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THE

PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPEE:

OR,

CONCISE AND PLAIN INSTRUCTIONS

MAXAGEMEXT OF BEES AXD HIVES.

BY JOHN MILTON

" In summer's day, the fra^ant hay
Most sweetly scents the breeze.
And all is still, save murm'rinsc rill.
Or sound of humming bees."

DlCKE.VS.

^ 0,tia Etrition,

WITH A FROXTISPiECK OF BEES AND HIVES AS EXHIBITED BY THE ALTHOP.
IN THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

LONDON:
JOHN MILTON, APIARIAN, GREAT MARYLEBONE STREET,

MDCCCLI.

t9ri>-'l

LONDON:
BRADllURY AND EVANS, PlilJiTE RS, WHITEFRIARS

PREFACE.

-148711

TX the present new edition of Instructions for the
^Management of Bees and Hives, I have added de-
scriptions of several new and improved hives, as well
as various hints and suggestions, the result of careful
experience ; and although the work is condensed (and
consequently cheaper), it contains more information,
and, I trust, will prove worthy the attention of every
one who studies the habits of bees. But I am desirous
to offer some apology for a second time coming before
the reading public. It shall be this, that having so
grand and beautiful a building as the " Crystal Palace,"
in which will be seen some of the best and choicest
productions from every quarter of the globe, I was
induced to once again bring my little insect-friends
into notice ; and if, after reading these pages, I shaU
have conduced to procure for them kinder and better
treatment, as well as assisted the bee-keeper out of

VI PEEFACE.

any difficulties he may have to combat with, I shall
feel that my endeavours are repaid. I am sure that
all who study this interesting branch of natural
history will find their sentiments have become refined,
and they will be led to exclaim, " The skill of the
workman is commonly seen in that which is of little
size."

JOHN MILTON.

LO.VDOX,

May 1st, 1851.

INTRODUCTION.

THE following pages contain a few concise and plain
instructions for the management of bees and beehives.
My object has been to explain, with clearness, the easiest
and most useful methods of bee-keeping ; in the hope of
promoting a general improvement in the systems of cul-
tivating and preserving these valuable and interesting
insects.

This simple work makes no pretension to the merit of
new discoveries : nor do I assume to communicate anything
unknown before to the scientific or professed naturalist ;
but to those, who, having a limited knowledge of the sub-
ject, are desirous of further information, I trust it is in
my power to impart many facts and hints — the result of a
long and patient pursuit of the culture of the bee — which
will materially aid them in attaining their object. Errors
of omission and oversight will no doubt be found in a work
prepared, as this has been, during short intervals of leisure,

Vlll INTRODUCTION.

snatched from the bustle of busmess ; but I trust they
are but few and trivial, and will not materially interfere
with its usefulness to any one who may refer to it for
information.

The various natures of our soil and pastures, the pro-
fusion of our woods and copses, the humidity of our
climate, united with the general warmth of our autumn,
— all combine to increase the risk of bees doing well in
England, and ate serious impediments to their culture upon
a large scale ; yet, perhaps it may, with some confidence,
be suggested, that any one who is so circumstanced as to
be able to afford the time, who has the means of obtaining
the necessary supply, and who will bestow on them a
patient and careful examination, will fijid both pleasure
and gratification in the study, and it is very questionable
whether any portion of the animal creation is capable of

returning to man a greater profit, in comparison with his
outlayj_than bees.

Of all the curiosities in natural history, the labour of
bees is one of those that causes the greatest admiration.
There can be no doubt that at a very early period of the
world, man would naturally be led to notice and appreciate
that insect which secured to him one of the best of his
simple luxuries, and, consequently, he would very soon
avail himself of its labours, T am not, however, aware of
any "bee-keeper" previous to Aristomachus, who, it is

INTRODUCTION. IX

said, studied bees during sixty years. Philliscus retired
into a desert wood, that he might have an opportunity of
observing them to better advantage. Aristotle made a
great number of curious observations on this insect, which
Virgil refers to.

These observations were enlarged and confirmed by
Pliny and others. Theophrastus wrote upon the bee.
Columella, the celebrated Roman agriculturist, in his
treatise, " De Re EusticS,," has devoted a considerable
space to the subject ; and his remarks may be consulted at
the present time with much pleasure by the lover of bees.
It is rather surprising that Virgil (who has made bees the
subject of his fourth and most interesting " Georgic ")
should impart almost as much information as is to be met
with in the works of any other writer since his time, each
being apparently ignorant both of the accommodation and
arrangement of their hives, so as to suit the habits of the
insect. It is probably solely on account of the defective*
principles adopted, that bee-management has been hitherto
cultivated to so small an extent in this country, and hence
it has not proved more productive. Whilst so little of the
correct principle of management has been understood, and
the destruction of the bees has been considered absolutely
essential, in order to the attainment of their stores, it is
no wonder that so little attention should have been paid
to their comforts and wants, — ^that they should have been
considered liable to contingencies beyond every other

X INTRODUCTION,

description of stock, and that the only management deemed
essential in their case should be to place them in a box or
receptacle, however well or ill-adapted for them, leaving
them to chance alone to prosper or fail, until the period
should arrive for their final doom, — the reckless destruction
of every bee. When, however, the only true principle of
bee-management shall be more generally understood and
practised, viz., that of basingjbheir domesticated state, on
our knowledge of their habitudes and in§tiagL_^6 shall
probably find that no stock will be so certain and manage-
able ; and that there will be no department of rural
economy which practice may reduce to a more constant
and uniform success, because there is none so immediately
under our observation and control. Among the modems,
the number of writers who have treated on bees is very
great. The University of Oxford, at a very early period,
produced minds actively engaged in the study of bees, and
contLQues to furnish a number of individuals who delight
♦ in the same researches. It is generally thought that
Dr. Charles Butler, of Magdalen College, was the first
English author on bees. But in an old treatise on bees
which I have in my possession, Mr. Thomas Hyll is men-
tioned as being the earliest writer on this subject. His
works, printed in black letter, commence in the year 1568
and reach to the year 1586. Mr. Edmund Southern, also,
published a work on bees in the year 1593 : in this he has
given the names of other authors, all of whom wrote prior
to Dr. Butler. I have not met with any edition of his

INTRODUCTION. XI

work of earlier date than the year 1609. The learned
Doctor seems to have set all the bee-keepers of his time
in a state of commotion to find out how to construct a
transparent bee-hive similar to those used in the time of
Pliny ; and Mr. William IVIew, a clergyman li\ing at
Eastlington, in Gloucestershire, appears to have been the
first person who succeeded in constructing one upon this
principle, which he placed in his garden. Mr. Mew
observes, "That, if every clergyman, like himself, kept,
bees, it would add annually ,£30^000 tn the_wealth of
England." It is a most singular fact, that so early as the
year 1609, the discovery had been made public that there
were means of taking honey from the hives without
destroying the bees ; for, at this period, Dr. Thomas
Brown, a divine, left a treatise on bees and bee-hives for
the benefit of his native country, in which he states that it
is quite certain the ancients made plenty of money by
keeping bees, and that they were never killed. The
Doctor also gives many sensible rules for the management
of bees.

Among these old English writers I was agreeably sur-
prised to find the name of our great architect Sir Chris-
topher Wren, who was a contributor to the general infor-
mation on this subject, and kept bees in a hexagon hive
while he resided at Oxford. A century after Wren we
have the Eev. John Thorley, who also lived at Oxford.
This pleasing writer will afford much pleasure to any

XU INTRODUCTION.

reader fond of nature and nature's work ; and lately we
have had produced " My Bee Book," by the Eev. W. C
Cotton, of Ch. Col., Oxford. I had in my youth im-
pressed on my mind an ardent love for all the ways and
economy of nature, and I was thereby led to the constant
observance of the rural objects around me. The reader
will here find that I have noted down my observations, at
intervals of leisure, with an endeavour to point out the
necessity of apiarian pursuits being so directed as to
simplify the management of bees ; I have also tried to
show that we always succeed best, when nature and art
are made to accompany each other. The following remark
by Huber, if attended to, will be of advantage to every
student. "Man, in subduing animals, in some measure
impairs the equilibrium estabhshed by nature, and more
or less their energy becomes diminished. We should,
therefore, try to compensate them for the advantages of
which they have been deprived ; nay, must do much more,
if wishing to augment their products, for we have to
contend with nature, which assigns limits to the multi-
plication of individuals. It therefore demands of us to
possess a correct knowledge of the wants of the animals
subjected to our use, and it is from them the art of
managing them must be learnt." The reader will see this
observation particularly applies to the construction of
hives when he finds this subject treated of hereafter.

Bees are a race of insects highly entertaining ; to the

INTRODUCTION. XUl

naturalist on account of their peculiar maimers, habits,
and instincts, and important to the economist in rural life
by reason of their valuable produce. Under the indiscri-
minate term of honey-bee, we comprehend what are
severally named, the queen-bee, or female ; the drone, or
male bee ; and the workers, which are females with organs
undeveloped, or but partially so. The natural history of
the honey-bee has been more fally considered than that
of any other creature of the insect tribe, and there appears
to be none more deserving- of the regard paid to it.

JOHN MILTON.

May Ut, 1851.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
THE QUEEN ,.....•••.!

THE DRONE ......•••• 1

THE WORKER 2

THE SITUATION OF AN APIARY. . . . • . . 5

THE BEST TIME TO ESTABLISH AN APIARY .... 6

THE REMOVAL OF STOCKS OF BEES 7

PASTURAGE AND BEE FLOWERS ...... 8

BEES ON LAUREI5 • . . 11

THE SWARMING OF BEES 11

THE INDICATIONS OF THE BEES IN A HIVE ABOUT TO SEND

OUT A SWARM 13

THE HR-ING OF A SWARM OF BEES 13

SECOND AND AFTER SWARMS 17

VIRGIN SWARMS 18

HOW TO FORM ARTIFICIAL SWARMS . . . . . . 18

IS A iULD OR A SEVERE ^^NTEB THE BEST FOR BEES . . 20

UNITING SWARMS OF BEES 21

THE UNITING OF BEES WITH BEES 22

THE UNION OF BEES OF STOCK HTVES . . • . . 23

XVI CONTENTS.

PAGE

DEPRIVING THE HIVES OF HONEY ...... 25

TO REMOVE GLASSES OF HONEY 25

TAKING OFF A STRAW CAP OF HONEY 26

HOW TO REMOVE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HONEY . . . 27

FEEDING OF BEES ... 29

SPRING FEEDING 31

THE COMMON COTTAGE STRAW HIVE 33

THE IMPROVED COTTAGE STRAW HTVE 35

TAKING OFF GLASSES, SMALL HIVES, OR CAPS FILLED WITH

HONEY 39

THE STRAW HTVE WITH REVOLVING TOP 41

MILTON'S ROYAL ALFRED BEE-HTVE 45

THE LEAF HIVE OF HUBER .... ... 47

THE BOX-HIVE, WITH INTERIOR BOXES 49

BOX BEE-HIVE3, USED AS STORIED HIVES 51

A SINGLE mVE IN AN ORNAMENTAL CASE . . . 63

COLLATERAL BEE-BOXES . . 53

CANADIAN BEE-HOUSE . . 56

APIARY IN THE GREAT EXHIBITION 61

THE UNICOMB OBSERVATORY HIVE 62

THE

PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

JN the hands of a judicious and moderately attentive
apiarian, bees may become a profitable adjunct to rural

economy. Even the most humble cottager may be made

to participate in the benefit of an improved mode of

managing them.

There are in every hive of bees three descriptions of

individuals, as before described : —

" First of the throng, and foremost of the whole,
One stands confest, the ' Sovereign and the Soul.' " — Vikgil.

" The queen of numbers." — Waeton.

THE QUEEN.

The queen, who is the mother, is known from the rest
of the colony by her majestic movements, the great length
of her body, the shortness of her wings, and she is alto-
gether a more slender insect. She has a sting, which, how-
ever, she is seldom provoked to use.

THE DRONE.

The 'drone, or male bee, is easily distinguished by his
large size, his heavy motion in flight, and his loud humming
sound. He is the father of the hive, he takes no part in
its internal arrangements ; when he goes forth, it is only
in the finest weather, and during the warmest part of
the day. At the season of breeding there are in a hive

D. H. HILL LIBRARY
North Carolina State College

THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

from four hundred to eight hundred drones. They have
no sting, therefore caiuiot assist or in any way defend
either themselves or the other inmates of the hive.

THE WORKER.

The working bees, or neuters, being females of imperfect
organisation, are the smallest of the inmates, and by far
the most numerous ; a well stocked hive will be found
to consist of about 20,000 ; each armed with a powerful
sting, which they are ever ready to use, when disturbed in
the neighbourhood of their hive.

The sting of the bee is a curious weapon, adapted to
the industrious habits of its life, which expose it to a mul-
titude of dangers. It is truly an instrument in every
manner calculated for offensive or defensive operations
in the annoyance of its enemies. The wound which it
inflicts is severe, because it not only strikes deeply, but
conveys at the same time a powerful poison into the wound,
together with its sting. On the subject of the sting, Paley,
in his Natural Theology, remarks — " The action of the
sting affords an 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." When the bee means to sting, it flies about
the object of its anger very quickly, and by the velocity of
its motions seems to evade being struck. The soimd
emitted at this time is also peculiar ; and to those accus-
tomed to bees is perfectly well understood. The danger of
being stung may be, in a great measure, prevented. It
has been affirmed that a person would be in perfect
safety in the midst of myiiads of bees, if he were to keep
his mouth carefully shut, and breathe through his nostrils
only, — the human breath, it would seem, being peculiarly
offensive to them. There is not the least doubt but that

THE WORKER. 3

a quiet, composed manner, an avoidance of molesting
them, and quietly retii^ing from theii' hives, are all great
preventives.

