones. When such. is. the state of the hive, the facility of 170 THE APIARY. affording an artificial swarm with a movable frame- hive is a decided advantage. The best time for per- forming the operation is about ten o’clock in the morn- ing of a fine summer’s day. The following directions should be carried out :—Place ready a counter or bench that is firm and strong, and which has space on it for the inhabited—or, rather, the over-inhabited—frame hive and the empty one, which is about to be made the receptacle of a separate stock. The operator, attired in his bee-dress, and having the other appliances ready, may now open the hive* as before described, and pro- ceed to take out the frames, carefully examining both sides of each comb to find the queen: she is generally in the centre of the hive, so that it is not always needful to take out all the ten frames. As they are examined, the frames may be put into the empty hive, and when the object of the bee-master’s search is found, he must carefully remove the frame containing her majesty, and may place it temporarily in the empty hive, at one end by itself. Next he must proceed to put the frames back * Bees are apt to take the interference more kindly if the stock be moved a little distance from its accustomed stand ; in such case, place an empty hive in its place, to amuse returning bees. These can be shaken out when the hive it is desired they should inhabit isrestored. If the hive be kept in a closed bee-house, the en- trance should be shut down until the hive is replaced, when the clustered bees may be at once admitted. + Italian queens are more easily detected, being of a brighte colour and, generally, larger than English queens. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 171 into the old hive, closing up the vacancy caused by the removal of the comb with the queen on it, and leave the empty frame at the end. Then he may place the frame containing the queen, with the few bees that may be upon it, in the centre of the empty hive; and, finally, putting all the other frames in, and replacing the lid, the bee- master will place this hive in the exact position occupied by the old stock. The bees that are on the wing will go to the old spot, and, finding the queen there, they will rally round her, and very soon form a sufficient number to constitute a swarm ; comb-building will at once begin, the frames will, in a week or so, be filled, and a satis- factory stock will thus be established. By doing this, at the right time, just before the bees are about to swarm, or when there are many drones, all the trouble of watching and waiting for them is saved. Mr. Woodbury claims the honour of having originated this mode of swarming. * This operation we performed, exactly as described above, with one of our improved cottage-hives, one after- ternoon at the latter end of May, 1862. Whilst inspect- ing our bees, we caught sight of the queen on the comb in one of the bell-glasses. This was a chance not to be missed, and we immediately resolved to form an artificial swarm, for the hive was very full of bees. Besides, being obliged to be away from the apiary most of the week, we were glad of the opportunity of so easily establishing a colony without the uncertainty and trouble of hiving a 172 THE APIARY. natural swarm. In the first place, we slid a tin under the bell-glass, and removing the stock-hive from under- neath, we took it a few feet away; then we placed an empty improved cottage-hive where the old stock had stood, and put the glass of comb containing the queen and a few bees over one of the holes in the crown of this new empty hive. The bees that were left abroad belonging to the old stock returned as usual to their old entrance as they supposed; soon a sufficient number formed a large cluster in the hive and began comb- building, the queen remaining in the glass until the cells below were sufficiently numerous for her to deposit her eggs in them. The division answered exceedingly well; both hives prospered : the old hive either had some princesses: coming forward to supply the loss of the queen, or the bees used a power that they possess of raising a queen from worker-brood in the manner we have previously described.* The foregoing account illustrates. the successful forma- tion of an artificial swarm; but, with a cottage-hive, gaining possession of the queen is quite a matter of chance. With a movable frame-hive she can at any suitable time be found. Precisely the same plan is to be adopted with the old stock in the frame-hive as we have described in the case of the cottage-hive, that is, to remove it some few paces off: when the hives are in a bee-house, a similar result * See Section 1, page 9. