PRACTICAL TREATISE

HIVE AND HONEY-BEE,

L. IPLANGSTKOTH;

AN INTRODUCTION, BY REV. ROBERT BAIRD, D. I

'^ X,/\JA>,/'^AA/\,

THIRD EDITION,
HKTI8ED, AND ILLTTSTEATED WITH SKVENTY-SEVEN ENGBATINO8.

•Dto

C. M. SAXTON, BARKER & CO.,

AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS, No. 25 PARK ROW.
1860.

ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859,

Br L. L. LANGSTKOTH,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.

JOHN A. DOUGHS 4 Co, WYNKOOP, HALLEXBECK & THOMAS.

Stereotype™, Printers,

183 William Street, M. Y.

,„ FuUon Street> N y_

INTRODUCTION.

I AM happy to learn from my friend Mr. LANGSTROTH,
that a new edition of his work on the Hive and Honey-
Bee is called for ; I consider it by far the most valuable
treatise on these subjects, which has come nnder my
notice. Some years before it was published, I became
acquainted with the main characteristics of his system of
Bee-culture, and even then, I believed it to be incompar-
ably superior to all others of which I had either read or
heard. This conviction has been amply strengthened by
the testimony of others, as well as by results which have
come under my own observation.

In my early life I had no inconsiderable experience in
the management of bees, and I am bold to say that the
hive which Mr. LANGSTKOTH has invented, is in all respects
greatly superior to any which I have ever seen, either in
tliis or foreign countries. Indeed, I do not believe that
any one who takes an intelligent interest in the rearing of
bees, can for a moment hesitate to use it ; or, rather, can
be induced to use any other, when he becomes acquainted
with its nature and merits.

At length the true secret has been discovered, of
iii

IV INTRODUCTION.

making these most industrious, interesting, and useful of
insect-communities, work in habitations both comfortable
to themselves and wonderfully convenient for their aggre-
gation, division, and rapid increase ; and all this without
diminishing their productive labor, or resorting to the
cruel" measure of destroying them.

Mr. LANGSTROTH teaches us in his book, how bees can
be taken care of without great labor, and without the risk
of suffering from the weapon which the Creator has given
them for self-defence. Even a delicate lady need not
fear to undertake the task of cultivating this fascinating
branch of Rural Economy. Nothing is easier for any
family that resides in a favorable situation, than to have
a number of colonies, and this -at but little expense. I
sincerely hope that many will avail themselves of the
facilities now placed before them for prosecuting this
easj- branch of industry, not only for the sake of the
large profit in proportion to its expense, which it may be
made to yield, but also for the substantial pleasure which
they may find in observing the habits of these wonderful
little creatures. How remarkably does their entire econ-
omy illustrate the wisdom and skill of the GKEAT AUTHOR
of all things.

I cannot but believe that many Ministers of the Gospel,
residing in rural districts, will accept of Mr. LANGSTROTH'S
generous offer to give them the free use of his Invention.
With very little labor or expense, they can derive from
bee-keeping considerable profit, as well as much pleasure.

INTRODUCTION. V

No industrial or material employment can be more inno-
cent, or less inconsistent with their proper work.

There are few portions of our country Avhich are not
admirably adapted to the culture of the Honey-Bee. The
wealth of the nation might be increased by millions of
dollars, if every family favorably situated for bee-keeping
would keep a few hives. No other branch of industry
can be named, in which there need be so little loss on
the material that is employed, or which so completely
derives its profits from the vast and exhaustless domains
of Nature.

I trust that Mr. LANGSTEOTH'S labors -will contribute
greatly to promote a department of Rural Economy, which
in this country has hitherto received so little scientific
attention. Pie well deserves the name of Benefactor ;
infinitely more so than many who in all countries and in
all ages have received that honorable title. Not many
years will pass away without seeing his important inven-
tion brought into extensive use, both in the Old and New
World. Its great merits need only to be known ; and
this, Time will certainly bring about.

ROBERT BAIRP.

PREFACE.

ENCOURAGED by the favor with which the former edi
tions of this work have been received, I submit to the
public a Revised Edition, illustrated by additional wood-
cuts, and containing my latest discoveries and improv'c-
ments. The information which it presents, is adapted not
only to those who use the Movable-Comb Hive, but to all
who aim at profitable bee-keeping, with any hive, or on
any system of management.

Debarred, to a great extent, by ill-health, from the ap-
propriate duties of my profession, and compelled to seek
an employment calling me as much as possible into the
open air, I cherish the hope that my labors in an impor-
tant department of Rural Economy, may prove service-
able to the community. Bee-keeping is regarded^ in
Europe as an intellectual pursuit, and no one who studies
the wonderful habits of this useful insect, will ever find
the materials for new observations exhausted. The Cre-
ator has stamped the seal of his Infinity on all his works,
so that it is impossible, even in the minutest, " by search-
ing to find out the Almighty to perfection." In none
vii

Vlll PREFACE.

of them, however, has he displayed himself more clearly
than in the economy of the Honey-Bee :

" What well-appointed commonwealths ! where each
Adds to the stock of happiness for all;
Wisdom's own forums ! whose professors teach
Eloquent lessons in their vaulted hall !
Galleries of art ! and schools of industry !
Stores of rich fragrance ! Orchestras of song !
What marvellous gfeats of hidden alchemy !
How oft, when wandering far and erring long,
Man might learn truth and virtue from the BEE !

BOWRINO.

The attention of Ministers of the Gospel is particularly
invited to this branch of Natural History. An intimate
acquaintance with the wonders of the Bee-Hive, while
beneficial to them in many ways, might lead them, in
their preaching, to imitate more closely the example of
Him who illustrated his teachings by " the birds of the
air, and the lilies of the field," as well as the common
walks of life, and the busy pursuits of men.

It affords me sincere pleasure to acknowledge my obli-
gations to Mr. SAMUEL WAGNER, of York, Pennsylvania, •
for material assistance in the preparation of this Treatise.
To his extensive and accurate acquaintance with Bee-
keeping in Germany, my readers will find themselves
indebted for much exceedingly valuable information.

L. L. LANGSTROTH.

OXFORD, BUTLER COUNTY, Ouio, March, 1859.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PA6K,

LIST of Plates and Explanation of Wood-Cuts Illustrating the

Natural History of Bees 11

CHAPTER.

I. Facts connected with the invention of the Movable-Comb

Bee-Hive 13

II. The Honey-Bee capable of being tamed 24

III. The Queen, or Mother-Bee. — The Drones. — The Workers.

—Facts in their Natural History 29

IV. Comb 69

V. Propolis 76

VI. Pollen, or " Bee Bread." 80

VII. Ventilation of the Bee-Hive 88

Yin. Requisites of a Complete Hive ." 95

IX. Natural Swarming, and Hiving of Swarms '. 109

X. Artificial Swarming 143

XL Loss of the Queen 213

XII. The Bee-Moth, and other Enemies of Bees.— Diseases of

Bees 228

Xin. Robbing, and how Prevented 261

XIV. Directions for Feeding Bees 267

XV. The Apiary.— Procuring Bees to Stock it.— Transferring

Bees from Common to Movable-Comb Hives 279

XVI. Honey 285

XVII. Bee-Pasturage.— Over-Stocking 292

ix

X TABLE OF CONTESTS.

CHAPTER. PAGH.

XVIII. The Anger of Bees.— Remedies for their Stings 308

XIX. The Italian Honey-Bee 318

XX. Size, Shape, and Materials for Hives.— Observing-Hives. 829

XXL Wintering Bees 335

XXII. Bee-Keeper's Calendar.— Bee-Keeper's Axioms 362

Explanation of Wood-Cuts of Movable-Comb Hives, with Bills of

Stock for making them 371

Copious Alphabetical Index 885

LIST OF PLATES.

rontispiece . .

PAGE.

IS8

13

PI

»te XI '

PAGE.

vable-Comb Hive, with full gh
rrangement. •

XII .

128

XIII

144

ate I....

20

XIV

163

II

24

XV
XVI

192
216

III....

IV. .

36

XVII

240

v

XVIII

264

VI

VII....

XX

812

VIII

72

XXI

850

IX

88

XXII

860

.. 96

XXIII....

... 3CS

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

PLATES I. to XI. Inclusive, show the various styles of Movable-Comb Hives, and
the Implements used in the Apiary. For explanation of these plates, see
p. 871.
PLATE XII.— FIGS. 81, 82.— Queen-Bee, of magnified and natural size. See p. 80.

FIGS. 38, 34. — Drone, of magnified and natural size. See p. 49.

FIGS. 85, 86.— Worker, of magnified and natural size. See p. 54.

These Illustrations were copied (with some alterations) from Sagster.
PLATE XIII.— Fio. 87.— Scales of Wax, highly magnified. See p. 69.

FIG. 88. — Abdomen of a Worker-Bee, magnified, and showing the exuding scales
of wax. See p. 69. ^

FIG. 89.— Section of a Cell, magnified, and showing the usual position of the egg.
See p. 44.

FIG. 40.— Larva of Bees, In various stages of development. See p. 44.

FIG. 41.— Section of a Cell, magnified, and showing Larva. See p. 44.

FIG. 42. — Worker-Larva, fully grown, and ready to spin its Cocoon. See p. 45.

FIG. 43.— Worker-Nymph. See p. 45.

FIG. 49.— A Queen-Cell of the natural size. See p. 62.

Fio. 50. — A Queen-Cell cut open, to show the nnhatched queen. See p. 651.

FIG. 44— Eggs of the Bee-Moth, of natural and magnified size. See p. 284.

FIG. 45.— Larvse of the Bee-Moth, fully grown. See p. 281.

Xll EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

FIG. 46.— Female Bee-Moth. See p. 229.

FIG. 59. — Female Bee-Moth, with Ovipositor extruded, and eggs passing through

it. See p. 280.

FIG. 60.— Male Bee-Moth. See p. 229.
- FIG. 61.— Small Male Bee-Moth. See p. 229.

FIG. 62.— Head of Mexican Honey-Hornet, magnified. See p. 87.

FIG. 63.— Head of Honey-Bee, magnified. See p. 8T.

FIGS. 64, 65.^Jaws of Honey-Hornet and Honey-Bee, magnified. See p. 87.

Some of these Illustrations were taken from Swammerdam, Keaumur, and

Huber.
PLATE XIV. — For an explanation of this plate, which represents the different

kinds of Cells in the Honey-Comb, see p. 66.

PLATE XV.— For an explanation of FIG. 48, which represents "Worker and Drone-
Comb, of natural size, see p. 74.
FIG. 58. — A Group of Queen Cells, drawn from a specimen found in the Author's

hive. Seep. 191.
PLATE XVL-FiG. 51.— Proboscis of a Worker-Bee, highly magnified. See p. 56.

FIG. 63, PLATE XIII., shows the Proboscis attached to the head.
FIG. 52. — Abdomen of a Worker-Bee, magnified.

PLATE XVII.— FIG. 53.— Sting of a Worker, highly magnified. See p. 56.
FIG. 54.— Honey-sac, Intestines, Stomach, and Eectum of a Worker-Bee. See

p. 56.
PLATE XVIII.— For an explanation of this plate, which represents the Ovaries

(and adjacent parts) of a Queen-Bee, see p. 35.

PLATE XIX.— FIG. 56.— Cocoons spun by Larvse of the Bee-Moth. See p. 233.
PLATE XX.— FIG. 57.— Mass of Webs, Cocoons, and Excrements left in a Hive

destroyed by the Larvae of the Bee-Moth. See p. 235.
PLATE XXI.— FIGS. 66, 67, 63, 69, and 70.— German method of Wintering Bees

See p. 848.

PLATE XXII.— FIG. 71 is the Frontispiece to the First Edition. See p. 331.
PLATE XXIII.— Shows the position in which a Frame is held when taken from
the Movable-Comb Hive.— See p. 1T1.

Movable Comb Hive, with full Glass Arrangement.

THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER I.

PACTS CONNECTED WITH THE INVENTION OF THE MOVABLE-
COMB BEE-HIVE.

PRACTICAL bee-keeping in this country is in a very
depressed condition, being entirely neglected by the mass
of those most favorably situated for its pursuit. Notwith-
standing the numerous hives which have been introduced,
the ravages of the bee-moth have increased, and success
is becoming more and more precarious. While multi-
tudes have abandoned the pursuit in disgust, many even
of the most experienced are beginning to suspect that all
the so called "Improved Hives" are delusions or impos-
tures ; and that they must return to the simple box or
^hollow log, and " take up " their bees with sulphur in the
old-fashioned way.

In the present state of public opinion, it requires no
little confidence to introduce another patent hive, and a
new system of management; but believing that a new
era in bee-keeping has arrived, I invite the attention of
Apiarians to the perusal of this Manual, trusting that it
will convince them that there is a better way than any
with which they have yet become acquainted. They will
here find a clear explanation of many hitherto mysterious
13

14 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

points in the physiology of the honey-bee, together with
much valuable information never before communicated to
the public.

It is now more than twenty years since I turned my
attention to the keeping of bees. The state of my health
of late years having compelled me to live much in the
open air, I have devoted a large portion of my time to a
minute investigation of their habits, as well as to a series
of careful experiments in the construction and manage-
ment of hives.

Very early in my Apiarian studies I constructed a hive
on the plan of the celebrated Huber ; and by verifying
some of his most valuable discoveries became convinced
that the prejudices existing against him were entirely
unfounded. Believing that his discoveries laid the founda-
tion for a more profitable system of bee-keeping, I began
to experiment .with hives of various construction.

Though the result of these investigations fell far short
of my expectations, some of these hives now contain
vigorous stocks fourteen years old, which without feeding
have endured all the vicissitudes of some of the worst
seasons ever known for bees.

While I felt confident that my hive possessed valuable
peculiarities, I still found myself unable to remedy many
ot the perplexing casualties to which bee-keeping is liable ;
and became convinced that no hive could do this, unless*
it gave the complete control of the combs, so that any or
all of them might be removed at pleasure. The use of the
Huber hive had satisfied me, that with proper precautions
the combs might be removed without enraging the bees,
and that these insects were capable of being tamed to a
surprising degree. Without a knowledge of these facts,
I should have regarded a hive permitting the removal of
the combs, as quite too dangerous for practical use. At

MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 15

first, I used movable slats or bars placed on rabbets in
the front and back of the hive. The bees began their
combs upon these bars, and then fastened them to the
sides of the hive. By severing these attachments, the
combs could be removed adhering to the bars. There was
nothing new in the use of such bars — the invention being
probably a hundred years old — and the chief peculiarity
in my hive was the facility with which they could be
removed without enraging the bees, and their combina-
tion with my unproved mode of obtaining the surplus
honey.

With hives of this construction, I experimented on a
larger scale than ever, and soon arrived at very important
results. I could dispense entirely with natural swarming,
and yet multiply colonies with greater rapidity and cer-
tainty than by the common methods. All feeble colonies
could be strengthened, and those which had lost their
queen furnished with the means of obtaining another. If
I suspected that any thing was wrong with a hive, I could
quickly ascertain its true condition, and apply the proper
remedies. In short, I felt satisfied that bee-keeping could
be made highly profitable, and as nmch a matter of cer-
tainty, as most branches of rural economy.

One thing, however, was still wanting. The cutting of
the combs from their attachments to the sides of the hive,
was attended with much loss of time both to myself and
the bees. This led me to invent a method by which the
combs were attached to MOVABLE FKAMES, so suspended
in the hives as to touch neither the top, bottom, nor sides.
By this device the combs could be removed at pleasure,
without any cutting, and speedily transferred to another
hive. After experimenting largely with hives of this con-
struction, I find that they fully answer the ends proposed
in their invention.

16 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

In the Summer of 1851 I ascertained that bees could
be made to work in glass hives, exposed to the full light
of day. This discovery procured me the pleasure of an
acquaintance with Rev. Dr. Berg, then pastor of a
Reformed Dutch Church, in Philadelphia. From him I
first learned that a Prussian clergyman of the name of
Dzierzon,* was attracting the attention of crowned heads
by his discoveries in the management of bees. Before he
communicated to me the particulars of these discoveries,
I explained to Dr. Berg my own system and showed him
my hive. He expressed great astonishment at the won-
derful similarity in our methods of management, neither
of us having any knowledge of the labors of the other.

Our hives he found to diiFer in some very important
respects. In Dzierzon's hive, the combs not being
attached to movable frames but to bars, cannot be
removed without cutting. In my hive, any comb may be
taken out without removing the others ; whereas in the
Dzierzon hive, it is often necessary to cut and remove
many combs to get access to a particular one ; thus if
the tenth from the end is to be removed, nine must be
taken out. The German hive does not furnish the surplus
honey in a form the most salable in our markets, or
admitting of safe transportation in the comb. Notwith-
standing these disadvantages, it has achieved a great
triumph in Germany, and given a new impulse to the
cultivation of bees.

. The following letter from Samuel Wagner, Esq., Cashier
of the Bank of York, in York, Pennsylvania, will show the
results obtained in Germany by the new system of man-
agement, and his estimate of the superior value of my hive
to those there in use.

* Pronounced Tseertsone.

MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 17

" YORK, PA., Dec. 24, 1852.

" DEAR SIR :-— The Dzierzon theory and the system of
bee-management, based thereon, were originally promul-
gated hypotheticatty in the 'Eichstadt Bienen-zeitung,'
or Bee-Journal, in 1 845, and at once arrested my attention.
Subsequently, when in 1848 at the instance of the Prus-
sian Government, the Rev. Mr. Dzierzon published his
' Theory and Practice of Bee Culture,' I imported a copy
which reached me in 1849, and wliich I translated prior to
January, 1850. Before the translation was completed I
received a visit from my friend the Rev. Dr. Berg, of
Philadelphia, and in the course of conversation on bee-
keeping, mentioned to him the Dzierzon theory and
system as one which I regarded as new and very superior,
though I had had no opportunity for testing it practically.
In February following, when in Philadelphia, I left with
him the translation in manuscript — up to which period I
doubt whether any other person in this country had any
knowledge of the Dzierzon theory ; except to Dr. Berg, I
had never mentioned it to any one save in very general
terms.

"In September 1851, Dr. Berg again visited York, and
stated to me your investigations, discoveries and inven-
tions. From the account Dr. Berg gave me, I felt assured
that you had devised substantially the same system as that
so successfully pursued by Mr. Dzierzon ; but how far
your hive resembled his I was unable to judge from
description alone. I inferred, however, several points of
difference. The coincidence as to system, and the princi-
ples on which it was evidently founded, struck me as
exceedingly singular and interesting, because I felt confi-
dent that you had no more knowledge of Mr. Dzierzon
and his labors, before Dr. Berg mentioned him and his
book to you, than Mr. Dzierzon had of you. These cir-

18 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

cumstances made me very anxious to examine your hives,
and induced me to visit your Apiary in the village of
West Philadelphia, last August. In the absence of the
keeper I took the liberty to explore the premises
thoroughly, opening and inspecting a number of the
hives and noticing the internal arrangement of the parts.
The result was, that I came away convinced that though
your system was based on the same principles as Dzierzon's,
your hive was almost totally different from his both in con-
struction and arrangement ; and that while the same objects
substantially are attained by each, your hive is more sun-
pie, more convenient, and much better adapted for general
introduction and use, since the mode of using it can be
more easily taught. Of its ultimate and triumphant
success I have no doubt. I sincerely believe that when it
comes under the notice of Mr. Dzierzon, he will himself
prefer it to his own. It in fact combines all the good
properties which a hive ought to possess, while it is free
from the complication, clumsiness, vain whims and deci-
dedly objectionable features which characterize most of the
inventions which profess to be at all superior to the simple
box, or the common chamber hive.

" You may certainly claim equal credit with Dzierzon
for originality in observation and discovery in the natural
history of the honey-bee, and for success in deducing prin-
ciples and devising a most valuable system of management
from observed facts. But in invention, as far as neatness,
compactness, and adaptation of means to ends are con-
cerned, the sturdy German must yield the palm to you.

"I send you herewith some interesting statements
respecting Dzierzon, and the estimate in which his system
is held in Germany. Very truly yours,

SAMUEL WAGNER.

REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH."

MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 19

The following are the statements to which Mr. "Wagner
refers :

"As the best test of the value of Mr. Dzierzon's system
is the results which have been made to flow from it, a
brief account of its rise and progress may be found
interesting. In 1835, he commenced bee-keeping in the
common way with twelve colonies, and after various mis-
haps which taught him the defects of the common hives
and the old mode of management, his stock was so reduced,
that, in 1838, he had virtually to begin anew. At this
period he contrived his improved hive, in its ruder form,
which gave him the command over all the combs, and he
began to experiment on fhe theory which observation and
study had enabled him to devise. Thenceforward his
progress was as rapid, as his success was complete and
triumphant. Though he met with frequent reverses,
about seventy colonies having been stolen from him, sixty
destroyed by fire, and twenty-four by a flood, yet, in 1 846,
his stock had increased to three hundred and sixty colo-
nies, and he realized from them that year six thousand
pounds of honey, besides several hundred weight of wax.
At the same time, most of the cultivators in his vicinity
who pursued the common methods, had fewer hives than
they had when he commenced.

"In the year 1848, a fatal pestilence, known by the
name of 'foul brood,' prevailed among his bees, and
destroyed nearly all his colonies before it could be sub-
dued, only about ten having escaped the malady whicli
attacked alike the old stocks and his artificial swarms.
He estimates his entire loss that year at over five hundred
colonies. Nevertheless, he succeeded so well in multi-
plying by artificial swarms, the few that remained healthy,
that, in the Fall of 1851, his stock consisted of nearly four

20 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

hundred colonies. He must therefore have multiplied
his stocks more than three-fold each year.

"The highly prosperous condition of his colonies is
attested by the Report of the Secretary of the Annual
Apiarian Convention, which met in his vicinity last Spring.
This Convention, the fourth which has been held, con-
sisted of one hundred and twelve experienced and enthu-
siastic bee-keepers from various districts of Germany and
jieighboring countries, and among them were some who,
when they assembled, were strong opposers of his system.

" They visited and personally examined the Apiaries
of Mr. Dzierzon. The report speaks in the very highest
terms of his success, and of the manifest superiority of
his system of management. Efe exhibited and satisfac-
torily explained to his visitors his practice and principles ;
and they remarked with astonishment the singular
docility of his bees, and the thorough control to which
they were subjected. After a full detail of the proceed-
ings, the Secretary goes on to say :

" ' Now that I have seen Dzierzon's method practically
demonstrated, I must admit that it is attended with fewer
difficulties than I had supposed. With his hive and system
of management, it would seem that bees become at once
more docile than they are in other cases. I consider his
system the simplest and best means of elevating bee-cul-
ture to a profitable pursuit, and of spreading it far and
wide over the land ; especially as it is adapted to districts
in which the bees do not readily and regularly swarm.
His eminent success in re-establishing his stock after suf-
fering so heavily from the devastating pestilence ; in short
the recuperative power of the system, demonstrates con-
clusively that it furnishes the best, perhaps the only
means of re-instating bee-culture to a profitable branch 01
rural economy.

PLATE I.

Fi<r. 2.

Fisr. 3.

MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 21

"'Dzierzon modestly disclaimed the idea of having
attained perfection in his hive. He dwelt rather upon the
truth and importance of his theory and system of manage-
ment.'

" From, the Leipzig Illustrated Almanac — Report on
Agriculture for 1846 :

" ' Bee-culture is no longer regarded as jof any import-
ance in rural economy.'

''''From the same, for 1851 and 1853 :

" ' Since Dzierzon's system has been made known, an
entire revolution in bee-culture has been produced. A
new era has been created for it, and bee-keepers are turn-
ing their attention to it with renewed zeal. The merits
of his discoveries are appreciated by the Government,
and they recommend his system as worthy the attention
of the teachers of common schools.'

'" Mr. Dzierzon resides in a poor, sandy district of Lower
Silesia, which according to the common notions of Apia- '
rians is unfavorable to bee-culture. Yet, despite of this
and of various other mishaps, he has succeeded in realiz-
ing nine hundred dollars as the product of his bees in one
season !

" By his mode of management, his bees yield even in
the poorest years from 10 to 15 per cent, on the capital
invested; and where the colonies are produced by the
Apiarian's own skill and labor, they cost him only about
one-fourth the price at which they are usually valued. In
ordinary seasons, the profit amounts to from 30 to 50
per cent., and in very favorable seasons from 80 to 100
per cent."

In communicating these facts to the public, I take an
honest pride in establishing my claim to having matured .
by my own independent discoveries, the system of bee-

22 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

culture which has excited so much interest in Germany ;
I desire also to have the testimony to the merits of my
hive, of Mr. Wagner, who is extensively known as an able
German scholar. He has taken all the numbers of the Bee-
Journal, which has been published monthly for more than
nineteen years, in Germany ; and he is undoubtedly more
familiar than any other man in this country with the state
of Apiarian culture abroad.

I wish, also, to show that the importance which I attach
to my system of management, is amply justified by the
success of those who, by the same system, even with infe-
rior hives, have attained results which to common bee-
keepers seem almost incredible. Inventors^are prone to
form exaggerated estimates of the value of their labors ;
and the public has been so often deluded by patent hives
which have utterly failed to answer their professed objects,
that they can scarcely be blamed for rejecting every new
one as unworthy of confidence.

• An American Bee-Journal, properly conducted, would
have great influence in disseminating information, awaken-
ing enthusiasm, and guarding the public against the
miserable impositions to which it has so long been subject-
ed. Three such journals have been published monthly, in
Germany ; and their circulation has widely disseminated
those principles which must constitute the foundation ot
any enlightened and profitable system of bee-culture.

While many of the principal facts in the physiology of
the honey-bee were long ago discovered, it has unfortu-
nately happened that some of the most important have
been the most widely discredited. In themselves, they
are so wonderful, and to those who have not witnessed
them, often so incredible, that it is not strange that they
have been rejected as fanciful conceits or bare-faced
inventions.

MOVABLE-COMB HIVE. 23

For more than half a century, hives have been in use
containing only one comb inclosed on both sides by glass.
These hives are darkened by shutters, and when opened
the queen is as much exposed to observation as the other
bees. I have discovered that, with proper precautions,
colonies can be made to work in observing-hives exposed
continually to the full light of day ; so that observations
may be made at all tunes, without interrupting by any
sudden admission of light the ordinary operations of the
bees. In such hives, many intelligent persons from vari-
ous States in the Union have seen the queen-bee deposit-
ing her eggs in the cells, while surrounded by an affection-
ate circle of her devoted children. They have also wit-
nessed with astonishment and delight, all the mysterious
steps in the process* of raising queens from eggs, which
with the ordinary development would have produced
only the common bees. Often for more than three
months, there has not been a day in my Apiary in which
some colonies were not engaged in rearing new queens to
supply the place of those taken from them ; and I have
had the pleasure of exhibiting these facts to bee-keepers
who never before felt willing to credit them.

As all my hives are made so that each comb can be
taken out and examined at pleasure, those who use them
can obtain all the information which they need without
taking anything upon trust. May I be permitted to ex-
press the hope, tbat the tune is now at hand when the
number of practical observers will be so multiplied, and
the principles of bee-keeping so thoroughly understood,
that ignorant and designing men will not be able to im-
pose their conceits and falsehoods upon the public, by
depreciating the discoveries of those who have devoted
years of observation to the advancement of Apiarian
knowledge 1

24 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER II.

THE HONEY-BEE CAPABLE OF BEING TAMED.

IF the bee had not such a formidable weapon both of
oftence and defence, multitudes who now fear it might
easily be induced to enter upon its cultivation. As my
system of management takes the greatest possible liberties
with this irascible insect, I deem it important to shoAv in
the very outset how all necessary operations may be per-
formed without incurring any serious risk of exciting its
anger.

Many persons have been unable to suppress their aston-
ishment, as they have seen me opening hive after hive,
removing the combs covered with bees, and shaking them
off in front of the hives ; forming new swarms, exhibiting
the queen, transferring the bees with all their stores to
another hive ; and in short, dealing with them as if they
were as harmless as flies. I have sometimes been asked, if
the hives I was opening had not been subjected to a long
course of training; when they contained swarms which
had been brought only the day before to my Apiary.

1 shall, in this chapter, anticipate some principles in the
natural history of the bee, to convince my readers that any
one favorably situated may enjoy the pleasure and profit
of a pursuit which has been appropriately styled, " the
poetry of rural economy," without being made too famil-
iar with a sharp little weapon which can speedily convert
all the poetry into very sorry prose.

It must be manifest to every reflecting mind, that the
Creator intended the bee, as truly as the horse or the cow,
for the comfort of man. In the early ages of the world,

Fig. 7.

Fig. 0.

' "'. • •'••"::..L:''-' •••:._ '.:.l_-

THE HONEY-BEE CAPABLE OF BEING TAMED. 25

and indeed Until quite modern times, honey was almost
the only natural sweet ; and the promise of " a land
flowing with milk and honey" had once a significance
which it is difficult for us fully to realize. The honey-bee,
therefore, was created not merely to store up its delicious
nectar for its own use, but with certain propensities, with-
out which man could no more subject it to his control,
than he could make a useful beast of burden of a lion or
a tiger.

One of the peculiarities which constitutes the founda-
tion of my system of management, and indeed of the
possibility of domesticating at all so irascible an insect,
has never to my knowledge been clearly stated as a great
and controlling principle. It may be thus expressed :

A. honey-bee when filled with honey never volunteers
an attack, but acts solely on the defensive.

This law of the honied tribe is so universal, that a stone
might as soon be expected to rise into the air without any
propelling power, as a bee weU filled with honey to offer
to sting, unless crushed or injured by some direct assault.
The man who first attempted to hive a swarm of bees,
must have been agreeably surprised at the ease with
which he was able to accomplish the feat ; for it is wisely
ordered that bees when intending to swarm, should fill
their honey-bags to their utmost capacity. They are thus
so peaceful that they can easily be secured by man,
besides having materials for commencing operations im-
mediately in their new habitation, and being in no danger
of starving if several stormy days should follow their
emigration.

Bees issue from their hives in the most peaceable mood

imaginable ; and unless abused allow themselves to be

treated with great familiarity. The hiving of them might

always be conducted without risk, if there were not occa-

2

26 THE HIVE AND HONKY-BEE.

sionally some improvident or unfortunate ones, who coming
forth without the soothing supply, are filled instead with
the bitterest hate against any one daring to meddle with
them. Such thriftless radicals are always to be dreaded,
for they must vent their spleen on something, even though
they perish in the act.

If a whole colony on sallying forth possessed such a
ferocious spirit, no one could hive them unless clad in a
coat of mail, bee-proof; and not even then, until all the
windows of his house were closed, his domestic animals
bestowed in some place of safety, and sentinels posted at
suitable stations to warn all comers to keep at a safe dis-
tance. In short, if the propensity to be exceedingly good
natured after a hearty meal had not been given to the
bee, it could never have been domesticated, and our honey
would still be procured from the clefts of rocks or the
hollows of trees.

A second peculiarity in the nature of the bee, of which
we may avail ourselves with great success, may be thus
stated :

Sees cannot under any circumstances resist the
temptation to fill themselves with liquid sweets.

It would be quite as difficult for them to do this, as for
an inveterate miser to despise a golden shower of double
eagles falling at his feet and soliciting his appropriation.
If, then, when we wish to perform any operation which
might provoke them, we can contrive to call their atten-
tion to a treat of flowing sweets, we may be sure that
under its genial influence they will allow us to do what
we please, so long as we do not hurt them.

Special care should be used not to handle them roughly,
for they will never allow themselves to be pinched or hurt
without thrusting out their sting to resent the indignity.
If, as soon as a hive is opened, the exposed bees are

THE HONEY-BEE CAPABLE OF BEING TAMED. 27

gently sprinkled with water sweetened with sugar, they
will help themselves with great eagerness, and in a few
moments will be perfectly under control. The truth is,
that bees thus managed are always glad to see visitors,
for they expect at every call to receive an acceptable
peace-offering. The greatest objection to the use of
sweetened water, is the greediness of bees from other hives,
who when there is any scarcity of honey in the fields, will
often surround the Apiarian as soon as he presents himself
with his watering-pot, and attempt to force their way
into any hive he may open, to steal if possible a poition
of its treasures.

A third peculiarity in the nature of bees gives an almost
unlimited control over them, and may be expressed as
folio WTS : •

Bees when frightened immediately begin to fill them-
selves with honey from their combs.

If the Apiarian only succeeds in frightening his little
subjects, he can make them, as peaceable as though they
were incapable of stinging. By the use of a little smoke
from decayed wood,* the largest and most fiery colony
may at once be brought into complete subjection. As
soon as the smoke is blown among them, they retreat from
before it, raising a subdued or terrified note ; and seeming
to imagine that their honey is to be taken from them, they
cram their honey-bags to their utmost capacity. They
act either as if aware that only what they can lodge in
this inside pocket is safe, or as if expecting to be driven
away from their stores, they are determined to start with
a full supply of provisions for the way. • The same result
may be obtained by shutting them up in their hive and

* Such wood is often called spunk, or touch- wood ; It burns without any flame
until consumed ; and its smoke may easily be directed upon the bees, by the
breath of the Apiarian.

28 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

drumming upon it for a short time. The various pro-
cesses, however, for inducing bees to fill themselves with
honey, are more fully explained in the chapter on Artificial
Swarming.

By the methods above described, I can superintend a
large Apiary, performing every operation necessary for
pleasure or profit, without as much risk of being stung as
must frequently be incurred in attempting to manage a
single hive in the ordinary way.

Let all your motions about your hives be gentle and
slow. Accustom your bees to your presence ; never crush
or injure them, or breathe upon them in any operation ;
acquaint yourself fully with the principles of manage-
ment detailed in this treatise, and you will find that you
have little more reason to dread the sting of a bee, than
the horns of a favorite cow, or the heels of your faithful
horse.

Equipped with a bee-hat (PI. XL, Figs. 25, 27) and
india-rubber gloves, even the most timid, by availing them-
selves of these principles, may open my hives and deal
with their bees with a freedom astonishing to many of
the oldest cultivators on the common plan : for in the
management of the most extensive Apiary, no operation
will ever be necessary, which by exasperating a whole
colony, impels them to assail with almost irresistible fury
the person of the bee-keeper

PLATE III.

Fig.

Fig. 10

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 2i)

CHAPTER III.

THE QUEEN, OB MOTHER-BEE J THE DRONES ; THE WORKERS J
FACTS IN THEIR NATURAL HISTORY.

HONEY-BEES can flourish only when associated in large
numbers, as in a colony. In a solitary state, a single bee
is almost as helpless as a new-born child, being paralyzed
by the chill of a cool Summer night.

If a strong colony preparing to swarm is examined,
three kinds of bees will be found in the hive.

1st, One bee of peculiar shape, commonly called the

2d, Some hundreds and often thousands of large bees,
called Drones.

3d, Many thousands of a smaller kind, called Workers,
or common bees, such as are seen on the blossoms. Many
of the cells will be found to contain honey and bee-bread ;
and vast numbers, eggs and immature workers and
drones. A few cells of unusual size are devoted to the
rearing of young queens. On Plate XII, the queen,
drone, and worker are represented as magnified, and also
of the natural size.

The queen-bee is the only perfect female in the hive,
and all the eggs are laid by her. The drones are the
males, and the workers, females whose ovaries, or " egg-
bags," are so imperfectly developed that they are incapa-
ble of breeding ; and which retain the instinct of females,
only so far as to take care of the brood.

These facts have been demonstrated so repeatedly, that
they are as well established as the most common laws in
the breeding of our domestic animals. The knowledge

30 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

of them in their most important bearings, is essential to
all who would realize large profits from improved methods
of rearing bees. Those who will not acquire the necessary
information, if they keep bees at all, should manage them
in the old-fashioned way, which demands the smallest
amount of knowledge and skill.

I am well aware how difficult it is to reason with bee-
keepers, who have been so often imposed upon, that they
have no faith in statements made by any one interested in a
patent hive ; or who stigmatize all knowledge which does
not square with their own, as mere "book knowledge"
unworthy the attention of practical men.

If any such read this book, let me remind them that all
my assertions may be put to the test. So long as the
interior of a hive was to common observers a profound
mystery, ignorant or designing men might assert what
they pleased of what passed in its dark recesses ; but now,
when every comb can in a few moments be exposed to the
full light of day, the man who publishes his own conceits
for facts, will speedily earn the character both of a .fool
and an imposter.

The Queen-Bee, as she is the common
mother of the whole colony, may very
properly be called the mother-bee. She
reigns most unquestionably by a divine
right, for every good mother ought to be a
queen in her own family. Her shape is
widely different from that of the other bees.
"While she is not near so bulky as a drone, her body is
longer ; and as it is considerably more tapering, or sugar-
loaf in form than that of a worker, she has a somewhat
wasp-like appearance. Her wings are much shorter in
proportion than those of the drone, or worker ; the under
part of her body is of a golden color, and the upper part

'

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 31

usually darker than that of the other bees. Her motions
are generally slow and matronly, although she can, when
she pleases, move with astonishing quickness. No colony
can long exist without the presence of this all important
insect ; but must as surely perish, as the body without the
spirit must hasten to inevitable decay.

The queen is treated with the greatest respect and
affection by the bees. A circle of her loving offspring
constantly surrounds her,* testifying in various ways their
dutiful regard; some gently embracing her with their
antennae, others offering her honey from time to time, and
all of them politely backing out of her way, to give her a
clear path when she moves over the combs. If she is
taken from them, the whole colony is thrown into a state
of the most intense agitation as soon as they ascertain
their loss; all the labors of the hive are abandoned; the
bees run wildly over the combs, and frequently rush from
the hive in anxious search for their beloved mother. If
they cannot find her, they return to their desolate home,
and by their sorrowful tones reveal their deep sense of so
deplorable a calamity. Their note at such times, more
especially when they first realize their loss, is of a pecu-
liarly mournful character! it sounds somewhat like a
succession of waitings on tne minor key, and can no more
be mistaken by an experienced bee-keeper, for their
ordinary happy hum, than the piteous meanings of a sick
child could be confounded by the anxious mother with
its joyous Growings when overflowing with health and
happiness.

I know that all this will appear to many much more
like romance than sober reality ; but believing that it is a
crime for any observer wilfully to misstate or conceal
important truths, I have determined, in writing this book,

* Sen the group of bees on the Title Page.