"Writers are not agreed as to the duration of the term of
life in the honey-bee. Among the ancients, it was thought
to extend to nine or ten years ; but this idea is at this
time almost exploded. The queen bee is considered to live
about four years, the workers about one year. The drone
has only a very limited period of existence ; few are alive
before April, and scarcely one is left at the end of Sep-
tember. The general massacre takes place about the
beginning of August. At this time, strongly stocked hives
rid themselves of these now useless inmates. Among
those who have minutely treated on the subject of bees,
many have related veiy wonderful, and, in some instances,
incredible circimistances. They are celebrated for their
prudence, industry, mutual affection, loyalty to their
sovereign, public spirit, sobriety, and cleanliness. The
sagacity of bees in foreseeing rain, or cold, has been often
mentioned. Bees require considerable heat. The hatch-
ing of the brood in a hive, I believe, never takes place at a
temperature so low as 60°. The industry and activity of
bees in their domestic labours afford a very instructive
and amusing spectacle ; all are busily engaged in their
several departments, while some are employed in gathering
honey and farina ; others repair the cells, cany out the
dead, guard the entrance of the hive by night and day,
during the honey season, keeping their abode free from all
offensive matters, and renewing the air within by an
ingenious mode of ventilation, produced, fanlike, by the
vibration of their wings. Receiving from nature these
weighty charges, they labour assiduously to fulfil them ;
and, while each member of the commimity acts by the
impulse of its individual instinct, it works less for private
than for the general good. These industrious foragers
may be seen in. a genial morning, hurrying with their loads

b2

4 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

into the hive in crowds, and jostling and driving one
another in the greatest haste ; from seventy to ninety bees
may be observed in a strong stock to enter in a minute.

Bees in their excursions furnish themselves with three
different materials : the nectar of flowers, from which they
elaborate honey and wax ; the pollen or fertilising dust of
anthers, of which they make what is called bee-bread,
serving as food both for old and young ; and the resinous
substance called by the ancients propolis. In their excur-
sions in search of pollen, the bee visits only one species of
flower. This is proved by the fact of the little balls, with
which they are loaded, being uniformly of one immixed
colour — a wise provision of nature. I proved this fact
forcibly to the Secretary of the Society of Arts. A hive
of bees placed on the balcony of the Society's House, in
John Street, Adelphi, was in fiill work : the Secretary
asked me from what flowers do these bees collect their
little loads ? I replied, we could soon find out ; I then
caught one of the little labourers heavily laden, he had
just alighted, and was about to enter the hive ; I detached
the little pellets from each thigh, placed them on a piece
of paper, and set the captive free, requesting the Secretary
to taste the modicum, which he pronounced to be migno-
nette. Sometimes a bee is so discoloured with this powder
as to look like a different insect ; becoming white, yellow,
or orange, according to the flowers in which it has been.

The preservation of these industrious and useful creatures
deserves every consideration. Man from the earliest
period began to subject the animal world to his dominion,
and avail himself of its properties and powers to improve
his condition- Animals were created before man ; but
some of them were apparently endowed with their useful
and valuable properties for his comfort and assistance.
Having used their products for food, &c., he gives them
shelter and care in payment ! If these arguments have
any foundation in truth, it will appear, that animals are

SITUATION OF AN APIARY. 5

not necessaiily dependant on man, and generally derive no
benefit from their intercoui-se and association -with him ;
but that, in conformity with original appointment, they
aid him to acquire the enjoyment and to accomplish the
necessities of ci\dlised life.

THE SITUATION OF AN APIAEY.

This point requires consideration. It should be placed
in a quiet and moderately retired place, sheltered and
protected from an\i:hing likely to disturb the bees ; and
as anything damp, whether from dews or other causes, is
very prejudicial, this must be avoided. In my earliest
edition I asserted (and subsequent experience has not
altered my opinion) that it is not material in what aspect
the hives stand, provided the sun shines on the stock once
in the course of the day ; and that well-stocked hives,
kept dry, and provided due attention be paid to other
circumstances calculated to promote their welfare, will
thrive in most situations. In England we see most bee-
keepers place their- hives to face the sun at noon. In the
months of July and August this must be most inconvenient
to the inmates of a full hive, and no doubt gives extra
work in their mode of ventilation, and possibly is one of
the causes of their lying outside the hive both by day and
night ; the intense heat at this period frequently melts
the combs, which causes them to drop, the honey escapes
through the hive, and thus attracts wasps and flies to the
great annoyance of the bees, and is frequently the cause of
destruction to the stock. Whereas, if the hive be sheltered,
or placed amongst the shrubs, the bees will pursue their
labours peacefully, and much annoyance to the frequenters
of the garden will be avoided. Bees are confessedly a veiy
ii'ritable race, and in oiu' frequent inspection of their hives
it is more agreeable to go amongst them with a tolerable
certainty, than being made to feel their stiugs. I have

b THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

found those bees the least excitable which have had their
hives placed out of the rays of a hot meridian sun. I must
not be understood to advocate the placing of hives entirely
in the shade ; sun they must have, it is essentially neces-
sary in order to disperse the dews of our humid climate ;
but the mid-day sun, acting upon hives placed during the
summer months within the radiating heat of a brick wall,
keeps the interior, for many hours each day, at a degree of
heat little short of melting the waxen cells. This is the
error which I wish to see avoided. We know that cold
chills and suspends the animal spirits, and that heat, on
the contrary, stimulates them to greater activity ; it is,
therefore, only necessary to avoid extremes.

THE BEST TIME TO ESTABLISH AN APIARY.

There exists, even at this time, much difference of opinion
as to the best time for purchasing bees in order to com-
mence an apiary. I consider the most favourable season
to be about February, but, like old Moore, I should add,
" a week or two before, or after," in some years will not
be material. The combs are, at this time, empty of brood,
and light of honey ; the removal in consequence is safe and
easy. Another important consideration, favouring the
choice of this time of the year, is that those hives which
have survived the winter are not likely to die, unless there
should follow some carelessness in removing, or neglect in
feeding them. About the end of February, if there has
been mild weather, the queen will have commenced laying
eggs, and the bees will be engaged in hatching brood ;
and, if there is sunshine, these tiny purveyors may be seen
leaving their hive in search of farina, the collection of
which, however, at this early period, is very scanty. The
hatching is still going on, and the stock of food gradually
diminishing ; and now commences the time for the careful
proprietor to lend assistance ; a little feeding will then

REMOVAL OF STOCKS OF BEES. /

possibly save the lives of thousands, and assist to promote
early svrarms ; a little stimulus and support will at this
time infuse fresh spirits into these industrious foragers,
who are excellent economists, and vnll carefully store up,
if not absolutely required, what food is given to them.
Many hives of bees, supposed to die of cold, do in fact die
of himger at this period.

Stocks of bees should be selected by competent judges,
for their weight alone must not be relied upon at this
period (February). If a stock weigh twelve pounds and
upwards, it vnH be equal to one that weighs, in the
autumn, twenty pounds. Next to weight we proceed to
the number of inmates ; to arrive at this, choose a fine
morning, observe the bees carrying in farina, and of course
select those in which the greatest number enter. If the
season be too far advanced for purchasing stock, swarms
may be obtained to commence the stocking of an apiary ;
the early ones, that is, first swarms, are the best ; second
swaiTus are not to be rehed on, though they will sometimes
succeed. If there are one, two, or even three put together
in one hive, the risk of their not doing well is much lessened
by this union of swarms.

THE REMOVAL OF STOCKS OF BEES.

Evening is always the best time to effect the removal
of bees. Every one who is accustomed to this tiny but
irritable race is well aware that this is an operation which
at all times requu-es great care and attention. The least
mishap will cause him much inconvenience, and possibly
the loss of his hive of bees. The swarms, coming out, as
they do, in the hot weather, are liable to be suffocated ; a
stock filled with combs and honey are liable, if jerked
against any substance, to be dislodged from the rows next
them, or the whole mass may be jammed together, and
consequently injure or destroy the queen, upon whom

8 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

alone the prosperity or well-doing of the hive entirely
depends. Yet with all these casualties, by moderate atten-
tion to a few arrangements, the removal of a stock, or
swarm of bees, is easily effected. If the floor, or resting-
board, on which the hive stands before removal be a fixture,
the hive should be raised two or three inches from the board,
by means of wedges, in order to admit the air, which will
drive the bees up into the hive amongst the combs. With
all stocks of bees this should be done, if possible, the
evening before. I have seldom met with persons who are
aware that when a hive of bees has stood in one place for
a few weeks, hundreds will have collected on the floor of
the board. These bees will remain on the floor after the
hive is lifted, and prove troublesome to remove ; in default
of which, you must submit to leave them behind, and put
up with the loss. But if the floor-board is also moveable,
which I prefer, you have only then to stop in the bees,
secure the hive and board together by a cord, and all may
be safely conveyed to any distance. When stocks of bees
have arrived at their new home, and jilaced where they
are intended to remain, before you proceed to unstop
their entrance, let them be undisturbed till nearly dark ;
for as soon as liberty is given, if there be light enough,
they will leave the hive precipitately, and many will
be lost by not finding their hive in its new situation.
If there be one thing more likely than another to cause
them uneasiness, it is stopjDing them close in their hives,
which makes them desperate. They run over one another,
traverse the combs in haste, search all the hive over, and,
if not released in a moderate time, they will be soon suf-
focated. This, to the proprietor of a newly acquired stock
or swarm, will be most vexatious.

PASTURAGE AND BEE FLOWERS.

I am not one of those bee-masters who think it of no
use to cultivate little patches for bees. I have found great

PASTURAGE AND BEE FLOWERS. 9

pleasure in assisting these indefatigable labourers, and in
watchino; tliem in search of food from flower to flower. I
am aware that bees do best where their food exists in
great abundance, such as large tracts of heath, fields of
beans, acres of Dutch clover. But still we can help, we
can add, to these resources, although it is only in small
patches. I believe much assistance may be afforded to
bees during the months of March and April. At this
period the breeding goes on actively in all hives that are
moderately stocked. I have found that almost all early
flowers are visited by bees, — all the cabbage tribe, turnips,
radishes, and mustard. How easy, therefore, it is to place
some of them in by the heels iii an obscure comer of the
garden, and after they have blossomed, to throw them
away. The whole of the sallows and willows are alike
useful to them, on this account, that the catkins, or
blossoms, are developed at this early period. The poet
Virgil says : —

" Behold ! yon bord'ring fence of Sallo-w trees
Is fraught Tfith flowers, the flowers are fraught with bees ;
The busy bees, with a soft munnuring strain,
Invite to gentle sleep the lab'riug swain."

I ask this assistance to augment the supply at this
period, believing, as the season advances, food in greater
abimdance ^dll be readily obtained.

The gooseberry, currant, and raspberry bushes soon
engage their attention, and then follow the ap]3le, cherry,
and pear ; in short, all our orchard trees, when in bloom,
are minutely searched, and seldom without gain. I do not
consider it worth while to plant trees, or even shi'ubs,
expressly for the use of bees ; but there are some shrubs
so very ornamental, as well as productive of honey, that I
will just mention the Buddlea glohosa, the bird cherry
{Cerasus Padus), and the Cacalia suaveolens, and no doubt
many others. I have observed that flowers, which are
favourites with bees in some situations, are in others passed

10 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

over by them with aj^parent indifference. I think this
shows that climate, soil, as well as seasons, have more
influence in adapting flowers to bees than many persons
would imagine. I wdll now mention flowers, one or two
of wdiich I consider worth a little attention, both as regards
the well-doing of bees and afibrding pleasure to ourselves.
Mignonette has always been a favourite with bees. Those
who have paid attention and watched them, must have
remarked that this simple but elegant and fragrant flower
is an everlasting resource to them. No sooner is it quitted
by one, than another and another immediately succeeds in
search of the nectar and farina. The honey it affords is of
the richest flavour. The Eev. W. C. Cotton obser^^es : — " He
must be a very difficult person to please who is not satisfied
with mignonette honey." Borage is also a useful plant to
bees, and continues in blossom until the frost destroys the
stem only ; for its seeds will come up in the same place
for years. It is an annual A few seeds may be sown in
some retired place, where it will continue without farther
trouble for years, only requiring to be kept free from
weeds. It has been called the king of bee-flowers. In
cold and even showeiy weather, the bees feed on it in pre-
ference to many other plants. Its flowers are pendulous ;
thus the nectar it contains is not injured by rain, and
shelter is also afforded to the bee w^hile in search of it.
Among the larger resources from which the bees obtain
their supphes, and which ranges amongst the natural pro-
ductions of our country, foremost is the white Dutch
clover {Trifolium repens). This plant, which is spread
almost universally over the whole of Great Britain, is a
general and deservedly established favourite with bees.
It is universally sought after and frequented by them ; it
imparts that delicate flavoui' to our best honey which
makes it equal to any of warmer climes. Fields of beans
and buckwheat, when in blossom, are much resorted to by
them. I have for many years grown many acres of these.

BEES ON LAURELS. — SWARiHNG OF BEES, 11

The latter is well known for its usefulness as food for
game ; but the honey it produces, though obtained in great
abundance, is of a coarse and rather disagreeable taste.

BEES ON LAURELS.

I have often observed these little foragers busily em-
gaged during the spring months upon the laurel {prunus
laurocerasus). My attention was more especially directed
to it by the Eev. B. Nicols, of Highwood Hill. This
gentleman bestows particulai' attention to the habits of
bees, and is a successful cultivator of them. Diu'ing the
months of April and May he had noticed a more than
usual number of bees frequenting his laurels ; this they
continued to do daily, through but moderately fine weather.
I have extensive ranges of laurels, exceeding half-a-mile,
and those facing the south were more resorted to by the
bees than others. It is the imder side of the young leaf
they visit. I have met with the following note by a
naturalist, which may account for the bees resorting to
laurel in such numbers.

" The pnmus laurocerasus is not, properly speaking, a
deciduous plant, though it casts its leaves dui-ing the
spring and summer seasons. These long resist the common
agents of dissolution, like those of the holly, by means of
the impenetrable varnish that is spread over them. This,
however, wears oif, and they decay ; but their destruction
is at times accelerated by a small excrescent substance,
which fixes on the leaf, breaks the surface, and admits
humidity. It appears in the form of a black speck, and,
when ripe, discharges a yellow powder from the centre."