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 173 may be obtained, by placing the new swarm for a day or two to the entrance used by the bees when with the old stock, and the old stock may be removed to an approximate entrance. Some apiarians recommend that a space be left between the two hives, by placing the hives on the right and left of the old entrance, in order that too large a proportion of bees should not enter the new hive at the old position, to the impoverishment of the other. But we have found the mode adopted with the cottage-hive answer so well, that we see no reason for recommending any different plan. It is the office of the bee-master to assist, not in the least degree to oppose, nature. We know that when a natural swarm issues forth, it has its impregnated queen, and, when located in a new abode, it commences building worker-combs, leaving the building of the few drone- combs to a later period; but if a division of the hive should be made, by putting Aalf the combs in one hive and half in another, the hive that is either queenless or contains an embryo queen will busy itself with building only drone-comb ; thus a number of receptacles for use- less bees is provided, which tends to weakness, and eventually to loss of the hive. In the plan we have recommended for forming two separate families, we nearly follow the natural state of things ; the comb that the queen is upon is the only one that is taken from the hive, and this vacancy should be filled in by moving the frames together, so as to leave 174 THE APIARF. the empty frame at the end. The. bees, under the. government of the impregnated queen, construct. the combs and furnish their new above, as before stated, with worker-cells. By adopting the plan above described, the movable. bar and frame-hive will prove far superior to any of the. dividing hives, which provide for equal division of the combs.* Perhaps the greatest advantage the movable frame- hive possesses is, that a full knowledge can be attained of its exact state as regards the queen, the population, and the quantity of food in stock. During weather of a genial temperature, the combs may on any fine day be inspected, and thus, a knowledge being gained of the deficiency existing in a hive, the necessary means may be adopted for supplying the want. Sometimes such an examination will verify the fears of the bee-keeper, when, having observed that his bees have ceased to. carry in pollen, he has thereby received warning that. the queen has been lost at some juncture when no suc- cessor to the throne could be provided. Such a hive has. entered on a downward course, and will dwindle away entirely, unless a queen should be given to it, or else some combs containing young brood not more than three days old. By the latter method, the bee- * At page 143 of Mr. Langstroth’s ‘“ Honey Bee,” other methods of artificial swarming are described, the perusal of which will well repay the scientific bee-keeper. ROFAL BROOD. 175. keeper will gain an opportunity of seeing the bees set about their wonderful process of raising a queen] from the brood thus provided for them. When a bee-keeper has become skilful in his calling, he may be desirous to encourage the breeding of queens, or rather of preventing their destruction. He will seek: to use the propagating instincts of the worker-bees as a set-off against that innate hatred of rivalry which prompts the reigning queen to kill the tender royal brood. An ingenious little contrivance has been brought. into use by continental bee-keepers, especially by Herr Kleine, a German pastor, to prevent the destruction alluded to. It consists of a small wire cage (in fact, a pipe cover), as represented in the above engraving, placed over a 176 THE APIARY. queen-cell to protect it from the mother-bee’s animosity, and it also serves to prevent the young queen, when hatched, from escaping; for she will have the same jealous feeling toward her sister-princesses, should there be more in the hive. The bee-master may thus carefully remove and appropriate her. Particular attention will have to be exercised to affix the cage into the comb by pressure, as far as the middle wall, but at no point must it touch the royal cell itself. As the cage will probably project so as to touch the adjoining comb, a little incision and removal of a por- tion may be necessary, to allow space for it. It can, however, be squeezed into any shape to suit the position required. , This covering need not be put over the cell until the egg is a little more than a week old. The animosity of the reigning queen does mot generally manifest itself until the royal brood approaches maturity. It is said that these cells are unmolested on the tenth day, but that on the eleventh day they may be found tenantless. Notwithstanding the apiarian’s care and skill, many disappointments are frequently experienced in endeavouring to establishing fertile young queens at the head of colonies. Hives found to be queenless may be supplied either with matured queens or with queen-cells. If the latter are sufficiently numerous, their introduction may easily be effected by exchanging a comb in each hive; if they ROFAL BROOD. 177 have to be cut out and place loosely in the new hive, a triangular piece of comb should then be removed with them, to be used as a block in preventing any pressure coming onthem.