32 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE

to give facts however wonderful, just as they are; confi-
dent that in due time they will be universally received ;
and hoping that the many wonders in the economy of the
honey-bee, will not only excite a wider interest in its cul-
ture, but lead those who observe them to adore the
wisdom of Him who gave them such admirable instincts.
The fertility of the queen-bee has been entirely under-
estimated by most writers. During the height of the
breeding season, she will often under favorable circum-
stances, lay from two to three thousand eggs a day ! In
my observing-hives, I have seen her lay at the rate of six
eggs a minute. The fecundity of the female of the white
ant is, however, much greater than this, being at the rate
of sixty eggs a minute ; but her eggs are simply extruded
from her body, and carried by the workers into suitable
nurseries, while the queen-bee herself deposits her eggs in
their appropriate cells.

It has been noticed that the queen-bee usually com-
mences laying very early in the season, and always long
before there are any males in the hive. How then, are
her eggs impregnated ? Francis Huber j of Geneva, by a
long course of the most indefatigable observations, threw
much light upon this subject. Before stating his discov-
eries, I must pay my humble tribute of gratitude and ad-
miration to this wonderful man. It is mortifying to every
naturalist, and I might add, to every honest man acquaint-
ed with the facts, to hear such an Apiarian, as Huber,
abused by the veriest novices and impostors ; while others
who are indebted to his labors for nearly all that is of value
in their works,

"Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,
And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer."

Huber in early manhood lost the use of his eyes. His
opponents imagine that to state this fact, is to discredit all

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 33

his observations. But to make their case still stronger,
they assert that his servant, Francis Burnens, by whose
aid he conducted his experiments, was only an ignorant
peasant. Now this so-called " ignorant peasant " was a
man of strong native intellect, possessing the indefatigable
energy and enthusiasm so indispensable to a good obser-
ver. He was a noble specimen of a self-made man, and
rose to be the chief magistrate in the village where he
resided. Huber has paid an admirable tribute to his
intelligence, fidelity, indomitable patience, energy and
skill.*

It would be difficult to find in any language a better
specimen of the inductive system of reasoning, than
Huber's work on bees, and it might be studied as a model
of the only way of investigating nature, so as to arrive at
reliable results.

Huber was assisted in his researches, not only by Bur-
nens, but by his own wife, to whom he was betrothed
before the loss of his sight, and who nobly persisted in
marrying him., notwithstanding his misfortune and the
strenuous dissuasions of her friends. They lived longer
than the ordinary term of human life in the enjoyment of
great domestic happiness, and the amiable naturalist
through her assiduous attentions scarcely felt the loss of
his sight.

Milton is believed by many to have been a better poet
in consequence of his blindness ; and it is highly probable
that Huber was a better Apiarian from the same cause.
His active yet reflective mind demanded constant employ-
ment ; and he found in the study of the habits of the
honey-bee,- full scope 'for his powers. All the observations

* A single fact will show the character of the man. It became necessary, in a
certain experiment, to examine separately all the bees in two hives. " Burnens
spent elewn. days in performing this work, and during the whole time he scarcely
allowed himself any relaxation but what the relief of his eyes required."

34; THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

and experiments of his faithful assistants being daily
reported, many inquiries and suggestions were made by
him, which might not have suggested themselves had he
possessed the use of his eyes.

Few, like him, have such command of both time and
money as to be able to prosecute on so grand a scale, for
a series of years, the most costly experiments. Having
repeatedly verified his most important observations, I take
great delight in holding him up to my countrymen as the
PKINCE OF APIARIANS.

To return to his discoveries on the impregnation of the
queen-bee. By a long course of careful experiments, he
ascertained that, like many other insects, she was fecund-
ated in the open air and on the wing ; and that the influ-
ence of this connection lasts for several years, and proba-
bly for life. He could, however, form no satisfactory con-
jecture how eggs were fertilized which were not yet
developed in her ovaries. Years ago, the celebrated Dr.
John Hunter, and others, supposed that there must be a
permanent receptacle for the male sperm, opening into
the oviduct. Dzierzon, who must be regarded as one of
the ablest contributors of modern times to Apiarian sci-
ence, maintains this opinion, and states that he has found
such a receptacle filled with a fluid resembling the semen
of the drones. He does not seem to have demonstrated
his discoveries by any microscopic examinations.

In the Winter of 1851-2, I submitted for scientific
examination several queen-bees to Dr. Joseph Leidy,
of Philadelphia, who has the highest reputation both at
home and abroad, as a naturalist and microscopic anato-
mist. He found in making his dissections a small globular
sac, about ^ of an inch in diameter, communicating with
the oviduct, and filled with a whitish fluid ; this fluid,
when examined under the microscope, abounded in the

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 35

spermatozoa which characterizes the seminal fluid. A
comparison of this substance, later in the season, with the
semen of a drone, proved them to be exactly alike.

These examinations have settled, on the impregnable
basis of demonstration, the mode in which the eggs of the
queen are vivified.. In descending the oviduct to be
deposited in the cells, they pass by the mouth of this semi-
nal sac, or " spermatheca^ and receive a portion of its fer-
tilizing contents. Small as it is, it contains sufficient to
impregnate hundreds of thousands of eggs. In precisely
the same way, the mother-wasps and hornets are fecund-
ated. The females only of these insects survive the Win-
ter, and often a single one begins the construction of a
nest, in which at first only a few eggs are deposited. How
could these eggs hatch, if the females had not been impreg-
nated the previous season ? Dissection proves that they
have a spermatheca similar to that of the queen-bee. It
never seems to have occui'red to the opponents of Huber,
that the existence of a
permanently impregnated
mother- wasp is quite as
difficult to be accounted
for, as the existence of
a similarly impregnated
queen-bee.

The celebrated Swam-
merdam, hi his observa-
tions upon insects, made
in the latter part of the
seventeenth century, has
given a highly magni-
fied drawing of the ova-
ries of the queen-bee, a
reduced copy of which I

36 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

present (Plate XV ill), to my readers. The small globu-
lar sac (Z>), communicating with the oviduct (E], which
he thought secreted a fluid for sticking the eggs to the
base of the cells, is the seminal reservoir, or spermatheca.
Any one Avho will carefully dissect a queen-bee, may see
this sac, even with the naked eye.

It will be seen that the ovaries (G and H] are double,
each consisting of an amazing number of ducts* filled with
eggs, which gradually increase in size.f

Huber, while experimenting to ascertain how the queen
was fecundated, confined some young ones to their hives,
by contracting the entrances, so that they were more than
three weeks old before they could go in search of the
drones. To his amazement, the queens whose impregna-
tion was thus retarded never laid any eggs but such as
produced drones !

He tried this experiment repeatedly, but always with
the same result. Bee-keepers, even from the tune of
Aristotle, had observed that all the brood in a hive were
occasionally drones. Before attempting to explain this
astonishing fact, I must call the attention of the reader to
another of the mysteries of the bee-hive.

It has already been stated, that the workers are proved
by dissection to be females which under ordinary cir-
cumstances are barren. Occasionally, some of them
appear to be sufficiently developed to be capable of laying
eggs ; but these eggs, like those of queens whose impreg-
nation has been retarded, always produce drones ! Some-

* The ducts in this cut are represented as more numerous than those in Swam-
merdam's drawing.

t Since the first edition of this work was issued, I have ascertained that Posel
(page 54) describes the oviduct of the queen, the spermatheca and its contents,
and the use of the latter in impregnating the passing egg. His work was published
at Munich, in 1784. It seems also from his work (page 36), that before the inves-
tigations of Huber, Jansha, the bee-keeper royal of Maria Theresa, had discovered
the fact that the young queens leave their hive in search of the drones.

Fig. 13. PLATE IV.

Fig. 15.

NATURAL HI8TOKY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 37

times, when a colony which has lost its queen despairs
of obtaining another, these drone-laying workers are'
exalted to her place, and treated with equal regard by the
bees. Huber ascertained that fertile workers are usually
reared in the neighborhood of the young queens, and
thought that they received some particles of the peculiar
food or jelly on which these queens are fed. He did not
pretend to account for the eifect o*n the queen of retarded
impregnation ; and made no experiments on the fecunda-
tion of fertile workers.

Since the publication of Huber's work more than sixty
years ago, no light has been shed upon the mysteries of
drone-laying queens and workers, until quite recently.
Dzierzon appears to have been the first to ascertain the
truth on this subject ; and his discovery must certainly be
ranked among the most astonishing facts in all the range
of animated nature. It seems at first view so absolutely
incredible, that I should not dare mention it, if it were
not supported by indubitable evidence, and if I had not
determined to state all important and well ascertained
facts, however contrary to the prejudices of the ignorant
and conceited.

Dzierzon asserts that all impregnated eggs produce
females, either workers or queens ; and all unimpregnated
ones, males or drones ! He states that in several of his
hives he found drone-laying queens, whose wings were so
imperfect that they could not fly, and which on examina-
tion proved to be unfecundated. Hence, he concluded
that the eggs laid by the queen-bee and fertile worker
had, from the previous impregnation of the egg from which
they sprung, sufficient vitality to produce the drone, which
is. a less highly organized insect than the queen or worker.
It had long been known that the queen deposits drone-
eggs in the large or drone-cells, and worker-eggs in the

38 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

small or worker-cells, and that she makes no mistakes.
Dzierzon inferred, therefore, that there was some way in
which she was able to decide the sex of the egg before it
was laid, and that she must have such a control over the
mouth of the seminal sac as to be able to extrude her
eggs, allowing them at will to receive or not a portion
of its fertilizing contents. In this way, he thought she
determined their sex, 'according to the size of the cells
in which she laid them.

My friend, Mr. Samuel Wagner, of York, Pennsyl-
vania, has advanced a highly ingenious theory, which
accounts for all the facts, without admitting that the
queen has any special knowledge or will on the subject.
He supposes that when she deposits her eggs in the
worker-cells, her body is slightly compressed by their size,
thus causing the eggs as they pass the spermatheca to
receive its vivifying influence. On the contrary, when
she is laying in drone-cells, as this compression cannot
take place, the mouth of the spermatheca is kept closed,
and the eggs are necessarily unfecundated.

In the Autumn of 1852, my assistant found a young
queen whose progeny consisted entirely of drones. The
colony had been formed by removing a few combs con-
taining bees, brood, and eggs, from another hive, and had
raised a new queen. Some eggs were found in one of the
combs, and young bees were already emerging from the
cells, all of which were drones. As there were none but
worker-cells in the hive, they were reared in them, and
not having space for full development, they were dwarfed
in size, although the bees had pieced the cells to give
more room to their occupants.

I was not only surprised to find drones reared in worker-
cells, but equally so that a young queen, who at first lays
only the eggs of workers, should be laying drone-eggs ;

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 39

and at once conjectured that this was a case of an unim-
pregnated drone-laying queen, sufficient time not having
elapsed for her impregnation to be unnaturally retarded.
All necessary precautions were taken to determine this
point. The queen was removed from the hive, and
although her wings appeared to be perfect, she could not
fly. It seemed probable, therefore, 'that she had never
been able to leave the hive for impregnation.

To settle the question beyond the possibility of doubt,
I submitted this queen to Professor Leidy for microscopic
examination. The following is an extract from his report.
" The ovaries were filled with eggs, the poison-sac .full of
fluid; and the spermatheca distended with a perfectly
colorless, transparent, viscid liquid, without a trace of
spermatozoa."

This examination demonstrates Dzierzon's theory that
queens do not need impregnation to lay the eggs of males.

Considerable doubt seemed to rest on the accuracy
of Dzierzon's statements on this subject, chiefly because
of his having hazarded the unfortunate conjecture that
the place of the poison-bag in the worker is occupied in
the queen by the spermatheca. Now this is so completely
contrary to fact (PI. XVm, A, D], that it was a natural
inference that this acute and thoroughly honest observer
made no microscopic disgections of the insects which he
examined. I consider myself peculiarly fortunate, in hav
ing obtained the aid of a naturalist so celebrated for
microscopic dissections as Dr. Leidy.

On examining this same colony a few days later, I found
satisfactory evidence that these drone-eggs were laid by
the queen which had been removed. No fresh eggs had
been deposited in the cells, and the bees on missing her
had begun to build royal cells, to rear, if possible, another
queen ;*this they would not have done, if a fertile worker

4:0 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

had been present, by which the drone-eggs had been
deposited.

Another interesting fact proves that all the eggs laid
by this queen were drone-eggs. Two of the royal cells
were in a short time discontinued; while a third was
sealed over in the usual way, to undergo its changes to a
perfect queen. As the bees had only a drone-laying queen,
whence came the female egg from which they were rear-
ing a queen ?

At first I imagined that they might have stolen it from
another hive ; but on opening this cell it contained only a
dead drone ! Huber had described a similar mistake made
by some of his bees. At the base of this cell was an unu-
sual quantity of the peculiar jelly fed to develop young
queens. One might almost imagine that the bees had
dosed the unfortunate drone to death ; as though they
hoped by such liberal feeding to produce a change in his
sexual organization.

In the Summer of 1854, 1 found another drone-laying
queen in my Apiary, with wings so shrivelled that she
could not fly. I gave her successively to several queen-
less colonies, in all of which she deposited only drone-eggs.

On the 14th of July, 1855, a queen in one of my observ-
ing-hives began to lay, when nine days old, a few eggs on
the edges of the combs, instead, of in the cells. She per-
sisted in this for some days, until I transferred her to a
colony which had been queenless for some weeks, hoping
that she might, if unimpregnated, make an excursion from
their hive to meet the drones. The observing-hive hi
which she was hatched was exposed to the full light of
day ; the entrance small, and difficult to find ; and I had
noticed on several occasions, that when the drones left the
hive in the greatest numbers, the queen seemed unable to
find her way out. At such times she manifested 'unusual

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 41

excitement, and the whole colony were almost as much
agitated as though they were swarming. After she had
been in the second hive a short time, I found that she had
laid a number of drone-eggs. They were deposited near
the bottom and edge of the comb, in cells a little larger
than the worker-size, and which the bees had begun to
lengthen, to adapt them to the growth of their occupants.
There was no other brood in the hive. On the 9th of
August, I found the combs nearly filled with worker-
brood, in a state considerably less advanced than the
drones. Is there any reason to doubt that these drone-
eggs were laid by the queen before, and the worker-eggs
after her impregnation ?

In Italy there is a variety of the honey-bee differing in
size and color from the common kind. If a queen of this
variety is crossed with the common drones, her drone-
progeny will be Italian, and her worker-brood a cross
between the two ; thus showing that the kind of drones
she will produce has no dependence on the male by which
she is fecundated.

It appears from recent discoveries in physiology, that to
impregnate the ovum of an animal it is necessary that the
spermatozoa should not simply come in contact with it,
but actually enter into it through a small opening. In
applying this discovery to bees, Prof. Siebold, of Germany,
dissected a number of worker-eggs, and found in each
from one to three spermatozoa ; while he found none in
dissecting drone-eggs.

Dr. Donhoff, of Germany, in the Summer of 1 855, reared
a worker-larva3 from a drone-egg,* which he had artificially
impregnated.

* I attempted to do this In 1852 ; but to my great disappointment, the bees
removed or devoured all the eggs thus treated ; owing as I then supposed to their
unwillingness to raise workers in drone-cells. If some of the oggs just deposited
in a pioee of drone-comb are touched with a fine brush dipped ia *.he diluted

4:2 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

Aristotle noticed, more than 2,000 years ago, that the
eggs which produce drones are like the worker-eggs.
With the aid of powerful microscopes we are still unable
to detect any difference in the size or appearance of the
eggs of the queen.

These facts taken in connection, appear to constitute a
perfect demonstration that unfecundated queens are not
only able to lay eggs, but that their eggs have sufficient
vitality to produce drones.

Lt seems to me probable, that after fecundation has been
delayed for about three weeks, the organs of the queen-
bee are in such a condition that it can no longer be
effected ; just as the parts of a flower, after a certain time,
wither and shut up, and the plant becomes incapable of
fructification. Perhaps, after a certain time, the queen loses
all desire to go in search of the male. The fertile drone-
laying workers would seem to be physically incapable of
impregnation.

There is something analogous to these wonders, in the
" aphides," or green lice, which infest plants. We have
undoubted evidence that a fecundated female gives birth
to other females, and they in turn to others, all of which
without impregnation are able to bring forth young ; until,
after a number of generations, perfect males and females
are produced, and the series starts anew !

However improbable it may appear that an unimpreg-
nated egg can give birth to a living being, or that sex can
depend on impregnation, we are not at liberty to reject
facts because we cannot comprehend the reasons of them.
He who allows himself to be guilty of such folly, if he
aims to be consistent, must eventually be plunged into the
dreary gulf of atheism. Common sense, philosophy, and

semen of drones, and given to bees -which have neither queen nor brood of any
kind, I believe that queens, workers, and drones may be raised from thorn.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 43

religion alike teach us to receive, with becoming rever-
ence, all undoubted facts, whether in the natural or spirit-
ual world; assured that however mysterious they may
appear to us, they are beautifully consistent in the sight ot
Him whose " understanding is infinite." '

Ah1 the leading facts in the breeding of bees ought to
be as familiar to the Apiarian, as the same class of facts in
the rearing of his domestic animals.* A few crude and
half-digested notions, however satisfactory to the old-fash-
ioned bee-keeper, will no longer meet the wants of those
who desire to conduct be»-culture on an extended and
profitable system.

The extraordinary fertility of the queen-bee has already
been noticed. The process of laying has been well
described by the Rev. "W. Dunbar, a Scotch Apiarian.

" When the queen is about tox lay, she puts her head
into a cell, and remains in that position for a second or
twt>, to ascertain its fitness for the deposit she is about to
make. She then withdraws her head, and curving her
body downwards,! inserts the lower part of it into the
cell : in a few seconds she turns half round upon herself
and withdraws, leaving an egg behind her. When she
lays a considerable number, she does it equally on each
side of the comb, those on the one side being as exactly
opposite to those on the other as the relative position of
the cells will admit. The effect of this is to produce the
utmost possible concentration and economy of heat for
developing the various changes of the brood !"

Here, as at every step hi the economy of the bee, we

* " If it were possible," said an able German Apiarian, in 1846, '.' to ascertain the
reproductive process of bees with as much certainty as that of our domestic ani-
mals, bee-culture might unquestionably be pursued with positive assurance of
profit; and would assume a high rank among the various branches cf rural
economy."

t She is thus sure to deposit the egg in the selected cell.

44 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

behold, in the perfect adaptation of means to ends, a
sagacity which seems scarcely inferior to that of man.

" The eggs of bees* are of a lengthened, oval shape
(PL XIII, Fig. 39), with a slight curvature, and of a bluish
white color : being besmeared, at the time of laying, with
a glutinous substance, they adhere to the bases of the
cells, and remain unchanged in figure or situation for three
or four days ; they are then hatched, the bottom of each
cell presenting to view a small white worm. On its grow-
ing (PL Xin, Figs. 40, 41), so as to touch the opposite
angle of the cell, it coils itself up, to use the language of
Swammerdam, like a dog when going to sleep ; and floats
in a whitish transparent fluid, which is deposited in the
cells by the nursing-bees, and by which it is probably
nourished1; it becomes gradually enlarged in its dimensions,
till the two extremities touch one another, and form a ring.
In this state it is called a larva, or worm. So nicely do
the bees calculate the quantity of food which will be "re-
quired, that none remains in the cell when it is transformed
to a nymph. It is the opinion of many eminent natural-
ists, that farina does not constitute the sole food of the
larva, but that it consists of a mixture of farina, honey,
and water, partly digested in the stomachs of the nursing-
bees.

" The larva having derived its support, in the manner
above described, for four, five, or six days, according to
the season, continues to increase during that period, till it-
occupies the whole breadth, and nearly the length of the
cell. The nursing-bees now seal over the cell with a
light brown cover, externally more or less convex (the
cap of a drone-cell being more convex than that of a
worker), and thus differing from that of a honey-cell, which
is paler and somewhat concave." The cap of the broo4-

* " Beran on the IToney-Bce."

Fig. 1C.

PLATE V

Fiir. 17.

NATUKAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 45

tell is made not of pure wax, but of a mixture of bee.
bread and wax ; and appears under the microscope to be
full of fine holes, to give air to the inclosed insect. From
its texture and shape it is easily thrust off by the bee
when mature, whereas if it consisted wholly of wax, the
insect would either perish for lack of air, or be unable to
force its way into the world. Both the material and shape
of the lids which close the honey-cells are different : they
are of pure wax, and thus air-tight, to prevent the honey
from souring or candying in the cells ; and are slightly
concave, the better to resist the pressure of their contents.

To return to Bevan. " The larva is no sooner perfectly
inclosed than it begins to line the cell by spinning round
itself, after the manner of the silk-worm (PI. XIII, Fig.
42), a whitish silky film, or cocoon, by which it is encased,
as it were, in a pod. When it has undergone this change,
it has usually borne the name of nymph, or pupa. It has
now attained its full growth, and the large amount of
nutriment Avhich it has taken serves as a store for devel-
oping the perfect insect.

" The working bee-nymph spins its cocoon in thirty-six
hours. After passing about three days in this state of
preparation for a new existence, it gradually undergoes so
great a change (PL XIII, Fig. 43), as not to wear a ves-
tige of its previous form.

" When it has reached the twenty-first day of its exist-
ence, counting from the time the egg is laid, it comes forth
a perfect winged insect. The cocoon is left behind, and
forms a closely attached and exact lining to the cell in
which it was spun ; by this means the breeding cells
become smaller, and their partitions stronger, the oftener
they change their tenants; and may become so much
diminished in size as not to admit of the perfect develop-
ment of full-sized bees.

46 THE 'HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

" Such are the respective stages of the working-bee ;
those of the royal bee are as follows : she passes three
days in the egg, and is five a worm ; the workers then
close her cell, and she immediately begins spinning her
cocoon, which occupies her twenty-four hours. On the
tenth and eleventh days, and a part of the twelfth, as if
exhausted by her labor, she remains in complete repose.
Then she passes four days and a part of the fifth as a
nymph. It is on the sixteenth day, therefore, that the
perfect state of queen is attained.

" The drone passes three days in the egg, and six and a
half as a worm, and changes into a perfect insect on the
twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth day after the egg is laid.

" The development of each species likewise proceeds
more slowly when the colonies are weak, or the air cool.
Dr. Hunter has observed that the eggs, worms, and
nymphs all require a heat above 70° of Fahrenheit for
their evolution. Both drones and workers, on emerging
from the cell, are at first gray, soft, and comparatively
helpless, so that some time elapses before they take wing.

"The workers and drones spin complete cocoons, or
inclose themselves on every side, while the royal larvae
construct only imperfect cocoons, open behind, and envel-
oping only the head, thorax, and first ring of the abdo-
men ; and Huber concludes, without any hesitation, that
the final cause of this is, that they may be exposed to the
mortal sting of the first hatched queen, whose instinct
leads her instantly to seek the destruction of those who
would soon become her rivals.

"If the royal larvae spun complete cocoons, the stings of
the queens seeking to destroy their rivals might be so en-
tangled in their meshes that they could not be disengaged.
' Such,' says Huber, ' is the instinctive enmity of young
queens to each other, that I have seen one of them, imme-

NATURAL, HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 4:7

diately on its emergence from the cell, rush to those of its
sisters, and tear to pieces even the imperfect larvae. Hith-
erto, philosophers have claimed our admiration of nature
for her care in preserving and multiplying the species.
But from these facts, we must now admire her precautions
in exposing certain individuals to a mortal hazard.' "

The cocoon of the royal larvae is very much stronger
and coarser than that of the drone or worker ; its texture
considerably resembling that spun by the silk-worm. The
young queen does not ordinarily leave her cell until she is
quite mature; and as its great size allows the free exercise
of her wings, she is usually capable of flying as soon as she
quits it. While still in her cell, she makes the fluttering
and piping noises so familiar to observant bee-keepers.

When the eggs of the queen are fully developed, like
those of the domestic hen, they must be extruded ; but
some Apiarians believe that she can regulate their devel-
opment so that few or many are produced, according to
the necessities of the colony. That this is true to a cer-
tain extent, seems highly probable ; for if a queen is taken
fi-om a feeble colony, her abdomen seldom appears greatly
distended ; and yet if put in a strong one, she speedily be-
comes very prolific. Mr. Wagner says, " I conceive that
she has the power of regulating or repressing the develop-
ment of her eggs, so that gradually she can diminish the
number maturing, and finally cease laying and remain
inactive, as long as circumstances require. The did queen
appears to qualify herself for accompanying a first swarm
by repressing* the development of eggs, and as this is done
at the most genial season of the year, it does not seem to
be the result of atmospheric influence."

It is certain that when the weather is uncongenial, or
the colony too feeble to maintain sufficient heat, fewer eggs

* Huber attributes her reduced size before swarming to a wrong cause.

48 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

are matured, just as unfavorable circumstances diminish
the number of eggs laid by the hen; and when the
weather is very cold, the queen stops laying in weak colo-

In the latitude of Northern Massachusetts, I have found
that the queen ordinarily ceases to lay some time in Octo-
ber ; and begins again, in strong stocks, in the latter part
of December. On the 14th of January, 1857 (the previ-
ous month having been very cold, the thermometer some-
times sinking to 17° below zero), I examined three hives
and found that the central combs in two contained eggs
and unsealed brood ; there were a few celts with sealed
brood in the third. Strong stocks even in the coldest clim-
ates usually contain some brood ten months in the year.

It is amusing to see how the supernumerary eggs of the
queen are disposed of. If the workers are too few to take
charge of all her eggs, or there is a deficiency of bee-bread
to nourish the young ; or if, for any reason, she does not
judge best to deposit them in the cells, she stands upon
a comb, and simply extrudes them from her oviduct,
the workers devouring them as fast as they are laid. I
have repeatedly witnessed in observing-hives the sagacity
of the queen in thus economising her necessary work,
instead of depositing her eggs in cells where they are not
wanted. What a difference between her and the stupid
hen, which so obstinately persists in sitting upon addled
eggs, pieces of chalk, and often upon nothing at all !

The workers devour also all eggs which are dropped or
deposited out of place by the queen ; thus, even a tiny
egg, instead of being wasted, is turned to good account.

One who carefully watches the habits of bees will often
feel inclined to speak of his little favorites as having an
intelligence almost if not quite akin to reason ; and I have
sometimes queried, whether the workers who are so fond

Kig. 18.

PLATE V

Fig. 72.

Fig. 19.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 49

of a tit-bit in the shape of a newly laid egg, ever experi-
ence a struggle between appetite and duty ; so that they
must practice self-denial to refrain from breakfasting on
the eggs so temptingly deposited in the cells.

It is well known to breeders of poultry, that the fertility
of a hen decreases with age, until at length she may
become entirely barren. By the same law, the fecundity
of the queen-bee ordinarily diminishes after she has entered
her third year. An old queen sometimes ceases to lay
worker-eggs ; the contents of her spermatheca becoming
exhausted, the eggs are no longer impregnated, and pro-
duce only drones.

.The queen-bee usually dies of old age hi her fourth year,
although she has been known to live much longer. There
is great advantage, therefore, in hives which allow her,
when she has passed the period of her greatest fertility, to
be easily removed.

Before proceeding farther in the natural history of the
queen-bee, I shall describe more particularly the other
inmates of the hive.

THE DRONES are, unquestionably, the
male bees ; dissection proving that they
have the appropriate -organs of genera-
tion. They are much larger and stouter
than either the queen or workers;
although their bodies are not quite so
long as that of the queen. They have no sting with which
to defend themselves ; and no suitable proboscis for gath-
ering honey from the flowers ; no baskets on their thighs
for holding bee-bread, and no pouches on their abdomens
for secreting wax. They are, therefore, physically dis-
qualified for the ordinary work of the hive. Their proper
office is to impregnate the young queens, and they are

50 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

usually destroyed by the bees soon after this is accom-
plished.

Dr. Evans, an English physician and the author of a
beautiful poem on bees, thus appropriately describes
them:

" Their short proboscis sips
No luscious nectar from the wild thyme's lips,
From the lime's leaf no amber drops they steal,
Nor bear their grooveless thighs the foodful meal :
On other's toils in pamper'd leisure thrive
The lazy fathers of the industrious hive."

The drones begin to make their appearance in April or
May ; earlier or later, according to the forwardness of the
season, and the strength of the stock. In colonies too
weak to swarm, none as a general rule are reared ; for in
such hives, as no young queens are raised, drones would
be only useless consumers.

The number of drones in a hive is often very great,
amounting not merely to hundreds, but sometimes to thou-
sands. As a single one will impregnate a queen for life,
it would seem that only a few should be reared. But
as sexual intercourse always takes place high up in the
air, the young queens must necessarily leave the hive ;
and it is very important to their safety that they should
be sure to find a drone without being compelled to make
frequent excursions ; for being larger than workers, and
less active on the wing, queens are more exposed to be
caught by birds, or destroyed by sudden gusts of wind.

In a large Apiary, a few drones in each hive, or the
number usually found in one, would suffice. But under
such circumstances bees are not in a state of nature, like
a colony living in a forest, which often has no neighbors
for miles. A good stock, even in our climate, sometimes
sends out three or more swarms, and in the tropical

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 51

climates, of which the bee is probably a native, they
increase with astonishing rapidity.* Every new swarm,
except the first, is led off by a young queen ; and as she
is never impregnated until she has been established as the
head of a separate family, it is important that each should
be accompanied by a goodly number of drones : this
requires the production of a large number in the parent-
hive.

As this necessity no longer exists when the bee is
domesticated, the breeding of so many drones should Tse
discouraged. Trapsf have been invented to destroy them,
but it is much better to save the bees the labor and ex-
pense of rearing such a host of useless consumers. This
can readily be done, when we have the control of the
combs ; for by removing the drone-comb, and supplying
its place with worker-cells, the over production of drones
may be easily prevented. Those who object to this, as
interfering with nature, should remember that the bee is
not in a state of nature; and that the same objection
might, with equal force, be urged against kiliuig off the
supernumerary males of our domestic animals.

When a new swarm is building its combs, if the
honey-harvest is abundant, the bees will frequently con-
struct an unusual amount of drone-combs, for storing it.
In a state of nature, where bees have plenty of room, as
in the hollow of a tree, or cleft of a rock, this excess of
drone-comb will be used another season for the same pur-
pose, and new worker-comb made to meet the enlarged
wants of the colony ; but in hives of a limited capacity
this cannot be done, and thus many stocks become so
crowded with drones as to be of little value to their owner.

* At Sydney, in Australia, a single colony is stated to have multiplied to 800, in
three years.
t Such traps were used in Aristotle's time.

52 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

In July or August, or soon after the swarming season
is over, the bees usually expel the drones from the hive ;
though, when the honey-harvest is very abundant, they
often allow them to remain much later. They sometimes
sting them, or gnaw the roots of their wings, so that when
driven from the hive, they cannot return. If not ejected
in either of these summary ways, they are so persecuted
and starved, that they soon perish. At such times they
often retreat from the comb, and keep by themselves upon
tlie sides or bottom-board of the hive. The hatred of the
bees extends even to the unhatched young, which are
mercilessly pulled from the cells and destroyed with the
rest. How wonderful that instinct which, when there is
no longer any occasion for their services, impels the bees
to destroy those members of the colony reared but a short
time before with such devoted attention !

None of the reasons previously assigned seem fully to
account for the necessity of so many drones. I have
repeatedly queried, why impregnation might not have
taken place in the hive, instead of in the open air. A few
dozen drones would then have sufficed for the wants of
any colony, even if it swarmed, as in warm climates, half
a dozen times, or oftener, in the same season ; and the
young queens would have incurred no risks by leaving the
hive for fecundation.

For a long time I could not perceive the wisdom of the
existing arrangement ; although I never doubted that there
was a satisfactory reason for this seeming imperfection.
To have supposed otherwise, would have been highly
unphilosophical, when we know that with the increase of
knowledge many mysteries in nature, once inexplicable,
have been fully cleared up.

The disposition cherished by many students of nature,
to reject some of the doctrines of revealed religion, is not

NATUBAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 53

prompted by a true philosophy. Neither our ignorance
of all the facts necessary to their full elucidation, nor our
inability to harmonize these facts in their mutual relations
and dependencies, will justify us in rejecting any truth
which God has seen fit to reveal, either in the book of
nature, or in His holy word. The man who would substi-
tute his own speculations for the divine teachings, has
embarked without rudder or chart, pilot or compass, on
an uncertain ocean of theory and conjecture ; unless he
turns his prow from its fatal course, storms and whirlwinds
will thicken in gloom on his " voyage of life ;" no " Sun
of Righteousness " will ever brighten for him the expanse
of dreary waters ; no favoring gales will waft his shattered
bark to a peaceful haven.

The thoughtful reader will require no apology for this
moralizing strain, nor blame a clergyman, if sometimes
forgetting to speak as the mere naturalist, he endeavors
to find

" Tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in ' bees,' and ' God ' in every thing."

To return to the attempt to account for the existence
of so many drones. If a farmer persists in what is called
u breeding in and in," that is, without changing the blood,
the ultimate degeneracy of his stock is the consequence.
This law extends, as far as we know, to all animal life, man
himself not being exempt from its influence. Have we
any reason to suppose that the bee is an exception? or
that degeneracy would not ensue, unless some provision
were made to counteract the tendency to "in and in
breeding ?" If fecundation had taken place in the hive,
the queen would have been impregnated by drones from
a common parent ; and the same result must have taken
place in each successive generation, until the whole species

54 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

would eventually have " run out." By the present arrange-
ment, the young queens when they leave the hive, often
find the air swarming with drones, many of which belong
to other colonies, and thus by crossing the breed pro-
vision is constantly made to prevent deterioration.

Experience has proved that impregnation may be
effected not only when there are no drones in the colony
of the young queen, but even when there are none in her
immediate neighborhood. Intercourse takes place very
high in the air (perhaps that less risk may be incurred
from birds), and this favors the crossing of stocks.

I am strongly persuaded that the decay of many flour-
ishing stocks, even when managed with great care, may be
attributed to the fact that they have become enfeebled by
" close breeding," and are thus unable to resist injurious
influences, which were comparatively harmless when the
bees were in a state of high physical vigor. When a cul-
tivator has but few colonies, or is remote from other
Apiaries, he should guard against this evil by occasionally
changing his stocks.

THE WORKERS, or common bees, compose
the bulk of the population of a hive. A good
swarm ought to contain at least 20,000 ; and
in large hives, strong colonies which are not
reduced by swarming, frequently number two
or three times as many during the height of the breeding
season. We are informed by Mr. Dobrogost Chylinski,
that from the Polish hives, which often hold several bushels,
swarms regularly issue so powerful that " they resemble
a little cloud in the air,"

It has already been stated, that the workers are all
females whose ovaries are too imperfectly developed to
admit of their laying eggs. Being for a long time

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 55

regarded as neither males nor females, they were called
Neuters ; but careful microscopic examinations, by detect-
ing the rudiments of their ovaries, have determined their
sex. The accuracy of these examinations has been verified
by the well known facts respecting fertile workers.

Eiem, a German Apiarian, first discovered that workers
sometimes lay eggs. Huber subsequently ascertained that
such workers were bred in hives that had lost their queen,
and near the royal cells hi which young queens were being
reared. He conjectured that small portions of the peculiar
food of these infant queens were accidentally dropped
into their cells, by eating which their reproductive organs
were more developed than those of other workers.

In the Summer of 1854, 1 examined a brood-comb which
had been given to a queenless colony. It contained eleven
sealed queens ; and numbers of the cells were capped with
a round covering, as though they contained drones.
Being opened, some contained drone, and others worker-
nymphs. The latter seemed of a little more sugar-loaf
shape than the common workers, and their cocoons were
of a coarser texture than usual. I had previously noticed
the same kind of cells in hives raising artificial queens, but
thought they all contained drones. It is a well known
fact, that bees often begin more queen-cells than they
choose to finish. It seems to me probable, therefore, that
when rearing queens artificially, they frequently give a
portion of the royal jelly to larva?, which, for some reason,
they do not develope as full grown queens ; and that such
larva? become fertile workers. Huber states that those
fertile workers which lay only drone-eggs, prefer large
cells in which to deposit them, resorting to small ones,
only when unable to find those of greater diameter. A
hive in my Apiary having much worker-comb, but only a
small piece of drone size, a fertile worker filled the latter

56 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

so entirely with eggs that some of the cells contained
three or four each. Such workers have, in rare instances,
been tolerated in hives containing a fertile, healthy
queen.

The worker is much smaller than either the queen or
the drone. She is furnished with a tongue, or proboscis,
so exceedingly curious and complicated, that a separate
volume would hardly suffice to describe its structure and
uses (PI. XVI., Fig. 51). With this organ she obtains the
honey from the blossoms, and conveys it to her honey-bag.
This receptacle (PL XVII., Fig. 54, A), is not larger than
a very small pea, and so perfectly transparent as to appear,
when filled, of the same color with its contents ; it is
properly the first stomach, and is surrounded by muscles
which enable the bee to compress it, and empty its con-
tents through her proboscis into the cells.

The hinder legs of the worker are furnished with a
spoon-shaped hollow, or basket, to receive the pollen
which she gathers from the flowers.

Every worker is armed with a formidable sting, and
when provoked makes instant and effectual use of her
natural weapon. When subjected to a microscopic exam-
ination (PI. XVII., Fig. 53), it exhibits a very intricate
mechanism. "It is moved by muscles* which, though
invisible to the eye, are yet strong enough to force the
sting, to the depth of one-twelfth of an inch, through the
thick skin of a man's hand. At its root are situated two
glands by which the poison is secreted ; these glands
uniting in one duct, eject the venomous liquid along the
groove formed by the junction of the two piercers.
There are four barbs on the outside of each piercer ; when
the insect is prepared to sting, one of these piercers,
having its point a little longer than the other, first darts

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 5'f

into the flesh, and being fixed by its foremost beard, the
other strikes in also, and they alternately penetrate deeper
and deeper, till they acquire a firm hold of the flesh with
their barbed hooks, and then follows the sheath, conveying
the poison into the wound. 'The action of the sting,'
says Paley, ' affords an example of the union of chemistry
and mechanism ; of chemistry, in respect to the venom
which can produce such powerful effects ; of mechanism,
as the sting is a compound instrument. The machinery
would have been comparatively useless, had it not been
for the chemical process by which, in the insect's body,
honey is converted into poison ; and on the other hand,
the poison would have been ineffectual, without an instru-
ment to wound, and a syringe to inject it.'

" Upon examining the edge of a very keen razor by the
microscope, it appears as broad as the back of a pretty
thick knife, rough, uneven, and full of notches and fur-
rows, and so far. from anything like sharpness, that an
instrument as blunt as this seemed to be, would not serve
even to cleave wood. An exceedingly small needle being
also examined, it resembled a rough iron bar out of a
smith's forge. The sting of a bee, viewed through the
same instrument, showed everywhere a polish amazingly
beautiful, without the least flaw, blemish, or inequality,
and ended in a point too fine to be discerned."