THE SWARMING OF BEES.

A swarm of bees is one of the most beautiful and
pleasing sights that can be imagined or beheld. The hum.

1-2 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

buz, and activity which is diffused throughout the apiary
at this time, is more easy to be conceived than described ;
it really seems as if this was the most important period of
their lives : for the apparent stir is not confined to the
one hive which the swarm is leavmg ; the whole colony
seem to partake of the general excitement. This season is
to the amateur in bee economy a most interesting period
in the life and operations of these extraordinary insects,
and affords, perhaps, fully as much gratification as any
other part of their proceedings. The exact cause of a
hive sending out swarms has not yet been satisfactorily
explained : and until we are more accurately acquainted
with the economy of these insects, I do not think we can
arrive at safe conclusions.

A crowded population may not be the sole cause of_this
periodical emigration of bees : but JJL^eems consonant Jfl
the usual course of nature that it should be the principal
one : and we are led to believe that the queen is induced
to emigrate in obedience to the wise provision of nature
for the increase of the species.

Certain it is that bees in this, as well as in every other
country, whether in a wild or domestic state, are found to
pursue this habit of swarming. On an average of years,
about the end of April or beginning of May, the bees
begin to form large cells on the edges of the combs. These
are the cells from which queens are to proceed, the
popidation having rapidly increased by this time, and the
heat of the hive having greatly augmented from these
exciting causes. The queen hurries over the combs from
one quarter of the hive to another. This agitation is
quickly communicated to her subjects, and, accompanied
by a multitude of them, she rushes out of the hive. Every
swarm is composed of a queen, a number of workers, and
a somewhat uncertain number of drones. A good swarm
will weigh about four pounds. Four thousand bees are
contained in each pound ; consequently, a good first swarm

HIVING OF A SWARM OF BEES. 13

may consist of from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand
bees. I may here state that the straw hive commonly
used by cottagers weighs about six pounds when empty.

THE INDICATIONS OF THE BEES IN A HIVE ABOUT TO SEND
OUT A SWARM.

The approach of this interesting period is made manifest
to the bee-master by many significant signs. For several
days previously, the bees may be seen in clusters at the
entrance to the hive, and at night they will often lie out.
An unusual number of drones may be observed to leave
the hive about the middle of the day, if fine. In short, to
a common observer, there are some unmistakeable proofs
that the hive is now fidl, and that a new colony is about
to establish itself in a new domicile.

This is always the case with first swarms ; with those
that come after the indications will be less marked. The
bee-keeper must look, and count his time. A first swarm
never departs but in fine weather. The hour is uncertain,
as the aspect the hive is placed in has some influence in
determining the precise period of departure. They may
be expected to leave from nine in the morning until four
o'clock in the afternoom The two principal swarming
months are May and June.

THE HIVING OF A SWARM OF BEES.

From the indications before alluded to, every bee-keeper
should be prepared with a new hive ready for an expected
swarm. I have known many prime swarms lost for want
of this precaution. The bees, after whirling about in
circles in the air in " regular confusion,^'' w^ill alight on
some branch, or low shrub, and there form themselves into
a cluster ; and, as soon as the greater part has fixed them-
selves to the spot, preparation should be made immediately
to hive them.

14 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

I propose to take the cottage straw-hive for the exempli-
fication of this process of hiving bees. I intend to describe
here what will be applicable to every other description of
bee-hive ; for, although it cannot be uniformly effected, on
account of the various positions in which bees settle, still
the principle, the preparation, and the mode of operation,
will be the same. In consequence of a belief in the reality
of the sense of hearing in bees, the practice is common of
beating sonorous bodies at the moment of swarming, in
order to prevent them from communicating with one
another, and thus to present an obstacle to their flying
away. I do not intend to pass over these tinkling sounds,
made on these occasions, I have not any objection to a
moderate amount — not that I have a superstitious belief in
their effects, but I am delighted with the soimds which
invariably fill my heart with gladness. The occasion too
must be one of either pleasure or profit to every one,
injury it cannot be to any. Moreover, I have found the
practice useful, the swarm-watcher has thus called me to
the spot when I have been elsewhere engaged. I consider
it matters very little, it is harmless, aud I would not
interfere to prevent it. Another practice I consider imma-
terial whether adopted or not — it is that of dressing the
hives with sweet liquor before placing the swarm within
it. I am aware that the bees will like a clean hive either
of straw or wood, but I have seen so much indifference
shown to secure their having a fit habitation that I would
not prevent this appearance of over kindness. It is no
uncommon sight to find a spare hive used for the purpose
of putting bulbs or seeds in to dry, and a hive being "just
the thing for such purposes," they are in constant use for
many weeks or months, even till the swarming season
requires them to be looked for ; in such cases, and they
often occur, this rubbing and dressing helps to free the
hive of many impurities. I would only admit the dressing
to be composed of sugar and water, or honey diluted with

HIVING OF A SWARM OF BEES. 15

water. There is one more of the practices of "the sages "
in bee management which I could never find of the least
service either to the insects or to the owner — I mean the
sticks they place across the inside of the hive ; this I con-
denni as utterly useless, nay worse ; to the hive of bees
it is positively injurious, by preventing a healthful cu'cu-
lation of air : and the bees, in an endeavour to avoid the
sticks, build their comb in all shapes but straight ; and
when the combs are wanted, in a hive that has been crossed
with sticks in three or four places, the trouble is greatly
increased. The mode of hiving bees is well understood by
all those persons to whose lot it generally falls ; other
persons, who have once seen it done, wdll find it much easier
than reading how it should be performed. By way of
showing the process in the most simple form, I propose to
relate the custom of our old hivers ; these persons are
fomid in every village, and well known for their alacrity in
coming at the shortest notice. To begin : — The clustered
swarm is glanced at ; its situation as respects convenience
for the hive ; the hive itself is then compared as to its
proper size w^hich the swarm may be supposed to fill ; the
interior is inspected, that all projecting straws, which would
give the bees much extra trouble, should be removed : in
order to do this a stone rubber and a coarse cloth are
employed ; next he requires " the di-essing," (usually a juo-
of beer, with some sugar to sweeten it,) with a soft hint,
that "some persons that do well with bees allow good
ale;" for he has known those hives, for which VMter
and sugar were used, to be deserted by the bees ; at all
events " the bees did not settle to them nicely." To con-
tinue : — In the absence of a brush to diffuse the sweet Hquor
regularly over the interior, he gets a few sweet herbs, bean-
tops will do ; a very little dressing is used ; his face, hands,
and bare arms are then smeared over, this prevents anger ;
only one thing more remains to be done, the toast, " Good
health to the owner, and may the swarm prove lucky ; "

16 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

this fimshes the jug of dressing. He sets about his work
cheerfully. A stranger to bees would behold with astonish-
ment how gently he sweeps, shakes, and handles this
multitude of armed, and, at other times, resentful insects ;
but he has nothing to fear, and our experienced handy 'nian
in a few minutes has succeeded ; the bees are in the hive
settling themselves ; he places them on a cloth, the hive
resting on the brick ; he shades it with green branches, or
whatever is at hand, and then he leaves them for a few
hours ; or, if desirable, in half an hour he lifts them on to
their appointed place. I consider this sufficient instiTiction
for the hiving of swarms in general. There are, no doubt,
cases of swarms settling on very awkward parts of trees
and shrubs, and no uniform instruction can be given.
The exercise of thought and some judgment will occa-
sionally be required. A hive rubbed inside with sweet
liquor, and mounted on a stick, just above the cluster, will
in some cases be taken possession of by this knitted mass.
On the other hand, when they cluster on a low branch,
the hive should be reversed, and with a gentle shake the
principal part of the mass will fall into it. An important
thing to be observed in this and in most other operations
with bees is, quiet ; this is essentially necessary. Also to
be calm, collected, and prepared with everything that is
required. Every writer on bees has made similar observa-
tions. A timid and inexperienced person may shrink at
the description of some of the dangerous operations eflFecte<l
with such irritable subjects, and will be disposed, on every
occasion of the kind, to ensconce himself in defensive
armour. In depriving bees of their hard-earned stores, or
interfering in any way with their hives and brood, he will
do weU to protect himself by such means. But with
regard to swarms, he need not be under any apprehension.
Every person accustomed to bees knows how safely he
may go into the midst of a newly-created swarm, not one
bee of which will molest him, unless he accidentally crush

SECOND AND AFTER SWARMS. 17

or injure it dming the act of hi\"iiig. They are so intent
on the great object of their emigration, the acquisition of a
new abode, and so anxious about the safety of the queen,
that what on all ordinary occasions would draw forth their
vengefid sting, now passes utterly unheeded by them ; and a
person may, in the event of a swarm clustering in an incon-
venient spot for being hived, lift them in handfuls, like so
much gi'ain, without in the least suffering for his boldness.
In hi\4ng a swann, the articles required, in addition tt>
the proper hive, are a cloth to spread under the hive, and
a brick to support its edge, so that all the bees may readily
enter it. Give the swann, when hived, a little shelter
from the heat of the sim, by any means that presents
itself, whether green boughs or an umbrella, and you may
leave it to abide on the cloth till evening, when the hive,
with its inmates, may be safely lifted to the place appointed
to receive them. I recouimend the hiving of the swarm to
be commenced as soon as possible ; for if the bees be suf-
fered to remain any considerable time where they have
settled, they are apt to rise again, and the owner may
thus chance to find that his best swarm has left his apiary
altogether. At the approach of the swarming season, it is
well to place an empty hive or two in the apiary, to be
ready for the reception of swanns.

SECOND AND AFTER SWARMS.

At a period of about twelve or fourteen days after the
departure of the first swarm, the same hive will be ready
to give out another swaiTQ, and sometimes when every
circumstance has been in fav^our of the breeding of young
bees, the mother hive wiU throw ofi" a third, and even
a fourth swarm. Our fondness for having our Apiaries
stocked with a great nimiber of hives, is apt to make us
overlook the disadvantage of having pimy stock-hives,
which give much trouble and are seldom productive.

c

18 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

He is a prudent bee-keeper, who takes but one swarm
from each stock ; he may, generally speaking, depend
on having stronger swarms, and a greater quantity of
honey.

VIRGIN SWARMS.

When the swarming season has commenced early, and
proceeded under very favourable weather, a strong first
swarm sends forth sometimes a young colony, headed by
the same queen. At the end of a month from the time of
her leaving her original abode, she issues forth, and leads
out a new band of emigrants. The honey produced by
this swarm is called Virgin-honey ; if it has been obtained
exclusively from such hives, and kept separately, it is
remarkably fine.

HOW TO FORM ARTIFICIAL SWARMS.

This discovery by the German Naturalist, Schirach, has
now become an established fact. It is not generally
practised in this country, owing probably to the want of
suflicient practical skill, in most of those who apply them-
selves to bee-husbandry. From repeated experiments it is
known, that bees can procure a queen for themselves,
provided they have a comb containing larvae not more
than three days old, in the common cells, and that nothing
but certain important conditions, such as a particular kind
of food and more spacious lodgment, are requisite for the
conversion of common larvse into queens.

The general period proper for the operation is about
eight or ten days previous to the time when natural
swarms might be looked for ; at that time it is likely royal
brood will be found in the combs, or at all events, abund-
ance of eggs and larvae of workers, to rear an artificial
queen, — and the males are also at this time numerous ; a
state of things indispensable to the success of artificial

HOW TO FORM ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 19

swanning. It lias been remarked, that " the egg of a
worker, placed in a royal cell, only produces an insect
which has its powers more fully developed, in proportion
to the ampler space which it occupies, but it acquires no
neiv powers. The germ of the ovary existed originally in
the common bee as well as in the mother-bee ; but the con-
fined limits of its cell, and the want of the peculiar food
pro^dded for the royal race prevented its development."
The mode of operation I now give is described by a person
who practised it twenty years back, and has repeated it
almost every year since, with the same success. " From
the fii-st to the third week of June, our hives had all
thrown their top or prime swarms. But instead of sending
off their seconds, or casts, ten or twelve days after, as is
usual, four of them had not done so until nearly three
weeks beyond that period. This was, in all likelihood,
owingf to an unfavourable change of weather. From the
crowded condition of the hives, a mass of bees, as large as
a man's head, hung from the alighting-board of each, a
giievous sight to the apiarian, as these hangers- out are
quite idle. We resolved, therefore, to try artificial swarm-
ing with one of these hives, and to regulate our proceedings
with regard to the others according to the issue of this.
We carried the fall hive into a dark place, turned it up,
fixed it in the frame of a chair from which the stuffed
bottom had been removed, placed an empty hive ov^er it,
joining them mouth to mouth, and partially drove it. As
soon as we perceived that about half the bees had ascended
into the empty hive, knowing that in these cases the
queen is generally amongst the foremost, we immediately
replaced the old hive on its former station, and removed
the new one, containing the queen, to a distance. As the
former had plenty of eggs and young brood, they were at
no loss to procure another queen ; while the other having
a queen, proceeded to work in all respects as a natural
swann." With all hives that open in two parts the opera-

c2

20 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER,

tion is very simple, more satisfactor}^, and less dependent
on contingencies. Early in the morning, or in the evening,
when the bees are all at home, gently separate the hive,
apply to each fiiU half an empty one of exact size, then
fasten them together securely. We have thus two hives,
each half full of bees, brood, and honey. One of them will
possess the queen, and the other will have royal brood, or
at all events, eggs and larv^se of all ages whei'e^\dth to
originate a queen. Let both doors be closed, that there
may be no communication. Two or three hours afterwards
listen attentively to each, and it will be readily ascertained
from the quiet state of the one, and the loud disorderly
buzzing of the other, that the queen is present with the
former. Carry ojff the one with the queen, and shut it up
in a dark apartment for twenty-four hours, leaving the
other in the original station, which will in twenty-four
hours have set about forming an artificial queen, and the
operation is finished.

IS A MILD OR A SEVERE WINTER THE BEST FOR BEES?

