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proviso that it may be withdrawn at any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
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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.