As the extremity of the sting is barbed like an arrow,
the bee can seldom withdraw it, if the substance into
which she darts it is at all tenacious. In losing her sting
she parts with a portion of her intestines, and of necessity
soon perishes.

Although they pay eo dearly for the exercise of their
patriotic instincts, still, in defence of home and its sacred
treasures, they

58 THE iTVE AJND HONEY-BEE

" Deem life itself to vengeance well resign'd,
Die on the wound, and leave their sting behind."

Hornets, wasps, and other stinging insects, are able to
withdraw their stings from the wound. I have never seen
the exception in the case of the honey-bee accounted for ;
but as the Creator intended it for the use* of man, did He
not give it this peculiarity, that it might be more com-
pletely subject to human control? Without a sting, it
could not have defended its tempting sweets against a
host of greedy depredators : while, if it had been able to
sting a number of times, its thorough domestication would
have been well nigh impossible.

The defence of the colony against enemies, the construc-
tion of the cells, and storing of them with honey and bee-
bread, the rearing of the young, and in short, the whole
work of the hive, the laying of eggs excepted, is carried
on by the industrious little workers.

There may be gentlemen of leisure in the commonwealth
of bees, but assuredly there are no such ladies, whether of
high or low degree. The queen herself has her full share
of duties, the royal office being no sinecure, when the
mother who fills it must daily superintend the proper
deposition of thousands of eggs.

The queen-bee will live four, and sometimes, though
very rarely, five or more years. As the life of the drones
is usually cut short by violence, it is difficult to ascertain
its precise limit. Bevan estimates it not to exceed four
months. The workers are supposed by him to live six or

* Since the publication of the first edition of this treatise, I have had an opportu-
nity during a visit to the Mexican frontier, of studying the habits of the honey-hornet,
of that region. Its nest, in shape and material, resembles that of our common hor-
net ; and some of them contain many pounds of delicious honey. This insect,
which in those regions is so serviceable to man, like the honey-bee, is unable to
withdraw its sting from the wound. It has also a queen, and lives in a colony
state during the whole year.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 59

seven months; but their age depends very much upon
their greater or less exposure to injurious influences, and
severe labors. Those reared in the Spring and early part
of Summer, upon whom the heaviest labors of the hive
devolve, appear to live not more than two or three
months* ; while those bred at the close of Summer, and
early in Autumn, being able to spend a large part of
their time in repose, attain a much greater age. It is very
evident that " the bee " (to use the words of a quaint old
writer), " is a Summer bird ;" and that, with the excep-
tion of the queen, none live to be a year old.

Notched and ragged wings, instead of gray hairs and
wrinkled faces, are the signs of old age in the bee, and
indicate that its season of toil will soon be over. They
appear to die rather 'suddenly ; and often spend their last
days, and sometimes even their last hours, in useful labors.

Place yourself before a hive, and see the indefatigable
energy of these industrious veterans, toiling along with
their heavy burdens, side by side with their more youth- '
ful compeers, and then judge if, while qualified for useful
labor, you ought ever to surrender yourself to slothful
indulgence. Let the cheerful hum of their busy old age
inspire you with better resolutions, and teach you how
much nobler it is to die with harness on, in the active
discharge of the duties of life.

The age which individual members of the community
may attain, must not be confounded with that of the col-
ony. Bees have been known to occupy the same domicile
for a great number of years. I have seen flourishing colo-
nies more than twenty years old ; the Abbe Delia Rocca
speaks of some over forty years old ; and Stoche says, that
he saw a colony, which he was assured had swarmed annually

* If an Italian queen be given, in the working season, to a swarm of common
bees, in about three inoutlis only a few of the latter will be found in the colony.

O'O THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

for forty-six years ! " Such, cases hare led to the erroneous
opinion, that bees are a long-lived race. But this, as Dr.
Evans has observed, is just as wise as if a stranger, con-
templating a populous city, and personally unacquainted
with its inhabitants, should, on paying it a second visit,
many years after, and finding it equally populous, imagine
that it was peopled by the same individuals, not one of
whom might then be living.

' Like leaves on trees, the race of bees is found,
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ;
Another race the Spring or Fall supplies,
They droop successive, and successive rise.' "

EVANS.

The cocoons spun by the Iarva3 are never removed by
the bees ; they adhere so closely to the sides of the cells,
that the labor of removal would cost more than it would
be worth. As the breeding cells may eventually become
too smalf for the proper development of the young, very
old combs should be removed from the hive. It is a great
mistake, however, to imagine that the brood-combs ought
to be changed every year. If it were desirable, this
might easily be done in my hives ; but to remove them
oftener than once in five or six years, requires a needless
consumption of honey to replace them, and injures the
bees in Winter, as the new comb is much colder than the
old.

Inventors of hives have too often been " men of one
idea :" and that one, instead of being a well established
and important fact in the physiology of the bee, has fre-
quently (like the necessity for a yearly change of the
brood-combs), been merely a conceit of some visionary
projector. This might be harmless enough, were no effort
made to impose such crudities upon an ignorant public,
either in the shape of a patented hive, or worse still, of an

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 61

unpatented hive, the pretended right to use which is
fraudulently sold to the cheated purchaser.*

Apiarians, unaware of the brevity of the bee's life, have
often constructed huge "bee-palaces" and large closets,
vainly imagining that the bees would fill them, being una-
ble to see any reason why a colony should not increase
until it numbers its inhabitants by millions or billions.
But as the bees can never at one time equal, still less
exceed, the number which the queen is capable of pro-
ducing in a season, these spacious dwellings have always
an abundance of spare rooms. It seems strange that men
can be thus deceived, when often in their own Apiary
they have healthy stocks, which, though they have not
swarmed for a year or more, are no more populous in
the Spring, than those which have regularly parted with
vigorous colonies.

It is certain that the Creator has wisely set a limit to
the increase of numbers in a single colony ; and I shall
venture to assign a reason for this. Suppose he had given
to the bee a length of life as great as that of the horse or
the cow, or had made each queen capable of laying daily
some hundreds of thousands of eggs ; or had given several
hundred queens to each hive ; then a colony must have
gone on increasing, until it became a scourge rather than
a benefit to man. In the warm climates of which the bee

* Hives which have never been patented have been extensively sold as patent
articles by men, who for years have been liable to prosecution for obtaining money
under false pretences. Others are disposed of, on the ground that the patent is
still pending, when no application for a patent has ever been made, or has long
ago been rejected. Often the patented part of a hive, being a worthless conceit, is
carefully concealed, while much ingenuity is displayed, in exhibiting those fea-
tures is the hive which any one has a right to use ; and yet, which the vender,
sometimes by implication, and sometimes by direct assertion, leads the purchaser
to believe are essential parts of the patent.

No one should ever purchase a "patent hive," until he ascertains two things:
1st, that there is really a patent on the invention ; and 2d, that the part patented
is, in his opinion, worth to him the money asked for the right to use it.

62 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

is a native, it would have established itself in some cavern
or capacious cleft in the rocks, and would soon have
become so powerful as to bid defiance to all attempts to
appropriate the avails of its labors.

It has already been stated that none, except the mother-
wasps and hornets, survive the Winter. Had these in-
sects, like the bee, been able to commence the season
with the accumulated strength of a lai-ge colony, they
would, long before its close, have proved an intolerable
nuisance. If, on the contrary, the queen-bee had been
compelled, solitary and alone, to lay the foundations of a
new commonwealth, the honey-harvest would have disap
peared long before she could become the parent of a
numerous family.

The process of rearing Queen-Bees will now be more
particularly described. Early in the season, if a hive
becomes very populous, the bees usually make prepara-
tions for swarming. A number of royal cells are begun,
being commonly constructed upon those edges of the
combs (PI. XIV"., a, 5, c, c?), which are not attached to the
sides of the hive. These cells somewhat resemble a small
pea nut (PI. XHE., Figs. 49, 50), and are about an inch
deep, and one-third of an inch in diameter : being very
thick, they require much wax for their construction. They
.are seldom seen in a perfect state after the swarming
season, as the bees, after the queen has hatched, cut them
down to the shape of a small acorn-cup. (PI. XIV., c.)
These queen-ceUs, while in progress, receive a very unu-
sual amount of attention from the workers. There is
scarcely a second in which a bee is not peeping into them ;
and as fast as one is satisfied, another pops in her head to
report progress, or increase the supply of royal jelly.
Their importance to the community might easily be

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 63

inferred from their being the center of so much attrac-
tion.

While the other cells open sideways, the queen-cells
always hang with their mouth downwards. Some Apia-
rians think that this peculiar position affects, in some way,
the development of the royal Iarva3 ; while others, having
ascertained that they are uninjured if placed in any other
position, consider this deviation as among the inscrutable
mysteries of the bee-hive. So it seemed to me, until con-
vinced, by more careful observation, that they open down-
wards simply to save r<9om. The distance between the
parallel ranges of comb in the hive is usually too small for
the royal cells to open sideways, without interfering with
the opposite cells. To economize space, the bees put
them on the unoccupied edges of the comb, where there
is plenty of room for such very large cells.

The number of royal cells in a hive varies greatly ;
sometimes there are only two or three, ordinarily not less
than five ; and occasionally, more than a dozen. As it is
not intended that the young queens should all be of the
same age, the royal cells are not all begun at the same
tune. It is not fully settled how the eggs are deposited
in these cells. In some few instances, I have thought that
the bees transferred the eggs from common to queen-cells ;
and this may be their general method of procedure. . I
shall hazard the conjecture, that, in a crowded state of the
hive, the queen deposits her eggs in cells on the edges of
the comb, some of which are afterwards changed by the
workers into royal cells. Such is a queen's instinctive
hatred to her own kind, that it seems improbable that she
should be intrusted with even the initiatory steps for
securing a race of successors.

The young queens are much more largely supplied with
food than the other larvae ; so that they seem to lie in a

64 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

thick bed of jelly, a portion of which may usually be
found at the base of their cells, soon after they have hatched.
Unlike the food of the other larvae, it has a slightly
acid taste ; and when fresh, resembles starch ; when old, a
light quince jelly. The bees, if confined to their hive and
supplied with water, can secrete it from the honey and
bee-bread stored in their combs.

I submitted some royal jelly to Dr. Charles M. Wethe-
-rell, of Philadelphia; an interesting account of his analy-
sis may be found hi the Report of the Proceedings of the
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences for July, 1852.
He speaks of the substance as being a " truly bread-con-
taining, albuminous compound." A comparison of its
elements with the food of the drone and worker-larvae,
might throw some light on subjects now involved in ob-
scurity.

The effects produced upon the royal larvae by their
peculiar treatment are so wonderful, that they have usually
been rejected as idle whims, by those who have neither
been eye-witnesses to them, nor acquainted with the op-
portunities enjoyed by others for accurate observation.
They are not only contrary to all common analogies, but
so marvellously strange and improbable, that many when
asked to believe them, feel that an insult is offered to then:
common sense. The most important of these effects I
shall briefly enumerate.

1st. The peculiar mode in which the worm designed for
a queen is treated, causes it to arrive at maturity almost
one-third earlier than if it had been reared a worker.
And yet, as it is to be much more fully developed,
according to ordinary anaiogy, it should have had a slower
growth.

2d. Its organs of reproduction are completely developed,
so that it can fulfill the office of a mother.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 65

3d. Its size, shape, and color are greatly changed ; its
lower jaws are shorter, its head rounder, and its abdomen
without the receptacles for secreting wax ; its legs have
neither brushes nor baskets, and its sting is more curved,
and one-third longer (PI. XVHI.) than that of a worker.

4th. Its instincts are entirely changed. Reared as a
worker, it would have thrust out its sting at the least
provocation ; whereas now, it may be pulled limb from
limb without attempting to sting. As a worker, it would
have treated a queen with the greatest consideration ; but
now, if brought in contact with another queen, it seeks to
destroy it as a rival. As a worker, it would frequently
have left the hive, either for labor or exercise ; as a queen,
it never leaves it after impregnation, except to accompany
a new swarm.

5th. The term of its life is remarkably lengthened. As
a worker, it would not have lived mom than six or seven
months ; as a queen, it may live seveV^M*:.£ight times as
long. All these wonders rest on the>onTpregnable basis
of demonstration, and instead of being witnessed only by
a select few, may now, by the use of the movable-comb
hive, be familiar sights to any bee-keeper who prefers an
acquaintance with facts, to caviling and sneering at the
labors of others.*

* A brief extract from the celebrated Dr. Boerhaave's memoir of Swammerdam,
should put to blush the arrogance of those superficial observers, who are too wise
in their own conceit to avail themselves of the knowledge of others.

" This treatise on Bees proved so fatiguing a performance, that Swammerdam
never afterwards recovered even the appearance of his former health and vigor.
He was almost continually engaged by day in making observations, and as con-
stantly by night in recording them by drawings and suitable explanations.

" His daily labor began at six in the morning, when the sun afforded him light
enough to survey such minute objects ; and from that hour till twelve, he continued
without interruption, all the while exposed in the open air to the scorching heat
of the sun, bareheaded, for fear of intercepting his sight, and his head in a manner
dissolving into sweat under the irresistible ardors of that powerful luminary. And
If he desisted at noon, it was only because the strength of his eyes was too much

66 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The process of rearing queens to meet some special
emergency, is even -more wonderful than the one already
described. If the bees have worker-eggs, or worms not
more than three days old, they make one large cell out
of three, by nibbling away the partitions of two cells
adjoining a third. Destroying the eggs or worms in two
of these cells, they place before the occupant of the other,
the usual food of the young queens ; and by enlarging its
cell, give it ample space for development. As a security
against failure, they usually start a number of queen-cells,
although often the work on all, except a few, is soon dis-
continued.

In from eleven to fourteen days, they are in possession
of a new queen, in all respects resembling one reared in
the natural way ; while the eggs in the adjoining cells,
which have been developed as workers, are nearly a week
longer in coming to maturity.

The beautiful representation of comb, in Plate XV III., is
taken, with important alterations and additions of my
own, from Cotton's " My Bee-Book," to which I am also
indebted for the group of bees in the title-page. The
royal cell (£), is a perfect queen-cell, from which the
inmate has not yet emerged. The queen-cell (a), repre-
sents the cap or lid as it often appears just after the young
queen has hatched. The queen-cell (of), which is open at
the side, is one from which a young queen has been vio-
lently abstracted ; the other (c), is oife which the bees
have nearly reduced to the acorn shape. It also resem-

weakened by the extraordinary afflux of light, and the use of microscopes, to con-
tinue any longer upon such small objects.

" He often wished, the better to accomplish his vast, unlimited views, for a year
of perpetual heat and light to perfect his inquiries ; with a polar night, to reap all
the advantages of them by proper drawings and descriptions."

NATUBAi HISTOBY OF THE HONEY-BEE. 67

bles one only a few days old. On the face of the comb is
a cell (n), just begun for the artificial rearing of a queen,
this being the usual position of cells built to meet some
unexpected emergency. To bring the points illustrated
into a compact compass, the cells are drawn smaller than
the natural size.

I shall give, in this connection, a description of an inter-
esting experiment.

A populous stock was removed, in the morning, to a
new place, and an empty hive put upon its stand. Thous-
ands of workers which were ranging the fields, or which
left the old hive after its removal, returned to the familiar
spot. It was truly affecting to witness their grief and
despair ; they flew in restless circles about the place where
once stood their happy home, entering the empty hive
continually, and expressing, in various ways, their lamen-
tations over so cruel a bereavement. Towards evening,
ceasing to take wing, they roamed in restless platoons, in
and out of the hive, and over its surface, as if in search of
some lost treasure. A small piece of brood-comb was
then given to them, containing worker-eggs and worms.
The effect produced by its introduction took place
much quicker than can be described. Those which first
touched it raised a peculiar note, and in a moment, the
comb was covered with a dense mass of bees ; as they
recognized, in this small piece of comb, the means of
deliverance, despair gave place to hope, their restless
motions and mournful voices ceased, and a cheerful hum
proclaimed their delight. If some one should enter a
building filled with thousands of persons tearing their
hair, beating their breasts, and by piteous cries, as well as
frantic gestures, giving vent to their despair, and could
by a single word cause all these demonstrations of
agony to give place to smiles and congratulations, the

68 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

change would not be more instantaneous than that pro-
duced when the bees received the brood-comb !

The Orientals call the honey-bee, "Deborah: She that
speaketh." Would that this little insect might speak, in
words more eloquent than those of man's device, to those
who reject any of the doctrines of revealed religion, with
the assertion that they are so improbable, as to labor
under a fatal a priori objection. Do not all the steps in
the development of a queen from a worker-egg, labor
under the very same objection ? and have they not, for
this reason been always regarded, by many bee-keepers,
as unworthy of belief? If the favorite argument of infi-
dels will not stand the test, when applied to the wonders
of the bee-hive, is it entitled to serious weight, when, by
objecting to religious truths, they arrogantly take to task
the Infinite Jehovah for what He has been pleased to do
or to teach ? With no more latitude than is claimed by
such objectors, it were easy to prove that a man is under
no obligation to believe any of the wonders of the bee-hive,
even although he is himself an intelligent eye-witness to
their substantial truth.

Fig. 20.

PLATE VII.

69

CHAPTER IV.

COMB.

WAX is a natural secretion of bees, and may be called
their oil or fat. When gorged with honey, or any liquid
sweet, if they remain quietly clustered together, it is
secreted in the shape of delicate scales, in small pouches
on their abdomen. (PI. XIIL, Figs. 37, 38.) Soon after
a swarm is hived, the bottom-board will usually be covered
with these scales. The bees seem to loosen them from
their bodies by violently shaking themselves as they stand
upon the combs.

" Thus, filtered through yon flatterer's folded mail,
Clings the cooled wax, and hardens to a scale.
Swift, at the well-known call, the ready train
(For not a buz boon Nature breathes in vain)
Spring to each falling flake, and bear along
Their glossy burdens to the builder throng.
These with sharp sickle, or with sharper tooth,
Pare each excrescence, and each angle smoothe,
Till now, in finish'd pride, two radiant rows
Of snow white cells one mutual base disclose.
Six shining panels gird each polish'd round ;
The door's fine rim, with waxen fillet bound ;
While walls so thin, with sister walls combined,
Weak in themselves, a sure dependence find."

EVANS.

Most Apiarians before Huber's time supposed that wax
was made from bee-bread, either in a crude or digested
state. Confining a new swarm of bees to a hive in a dark
and cool room, at the end of five days he found
several beautiful white combs in their tenement; these

70 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

being taken from them, and the bees supplied with honey
and water, new combs were again constructed. Seven
times in succession their combs were removed, and were
in each instance replaced, the bees being all the time pre-
vented from ranging the fields to supply themselves with
bee-bread. By subsequent experiments, he proved that
sugar-syrup answered the same end with honey. Giving
an imprisoned swarm an abundance of fruit and bee-bread,
he found that they subsisted on the fruit, but refused to
touch the pollen ; and that no combs were constructed,
nor any wax-scales formed in their pouches.

Notwithstanding Huber's extreme caution and unwearied
patience in conducting these experiments, he did not dis-
cover the whole truth on this important subject. Though
he demonstrated that bees can construct comb from honey
or sugar, without the aid of bee-bread, and that they can-
not make it from bee-bread, without honey or sugar, he
did not prove that when permanently deprived of bee-
bread they can continue to work in wax, or if they can,
that the pollen does not aid in its elaboration.

Some bee-bread is always found in the stomach of wax-
producing workers, and they never build comb so rapidly
as when they have free access to this article. It must,
therefore, either furnish some of the elements of wax, or
in some way assist the bee in producing it. Further
investigations are necessary, before we can arrive at per-
fectly accurate results. Confident assertions are easily
made, requiring only a little breath, or a few drops of ink ;
and those who like them best have often the profoundest
contempt for observation and experiment. To establish
any controverted truth on the solid foundation of demon-
strated facts, usually requires severe and protracted labor.

Honey and sugar contain by weight about eight pounds
of oxygen to one of carbon and hydrogen. When con-

COMB. 71

verted into wax, these proportions are remarkably changed,
the wax containing only one pound of oxygen to more
than sixteen of hydrogen and carbon. Now as oxygen
is the grand supporter of animal heat, the large quantity
consumed in secreting wax aids in generating that extra-
ordinary heat which always accompanies comb-building,
and which enables the bees to mould the softened wax
into such exquisitely delicate and beautiful forms.* This
interesting instance of adaptation, so clearly pointing to
the Divine Wisdom, seems to have escaped the notice of
previous writers.

Careful experiments prove that from thirteen to twenty
pounds of honey are required to make a single pound of
wax. As wax is an animal oil, secreted chiefly from honey,
this fact will not appear incredible to those who are aware
how many pounds of corn or hay must be fed to cattle to
have them gain a single pound of fat.

Many bee-keepers are unaware of the value of empty
comb. Suppose honey to be worth only fifteen cents per
pound, and comb, when rendered into wax, to be worth
thirty cents, the Apiarian who melts a pound of comb
loses largely by the operation, even without estimating
the time his bees have consumed in building it. It should,
therefore, be considered a first principle in bee-culture
never to melt good combs. A strong stock of bees, in the
height of the honey-harvest, will fill them with very
great rapidity.

Unfortunately, in the ordinary hives but little use can
be made of empty comb, unless it is new, and can be put
'into the surplus honey-boxes ; but by the use of bars, or
movable frames, every good piece of worker-comb may be
given to the bees.

* According to Dr. Donhoff, the thickness of the sides of a cell In a new comb
Is only the one hundred and eightieth part of an Inch !

72 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

When new, it may be easily attached to frames, or spare
honey-receptacles, by dipping the edge into melted wax,
and firmly holding it in place until it hardens ; if it is
old, or the pieces large and full of bee-bread, a mixture
of melted wax and resin will secure a firmer adhesion.
When comb is put into tumblers, or small receptacles, it
may be simply crowded in, so as to keep its place until
fastened by the bees. As bees like " a good start in life,"
they prefer receptacles which contain some empty comb.
All suitable drone-comb should be put into such recepta-
cles, instead of being allowed to remain in the breeding
apartment of the hive.

No one, to my knowledge, has ever attempted to imi-
tate the delicate mechanism of the bee so closely, as to
construct artificial combs for the ordinary uses of the
hive. If store-combs could be made of gutta-percha, they
might be emptied of their contents, and returned to the
hive.

In the Summer of 1854, I ascertained that bees will,
under some circumstances, use fine shavings of wax to build
new comb. If this discovery can be made serviceable
for practical purposes, it will both facilitate the cheap and
rapid multiplication of colonies, and enable the bees to
amass unusual quantities of honey. One pound of bees-
wax might be made to store nearly twenty pounds of
honey ; and the bee-keeper would gain the difference in
value between one pound of wax, and the honey which
bees consume . in making a pound of comb. At times
when no honey can be procured from the blossoms, strong
stocks might be profitably employed in building spare
comb, to strengthen feeble stocks, or for any other pur
pose.

The building of comb is usually carried on with the
greatest activity by night, while the honey is gathered by

Fig. 21. PLATE VIII.

COMB. 73

day.* Thus no time is lost. When the weather is too
forbidding for out-door work, the combs are most rapidly
constructed, the labor being vigorously carried on both
by day and by night. On the return of a fair day, the
bees, having plenty of room for its storage, gather unusual
• supplies. Thus, by their wise economy, they often lose
no time, even if confined for several days to their hive.

" How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour !"

The poet might, with equal truth, have described her
as improving the gloomy days and dark nights in her use-
ful labors.

It is an interesting fact, which seems hitherto to have
escaped notice, that honey-gathering and comb-building
go on simultaneously ; so that when one stops, the other
ceases also. As soon as the honey-harvest begins to fail,
so that consumption is in advance of production, the bees
cease to build new comb, even although large portions of
their hive are unfilled. When honey no longer abounds
in the fields, it is wisely ordered that they should not con-
sume, in comb-building, the treasures which may be need-
ed for Winter use. What safer rule could have been
given them ?

As wax is a bad conductor, it can be more easily work-
ed when warmed by the animal heat of the bees, than if it
parted with its heat too readily. By this property, the
combs aid in keeping the bees warm, and there is less
risk of their cracking with frost, or of the honey candying
in the cells. If wax were a good conductor of heat, the
combs would often be icy cold, moisture would condense
and freeze upon them, and they could not fulfill all their
required ends.

* On very c^ear moonlight nights, I have known bees to gather honey rro::i the
tulip tree (TAriodendron tulipfera).

4

74 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The size of the colls in which workers are reared never
varies ; the same may substantially be said of the drone-
cells, which are much larger; those in which honey is
stored vary greatly in depth,, while in diameter they are
of all sizes, from that of worker to that of drone-cells. As
five worker, or four drone-cells, will measure about one
linear inch, a square inch of comb will contain, on each
side, twenty-five worker, or sixteen drone-cells.

As bees in building their cells, cannot pass immediately
from one size to another, they display an admirable saga-
city in making the transition by a set of irregular inter-
mediate cells. Plate XV. (Fig. 48), exhibits an accurate
and beautiful representation of comb, drawn for this work
from nature, by M. M. Tidd, and engraved by D. T.
Smith, both of Boston, Mass. The cells are of the size of
nature. The large ones are drone-cells, and the small ones,
worker-cells. The irregular, five-sided cells between them,
show how bees pass from one size to another. .

The cells of bees are found to fulfill perfectly the most
subtle conditions of an intricate mathematical problem.
Let it be required to find what shape a given quantity of
matter must take, in order to have the greatest capacity
and strength, occupying, at the same time, the least space^
and consuming the least labor in its construction. When
this problem is solved by the most refined mathematical
processes, the answer is the hexagonal or six-sided cell
of the honey-bee, with its three four-sided figures at the

The shape of these figures cannot be altered ever so lit-
tle, except for the worse. In addition to the desirable
qualities already enumerated, they serve as nurseries for
rearing the young, and as small air-tight vessels for pre-
serving the honey from souring or candying. Every pru-
dent housewife who carefully stores her preserves in

COMB. 75

receptacles excluding the air, can appreciate the value of
such an arrangement.

"There are only three possible figures of the cells," says
Dr. Reid, " which can make them all equal and similar,
without any useless spaces between them. These are the
equilateral triangle, the square, and the regular hexagon.
It is well known to mathematicians, that there is not a
fourth way possible in which a plane may be cut into lit-
tle spaces that shall be equal, similar, and regular, with-
out leaving any interstices."

An equilateral triangle would have made a very uncom-
fortable tenement for an insect with a round body ; and a
square cell would have been but little better. A circle
seems to be the best shape for the development of the
larvae; but such a figure -would have caused a needless
sacrifice of space, materials, and strength ; while the honey,
which adheres so admirably to the many angles of the
six-sided cell, would have been much more liable to run
out. The body of the immature insect, as it undergoes
its changes, is charged with a superabundance of moisture,
which passes off through the reticulated cover of its
cell ; may not a hexagon, therefore, while approaching so
nearly to the shape of a circle, as not to incommode the
young bee, furnish, in its six corners, the necessary vacan-
cies for a more thorough ventilation ?

Is it credible that these, little inseclts can unite so many
requisites in the construction of their cells, either by chance,
or because they are profoundly versed in the most intricate
mathematics? Are we not compelled to acknowledge
that the mathematics by which they construct a shape so
complicated, and yet the only one which can unite so many
desirable requirements, must be referred to the Creator,
and not to his puny creature ? To an intelligent and can-

7C THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

did mind, the smallest piece of honey-comb is a perfect
demonstration that there is a " GREAT FIRST CAUSE."

" On books deep poring, ye pale sons of toil,
Who waste in studious trance the midnight oil,
Say, can ye emulate, with all your rules,
Drawn or from Grecia'n or from Gothic schools,
This artless frame ? Instinct her simple guide,
A heaven-taught insect baffles all your pride.
Not all yon marshall'd orbs, that ride so high,
Proclaim more loud a present Deity,
Than the nice symmetry of these small cells,
Where on each angle genuine science dwells."

EVANS.

CHAPTER V.

THIS substance is obtained by the bees from the resinous
buds and limbs of trees : the different varieties of poplar
yield a rich supply. When first gathered, it is usually of
a bright golden color, and so adhesive that the bees never
deposit it in cells, but apply it at once to the purposes for
which they procured it. If a bee is caught while bringing
in a load, it will be found to adhere very firmly to her

" Ehiber planted in Spring some branches of the wild
poplar, before the leaves were developed, and placed
them in pots near his Apiary ; the bees alighted on them,
separated the folds of the large buds with their for-
ceps, extracted the varnish in threads, and loaded with it,
first one thigh and then the other ; for they convey it like
pollen, transferring it by the first pair of legs to the

PROPOLIS. 77

•second, by which it is lodged in the hollow of the third."
I have seen them thus remove the warm propolis from
old bottom-boards standing in the sun.

Propolis is frequently gathered from the alder, horse-
chestnut, birch, and willow ; and as some think, from
pines and other trees of the fir kind. Bees will often
enter varnishing shops, attracted evidently by their smell ;
and in the vicinity of Matamoras, Mexico, where propolis
seems to be scarce, I saw them using green paint from win-
do w-bUnds, and pitch from the rigging of a vessel. Bevan
mentions the fact of their carrying off a composition of
wax and turpentine from trees to which it had been applied.
Dr. Evans says he has seen them collect the balsamic
varnish which coats the young blossom-buds of the holly-
hock, and has known them rest at least ten minutes on
the same bud, moulding the balsam with their fore feet,
and transferring it to the hinder legs, as described by
Huber.

" With merry hura the Willow's copse they scale,
The Fir's dark pyramid, or Poplar pale ;
Scoop from the Alder's leaf its oozy flood,
Or strip the Chestnut's resin-coated bud ;
Skim the light tear that tips Narcissus' ray,
Or round the Hollyhock's hoar fragrance play ;
Then waft their nut-brown loads exulting home,
That form a fret-work for the future comb ;
Caulk every chink where rushing winds may roar,
And seal their circling ramparts to the floor."

EVANS.

A mixture of wax and propolis being much more
adhesive than wax alone, serves admirably to strengthen
the attachments of the combs to the top and sides of the
hive. If the combs are not- filled with honey or brood
soon after they are built, they are varnished with a delicate
coating of propolis, which adds greatly to their strength ;

78 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

but as this natural varnish impairs their snowy whiteness,
the bees ought not to be allowed access to combs in the
surplus honey-receptacles, except when actively engaged
in storing them with honey.

Bees make a very liberal use of propolis to fill any
crevices about their premises ; and as the natural summer-
heat of the hive keeps it soft, the bee-moth selects it as a
place of deposit for her eggs. Hives ought, therefore, to
be made of lumber entirely free from cracks. The corners,
which the bees usually fill with propolis, may have a melted
mixture run into them, consisting of three parts of resin
and one of bees-wax ; this remaining hard during the
hottest weather, will bid defiance to the moth.

As bees find it difficult to gather propolis, and equally
so to work so sticky a material, they should be saved all
unnecessary labor in amassing it. To men, time is money j
to bees, it is honey ; and all the arrangements of the hive
should be such as to economize it to the utmost.

Propolis is sometimes put to a very curious use by the
bees. " A snail,* having crept into one of M. Reaumur's
hives early in the morning, after crawling about for some
time, adhered, by means of its own slime, to one of the
glass panes. The bees having discovered the snail, sur-
rounded it, and formed a border of propolis round the
verge of its shell, and fastened it so securely to the glass
that it became immovable.

' Forever closed the impenetrable door ;
It naught avails that in its torpid veins
Tear after year, life's loitering spark remains.'

EVANS.

" Maraldi, another eminent Apiarian, states that a snail
without a shell having entered one of his hives, the bees,
as soon as they observed it, stung it to death ; after which,

PBOPOLIS. 7y

being unable to dislodge it, they covered it all over with
an impervious coat of propolis.

' For soon in fearless ire, their wonder lost,
Spring fiercely from the comb the indignant host,
Lay the pierced monster breathless on the ground,
And clap in joy their victor pinions round :
While all in vain concurrent numbers strive
To heave the slime-girt giant from the hive —
Sure not alone by force instinctive swayed,
But blest with reason's soul-directing aid,
* Alike in man or bee, they haste to pour,

Thick, hard'ning as it falls, the flaky showes;
Embalmed in shroud of glue the mummy lies,
No worms invade, no foul miasmas rise.'

EVANS.

" In these instances, who can withhold his admiration
of the ingenuity and judgment of the bees ? In the first
case, a troublesome creature gained admission to the hive,
which, from its unwieldiness, they could not remove, and
which, from the impenetrabili ty of its shell, they could not
destroy ; here, then, their only resource was to deprive it
of locomotion, and to obviate putrefaction ; both which
objects they accomplished most skillfully and securely,
and, as is usual with these sagacious creatures, at the least
possible expense of labor and materials. They applied
their cement where alone it was required — round the
verge of the shell. In the latter case, to obviate the evil
of decay, by the total exclusion of air, they were obliged
to be more lavish in the \ise of their embalming material,
and to case over the ' slime-girt giant,' so as to guard
themselves from his noisome smell. What means more
effectual could human wisdom have devised, under similar
circumstances ?"

When any member of a family dies, the bees are be-
lieved by many to know what has happened ; and some

80 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

are superstitious enough to put the hives in mourning, to
pacify their sorrowing occupants ; imagining that, unless
this is done, the bees will never afterwards prosper ! It
has frequently been asserted, that they sometimes take
their loss so much to heart, as to alight upon the coffin
whenever it is exposed. A clergyman told me, that he
attended a funeral, where, as soon as the coffin was
brought from the house, the bees gathered upon it so as
to excite much alarm. Some years after this occurrence,
being engaged in varnishing a table, the bees alighted
upon it in such, numbers, as to convince him, that love of
varnish, rather than sorrow or respect for the dead, was
the occasion of their conduct at the funeral. How many
superstitions, believed even by intelligent persons, might
be as easily explained, if it were possible to ascertain as
fully all the facts connected with them!

CHAPTER VI.

POLLEN, OR " BEE-BKEAD."

POLLEN is gathered by the bees from blossoms, and is
indispensable to the nourishment of their young — repeat-
ed experiments having proved that brood cannot be raised
without it. It is very rich in the nitrogenous sub-
stances which are not contained in honey, and without
which ample nourishment could not be furnished for the
development of the growing bee. Dr. Hunter, on dissecting
some immature bees, found that their stomachs contained
pollen, but not a particle of honey.

We are indebted to Huber for the discovery, that pol-
len is the principal food of the young bees. As large

POLLEN. 81

supplies were often found in hives whose inmates had
starved, it was evident that, without honey, it could not
support the mature bees ; and this led former observers
to conclude that it served for the building of comb. Hu-
ber, after demonstrating that wax can be secreted from
an entirely different substance, soon ascertained that pollen
was used for the nourishment of the embryo bees. Con-
fining some bees to their hive without any pollen, he sup-
plied them with honey, eggs, and larvae. In a short time,
the young all perished. A fresh supply of brood being
given to them, with an ample allowance .of pollen, the
development of the larva? proceeded in the natural way.

I had an excellent opportunity of testing the value of
this substance, in- the backward Spring of 1852. On the
5th of February, I opened a hive containing an artificial
swarm of the previous year, and found many of the cells
filled with brood. The combs being examined on the
23d, contained neither eggs, brood, nor bee-bread; and
the colony was supplied with pollen from another hive ;
the next day, a large number of eggs were found in the
cells. When this supply was exhausted, laying again
ceased, and was only resumed when more was furnished.
During the time of these experiments, the weather was so
unpromising, that the bees were unable to leave the hive.

Dzierzon is of opinion that bees can furnish food for
their young, without pollen ; although he admits that they
can do it only for a short tune, and at a great expense of
vital energy ; just as the strength of an animal nursing its
young is rapidly reduced, if, for want of proper food, the
very substance of the mother's body must be converted
into milk. The experiment just described does not cor-
roborate this theory, but confirms Huber's view, that
pollen is indispensable to the development of brood.

Gundelach, an able German Apiarian, says that if a
4*

82 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

colony with a fertile queen be confined to an empty hive,
and supplied with honey, comb will be rapidly built, and
the cells filled with eggs, which in due time will be
hatched ; but the worms will all die within twenty-four
hours.

Some Apiarians believe that bees with an abundance
of both pollen and honey, will secrete wax much faster
than when supplied with honey alone ; and that its secre-
tion, without pollen, severely taxes their strength.

In September, 1856, 1 put a very large colony of bees
into a new hive, to determine some points on which I was
then experimenting. The weather was fine, and they
gathered pollen, and built comb very rapidly; still, for
ten days, the queen-bee deposited no eggs in the cells.
During all that time, these bees stored very little pollen in
the combs. One of the days being so stormy that they
could not go abroad, they were supplied with rye flour
(see p. 84), none of which, although very greedily appro-
priated, could be found in the cells. During all this
time, as there was no brood to be fed, the pollen must
have been used by the bees either for nourishment, or to
assist them in secreting wax ; or, as I believe, for both
these purposes.

Bees prefer to gather fresh bee-bread, even when there
are large accumulations of old stores in the cells. With
hives giving the control of the combs, the surplus of old
colonies may be made to supply the deficiency of young
ones ; the latter, in Spring, being often destitute of this
important article.

If honey and pollen ca"n both be obtained from the same
blossom, the industrious insect usually gathers a load of
each. To prove this, let a few pollen-gatherers be dis-
sected when honey is plenty ; and their honey-sacs will
ordinarily be full.

POLLEN. 83

The mode of gathering pollen is very .interesting. The
body of the bee appears to the naked eye to be covered
with fine hairs, to which, when she alights 'on a flower, the
farina adheres. With her legs, she brushes it from her
body, and packs it in the hollows, or baskets, one of which
is on each of her thighs ; these baskets are surrounded by
stouter hairs, which hold the load in its place. If from
any cause the pollen cannot be readily gathered in balls,
the bee will often roll herself in it, and return, all dusted
over, to her hive.

When the bee brings home a load of pollen, she often
shakes her body in a singular manner, to attract the atten-
tion of other bees, who nibble from her thighs what
they want for immediate use; the rest she stores away
for future need, by inserting her body hi a cell and brush-
ing it from her legs; it is then carefully packed down,
being often covered with honey, and sealed over with
wax. Pollen is very rarely deposited in any except
worker-cells.