It has become a question among bee-writers, wdiether a
mild or a severe winter be most favourable to the health
and well-being of these insects. In a hive well and pro-
perly made, supplied with plenty of inhabitants, combs
moderately fresh, the hive placed in a dry quiet place, left
undisturbed, already having its own supply of food ; with
these conditions, I believe it is of very little importance to
the inhabitants of what nature the winter may be. If it
be severe they have enough of internal heat to preserv^e
them from the severity of the external atmosphere, and to
prevent the honey from candying. But the case is fe,r
otherwise with a hive, thin in population, and scantily
provisioned ; their numbers are too few to keep up the
vital warmth, and they are in danger of perishing should
the weather continue severe for a lengthened period ; and

UNITING SWARMS OF BEES. 21

therefore the bees coining safely through the winter season
depends, in almost every case, on the abundance of popu-
lation and of food, "Want of numbers is injurious, not
only because it is accompanied with the want of the
requisite warmth, but also because it seems greatly to
dispii'it the bees ; and there are many instances of hives
being deserted in the sj^ring while sufficiently provided
with honey, they having been disheartened by paucity of
numbers.

UNITING SWARMS OF BEES.

This very useful practice is too seldom adopted in
England. There ought not to be a question that double
the mmiber of labourers will obtain more in a given time
than half as many would do ; and this particularly applies
to bees in our changeable climate. All strong stocks pro-
vide for themselves more food than the weaker or thinly-
stocked hives. In the case of second swarms, I invariably
put two or three, or even four, together. The method of
doing it is so simple and easy, that let it be once done, and
I think every bee-keeper would, after one year's experience
of its benefit, never run the risk of keeping a second
swann or cast without uniting them. Diuing the season
of 1850, the bees at one of my apiaries were very late in
throwing off theu" swai'ms : I wanted to fill a box hive, —
aiid, ha^Tng waited throughout June and the principal
part of July, I left orders for every swarm to be hived
into this box ; and the result was — four good swarms were
placed in the box, and all of them " Jidy swarms." I will
now describe the method in which my orders were carried
out : my man, not much accustomed to bees, found no
difficulty in accomplishing it. The box, a new one, was to
be inibbed inside with sweet liquor, and set out near the
apiary, day after day, protected from the sun ; but placed
so that the bees could visit it — which they did not fail to
do ; and, before the swarm was hived into it, another

22 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

dressing of liquor. The first swarm came out about three
o'clock, on the 20th of July ; this was immediately hived
into the box, — left, shaded from the sun, — and, at eight
o'clock, removed to its appointed place. On the 23rd of
July, two other swarms came out : each of these was
hived, separately, in a common straw hive, and, at eight
o'clock at night, a cloth was spread on the ground near to
the box hive, a brick placed on the cloth, and then one of
the swarms was brought to the spot, and, with a smart
knock on the brick with the edge of the hive, all the bees
fell in a heap on to the cloth. The box was then set over
the heap of bees ; one of its edges resting upon the brick
gave space and enabled the bees to crawl (for they will not
take wing after dusk) into the box : this they did quickly,
and, in less than an hour afterwards, the other swarm was
treated precisely in the same manner. The box was left on
the cloth all night, and early the next morning put back
to its place again. The fourth swarm was hived July 31st,
in the same way — i. e., first into a common hive, and then,
at the hour of eight o'clock, the same plan was pursued.
Therefore, in this box, I have now four swarms — all from
separate stocks of bees. They united themselves mthout
any trouble or fighting about queens, — this "the bees
themselves settle," — and ai^e now working as actively and
harmoniously as any other stock, in their " Mansion of
Industry" at the Crystal Palace.

THE UNITING OF BEES WITH BEES.

FOE THE PURPOSE OF INCREASING THEIR NUMBERS, AND SAVING THEIR LIVES.

This requires a difierent mode of treatment to the union
of swarms ; and, in oflTering these observations, I wish to
be understood, as not advocating every system of bee-
manipulation or bee-management contained in these pages,
but, in order to make a treatise complete, on the practical
management of bees and hives, I am induced to give

UNION OF BEES OF STOCK HIVES. 23

directions how these various operations can be performed.
These will be partly from my own experience, and, in some
instances, from writers upon bees who have given a detailed
account of their methods of effecting the same object. I
would also advise all persons about to attempt these more
complicated movements, to consider well the object they
wish to attain, and to satisfy themselves whether it be
desirable, before they risk the loss of their stocks. The
union of natural swarms I have before adverted to, and
shown how easily it can be performed ; I will now give
directions for the driving of bees, the union of stocks,
smoking, partial suffocation, &c., &c.

THE UNION OF BEES OF STOCK HIVES.

Each stock of bees having combs of their own, also
honey, farina, and yoimg brood, are very reluctant to leave
thefr stores, and the operator must be prepared for their
frill detei-mination to resist any interference with their
citadel. Therefore he should provide himself, to be proof
against their stings, with a stiff veil and a stout pair of
gloves. The apparatus requfred will be a three-legged
stool, a large flower-pot, or a common house-pail : either
of these, in ordinary circumstances, will answer to receive
the hive about to be reversed. I choose the common straw
cottage hive as an example of the mode of explaining how
this operation is to be performed. In addition to the
pail, a wetted or damp towel, and two sticks a foot lono-
and half an inch thick, complete all the requii^ed materials.
The preparation, previous to commencing, is, first to raise
each hive on one side, about an inch, by means of wooden
wedges ; this may be done one or two days and nio-hts
before, so that no bees may remain upon the floor-boards
that all may be up amongst the combs of both hives.
The best season for the union of stocks of bees is in
the autumn, about the end of September, and for the

24 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

spring, usually the end of February, or early in March ;
should the season be a late one, April will do. Having
prepared the two hives, by wedging each, and finding the
bees have left the floor boards, choose an evening, dark,
dismal, and wet ; it matters not so long as there is light
enough without the aid of a candle ; then proceed as
follows : — Take the pail near to, but not in front of the
hive ; reverse the hive you want to rid of the bees into the
pail ; I. e., the crown of the hive in the pail, and the wide
part uppermost : quickly set on this the empty hive you
intend to receive the bees, and with the towel bind round
the two edges, so that not a bee can escape ; let the two
edges meet nicely together, and keep the top hive steady,
so as not to alarm the bees in the other hive if possible ;
with the two sticks beat gently round the sides of the
lower hive, — gently for fear of loosening the combs. In a
few minutes the panic-stmck bees will pass into the upper
hive ; you may soon aftei^wards separate them ; carry the
bottom hive, now nearly freed from bees, into a dark room
or outhouse ; the next morning what bees remain amongst
the combs may be made to quit and join the other hive.
The hive now with bees in it, but combless, is to be
reversed — i. e., crown downwards into a pail, and receive
a good drenching of sweet liquor, administered over them
by means of a small watering pot ; this having been done,
set over them the hive you wish to receive this addition
to their numbers ; they may be left in this position all
night, and on the following morning the upper hive will
have permitted the bees to mingle with them, and all will
be ready for the removal of the reinforced hive, which may
be put back to its former position. The same effect on the
fears of the bees may be produced by smoking them ; and
the process of doing it is similar. The smoke may be pro-
duced by damp rags, by tobacco, or fungus. The diiving
of bees, as it is termed, is not new in bee-management.
The state of hives, the seasonableness of the weather, and

DEPRIVING THE HIVES OF HONEY. 25

other causes, nevertheless, are important to insure success.
I have also succeeded in uniting bees which I have
obtained from persons about to destroy them, when they
wanted all the honey from the hives. These extra bees
are obtained by reversing the hives as before directed, and
when they are in the hive empty of combs, by tying the
hive round with a coarse open cloth so as not to suffocate
them ; they may then be safely canied to any distance in the
evening. A few whiffs of smoke from a cigar or pipe into
both hives, the one about to receive the strange bees, and
the bees without cells or food ; this smoke has the effect
of making: both families smell alike ; if the full hive be
turned mouth uppermost, and the hive with bees only
placed over the frill one, a few raps on the top will dislodge
the bees ; they will then fall between the combs, and
mingle with the others ; the empty hive is to be taken
away, and the ftdl one placed in its former position.

DEPEIVING THE HIVES OF HONEY.

There are three modes of taking the honey, — partial
deprivation, suffocation, and diiving ; that is, forcing the
bees to quit their magazines, and uniting the expelled
inhabitants to other hives. Those cultivators who pursue
the system of appropriating a portion of the honey accu-
mulated during the summer months, — who content them-
selves with a share only of the fruits of bee-industry, and
who make use of hives conveniently constructed for this
pui-pose, by which the available sui-plus can be seen and
accurately ascertained, — will be engaged in prepaiing for
thus sharing the products of the hive with the bees.

TO REMOVE GLASSES OF HONEY.

When a glass is properly filled with combs and honey,
the bees seal over the cells, and all is ready for its removal,
as the bees will have mostly retired from it. As soon as

26 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

this is perceived, prepare to remove it in the following
way : — if there is plaster, or any material round the
bottom, remove this in the first place, and separate the
glass with a thin knife. Do this the over night or the day
before. All being ready, choose the afternoon, when the
sun is off ; be prepared with another glass to put on, and a
dish or plate to set the full one upon ; with one hand take
off the full glass, set it on the plate, and with the other
put over the empty glass ; cover it over, and leave it ;
remove the full glass on the plate into a darkened room or
outhouse ; retain the bees in their position about half an
hour ; then raise the glass a few inches by means of two
sticks, to enable the bees to escape ; admit light, and an
opening for them to escape, and the bees will presently fly
and return to their hive. Do not leave the glass, lest the
bees should return, which they sometimes do in great
numbers, and carry off all the honey ; a few taps with a
quill on the glass may be made, and the bees will all quit ;
repeat the same process to any number of glasses ; this
can be done at all seasons ; and, I believe, this plan will
be found to answer as well as any other. From long expe-
rience, I remove small glasses at any time of the day ; if I
have room, I walk backwards with the glass in my hand,
shaking the bees out on to anything green that is in the
garden. Thus I save the time of keeping them prisoners ;
but some care is necessary, for fear of spoiling or breaking
the glass ; and the bees are most furious if you give them
but half a chance to inflict their stings. Their anger is
somewhat appeased after being confined for some time.

TAKING OFF A STRAW CAP OF HONEY.

The method adopted to effect this is the same as with a
glass ; but when it is larger, there is more chance of having
more bees in it in proportion ; and the greater the quantity
of bees the more reluctant will they be to leave : therefore

HOW TO REMOVE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HONEY. 27

more patience is required. I always place an empty glass
or cap over the top of the hive after I have removed a full
one ; the bees amuse themiselves under it by licking up
the little honey that is spilt. If the season is before them,
they will set to work to fill the next glass, or the next cap,
and this they w^ll do in a surprisingly quick time ; about
two pounds per day is not an imcommon quantity ; and in
general this second quantity is obtained in a much shorter
period than the first.

HOW TO REMOVE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HONEY.

When it is required to take away large portions of a
hive, or to divide a double hive or a triple one, there is
more trouble to make the bees quit their stores than with
a glass or cap, containing probably only honey ; whereas
these large portions or parts of hives contain brood also.
In order to explain how this is to be done, I propose to
state the process pursued by me in separating a double
box-hive when in full work, and fixed in the library of a
sentleman's residence near London. The hive was con-
struct ed of two parts, in all respects equal and similar ;
from the glass windows there appeared about the same
number of bees in each part. By applying my hand to the
glass, I judged from the heat that the queen was in the
lower division ; I therefore decided to take away the upper
half. The first preparation was to get the outhouse ready
to receive the box, to see that the window in it was free,
and that the means were at hand to darken it. Secondly,
the bench ready to place the box and bees upon, a few rags
in a flower-pan, some damp hay or straw to assist in
smoking them, a pair of beUows, a light in a lantern, a
cigar, a handkerchief to cover my face, and a pair of gloves.
With these, and a few feathers from the wing of a goose, I
was prepai-ed to set at liberty a strong colony of bees,
which could not have numbered less than twelve thousand.

28 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

And now, to prepare for the removal of this armed force, a
pair of zinc dividers, the full size of the box-hive, one-
eighth of an inch thick, a stout knife to separate the edges
of box from box, was all that I required. My assistant
kept the ui:)per box steady while I pushed in, between the
two, one of the dividers. This done, a second divider was
in the same way introduced over the first (it was useless
in this instance to wait to see in which part the queen
was). My assistant, therefore, carried off the box now on
one of the dividers to the outhouse, one divider remaining
on the top of the lower half of the hive ; this I removed,
and placed on a proper top-board (this storied box was
made of best Spanish mahogany, and highly polished).
The bottom box now formed a hive complete, of one story
only, instead of two. Not a bee had escaped into the room ;
all was perfectly quiet, excepting a louder buzz in the hive.
I overtook my assistant before he had reached the out-
house, and relieved him by carrying the box the remainder
of the distance (about three hundred yards), and placing it
on the bench opj)osite to the window. We commenced
with smoke, reversed the box, and partly withdrew the
divider. The bees soon began to leave ; they flew to the
window (the only place that light was admitted), made
their escape, and returned home to the hive, still in its
usual place. Having before observed that bees, when in large
numbers, always leave with reluctance, a few gentle raps
at the box, and occasionally blowing the smoke amongst
the combs and bees, caused in about an hour after a visible
diminution of their numbers. We now took a peep at the
half hive in the library, and soon perceived, by means of
the glass windows, that the number of bees was greatly
increasing ; thus we were satisfied that all was proceeding
in proper order. In about another hour, nearly all the
bees in the outhouse had left the box ; what few remained,
when they came to the upper side of the box, were, with
the assistance of feathers, made to quit ; and in about

FEEDING OF BEES. 29

three hours from the commencement, the whole was free.
Their numbers could not have been short of twelve
thousand ; it had always been a very strong working hive,
and had never swarmed. The box of honey was taken
into the house and weighed, when it was found to contain
forty-five pounds of fine honey. In relating this operation,
I hope I have fully explained the general method to be
pursued in the removal of all large portions of hives,
by gi\^g these details of my apparatus and proceedings
in this case. I will now refer to the necessity of feeding
bees, not merely on account of their owner having taken
from them too much, and thus deprived them of their
winter support, but also as arising from our ever-changing
climate. It often occurs that stock hives and swarms of
the ciu-rent year are unable to collect sufficient food to
maintain themselves through those months when all the
fields and gardens are to them a blank.

FEEDING OF BEES.

There is no branch of bee-management which requires
more attention than the feeding operation. The few bees
that are seen at the end of February entering their hives,
with their yellow loads on their thighs, derive them almost
solely from the snow-drop, the crocus, and the farze-blossom.
At this early period, the owner has it in his power to
minister essentially to their welfare, by supplpng them
plentifolly with honey or syrup of sugar. Even to the
well-provisioned, a little additional supply will be welcome,
and prove advantageous, infusing fresh spints into the
hard-working labourers, encouraging the laying of eggs by
the queen, and consequently contributing greatly to the
rapid increase of the population, and to the production of
early swarms. The consumption of food in spring is very
great, in consequence of the prodigious quantity of brood
reared — the queen laying at the rate of from one hundred

30 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

to two hundred eggs daily. Consequently, more honey is
consumed in the months of March and April than during
the preceding months. We need not fear being over-
liberal — the bees are excellent economists, and will care-
fully store up what we entrust to them. It is of material
importance in feeding, to guard against the admission ot
stranger bees. It will fi'equently lead to plunder, and
possibly death, if they are attracted to the hives by the
smell of the syiaip. Proofs of the acuteness of the sense
of smelling in bees are very numerous, and may be ascer-
tained by the commonest trial ; and when general feeding
is provided (that is, when aU the bees of an apiary are to
receive a benefit), the food should be given for them to
search for at some distance from the apiary.

The food administered to bees is of various kinds— every
bee-keeper having his favourite composition ; before I
proceed to give directions how this artificial food is best
composed, I will give a short extract from a work on
the subject of feeding bees, by Doctor James Howison : I
consider his observations worthy of notice. The Doctor
remarks : — "Sugar simply dissolved in water or beer, which
is a common practice, and sugar boiled with either of these
fluids into a syrup, form compounds very difierently suited
for the winter store of bees. When the former is given
for their immediate nourishment, as in the spring, it will
answer equally as well as syrup ; but if it is laid up by
the bees as store, the heat of the hive quickly evaporates
the water, and leaves the sugar in dry crystals, which
cannot be eaten by the bees." — Bees will, in the autumn
and early spring months, partake of almost any sweets
that they can gain access to. Caution is required that the
honey be not acid, nor the syi'up in a fermented state :
candied honey is poison to them — no bees can live in a
hive if the honey in it becomes candied. I have before
observed that I always prefer honey when it can be
obtained. The proportions requisite to foi-m the syrup, of

SPRING FEEDING. 31

a proper consistency for this purpose, is one pound of
sugar and one pint of water ; if a small teaspoonful of salt
and half a wine-glass of rum be added to this quantity, it
will be found to keep rather longerc

SPRING FEEDING.

A writer on bees— one who has kept them for forty
years — observes : " If your bees require feeding in April,
be sure to give them a supply : the proper time is about
seven o'clock in the evening. In the morning, as early as
you can, remove what you have fed them with in the day.
They are very eager after honey, as there seldom is any
for them in the flowers at this early period, and they wiU
have it if they can find it any where. Sugar is preferable
to honey only in one respect, — which is, the bees will not
rob for sugar half so eagerly as they will for honey."

A piece of honeycomb is, at all times, the readiest thing
to give as food, and even an empty piece of comb will like-
wise be found most useful to administer the syrup to the
bees. If it is intended to give them food in considerable
quantity, the best way is to raise the hive on to a round
or square frame of wood, about three inches deep ; place
the combs in the vacuum, then set the hive on. The bees
will soon empty them of their contents. The best time is
the evening. Once or twice, if a few poimds are given
them, will generally be sufficient. Another plan is, to give
them every evening just enough for them to remove, and
early the next morning take the feeding apparatus away.
Some persons use hoUow troughs for giving the syrup to
them in small quantities, which they fill and put in at the
entrance hole of the hive. Fountain bee-feeders are con-
structed after the shape of the bh'd-bottle : these are made
with tin, are shaped to fit the entrance hole of the hive, and
thus prevent all other bees from entering at the time they
are thus in use ; a great vai-iety are also made for toj>

32 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

feeding. These have round holes in the centre, through
which the bees pass up into the feeder, and return with the
food into the hive. In all cases, the food is to be covered, to
prevent strange bees taking it except those of the hive for
whom alone it is intended. When more general feeding
is adopted, I use old hives of comb and honey : these are
always to be had at the end of summer, and this is the
best way in which food in a large quantity can be given to
them. The bees feed without soiling their legs and wings.
By placing their food as far from their homes as is con-
venient, all chance of a quarrel or fight is prevented.
Turn it ujjside down or any way — ^the bees will clear it
all out and return to their hives before the chill of evening
sets in,

I will now bring my observations on the management of
bees to a close, and proceed to the various hives and
their proper management.

To the question so often asked, — which is the best hive ?
— I do not think a satisfactory answer can be given ; for
we must first be informed of the object aimed at : whether
it is the pleasure and satisfaction to be derived from
keeping bees, or if it be for amusement blended with
profit ? Persons who keep them often have many objects
in view. They require a hive which will enable them to
show their friends some portion of the mysterious workings
of this wonderful race of insects, and this therefore gives
rise to the variety of inventions we so often see, — each
being the best for the purpose for which it is desired. It
will appear, from this and other circumstances, almost
impossible to construct a hive of universal adaptation ;
nor can we pursue one general system of bee-management.
We must vary and adapt our contrivances to meet the
wishes and wants required. It must be impressed upon
the amateur, that all his appliances must be made to act
in accordance with the habits of the insect. The materials
to compose a bee-hive are also various : my experience

COMMON COTTAGE STRAW HIVE. 33

prompts me to acknowledge that straw is the best. I
have succeeded in using cork, which also is a non-conductor
of heat : this material requires to be combmed with wood
or iron to give it strength.

THE COMMON COTTAGE STRAW HIVE.

This hive is so well known that it will require but
little comment ; yet two or three points on its general
management may be found ser\'iceable. The hive, with
the stock of bees in it, should be kept dry — (this is very
important) ; — it should be placed in a moderately exposed
aspect, not near to a hedge or wall, but at a distance suffi-
cient to allow a passage to the back, although bees, by
being accustomed to it, will permit their hives to be
approached in front. It is not safe for a stranger to
venture in that direction, for it excites and often causes
them to be angry ; whereas from behind their hives, per-
sons may approach them with safety. Care must also be
taken that these hives are made of clean and good straw,
and that they are of a suitable thickness : some are made
so thin and loose, that it takes the bees two or three days
to render them fit for the reception of combs and honey.
This may be ascertained by placing the ear near to the
new swarm. The first night and next day of its being
hived, a constant teaiing and gnawing at every snag, or
little projection, in the interior, will be going on until
it is made smooth, and every crevice stopped. This, of
coui'se, consumes the time of a great number of bees, which
otherwise would be employed in searching the flowers for
honey and farina. A few weeks about the season of bees
swarming, is the most valuable portion of their time. It
is an ascertained and most interesting fact, that a swarm
will have to collect twenty pounds of honey, or thos e
materials that the bees convert into honey, in order to

D

34 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER,

build combs and cells, to be hereafter filled by them with
honey in a common hive.

The cottage straw hive is in more general use through-
out Great Britain than any other, and is in consequence
always called the common cottage hive. These hives are
made to hold more or less, according to the usual custom
of various counties. The hives in use in Bedfordshire
contam, when filled with combs and honey, about 40 lbs. ;
those in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire about 35 lbs. ;
the "bee-skep" in Suffolk and Norfolk, about the same
weight. Surrey and Sussex, 30 lbs. ; Middlesex, Berk-
shire, Oxfordshire, and Hampshire, 30 lbs. ; Wiltshire and
Dorsetshire, 30 lbs. ; in Devonshire, the " bee-butt " is
made to hold 35 lbs. In all these counties, I have found
individuals keeping their bees in hives of smaller, and
others in hives of larger size ; they generally explain as a
reason, that they have in their neighbourhood sainfoin,
beans, clovers, or lime trees, in abundance.

The bee-hives in use in Scotland are generally larger
than those we see in England ; and in addition to the size, the
Scottish bee-keepers practise " ekeing" their hives (which
means an addition of one-third to its size) : — this enables
them to obtain a very considerable bulk of honey, at the
season of taking it, by means of destroying the bees. I
have received several hives of comb and honey from
Scotland, each of which weighed upwards of 70 lbs. ; and
one in particular, I may notice, weighed 86 lbs ! The straw
hives, used in all the northern counties, are very properly
made of thicker coils of straw, and are in consequence
warmer, and not so easily afiected by atmosi)heric change.
These common hives are useful to keep as stock hives ;
they are inexpensive, and requu-e so little attention, that
once placed in a good situation, protected both from rain
and mid-day sun, with the usual care bestowed on live
stock, and no more is required. Under these circumstances,
bee-keepers will never regi-et having a few stocks of bees

IMPROVED COTTAGE STRAW HIVE. 35

ill such hives with which they may supply a friend, and
send them to him at any distance. Every hive should have
its separate board to rest upon, and that portion for the
bees to alight upon should project about four inches in
front of the entrance to the hive, so as to allow the bees
plenty of space. It is scarcely necessary for me to add,
that all hives should be placed securely, and not left liable
to be blown over, or thrown down by accident. Various
coverings are used for this hive, — the straw hackle by the
rustic cottager, and the turf by the labourer ; these are
the most common. The fai'mer's wife employs the spare
milk pans, which answer the purpose of keeping out the
wet from the crown of the hive. The two first coverings
are each liable to entice a mouse to take up his winter
quarters under them. He is a great annoyance to bees,
and not unfrequently bites his way through the crown of
the hive, and destroys the stock. A few times lifting up
the covering during the season when the bees are in a
torpid or inactive state, will be sufl&cient to rout the
intnider ; or, as soon as discovered, the traps must be
brought into action. Be sure your stocks ai'e looked at
about Michaelmas, and that the house and board is clean ;
then plaster them roimd to the board, leaving quite a
small entrance for the bees to get in and out. Again in
March, lift the hives up from the board, and clean them.
This will save the bees a great deal of trouble. The shape
of the cottage hive is considered more effective in preserv-
ing bees through the winter months than any other hive
in general use.

THE IMPROVED COTTAGE STRAW HIVE.

(with a STEAW cap, OB BELL-GLASS.)

This addition, though simple in contrivance, is very
effective in its operation, and enables the bee-keeper to
obtain a fair share of the surplus honey, and to act up to

D 2

36 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER,

the wishes, without deserving the remonstrance, of the
poet, who truly says, —

" Leave them happy in their copious store,
A part they'll give; and why desire ye more ?
And must ye kill ? — Mistaken thought — ah, shame !
No more involve them in sulphureous flame."

I am sure no true lover of bees ever lighted the fatal
match to destroy his little innocents with flame and smoke
without feeling much reluctance and regret. I know of no
light we have, morally speaking, over the life of the meanest
insect. Avarice often mistakes its own interest. It is,
therefore, infinitely more to our advantage to spare the
lives of bees than to kill them and take possession of their
store ; and as keeping bees for merely what can be obtained
from them has no really moral tendency, so it would be
worse than useless, if it did not tend to improve the taste,
and enlarge the sympathies of our nature. Craelty is the
common vice of the ignorant. Cruelty is invariably con-
demned in Scripture, but "shewing mercy" is invariably
upheld ; and while humanity justly recoils from the act of
killing bees, the philanthropist is led to adopt such a
system of management as will secure to him a fair quantity
of their produce, without causing them any injury.

I am induced to give here the rules and method of
management as regards this hive, adopted with complete
success, for a long series of years, by the late Mr, Hodgson,*
who was a true lover of bees, to whom I was indebted for
many valuable hints ; and I know that several members
of his family are still pursuing the same plans which were
so successfully carried on by their father.

Mr. Hodgson observes : — " I have taken honey from
bees in the way herein directed, with success, for more
than thirty years ; nor have I seen any way pointed out,
by the various writers on the subject, in which it can be

* Instructions to Keepers of Bees. London, Printed for H. T. Hodgson,
Bookseller, comer of Wimpole Street. 1816.

IMPROVED COTTAGE STRAW HIYE. 37

taken with so little risk aud uiconreiiieiice to the bees, nor
with less danger to the pei*son taking it away. And in no
w^ay can it be taken in a purer state ; for I have sometimes
had the small cap put on, filled, and taken off in eighteen
days. The honey so taken oif will be more valuable for
sale than when taken in the usual way, as weU as getting
it to market six weeks or two months earlier than it is
generally sent.

" When the hive gets full of bees, which is usually in
April, or, at farthest, by the middle of May, this is the
fittest time to set on the small cap (or bell-glass). Remove
the bung, or whatever has been put over the hole on the
top, and place a small straw hive over — then lime or clay
it round, to make it air-tight — by so doing it becomes part
of the hive ; and as the bees at this season are most anxious
for the increase of their numbers, having the greatest part
of the hive they have wintered in occupied with their
young brood, or bee-bread, they are more ready to lay
their honey into the small hive on the top than in any
other way. The small hive will frequently be filled in the
course of a month, -when it should be taken ofi", and a
second placed in its stead, which, if the season is favour-
able, will be filled in less time than the first, I have
known three or four successively taken off one stock in a
season. Glasses can be used instead of sti^aw caps, by
those who are curious in obsei-ving the bees at work ; but
they must be kept covered 6'om the light and heat, excei)t
for a short time while looked at, which is best done when
the sun does not shine upon the hives,

" Honey taken in this way is purer than when taken in
any other way ; and if the small hives or glasses are filled
and taken off, the honey will keep in the comb in those
hives all the year, as good and perfect as the day it was
taken from the bees, — for it will be wholly free from bee-
bread or young brood, which are both very detrimental to
the preservation of the honey.