Aristotle observed, that a bee, in gathering pollen, con-
fines herself to the kind of blossom on which she begins,
even if it is not so abundant as some others ; thus a ball
of this substance taken from her thigh, is found to be of
a uniform color throughout ; the load of one insect being
yellow, of another, red, and of a third, brown ; the color
varying with that of the plant from which the supply was
obtained. They may prefer to gather a load from a single
species of plant, because the pollen of different kinds does
not pack so well together. Bees, by carrying the pollen
or fertilizing substance of plants, on their bodies, from
blossom to blossom, contribute essentially to their impreg-
nation.

Though the importance of pollen has long been known,
it is only of late that any attempts have been made to

84: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

furnish a substitute. Dzierzon, early in the Spring,
observed his bees bringing rye-meal to their hives from a
neighboring mill, before they could procure any pollen
from natural supplies. The hint was not lost ; and it is now
a common practice in Europe, where bee-keeping is exten-
sively carried on, to supply the bees early in the season
with this article. Shallow troughs are set in front of the
Apiaries, filled'about two inches deep with finely ground,
dry, unbolted rye-meal. Thousands of bees, when the
weather is favorable, resort eagerly to them, and rolling
themselves in the meal, return heavily laden to their hives.
In fine, mild "weather, they labor at this work with great
industry ; preferring the meal to the old pollen stored in
their combs. They thus breed early, and rapidly recruit
their numbers. The feeding is continued till, the blos-
soms furnishing a preferable article, they cease to carry
off the meal. The average consumption of each colony is
about two pounds.

Mr. F. Sontag, a German Apiarian, says, that in the
Spring of 1853, he fed one of his colonies with rye-meal,
placed in the hive in an old comb ; continuing the supply
till they could procure fresh pollen abroad. This colony
produced four strong swarms that Spring, and an adjoin-
ing stock not supplied with the meal, only one weak
swarm.

Another German bee-keeper says, he has used wheat
flour with very good results ; the bees forsaking the
honey furnished them, and engaging actively in carrying
in the flour, which was placed about twenty paces in
front of their hives.

The construction of my hives permits the flour to be
easily placed where the bees can get it, without losing
time in going abroad, or suffering for the want of it, when
the weather confines them at home. *

POLLEN. 85

The discovery of this substitute removes a very serious
obstacle to the culture of bees. In many districts, there
is for a short time such an abundant supply of honey, that
almost any number of strong colonies will, in a good sea-
son, lay up enough for themselves, and a large surplus
for their owners. In many of these districts, however, the
supply of pollen is often quite insufficient, and in Spring,
the swarms of the previous year are so destitute, that unless
the season is early, the production of brood is seriously
checked, and the colony cannot avail itself properly of the
superabundant harvest of honey.

While the honey-bee is regarded by the best informed
horticulturists as a friend, a strong prejudice has been
excited against it by many fruit-growers in this country ;
and in some communities, a man who keeps bees, is con-
sidered as bad a neighbor, as one who allows his poultry
to despoil the gardens of others. Even the warmest
friends of the "busy bee," may be heard lamenting its
propensity to banquet on their beautiful peaches and pears,
and choicest grapes and plunls.

In conversation with a gentleman, I once assigned three
reasons, w>hy the bees could not inflict any extensive
injury upon his grapes. 1st, that as the Creator appears
to have intended both the honey-bee and fruit for the
comfort of man, it was difficult to conceive that. He would
have made one the natural enemy of the other. 2d, that
as the supplies of honey from the blossoms had entirely
failed, the season (1854) being exceedingly dry, if the
numerous colonies in his vicinity had been able to help
themselves to his sound grapes, they would have entirely
devoured the fruit of his vines, 3d, that the jaws of the
bee, being adapted chiefly to the manipulation of wax,
were too feeble to enable it readily to puncture the skin
even of his most delicate grapes.

86 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

In reply to these arguments, being invited to go to his
vines, and see the depredators in the very act, the result
justified niy anticipations. Though many bees were seen
banqueting on grapes, not one was doing any mischief to
the sound fruit. Grapes which were bruised on the vines,
or lying on the ground, and the moist stems, from which
grapes had recently been plucked, were covered with
bees ; while other bees were observed to alight upon
bunches, which, when found by careful inspection to be
sound, they left with evident disappointment.

Wasps and hornets, which secrete no wax, being furnish-
ed with strong, saw-like jaws, for cutting the woody fibre
with which they build their combs, can easily penetrate
the skin of the toughest fruits. While the bees, therefore,
appeared to be comparatively innocent, multitudes of these
depredators were seen helping themselves to the best of
the grapes. Occasionally, a bee would presume to alight
upon a bunch where one of these pests was operating for
his own benefit, when the latter would turn and " show
fight," much after the fashion of a snarling dog, molested
by another of his species, while daintily discussing his
own private bone.

After the mischief has been begun by other insects, or
wherever a crack, or a spot of decay is seen, the honey-
bee hastens to help itself, on the principle of " gathering
up the fragments, that nothing may be lost." In this
way, they undoubtedly do some mischief; but before war
is declared against them, let every fruit-grower inquire if,
on the whole, they are not far more useful than injurious.
As bees carry on their bodies the pollen, or fertilizing
substance, they aid most powerfully in the impregnation
of plants, while prying into the blossoms in search of
honey or bee-bread. In genial seasons, fruit will often set
abundantly, even if no bees are kept in its vicinity ; but

POLLEN. 87

many Springs are so unpropitious, that often during the
critical period of blossoming, the sun shines for only a few
hours, so that those only can reasonably expect a remu-
nerating crop whose trees are all murmuring with the
'pleasant hum of bees.

A large fruit-grower told me that his cherries were a
very uncertain crop, a cold north-east storm frequently
prevailing when they were in blossom. He had noticed,
that if the sim shone only for a couple of hours, the bees
secured him a crop.

If the horticulturists who regard the bee as an enemy,
could exterminate the race, they would act with as little
wisdom as those who attempt to banish from their inhos-
pitable premises every insectiverous bird, which helps
itself to a small part of the abundance it has aided in
producing. By making judicious efforts early in the
Spring, to entrap the mother-wasps and hornets, which
alone survive the Winter, an effectual blow may be
struck at some of the worst pests of the orchard and gar-
den. In Europe, those engaged extensively in the culti-
vation of fruit, often pay a small sum in the Spring for all
wasps and hornets destroyed in their vicinity.

Fig. 62 (PI. Xm.), shows the magnified head of a
Mexican Honey-Hornet (p. 58). Fig. 63 shows the mag-
nified head of the Honey-Bee. Fig. 64 shows the jaws
of this Hornet, highly magnified. Fig. 65 shows the
jaws of the Honey-Bee, highly magnified. A glance at
these figures is enough to convince any intelligent horti-
culturist of the truth of Aristotle's remark — made more
than two thousand years ago — that " bees hurt no kinds
of fruit, but wasps and hornets are very destructive to
them."

68 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER VII.

VENTILATION OF THE BEE-HIVE.

IF a populous stock is examined on a warm day, a num-
ber of bees may be seen standing upon the alighting-
board, with their heads turned towards the entrance of
the hive, their abdomens slightly elevated, and their wings
in such rapid motion, that they are almost as indistinct as
the spokes of a wheel, in swift rotation on its axis. A
brisk current of air may be felt proceeding from the hive ;
and if a small piece of down be suspended at its entrance,
by a thread, it will be blown out from one part and
drawn in at another. Why are these bees so deeply ab-
sorbed in their fanning occupation, that they pay no atten-
tion to the busy numbers constantly crowding in and out
of the hive ? and what is the meaning of this double cur-
rent of air ? To Huber, we owe the satisfactory explana-
tion of these curious phenomena. The bees thus singu-
larly plying their rapid wings, are ventilating the hive ;
and this double current is caused by pure air rushing in,
to supply the place of the foul air which is forced out.
By a series of beautiful experiments, Huber ascertained
that the air of a crowded hive is almost as pure as the sur-
rounding atmosphere. Now, as the entrance to such a
hive is often very small, the air within cannot be renewed,
without resort to artificial means. If a lamp is put into a
close vessel, with only one small orifice, it will soon ex-
haust the oxygen, and cease to burn. If another small
orifice is made, the same result will follow; but if a
current of air is by some device drawn out from one open-

Fig. 22. PLATE IX.

VENTILATION. 89

ing, an equal current will force its way into the other, and
the lamp will bum until the oil is exhausted.

It is on this principle of maintaining a double current
by artificial means, that bees ventilate their crowded
habitations. A file of ventilating bees stands inside and
outside of the hive, each with head turned to its entrance,
and while, by the rapid fanning of their " many twinkling"
wings, a brisk current of air is blown out of the hive, an
equal current is drawn in. As this important office de-
mands unusual physical exertion, the exhausted laborers
are, from time to tune, relieved by fresh detachments. If
the interior of the hive permits inspection, many ventila-
tors will be found scattered through it, in very hot weath-
er, all busily engaged in their laborious employment. If
its entrance is contracted, speedy accessions will be made
to their numbers, both inside and outside of the hive; and
if it is closed entirely, the heat and impurity quickly in-
creasing, the whole colony will attempt to renew the air
by rapidly vibrating their wings, and in a short time, if
unrelieved, will die of • suffocation.

Careful experiments show that pure air is necessary
not only for the respiration of the mature bees, but for
hatching the eggs, and developing the larvae ; a fine net-
ting of air-vessels enveloping the eggs, and the cells of the
larvae being closed with a covering filled with air-holes.

In Winter, if bees are kept in a dark .place, which is
neither too warm nor too cold, they are almost dormant,
and require very little air ; but even under such circum-
stances, they cannot live entirely without it ; and if they
are excited by atmospheric changes, or in any way dis-
turbed, a loud humming may be heard in the interior of
their hives, and they need almost as much air as in warm
weather. .

If bees are greatly disturbed, it will be unsafe, espe-

90 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

cially in warm weather, to confine them, unless they have a
very free admission of air ; and even then, unless it is ad-
mitted above, as well as below the mass of bees, the ven-
tilators may become clogged with dead bees, and the col-
ony perish. Bees under close confinement become exces-
sively heated, and their combs are often melted ; if damp-
ness is added to the injurious influence of bad air, they
become diseased ; and large numbers, if not the whole
colony, may perish from dysentery. Is it not under pre-
cisely such circumstances that cholera and dysentery prove
most fatal to human beings ? the filthy, damp, and unven-
tilated abodes of the abject poor, becoming perfect lazar-
houses to their wretched inmates.

I have several tunes examined the bees of new swarms
which were brought to my Apiary, so closely confined, that
they had di<;d of suffocation. In each instance, their bodies
were distended with a yellow and noisome substance, as
though they had perished from dysentery. A few were
still alive, and although the colony had been shut up only
a few hours, the bodies of both the living and the dead
were filled with this same disgusting fluid, instead of the
honey they had when they swarmed.

In a medical point of view, these facts are highly inter-
esting ; showing as they do, under what circumstances,
and how speedily, diseases may be produced resembling
dysentery or cholera.

In very hot weather, if thin hives are exposed to the
sun's direct rays, the bees are excessively annoyed by the
intense heat, and have recourse to the most powerful ven-
tilation, not merely to keep the air of the hive pure, but
to lower its temperature.

Bees, in such weather, often leave, almost in a body,
the interior of the hive, and cluster on- the outside, not
merely to escape the close heat within, but to guard their

VENTILATION. 91

combs against the danger of being dissolved. • At such
tunes, they are particularly careful not to cluster on new
combs containing sealed honey, which, from not being lined
with cocoons, and from the extra amount of wax used for
their covers, melt more readily than the breeding-cells.

Apiarians have noticed that bees often leave their
honey-cells almost bare, as soon as they are sealed ; but it
seems to have escaped their observation, that this is abso-
lutely necessary in very hot weather. In cool weather,
they may frequently be found clustered among the sealed
honey-combs, because there is then no danger of their
melting.

Few things are so well fitted to impress the mind with
their admirable sagacity, as the truly scientific device by
which they ventilate their dwellings. In this important
matter, the bee is immensely in advance of the great mass
of those who are called rational beings. It has, to be
sure, no ability to decide^ from an elaborate analysis of the
chemical constituents of the atmosphere, how large a pro-
portion of oxygen is essential to the support of life, and
how rapidly the process of breathing converts it into a
deadly poison : it cannot, like Liebig, demonstrate that
God, by setting the animal and the vegetable world, the
one over against the other, has provided that the atmos-
phere shall, through all ages, be as pure as when it first
came from His creating hand. But shame upon us ! that
with all our boasted intelligence, most of us live as though
pure air was of little or no importance ; while the bee
ventilates with a philosophical precision that should put to
the blush our criminal neglect.

Is it said that ventilation, in our case, cannot be had
without effort? can it then be had for nothing, by the
industrious bees? Those ranks of bees, so indefatigably
plying their busy wings, are not engaged in idle amuse-

92 THE HIVE AND HONKY-BKE.

ment ; nor might they, as some shallow utilitarian may
imagine, be better employed in gathering honey, or
superintending some other department in the economy of
the hive. At great expense of time and labor, they are
supplying the rest of the colony with the pure air so con-
ducive to their health and prosperity.

Impure air, one would think, is bad enough ; but all
its inherent vileness is stimulated to still greater activ-
ity by air-tight, or rather lung-tight stoves,* which can
economize fuel only by squandering health and endan-
gering life. Not only our private houses, but all our
places of public assemblage, are either unprovided with
any means of ventilation, or to a great extent, supplied
with those so deficient, that they only

" Keep the word of promise to our ear,
To break it to our hope."

That ultimate degeneracy must inevitably follow such
gross neglect of the laws of health, cannot be doubted ;
and those who imagine that the physical stamina of a
people may be undermined, and their intellectual, moral,
and 'religious health suffer no decay, know little of the
intimate connection which the Creator has established
between body and mind.

Men may, to a certain extent, resist the injurious influ-
ences of foul air ; as their employments usually compel
them to live more out of doors : but alas, alas ! for the
poor women ! In the very land where they are treated
with such merited deference and respect, often no pro-
vision is made to furnish them with that first element of
health, cheerfulness and beauty, heaven's pure, fresh air.

* The beautiful open or Franklin stoves, for coal or wood, manufactured by
Messrs. Trcadwell, Perry & Norton, of Albany, New York, deserve the highest
commendation as economizers of life, health, and fuel.

VENTILATION. • 93

The pallid cheek or hectic flush, the angular form and
distorted spine, the enfeebled appearance of so large a por-
tion of our women, who, to use the language of the
lamented Downing, " in the signs of physical health, com-
pare most unfavorably with all but the absolutely starving
classes in Europe;" ah1 these indications of debility, to
say nothing of their care-worn faces and premature
wrinkles, proclaim our violation of God's physical laws,
and the dreadful penalty with which He is visiting our
transgressions.

The man who shall convince the masses of the impor-
tance of ventilation, and whose inventive mind shall
devise some simple, cheap, and efficacious way of furnish-
ing a copious supply of pure air for our private dwellings,
public buildings, and travelling conveyances, will be a
greater benefactor than a Jenner or a Watt, a Fulton or
a Morse.

In the ventilation of my hive, I have endeavored, as far
as possible, to meet the necessities of the bees, under all
the varying circumstances to which they are exposed in
our uncertain climate, whose severe extremes of tempera-
ture forcibly impress upon the bee-keeper, the maxim of
Virgil,

" Utraque vis pariter apibus metuenda."

" Extremes of heat or cold, alike are hurtful to the bees."

To be useful to the majority of bee-keepers, artificial
ventilation must be simple, and not as in Nutt's hive, and
other labored contrivances, so complicated as to require
almost as close supervision as a hot-bed or green-
house.

By furnishing ventilation independent of the entrance,
we may improve upon the method which bees, in a state of
nature, are often compelled to adopt, when the openings
into their hollow trees are so small, that they must employ,

94 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

in hot weather, a larger force in ventilation, than would
otherwise be necessary. By the use of my movable
blocks (PI. V., Fig. 17), the entrance may be kept so small,
that only a single bee can go in at once, or it may be
entirely closed, without the bees suffering for want of air.
While the ventilators afford a sufficient supply, they may
be easily controlled, so as not to injure the brood by
admitting too strong a current of chilly air. In the
chapter on wintering bees, directions are given for ven-
tilating the hives hi cold .weather, so as to carry off all
superfluous moisture.

The construction of my hives allows of ventilation from
above ; and it should always be used, when bees are shut
up for any length of time, to be moved, that the colony
may not be suffocated, by the lower ventilators becoming
clogged by dead bees. As the entrance of the hive, may
in a moment, be enlarged to any desirable extent, without
perplexing the bees, any quantity of air which the bees
may require, can be admitted ; the ventilator on the back
allowing a free current to sweep through the hive. The
entrance may be fourteen inches and upwards in length ; but
as a general rule, in a large colony, it need not, in Summer,
exceed four inches ; while, during the rest of the year^ one
or two inches will suffice. In very hot weather, especially
if the hive stands in the sun, the bees cannot have too
much air ; and the ventilators in the upper part of the
main hive should all be kept open.

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 95

CHAPTER VIII.

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE.

IN this chapter, I shall enumerate certain advantages
which seem essential to the idea of a complete hive. In-
stead of disparaging other hives, I prefer inviting the
attention of bee-keepers to the importance of these
requisites ; some of which, I believe, are contained in no
hive but my own. If, after careful scrutiny, they commend
themselves to the judgment of practical cultivators, they
will serve to test the comparative merits of the various
hives hi common use.

1. A complete hive should give the Apiarian such perfect
control of all the combs, that they may be easily taken
out without cutting them, or enraging the bees.

2. It should permit all necessary operations to be per-
formed without hurting or killing a single bee.

Most hives are so constructed, that they cannot be used
without injuring or destroying some of the bees ; and the
destruction of even a few, materially increases the difficulty
of managing them.

3. It should aifford suitable protection against extremes
of heat and cold, sudden changes of temperature, and
the injurious effects of dampness.

The interior of a hive should be dry in Winter, and
free in Summer from a pent and almost suffocating heat.

4. It should permit every desirable operation to be
performed, without exciting the anger of the bees.

5. Not one unnecessary motion should be required of
a single bee.

9C THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

As the honey-harvest, in most locations, is of short con-
tinuance, all the arrangements of the hive should facilitate,
to the utmost, the work of the busy gatherers. Hives
which compel them to travel with -their heavy burdens
through densely crowded combs, are very objectionable.
Bees instead of forcing their way through thick clusters,
can easily pass into the top surplus honey-boxes of my
hives, from any comb in the hive, and into every box,
without traveling at all over the combs.

6. It should afford suitable facilities for inspecting, at all
times, the condition of the bees.

7. It should be capable of being readily adjusted to the
wants of either large or small colonies.

By means of a movable partition, my hive can be ad-
justed, in a few moments, to the wants of any colony how-
ever small ; and with equal facility be enlarged, from time
to time, or at once restored to its full dimensions.

8. It should allow the combs to be removed without
any jarring.

Bees manifest the utmost aversion to any motion which
tends to loosen or detach their combs. The movable
frames, however firmly fastened, can all be loosened in a
few moments, without injuring or exciting the bees.

9. It should allow every good piece of comb to be given
to the bees, instead of melting it into wax.

10. It should induce the bees to build regular combs.
A hive containing too much comb suitable only for

storing honey, or raising drones, cannot be expected to
prosper.

U. It should furnish empty comb, to induce bees to
occupy more readily the surplus honey-receptacles.

12. It should prevent the over-production of drones, by
permitting the removal of drone-comb from the hive.

13. It should enable the Apiarian, if too many drones

PLATE X.

Fig. 73.

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 97

have been raised, to trap and destroy them, before they
have largely consumed the honey of the hive.

This is effected, in my hives, by adjusting the blocks
(PI. in., Figs. 11, 12) which regulate the entrance.

14. It should enable the Apiarian to remove such combs
as are too old.

The upper part of a comb, being generally used for
storing honey, will last for many years.

15. It ought to furnish all needed security against the
ravages of the bee-moth.

16. It should furnish to the Apiarian some accessible
place, where the larvae of the bee-moth, when fully grown,
may wind themselves in their cocoons.

17. It should enable the Apiarian, by removing the
combs, to destroy the worms, if they get the advantage
of the bees.

18. The bottom-board should be permanently attached
to the hive, for convenience in moving it, and to prevent
the depredations of moths and worms.

Sooner or later, there will be crevices between every
movable bottom-board and the sides of the hive, through
which moths will gain admission to lay their eggs, and
under which worms, when fully grown, will retreat to spin
their webs. In my hive, there is no place where the moth
can get in, except at the entrance for the bees, which may
be contracted or enlarged, to suit the strength of the col-
ony; and which, from its peculiar shape, the bees are
easily enabled to defend. If, however, any prefer mova-
ble bottom-boards, they can be used hi my hive.

19. The bottom-board should slant toward the entrance,
to facilitate the carrying out of dead bees, and other use-
less substances ; to aid a colony in protecting itself against
robbers ; and to carry off moisture, and prevent rain from
beating into the hive.

98 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

20. The bottom-board should admit of being easily
cleared, in cold weather, of dead bees.

If suffered to remain, they often become mouldy, and
injure the health of the colony. In dragging them out,
when the weather moderates, the bees often fah1 with them
on the snow, and are so chilled, that they never rise again ;
for a bee, in flying away with the "dead, frequently retains
its hold, until both fall to the ground.

21. No part of the interior of the hive should be below
the level of the place of exit.

If this principle is violated, the bees must, at great dis-
advantage, drag, up hill, their dead, and all the refuse of
the hive.

22. It should afford facilities for feeding bees, both in
warm and cold weather.

In this respect, the movable-comb hive has unusual ad-
vantages. In warm weather, sixty colonies may, in less
than an hour, receive each a quart of food, without any
feeder, and with no risk from robber-bees.

23. It should permit the easy hiving of a swarm, with-
out injuring any bees, or risking the destruction of the
queen.

24. It should admit of the safe transportation of the bees
to any distance whatever.

The permanent bottom-board, the firm attachment of
each comb to a separate frame, and the facility with which
air can be given to confined bees, admirably adapt my
hive to this purpose.

25. It should furnish bees with air, when the entrance,
for any cause, must be entirely shut.

26. It should furnish facilities for enlarging, contracting,
and closing the entrance, to protect the bees against rob
bers, and the bee-moth ; and when the entrance is altered,

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 99

the bees ought not, as in most hives, to lose valuable tune
in searching for it.

27. It should give the requisite ventilation, without en-
larging the entrance so much as to expose the bees to
moths and robbers.

28. It should furnish facilities for admitting at once a
large body of air, that the bees may be tempted to fly
out and discharge their faeces, on warm days in Winter,
or early Spring.

If such a free admission of air cannot be given, the bees,
by losing a favorable opportunity of emptying themselves,
may suffer from diseases resulting from too long confine-
ment.

29. It should enable the Apiarian to remove the excess
of bee-bread from old stocks. (See p. 82.)

30. It should enable the Apiarian to remove the combs,
brood, and stores, from a common to an improved hive, so
that the bees may be easily able to attach them again
in their natural positions. A colony transferred to my
hive will repair their combs, in a few days, so as to work
as well as before their removal.

31. It should permit the safe and easy dislodgement of
the bees from the hive.

This requisite is especially important, when it becomes
necessary to break up weak stocks, to join them to
others.

32. It should allow the bees, together with the heat and
odor of the main hive, to pass in the freest manner, to the
surplus honey-receptacles.

In this respect, all other hives with which I am ac-
quainted are more or less deficient : the bees being forced
to work in receptacles difficult of access, and in which, in
cool nights, they find it impossible to maintain the requi-
site heat for comb-building. Bees cannot, in such hives,

100 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

work to advantage in glass tumblers, or other small ves-
sels. One of the most important arrangements of my hive,
is that by which the heat passes into the upper recepta-
cles for storing honey, as naturally as the warmest air
ascends to the top of a heated room.

33. It should permit the surplus honey to be taken
away, in the most convenient, beautiful, and salable forms,
and without risk of annoyance from the bees.

In my hives, it may be made on frames in an upper
chamber, in tumblers, glass boxes, wooden boxes, small or
large, earthen jars, flower-pots, in short, in any kind of
receptacle which may suit the fancy or convenience of the
bee-keeper. Or these may all be dispensed with, and the
honey taken from the interior of the main hive, by remov-
ing the full frames, and supplying their places with empty
ones.

34. It should admit of the easy removal of good honey
from the main hive, when its place can be supplied by
the bees with an inferior article.

In districts where buckwheat is raised, any vacancies
made by removing the choice honey from the hive will
be rapidly filled.

35. When quantity and not quality is the object sought,
it should allow the greatest yield, that the surplus of
strong colonies may be given, in tho Fall, to those which
have an insufficient supply.

By surmounting my hive with a box of the same dimen-
sions, and transferring the combs to this box, the bees,
when they build new comb, will descend and fill the lower
frames, using, as fast as the brood hatches, the upper box
for storing honey. The combs in this box, containing a
large amount of bee-bread, and being of a size adapted
to the breeding of workers, will be very suitable for aiding
weak colonies.

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 101

36. It should be able to compel the force of a colony to
be mainly directed to raising young bees ; that brood may
be on hand to form new colonies, and strengthen feeble
stocks.

37. It ought to be so constructed that, while well pro-
tected from the weather, the sun may be allowed in early
Spring to encourage breeding, by warming up the hive.

38. The hive should be equally well adapted to be used
as a swarmer, or non-swarmer.

In my hives, the bees may be allowed to swarm as
in common hives, and be managed in the usual way.
Even on this plan, the control of the combs will be found
to afford unusual advantages.

Non-swarming hives, managed in the ordinary way, are
liable to swarm unexpectedly, in spite of all precautions.
In my hives, the queen may be prevented from leaving,
and a swarm will not depart without her.

39. It should enable the Apiarian to prevent a new
swarm from forsaking its hive.

This vexatious occurrence can always be prevented, by
so adjusting the entrance, for a few days, that the queen
cannot leave the hive.

40. It should enable the Apiarian, if he allows his bees
to swarm, and wishes to secure sm-plus honey, to prevent
their swarming more than once in a season.

41. It should enable the Apiarian, who relies on natural
swarming, and wishes to multiply his colonies as fast as
possible, to make vigorous stocks of all his small after-
swarms.

Such swarms contain a young queen, and if they can
be judiciously strengthened, usually make the best stock-
hives. My hives enable me to supply all such swarms at
once with combs containing bee-bread, honey, and matur-
ing brood.

102 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

42. It should enable the Apiarian to multiply his colo-
nies with a certainty and rapidity which are impossible if
he depends upon natural swarming.

43. It should enable the Apiarian to supply destitute
colonies with the means of obtaining a new queen;

Every Apiarian, for this reason alone, would find it to
his advantage to possess, at least, one such hive.

44. It should enable him to catch the queen, for any
purpose ; especially to remove an old one whose fertility
is impaired by age.

45. While a complete hive is adapted to the wants of
those who desire to manage their colonies on the most
improved plans, it ought to be suited to the wants of those
who, from timidity, ignorance, or any other reason, prefer
the common way.

46. It should enable a single bee-keeper to superintend
the colonies of different individuals.

Many persons would keep bees, if an Apiary, like a
garden, could be superintended by a competent individual.
No person can agree to do this with the common hives.
If the bees are allowed to swarm, he may be called in a
dozen different directions at once, and if any accident,
such as the loss of a queen, happens to the colonies of his
customers, he can usually apply no remedy.

On my plan, those who desire it, may witness the indus-
try of this sagacious insect, and gratify their palates with
its delicious stores harvested on their own premises, with-
out incurring either trouble, or risk of annoyance.

47. All the joints of the hive should be water-tight,
and there should be no doors or shutters liable to shrink,
swell, or get out of order.

The importance of this requisite will be obvious to any
one who has had the ordinary share of vexatious experi-
ence with such fixtures.

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 103

48. It should enable the bee-keeper entirely to dispense
with sheds, or costly Apiaries ; as the hive itself should
alike defy heat or cold, rain or snow.

49. It ought not to be liable to be blown down in high
winds.

My hives may be made so low, for very windy situa-
tions, that it would require almost a hurricane to upset
them.

50. A complete hive should have its alighting-board so
constructed, as to shelter the bees against wind and wet,
thus facilitating to the utmost their entrance with heavy
burdens.

If this precaution is neglected, the colony cannot be en-
couraged to use, to the best advantage, the unpromising
days which often occur in the 'working season.

51. A complete hive should be protected against the
destructive ravages of mice in Winter.

When cold weather approaches, all my hives may have
their entrances contracted by the movable blocks, so that
a mouse cannot gain admission.

52. It should permit the bees to pass over their combs
in the freest manner, both in Summer and Winter.

While such easy intercommunication facilitates the
Summer work of the hive, it is often, in cold Winters, in-
dispensable to the life of the colony.

53. It should permit the honey, after the gathering
season is over, to be concentrated where the bees will
most need it.

If the latter part of the season has been unpropitious,
the centre combs, in which a colony usually winters, may
have very little honey, while the others are well supplied.
In hives where this cannot be remedied, it often causes
the loss of the bees.

54. It should permit a generous supply of honey to be

104 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

left, in the Fall, in the hive, without detriment either to
the bees, or to their owner.

If too much honey is taken, and the Winter prove
very unfavorable, the bees may starve. In the common
hives, if too much remains, it cannot be removed in the
Spring, and it is thus worse than lost to the bee-keeper,
by occupying the room needed for raising brood.

55. It should permit the Apiarian to remove such combs
as cannot be protected by the bees, to a place of safety.

When a colony becomes greatly reduced in numbers,
its empty combs may cause its destruction, by affording a
harbor to the bee-moth ; or its rich stores of honey may
tempt robbing bees to despoil it. In the common hives,
often nothing can be effectually done to prevent such
casualties.

56. It should permit the space for spare honey recep-
tacles to be enlarged or contracted at will, without any
alteration or destruction of existing parts of the hive.

Without the power to do this, the productive force of
a colony is in some seasons greatly diminished.

57. It should be so compact as to economize, if possible,
every inch of material used in its construction.

58. The hive, while presenting a neat appearance,
should admit, if desired, of being made highly orna-
mental.

59. It should enable an Apiarian to lock up his hives in
some cheap and convenient way.

As my bottom-boards are not movable, the contents of
a hive, when it is locked, can only be reached by carrying
it bodily away.

60. It should allow the contents of a hive, bees, combs,
and all, to be taken out when it needs any repairs.

As movable-comb hives can, at any time, be thoroughly
overhauled and repaired, they should last for generations.

REQUISITES OF A COMPLETE HIVE. 105

61. A complete hive, while possessing all these requi-
sites, should, if possible, combine them in a cheap and
simple form, adapted to the wants of all who are com-
petent to cultivate bees.

Few would imagine, in reading this long list of desira-
bles, that any hive can combine them all, without being
exceedingly complicated and expensive. On the contrary,
the cheapness and simplicity with which the movable^comb
hive effects this, is its most striking feature, and the one
which has cost me more study than all the other points
besides. Bees can work, hi this hive, with even greater
facility than in a simple box, as the frames being left
rough by the saw, give them an admirable support while
building their combs ; and they can enter the spare
honey-boxes with more ease than they could mount to an
equal height in the upper part of a common box-hive.

There are a few desirables to which my hive, even if it
were perfect, could make no pretensions !

It promises no splendid results to those who are too
ignorant or too careless to be entrusted with the manage-
ment of bees. In bee-keeping, as in ah1 other pursuits, a
man must first understand his business, and then proceed
upon the good old maxim, that " the hand of the diligent
maketh rich."

It has no talismanic influence which can convert a bad
situation for honey into a good one ; or give the Apiarian
an abundant harvest, whether the season is productive or
otherwise. As well might a farmer seek for some kind of
wheat which will yield an enormous crop, in any soil, and
in every season.

It cannot enable the cultivator, while rapidly multiply-
ing his stocks, to secure the largest yield of honey from his
bees. As well might the breeder of poultry pretend, that
hi the s^me year, and from the same stock, he can both

5*

106 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

raise the greatest number of chickens, and sell the largest
number of eggs.

Worse than all, it cannot furnish the many advantages
enumerated, and yet be made in as little time, or quite as
cheaply, as a hive which, in the end, proves to be a very
dear bargain !

In the progress of my invention, while undoubtedly
attaching undue importance to some points, I have
steadily endeavored to avoid constructing a hive in accord-
ance with crude theories, or mere conjectures. Having
carefully studied the nature of the honey-bee, for many
years, and compared my observations with those of writers
and cultivators who have spent their lives in extending
the sphere of Apiarian knowledge, I have endeavored to
remedy the many difficulties with which bee-culture is
beset, by adapting my invention to the actual habits and
wants of the insect. I have also tested the merits of this
hive by long continued experiments, made on a large scale,
so that I might not, by deceiving both myself and others,
add another to the useless contrivances which have
deluded and disgusted a too credulous public. I would,
however, utterly repudiate all claims to having devised even
a perfect bee-hive. Perfection belongs only to the works
of Hun, to whose omniscient eye were present all causes and
effects, with all their relations, when he spake, and from
nothing formed the Universe. For man to stamp the
label of perfection upon any work of his own, is to show
both his folly and presumption.

The culture of bees is confessedly at a low ebb in this
country, when thousands can be induced to purchase hives
which are in glaring opposition to the plainest dictates of
common sense, as well as the simplest principles of Apiarian
knowledge. Such have been the losses of deluded pur-
chasers, that it is no wonder they turn from everything

REQUISITES OJF A COMPLETE HIVE. 107

offered in the shape of a patent bee-hive, as a worthless
conceit, if not an outrageous swindle.

So deleterious has been the influence of the so-called
" Improved Hives " that, as a general thing, only those
who have used hives of the simplest form, have derived
much profit from their bees. They have wasted neither
time, money, nor bees, upon contrivances which can secure
nothing in advance of a simple box-hive, with an upper
chamber.

A hive of the simplest possible construction, is a close
imitation- of the abode of bees in a state of nature ; being
a mere hollow receptacle, where, protected from the
weather, they can lay up their stores. An improved hive,
is one which contains an additional, separate apartment,
where bees can store their surplus honey for man. Most
hives in common use are only modifications of this latter
hive, and, as a general rule, are bad, exactly in propor-
tion as they depart from it. While they tempt the com-
mon bee-keeper to ruinous departures from the beaten
path, they furnish him no remedy for the loss of the queen,
or the casualties to which bees are exposed. Such hives,
therefore, form no reliable basis for any improved system
of management ; and hence, the cultivation of bees, in
this country, has declined for the last fifty years, and the
Apiarian is as dependent as ever upon the caprices of an
insect, which more than any of his domestic animals, may
be completely subjected to his control.

I would respectfully submit, that no hive which does not
furnish a thorough control over every comb, can give that
substantiaKadvance over the simple improved or chamber
hive, which the bee-keeper's necessities demand. Of such
hives, the best are those which best unite cheapness and
simplicity, with protection in Winter, and ready access to
the spare honey-boxes.

108 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

Having thus enumerated the tests to which all hives
ought to be subjected, I submit them to the candid con-
sideration of those, who, having the largest experience in
the management of bees, are most conversant with the
evils of the present system. If, on full trial, they find
that the movable-comb hive can abide these tests, they
may be willing to endorse the enthusiastic language of an
experienced Apiarian, who, on examining its practical work-
ings, declared that " it introduced not simply an improve-
ment, but a complete revolution in bee-keeping."

8WABMING AND HIVING. 109

CHAPTER IX.

NATURAL SWARMING, AND HIVING OP SWARMS.

THE swarming of bees is one of the most beautiful
sights in the whole compass of rural economy. Although
many who use movable-comb hives prefer the artificial
multiplication of colonies, few would be willing entirely to
dispense with the pleasing excitement of natural swarm-
ing.

" Up mounts the chief, and to the cheated eye

Ten thousand shuttles dart along the sky ;

As swift through aether rise the rushing swarms,

Gay dancing to the beam their sun-bright forms ;

And each thin form, still ling'ring on the sight,

Trails, as it shoots, a line of silver light.

High pois'd on buoyant wing, the thoughtful queen,

In gaze attentive, views the varied scene,

And soon her far-fetch'd ken discerns below

The light laburnum lift her polish'd brow,

Wave her green leafy ringlets o'er the glade,

And seem to beckon to her friendly shade.

Swift as the falcon's sweep, the monarch bends

Her flight abrupt ; the following host descends.

Round the fine twig, like cluster'd grapes, they close

In thickening wreaths, and court a short repose."

EVANS.

The multiplication of colonies by swarming, both guards
the bee against the possibility of extinction, and makes its
labors in the highest degree useful to man. The laws of
reproduction in insects not living in regular colonies,
secure an ample increase of their numbers. The same is
true of those which live in colonies during the warm
weather only, as hornets, wasps, and humble-bees. In the

110 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

Fall, the males perish, while the impregnated females,
retreating into Winter quarters, remain dormant till warm
weather restores them to activity, that each may become
the mother of a new family.

The honey-bee, however, is so organized that it must
live in a community during the entire year ; for while the
balmy breezes of the Spring will quickly thaw the frozen
body of a torpid wasp, the bee is chilled by a temperature
no lower than 50° ; and it would be as impossible to re-
store a frozen bee to animation, as to recall to life the
stiffened corpses in the charnel-house of the Convent of
the Great St. Bernard. Bees, therefore, in cool weather,
must associate in large numbers, to maintain the heat
necessary for their preservation ; and the formation of new
colonies, after the manner of wasps and hornets, is out of
the question. Even if the young queens, like the mother-
wasps, were able, without any assistance, to found new
colonies, they could not maintain the warmth requisite for
the development of their young. And if this were pos-
sible, and they were furnished with a proboscis, for gath-
ering honey, as long as that of a worker, baskets on their
thighs for carrying bee-bread, and pouches on their abdo-
mens for secreting wax, they would still be unable to
amass treasures for our use, or even to lay up the stores
requisite for their own preservation.

How admirably are all these difficulties obviated by the
present arrangement ! Their domicile being well supplied
with all the requisite materials, the bees have added
thousands, in the full vigor of youth, to their already nu-
merous population, while such insects as depend upon
the heat of the sun are still dormant. They can thus
send off early colonies, strong enough to take full advan-
tage of the honey-harvest, and to provision the new hive
against the approach of Winter. From these considera-

SWARMING AND HIVIKG. Ill

tions, it is evident that swarming, so far from being the
forced or unnatural event which some imagine, is one,
which could not possibly be dispensed with, in a state of
nature.

Let us now inquire under what circumstances swarm-
ing ordinarily takes place.

The time when new swarms may be expected, depends,
of course, upon the climate, the forwardness of the season,
and the strength of the stocks. In our Northern and
Middle States, they seldom issue before the latter part of
May ; and June may there be considered as the great
swarming month. In Brownsville, Texas, on the lower
Rio Grande, bees often swarm quite early in March.

In the Spring, as soon as a hive well filled* with
comb, can no longer accommodate its teeming population,
the bees prepare for emigration, by building a number of
royal cells. These cells are begun about the time that
the drones make their appearance in the open air; and
when the young queens arrive at maturity, the males are
usually very numerous.

The first swarm is invariably led off by the old queen,
unless she has died from accident or disease, when it is ac-
companied by one of the young ones reared to supply her
loss. The old mother, unless delayed by unfavorable
weather, usually leaves soon after one or more of the royal
cells are sealed over. There are no signs from which
the Apiarian can predict the certain issue of & first swarm.
For years, I spent much tune in the vain attempt to dis-
cover some infallible indications of first swarming ; until
facts convinced me that there can be no such indications.

* In our Northern and Middle States, bees seldom swarm unless the hive Is
filled with comb ; in Southern latitudes, however, the swarming instinct seems to
be much more powerful. In Matamoras and Brownsville, I have seen many
colonies issue from hives only partially filled with comb.

112 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

If the weather is unpleasant, or the blossoms yield an in-
sufficient supply of honey, bees often change their minds,
and refuse to swarm at all, even although their prepara-
tions have been so fully completed, that, like the traveler
whose trunks are packed, they have filled their honey-sacs
for their intended journey.

If, in the swarming season, but few bees leave a strong
hive, on a clear, calm, and warm day, when other colonies
are busily at work, we may look with great confidence for
a swarm, unless the weather prove suddenly unfavorable.
As the old queens which accompany the first swarm are
heavy with eggs, they fly with such difficulty, that they
are shy of venturing out, except on fair, still days. If the
weather is very sultry, a swarm will sometimes issue as
early as seven o'clock in the morning ; but from ten, A.M.,
to two, P. M., is the usual time ; and, the majority of
swarms come off when the sun is within an hour of the
meridian. Occasionally, a swarm ventures out as late as
five, P. M. ; but an old queen is seldom guilty of such an
indiscretion.

I have repeatedly witnessed, in my observing-hives, the
whole process of swarming. On the day fixed for their
departure, the queen is very restless, and instead of de-
positing her eggs in the cells, roams over the combs, and
communicates her agitation to the whole colony. The
emigrating bees usually fill themselves with honey, just
before their departure ; but in one instance, I saw them
lay in their supplies more than two hours before they left.
A short time before the swarm rises, a few bees may
generally be seen sporting in the air, with their heads
turned always to the hive ; and they occasionally fly in
and out, as though impatient for the important event to
take place. At length, a violent agitation commences in
the hive ; the bees appear almost frantic, whirling around

SWARMING AND HIVING. 113

in circles continually enlarging, like those made by a stone
thrown into still water, until, at last, the whole hive is in a
state of the greatest ferment, and the bees, rushing impetu-
ously to the entrance, pour forth in one steady stream.
Not a bee looks behind, but each pushes straight ahead,
as though' flying " for dear life," or urged on by some in-
visible power, in its headlong career.

Often, the queen does not come out until many have
left ; and she is frequently so heavy, from the number of
eggs in her ovaries, that she falls to the ground, incapable
of rising with her colony into the air. The bees soon
miss her, and a very interesting scene may now be wit-
nessed. Diligent search is at once made for their lost
mother ; the swarm scattering in all directions, so that the
leaves of the adjoining trees and bushes are often covered
almost as thickly with anxious explorers, as with drops of
rain after a copious shower. If she cannot be found, they
commonly return to the old hive, in from five to fifteen
minutes, though they occasionally attempt to enter a
strange one, or to unite with another swarm.

The ringing of bells, and beating of kettles and frying-
pans, is probably not a whit more efficacious, than the
hideous noises of some savage tribes, who, imagining that
the sun, in an eclipse, has been swallowed by an enormous
dragon, resort to such means to compel his snakeship to
disgorge their favorite luminary.

Many who have never practised " tanging," have flever
had a swarm leave without settling. Still, as one of
the " country sounds," and as a relic of the olden times,
even the most matter-of-fact bee-man can readily excuse
the enthusiasm of that pleasant writer in the London
Quarterly Review, who discourses as follows :

" Some fine, warm morning in May or June, the whole
atmosphere seems alive with thousands of bees, whirling

114: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

and buzzing, passing and repassing, wheeling about in
rapid circles, like a group of maddened bacchanals. Out
runs the good housewife, with the frying-pan and key —
the orthodox instruments for ringing — and never ceases
her rough music, till the bees have settled. This custom,
as old as the birth of Jupiter, is one of the most pleasing
and exciting of the countryman's life ; and there is an old
colored print of bee-ringing still occasionally met with on
the walls of a country inn, that has charms for us, and
makes us think of bright sunny weather in the dreariest
November day. Whether, as Aristotle says, it affects
them through pleasure or fear, or whether, indeed, they
hear* it at all, is still as uncertain as that philosopher left
it ; but we can wish no better luck to every bee-master
that neglects the tradition, than that he may lose every
swarm for which he omits to raise this time-honored con-
cert."

If, before its issue, a swarm has selected a new home,
no amount of noise will compel them to alight, but as soon
as the emigrating colony have all left the hive, they fly
in a " bee-line" to the chosen spot. I have noticed, that
such unceremonious leave-taking, though quite common
when bees are neglected, seldom occurs when they are
properly cared for.

When the Apiarian perceives that a swarm, instead of
clustering, rises higher and higher in the air and means to
depart, not a moment must be lost : instead of empty
noises, he should resort to means much more effective to
stay their vagrant propensities. Water or dirt thrown
among them, will often so disorganize them as to compel
them to alight. The most original of all devices for stop-

* The piping of the queen has a shrill, metallic sound, •which possibly may be

SWARMING AND HIVING. 115

ping them, is to flash the sun's rays among them, by a
looking-glass ! I never had occasion to try it, but an
anonymous writer- says he never knew it fail. If forcibly
prevented from eloping, they will be almost sure to leave,
soon after hiving, for their selected home, unless the queen
is confined. If there is reason to expect desertion, and
the queen cannot be confined, the bees may be carried
into the cellar, and kept in total darkness, until towards
sunset of the third day, being supplied, in the mean time,
with water and honey to build their combs. The same
precautions must be used when fugitive swarms are re-
hived.

It is always very easy to prevent a new colony from
abandoning the movable-comb hive, by regulating the
entrance so that, while a loaded worker-bee can just
pass, the queen will be unable to leave ; or a piece of
comb, Avith unsealed worker-brood, may be transferred to
the new hive, when a swarm will seldom forsake it.

It may generally be ascertained, soon after hiving a
swarm, whether or not it intends to remain. If, on ap-
plying the ear to the side of the hive, a sound be heard,
as of gnawing or rubbing, the bees are getting ready for
comb-building, and will rarely decamp.

If a colony decide to go, they look upon the hive in
which they are put as only a temporary stopping-place,
and seldom trouble themselves to build any comb. If the
hive permits inspection, we may tell at a glance when
bees are disgusted with their new residence, and mean to
forsake it. They not only refuse to work with the char-
acteristic energy of a new swarm, but their very attitude,
hanging, as they do, with a sort of dogged or supercili-
ous air, as though they hated even so much as to touch
their detested abode, proclaims to the experienced eye,
that they are unwilling tenants, and mean to be off as soon

116 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

as they can. Numerous experiments to compel bees to
work in observing-hives exposed to the full light of day,
from the moment they were hived, instead of keeping
them, as I now do, in darkness for several days, have'
made me quite familiar with all such do-nothing pro-
ceedings before their departure.

Bees sometimes abandon their hives very early in
Spring, or late in Summer or Fall. Although exhibiting
the appearance of natural swarming, they leave, not be-
cause the population is so crowded that they wish to
form new colonies, but because it is either so small, or the
hive so destitute, of supplies, that they are driven to des-
peration. Seeming to have a presentiment that they must
perish if they stay, instead of awaiting the sure approach
of famine, they sally out to see if they cannot better their
condition. I have known a starving colony to leave their
hive on a Spring-like day in December.

It may seem strange that the instincts of so provident
an insect should not always impel it to select a suitable
domicile before venturing to abandon the old home ; since
often, before they are housed again, they are exposed to
powerful winds and drenching rains, which beat down
and destroy many of their number.

I solve this bee-problem, like many others, by consider-
ing how the present arrangement conduces to the advan-
tage of man.

Bees would have been of little service to him, if, instead
of tarrying till he had time to hive them, their instincts
had impelled them to decamp, without delay, from the
restraints of domestication. In this, as in many other
things, we see that what on a superficial view seemed au
obvious imperfection, proves, on closer examination, to be
a special contrivance to answer important ends.

To return to our new swarm. The queen sometimes

8WAKMING AND HIVING. 117

alights first, and sometimes joins the cluster after it has
begun to form. The bees do not usually settle, unless
she is with them ; and when they do, and then disperse,
it is frequently the case that, after first rising with them,
she has fallen, from weakness, into some spot where she is
unnoticed by the bees.

Perceiving a hive in the act of swarming, I, on two oc-
casions, contracted the entrance, to secure the queen when
she should make her appearance. In each case, at least
one-third of the bees came out before she joined them.
As soon as the swarm ceased searching for her, and were
returning to the parent-hive, being placed, with her
wings clipped, on a limb of a small evergreen tree, she
crawled to the very top of the limb, as if for the express
purpose of making herself as conspicuous as possible. The
few bees which first noticed her, instead of alighting,
darted rapidly to their companions ; in a few seconds, the
whole colony was apprised of her presence, and flying in
a dense cloud, began quietly to cluster around her. Bees
when on the wing intercommunicate with such surprising
rapidity, that telegraphic signals are scarcely more instan-
taneous.

That bees send out scouts to seek a suitable abode,
admits of no serious question. Swarms have been traced
directly to their new home, in an air-line flight, either
from their hive, or from the place where they clustered
after alighting. Now this precision of flight to an un-
known home, would plainly be impossible, if some of their
number, by previous explorations, were not competent to
act as guides to the rest. The sight of bees for distant
objects is so wonderfully acute, that, after rising to a suffi-
cient elevation, they can see, at the distance of several
miles, any prominent objects in the vicinity of their in-
tended abode.

118 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

Whether bees send out scouts before or after swarming,
may admit of more question. When a colony flies to its
new home without alighting, the scouts must have "been
dispatched before swarming. If this were the usual
course, we should expect every colony to- take the same
speedy departure ; or if they should cluster for the con-
venience of the queen, or any bees over-Fatigued by the
excitement of swarming, we should look for only a tran-
sient tarrying. Instead of this, they often remain until
the next day, and instances are not unfrequent of a much
more protracted delay. The stopping of bees in their
flight to cluster again, is not inconsistent with these views;
for if the weather is hot when they first cluster, and the
sun shines directly upon them, they will often leave before
they have found a suitable habitation. Sometimes the
queen of an emigrating swarm, being heavy with eggs,
and unaccustomed to fly, is compelled to alight, before
she can reach their intended home. Queens, under such
circumstances, are occasionally unwilling to take wing
again, and the poor bees sometimes attempt to lay the foun-
dations of their colony on fence-rails, hay-stacks, or other
unsuitable places.

Mr. Wagner says, that he once knew a swarm of bees
to lodge under the lowermost limb of an isolated oak-
tree, in a corn-field. It was not discovered until the corn
was harvested, in September. Those who found it, mis-
took it for a recent swarm, and in brushing it down to
hive it, broke off three pieces of comb, each about eight
inches square. Mr. Henry M. Zollickoffer, of Philadelphia,
informed me that he knew a swarm to settle on a willow-
tree in that city, in a lot owned by the Pennsylvania Hos-
pital ; it remained there for some time, and the boys pelted
it with stones, to get possession of its comb and honey.

The necessity for scouts or explorers seems to be unquea-

SWAKMING AND HIVING. 119

tionable, unless we can admit that bees have the faculty of
flying in an " air line," to a hollow tree which they have
never seen, and which may be the only one among thous*
ands where they can find a suitable abode.

These views are confirmed by the repeated instances in
which a few bees have been noticed inquisitively prying
into a hole in a hollow tree, or the cornice of a building,
and have, before long, been followed by a whole
colony.

Having described the method commonly pursued by a
new swarm, when left to their natural instincts, we return
to the parent-stock from which they emigrated.

From the immense number which have abandoned it,
we should naturally infer that it must be nearly depopu-
lated. As bees swarm in the pleasantest part of the day,
some suppose that the population is replenished by the
return of large numbers from the fields ; this, however,
cannot often be the case, as it is seldom that many are
absent from the hive at the time of swarming. To those
who limit the fertility of the queen to four hundred eggs
a day, the rapid replenishing of a hive, after swarming,
must be inexplicable ; but to those who have seen her lay
from one to three thousand eggs a day, it is no mystery
at all. Enough bees remain to carry on the domestic
operations of the hive ; and as the old queen departs only
when there is a teeming population, and when thousands
of young are daily hatching, and tens of thousands rapidly
maturing, the hive, in a short time, is almost as populous
as it was before swarming.

Those who suppose that the new colony consists wholly
of young bees, forced to emigrate by the older ones, if
they closely examine a new swarm, will find that while
some have the ragged wings of age, others are so young
as to be barely able to fly.

120 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

After the tumult of swarming is over, not a bee that
did not participate in it, attempts to join the new colony,
and not one that did, seeks to return. What determines
some to go, and others to stay, we have no certain means
of knowing. How wonderful must be the impression
made upon an insect, to cause it in a few minutes so com-
pletely to lose its strong affection for the old home, that
when established in a hive only a few feet distant, it pays
not the slightest attention to its former abode! When
their new domicile is removed — after some have gone to
the fields — from the place where the bees were hived, on
their return, they often fly for hours in ceaseless circles
about the spot where the missing hive stood ; and some-
times continue the vain search for their companions, until
dropping from exhaustion, they perish in close proximity
to their old home.

It has already been stated that, if the weather is favor-
able, the old queen usually leaves near the tune that
the young queens are sealed over to be changed into
nymphs. In about a week, one of them hatches ; and the
question must be decided whether or not, any more col-
onies shall be formed that season. If the hive is well
filled with bees, and the season is in all respects promising,
it is generally decided in the afiirmative ; although, under
such circumstances, some very strong colonies refuse to
swarm more than once ; while the repeated swarming of
weaker ones often ruins both the parent-stock and its
after-swarms.

If the bees decide to swarm but once, the first hatched
queen, being allowed to have her own way, rushes imme-
diately to the cells of her sisters, and stings them to death.
The other bees probably aid her in this murderous trans-
action ; they certainly tear open the cradles of the slaugh-
tered innocents (PI. XIV., Fig. 47, c?), and remove them

Fig. 24.

SWARMING AND HIVING. 121

from the cells. Their dead bodies may often be found on
the ground in front of the hive.

When a queen has emerged from her cell in the natural
way, the bees cut it down (PI. XIV., Fig. 47, c), till only
a small acorn-cup remains ; but if she met with a violent
end, they usually remove the whole cell. By counting
these acorn-cups, we can ascertain how many queens have
hatched in a hive.

If the bees of the parent-stock decide to send out a
second colony, the first hatched queen is prevented from
killing the others. A strong guard is kept over their
cells, and as often as she approaches them with murderous
intent, she is bitten, or given to understand by other most
uncourtier-like demonstrations, that even a queen cannot,
in all things, do just as she pleases.

Like some human beings who cannot have their own
way, she is highly oifended when thus repulsed, and
utters, in a quick succession of notes, a shrill, angry
sound, not unlike the rapid utterance of the words,
" peep, peep." If held in the closed hand, she will make
a similar noise. To this angry note, one or more of the
unhatciied queens will respond, in a somewhat hoarser
key, just as a cock, by crowing, bids defiance to its rivals.
These sounds, so entirely unlike the usual steady hum of
the bees, or the fluttering noises of unhatched queens, are
almost infallible indications that a second swarm will soon
issue. They are occasionally so loud as to be heard at
some distance from the hive. . About a week after first-
swarming, the Apiarian should place his ear against the
hive, in the morning or evening, when the bees are still,
and if the queens are " piping," he will readily recognize
their peculiar sounds. The young queens are all mature,
at the latest, in sixteen days from the departure of the
first swarm, even if it left as soon as the royal cells were

122 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

begun. If, during this period, these notes are not heard,
it is an infallible indication that the first hatched queen
has no rivals ; and that swarming, in that stock, is over
for the season.

The second swarm usually issues on the second or third
day after piping is heard ; though they sometimes delay
coming out until the fifth day, in consequence of an un-
favorable state of the weather. Occasionally, the weather
is so extremely unfavorable, that the bees permit the
oldest queen to kill the others, and refuse to swarm again.
This is a rare occurrence, as young queens are not so par-
ticular about the weather as old ones, and sometimes ven-
ture out, not merely when it is cloudy, but when rain is
falling. On this account, if a very close watch is not
kept, they are often lost. As piping ordinarily commences
about a week after first-swarming, the second swarm usu-
ally issues nine days after the first ; although it has been
known to issue as early as the third, and as late as the
seventeenth ; but such cases are very rare.

It frequently happens in the agitation of swarming, that
the usual guard over the queen-cells is withdrawn, and sev-
eral hatch at the same time, and accompany the colony ; in
which case, the bees often alight in two or more separate
clusters. In my observing-hives, I have repeatedly seen
young queens thrust out their tongues from a hole in their
cell, tq be fed by the bees. If allowed to issue at will,
they are pale and weak, like other young bees, and for
some time unable to fly ; but if confined the usual time,
they come forth fully colored, and ready for all emergencies.
I have seen them issue in this state, while the excitement
caused by removing the combs from a hive, has driven the
guard from their cells.

The following remarkable instance came under my ob-
servation, in Matamoras, Mexico. A second swarm de-

SWARMING AND HIVING. ' 123

serting its abode the second day after being hived, settled
upon a tree. On examining the abandoned hive, five
young queens were found lying dead on its bottom-
board. The swarm was returned, and, the next morning,
two more dead queens were found. As the colony after-
wards prospered, eight queens, at least, must have left the
parent-stock in a single swarm !

Young queens, whose ovaries are not burdened with
eggs, are much quicker on the wing than- old ones, and
frequently fly much farther from the parent-stock before
they alight. After the departure of the second swarm,
the oldest remaining queen leaves her cell ; and if another
swarm is to come forth, piping will still be heard ; and so
before the issue of each swarm after the first. It will
sometimes be heard for a short time after the issue of the
second swarm, even when the bees do not intend to swarm
again. The third swarm usually leaves the hive on the
second or third day after the second swarm, and the
others, at intervals of about a day. I once had five
swarms from one stock, in less than two weeks. In warm
latitudes, more than twice this number of swarms have
been known to issue, in one season, from a single stock.

In after-swarming, the queen sometimes re-enters the
hive, after having appeared on the alighting-board. If
she does this once, she will be apt to do it repeatedly, and
the swarm, in each instance, will return to the mother-
hive.

In the Apiary of a friend in Matamoras, when his first
swarm issued, there was no tree for it to alight on. The
wind was so strong, that the bees did not leave the vicin-
ity of their hives, but began to settle on a hive near their
own. Although the queen was secured, with a portion of
her colony, a large part of the swarm entered the adjoin-
ing stocks. When these stocks swarmed, although a tree

124 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

had been set out for them to cluster on, the bees which
had returned on the first occasion, did the same thing
again, drawing with them the rest of their companions.
The only way in which we could obtain a single swarm,
was by covering with slieets all the hives in the Apiary
as soon as one swarmed, and thus the bees, being unable
to enter them, were compelled to alight ! It would be
difficult to find a better illustration of the folly of neglect-
ing the old adage, " A stitch in time saves nine."

After-swarms, or casts — these names are given to all
swarms after the first — seriously reduce the strength of the
parent-stock ; since by the time they issue, nearly all the
brood left by the old queen has hatched, and no more
eggs can be laid until all swarming is over. It is a
wise arrangement, that the second swarm does not ordi-
narily issue until all the eggs left by the first queen are
hatched, and the young mostly sealed over, so as to
require no further feeding. Its departure earlier than
this, would leave too few laborers to attend to the wants
of the young bees. If, after swarming, the weather sud-
denly becomes chilly, and the hive is thin, or the Apiarian
continues the ventilation which was needed only for a
crowded colony, the old stock being unable to maintain the
requisite heat, great numbers of the brood often perish.

The effect on the profits of the Apiary, of too frequent
swarming, is discussed in the next chapter. If the bee-
keeper wants no casts, he can easily prevent their issue
from my hives. About five days after the first swarm
comes out, the parent-stock may be opened, and all the
queen-cells removed, except one. If done earlier than
this, the bees may start others, in the place of those re-
moved. Those only who have thoroughly tried both
plans, can appreciate how much better this is, than to
attempt to return the after-swarms to the parent hive.

SWARMING AND HIVING. 125

The Apiarian who desires by natural swarming to mul-
tiply his colonies as rapidly as possible, will find full
directions in the sequel, for building up all after-swarms,
however small, so as to make vigorous stocks.

It will be remembered, that both the parent-stock from
which the swarm issues, and all the colonies, except the
first, have a young queen. These queens never leave the
hive for impregnation, until they are established as heads
of independent families. They generally go out for this
purpose, early in the afternoon of the first pleasant day,
after being thus acknowledged, at which time, the drones
are flying most numerously. On leaving their hive, they
fly with their heads turned towards it, often entering
and departing several times, before they finally soar into
the air. Such precautions on the part of a young queen
are highly necessary, that she may not, on her return,
lose her life, by attempting, through mistake, to enter a
strange hive. More queens are thus lost than in any
other way.

When a young queen leaves for impregnation, the bees,
on missing her, are often filled with such alarm that they
rush from the hive, as if intending to swarm. Their agita-
tion is soon quieted, if she returns in safety.

The drone perishes in the act of impregnating the
queen. Although, when cut into two pieces, each piece
will retain its vitality for a long time, I accidentally ascer-
tained, in the Summer of 1852, that if his abdomen is
gently pressed, and sometimes if several are closely held
in the warm hand, the male organ will often be perma-
nently extruded, with a motion very like the popping of
roasted pop-corn ; and the insect, with a shiver, will curl up
and die, as quickly as if blasted Avith the lightning's stroke.
This singular provision is unquestionably intended to give *
additional security to the queen, when she leaves her hive to

126 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

have intercourse with the drone. Huber first discovered
that she returned Avith the male organ torn from the
drone, and still adhering to her body. If it were not for
this arrangement, her spermatheca could not be filled,
unless she remained so long in the air with the drone as
to incur a very great risk of being devoured by birds.
In one instance, some days after the impregnation of a
queen, I found the male organ,* in a dried state, adhering

* On page 50 of the English translation of Prof. Siebold's work on " Partheno-
genesis " (that is, production without intercourse with the male) " of Moths and
Bees," may be found the following extract of a letter to Prof. Siebold, dated 21st
July, 1853, from the celebrated German Apiarian, the Baron Von Berlepsch.

" I succeeded, to-day, in impaling upon a pin, a queen which had flown out to
copulate, just as she was about to re-enter the hive. The signs of copulation stand
far out. * * * Will you have the kindness to settle, by dissection : 1, if any, and
what, parts of the drone occur in the royal vulva; and 2, what is the condition of
the seminal receptacle. If there be parts of the drone in the vulva, people will,
at last, admit that the drones are the males, and that the copulation takes place
outside of the hive. * * * Moreover, if you find the seminal receptacle filled with
semen, Dzierzon's hypothesis — according to which the ovary is not fertilized, but
the seminal receptacle filled with male drone-semen, by copulation — is raised into
evidence."

Prof. Siebold says, that "he was able to establish, that those definitely formed
parts in the vagina of the queen were nothing but the torn copulative organs of a
male bee (drone). With this condition of the external sexual organs of the queen,
the state of the internal generative organs also agreed exactly, for the seminal re-
ceptacle which is empty in all virgin female insects, was, in this queen, filled to
overflowing with seminal filaments (spermatozoids)."

I give as interesting, in this connection, the following extract from my journal :
" August 25th, 1352. — Found the male organ protruding from a young queen;
could not remove it without exerting so much force that I feared it would kill her.
Dr. Joseph Leidy examined this queen-bee with the microscope, so as to demon-
strate that — to use his words — ' it was the penis and its appendages of a male,
corresponding, in all its anatomical peculiarities, with the same organs examined,
at the same time, in other drones. The testicles and vasa deferentia of these
drones were found to be full of the spermatic fluid. The spermatheca of the
queen was distended with the same semi-fluid, spermatic matter.' This one exam-
ination demonstrates that the drones are males, and that they impregnate the
queen by actual coition."

Prof. Siebold further says : " As in the act of copulation of the bees, the penis
•of a drone is completely protruded outwards, and as no particular muscular appa-
ratus exists for the extrusion of the penis, the circumstance that the drones copu-
late in flight, has an important signification. * * * During the movement of the
wings, the different air-sacs of the tracheal system of the drone are filled with air,

SWARMING AND HIVING. 127

so firmly to her body, that it could not be removed with-
out tearing her to pieces.

The following facts will show that the impregnation of
the queen by the drone, in the open air, may be made a
matter of ocular demonstration : Lewis Shrimplin, of
Wellsboro', Brook County, Virginia, purchased a mova-
ble-comb hive, in the Spring of 1857, into which he put a
second swarm. Finding, after a few days, that the bees
had built a number of very straight combs, he called some
of his neighbors together, to witness the ease with which
he could take out, and replace their combs. While stand-
ing in front of the hive, he saw the queen coming out, and
the idea occurred to him to catch her, and tie a very fine
silk thread to one of her thighs. This he accomplished
successfully; and as she began to ascend,* the drones

by which means these can act hy pressure, in the interior of the body of the bee,
upon the neighboring penis which is to be protruded."

" The following interesting experiment" (Parthenogenesis, p. 51) " was made by
Berlepsch, in order to confirm the drone-productiveness of a virgin queen. He
contrived the exclusion of queens at ttie end of September, 1854, and, therefore, at
a time when there was no longer any male's ; he was lucky enough to keep one of
them through the Winter, and this produced drone-offspring on the 2d of March, in
the following year, furnishing fifteen hundred cells with brood. That this drone-
bearing queen remained a virgin, was proved by the dissection which Leuckart
undertook, at the request of Berlepsch. He found the state and contents of the
seminal pouch of this queen to be exactly of the same nature as those found in
virgin queens. The seminal receptacle in such females never contains semen-
masses, with their characteristic spermatozoids, but only a limpid fluid, destitute
of cells and granules, which is produced from the two appendicular glands of the
seminal capsule ; and, as I suppose, serves the purpose of keeping the semen
transferred into the seminal capsule in a fresh state, and the spermatozoids active,
and, consequently, capable of impregnation."

By referring to pages 38, 89, the reader will see that Prof. Leidy dissected for
me a drone-laying queen, nearly three years before this examination of Leuckart.

Prof. Siebold, in 1843, examined the spermatheca of the queen-bee, and found it
after copulation, filled with the seminal fluid of the drone. At that time, Apt-
arians paid no attention to his views, but considered them, as he says, to be only
" theoretical atuf." It seems, then, that Prof. Leidy's dissection (pp. 34, 35) was
not, as I had hitherto supposed, the first, of an impregnated spermatheca.

* Dzierzon supposes that the sound of the queen's wings, when she is in the
air, excites the drones. In the interior of the hive, they are never seen to notico

128 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

collected around her in very large numbers. After
remaining in the air a short time, she returned to the
entrance of her hive, exhibiting to the spectators the
organs of the drone still protruding from her body.

The queen usually begins laying about two days after
impregnation, and for the first season, lays almost entirely
the eggs of workers ; no males* being needed in colonies
which will throw no swarm till another season. She is
seldom treated with much attention by the bees until after
she has begun to replenish the cells with eggs; although
if previously deprived of her, they show, by their despair,
that they fully appreciated her importance to their welfare.

A iirst swarm will sometimes swaim again, about a
month after it is hived ; but in Northern climates this is a
rare occurrence. In South-western Texas, I have known
even second swarms to do the same thing, and colonies
often swarm there in September and October, while in
tropical climates, swarms issue at any season when forage
is abundant. la our Northern and Middle States, swarm-
ing is usually over, three or four Aveeks after it begins.
Inexperienced bee-keepers, unaware of this, often watch
their Apiaries, long after the swarming season has passed.

I shall now, while giving such directions for hiving
swarms as may aid even some experienced Apiarians, at-
tempt to make them sufficiently minute to guide those.

her ; so that she is not molested, even if thousands are members of the same
colony with herself.

* Huber supposed that male eggs were not developed in her ovaries until the
second year; but as the sex depends upon the impregnation.of the eggs, he was
evidently mistaken. In warm climates, where after-swarms swarm again, drones
are bred in large numbers in hives having young queens. The bee is evidently a
native of a hot climate, although it can live wherever there is a Summer long
enough for it to prepare for "Winter. Its complete development, however, can be
•witnessed only in tropical regions, and I am persuaded that many things which,
.in colder climates, have been regarded as fixed laws, are only exceptional adap-
tations to unfavorable circumstances.

Fig. 31.

PLATE XII.

SWARMING AND HIVING. 129

who, having never seen a swarm hived, are apt to imagine
that the process must be quite formidable. Experience in
this, as in other things, will speedily give them the requi-
site skill and confidence ; and the cry of " the bees are
swarming," will often be hailed with even greater pleasure
than an invitation to a sumptuous banquet.

The hives for the new swarms should be painted long
enough beforehand to be thoroughly dry. The smell of
fresh paint is well known to be very injurious to human
beings, and is so detested by bees, that they will often
desert a new hive sooner than endure it. If the hives
cannot be seasonably painted, paints should be used which
contain no white-lead, and which are mixed so as to dry
as quickly as possible.

The following recipe, taken from the Bienenzeitung, for
a cheap and durable paint, for rough hives, is said to be
preferable to oil paint : " Two parts, by measure, of fine
sand, well sifted ; one of best English cement* ; one of
curd, from which the whey has been well expressed ; one
of buttermilk. These are to be thoroughly mixed. The
paint is to be applied, amid repeated stirring, to the hives,
by means of a common paint-brush. A second coat is to
be given.after the lapse of half an hour. When this has
become thoroughly dry, which will be in two or three
days, it is to be brushed over lightly with a thin coat of
boiled linseed oil, to which any desirable color may be
given. The boards to which the paint is to be applied
should not be planed, but remain rough as the saw leaves
them. No more of the paint should be prepared at any
one time, than can be used in the course of half an hour,
as it quickly hardens. The hive may be used as soon as
the paint stiffens."

Hives that have stood in the sun, ought never to be

* Boman, or common Hydraulic cement is probably meant, or would answer.

6*

130 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

used for new swarms. Bees, when they swarm, being
unnaturally excited and heated, often refuse to enter such
hives, and at best, are slow in taking possession of them.
The temperature of the parent-stock, at the moment of
swarming, rises very suddenly, and many bees are often
so drenched with perspiration, that they are unable to
take whig and join the emigrating colony. . To attempt
to make swarming bees enter a heated hive in a blazing
sun, is, therefore, as irrational as it would be to force a
panting crowd of human beings into the suffocating at-
mosphere of a close garret. If the process of hiving can-
not be conducted in the shade, the hive should be covered
with a sheet, or with leafy boughs.

In the movable-comb hive, the Apiarian can use all his
good worker-comb, by. fastening it in the frames. Such,
however, is the shape of the artificial guide-combs in
these frames, that the bees, even in an empty hive, will
almost always build their combs with great regularity,
if they are not furnished with too much empty room. I
have, in a, few instances, known them to build their combs"
directly across, from frame to frame, so that they could
not be removed without cutting them to pieces. This
may easily be prevented, by attaching a piece <5f guide-
comb to a single frame (see p. 72). While the hive should
be set so as to incline from rear to front, to shed the
rain, there ought not to be the least pitch from side to
side, or it will prevent the frames from hanging plumb,
and -compel the bees to build crooked combs. Drone-
combs should never be put in the frames, or the bees will
follow the pattern, and build comb suitable only for breed-
ing a horde of useless consumers. Such comb, if white,
may be used to great advantage in the surplus honey-
boxes ; if old, it should be melted for wax.

Every piece of good worker-comb, if large enough to

SWABMING AND HIVING. 131

be attached to a frame, should be used, both for its intrin-
sic value, and because bees are so pleased when they find
such unexpected treasures hi a hive, that they will seldom
forsake it. A new swarm often takes possession of a de-
serted hive, well stored with comb ; whilst, if dozens of
empty ones stand in the Apiary, they very seldom enter
them of their own accord. It once seemed to me that an
instinct impelling them to do so, would have been much
better for us than the present arrangement ; but further
reflection has shown me that, on the contrary, it would
have been the fruitful origin of interminable broils among
neighboring bee-keepers ; and that in this, as in so many
other things, the instincts of the honey-bee have been de-
vised with special reference to the welfare of man. .

When the frames* are first used for a new swarm, the
rabbets on which they rest should be smeared with flour-
paste ; this will keep the frames firm, till they are fastened
with propolis by the bees. If hives are sweet and. clean,
the rubbing of them with various kinds of herbs or washes,
is always useless, and often positively injurious.

If there are no small trees or bushes near the Apiary,
from which the swarms, when clustered, can be easily
gathered, limbs of evergreen or other trees may be
fastened into the ground, a few rods in front of the hives,
which will answer a very good temporary purpose. If
there are high trees near his stocks, the bee-master, unless
some special precautions are used, will lose much time in
hiving his swarms.

Having noticed that a new swarm will almost always
alight wherever they see a mass of clustering bees, I find
that they can be determined to some selected spot by an
old black hat, or even a mullen stalk, which, when colored
black, can hardly be distinguished, at a distance, from a

* For tafeir proper adjustment, see Explanation of Plates.

132 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

clustering swarm. A black woolen stocking or piece of
cloth, fastened to a shady limb, in plain sight of the hives,
and where the bees can be most conveniently hived, would
probably answer as good a purpose. Swarms are not only
attracted by the bee-like color of such objects, but are
more readily induced to alight upon them, if they furnish
something to which they can easily cling, the better to
support their grape-like clusters. By proper precautions,
before the first swarms issue, the bee-keeper may so edu-
cate his favorites that they will seldom alight anywhere
but on the spot which he has previously selected.

The Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, of Wyoming, Penn., has
devised an amusing plan, by which he says that he can,
at all times, prevent a swarm of bees from leaving his
premises. Before his stocks swarm, he collects a number of
dead bees, and, stringing them with a needle and thread,
as worms are strung for catching eels, he makes of them
a ball about the size of an egg, leaving a few strands loose.
By carrying — fastened to a pole — this " bee-bob," about his
Apiary, when the bees are swarming, or by placing it in
some central position, he invariably secures every swarm !

It will inspire, the inexperienced Apiarian with more
confidence, to remember that almost all the bees in a
swarm, are in a very peaceable mood, having filled them-
selves with honey before leaving the parent-stock. If he
is timid, or suffers severely from the sting of a bee, he
should, by all means, furnish himself with the protection
of a bee-dress.

A new swarm should be hived as soon as they have
quietly clustered around their queen ; although there is no
necessity for the headlong haste practiced by some, which,
by exciting profuse perspiration, increases their liability to
be stung. Thos^e who show so little self-possession, must
not be surprised, if they are stung by the bees of other

SWARMING AND HIVING. 133

hives, which, instead of being gorged with honey, are on
the alert, and very naturally mistake the object of such
excited demonstrations. The fact that the swarm has
clustered, makes it almost certain, that, unless the weather
is very hot, or they are exposed to the burning heat of the
sun, they will not leave for at least one or two hours.
All convenient dispatch, however, should be used in hiving
a swarm, lest it send out scouts, which may entice it from
the new hive, or lest other colonies issue, and attempt to
add themselves to it.

If my hives are used, the whole entrance should be
opened, that the bees may get in as soon as possible ; and
a sheet should be securely fastened to the alighting-board,
to keep them from becoming separated, or soiled by dirt ;
for, if separated, they are a long time in entering ; and a
bee covered with dust or diit is very apt to perish. The
common hives should be propped up on the sheet, in such
a way as to give the bees the readiest admission.

When the limb on which the bees have clustered can
be easily reached, it should be shaken, with one hand, so
that they may gently fall into a basket held under them,
with the other. The basket should be open sufficiently to
admit the air freely, but not enough to allow the bees to
get through its sides. They should noAV be gently sha-
ken or poured out on the sheet, in front of their new
home. If they seem at all reluctant to enter it, gently
scoop up a few of them with a large spoon, and shake them
close to its entrance. As they go in with fanning wings,
they will raise a peculiar note, Avhich communicates to
their companions- the joyful news that they have found a
home ; and in a short time, the whole swarm will enter,
without injury to a single bee.

When bees are once shaken down on the sheet, they are
quite unwilling to take wing again ; for, being loaded with

134 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

honey, they desire, like heavily-armed troops, to march
slowly and sedately to their place of encampment. Bees
are much obstructed in their travel, by any corner, or
great inequality of surface ; and if the sheet is not smooth-
ly stretched, they are often so confused, that they take a
long time to find the entrance to the hive. If they are
too dilatory in entering the new hive, they may be gently
separated, with a spoon, or leafy twig, where they gather
in bunches on the sheet ; or, they may be carefully
"spooned up," and emptied before the entrance of the
hive. If they cluster in the portico of my hive, they
should be treated in the same way; or else the queen,
mistaking this open place for her intended abode, may
decamp with the bees.

On first shaking them down into the hiving-basket, some
will take wing,- and others will remain on the tree ; but if
the queen has been secured, they will quickly forjn a
line of communication with those on the sheet. If the
queen has not been secured, the bees will either refuse to
enter the hive, or will speedily come out, and take wing,
to join her again. This happens oftenest with after-
swarms, whose young queens, instead of exhibiting the
gravity of an old matron, are apt to be frisking in the
air. When the bees cluster again on the tree, the process
of hiving must be repeated.

If the Apiarian has a pair of sharp pruning-shears, and
the limb on which the bees have clustered is so small, that
it can be cut without jarring them off, they may be
gently carried on it to the hiving-sheet.

If the bees settle too high to be easily reached, the
basket may be fastened to a pole, and raised directly
under them ; when a quick upward push will secure most
of the swarm. When the basket cannot be easily elevated
to them, it may be carried to the cluster, and the bee-

SWARMING AND HIVING. 135

keeper, after shaking the bees into it, may gently lower it,
by a string, to an assistant below.