38 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

" When you take oflF a small hive, run a knife between
it and the large one, which will cut through any comb the
bees may have worked through the hole. Set it on a plate
or dish, and instantly set an empty one on the old hive.
Then take your small hive to the distance of twenty or
thirty yards from the other, and let it stand for half an hour,
putting a cloth round it, so that the bees do not get out ;
but mind it is not so close as to smother them. Then turn
it uj)side down, and place another hive upon it, wrapping
a cloth round them, so that they cannot escape ; then keep
tapping repeatedly against the full hive, for five or ten
minutes, in which time the greatest part of the bees will
go up into the empty one ; then take it and shake the
bees out on to the ground, or on a cloth, near the hive you
took them off; which process must be repeated till you
have cleared the small hive of the bees. But if you took
the small hive off, and set it so that the bees could get in
and out freely, even in a darkened room half a mile distant,
they would some of them fly home and give notice to the
stock, who would very soon flock in great numbers to the
small hive you had taken off, and (if let alone) carry the
greatest part of the honey from the small hive back to the
stock from whence you had taken it off."

"First swarms, when they have been hived fifteen or
twenty days, if the weather is favourable, or when they
begin to lay full at the mouth of the hive, put one of the
small hives on, and that will generally be filled with pure
honey in three or four weeks. Then take it off, and put
on another. If the season is fine, this will also get filled ;
and when they have been taken off, there will be suflacient
honey left in the lower or large hive for the stock to live on
through the winter, and be equally as strong in the spring
as if no honey had been taken from them. Wlien the last
hive or glass is taken off (which it should be, whether full
or not, before the end of September), put a cork in, or a
piece of board over the hole, and plaster it round with

TAKING OFF GLASSES FILLED WITH HONEY. 39

lime or clay, to make it air-tight ; cover the hive to keep
out the wet, as well as the extremes of cold or heat."

To accomplish taking off a full cap, or a glass of honey-
comb, in its perfect state, is thought by the amateur in
bee-management a feat w^orthy of merit and imitation ;
and as this desirable object is effected by two or three
different ways, I give here, in addition, the method suc-
cessfully pursued for many years by Mr. Monkhouse, who
is also particularly attentive to every minutiae regarding
apiarian pursuits.

TAKING OFF GLASSES, SMALL HIVES, OPt CAPS FILLED
WITH HONEY.

Premising that in all operations with bees, gentleness
and absence of noise is to be particularly observed, so that
the bees may not be alanned, but rather taken by sur-
prise : with a knife (glazier's pointed putty knife to be
preferred) quietly loosen the glass or cap from the board or
hive to which the bees have cemented it ; and, finding it
(^uite loose, having in your left hand an empty glass or
cap, quickly take off the fall glass or cap with your right
hand, and place on the same spot the empty one, then
briskly walk away with the full glass or cap, holding it in
the same position (downwards), to a summer house or
outhouse ha\dng a window, and place it on two sticks
placed across a dish or pan, and there leave it, and close
the door of the summer house or outhouse. In a short
time the bees will begin to leave the glass or cap, and fly
to the window, w^hich shoidd be provided with the con-
venience for your opening it on the outside. On observing
bees at the window, open it, and let those out, and imme-
diately close it ; and so successively until all have left.
When no more bees appear at the window, you will find
the glass or cap empty of bees, or nearly so, and then
remove the glass or cap to your house. Great care is to

40 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

be taken in not suffering the window to remain open, that
no bees can return until you have removed the glass or
cap; otherwise great confusion will arise by bees coming
back in numbers for the purpose of emptying the glass or
cap of honey. The glasses or caps, when filled with honey,
may be taken off in the middle of a fine day, as they are
then less crowded with bees, which are abroad. Take off
the glasses or caps at least an hour before the light of the
day begins to diminish, as the bees will not move from
the glasses or caps after it begins to be dusk.

Take care you properly estimate the weight of the glass
or cap, and that you have sufficient pui'chase to hold it
securely by the top on removing it to the summer house
or outhouse, where the sticks and pan or dish have been
ad.justed ready for its reception. Tying a bit of strong string
to the knob of the glass or top of the cap will give you a
much securer hold of the glass or cap than the knob, or,
probably, the top of the cap could.

In the absence of the above conveniences, take off the full
glass or cap of honey about an hour before it becomes
dusk, and jDlace it on its side, some distance from the hive,
under an evergreen or shrub, or under growing vegetables.
In a short time you will find the bees begin to leave ; and
all will have left before it becomes dark. Observe, patience
is essential ; and if you endeavour to hasten the departure
of the bees by disturbing them, or shaking the glass or
cap, you will alarm them more, and retard their moving,
and probably loosen the combs. It will sometimes happen
that brood may be in some part of the glass or cap, par-
ticularly if the glass or cap be of large size. If this should
be so, most of the bees will not desert their broods but by
compulsion, and you must then remove the glass or cap
and put it into a cupboard until the morning, taking care
that no other bees can get to it. Many will leave in the
morning, and the rest must be made to leave by fliipping
them off with a twig as they appear on the edge of the

STRAW HIVE WITH REVOLVING TOP. 41

combs. Any person performing the above operation, or
witnessing it, wishing to avoid a not improbable chance of
getting stung, had better protect his hands with thick
woollen gloves and his face with a veil.

C. J. MONKHOUSE.

THE STRAW HIVE WITH REVOLVING TOP.

In the year 1826, the Society of Arts awarded me their
Ceres medal for the invention of this bee-hive. I have
these hives now in continual use, and am not aware of any
straw hive that offers so many advantages. By these
revohing hives we can obtain the finest honey at the
period of its piincipal gathering. Their construction
obviates the necessity of smoking, or driving, or, in short,
of using any but the most gentle means. I vrish to impress
this upon the mind of the apiarian ; for, much as we may
desire to control the bees, we should do it as gently as
possible, and with judgment. I have found by experience
that the most tiivial alteration in the situation of the
hives, or any disturbance of the internal arrangement at
a critical time, (i. e., during certain stages in the trans-
fonnation of the brood,) will totally change, or even
destroy the means they have of perpetuating their species.
In one of my experiments I so disturbed the economy of
the hive, that the queen laid eggs which produced only
drones. A certain number of days is requu-ed by the bees
to produce their young. This also depends in a great
measure upon the temperature of the hive, as well as upon
the attention the bees are able to give, (their first care
is honey, the second the perpetuation of their species) ;
therefore, if a sudden disturbance or alteration be made,
it may possibly at this time interfere with the regularity
of the process. The hive is simple in its constniction, and
easy in its management. It is now made to carry three
bell-shaped glasses on the top, which vsdU hold, when filled,

42 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

about 12 lbs. Some years back, I used four glasses to con-
tain this weight. I have since discovered, that small glasses
give the bees much trouble, and that a glass moderately
large is more readily taken-to by them, and often filled
with honey in less time than smaller ones.

The following are directions which should be attended
to, premising that the hive is clean, smooth inside, and
in every way adapted to receive the bees. To put a swarm
into this hive, the bell glasses being away, turn the board
at the top, so as to entirely close the holes in the board
underneath ; then tighten the thumb-screw, and hive the
swarm into it. When the bees are all settled, remove it to
where it is permanently to remain, whether it be to a
single stand in the garden or to a bee-house ; let it remain
protected, but undisturbed, for eight or ten days ; then
place the glasses on, one over each hole ; loosen the thumb-
screw, and turn the upper board, so that the holes may
correspond Math those in the lower board ; the passages
l:»eing free, the bees will now be admitted mto the glasses,
and will commence building combs for storing the honey.
The glasses should be covered with the common hive, and
then left for two or three days without being looked at.
The glasses should be fixed firm to the board by means of
plaster or pieces of paper pasted round them. The bees
always do this on the inside with a kind of gum, which
they use for this and other purposes. If the glasses shake
and are insecure, the bees will not so readily take to them,
and thereby a portion of the honey-gathering will be lost.
It is easily ascertained when the glasses are full by the
cells of the comb being sealed over ; and the bees will par-
tially have left. When you wish to take away a full glass,
it is not requisite to turn the board, but merely, with a
knife, remove the plaster outside of the glass (if this is done
the evening before the better), and then pass the knife
underneath to loosen it from the board ; take the glass oif,
and set it on a plate, and immediately replace an empty glass

STRAW HIVE WITH REVOLVING TOP. 43

over the hole. This process can be repeated to any number
of glasses during the whole season of honey-gathering.

The best time to remove glasses is when the sun does
not shine upon the hives, or bee-house ; but any time
dm-ing daylight will do, so that the few bees that are in
the bell-glasses have time to return to the hive. The
second glasses will often be more speedily filled than tiie
tii-st, sometimes even in a few days. A stock of bees in
full working \'igour will collect about two pounds of honey
each day, during favourable weather. I repeat here the
season of the year, when it will be advisable to desist from
working the bees in glasses or caps ; othei-wise the parent
hive will become impoverished. It is not desirable, in
most seasons, to take away honey in this manner after the
lC)th of August (imless in the neighbourhood of a heath,
or other backward pastm^age), because the remaining part
of the season sometimes proves unfavourable, and the bees
are thereby prevented from collecting and procuring a
sufficiency of food for their winter support. Therefore,
about this time, remove all glasses and caps, turn the
board and fix the screw ; thus the bees are made secure.
During the first months, they are occupied in pro^'iding
for the support of the hive, and also dming that period
when they are partially in a torpid and inactive state.
Contracting; the entrance to all hives should also be done
in August. This greatly assists the bees in their endea-
voui's to prevent the plunder of their stores by wasps and
the bees of other hives ; space just large enough to admit
a sincrle bee is now sufficient. Glasses that ai'C at this
time only partly filled with comb and honey, should be
careftdly put by, to be again placed over the holes of the
hive at the end of the following April ; or, should the bees
require to be fed with honey or s^-rup, these partly filled
glasses will be found ver}^ useftil for this puii)Ose. The
end of April is the usual time to commence placing on
bell-glasses or caps. The stock hives are at this period

44 THE PRACTICAL BEE KEEPER.

full of combs, bees, and brood of all ages ; and, should the
season be foi'ward, and continue favourable, you may
expect to have the glasses well filled with fine honey
several times. Honey obtained by means of these glasses
being fresh from the hive, will be of the finest quality, and
perfectly free from bee-bread, or young bees. It will
possess the flavour and fragrance of the flowers then in
blossom ; will be clear, and far superior to that obtained
from common hives. The revolving hive possesses another
essential quality, which is this : — the honey may be taken
at 23leasure, without risk or injury, or having recourse to
that painful process of partially killing the bees by fumiga-
tion, which is also found to deteriorate the quality of the
honey. The management here directed does not prevent
the bees from swarming ; the owner has therefore the
means still at hand to increase the number of his stocks.
The apiarian will by means of these hives be gratified at
the sight of these indefatigable insects, toiling to

" Improve each shining hour ; "

he will also be able to satisfy the curious, as well as those
in search of their more minute operations,

" How skilfully she builds her cell,"

while he will be himself enriched with the store of honey.
These hives are also constructed to remove one glass
without disuniting the combs of the others. This is
effected by keeping the three holes within half the dia-
meter ; but the hive is not then so sightly, and there is
no real advantage obtained by it. During my long practice
in the management of bees, and in the invention and con-
structing of bee-hives, I have not shown exclusive attention
to the production of a pretty hive, or rather to a pretty-
looking hive, to the sacrifice of utility ; for I have ever
found the best hives to be those free from complicated
machinery. In short, every hive ought to be simple in

Milton's royal Alfred bee-hive. 45

construction, and easy of management. Hives with nume-
rous glass -udndows, and gilt ornaments, look pretty in-
doors, but they very soon lose their usefulness. One
w*indow of glass, to enable a person to see that the bees
are alive, and to show to him the state of the combs, is
sufficient ; and this one will require to be protected from
damp and frosts during four of our winter months. More
than one weakens the hive of its stability, and exposes the
combs to the bad effects arising from the glass attracting
humidity.

MILTON'S ROYAL ALFRED BEE-HIVE.

A short description of this hive will at once show its
usefulness and efficiency. The name originates with the
circumstance, that the first trial of placing the bees into
the hive was August 6th, 1844, the day on which H.E.H.
Prince Alfi'ed was born.

This hive is most conveniently adapted to the purpose
of taking the honey without destroying the bees, and is
found suitable for the conservatory, the library, the
boudoir, or any room where the sun's rays come during
some portion of the day. Six bell-shaped glasses are placed
upon the upper part of it, which, when filled with honey,
will contain about eighteen pounds. An important feature
in the construction of this hive is, that the bees can enter
and ascend to any part of it with the greatest facility ; and
all refuse, as well as all dead bees, are prevented from
accumulating either in the hive or on the board. It is
exceedingly portable, and can be easily carried from room
to room by merely taking the most simple precaution — that
of closing the entrance ; and then not a single bee can
escape, nor a comb be misplaced. The construction of it
is such, that the whole of the interior can be inspected at
all times — even during the greatest acti\ity of the bees —
without risk or annoyance. The feeding can be effected in
two ways, on the top, and in front ; and all other bees are

46 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER,

excluded at the time. The possessor of this hive will be
enabled to contemplate, with feelings of great interest and
pleasure, the secret workings of the bees : he will see them
build their combs, and prepare the waxen cells, in the
several compartments of the hive, and deposit in them
that treasure (the honey) which, at a future period, may
be removed without having recourse to the barbarous
practice of destroying these valuable insects.