When a colony alights on the trunk of a tree, or on
anything from which they cannot easily be gathered in a
basket, fasten a leafy bough over them, without jarring,
by a gimlet, and with a little smoke compel them to ascend
it. If the place is inaccessible, they will enter a well-shaded
basket, inverted, and elevated just above the mass of the
bees. I once hived a neighbor's swarm which settled in
a thicket, on the inaccessible body of a tree, by throwing
water upon them, so as to compel them gradually to
ascend the tree, and enter an elevated box. If proper
alighting places are not furnished, the trouble of hiving a
swarm will often be greater than its value.

If two swarms cluster together, they may be advan-
tageously kept together, if abundant room for storing
surplus honey can be given them, as in my hives. Large
quantities of honey are generally obtained from such
stocks, if they issue early, and the season is favorable. If
it is desired to separate them, take two hives, and give a
portion of the bees to each, sprinkling them, both before
and after they are shaken from the basket, sufficiently
to keep them from taking wing to unite again. If possible,
secure a queen for each hive. If both queens enter the
same hive, one will quickly dispose of the other. The
bees in the queenless hive will begin to leave as soon as
they ascertain their condition. Prevent this, by shutting
them up ; and give them a queen, if you have one at your
disposal ; or supply them with a sealed queen, nearly
mature, taken from another hive. For reasons assigned
in the next chapter, it will not do to compel them to raise
a queen from worker-brood. If the Apiarian who uses
the common hives does not succeed in getting a mature

136 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

queen for each hive, the queenless one will go back to the
old stock.

If, while hiving a swarm, the Apiarian wishes to secure
the queen, the bees should be shaken from the hiving-bas-
ket, a foot or more from the hive, when a quick eye will
generally see her as she passes over the sheet. If the
bees are reluctant to go in, a few must be directed to the
entrance, and care be taken to brush them back, when
they press forward in such dense masses that the queen is
likely to enter unobserved. An experienced eye readily
detects her peculiar color and form. She may be taken
up without danger, as she never stings, unless engaged in
combat with another queen.

It is interesting to witness how speedily a queen passes
into the hive, as soon as she recognizes the joyful note
announcing that her colony has found a home. She
quickly follows in the direction of the moving mass, and
her long legs enable her easily to outstrip, in the race for
possession, all who attempt to follow her. Other bees
linger around the entrance, or fly into the air, or collect
in listless knots on the sheet ; but a fertile mother, with
an air of conscious importance, marches straight forward,
and looking neither to the right hand nor to the left, glides
into the hive, with the same dispatchful haste that charac-
terizes a bee returning fully laden from the nectar-bearing
fields.

Persons unaccustomed to bees, may think that I speak
about " scooping them up," and " shaking them out," al-
most as coolly as though giving directions to measure so
many bushels of wheat ; experience will soon convince
them, that the ease with Avhich they may be managed is
not at all exaggerated.

The old-fashioned way of hiving swarms, by mounting
trees, and cutting off valuable limbs, should be entirely

SWARMING AND HIVING. 137

abandoned; nor should the hive ever be put over the
bees, so as to crush any of them, or endanger the life of
the queen. A skillful bee-keeper, with his hiving-basket,
will often, hive six or more swarms, in the time required, by
the old plan, for hiving one ; and in large Apiaries managed
on the swarming plan, where a number of swarms come out
on the same day, and there is constant danger of their
mixing, this is an object of great importance.

Dr. Scudamore, an English physician, who has written a
tract on the Formation of Artificial Swarms, says that he
once knew as " many as ten swarms go forth at once, and
settle and mingle together, forming, literally, a monster
meeting." There are instances recorded of a still larger
number having clustered together. A venerable cler-
gyman in Western Massachusetts, told me, that in the
Apiary of one of his parishioners, five swarms once clus-
tered together. As he had no hive which would hold
them, they were put into a large box, roughly nailed
together. When taken up in the Fall, it was evident that
the five swarmf had lived together as independent colo-
nies. Four had begun their works, each near a corner of
the box, and the fifth hi the middle ; and there was a
distinct interval separating the works of the different
colonies. In Cotton's " My Bee Book," is a cut illustrat-
ing a similar separation of two colonies in one hive. By
hiving, in a large box, swarms which have settled together,
and leaving them undisturbed till the following morning,
they would probably be found in separate clusters, and
might easily be put into different hives.

Swarming bees make a singular hissing or whispering
sound, which often causes other hives in the Apiary to
swarm. This is a frequent occurrence with discouraged
or dissatisfied stocks, and I have occasionally had swarms
Avhich had only immature queens in their hive issue, on

138 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

hearing this sound. This peculiar swarming sound may
be produced merely by the great numbers of bees flying
idly, at such times, to and fro in the air ; but it seems
to me to differ in its character, as it certainly does in its
effect upon the bees, from the noise produced by the
ordinary flight of busy workers, however numerous. My
observations on this point, have satisfied me that those
Apiarians are mistaken who deny to the bee the sense of
hearing. This sense, on the contrary, seems to be acute.

If the Apiarian fears that another swarm will issue, to
unite with the one he is hiving, he may confine its queen
with my movable-blocks ; or he may quickly envelope the
swarming hive with a sheet. If his new colony has been
shaken upon the swarming-sheet, he may cover it from
the sight of other swarms, with another sheet.

The hive, with the new swarm, should be removed to
its permanent stand as soon as the bees have entered ; or
the scouts, on their return, will 'find them, and will
often entice them to flee to the woods. There is the more
danger of this, if the bees remained long on the tree be-
fore they were hived. I have almost invariably found
that swarms which abandon a suitable hive for the woods,
were hived near the spot where they clustered, the bee-
keeper intending to remove them in the evening, or early
next morning. Bees which swarm early in the day, will
generally begin to range the fields in a few hours after
they are hived, or even in a few minutes, if they have
empty comb ; and the fewest bees will be lost, when the
hive is removed to its permanent stand, as soon as the bees
have entered it. If it is desirable, for any reason, to re-
move the hive before all the bees have gone in, the sheet,
on which the bees are lying, may be so folded that the
colony can be easily carried to their new stand, where the
bees may enter at their leisure.

SWARMING AND HIVING. 139

Swarms sometimes come off when no suitable hives are
in readiness to receive them. In such an emergency,
hive them in any old box, cask, or measure, and place
them, with suitable protection against the sun, where their
new hive is to stand ; when this is ready, they may, by a
quick, jerking motion, be easily shaken out before it, on a
hiving-sheet.

I have endeavored, even at the risk of being thought
too minute, to give such directions as will qualify the
novice to hive a swarm of bees, under almost any circum-
stances ; knowing that however necessary, suitable infor-
mation is seldom found even in the best treatises on bee-
keeping. Vague or incomplete directions fail, at the very
moment that the inexperienced attempt to put them into
practice.

Natural swarming may, unquestionably, be made highly
profitable ; and as it is the most obvious way of multiply-
ing colonies, and requires the least knowledge or skill, it
will undoubtedly be the favorite method with most bee-
keepers, for many years, at least. I shall, therefore, show
how it may be conducted more profitably than ever, by
the use of my hives ; many of its most embarrassing diffi-
culties being effectually obviated.

1. A serious objection to reliance on natural swarming,
is the vexatious fact, that most swarming-hives are so con-
structed, that, although bees often refuse to swarm at all,
they cannot furnish to their crowded occupants the proper
accommodations for storing honeyi Under such cir-
cumstances, hordes of useless consumers often blacken,
for months, the outside of the hives, to the great loss of
their disappointed owners. In the movable-comb hives,
an abundance of storage-room can always be given to the
bees ; so that, if indisposed to swarm, they have recepta-
cles easily accessible, and made doubly atti-active by empty

140 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

comb, in which to store up any quantity of honey they
can possibly gather.

2. Another objection to natural swarming arises from
the disheartening fact, that bees are liable to swarm so
often, as to destroy the value of both the parent-stock,
and its after-swarms. Experienced bee-keepers obviate
this difficulty, by making one good colony out of two
second swarms, and returning to the parent-stock all
swarms after the second, and even this if the season is far
advanced. Such operations often consume more time
than they are worth. By removing all the queen-cells but
one, after the first swarm has left, second swarming may
be prevented in my hives ; and by removing all but two,
provision may be made for the issue of second swarms,
and yet all further swarming be prevented. After-swarms,
in many instances, have to be returned again and again,
before one queen is allowed by the bees to destroy the
others. In this way, a large part of the gathering season
is wasted; as bees often seem unwilling to work with
their wonted energy, so long as the pretensions of several
rival queens are unsettled.*

3. Another very serious objection to natural swarming,
as practiced with the common hives, is, that it furnishes no
facilities for making vigorous stocks of late and small
swarms. The time and money devoted to feeding small

* Before inventing the movable-comb Live, I obviated, as far as possible, the
evils of after-swarming, by the following plan : the second swarm, as soon as
hived, was placed on the top of the parent-stock, or so, that the entrances to the old
and new colonies would be near together, and face the same way. If a third
swarm issued, it was added, at sunset, to the second swarm, by placing the hive or
box containing that swarm, on a sheet, and shaking out the third swarm before its
entrance. In three or four days — sufficient time being given for the young queens
to become impregnated — the bees in the after-swarm were added, in the same way,
to the parent-stock. One queen would quickly kill the other, and the next morn-
ing, the conjoined swarms being on a familiar spot, would work as well as though
they had never been separated. The comb which they had built in the new hive
was used in the spare honey-boxes.

SWARMING AND HIVING. 141

colonies are usually wasted ; as the larger portion of them
never survive the Winter, and most of those that do,
are so enfeebled as to be of little value. If they escape
being robbed by stronger stocks, or destroyed by the
moth, they seldom recruit in season to swarm, and often,
unless the feeding is repeated a second season, they perish
at last. Doubtless, many of my readers, from their own
experience, can indorse every word of these remarks ;
having found the attempt to multiply colonies, by nursing
and feeding small swarms in the common hives, usually
attended with nothing but loss and vexation. The more
of such stocks a man has, the poorer he is ; for by their
weakness, they constantly tempt his strong swarms to evil
courses ; until at last, they prefer, as far as they can, to
live by stealing, rather than by habits of honest industry;
and even if the feeble colonies escape being plundered,
they often become nurseries for raising a supply of moths,
to infest his Apiary.

Suitable directions are furnished, hi the chapter upon
Feeding Bees, for building up the smallest after-swarms
into vigorous stocks, and for strengthening such colonies
as are feeble in the Spring.

4. As both the parent-stocks and the after-swarms very
frequently lose their young queens after swarming, a hive
by which this misfortune can be easily remedied, will be
of great service to those who practice natural swarming.
An intelligent bee-keeper once assured me that he should
use one movable-comb hive in his Apiary, for this purpose,
at least, even if it had no merit in other respects.

5. In the common hives, but little can be done to dis-
lodge the bee-moth, when it has gained the ascendency ;
whereas, in mine, it can be easily extirpated. (See
remarks on the Bee-Moth.)

6. In the common hives, it is difficult to remove an old

14:2 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

queen when her fertility is impaired ; whereas, in mine,
it can easily be done ; and an Apiarian may always have
queens in the full vigor of their reproductive powers.

Intelligent Apiarians will see, from these remarks, that
with movable-comb hives, natural swarming can be carried
on with greater certainty than ever before, many of the
perplexing discouragements under which they have hith-
erto prosecuted it, being effectually remedied.

ARTIFICIAL BWAKMING. 143

CHAPTER X.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.

THE numerous efforts made for more than fifty years,
to dispense with natural swarming, show the anxiety of
Apiarians to find -some better mode of increasing their
colonies.

Although, by the control of the combs, bees may be
propagated by natural swarming, with a rapidity and cer-
tainty hitherto unattainable, still, there are difficulties in-
herent to this mode of increase, and therefore incapable of
being removed by any kind of hive. Before describing
the various methods which have been contrived for in-
creasing colonies by artificial means, these difficulties will
be briefly enumerated, so that every bee-keeper may decide
intelligently which is his best way to multiply his stocks.

1. The numerous swarms lost every year is a strong
argument against natural swarming.

An eminent Apiarian has estimated, that taking into
'account alt who keep bees, one-fourth of the best swarms
are lost every season. While some bee-keepers seldom
lose a swarm, the majority suffer serious losses by the
flight of their bees to the woods ; and it is next to impos-
sible, even for the most careful, to prevent such occur-
rences, if their bees are allowed to swarm.

2. Natural swarming is objectionable, on account of the
time and labor which it requires.

The Apiary must be closely watched during the whole
swarming-season ; and if this business is intrusted to
thoughtless children, or careless adults, many swarms will

144 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

be lost. If many colonies are kept, a competent person
should always be on band, in the height of the season, to
attend to the bees. Even the Sabbath cannot be observed
as a day of rest ; as the bee-keeper is often compelled to
spend it in hard work among his bees. Although it is as
proper for him to hive his bees .on that day, as it is to take
care of his other stock, still, the liability to such labor de-
ters many from Apiarian pursuits.

Many merchants, mechanics, and professional men, who
wish to keep bees, cannot superintend them during the
swarming-season ; and are thus often kept from a pursuit
intensely fascinating to an inquiring mind.* No man who
spends some of his leisure in studying the wonderful in-
stincts of bees, will ever complain that he can find nothing
to fill up his time, out of the range of his business or the
gratification of his appetites. Bees may be kept with
great advantage, even in large cities, and those who are
debarred from rural pursuits may still listen to their sooth-
ing hum, and harvest annually their delicious nectar.

If the Apiarian could always be at home during the
swarming-season, it would still be oftentimes very incon-
venient for him to attend to his bees. The farmer, for
instance, may be interrupted in the business of hay-mak-
ing, by the cry that his bees are swarming; and by the"
time he has hived them, perhaps a shower comes up, .and
his hay is injured more than the swarm is worth. Thus,
the keeping of a few bees, instead of being a source of
profit, may prove an expensive luxury ; while in a large
Apiary, the embarrassments are often seriously increased.
If, after a succession of days unfavorable for swarming,
the weather becomes pleasant, it often happens that

* "Bee-life," says Prof. Siebold, "does not merely serve to furnish man with
wax, honey, and mead, but constitutes an extremely important link in the gre.it
and most multifariously-composed chain of animal existence."

PLATE XIII.

Fig. 42 Fig. :!8.

C

Fig. 40.

Fig. 4:

Fig. 59. Fig. 49. Fig. 50.

Fig. 44. Fig. 60. Fig. 61. Fig. 45.

62. Fig. 63. Fig.

Fief. 64. ja

^ J

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 145

several swarms rise at once, and cluster together ; and not
unfrequently, in the noise and confusion, other swarms fly
off, and are lost. I have seen the bee-master, under such
circumstances, so perplexed and exhausted as to be almost
ready to wish he had never seen a bee.

3. The multiplying of bees by natural swarming, must,
in our country, almost entirely prevent the establishment
of large Apiaries.

The swarming season is, with most bee-keepers, the
busiest part of the year, and if they keep a large number
of «warming-hives, they must devote nearly all their time,
for a number of weeks, to their supervision ; and at a
season when labor commands the highest price, they may
also be obliged to hire additional assistance.

To keep a few colonies in swarming-hives, often costs
more than they are worth, while the supervision of a large
number can be made profitable, only by those who can de-
vote nearly all the Summer months to their bees. The
number of such persons, in this country, must be very
small ; and hence there are few who have succeeded in
making bee-keeping anything more than a subordinate
pursuit.

4. A serious objection to natural swarming, is the dis-
couraging fact that bees often refuse to swarm at all ; thus
the Apiarian finds it impossible to multiply his colonies
with any certainty or rapidity, even although he may be
favorably situated for conducting bee-culture on an exten-
sive scale.

Many of the most careful bee-keepers have fewer stocks
than they had years ago, although they have sought to
increase them to the extent of their power. Few in-
telligent Apiarians believe that there are half as many
colonies in our Northern and Middle States, as there were
twenty years ago ; and most of them Avould abandon bee-
7

146 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

keeping, if they did not regard it as a source of pleasant
recreation, rather than of pecuniary profit ; while others
do not hesitate to say that much more money has, of late
years, been spent upon patent hives, than those who have
used them have realized from their bees.

It is an easy matter to make calculations on paper* al-
most as flattering as an imaginary tour to the gold mines
of Australia or California. Only purchase a patent bee-
hive, and if it fulfills the promises of its sanguine inventor,
a fortune must be realized in a few years ; but such are
the disappointments resulting from bees refusing to swarm,
that if the hive could remedy all other difficulties, it would
still fail to answer the reasonable wishes of the experienced
Apiarian. If every swarm of bees could be made to yield
a profit of twenty dollars a year, the bee-keeper could not
multiply his stocks, by natural swarming, so as to meet

* The following calculation of possible profits from bee-culture, taken from
"Sydserff's Treaties on Bees," published in England, in 1792, is a perfect gem of
its kind:

"Suppose a swarm of bees at the first to cost 10s. 6d., and neither them nor the
swarms to be taken, but to do well, and swarm once every year " — bees must bo
naughty, indeed, if they daro to do otherwise I—" what will be the product for four-
teen years, and what the profit, if each hive is sold at 10s. 6d. ?

Years. Hives. Profits.

£ s.d.

1 0 0

2 1 1

4 ...., 2 2

8 4 4

** ** * *

14 8192 480016

" N. B.— Deduct 10s. 6d., what the first hive cost, and the remainder will be clear
profit ; supposing the second swarms to pay for hives, labor, &c." The modesty
with which this writer, who seems to have had as much faith in his bees as in the
doctrine that "figures cannot lie," closes his calculation at the end of fourteen
years, is truly refreshing. No bee-keeper, on such a royal road to wealth, could
ever find it in his heart to stop under twenty-one years, by which time his stocks
would have increased to more than a million, when, probably, he would be willing
to close his bee-business, by selling them for over two and three-quarter millions
of dollars ! The attention of all venders of humbug bee-hives, is respectfully In-
vited to this antique specimen of the art of puffing.

ARTIFICIAL SWABMING. 147

the demand for them ; but would be entirely dependent
upon the caprices of his bees, or rather upon the natural
laws which control their swarming.

Every practical bee-keeper is aware of the uncertainty
of natural swarming. Under no circumstances, can it be
confidently relied on. While some stocks swarm regularly,
and repeatedly, others, equally strong in numbers, and
rich in stores, refuse to swarm, even in seasons in all
respects highly propitious. Such colonies, on examination,
will often be found to have taken no steps for raising
young queens. In some cases, the wings of the old
mother are defective, while in others, she seems to prefer
the riches of the old hive, to the risks attending the for-
mation of a new colony. It frequently happens that, when
all the preparations have been made for swarming, the
weather proves so unpropitious that the young queens
approach maturity before the old ones can leave, and are
all destroyed. Under such circumstances, swarming, for
that season, is almost certain to be prevented. The young
queens are also sometimes destroyed, because of some
sudden, and perhaps only temporary, suspension of the
honey-harvest ; for bees seldom colonize, even if all their
preparations are completed, unless the blossoms are yield-
ing an abundant supply of honey. From these and other
causes, which my limits will not permit me to notice, it
has hitherto been found impossible, in the uncertain clim-
ate of our Northern States, for any but the most expe-
rienced and energetic Apiarians, to multiply colonies very
rapidly by natural swarming.

The numerous perplexities pertaining to natural swarm-
ing, have, for ages, directed the attention of cultivators to
the importance of devising some more reliable method
for increasing their colonies.*

* Dr. Scndamore quotes Columella, who, about the middle of the first cen-
tury of the Christian Era, wrote twelve books on husbandry— "De re rwstica "— an

14:8 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The ancient methods of artificial increase appear to have
met with little success ; but towards the close of the last
century, a new interest was awakened on the subject, by
the discovery of Schirach, a German clergyman, of the
fact, previously known to a few, that bees are able to rear
a queen from worker-brood. For want, however, of an
acquaintance with some important principles in the econ-
omy of bees, his efforts met with but slender encourage-
ment.

Huber, after his splendid discoveries in the physiology
of the bee, felt the need of some way of multiplying col-
onies, more reliable than that of natural swarming. His
hive consisted of twelve frames, each an inch and a quar-
ter in width, which were connected together by hinges,
so that any one could be opened or shut at pleasure, like
the leaves of a book. He recommends forming artificial
swarms, by dividing one of these hives, and adding six
empty frames to each half. After using his hive for years, I
found that it could be made serviceable only by an adroit
and fearless Apiarian. The bees fasten the frames with
their propolis, so that they cannot easily be opened, with-
out jarring the combs, and exciting their anger ; or shut,
without constant danger of crushing them. Huber no-
where speaks of having multiplied colonies extensively by
such hives, and although they have been in use more than
sixty years, they have never been successfully employed
for such a purpose. If he had contrived a plan for giving
his frames the requisite play, by suspending them on

giving directions for making artificial swarms. Although he taught how to furnish
a queen to a destitute colony, and how to transfer brood-comb, with maturing
bees, from a strong stock to a weak one, he does not appear to have formed entirely
new colonies by any artificial process. His treatise on bee-keeping shows not only
that he was well acquainted with previous writers on the subject, but that he was
also a successful practical Apiarian. Its precepts, with but few exceptions, are
truly admirable, and prove that in his time bee-keeping, with the masses, must
have been far in advance of what it now is.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 149

rabbets, instead of folding them together like the leaves
of a book, he would have left much less room for subse-
quent improvements.

" Dividing-hives," of various kinds, have been used in
this country. The principle seems to have all the ele-
ments of success ; and it was only after protracted experi-
ments, that I was able to ascertain that, however modi-
fied, such hives are all practically worthless for purposes
of artificial swarming.

It is one of the laws of the hive, that bees which have
no mature queen, seldom build any cells except such as are
designed merely for storing honey, and are too large for
the rearing of workers. Until my perusal of Mr. Wag-
ner's manuscript translation of Dzierzon, I thought that
I was the only observer who had noticed the bearing of
this remarkable fact on artificial swarming. It may, at
first, seem unaccountable that bees should build only comb
unfit for breeding, when their young queen will so soon
require worker-cells for her eggs ; but it must be borne in
mind, that at such times they are in an " abnormal," or
unnatural condition. In a state of nature, they seldom
swarm until their hive is full of comb ; or if they do, their
numbers are so reduced, that they are rarely able to re-
sume comb-building, until the young queen has hatched.

The determination of bees having no mature queen, to
build comb designed only for storing honey, and unfit for
rearing workers, shows yery clearly the folly of attempt-
ing to multiply colonies by dividing-hives. Even if the
Apiarian succeeds in dividing a colony, so that the queen-
less part proceeds to supply her loss, if it has bees enough
to build sufficient new comb to make it of any value, it
will build such as is designed only for storing honey ; using,
chiefly for breeding purposes, the half of the hive contain-
ing the old comb. The next year, if this hive is divided,

150 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

one half will contain nearly all the brood, while the
other, having most of its combs fit only for storing honey,
or raising drones, will be a complete failure.

Even with a Huber-hive, the plan of multiplying colo-
nies by dividing a full hive into two parts, and adding an
empty half to each, will be found to require a degree of
skill and knowledge, far in advance of what can be
expected of ordinary bee-keepers. The same remarks are
substantially true of all frame or bar-hives which do not
allow sufficient play between the parts to which the combs
are attached ; for, as the bees usually build their combs
slightly waving, and some thicker than others, nearly
insuperable practical difficulties will be found in making
the necessary interchanges of comb, in such hives.

The attempt to multiply colonies by the common divid-
ing-hives, will be found far more laborious and uncertain
than by natural swarming. Every practical bee-keeper
who has given it a fair trial, has been glad to abandon it,
and return to the old-fashioned Avay.

Some Apiarians have attempted to multiply their colo-
nies, by removing, when thousands of its inmates are rang-
ing the fields, a strong stock to a new stand, and setting
in its place an empty hive, with a piece of brood-comb,
suitable for raising a queen. This method is still worse
than the one just described. One half of the dividing-
hive was filled with breeding comb, while this empty hive
having next to none, all that is built before the queen
hatches, will be of a size unsuitable for rearing workers.
The queenless part of the dividing-hive might also have
contained a young queen almost mature, so that the build-
ing of large combs would have quickly ceased ; for as
soon as the young queen hatches, the bees commence
building worker-combs.* When a new colony is formed

* In attempting to rear artificial swarms by moving a full stock, my bees have
built combs nearly four inches thick; and have afterwards pieced their lower

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 151

by dividing the old hive, the queenless part has thousands
of cells filled with brood and eggs, and young bees will be
hatching for at least three weeks : by this time, the young
queen will ordinarily be laying eggs, so that there will be
an interval of not more than three weeks, during which
the colony will receive no accessions. But when a new
swarm is formed, in the way above described, not an egg
will be laid for nearly three weeks, and not a bee hatched
for nearly six. During all this time, the colony will
rapidly decrease ;* and by the time the progeny of the
young queen begins to mature, the new hive will have so
few bees, that it would seldom be of any value, even if
its combs were of the best construction.

After thoroughly testing this last plan of artificial
swarming, I have found that it has not the least practical
value ; and as this is the method which Apiarians have
usually tried, it is not strange that hitherto, they have
almost unanimously condemned artificial swarming.

Another method of artificial swarming has been zeal-
ously'advocated, which, seeming to require the smallest
amount of labor or skill, would be everywhere practiced,
if it could only be made effectual. A number of hives are
to be connected by holes, so as to allow the bees to travel
from any one to all the others. The bees, on this plan, are
to colonize themselves, and it is asserted that in due time,

edge with worker-cells, for the accommodation of the young queen. So uniformly
do bees with an unhatched queen build coarse, or drone-comb, that often a
glance at the combs of a new colony, will show either that it is queenless, or that,
having been so, it has just reared a new queen. It is not necessary that a queen,
should have commenced laying eggs to induce her colony to build worker-cells ; I
have knowp a strong swarm with a virgin queen, almost to fill their hive with
beautiful worker-comb, before a single egg was deposited in the cells.

* Every observing bee-keeper must have noticed how rapidly even a large
swarm diminishes in number, for the first three weeks after it has been hived.
So great is the mortality of bees during the height of the working-season, that
often, in less than that time, it does not contain one half its original number.

152 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

a single swarm, of its own accord, will form a large num-
ber of independent families, each possessing its own queen,
and all living in perfect harmony.

This method, so fascinating in theory, though repeat-
edly tried with various ingenious modifications, has in
every instance proved an entire failure. If the bees are
allowed to pass from one hive to another, they will confine
their breeding operations mostly to a single apartment, if
it is of the ordinary size, and will use the others chiefly
for storing honey. This is almost invariably the case, if
the additional room is given by collateral or side boxes,
as the queen seldom enters such apartments for the pur-
pose of breeding ; if, however, the new hive is directly
below that in which the swarm was first lodged, and the con-
nections are suitable, she will be almost certain to descend
and lay her eggs in the new combs, as soon as they are
begun by the bees. The upper hive being now almost en-
tirely abandoned by her, the bees fill the cells with honey,
as fast as the brood is hatched, their instinct impelling
them to keep their stores of honey, if possible, above the
breeding-cells. So long as bees have an abundance of
room below their main hive, they very seldom swarm ; but
if it is on the sides of their hive, or above them, they often
swarm rather than take possession of it. In none of these
cases, however, do they ever form independent colonies,
if left to themselves.

The skillful Apiarian may, doubtless, compel his bees to
rear an artificial colony, by separating from the main hive,
by a slide, an apartment that happens to contain brood ;
but unless his hives admit of thorough inspection, as he
can never know their exact condition, he will be far more
likely to fail than to succeed. This plausible theory, there-
fore, to be reduced to even an empirical and precarious

ARTIFICIAL SW ARMING. 153

practice, requires more skill, care, labor, and time, than
are necessary to manage the ordinary swarming-hives.

The failure, on the part of experienced, as well as inex-
perienced Apiarians, of so many attempts to increase col-
onies by artificial means, has led many to advocate the
general use of non-swarming hives. In such hives, very
large harvests of honey are often obtained from strong
stocks of bees ; but it is evident that if the formation of
new colonies were generally discouraged, the insect would
soon be exterminated.

Although the movable-comb hive may be made more
effectually to prevent swarming than any with which I am
acquainted, still there are some objections to the non-
swarming plan which cannot be removed. To say nothing
of its preventing the increase of stocks, bees usually work
with diminished vigor, after they have been kept in a non-
swarming hive for several seasons. This will be obvious
to any one who will compare the super-abounding energy
of a new swarm, with the more sluggish working of even
a much stronger non-swarming stock.

An old queen, whose fertility has become impaired, can
be easily caught and removed, in the movable-comb hive ;
but when hives are used in which this cannot be done, the
Apiary will contain queens that have passed their prime,
and some which may die when there are no eggs from
which others can be reared.

On no subject has the author of this work experimented
more fully than on that of Artificial Swarming ; and those
bee-keepers to whom this chapter may, at first, seem need-
lessly diffuse, will find that it contains many important
principles, which, in any other connection, would probably
have required even more fullness of detail.

Before detailing the various methods of Artificial
Swarming which may be practiced in the movable-comb

154 THE HIVE AJND HONEY-BEE.

hives, I shall describe one which may be used with almost
any hive, by those who have sufficient confidence to man-

About the season of natural swarming', what I shall
call a forced swarm, may be obtained from a populous
stock,* by the following process. Choose that part of a
pleasant day, when many bees are abroad, and if any are
clustered on the bottom-board or outside of the hive, puff
among them a few whiffs of smoke — that from spunk is
best — so as to drive them up among the combs. The bees
will go up more readily if the hive is tipped back, or ele-
vated by small wedges, about one-quarter of an inch above
the bottom-board. Have in readiness a box — which Ijshall
call the forcing-box — whose diameter is about the same
with that of the hive from which you intend to drive the
swarm. Lift the hive from its bottom-board without the
slightest jar, turn it over, and carefully carry it off about
a rod, as bees, if disturbed, are much more inclined to be
peaceable, when removed a short distance from their fami-
liar stand. If the hive is gently placed upside down on
the ground, scarcely a bee will fly out, and there will be
little danger of being stung. The timid and inexperienced
should protect themselves with a bee-dress, and may
gently sprinkle the bees with sugar-water, or blow more
smoke among them, as soon as the hive is inverted. After
placing it on the ground, the forcing-box must be put over
it, and every opening between it and the hive, from which
a bee might escapef, should be stopped with paper, or any
convenient material. The forcing-box, if smooth inside,

* " Driving succeeds best in warm weather, and with populous stocks ; for if
the combs be not worked down to the floor-board, the bees are apt to collect in the
open space instead of ascending into the upper box."— SEVAN.

t In my own practice, I use a box, the inside edges of which are beveled, to
facilitate the ascent of the bees, and the back hinged, so that it can be opened for
seeing the queen as she goes up with them. The few bees that may escape, even if
not full of honey, are too bewildered by their change of position, to make any attack.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 155

should have slats fastened one-third of the distance from
the top, to aid the bees in clustering.

As soon as the Apiarian has confined the bees, he should
place an empty hive — which I shall call the decoy-hive —
upon their old stand, which those returning from the
fields may enter, instead of dispersing to other hives, to
meet, perhaps, with a most ungracious reception. As a
general rule, however, a bee with a load of honey or
bee-bread, after the extent of his resources is ascertained,
is pretty sure to be welcomed by any hive to which he
may carry his treasure ; while a poverty-stricken unfortu-
nate that presumes to claim their hospitality is, usually, at
once destroyed. The one meets with as flattering a recep-
tion as a wealthy gentleman proposing to take up his
abode in a country village, while the other is as much an
object of dislike as a poor man, who bids fair to become a
public charge.

To retiirn to our imprisoned bees : their hive should be
beaten smartly with the palms of the hands, or two small
rods, on the sides to which the combs are attached, so as
to run no risk of loosening* them. These "rappings,"
although not of a very " spiritual " character, produce,
nevertheless, a decided effect upon the bees. Their first
impulse, if no smoke were used, would be to sally out,
and wreak their vengeance on those who thus rudely assail
their honied dome ; but as soon as they inhale its fumes,
and feel the terrible concussions of their once stable abode,
a sudden fear that they are to be driven from their treas-
ures, takes possession of them. Determined to prepare
for this unceremonious writ of ejection, by carrying off
what they can, each bee begins to lay in a supply, and in

* There is little danger of loosening the combs of an old stock, bnt the greatest
cantion is necessary when the combs of a hive are new. If, in inverting such a
hive, the broad side* of the combs, instead of their edges, are inclined downwards,
the heat, and weight of the bees, may loosen the combs, and ruin the stock.

156 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE,

about five minutes, all are filled to their utmost capacity.
A prodigious humming is now heard, as they begin to
mount into the upper box ; and in about fifteen minutes
from the time the rapping began — if it has been continued
with but slight intermissions — the mass of the bees, with
their queen, will hang clustered in the forcing-box, like
any natural swarm, and may, at the proper time, be readily
shaken out, on a sheet, in front of their intended hive.

If the forced swarm could now be put on the old stand,
and the parent-hive removed to a new place in the Apiary ;
or if the latter could be returned to its usual position, and
the former be put somewhere else, it would simplify very
much the making of artificial swarms. Neither method,
however, can be pursued without serious loss ; for if the
position of a colony has been changed by the bee-keeper,
the bees will not adhere to the new place, as they do
when they swarm of their own accord.

In every case when the position of its hive has been
changed, each bee, as it sallies out, flies with its head
turned towards it, that by marking the surrounding
objects, it may find its way back. If, however, the bees
did not emigrate of their own free will, most of them
appearing to forget that their location has been changed,
return to the familiar spot ; for it would seem that,

" A ' bee removed ' against its will,
Is of the same opinion still. "

Should the Apiarian, ignorant of this fact, place the
forced swarm on the old stand, and remove the parent-
stock to a new place, the latter would lose so many of the
uees which ought to be retained in it, that most of its
unsealed brood would perish from neglect. If, on the
contrary, he should remove the forced swarm to a new
position, it would be so depopulated as to be of little value.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 157

These difficulties may be obviated by removing either
colony about half a mile from its former home, in which
case, if forage is abundant, nearly all will remain in their
proper hive. Some recommend that they should be car-
ried off at least three miles ; but I have found that this is
unnecessary, unless there is a deficiency of blossoms hi
the immediate vicinity of their new home. If the colonies
are carried off, the precautions given elsewhere* for mov-
ing bees must be carefully followed ; also the directions
for retaining a sufficient number of bees in the parent-
stock. Those' not carried off must be put on their old
stands.

As the transportation of colonies is laborious, and often-
times expensive, I shah1 describe the methods which, after
years of experimenting, I have devised for dispensing with
it. I have ascertained that, if a hive is removed, most
of the bees returning from abroad and alighting upon a
neighboring hive, if kindly received, will not go back to
their former stand. Even the temporary loss of their old
home is followed by a distraction which makes on them
such a permanent impression, that they mark their new
location as carefully as a new swarm. Now I find that,
on the same principle, nearly all the bees which have
returned from the fields, while a swarm is being forced
from the parent-hive, will enter this hive if it is put upon
its old stand, and adhere to it afterwards wherever it may
be placed.

As soon, therefore, as the bee-keeper has forced a swarm,
the forcing-box must be gently lifted off, and set in a
shady place where the bees will have plenty of air. The
parent-stock should now be put, without crushing any bees,
on the old stand, so that all which have returned from
foraging may enter it. The bees, which before this were

* The copious alphabetical index at the end, makes it easy to refer to any sub-
ject discussed in this book.

158 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

running in and out of the decoy-hive, in a state of the
greatest distraction, will crowd into their old home, and
afterwards adhere to it wherever placed ! It should now
be removed to a new stand, and its entrance* closed until
sunset. Unless this precaution is adopted, the bees in
other hives, ascertaining its weak and queenless condition,
may attempt to rob it.

If the stock from which the artificial colony was driven,
were intending to swarm, it will contain maturing queens,
one of which will soon take the place of the old one, as in
natural swarming. If no royal cells were in progress, the
bees will proceed to construct them.

Artificial colonies should not be formed until drones
have made their appearance, or the young queen may fail
to be impregnated, and the parent-stock may perish.

We return now to our forced swarm. The bees should
be shaken out of the forcing-box, and hived like a new
swarm, when, if placed on their old stand, they will work
as vigorously as a natural swarm. If they were driven,
at first, into a hive which will suit the Apiarian, it may be
returned to their old location, without disturbing the
bees.

If, in driving the swarm, or in transferring it from the
forcing-box, the queen was not seen, it may be certainly
known, in from five to fifteen minutes after the bees have
entered their new hive, whether or not she is with them.

As soon as the bees are clustered in the hive, if they
do not find her, a few will come out and run about, as
if anxiously searching for something they have lost. The
alarm is rapidly communicated to the whole colony ; the

* In closing the entrance, the bee-keeper will see that sufficient air is admitted,
but not enough to chill the brood. If the weather should suddenly become very
cool, and the hive is quite thin, it will be advisable to cover it with something that
will aid in preserving its internal heat The same precautions are often important
in hives which have swarmed naturally.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 159

explorers are rapidly reinforced, the ventilators suspend
their operations, and soon the air is filled with bees. If
they cannot find the queen, they return to their old stand,
and if no hive is there, will soon enter one of the adjoin-
big colonies. If their queen is restored to them soon
after they miss her, those running out of the hive will
make a half-circle, and return ; the joyful news is quickly
communicated to those on the wing, who forthwith alight
and enter the hive ; all appearance of agitated running
about on the outside of the hive, ceases, and ventilation,
with its joyful hum, is again resumed.* If the bees re-
main quiet in the new hive, for about fifteen minutes, the
queen is almost certainly with them.

If the Apiarian, in making his artificial swarm, does not
see the queen, he must wait until the bees show, by their
conduct, whether she is with them or not. If they begin
to leave the hive, the entrance must be closed, to confine
them until the parent-stock can be drummed again, and
the queen,- if possible, secured. If she cannot be induced
to leave the parent-stock, and another cannot be had to
supply her place, the bees must be returned, and the
driving resumed at another time. A queen, however,
which does not go up the first time, is very apt to persist
in her refusal.

In forcing a swarm, I have directed that it be done when

* To witness these interesting proceedings, it is only necessary to catch the
queen, and keep her until she is missed by her colony. For greater security, I
usually confine her, when taken from the bees, in a small paper-funnel, with
twisted ends, from which she may be' easily taken.

It is a mistake to suppose that a swarm will not enter a hive unless the queen
la with them. If some start for it, the others will speedily follow, all seeming to
take foi granted that the queen is somewhere among them. Even after they
begin to disperse in search of her, they may often be induced to jeturn, by pour-
ing out a fresh lot of bees, which, by entering the hive with fanning wings, cause
the others to believe that the queen is coming at last.