The facilities for placing a swarm of bees into this hive
are at once simple and clear. The six bell-glasses are to
be removed, for the purpose of hiving the bees, and the
openings, during this operation, covered. The hive may
then be rubbed inside with sweet liquor, care being taken
not to smear the glass windows (the back portion of the
box is moveable). This being done, the bees may now be
shaken into it, and placed on the cloth which is to shelter
the hive from the sun's rays. All the entrances are to be
left up, so that the bees can easily find theu^ way in.
Leave them in this state until the cool of the evening ; at
this time the bees will have formed themselves more into
a mass, and not be spread over (as at first) every portion
of the box. The back may now be replaced, and then the
hive may be removed to its appointed place. All the
entrances may be continued up for the first few days, in
order that the bees may find ready access to every part of
the hive ; and at the expiration of eight days, the glasses
may be placed on, — removing the temporary coverings
one at a time, until the whole six are in their places.
Leave them firm, and do not, for the first ten or twelve
days, often look at them. If the weather is favourable
for gathering honey, the six glasses will be filled in about
twenty days, and subsequently a second six ; and one
instance has been known where twenty-one glasses were
filled during a season. The mode of removal of full glasses
has before been pointed out. This hive, like other box-
hives, requires care and protection during the months

LEAF HIVE OF HUBER. 47

wlieu bees are inactive. By the end of August, all glasses,
whether full or empty, should be removed, and the open-
ings closed, "with the exception of one. Over this leave a
bell-glass and a piece of perforated zinc. This vrill permit
the escape of any humidity from the interior of the box.
The vacant space on the top shoidd be filled with straw,
or any material calculated to protect the box and bees
from the effects of damp, fi-ost, and other changes to which
our climate is subjected. I have for this purpose used
bran ; this produces the desired effect. At this time
(August) the entrance to the hive is to be contracted,
leavinsf room for one bee onlv to enter at a time.

THE LEAF HIVE OF HUBER.*

The Huber or leaf hive, which I now submit to the
public, is much improved in its constraction and capa-
bilities. These are made partly from my own experience
and practice. It now combines all that is deemed requisite
for affording the apiarian opportunities of pursuing his
researches, in order to discover the hitherto hidden secrets
of this wonderful insect. All naturalists are justly proud
of the indefatigable Huber. They regard him as the most
accurate depicter of the domestic economy of the bee.
He assisted to remove many \Tilgar eiToi's ; and his dis-
coveries and statements have often been confirmed, and
are at this time well established.

Nevertheless, are we to rest inactive, and to feel
satisfied that Huber has accomplished all ? — that his leaf
hive is perfection ? For my own part, I was determined
to try farther, in order to render it more practicable. The
success, however, of my experiments for a long time was
very slow. From the year 1826 to 1830, the chief com-

* His researches, directed to the instinct and operations of the Domestic
Honey Bee, justly proclaimed him the Father of Apiarian Science.

48 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

plaint against leaf hives was that the bees did not work
their combs parallel with the frames, — ^an object most
important, and which must be accomplished. In order to
effect this, I resolved to try the raised bars, forming salient
angles. This did not much mend the matter. However,
I am happy to say I have at last succeeded in overcoming
the difficulty. The hive is now composed of eight vertical
frames, the material of which is cedar of a suitable thick-
ness. The frames are about ten inches in height, nine in
depth, and one and a quarter in width, all inside measure.
Each frame has a pair of shifting hinges ; in the whole
there are twenty-four pairs. We can thus open any par-
ticular leaf without meddling with the rest. The propor-
tions are very exact, and in accordance with the habits of
the bees. There is a glass window in each end frame, by
means of which, and the facility of opening the frames,
the Luterior of the hive may be completely inspected.

There is not much difficulty in placing a swarm into
this hive. As a security for keeping the frames together,
it will be as well to tie the whole round with a piece of
cord previously to hiving the bees into it ; and it may be
rubbed inside (avoiding the glass) with a little honey.
The hiver should hold the hive with his left arm and
hand, with its under side upwards ; then, with his right
hand, gently shake the bees into it. They will fall amongst
the bars, and he may immediately place it (one edge raised
up a little) on a cloth, and partly cover it from the sun's
rays, until the bees are all quietly settled. In due time
he may deposit the hive in its appointed place. The other
plan, of first hiving the swarm into the common straw
hive, as directed for uniting swarms, can be also adopted
with the Huber hive, by which means all chance of injury
to the hive is avoided. In taking honey from this hive,
the bee-master has the whole interior completely under
his eye and at his disposal, and can choose what combs
best suit his pui-pose ; taking care, however, to do so only

BOX-HIVE, WITH IXTERIOR BOXES. 49

at such periods as will leave the bees time to replenish
what has been abstracted, before the season for gathering
honey has tenninated. This hive is also well adapted for
artificial swamdng. By separating the hive into two
halves, the honey, brood-combs, and bees will, generally
speaking, be equally divided ; and by supplying each half
with four empty fi-ames, we shall have two hives, — half
empty, it is true, but equal in number of bees, of brood,
and even of stores. One of the now new hives will possess
the queen ; and if the operation has been performed at the
proper time, the probability is there will be royal brood
coming forwai'd in the other ; at aU events, there wiU be
plenty of eggs and larvae of the proper age for forming an
aiiificial queen.

This ingeniously constructed hive, if not quite perfect,
will now be found to answer the main purposes of every
other. '• In your presence," says Huber, '*' I have opened
all the divisions of the most populous hive, when the tran-
quillity of the bees has given you gi-eat surprise. When I
observe that bees may be rendered tractable by the con-
stant use of these hives, I conceive it need not be added,
that I do not arrogate to myself the absurd pretence of
taming them. I ascribe the delay of immediate revenge
on opening the hives to the manner in which they are
affected by the sudden admission of light into their dwell-
ings. They appear rather to testify fear than anger."

THE BOX-HIYE, WITH INTEEIOR BOXES.

This bee-hive is acknowledged, and justly, as one of
the best for all practical purposes in keeping bees. The
form externally is that of a squai'e ; but having blocks in
the inside angles, it is made nearly to a hexagon. It is
divided into two compartments by a board, prepared with
four openings, upon which rest four boxes, for the bees to

£

50 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

work combs, and fill with honey, which, when filled, will
contain about twelve pounds. One or all of these can
easily be removed w'hen requu'ed. Four bell-glasses can
be substituted for these boxes, if thought desirable. This
box-hive forms a complete dwelling for the bees, and the
whole is under lock and key, which secures it from idle
curiosity. It cannot fail to be admired for its novel appear-
ance, and its simplicity of structure. I have been engaged
several years in bringing them to the present state of
complete efficiency ; they are made of the best seasoned
materials, and put together in the strongest manner. The
greatest care and attention has been taken to render them
capable of withstanding the action of the sun, wind, and
rain ; and now, with the assistance of a few feet of that inex-
pensive metal, zinc, this end maybe said to be accomplished.
The management of bees in this hive is similar to straw
hives. The box is to be clean, free from any unpleasant
smell. It may receive a gentle rubbing inside with honey, or
not ; but, in doing it, avoid smearing the glass window. In
order to place a swarm at once into the hive, the four
boxes are to be taken out, and the four holes stopped up.
The bees may now be hived into it, and when all are in
and settled, carry the hive to its appointed place. The
same evening, or early the next morning, the holes can be
unstopped, and all the four boxes (or glasses) put on over
the holes ; or this may be deferred for a few days if more
convenient, but the sooner the bees are left quietly to
pursue their various occupations the better. The boxes
for surplus honey can readily be seen when full, by means
of the glass window placed in each box. Theu' removal is
to be eifected, as before directed, with bell-glasses ; and as
fast as they are filled by the bees, may be taken, and others
placed over the openings. I find zinc dividers very useful
in the removal of these boxes : I use two, each being about
six inches square, with one side turned up half an inch.
After the small box has been loosened from the top by a

BOX BEE-HIVES, USED AS STORIED HIVES. 51

thill knife, push under one of the zinc plates with the half-
inch turned do^Tiwaixls ; upon this push in anotlier zinc
plate like the first, ^"ith its half-inch turned upwards.
You may now caiTV the box, with one plate under it,
where you please, and then take time. To put back an
empty box or glass to be again filled, gently withdraw the
zinc plate, keej^ing the box steady, but not pressing hard
till you clear the opening ; leave on the empty box. All
this can be done without incurrmg the loss of a single bee.
How to clear the box of the bees has been before directed.

BOX BEE-HIVES, USED AS STORIED HIVES.

Hives placed one upon another, for the purpose of
keeping bees, ai'e known as storied hives ; they have been
used and recommended by Wildman, Keys, Bevan, and
others. Three boxes were considered a complete set. The
modem practice is to use two only, and this number is
quite sufficient for all purposes of utility ; and provided
these boxes are properly made, that good seasoned wood
is used, and that the dimensions are suitable, success^ in
moderate seasons of honey-gathering, is tolerably certain.
I make my boxes about a foot square, and eight inches
deep ; each box has seven moveable bars and frames ;
these ob^"iate the necessity of guide-combs. The top board
has openings for the purpose of permitting the bees to
have access to both boxes. When one box only is in use,
bell-glasses, or a straw cap, may be placed over the open-
ings, for the bees to fill with honey. When the boxes are
to be storied, it is best to place the empty box under the
full one, taking care to stop the entrance above, so as to
compel the bees to enter, and pass through the lower one,
as old stocks are found to work downwards more readily
than upwards. The boxes being made exactly equal, there
is no difficulty in placing them properly for this purpose.

E 2

52 THE PRACTICAL BEE-EEEPER.

In order to work old stocks into a storied box, tke best
time for doing it is the day after the swarm has left ; or
if the object is the attempt to prevent the hive from
swarming, endeavour to hit upon the day before you
expect it, and at this period you will probably prevent
the swarm from issuing. This will help the old stock by
not lessening its numbers, and enable them to fill the
under box with new combs. At the end of August, or early
in September, the upper hive may be removed with its
contents. (For directions, see " Large Quantities of Honey.")
To begin a storied box, by placing a swarm into it, there
is no more difficulty than performing the same operation
with a common straw hive. The holes on the top are to
be closed ; and should it be intended to place glasses on
the first season, it is necessary to let the swarm work in
the box, for the first ten or twelve days, undisturbed ; and
after this time has expired, unstop the openings at top,
and set the glasses or cap upon it, protected as all other
glasses are, and in the usual way. At the commencement
of the swarming season, I recommend that all hives,
whether made of wood or straw, should be examined and
prepared, that they may be in readiness when wanted.
By preparation, I mean that by exposure to the air the
material may become perfectly sweet, and free from every
smell which is unpleasant to the bees.

All the hives I have hitherto described are single hives.
This term is used to distinguish them from those boxes, or
hives, that are used for working bees on the collateral plan.
Single boxes are often placed close to each other for the
convenience of space, and also that they may be easily
protected. I have several so placed in cases ; and these,
being kept under lock and key, are secured from all de-
predation. Single-box hives are also made with orna-
mental stands, which when placed either on lawns, or
among shrubs and flowers, have a pleasing appearance. I
will describe

COLLATERAL BEE-BOXES. 53

A SINGLE HIVE IN AN ORNAMENTAL CASE.

These hives are well calculated for the lawn or shrub-
bery ; they are purposely made to resist the action of the
weather, and the bees do well in them through all the
winter months, without more care than is usually bestowed
on hives that are sheltered in a bee-house or shed.

The case is hexagonal ; the bee-hive two-thirds spherical,
or globe-like : they are made to carry three glasses on the
top, and the communication between the glasses and the
main hive is, by a simple contrivance, easily stopped, by
which means one glass, or the whole three, can be taken
off with much readiness. The hive and case is fixed to a
strong frame, and this is supported by u'on feet, which
when let into the ground secure the whole from every
conceivable disaster. The other management of this hive
is similar to all hives.

COLLATERAL BEE-BOXES.

To work bees collaterally, a set of three boxes is required,
and these are to be arranged side by side ; the communi-
cation for the bees to move from one box into another is
made in the side, or sides, where the boxes meet. All the
boxes are made square ; the usual dimensions are from
ten to twelve inches high, and nine or ten inches deep.
There is an opening on the top of each box, for the purpose
of ventilation. The centre box is called " the pavilion," and
is not to be interfered with. (" Disturb not the pavilion.")
The swarm of bees are first to be hived into this pavilion,
and a bell-glass may be set over its centre opening, for the
purpose of being filled with honey. It is by means of the
side- boxes that the adopter of the collateral system is to
operate ; and by the use of the thermometer, and venti-
lation, he is to succeed in preventing the bees from
swarming.

54 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

The inventor of this method of managing bees in col-
lateral boxes was the Rev. Stephen White.* When he
introduced this system of arranging his boxes, he did not
claim either merit or reputation for preventing swarmiug ;
but, on the contrary, in the Introduction of Mr. White's
Treatise on Bees we find the following exclamation : —
" Bless me ! why so much pains to hinder the increasing
of my small stock ? Behold my little emigi^ants, in spite
of all our SWARM-PREVENTERS ! Bchold ! I see a cloud of
them overshadowing my garden." If honey, in large
quantities, can only be obtained from these hives by pre-
venting swarming, I fear much disappointment will ensue,
— not because it is impossible to prevent it, but, in order
to do it effectually, much skill is requu^ed, great nicety of
management ; and even this is not aU, for we must have
the season in our favour. I have seen boxes arranged
collaterally, and every attention given to them by professed
apiarians — ^persons who have devoted much time to this
particular management. All of them have at this time
(1851) abandoned the plan, and returned to keeping their
bees in single hives. My reason for not advising this
method of placing bee-boxes is not because the owner
cannot obtain honey from the bees, — I am aware that
])ersons have succeeded in so doing ; my objection is to
the arrangement, and also to the continual interference
with the bees while they are pursuing their mysterious
operations in the hive. To change the temperature,
guided by thermometers, tubes, and a vast amount of
bee-machinery, is wrong, and hurtful. It is likewise my
firm conviction that the collateral arrangement of bee-
boxes is contrary to the nature and habits of bees, and to
all insects which live in families, under one female or
head. The union of all is chiefly maintained by smell,

* Collateral Bee-Boxes, or a New, Easy, and Advantageous Method of
managing Bees, by Stephen White, M.A., Rector of Helton, in Suffolk. 1756.