Bees which miss their queen, under such circumstances, will accept of any on*
that may be offered them ; and may often be pacified with worker-comb.

160 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

many workers are abroad, in order that they may l>e
induced to adhere to the parent-stock. Many bee-keepers,
however, may prefer to make their swarms eai'ly in the
morning, or late in the afternoon, when few bees are at
work. In this case, a proper number of adherents may be
obtained for the parent-stock, by shaking out the bees from
the forcing-box on a sheet, that as they enter the hive
in which they are permanently to reside, many may take
wing, and return to the decoy-hive. If the number is still
too small, after most of the bees have entered the new
hive, the sheet with some adhering to it may be carried to
the decoy-hive. After these bees show that they miss
their queen, by running in great confusion in and out and
over the hive, the parent-hive must be presented to them,
and when they have entered it, removed to a new position
in the Apiary, and the forced swarm returned to the old
stand. If one-quarter of the bees are left in the parent-
stock, the supply will be ample ; larger, indeed, than is
usually left in natural swarming.

If there are in the Apiary several old stocks standing
close together, it is highly desirable in performing these
various operations, that the decoy-hive, and that for the
forced swarm, should be of the same shape and even color
with that of the parent-stock. If they are very unlike, and
the returning bees attempt to enter a neighboring hive,
because it resembles their old home, the adjoining hives
should have sheets thrown over them, to hide them from
the bees, until the operation is completed.

I have sometimes obtained a- supply of adhering bees
for the parent-stock, by placing it on the old stand, and
removing the forced swarm to a new location. The larger
part of the bees will of course return to their former home ;
some, however, will remain with their queen, and begin to
labor in the new hive. In two or three days, exchange the

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 161

position of the two hives, when enough bees which have
become accustomed to the new place, will return to it, to
carry on their operations in the parent-stock. This plan
has the advantage of retaining most of the bees in the
parent-stock, until the cells for rearing young queens are
begun ; it will also suit bee-keepers who are pressed for
time, and are obliged to force their stocks, early in the
morning or late in the afternoon, when but few bees are
abroad in the fields.

If the parent-stock stands at some distance from others,
and resembles in shape, size, and color, that intended for
the forced swarm, a proper division of the bees may be
effected as follows : Place the parent-stock about six inches
to the right of the old stand, and the forced swarm as far
to the left ; so that the position of the old entrance shall
be about equally distant from each. If either colony con-
tains too few bees, it may be moved a little nearer to the
old entrance ; or it may be reinforced, after the bees have
gone to work, by closing the entrance of the stronger hive
until dark.

If the old stocks stand close together, some prefer
another mode of forming the artificial swarm. After the
bees have been driven from the parent-stock, the forced
swarm is at once placed on the old stand, while the parent-
stock in which the proper number of bees has been left,
is set in a cool place, and shut up — care being taken to
give them air — until late in the afternoon of the third day.
It may now be put on its permanent stand, and opened an
hour or two before sunset, when the bees will take wing
almost as if intending to swarm. Some will join the
forced swarm on the old stand, but most, after hovering a
short time in the air, will re-enter their hive. While the
entrance was closed, thousands of young bees were hatch-
ed, and these, knowing no other home, will all unit.e in the

162 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

labors of the hive. The imprisoned bees ought to be
supplied with water, to enable them to prepare food for
the larvae. In the common hive this may be injected with
a straw through a gimlet-hole.

Where artificial swarming is practiced on a large scale,
I have devised a plan which I very much prefer to any pre-
viously described. Let the Apiarian obtain a forced swarm*
from some bee-keeper, a mile or two off, or from one of
his own stocks, carried that distance before the bees began
to work in the Spring. Bringing it home, according to
the directions subsequently given for transporting bees,
let it be confined in a cool place, so as to have plenty of
air. Late in the afternoon, or early next morning, let him
force four or fivef swarms, placing them, at once, on the
stands of the parent-stocks, and these latter where it is in-
tended they shall permanently remain. The forced swarm,
brought from a distance, should now be shaken out on a
sheet, a foot or more from a hive, and gently sprinkled, so
as to prevent any bees from taking wing. With a saucer,
scoop up, without hurting any of them, as many bees as
you can, and carry them to the mouth of one of the old
stocks, from which you have driven a swarm. Continue
to do this, until you have about equally apportioned the
bees, and if any remain on the sheet, carry it to the mouth
of the hive which has received the least.J These bees,
having no previous home in your Apiary, will adhere to
the different hives in which they are placed, and thus,

* If he delays artificial swarming until natural swarms begin to issue, he may
use them in the same way.

t An expert will force them all in the time usually taken by a novice to force
one. As soon as a forcing-box is placed over one hive, he will remove another
from its stand, and then the rest, and in drumming them will pass from one to
another, so as to lose not a moment's time in the whole operation. Ten artificial
swarms, or even more, may be made, in this way, in less than an hour after sun-
rise or before sunset.

J The queen should be looked for, and the hive noted to which she is given. 1 1
she has entered the empty hive, she may be easily secured.

ARTIFICIAL SWAJRMING. 163

without any further trouble, your parent-stocks and forced
swarms will alike prosper.

One great advantage which this method has over all
others, is, that it secures, so simply and effectually, the
necessary number of bees for the parent-stocks. Inexpe-
rienced persons, instead of being perplexed to know how
many bees they shall leave in the forced stocks, may drive
from them, if they can, every bee. If the bee-keeper can-
not conveniently obtain a swarm from a distance, he may
use, for this purpose, the first natural swarm which comes
off in his own Apiary ; and by delaying to make artificial
colonies until natural swarms begin to issue, every such
swarm may be used for forming at least four artificial
swarms. Or, by the method recommended by Dr. Don-
hoff, of Germany, he may secure a colony, which, when
divided in the way above mentioned, will adhere to
their new locations : " On an evening, when the next
day promises to be clear and warm, drive out a swarm,
and set it in the place of the parent-stock. Next day,
when it is warm, pour some honey among the bees in
the box, and in a few hours they will swarm."*

The directions given for the formation of artificial colo-
nies, differ, in some important respects, from any furnished
by other writers, and are so simple that any one accustomed
to handle bees can easily follow them. They enable the

* A forced swarm may be made to adhere to its new location as follows : Secure
their queen, when they are shaken out of the hive ; and when they show that
they miss her, confine them to their hive, until their agitation has reached its
height. Then open the hive, and as the bees begin to take wing, present to them
their queen (see p. 159). When they have clustered around her, they may be
treated like a natural swarm. To do this with every forced swarm would take
too much time; but it would answer well when the forced swarm is to be
divided, as above, into four or five parts.

Mr. P. J. Mahan, of Philadelphia, informs me that he has several times suc-
ceeded in making an old colony adhere to a new place in the Apiary, by 'beating
the hive, after the bees have been shut In, even at the risk of slightly injuring some
of its combs. When it is opened, the bees will fly out in great numbers, but
nearly all will return to their hive on the new stand.

164: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BKE.

Apiarian, let him use what hive he will, to be entirely
independent of natural swarming.

It will be obvious, however, that artificial swarming, to
be successful, requires a knowledge of the laws which con-
trol the breeding of bees. Those, therefore, who are ig-
norant of the economy of the bee-hive, cannot safely
depart from the old-fashioned mode of management ; as
emergencies which they are unprepared to meet, may at
any moment occur. An Apiarian may use the common
hives* a whole life-time, and, unless he gams his infor-
mation from other sources, may yet remain ignorant of
some of the most important principles in the physiology
of the honey-bee: while any intelligent cultivator may,
with movable-combs, in a single season, verify for himself
the discoveries which have been made only by the accu-
mulated toil of many observers, for more than two thou-
sand years.

By the aid of movable-comb hives, artificial swarming

* " An opportunity of beholding the proceedings of the queen, in hives of the
usual form, is so very rarely afforded, that many Apiarians have passed their lives
•without enjoying it ; and Eeaumur himself, even with the assistance of a glass-hive,
acknowledges that he was many years before he had that pleasure." — SEVAN.

Swammerdam, who wrote his wonderful treatise on bees, before the invention
of glass hives, was obliged to tear hives to pieces in making his investigations 1
When we see what important results these great geniuses obtained, with means so
imperfect, if compared with the facilities which the veriest tyro may now possess,
it ought to teach us a becoming lesson of humility.

The sentiments of the following extract from Swammerdam, ought to be
engraven upon the hearts of all engaged in investigating the works of God : " 1
would not have any one think that I say this from a love of fault-finding " — he had
been criticising some incorrect drawings and descriptions — " my sole design is to
have the true face and disposition of Nature exposed to sight. I wish others may
pass the like censure, when due, on my works ; for I doubt not that I have made
many mistakes, although I can, from the heart, say, that I have not, in this treatise
designed to mislead. * * * The desire of writing is so prevalent, that men publish
books filled only with the fancies of their brain, and thus misrepresent God and
his works. God forbid that I should ever do this. Truth, and a religious scrupu-
lousness of mind, ought everywhere to prevail in describing natural things ; for
they are the Bibles of the divine miracles. If he who writes aims to deceive him-
self and others, let him know that in due time all things will be revealed."

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 165

may be easily and quickly performed. An empty hive,
with its frames properly arranged, must be in readiness to
receive the new swarm ; and before carrying the parent-
stock from its stand, a little smoke should be puffed into
the entrance, which should then be closed with the
movable-blocks. Remove, now, one or two of the tins
that cover the holes on the spare honey-board (PI. YI3I.,
Fig. 21), and blow smoke into the hive, until the bees
begin to make a loud humming, when the honey-board
may be loosened with a knife, and safely removed, care
being taken to set it on its edge, so as not to crush the
bees with which its under surface is usually covered. No
danger need be apprehended from these bees, as they are
completely bewildered by their sudden exposure to the
light, and removal from the hive. Any of the large
" supers "* used in my hives, or any other box of suitable
dimensions, may now be set over the bees, into which
they may be driven, in the way described on page 155. A
little more smoke blown into the entrance of .the hive,
will obviate the necessity of much rapping, and materially
quicken the ascent of the bees.f After they have been
driven from the parent-stock, the directions must be fol-
lowed which have already been so minutely described.

Whenever the bee-keeper learns how to handle safely
the movable-frames — full directions for doing which will
soon be given — he may dispense with the forcing-box, and
iilake his swarms by lifting out the frames from the parent-
stock, and shaking the bees from them, by a quick jerking
motion, upon a sheet, directly in front of the new hive.
As soon as a comb is deprived of its bees, it should be re-
turned to the parent-stock. If one or two combs contain-

* This term Is used by Apiarians to designate any upper box placed over the
main lower-hive. An empty hive, like that in PL L, Fig. 1., or » hive like that in
PL III., Fig. 2.— if inverted— -will answer for a forcing-box.

«• Time will be saved by arranging (p. 162) to force several swarms at onoe.

166 THE HIVE AND HONfiY-BEE.

ing brood, eggs, and stores, are given to the forced swarm,
it will be much encouraged, and will need no feeding, if
the weather should be unfavorable. In removing the
frames, the bee-keeper should look for the queen, and give
the comb on which she is, to the forced swarm, without
shaking off the bees. If he does not see her on the
combs, he will seldom fail to notice her, after a little prac-
tice, as she is shaken on the sheet, and crawls towards the
new hive. The queen is seldom left on a frame after it
has been shaken so that most of the bees fall off. As soon
as the necessary number of bees have been transferred to
the new hive, the precautions previously given must be
used to obtain adhering bees for the parent-stock.

If the proper allowance of bees is secured for the parent-
stock by the method described on page 162, the hive for
the forced swarm may be placed at once on the old stand,
and the bees from the parent-stock shaken from the frames
upon a sheet, so placed that they can easily run into their
new hive.

If the forced swarms were made a short time before
natural swarming would have taken place, some of the
parent-stocks will contain a number of maturing queens,
which may be removed, a few days before hatching, and
given to such as have started none.

By making a few forced swarms, about a week or ten
days before the time in which the most are to be made,
there will be an abundance of sealed queens, almost ma-
ture, so that every parent-stock may have one. If an un-
hatched queen can be given, on her frame, to each stock
that needs it, so much the better ; but if there are not
enough frames with sealed queens, while some contain two
or more, the bee-keeper must proceed as follows :

With a sharp pen-knife, carefully remove apiece of comb,
an inch or more square, that contains a queen-cell ; and in

ARTIFICIAL SWASHING. 167

one of the combs of the hive to which this cell is to be
given, cut a place just large enough to receive and hold it
in a natural position. If it is not secure, apply, with a
feather, a little melted wax, where the edges meet, and
the bees will soon fasten it to suit themselves.

Unless very great care is used in transferring a royal
cell, its inmate will be destroyed, as her body, until she is
nearly mature, is so exceedingly soft, that a slight com-
pression of her cell — especially near the base, where there
is no cocoon — generally proves fatal. For this reason, it
is best to defer removing them, until they are within three
or four days of hatching. A queen-cell, nearly mature,
may be known by its having the wax removed from the
lid, by the bees, so as to give it a brown appearance.

The forcing of a swarm ought not to be attempted
when the weather is so cool as to chill the brood; and
never unless there is sufficient light not only to enable the
Apiarian to see distinctly, but for the bees that take wing
to direct their flight to the entrance of their hive. Bees
are always much more irascible when their hives are dis-
turbed after it is dark, and as they cannot see where to
fly, they will alight on the person of the bee-keeper, who
will b'e almost sure to be stung. It is seldom that night-
work is attempted upon bees, without the operator having
occasion to repent his folly. If the weather is not too
cool, early in the morning, before the bees are stirring, is
the best tune for most operations, as there will then be
the least danger of annoyance from robber-bees.

To some of my readers, it may appear almost incredible
that bees can be dealt with in the summary ways that
have been described, without becoming greatly enraged ;
so far, however, is this from being the case, that in my
operations, I often use neither smoke, sugar-water, nor
bee-dress, although I by no means advise the neglect of

168 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

such precautions. While the timid, if unprotected, are al-
most sure to be stung, there is something in the determined
aspect and movements of a courageous and skillful opera-
tor, that seems often to strike bees with instant terror, so
that they become perfectly submissive to his will.

Artificial swarms may be created with perfect safety,
even at mid-day, as the thousands of bees returning with
their loads, never make an attack, while those at home can
be easily pacified.

The arrangement which permits the top of the movable-
comb hive to be easily removed, and the sugar-water to
be sprinkled upon the bees, before they attempt to take
wing, has great advantages. If the hive opened on the
side, like Dzierzon's, it would be impossible to make the
sweetened water run down between all the ranges of
comb, and it would be necessary to use smoke* in every
operation. The use of smoke frequently causes the queen
to leave the combs, for greater security. This often causes
great delay in the formation of artificial swarms by
removing the frames, and in operations where it is de-
sirable to catch the queen, or to examine her upon the
comb.

Huber thus speaks of the pacific effect produced upon
the bees by the use of his leaf-hive : " On opening the
hive, no stings are to be dreaded, for one of the most
singular and valuable properties attending my construc-
tion, is its rendering the bees tractable. I ascribe their
tranquillity to the manner in which they are affected by
the sudden admission of light; they appear rather to
testify fear than anger. Many retire, and entering the
cells, seem to conceal themselves." Huber has here fallen

* After using smoke sometimes two or three times a day, to open a hive upon
which I was experimenting, I found that, at last, the cunning creatures, instead of
filling themselves with honey, rushed out to attack me! A colony will n«ver
refuse the sweetened water, however often it may be presented to them.

Fig. 47.

PLATE XIV

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 169

into an error which he probably would not have made,
had he used his own eyes. The bees are, indeed, bewil-
dered by the sudden admission of light, and will enter
the cells, unless provoked by a sudden jar, or the breath
of the operator ; not, however, " to conceal themselves ;"
but imagining that their sweets, thus unceremoniously ex-
posed, are to be taken from them, they gorge themselves
almost to bursting, to save what they can. They will
always appropriate the contents of the open cells, as soon
as their frames are removed from the hive.

It is not merely the sudden admission of light, but its
introduction from an unexpected quarter, that for the time
disarms the hostility of the bees. They appear, for a few
moments, almost as much confounded as a man would be,
if, without any warning, the roof and ceiling of his house
should suddenly be torn from over his head. Before they
recover from their amazement, the sweet libation* is
poured upon them, and their surprise is quickly changed
into pleasure ; or they are saluted with a puff of smoke,
which, by alarming them for the safety of their treasures,
induces them to snatch whatever they can. In the work-
ing season, the bees near the top are gorged with honey;
and those coming from below are met in their threatening
ascent, either by an avalanche of nectar, which, like " a
soft answer," most effectually " turneth away wrath," or a
harmless smoke, which excites their fears, but leaves no
unpleasant smell behind. No genuine lover of bees ought
ever to use the sickening fumes of tobacco.

The greatest care should be taken to repress, by the

* If, when the hive is first opened, honey-water Is nsed, instead of sugar-water
or smoke, in sprinkling the bees, its smell will be very apt to entice marauders
from other hives. When the honey-harvest is abundant— and this is the best time
for forcing swarms— bees are seldom inclined to rob, if proper precautions are nsed.
It ig sometimes difficult to induce them to notice honey-combs, even when put Jn
an exposed situation.

8

170 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

sweetened water or smoke, the first manifestations of
anger ; for as "bees communicate their sensations to each
other with almost magic celerity,- while a whole colony
will quickly catch the pleased or subdued notes uttered by
a few, it will be roused to instant fury by the shrill note
of anger from a single bee. When once they are thor-
oughly excited, it will be found very difficult to subdue
them, and the unfortunate operator, if inexperienced, will
often abandon the attempt in despair.

It cannot be too deeply impressed upon the beginner,
that nothing irritates bees more than breathing upon
them or jarring their combs. Every motion should be
deliberate, and no attempt whatever made to strike at
them. If inclined to be cross, they will often resent even
a quick pointing at them with the finger, by darting upon
it, and leaving their stings behind. A novice, or a person
liable to be stung, will, of course, protect his face and
hands.

Directions have been given (p. 165), for removing the
spare honey-board from the hive. As soon as it is dis-
posed of, the Apiarian should sprinkle the bees with the
sweet solution. This should descend from the watering-
pot in a fine stream, so as not to drench the bees, and
should fall upon the tops of the frames, as well as between
the ranges of comb. The bees, accepting the proffered
treat, will begin to lap it up, as peaceably as so many
chickens helping themselves to corn. While they are
thus engaged, the frames which have been glued fast to
the rabbets by the bees, must be very gently pried loose ;
this may be done without any serious jar, and without
wounding or enraging a single bee ; the rabbets being
wide enough to allow the frames to be pried from the
rear to the front, or vice versa. If the rabbets were only
just wide enough to receive the shoulders of the frames,

ARTIFICIAL SWABMING. 171

it would be necessary, in loosening the frames, to pry
them laterally, or towards each other, by which they
might be brought so close together, as to crush the bees,
injure the brood, disfigure the combs, or even kill the
queen.

The frames may be all loosened for removal in less than
a minute :* by this time the sprinkled bees will have filled
themselves, or if all have not, the intelligence that sweets
have be'en furnished, will diffuse an unusual good nature
through the honied realm. The Apiarian should now
gently push the third frame from either end of the hive^ a
little nearer to the fourth- frame ; and then the second as
near as he can to the third, to get ample room to lift out
the end one, without crushing its comb, or injuring any
of the bees. To remove it, he should take hold of its two
shoulders which rest upon the rabbets, and carefully lift
it, so as to crush no bees by letting it touch the sides of
the hive, or the next frame. If it is desired to remove
any particular frame, room must be gained by moving, in
the same way, the adjoining ones on each side. As bees
usually build their combs slightly waving, it will be found
impossible to remove a frame safely, without making room
for it in this way ; and if the tops of the frames have not
sufficient play on the rabbets, and between each other,
the frames cannot be lifted out of the hive, without crush-
ing the combs, and killing the bees. In handling the
frames, be careful not to incline them from their perpen-
dicular, or the combs will be liable to break from their
own weight, and fall out of the frames.

If more combs are to be examined, after lifting out the

* "Without smoke or sweetened water, ten minutes may be spent in opening and
shutting a single frame in a Huber-hive, and even then some of the bees will
probably be crushed. The great caution recommended by Huber in opening his
hives, shows that he did not know how to make himself independent of the anger
of the bees.

172 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

outside frame, set it carefully on end, near the hive,*
when the second one may be easily moved towards the
vacant space, and lifted out. After examination, put it in
the place of the one first removed ; in the same way,
examine the third, and put it in place of the second, and
so proceed until all have been examined. If the bees are
to be removed, they must, of course, be shaken off on a
sheet, as previously described. If the comb first taken
out Avill fit, it may be put in the place of that last taken
out ; if it will not fit, and cannot be made to do so by a
little trimming, the frames must be slid on the rabbets
back to their former places, when this first comb may be
returned to its old position.

The inexperienced operator, who sees that the bees
have built some small pieces of comb between the outside
of the frames, and the sides of the hive, or slightly fastened
together some parts of their combs, may imagine that
the frames cannot be removed at all. Such slight attach-
ments, however, offer no practical difficulty to their
removal.f The great point to be gained, is to secure a
single comb on each frame ; and this is effected by the
use of the triangular comb-guides.

If bees were disposed to fly away from their combs, as
soon as they are taken out, instead of adhering to them
with such remarkable tenacity, it would be far more diffi-
cult to manage them ; but even if their combs, when re-

* If the frames, as they are removed, are put into an empty hive, they may l-e
protected from the cold, and from robber-bees.

t If sufficient room for storing surplus honey is not given to a strong stock, in
its anxiety to amass as much as possible, it will fill the smallest accessible places.
If the bees build comb between the tops of the frames, and the under side of the
spare honey-board, it can be easily cut off, and used for wax. If this shallow
chamber were not used, they would fasten the honey-board to the frames so tightly,
that it would be very difficult to remove it ; and every time it was taken off, they
would glue it still faster, so that, at last, it would be well nigh impossible, in
getting it off, not to start the frames so as to crush the bees between the combs.

ARTIFICIAL SWAKMING. 173

moved, are all arranged in a continued line, the bees, instead
of leaving them, will stoutly defend them against the
thieving propensities of other bees.

In returning the frames, care must be taken not to
crush the bees between them and the rabbets on which
they rest ; they should be put in so slowly r, that a bee, on
feeling the slightest pressure, may have a chance to creep
from under them before it is hurt. In shutting up the
hive, the surplus honey-board should be carefully sUd on,
so that any bees which are in the way may be pushed
before it, instead of being crushed. A beginner will find
it to his advantage to practice — using an empty hive — the
directions for opening and shutting hives, and lifting out
the frames, until confident that he fully understands them.
If any bees are where they would be imprisoned by clos-
ing the upper cover, it should be propped up a little, until
they have flown to the entrance of the hive : (PI. VII.,
Fig. 20.)

An artificial colony may be made in five minutes from
the time a hive is opened, if the queen is seen as quickly
as she often is, by an expert. Fifteen minutes is, on an
average, ample time to complete the whole work. In less
than a week, if the weather is pleasant, an Apiarian with
a hundred old stocks, by devoting to them a few hours
every day, can, without any assistance, easily finish the
business of swarming for the whole season.

But if the formation of artificial swarms is delayed, as it

always should be (p. ), till near the time* for natural

swarming, how can the bee-keeper, unless constantly on
hand, escape the risk of losing some of his best swarms ?
If he prefers to dispense entirely with natural swarming,
he may deprive his fertile queens of their wings : (see

* It will be easy— with movable-comb hives— to determine, by an occasional
inspection, when the season for natural swarming is approaching.

174 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

chapter on Loss of the Queen.) As an old queen leaves
the hive only with a new swarm, the loss of her wings* in
no way interferes with her usefulness, or the attachment
of the bees. If, in spite of her inability to fly, she is bent
on emigrating, though she has a " will," she can find " no
way," but helplessly falls to the ground, instead of gaily
mounting into the air. If the bees find her, they cluster
around her, and may be easily secured by the Apiarian ;
if she is not found, they return to the parent-stock, to
await the maturity of the young queens. As soon as the
piping of the first-hatched queen is heard (p. 121), the
Apiarian may force his swann, unless — having fair warning
of their intentions — he prefers to allow them to swarm in
the natural way. The number of queens nearly ready to
hatch which are usually found in such a stock, may be
profitably used in the swarming season.

As the queen can not get through an opening 5-32dsf
of an inch high, which will just pass a loaded worker, if
the entrance to the hive be contracted to this dimension,
she will not be able to leave with a swarm : (see PI. HI.,
Figs. 11, 12.)

This method of preventing swarming,! requires great

* Bees communicate with each other by their antenna, and Huher has proved
that queens deprived of these, drop their eggs without care, and are unfit for pre-
siding over a hive.

t Huber does not give the size necessary for confining a queen ; but he speaks
of adjusting a glass tube, so as to pass out a worker, and not a queen. The small-
est queen I ever saw, could not pass through my blocks. Although the workers
are at first slightly annoyed by them, they soon become accustomed to them, as
they do not confuse them, by presenting the entrance in a new place. The ventila-
tion not depending on this contracted entrance, abundance of air can be given to
the bees, when the blocks are adjusted to confine the queen.

$ 111 health, for the last two Summers, has prevented me from giving this
method of swarming such a full trial that I can confidently indorse it, except for
temporary purposes ; though I have little doubt that it may be made entirely to
prevent the issue of swarms. If so, it will be of great service to those who fear
to open a hive to remove the royal cells, or cut off the wings of a queen. If
as soon as piping is heard, the entrance is contracted for about a week, the bees
may allow the young queens to engage in mortal combat. In this case, the blocks

ARTIFICIAL S WASHING. 175

accuracy of measurement, for a very trifling deviation
from the dimensions given, will either shut out the loaded
workers, or let out the queen. It should be used only
to imprison old queens ; for young ones, if confined to
the hive, cannot be impregnated. These blocks, if firmly
fastened, will exclude mice from the hive in the Whiter.
"When used to prevent all swarming, it will be necessary
to adjust them a little after sunrise and before sunset, to
allow the bees to carry out any drones that have died.

Some bee-keepers, while reading these various processes
for making artificial swarms, have probably thought that
it would be much better to double the colonies by trans-
ferring half the combs and bees of a full stock to an empty
hive; but for reasons already assigned (p. 156), such a
course, though apparently more simple, would be injuri-
ous to the bees.

Having detailed the methods which can be most advan-
tageously used for doubling stocks in one season, by arti-
ficial swarming, it seems proper to discuss the question
whether it will be best to aim at a rate of increase more
or less rapid than this.*

might be nsed to prevent the Issue of second as well as first swarms. If the simple
turning over of two blocks will prevent all swarming, and without any ulterior
evil consequences to the colony, it will meet the wants of a large class of bee-
keepers.

The difference between theoretical conjectures and practical results is often so
great, that nothing in the bee-line, or indeed in any other line, should be considered
as established, until by being submitted to rigorous demonstration, it has triumph-
antly passed from the mere regions of the brain, to those of actual fact. A theory
which may seem so plausible as almost to amount to positive demonstration, when
put to the working test, may be encumbered by some unforeseen difficulty, which
speedily convinces even the most sanguine that it has no practical value. Nine
things out of ten may work to a charm, and yet the tenth may be so connected
with the other nine, that its failure renders their success of no account.

* As soon as persons find that colonies can be multiplied at will, they are very
apt to so overdo the matter, as to risk losing their bees. Notwithstanding repeated
cautions to "make haste slowly," some have multiplied so rapidly, as to ruin their
stocks, and bring great discredit on my hive, and system of management Others
will probably da the same thing ; for it would seem that nothing but a sad expert-

176 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The Apiarian who aims at obtaining much surplus
honey in any season, cannot, usually, at the furthest, more
than double his stocks ; nor even that, unless all are strong,
and the season is favorable. If, hi any season that is not
favorable, he attempts a more rapid increase, he must not
only expect no surplus honey, but must even purchase
food for his bees, to keep them from starving. The time,
care, skill, and food required in our uncertain climate for
the rapid increase of colonies, are so great, that not one
bee-keeper in a hundred* can make it profitable ; while
most who attempt it, will be almost sure, at the close of
the season, to find themselves in possession of stocks
which have been managed to death.

To make this matter plain, let us suppose a colony to
swarm. Nearly forty pounds of honey will be ordinarily
used by the new swarm in filling their hive with comb.
If the season is favorable, and the swarm large and early,
the bees may gather enough to build and store this comb,
and a surplus besides. If the parent-stock does not
swarm again, it will rapidly replenish its numbers, and
having no new comb to build in the main hive, will be
able besides to store up a generous allowance in the upper
boxes. If, however, the season should be unfavorable,
neither the first swarm nor the parent-stock can ordinarily
gather more than enough for their own use ; and if the
honey-harvest is very deficient, both may require feeding.
The bee-keeper's profits in such an unfortunate season,
will be the increase of his stocks.

If the parent-stock is weak in the Spring, the early

ence of its folly, in bee-keeping, as well as in other pursuits, can ever convince
men of the danger of "making haste to be rich." If, in spite of all that can be
said, the inexperienced will persist in the rapid multiplication of stocks, it is hoped
that they will at least have candor enough to attribute their losses to their own
folly.

* Many a person who reads this will probably imagine that he is the one in a
hundred.

ARTIFICIAL SWAKMLNG. 177

honey-harvest will pass away, and the bees be able to ob-
tain very little from it. During all this tune of meagre
accumulations, the orchards may present

" One boundless blush, one white empurpled shower
Of mingled blossoms ;" |

and tens of thousands of bees from stronger stocks may
be engaged all day in sipping the fragrant sweets, so that
every gale which "fans its odoriferous wings" about
their dwellings, dispenses

" Native perfumes, and whispers whence they stole
Those balmy spoils."*

By the time the feeble stock is prepared — if at all — to
swarm, the honey-harvest is almost over, and the new
colony, instead of gathering enough for its own use, may
starve, unless fed. Bee-keeping, with colonies which are
feeble in the Spring, except in extraordinary seasons and
locations, is emphatically nothing but " folly and vexation
of spirit."

I have shown how a handsome profit may, in a favorable
season, be realized from a strong stock, which has swarmed
early, and but once. If the parent-stock throws a second
swarm, unless it issues early, and the honey-season is good,
it will seldom prove of any value, if managed on the ordi-
nary plan. It usually perishes in the Winter, unless pre-
viously destroyed, and the parent-stock will not only
gather no surplus honey — unless it was secured before the
first swarm issued — but will' often perish also. Thus the
novice who was so delighted with the rapid increase of
his colonies, begins the next season with no more than he
had the previous year, and with the entire loss of all the
time bestowed upon his bees.

* The scent of the hives, during the height of the gathering season, usually
indicates from what sources the bees have gathered their supplies.
8*-

178 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

"With the movable-comb hives, the death of the bees
may be prevented, and all the feeble colonies made strong
and powerful ; but only by abandoning the idea of obtain-
ing a single pound of surplus honey. From the parent-
stock, and first swarm, combs containing maturing brood
must be taken to strengthen the weak swarms, and instead
of being able to store their combs with honey, they will
be constantly tasked in replacing those taken away, so
that when the honey-harvest closes, they must be fed to
save them from starving.

Any one intelligent enough to keep bees, can, from
these remarks, understand exactly why colonies cannot be
rapidly multiplied, in ordinary seasons, and yet be made to
yield large supplies of surplus honey.* Even the doubling
of stocks will often be too rapid an increase for the
greatest yield of spare honey.

I would strongly dissuade any but the most experienced
Apiarians, from attempting, at the furthest, to do more
than treble their stocks in one year. Another book would
be needed, to furnish directions for rapid multiplication,
sufficiently full and explicit for the inexperienced; and
even then, most who should undertake it, would be
sure, at first, to fail. With ten strong stocks of bees, in
movable-comb hives, in one propitious season, I could so
increase them, in a favorable location, as to have, on the
approach of Winter, one hundred good colonies ; but I
should expect to purchase hundreds of pounds of honey,
devoting nearly all my time to their management, and
bringing to the work the experience of many years, and
the judgment acquired by numerous lamentable failures.*

* In one season, being called from home after my colonies had been greatly mul-
tiplied, the honey-harvest was suddenly cut short by a drought, and I found, on
my return, that most of my stocks were ruined. The bees, not having been
fed, had gone into the groceries, and perished by hundreds of thousands.

ABTTFICIAL SWAEMING. 179

A certain rather than a rapid multiplication of stocks,
is most needed. A single colony, doubling every year,
would in ten years increase to 1,024 stocks, and in twenty
years to over a million ! At this rate, our whole country
might, in a few years, be stocked with bees ; an increase
of one-third, annually, would soon give us enough. This
latter rate of increase should be encouraged, even if, in the
Fall, the stocks are reduced (see Union of Stocks), to the
Spring number ; as, in the long run, it will both keep the
colonies in the most prosperous condition, and secure the
largest yield of honey.

I have never myself hesitated to sacrifice several colo-
nies, in order to ascertain a single fact ; and it would
require a large volume, to detail my various experiments
on the single subject of artificial swarming. The practical
bee-keeper, however, should never lose sight of the im-
portant distinction between an Apiary managed princi-
pally for purposes of observation and discovery, and one
conducted exclusively with reference to pecuniary profit.*
Any bee-keeper can easily experiment with my hives;
but he should do it, at first, only on a small scale, and if
pecuniary profit is his object, should follow my directions,
until he is sure that he has discovered others which are
better. These cautions are given to prevent serious losses
in using hives which, by facilitating all manner of experi-
ments, may tempt the inexperienced into rash and un-
profitable courses. Beginners, especially, should follow my
directions as closely as possible ; for, although they may
doubtless be modified and improved, it can only be done
by those experienced in managing bees.

Let me not be understood as wishing to intimate that
perfection has been so nearly attained, that no more

* Prof. Siebold says, that Berlepsch told him, that some of his hives " had been
very much prejudiced by the various scientific experiments."

180 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

important discoveries remain to be made. On the con-
trary, I should be glad if those who have time and means
would experiment on a large scale with the movable-comb
hives ; and I hope that every intelligent bee-keeper who
uses them, will experiment at least on a small scale. In
this way, we may hope that those points in the natural
history of the bee still involved in doubt, will, ere long,
be satisfactorily explained.

The practical bee-keeper should remember that the less
he disturbs the stocks on ichich he relies for surplus honey ,
the better. Their hives ought not to be needlessly opened,
and the bees should never be so much interfered with, as
to feel that they hold their possessions by an uncertain
tenure ; as such an impression will often impair their zeal
for accumulation.* The object of giving the control over
every comb in the hive, is not to enable the bee-keeper to
be incessantly taking them in and out, and subjecting the
bees to all sorts of annoyances. Unless he is conducting
a course of experiments, such interference will be almost
as silly as the conduct of children who dig up the seeds
they have planted, to see how much they have grown.

Having described how forced swarms are made, both
in common and movable-comb hives, when the Apiarian
wishes in one season to double his colonies, I shall now
show how he can secure the largest yield of honey, by
forming only one new colony from two old ones.

When it is time to form artificial colonies, drum a
strong stock — which call A — so as to secure all its bees,
and put the forced swarm on the old stand. If any bees
are abroad when this is done, they will join this new
colony. Remove to a new stand in the Apiary a second
strong stock — which call-J5 — and put A in its place.

* These remarks apply more particularly to stocks engaged in storing honey in
receptacles not in the main hive. The experience of Dzierzon and myself, shows
that opening the hives, ordinarily interrupts their labors for only a few minutes.

ARTIFICIAL SWA.RMESTG. 181

Thousands of the bees that belong to B, as they return
from the fields,* will enter .4, which thus secures enough
to develop the brood, rear a new queen, and gather, if the
season is favorable, large surplus stores.

If B had been first forced, and then removed, it would
(p. 156) have been seriously injured ; but as it loses fewer
bees than if it had swarmed, and retains its queen, it
will soon become almost as powerful as before it was re-
moved.!

This method of forming colonies may be practiced, on
any pleasant day, from sunrise until late in the afternoon ;
for if no bees are abroad to recruit the drummed hive,
it may be shut up, until it can be put upon the stand of
any strong stock which has already begun to fly with
vigor. Of all the methods which I have devised for prac-
ticing artificial swarming,| with almost any kind of
hive, this appears to be one of the simplest, safest, and

* It is quite amusing to observe the actions of these bees, when they return to
their old stand, if the strange hive is like their own in size and outward appear-
ance, they go in as though all was right, but soon rush out in violent agitation,
Imagining that by some unaccountable mistake, they have entered the wrong
place. Taking wing to correct their blunder, they find, to their increasing surprise
that they had directed their flight to the proper spot ; again they enter, and again
they tumble out, in bewildered crowds, until at length if they find a queen, or the
means of raising one, they make up their minds that if the strange hive is not
home, it looks like it, stands where it ought to be, and is, at all events, the only
home they are likely to get. No doub* they often feel that a very hard bargain
has been imposed upon them, but they are generally wise enough to make the best
of it They will be altogether too much disconcerted to quarrel with any bees
that were left in the hive when it was forced, who on their part give them a wel-
come reception.

t Might not a forced swarm be made to adhere to a new location, by thoroughly
shaking them in an empty box — see note on p. 163 — and then setting them on their
new stand, and permitting them to fly ? The queen might be confined, for safety,
in a queen-cage.

$ The Apiarian, by treating a natural swarm as he has been directed to treat a
forced one, can secure an increase of one colony from two ; and of all the methods
of conducting natural swarming, in regions where rapid increase is not profitable,
this is the best, provided the colonies do not stand too close together, and the
hives used in the process are alike in shape and color.

182 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

"best. It not only secures a reasonable increase of colonies,
but maintains them all in high vigor ; and in ordinary
seasons will yield, in good locations, more surplus honey,
than if all increase of colonies was discouraged. If every
bee-keeper would adopt this plan, our country might
soon be like the ancient Palestine, " a land flowing with
milk and honey."

In all the modes of artificial increase thus far given, the
parent or mother-stock — as I shall call it in this connection
— after parting with the forced swarm, was either supplied
with a sealed royal cell, or left to raise a new queen from
worker-brood. JBy the use of movable-comb hives, it may
be at once supplied with a fertile young queen. Before
showing how this is done, its extraordinary advantages
will be described.