COLLATERAL BEE-BOXES. 55

and by animal heat being diflPused regularly to the whole.
All single hives, as well as storied hives, permit of this
union of animal heat. The entrances to all hives are made
in the bottom (I only know of one exception) ; this admits
the cold external air, which by aid of the bees is made to
diffuse the heated or lighter air of the interior of the hive
regularly over the whole, — combs, bees, and young brood.
This cannot be so effectually done when it is attempted to
make the heated air traverse horizontally, pai-ticularly as
the side boxes are ordered to be kept at a cool tempera-
ture, and thus act as a repellant. If I am right in my
theory (though I fear I shall fail properly to describe the
action of aii'), this will account for the frequent failures
with these hives in preventing bees swarming (these
ffiilures amount to four in ten). And from what I have
observed after examining the bees in the boxes collaterally
arranged, I believe the swarms are more generally retained
in the side boxes, where the bees are allowed, by those
inhabiting the next portion, to carry forward comb-
building, &c., under the queen that should have gone out
with the swarm. The side box is occupied and used in
every respect like the centre box ; and each family enters
at the one opening, apparently united as one stock. It
may be asked, How is this to be ascertained 1 I will here
endeavour to account for my opinion, and what has
directed me to come to this conclusion. It was frequently
represented to me that the bees m collateral boxes were
known to fight and kill each other, in autumn ; this led
me to examine the boxes of comb, which I did, and in
most instances I discovered there was very little honey
or bee-bread ; in some cases not any honey at all. In
many I observed royal cells on the edges of the combs ;
some had been used, others only partly prepared ; also,
that when the centre box was heavy, the side boxes were
light. By this I concluded that all had gone on peacefully
until the stores of honey were exhausted in one, and then,

56 THE PRACTICAL BEE-EEEPER.

when tlie pauper family claimed a share with its neighbour,
the strongest (as is usual) immediately defended their
rights, and the consequence was a surrender or death. I
offer a word also upon the honey obtained from ventilated
hives and ventilated glasses, in the hope of calling attention
to the subject. 1 have observed the honey thus obtained,
however fine in appearance, was to the taste vapid ; or,
possibly, to use a bad comparison, like a thin, dry loine, as
it is termed, when compared with one fruity^ or more
luscious. So, I think, is the difference with this honey,
when compared with that obtained without ventilation.
Another point I have noticed in keeping honey that has
been acted upon by ventilation is, it sooner becomes
candied. I therefore ask, does honey, after it has been
collected by bees, and stored by them in cells, requu'e heat
to absorb a portion of the more watery particles ? If it
does, allowing the heat to escape at this time will account
for the difference.

CANADIAN BEE-HOUSE.

(with hives arranged.)

By this arrangement of bee-hives, the curious in bee
management may be gi'atified at seeing immense numbers
of bees in one hive ; also large ranges of combs, containing
a gi-eat weight of honey. I was favoured with an oppor-
tunity to inspect one or two of these houses, at the resi-
dence of a gentleman who had lived many years in Canada,
I was certainly much astonished. I had heard, and also
read of, combs measuring three and four feet, and weighing
eighty to a hundred pounds weight ; and I here saw in
England, combs full twenty-four inches long, and twenty-
eight inches deep, looking beautifully clear and white, with
the honey glistening in the cells, and others containing it
sealed over.

At a later period I inquired about this extraordinary

CANADIAN BEE-HOUSE. 57

produce, and heard that sevei^al of the principal combs,
containing fine honey, had been taken. Two of them
weighed about thirty pounds.

The gentleman and Ms friend accompanied me to the
bee-house, and requested that I would examine and make
my own observations. They approached very cautiously,
beinof aware that large numbers of bees were in the bee-
house. As I intend to give what, I trust, will be an inte-
resting description of these houses, before I proceed I will
state what I saw. On opening the door at the back of one
compartment of the house, a space sufficient to contain a
man presented itself. I shut the door again, and then
covered my face with a silk handkerchief, as I felt a desire
to examine more closely. I again opened the door, and
made a step into the hive, when I beheld ranges of combs
suspended, and reaching half way to the bottom. In this
compartment there were nine ranges, the interstices were
tilled up with bees ; but there were some through which I
could i^erceive how these combs were attached, and also
the ai"rangement of the whole interior. I need scarcely
observe, not much time was permitted me to make the
inspection ; but I gained courage, and should not fear
another survey. I was informed that bees arranged for
working in this way did not throw off swarms. This
would certainly greatly facilitate their amassing such
large collections of both combs and honey. I ascertained,
however, that the bees in these houses did swarm ; that
the large space did not effectually prevent their doing so.
The Eev. B. Nicol, the gentleman I am indebted to for
the introduction to this mode of constructing a bee-house,
and the aiTangement of the hives, has one or two of these
houses. He favoured me with the following curious ac-
comit of a swarm of bees, which forced their way into a
compartment of one of his bee-houses, although it was
previously occupied : —

" A good swarm of bees came off from one of my hives

58 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER,

and settled on the outside of the house, containing a hive
very strong in numbers, and working on the, Canada
arrangement. They chistered all round the entrance, so
that access was almost impossible. The swarm was care-
fully swept off into a hive ready for them ; but they
quickly left it, and in a short time were all found clustered
at the bottom of the combs of the Canada hive. No doubt
the queen had gone into that hive where first the swarm
settled on the entrance to the house. They continued
attached in a thickness to the bars on which the Canada
hive stands, loithout any bottom hoard, and apjDcared to
have left no opportunity for the bees belonging to the hive
to get up into their combs. There they are all quiet, and
working as if quite established. — May 27th, 1848."

I do not intend to notice the bee-hives of ancient bee-
masters, some of which were, no doubt, clever contrivances,
and possibly answered all the expectations held out by
their inventors ; and while, in the present day, we see
hives totally inapplicable to the improved management of
the bees, I think it would be superfluous to refer to all,
however concisely, lest it should perplex the reader. T
will, therefore, now recapitulate a few general remarks.

1st. I have already stated that the situation in which
bees should be placed for working is not material as
regards aspect, provided the hives have an hour's sun
during some portion of a fine day. The most important
jiart in the selection of the situation is, that the hives
should be fixed in a dry place. I object to the direct
influence of mid-day sun upon the hives, on account of the
intolerable heat during the months of June, July, and
part of August ; the combs being then hea\nly laden with
honey, the weight of which, even without this external
heat, renders them liable to fall. The exposure to this
great heat will also split bee-boxes in almost every case ;
in others it will warp them, to the great annoyance of the

DR. PLAYFAIR. 59

bees, which are made more irritable, and therefore less
agreeable to approach ; whereas, if they are placed partly
in the shade, they will molest no one. All hives should
be constructed so as to admit the warm air contained in
them to circulate freely, and be regularly diifused by the
bees when in motion to every part of the hive ; and when
they are inactive, or in a partially torpid state, they should
find sufficient space to cluster in a mass, or globe-like
shape, which is the natui^al form they are led to adopt for
sustaining their animal warmth.

Dr. PLayfair, in a lecture delivered before the Eoyal
Agi'icidtural Society, observed : — " Wai-mth is an equi-
valent for food. This is illustrated by the fact, that two
hives of bees do not consume so much honey when together
as when separate, on account of the warmth being greater ;
and they have less occasion for consuming the honey,
which is their fuel."

Diu-ing the summer months, bees do not require any
very particular attention, after the stock hives have
thrown off their swarms, and have been properly placed ;
for they will do well in all ordinary seasons, if the weather
be tolerably favourable. At this time, the owner has only
to look after his share of the surplus produce of honey.
Later in the year, about the end of August, he must con-
tract the entrances to all his hives. This will assist the
bees to guard and keep off the intrusion of wasps and
robber-bees. I have a word to offer upon the subject of
" bees robbincr bees." Those who will take the trouble, at
the end of August, and also in September, to observe
closely the actions of those bees which place themselves
at the entrance of the hive, fir the purjoose of keeping
guard (an invariable practice with bees), will perceive a
particular motion of the antennse of the bees on guard, at
the instant one alights on the board with the intent to
enter. The challenge is pecidiar ; and, after a few times
observing this, and by attention to the number of bees

60 THE PRACTICAL BEFrKEEPER.

that enter and leave, and lifting the hive and board to
ascertain its weight, they will be able to form an opinion
whether it is in a proper condition to carry forward the
means for reproducing their species. I believe that bees
know the condition of all the hives near their own. If
any of them have an unhealthy queen, those are marked
out for pillage.

Bees can only work wax from the 10th of April until
the 10th of August.

A swarm from a swarm is called a virgin swarm. If, in
the next year, this maiden swarm throw oflF a swarm later
than June, it is a good practice to return it to the maiden
stock ; or the chances are you will lose both.

AU stocks that have missed swarming for two successive
years — and, more particularly, if they have lain out, and
shewn other symj)toms of swarming — are very hazardous
to keep as stocks.

Stocks weak as to number die ; and stocks light ot
honey die. Even if they survive the winter, in the early
spring months there is but little chance of their doing
well. But constantly giving them food, and keeping them
warm, are means that may possibly save such stocks.

Swarming. — If a swarm has left the parent stock, and
partly settles, but after a while returns to the hive again,
be rather on your guard ; and when it issues out again,
quickly hive it, and cover it well up with a cloth, as there
is danger of its flying off altogether. Should the weather,
for some days after a new swarm is hived, continue
unfavourable, so as to prevent the bees going out, they
must be fed with syi'up until it clears up, otherwise
the young swarm will be liable to perish for want of
food.

APIARY IN THE GREAT EXHIBITION. 61

APIARY IN THE GREAT EXHIBITION.

Soon after the grand idea was announced by His Eoyal
Highness Prince Albert, by the sublime words he used at
the City Festival, as to his view of the effects likely to be
produced by the gathering of the world's industry under
one great canopy, it occurred to me that our only emblem
of industry and unity is a hive of bees. This is in a
great degree recently corroborated by the remark in the
Times * of the 28th of April, 1851, in its report on the
Great Exhibition. Amongst the various designs submitted
to the Eoyal Commissioners for the building in Hyde Park,
there was one to have a dome in the centre of it. I thought
this, filled with bees at work, with their accustomed activity,
would be an appropriate emblem. I have a glass globe,
capable of containing about a million bees, which serves as
a model sufficiently to show the mode of preparing it on a
larger scale. I kept my mind engaged upon effecting this
important object, and anxiously watched the proceedings
of the Comioissioners. As soon as Mr. Paxton's plan was
decided upon, and the building in rapid progress, I applied
for permission to exhibit bees. The transept of this building
seemed to suggest to me the best site for constructing what
I had long thought of — viz., a window apiary. I may not
have selected the best design for so grand an occasion, but
there was not sufficient time for preparing hives with bees
at work, — for these insects and their waxen cities are
imlike articles of manufacture, which can be proceeded
with both by day and night. Time and season are indis-
pensable in addition to skill and contrivance ; otherwise, I
could have prepared " a crystal palace," in miniature, for
bees, in which could have been shown all their various and
most interesting movements and industrial habits ; but I

* " People move about the Great Exhibition like Bees in a hive, the cells of
which they are engaged in constructing."

62 THE PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPER.

preferred exhibiting these three hives of my 0"v\ti invention
as works of art, they being more practically useful than
the miniature " crystal palace " would have been.

THE UNICOMB OBSERVATORY HIVE.

This hive is constructed for the purpose of observing
minutely the operations of bees, and is, of course, only
useful to the amateur apiarian, who is seeking for either
infonnation or amusement. Hives containing one comb
only have been adopted by Bonnet, Huber, and other
natui'alists ; some of which, from the description given of
them by these writers, must have been very inconvenient
for the purposes intended. Mr. Dunbar, with his observ-
atoiy hive, constructed upon better principles than those I
have just referred to,has been able to make some interesting
observations on the economy of the bee, which were pul>-
lished in the third volume of the Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal. Some years back, Mr. Dunbar paid me a visit,
and I showed him one I had then made. He pronounced
it as an improvement upon his own.

In the present day, the principal improvement in
unicomb hives is chiefly obtained through the aid and
skill of our mechanics. It is my good fortune to have in
my employ one who cannot be easily surpassed ; and I feel
confident in asserting that the unicomb hive exhibited by
me in the Great Exhibition is a masterpiece of hive-
raaking. This hive afibrds every facility for making expe-
riments and observing the proceedings of the bees, which,
being prevented from constructing more than one comb,
cannot conceal any part of their operations as in other
hives, every bee being exposed to view. The queen may
be followed in all her movements. In this hive it
is easy to lay hold of her majesty at any time. The
bees may be fed and retained prisoners. They may be
also forced to make wax from honey only, honey from

U2«IC0MB OBSERVATORY HIVE. 63

sugar, &c. ; in short, all the experiments that have ever
been made may be verified by means of this hive, and
nevr experiments tried.

In spite of its peculiar advantages, however, it has
inconveniences which annoy the naturalist. The insects
cannot cluster together in it, as they do in other hives,
and concentrate the heat during winter ; and hence they
are liable to perish. The smallest variation of the atmo-
sphere is injurious to the brood ; but with all its present
imperfections, I do not despair of being able to construct
a imicomb or mirror hive, in which bees can be safely
preserved through the winter. Having overcome one
great obstacle, — namely, that which all apiarians have
hitherto encoimtered in introducing a swarm into this
hive, — I am sanguine enough to believe that I shall
eventually succeed in preserving them through the winter.
This hive, when filled with bees and comb, may be inspected
at any time without disturbing the bees, and without the
sUghtest danger of any one being annoyed by them. When
the observer is satisfied with inspecting one side of the
comb, he may turn the hive round and examine the other,
without even changing his position.

I hope I have shown enough as a practical bee-keeper
to create a taste not only for "window apiaries" in every
suburban residence, but that the result of my experience,
detailed in these pages, will induce all who take an interest
in bees to become apiarians.

THE END,

LOSDOX:
BBADBCRT AND EVAXS, PRIMERS, WHITEFBIAKS

HECKMAN

BINDERY INC.

^^ OCT 88

N. MANCHESTER,
INDIANA 46962