It sometimes happens that the mother-stock, when de-
prived of its queen, perishes, either because it takes no
steps to supply her loss, or because it fails in the attempt.
If it raises several queens, it may become reduced by
after-swarming ; and, at all events, its young queen must
run the usual risks in meeting the drones. When all goes
right, it will usually be from two to three weeks before
any eggs are laid in the mother-stock; and when the
brood left by the old queen has all matured, the number
of the bees will so rapidly decrease, before any of the
brood of the young queen hatches, that she will not have
a fair chance, seasonably to replenish the hive.

Again ; while the system that gives no hatched queen
to the mother-stock, exposes it to be robbed if forage is
scarce, the presence of a fertile mother emboldens it to a
much more determined resistance.

If the mother-stock has not been supplied with a fertile
queen, it cannot, for a long time, part with another colony,
without being seriously weakened. Second swarming —

ARTIFICIAL SWABMING. 183

as is well known — often very much injures the parent-
stock, although its queens are rapidly maturing ; but the
forced mother-stock may have to start theirs almost from
the egg. By giving it a fertile queen, and retaining
enough adhering bees to develop the brood, a moderate
swarm may be safely taken away in ten or twelve days,
and the mother-stock left in a far better condition than if
it had parted with two natural swarms. In favorable
seasons and localities, this process may be repeated four
or five times, at intervals of ten days, and if no combs are
removed, the mother-stock will still be well supplied with
brood and mature bees. Indeed, the judicious removal
of bees, at proper* intervals, often leaves it, at the close
of the Summer, better supplied than non-swarming stocks
with maturing brood ; the latter having — in the expressive
language of an old writer — " waxed over fat."f I have
had stocks which, after parting with four swarms in the
way above described, have stored their hives with buck-
wheat honey, besides yielding a surplus in boxes.

This method of artificial increase, which resembles

* If a strong stock of bees, in a hivo of moderate size, Is examined, at the height
of the honey-harvest, nearly all the cells will often be found fall of brood, honey,
or bee-bread. The great laying of the queen is over — not as some imagine, be-
cause her fertility has decreased, but simply for want of room for more brood. A
queen in such a colony, or in a hive having few bees, often appears almost as
slender as one still unfertile ; but if she has plenty of bees and empty comb given
to her, her proportions will soon become very much enlarged. (P. 47.)

t Columella had noticed that, in very productive seasons, strong stocks, If left
to themselves, fill up their brood-combs with honey, instead of rearing young bees.
He advises the unskillful, instead of being pleased with this apparent gain, to shut
up their hives every third day, and thus compel the bees to attend to breeding!
This gives the queen a chance to deposit eggs in the cells from which the young
bees hatch, before they are filled with honey ; and no better plan can be devised
for the common hives.

In the movable-comb hives, a few of the combs nearest the ends may be taken
out, and as many empty frames put between every two of the central 'combs ;
these will at once be supplied with combs, in which the queen will deposit eggs.
It would seem that, while the instincts of the bees teach them to rear all the eggs
deposited in cells, their avaricious propensities often— as in human beings — get the

184 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

natural swarming, in not disturbing the combs of the
mother-stock, is not only superior to it, in leaving a fertile
queen, but obviates almost entirely all risk of after-
swarming ; for the old queen, when given to the forced
SAvarm, very seldom attempts to lead forth a new colony
(p. 128) ; and the young one, which is given to the
mother-stock, is equally content — except in very warm
climates — to stay where she is put. Even if the old queen
is allowed to remain in the mother-stock, she will seldom
leave, if sufficient room is given for storing surplus honey ;
and it makes no difference — as far as liability of swarming
is concerned — where the young one is put.*

The bee-keeper can double his stocks in one season, even
better in this way, than by the method described on page
162; and in favorable seasons and locations, this rate of
increase will yield a large surplus of honey.

For bee-keepers who may desire a more rapid increase
of colonies, I shall give the methods, which — after years
of experimenting — I have found to be the best ; referring
them to the cautions already given, lest, at the end of the
season, they find that their fancied gains consist only of
large investments in dearly bought experience. If they
are cautious and skillful, in good seasons and locations,
they may safely increase their colonies three-fold, and
may, possibly, by liberal feeding, increase them five or six-
fold, or even more.

The plan of artificial swarming, described on page 180,
when combined with the giving of a fertile young queen

better of them, BO that they give their queen no chance to lay, and thus incur the
risk of perishing, in order to become over-rich.

* I have frequently noticed that after-swarms are much less inclined than first
swarms to build drone-comb— their young queens seldom laying many drone-eggs
the first season. If we can cause the new colonies to fill their hives almost
entirely with worker-combs, merely by supplying them with young queens, bee-
keeping will take another important step in advance.

ARTIFICIAL 8WABMING. 185

to the mother-stock, instead of stopping short with an
increase of one from two, may be expanded to any rate
of increase that can possibly be secured ; while it has this
admirable peculiarity, that each step in advance is entirely
independent of any that are subsequently to be made;
and the process may be stopped at any tune when forage
fails, or the bee-keeper chooses — from any cause — to carry
it no further.

If it is used for doubling the stocks, proceed as follows :
Let a fertile young queen be given to A (p. 180) as soon
as it is forced, and in ten days force a swarm from .Z?,
which I shall call D. Put D on the stand of B, and
after removing A to a new place, set B where A stood,
giving to B a fertile young queen. If another colony,
E, is to be formed, make it in the same way, by forcing
A, and transposing with B ; and so continue, by the
transposition of A and B — forcing the new colony
alternately from each — to make successively, at intervals
of about ten days, J? <2, H, &c. ; A and B being sup-
plied with a fertile queen as often as they are forced.

To make this process more intelligible, let A and B
represent the first positions, in the Apiary, of the original
stocks :

Original stocks, A, B.

Position after 1st forcing, (7, A, B.
" " 2d « C,B,D,A.
" " 3d " C,A,D,E,B.
" 4th " C, B, D, E, F, A.
" 5th " (7, A, D, E, F, G, B.
« 6th « C, B, D, E,F,G,H, A.

By looking at this table,* it will be seen that the new

* The table is not intended to recommend setting hives in rows, close together.
A and S may be anywhere in the Apiary, and C, J>, E, <fec., as far apart as is at all
desirable. (Seo Chap, on Loss of Queen.)

186 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

colonies, (7, 2>, E, &c., always remain undisturbed on the
stands where they are first put.

Dzierzon has noticed the great number of bees which
may, at intervals, be removed from a stock-hive, if it only
retains a fertile queen, and sufficient adhering bees / and
says that he has known as many bees to be lost, in a single
day, from a strong stock, by high winds* or sudden storms,
as would suffice to make a respectable swarm.

This able Apiarian, who unites to the sagacity of Huber,
an immense amount of practical experience in managing
bees, has for years formed his artificial colonies chiefly
by removing the forced swarms to a distant Apiary.
Though this plan has some decided merits, and might suit
two persons — sufficiently far apart — who could agree to
manage their bees as a joint concern, the expense of
transporting the bees makes it objectionable to most bee-
keepers. * From the beginning, my plans for artificial in-
crease were mainly with reference to a single Apiary ; and
it would seem, from the recent discussion in the Annual
Apiarian Convention (p. 20), that the German bee-keepers-
are fast adopting the same method.

By making holes on the inside of the bottom-board of
my hivesf — the glass ones excepted — artificial swarming
may be practiced in a way approaching still nearer to
natural swarming than any yet described. About a week
or ten days before the artificial swarm is to be made,
put an empty hive (7, on the top of a strong stock A —
making the entrance of C to face in the opposite way

* If forage is very abundant, bees nre almost crazy to get it, however windy the
weather, and some Apiarians, on such days, confine them to their hives.

t These holes are similar to those in -the spare honey-board (PL VIII., Fig. 21),
and are closed in the same way, when not in use. They permit the bees to com-
municate, where the hives are piled one on the top of the other ; and the upper
hive may be used as a place for the storage of surplus honey in small boxes, or
(PI. X., Fig. 28), in large or small frames.

ARTIFICIAL SWAEMING 187

from that of A — and uncover the holes in the bottom-
board of (7, so that the bees may pass from A to C. A
number of the young bees, as they go out to work, will
use the upper entrance, so that when a colony is driven
from -.4., and the mother-stock is put in place of (7, it will
have the requisite number of adhering bees : the forced
swarm being put into (7, and taking the stand of A, will
secure, as it ought, the -most of the mature bees. In a
few days, the upper hive may be set down close to the
other, and gradually removed to any convenient distance,
and its entrance made to face in any direction. The same
process may be repeated, at intervals, with the mother-
stock, until as many new colonies are formed as may be
desired.* If the Apiarian does not aim at a very rapid
increase, he can take from the mother-stock, in forcing it,
two or three of its combs which are best filled with
sealed brood, so that the artificial swarm will have recruits
before its new brood matures.

If the new colony is forced by removing the frames
(p. 165), the bees may be shaken on a sheet directly in
front of A, and allowed to enter it again; the combs
being all transferred to (7, unless the bee-keeper wishes
to return a few to the parent-stock.

With a fertile queen, a new colony may be formed by
simply reversing the positions of A and (7, when the bees
are in full flight ; and after the lapse of a few days, if C
is weaker than A, the position of the colonies may be
again reversed : or A and G may be reversed, end for
end, without lifting one from the other ; or the comb
containing the queen may be left in A, and the others

* I find, by referring to my Journal, that I devised this method in the Summer
of 1854, when using frames in hives which, like Dzierzon's, opened at both end*.
I soon ascertained that such hives— even with my frames— did not give suitable
fecilities for managing bees.

188 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

transferred to (7, when the bees are in full flight. Other
methods still will suggest themselves to the expert.

To those who have learned to open the hives and
remove the combs, and who use but one Apiary, this way
of making artificial swarms — which I call the piling mode
— will probably prove to be the best; It does not confuse
the bees, by presenting to them a new entrance, or a hive
having a strange smell, and retains in the mother-stock
adult bees enough to gather water, and attend to ah1 neces-
sary out-door work. In the Apiarian Convention of 1857,
which was largely attended, and where the question of
artificial swarming with one Apiary, was fully discussed,
Dzierzon recommended a method as much like this as the
plan of his hives would permit.

I shall now show how, by means of movable-comb
hives, fertile young queens may always be kept on hand,
to supply the forced mother-stocks : About three weeks
before A (p. 180) is to be forced, take from it, as late in
the afternoon as there is h'ght enough to do it, a comb
containing worker-eggs, and bees just gnawing out of
their cells, and put it, with the mature bees that are on it,
into an empty hive. If there are not bees enough ad-
hering to it to prevent the brood from being chilled
during the night, more must be shaken into the hive
from another comb. If the transfer is made so late in the
day that the bees are not disposed to leave the hive,
enough will have hatched, by morning, to supply the
place of those which may return to the parent-stock. A
comb from which about one-quarter of the brood has
hatched, will almost always have eggs in the empty cells,
and if all Ihings are favorable, the bees, in a few hours,
will usually begin to raise a queen.*

* I have known about a tea-cup full of bees, confined in a dark place, to begin,
•within an hour, enlarging cells foi raising a queen.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 189

If the comb used in forcing such a colony — which I
shall call a nucleus — was removed at a time of day when
the bees upon it would be likely to return to the parent-
stock, they should be confined to the hive, until it is too
late for them to leave ; and if the number of bees, just
emerging from their cells, is not large, the entrance to the
hive should be closed, until about an hour before sunset
of the next day but one (see p. 161). The hive contain-
ing this small colony, should be properly ventilated, and
shaded — if thin — from the intense heat of the sun ; it
should always be well supplied with honey and water.*
Suitable precautions should also be taken to guard against
the loss of its young queen, when she leaves the hive to
meet the drones. (See Chap, on Loss of Queen.)

The best way of forming a nucleus, with movable-comb
hives, will be by setting an empty hive over a full stock,
in the way already described (p. 186) : when enough bees
begin to make use of the upper entrance, a brood comb,
with adhering bees, may be transferred to it, and the con-
nection between the two hives closed. If the bees are
reluctant to enter the upper hive, they may be encouraged
to do so by ulacing honey there, in a feeder — keeping the
outside entrance closed against robbers — and they may
afterwards be allowed to pass out through the upper hive.
In a few days this nucleus maybe set down, and gradually
removed, so that another hive may be put on the mother-
stock.

If all things are favorable, this nucleus, by the time A
is forced, will have a fertile queen, which may be given to
A, when the bees that return from the fields show that
they realize (page 158), their queenless condition. The

* Whenever the position of a colony Is so changed as to interrupt for a few
days the flight of the bees, it will be advisable to supply them with water in their
hive, as the want of it is often fatal to the brood.

190 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

comb belonging to the nucleus, with all the bees that are
on it, may then be given to the artificial colony, C. Or,
if the bee-keeper prefer, he may give to A its own queen,
and give the young one — with the precautions subse-
quently described — to G.

If the stocks are to be doubled, a second nucleus must
be formed, by taking, about ten days later, a brood-comb
from B, and giving the second queen to the second artifi-
cial colony, Z>*

If the colonies are to be multiplied more rapidly still,
then from the first nucleus only its queen must be taken,
after she has begun to lay, and her colony will at once
begin to raise another. If she is removed before she has
laid any eggs, the comb of the nucleus — after all the bees
are shaken from it — must be returned to A or _£?, and re-
placed with another that is weh1 supplied with eggs : and
if, at any time, the number of bees in the nucleus is too
small, it may be reinforced by exchanging its comb for
one that is as full of hatching brood as when it was first
formed (p. 188). The same process must be adopted
with the second nucleus, and thus — at regular intervals —
enough queens may be obtained from the two, to multiply
the colonies to any desired extent.

To make this matter perfectly plain, let us suppose that
C is to be forced on the 1st of June, and _Z>, E, F, &c.,
at intervals of ten days.f Then, as before, (7, A, and J3
(p. 185), represent the positions of the colonies on the 1st
of June, and the other columns, their places on the 10th,
20th, &c. Now, let land. II represent the nuclei — I use

* Those who rely entirely on natural swarming, may often secure fertile queens,
by catching the supernumerary young queens of after-swarms (p. 122), and hiving
them, with a few bees, in any small box containing a piece of worker-comb.

t Of course, no one will imagine, that operations which depend so much on
season, climate, and weather, can always be conducted with the mathematical
accuracy with which they are set forth in such an illustration.

ARTIFICIAL S WARMING.' 191

this name when speaking of more than one nucleus — and
_Z"1, II1 represent them when each has a queen; I2, II2,
when each has raised its second queen ; I3, II3, when each
has its third, and so on, it being always understood that
7", II, without the small numbers above them, indicate that
the nuclei are at that time rearing queens. The first
nucleus will be formed May 10th, and the second May 20th.

May 10th, I, June 20th, I2, IT,

" 20th, I, II, " 30th, I, II2,

June 1st, I1, II, July 10th, I3, II,

" 10th, I, II1, " 20th, I, II3, &c., &c.

As it may often be desirable to remove the queen of a
nucleus, before she has begun to lay eggs, if her colony is
supplied with a sealed royal cell from- another nucleus, no
time will be lost, and much trouble saved.

The following, from the pen of Rev. Mr. Kleine, one
of the ablest German Apiarians, will be interesting in this
connection : — " Dzierzon recently intimated that, as Huber,
by introducing some royal jelly into cells containing
worker-brood, obtained queens, it may be possible to in-
duce bees to construct royal cells where the Apiarian pre-
fers to have them, by inserting a small portion of royal
jelly in cells containing worker-larvae ! If left to them-
selves, the bees often so crowd their royal cells together "
— see PI. XV. — " that it is difficult to remove one, without
fatally injuring the others ; as, when such a cell is cut into,
the destruction and removal of the larva usually follows.
To prevent such losses, I usually proceed as follows:
When I have selected a comb with unsealed brood, for
rearing queens, I shake or brush off the bees, and trim off,
if necessary, the empty cells at its margin. I then take
an unsealed royal cell — which usually contains an excess
of royal jelly — and remove from it a portion of the jelly,

192 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

on the point of a knife or pen, and by placing it on the
inner margin of any worker-cells, feel confident that the
larvae in them will be reared as queens ; and as these royal
cells are separate, and on the margin of the comb, they
can be easily and safely removed. This is another import-
ant advance in practical bee-culture, for which we are in-
debted to the sagacity of Dzierzon." — Bienenzeitung^
1858, p. 199. Translated by Mr, Wagner.

If the spare queen-cells are cut out (p. 166) from Z, be-
fore the first queen matures, other nuclei may be formed
by similar processes; indeed, with movable combs, any
number of queens may be raised, and kept where, when
wanted, they can be readily secured.*

Both the original nuclei, Zand ZZ", and those made from
their sealed queens, may be formed by bringing from
another Apiary, in a small box, the few adhering bees
which are wanted (p. 162) ; and as many may be returned
in it, to be used for a similar purpose. The expert will
also be able to catch up adhering bees, by slightly movingf
the parent-stocks (p. 161), and in various other ways,
which will readily suggest themselves.

* Dzierzon estimates a fertile queen to be worth, in the swarming season, one-
half the price of a new swarm.

t If the adhering bees are thus obtained, and there is not a cluster of bees on
the brood-comb, they may be so dissatisfied with its deserted appearance, as to re-
fuse to stay. If they intend to submit to this system of forced colonization, they
will, however much agitated at first, soon join the cluster of bees on the comb ;
otherwise, they will quickly abandon the hive, carrying off with them all that
were put in with the comb.

While it is admitted that bees can raise a queen from any worker-egg or young
larva, is it certain that workers of any age are able or disposed to do it ?

Huber speaks of two kinds of workers : " One of these is, in general, destined for
the elaboration of wax, and its size is considerably enlarged when full of honey ;
the other immediately imparts what it has collected, to its companions ; its abdomen
undergoes no sensible change, or it retains only the honey necessary for its own sub-
sistence. The particular function of the bees of this kind is to take care of the
young, for they are not charged with provisioning the hive. In opposition to the
wax-workers, we shall call them small bees, or nurses.

"Although the external difference be inconsiderable, this is not an imaginary

Fig. 48. PLATE XV.

Fig. 58.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 193

One queen can be made to supply several hives with
brood, while they are constantly engaged in raising spare
queens. Deprive two colonies, 1 and 2, at intervals of a
week, each of its queen, using these queens for artificial
swarms. As soon as the royal cells in 1 are old enough
for use, remove them, and give 1 a queen from another
hive, 3. When the royal cells in 2 are removed, this
queen may be taken from 1 — where she will have laid
abundantly — and given to 2. By this time, the queen-
cells in 3 being sealed over, may be removed, and the
queen restored to her own stock. She has thus made one
circuit, and supplied 1 and 2 with eggs ; and after replen-
ishing her own hive, she may be sent again on her per-
ambulating mission. By this device, I can obtain, from a
few stocks, a large number of queens.

A few days after a nucleus is formed, it should be ex-
amined, and if royal cells are not begun, or there are no
larvae in them, the bees must be shaken from the comb,
which should then be exchanged for another.

Bees sometimes commence queen-cells, which, in a few

distinction. Anatomical observations prove that the stomach is not the same : ex-
periments have ascertained that one of the species cannot fulfill all the functions
shared among the workers of a hive. We painted those of each class with different
colors, in order to study their proceedings ; and these were not interchanged. In
another experiment, after supplying a hive, deprived of a queen, with brood and
pollen, we saw the small bees quickly occupied in nutrition of the larvse, while
those of the wax-working class neglected them. Small bees also produce wax, but
in a very inferior quantity to what is elaborated by the real wax workers."

Now, as Hnber's statements have proved to be uncommonly reliable, perhaps
when bees refuse to cluster on the brood-comb, to rear a new queen, it is because
some of the conditions necessary for success are wanting. Either there may not
be enough wax-workers to enlarge the cells, or nurses to take charge of the larvae.

If Huber had possessed the same facilities for observation with Dr. Donhoff (see
page 194), he would, probably, have come to the same conclusions.

If any imagine that the careful experiments required to establish facts upon the
solid basis of demonstration, are easily made, let them attempt to prove or disprove
the truth of either of *.hese conjectures; and they will probably find the tiling
more difficult than (o cover whole reams of paper with careless assertions

9

194 THE 1IIVE AND HONKY-BEE.

days, are found to be untenanted. At the second attempt
they usually start a larger number, and seldom fail of suc-
cess. Does practice make them more perfect ? or were
some of the necessary conditions wanting at first ?

The following able communication, from the pen of Dr.
Donhoff, may throw some light on this subject : — " Dzier-
zon states it as a fact, that worker-bees attend more ex-
clusively .to the domestic concerns of the colony in the
early period of life ; assuming the discharge of the more
active out-door duties only during the later periods of
their existence. The Italian bees furnished me with suit-
able means to test the correctness of this opinion.

"On the 18th of April, 1855,1 introduced an Italian
queen into a colony of common bees; and on the 10th of
May following, the first Italian workers emerged from the
cells. On the ensuing day, they emerged in great numbers,
as the colony had been kept in good condition by regular
and plentiful feeding. I will arrange my observations
under the following heads :

"1. On the 10th of May the first Italian workers
emerged ; and on the 17th they made their first appear-
ance outside of the hive. On the next day. and then

An extract from Hubert preface will be interesting in this connection. After
speaking of his blindness, and praising the extraordinary taste for Natural History,
of his assistant, Burnens, "who was born with the talents of an observer," he says:
" Every one of the facts I now publish, we have seen, over and over again, during
the period of eight years, which we have employed in making our observations on
bees. It is impossible to form a just idea of the patience and skill with which
Burnens has carried out the experiments which I am about to describe ; he has
often watched some of the working bees of our hives, which we had reason to
think fertile, for the space of twenty-four hours, without distraction * * * * and ho
counted fatigue and pain as nothing, compared with the great desire he felt to
know the results. If, then, there be any merit in our discoveries, I must share th«
honor with him ; and I have great satisfaction in rendering him this act of public
justice."

And yet the man who was too noble to appropriate the merits of his servant, has,
by many, been considered base enough to attempt to impose upon the world, as
well established facts, things scarcely more probable than the fictions of " Sinbad
the Sailor."

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 195

daily till the 29th, they came forth about noon, disporting
in front of the hive, in the rays of the sun. They, how-
ever, manifestly, did not issue for the purpose of gathering
honey or pollen, for during that time none were noticed
returning with pellets ; none were seen alighting on any
of the flowers in my garden ; and I found no honey in
the stomachs of such as I caught and killed for examina-
tion. The gathering was done exclusively by the old bees
of the original stock, until the 29th of May, when the
Italian bees began to labor in that vocation also — being
then 19 days old.

" 2. On the feeding troughs placed in my garden, and
which were constantly crowded with common bees, I saw
no Italian bees till the 27th of May, seventeen days after
the first had emerged from the cells.

"From the 10th of May on, I daily presented to Italian
bees, in the hive, a stick dipped in honey. The younger
ones never attempted to lick any of it; the older occasion-
ally seemed to sip a little, but immediately left it and
moved away. The common bees always eagerly licked it
up, never leaving it till they had filled their honey-bags.
Not till the 25th of May did I see any Italian bee lick up
honey eagerly, as the common bees did from the begin-
ning.

"These repeated observations force me to conclude that,
during the first two weeks of the worker-bee's life, the
impulse for gathering honey and pollen 4pes not exist, or
at least is not developed ; and that the development of this
impulse proceeds slowly and gradually. At first the
young bee will not even touch the honey presented to
her; some days later she will simply taste it, and only
after a further lapse of time will she consume it eagerly.
Two weeks elapse before she readily eats honey, and
nearly three weeks pass, before the gathering impulse is

196 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

sufficiently developed to impel her to fly abroad, and
tseek for honey and pollen among the flowers.

" I made, further, the following observations respecting
the domestic employments of the young Italian bees :

"1. On the 20th of May, I took out of the hive all the
combs it contained, and replaced them after examination.
On inspecting them half an hour later, I was surprised to
see that the edges of the combs, which had been cut on
removal, were covered by Italian bees exclusively. On
closer examination, I found that they were busily engaged
in re-attaching the combs to the sides of the hive. When
I brushed them away, they instantly returned, in eager
haste, to resume their labors.

" 2. After making the foregoing observations, I inserted
in the hive a bar from which a comb had been cut, to as-
certain whether the rebuilding of comb would be under-
taken by the Italian bees. I took it out again a few hours
subsequently, and found it covered almost exclusively by
Italian workers, though the colony, at that time, still con-
tained a large majority of common bees. I saw that they
were sedulously engaged in building comb ; and they
prosecuted the work unremittingly, whilst I held the bar
in my hand.* I repeated this experiment several days in
succession, and satisfied myself that the bees engaged in
this work were always almost exclusively of the Italian
race. Many of them had scales of wax visibly protruding
between their abdominal rings. These observations show
that, in the early stage of their existence, the impulse for
comb-building is stronger than later in life.

" 3. Whenever I examined the colony during the first
three weeks after the Italian bees emerged, I found the
brood-combs covered principally by bees of that race :

* I have had a queen which continued to lay eggs in a comb, after it was removed
from the hive.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 197

and it is, hence, probable that the brood* is chiefly
attended to and nursed by the younger bees. The evi-
dence, however, is not so conclusive as in the case of comb-
building, inasmuch as they may have congregated on the
brood-combs because these are warmer than the others.

"I may add another interesting observation. The
faeces in the intestines of the young Italian bees was viscid
and yellow ; that of the common or old bees was thin and
limpid, like that of the queen-bee. This is confirmatory
of the opinion, that, for the production of wax and jelly,
the bees require pollen; but do not need any for their
own sustenance." — B. Z. 1855, p. 163. S. WAGJ^ER.

If the colonies are to be multiplied rapidly, the nuclei
must never be allowed to become too much reduced in
numbers, or to be destitute of brood or honey. With
these precautions, the oftener their queen is taken from
them, the more intent they usually become in supplying
her loss.

There is one trait in the character of bees which is wor-
thy of profound respect. Such is their indomitable energy
and perseverance, that under circumstances apparently
hopeless, they labor to the utmost to retrieve their losses,
and sustain the sinking State. So long as they have a
queen, or any prospect of raising one, they struggle vigor-
ously against impending ruin, and never give up until
their condition is absolutely desperate". I once knew a
colony of bees not large enough to cover a piece of comb
four inches square, to attempt to raise a queen. For

* I once had a colony which, after It had been queenless for some time, not only
refused to make royal cells, but even devoured the eggs which were given to them.
Similar facts have been noticed by other observers. When a colony which refuses
to rear a queen, has a comb given to it containing maturing bees, these motherless
Innocents will at once proceed to supply their loss. Dr. Donhoffs observations
account for these facts.

198 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

two whole weeks, they adhered to their forlorn hope ;
until at last, when they had dwindled to less than one
half of their original number, their new queen emerged, but
with wings so imperfect that she could not fly. Crippled
as she was, they treated her with almost as much respect
as though she were fertile. In the course of a week
more, scarce a dozen workers remained in the hive, and a
few days later, the queen was gone, and only a few dis-
consolate wretches were left on the comb.

Shame on the faint-hearted of our race, who, when
overtaken by calamity, instead of nobly breasting the
stormy waters of affliction, meanly resign themselves to an
ignoble fate, and perish, where they ought to have lived
and triumphed ! and double shame upon those who, living
in a Christian land, thus " faint in the day of adversity,"
when if they would only believe the word of God, they
might behold, with the eye of faith, his " bow of promise'*
spanning the still stormy clouds, and hear his voice of
love bidding them trust in Him as a " Strong Deliverer!"

In the previous editions of this work, with other
methods of artificial swarming, very full directions were
furnished for increasing colonies, by giving to the nuclei
a second comb with maturing brood, as soon as their
queens began to lay eggs, and then, at proper intervals, a
third, and a fourth, until they were strong enough to take
care of themselves. This mode of increase is laborious,
and requires skill and judgment which few possess : it is
also peculiarly liable to cause robbing among the bees,
requiring the hives to be too frequently opened, to remove
the combs needed in the various processes. As a number
of nuclei are to be simultaneously strengthened, the
Apiarian cannot complete his artificial processes by a
single operation, and must always be on hand, or incur
the risk of ending the season with a number of starving

ARTIFICIAL SWABMLNG. 199

colonies. For these and other reasons, I much prefer the
methods which I have devised, for dispensing with so much
opening of hives and handling of combs. If, however,
any of the new colonies are weak enough to need it, they
may be helped to combs from stronger stocks.

Whatever method of artificial increase is pursued by
the Apiarian, he should never reduce the strength of his
mother-stocks, so a# seriously to cripple the reproductive
power of their queens. This principle should be to him
as "the law of the JMedes and Persians, which altereth
not :" for while a qnieen, with an abundance of worker-
comb and bees, may, in a single season, become the parent
of a number of prosperous families, if her colony, at the
beginning of the swarming season, is divided into three
or four parts, not one of them will ordinarily acquire
stores enough to survive the Winter.

If the Apiarian is in the vicinity of sugar-houses, con-
fectioneries, or other tempting places of bee-resort, he will
find his stocks, both old and new, so depopulated by their
zeal for ill-gotten gams, as to be in danger of perishing.
In such situations, all attempts at rapid increase are
entirely futile.

Artificial operations of all kinds are most successful
when bee-forage is abundant / when it is scarce they are
quite precarious, even if the colonies are well supplied
with food.

When bees are not busy in honey-gathering, they have
leisure to ascertain the condition of weak stocks, which
are almost certain to be robbed, if they are incautiously
opened. When forage is scarce, the hives should be
opened before sunrise, or after sunset, or when very few
bees are flying abroad; and if it is necessary to open them
at other tunes, they must be removed out of the reach of
annoyance from other colonies. The Apiarian who does

200 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

not guard against robbing, will seriously impair the value
of his stocks, and entail upon himself much useless and
vexatious labor. Beware of demoralizing bees, by tempt-
ing them to rob each other !

In an Apiary where hives very unlike in size, shape,
and color, are crowded together, artificial operations will
often be exceedingly hazardous, as the bees will be con-
tinually liable to enter the wrong hives. If the stocks
must be kept very close together, even if the hives are ah1
of the same color and pattern, it will be best to carry
to a second Apiary, either the forced swarms, or the
mother-stocks from which they were made.

The bee-keeper has already been reminded that caution
is needed in giving to bees a stranger-queen. Huber thus
describes the way in which a new queen is usually re-
ceived by a hive :

" If another queen is introduced into the hive within
twelve hours after the removal of the reigning one, they
surround, seize, and keep her a very long time captive, in
an impenetrable cluster, and she commonly dies either
from hunger or want of air. If eighteen hours elapse
before the substitution of a stranger-queen, she is treated,
at first, in the same way, but the bees leave her sooner,
nor is the surrounding cluster so close ; they gradually
disperse, and the queen is at last liberated ; she moves
languidly, and sometimes expires in a few minutes. Some,
however, escape in good health, and afterwards reign in
the hive. If twenty-four hours elapse before substituting
the stranger-queen, she will be weU received, from the
moment of her introduction.

" Reaumur affirms, that, shoufd the original queen be
removed, and another introduced, this new one will be
perfectly well received from the beginning * * * He in-

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 201

duced four or five hundred bees to leave their hive, and
enter a glass-box, containing a small piece of comb. At
first, they were in great agitation, but from the moment
that he presented a new queen the tumult ceased, and the
stranger was received with all respect.

" I do not dispute the truth of this experiment, but
Reaumur's bees were too much removed from their natural
condition to allow him to judge of their instincts and dis-
positions. He has himself observed, that their industry
and activity are affected by reducing their numbers too
much. To render such an experiment truly conclusive, it
must be made in a populous hive ; and on removing the
native queen, the stranger must be immediately substituted
in her place."

It would seem, from his use of the word immediately,
that Huber must have been aware of the fact, that if a
strange queen is given to a colony, before its agitation is
calmed down (p. 158), and before royal cells are begun,
she will usually be well received. If the bees of a colony
are made to fill themselves with honey, by drumming,
smoking, or giving them liquid sweets, and often, if they
are removed to a new stand, they will readily accept of
any queen offered them, in place of their own.

Bees, in possession of a fertile queen, are often quite
reluctant to accept of an unimpregnated one in her stead ;
indeed, it requires much experience to be able to give a
strange queen to a colony, and yet be sure of securing for
her a good reception. In several instances, the workers
have stung a strange queen to death, while I was holding
her in my fingers, to be able to remove her if she was
not kindly welcomed. To prevent accidents, it will be
well to confine a queen — when given to a strange colony
— in what the Germans call a " queen-cage," which may

202 TUB HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

be made by boring a hole into a block, and covering it
with wire-gauze, or any perforated cover. The bees will
cultivate an acquaintance with the imprisoned mother, by
thrusting their antennae through the openings, and the
next day she may be safely given to them. Queens bent
on escaping to the woods, may be confined in the same
way. A pasteboard box, pierced with holes, answers equally
well, or even a match-box, properly scalded.

If the cage is put with its small openings over one of
the holes on the spare honey-board, or set inside of the
hive, the bees will be as quiet as though the queen had
her liberty. Such a cage will be very convenient for any
temporary confinement of a queen.

In catching a queen, she should be gently taken, with
the fingers, from among the bees, and if none are crushed,
there is no risk of being stung. The queen, although she
will not sting, even if roughly handled, will sometimes,
when closely confined, bite the hand of the operator so as
to cause a little uneasiness — her jaws, which are intended
for gnawing into the base of the royal cells, being larger
and stronger than those of a common bee. If she is
allowed to fly, she may be lost, by attempting to enter a
strange hive.

As a fertile queen can lay several thousand eggs a day,
it is not strange that she should quickly become exhausted,
if taken from the bees. " Ex, nihilo nihil fit " — from
nothing, nothing comes — and the arduous duties of
maternity compel her to be an enormous eater. After an
absence from the bees of only fifteen minutes, she will
solicit honey, when returned ; and if kept away for aw
hour or upwards, she must either be fed by the Apiarian,
or have a few bees, gorged with honey, given to her to
supply her wants. One which I sent by express, in a

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 203

queen-cage, with a suite of well-fed workers, arrived jn
safety, at. the Apiary of a friend, on the next day.

Great caution is not only requisite in giving a hive a
strange queen, but in all attempts to mix bees belonging
to different colonies. Bees having a fertile queen will
almost always quarrel with those having an unimpregnated
one 5 and this is one reason why a furious contest, in
which thousands perish, often ensues when new swarms
attempt to mingle.

Members of different colonies appear to recognize their
hive-companions by the sense of smell, and if there should
be a thousand stocks in the Apiary, any one will readily
detect a strange bee ; just as each mother in a large flock
of sheep is able, by the same sense, in the darkest night,
to distinguish her own lamb from all the others. It would
seem, therefore, that colonies might always be safely
mingled, by sprinkling them with sugar-water, scented
with peppermint or any other strong odor, which would
make them all smell alike.

A few seasons ago, however, I discovered that bees
often recognize strangers by their actions, even when they
have the same scent ; for a frightened bee curls himself
up with a cowed look, which unmistakably proclaims that
he is conscious of being an intruder. If, therefore, the
bees of one colony are left on their own stfind, and the
others are suddenly introduced, the latter, even when
both colonies have the same smell, are often so frightened
that they are discovered to be strangers, and are instantly
killed. If, however, both colonies are removed to a new
stand, and shaken out together on a sheet, they will
peaceably mingle, when scented alike.*

* I find substantially the same thing recommended, in 1778, by Thomas Wild-
man (page 230 of the 3rd edition of his valuable work on Bees), who says, that
bees will " unite while in fear and distress, without fighting, as they would be apt
to do, if strange bees were added to a hive in possession of its honey."

204 THE HIVE AND HOJSTEY-JBEE.

If, when two colonies are put together, the bees in the
one on the old stand are not gorged with honey, they will
often attack the others, which are loaded, and speedily sting
them to death, in spite of all their attempts to purchase
immunity, by offering their honey. Mr. Wm. "W. Gary,
of Coleraine, Massachusetts, who has long been an accurate
observer of the habits of bees, unites colonies very suc-
cessfully, by alarming those that are on the old stand ; as
soon as they show, by their notes, that they are subdued,
he gives them the new comers. The alarm which causes
them to gorge themselves with honey (p. 27), puts them,
doubtless, upon their good behavior, long enough to give
the others a fair chance.

It has been stated already, that a queen-bee cannot be
induced to sting, by any kind of treatment, however
severe. The reason of this strange unwillingness will be
obvious, when we consider that the preservation of her
life is indispensable to the existence of. the colony, and
that, although the loss of her sting would be fatal to her-
self, it could avail no more for their defense, in case of an
attack, than the single sword of a Washington or a Wel-
lington could decide a great battle. While the common
bees are ready to sally forth and sacrifice their lives on
the slightest provocation, a queen-bee only buries herself

Of all the old writers, Wildman appears to have made the nearest approaches to
the modern methods of taming and handling bees. Twenty-five years before
Huber's investigations on the origin of wax, this acute observer had noticed the
scales of wax on the abdomen of the workers ; and he was so thoroughly convinced1
that wax was secreted from honey, that he recommended feeding new swarms,
when the weather is stormy, that they may sooner bwld comb for the eggs of the
queen. •*

Mr. Wagner refers me to " OKEEBECK'B Cflossariwn MelUtwgiitm " — Bremen,
1T65, p. 89— in which the origin of wax is claimed, more then 20 years before the
date of that work— say 1745— for a Hanoverian Pastor, named Herman C. Horn-
Dostel. He gave his discoveries to the world in the so-called " HAHBTTRGII
LIBKAKT," vol. 2, p. 45 ; and they are so particularly described as to leave no doubt
of their correctness.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 205

more deeply among the clustering thousands, and will
never use her sting, except when engaged in mortal com-
bat with another queen. When two rivals meet, they
clinch, at once, witii every demonstration of the most
vindictive hatred. Why, then, are not both often de-
stroyed ? We can never sufficiently admire the provision
so simple, and yet so effectual, by which such a calamity
is prevented. A queen never stings, unless she has such
an advantage that she can curve her body tinder that of
her rival, so as to inflict a deadly wound, without any risk
to herself — the moment the position of the two combat-
ants is such that neither has the advantage, but both are
liable to perish, they not only refuse to sting, but disengage
themselves, and suspend their conflict for a short time !

The following interesting statements were furnished to
the New England Farmer (Oct. 1855), by Hon. Simon
Brown, Lieutenant-Governor of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, in 1855.

"On the 17th of July last, we placed in our dining-
room window one of Mr. Langstroth's observing bee-hives,
constructed of glass, so that ah1 the operations of the bees
could be plainly and conveniently seen. A comb about a
foot square was placed in it, containing some brood, with
plenty of workers and drones, but without a queen. The
hive was then carefully observed by one of the ladies of
the family, who has given us the following account of their
doings.

" ' The first business the bees attended to, was to com-
mence cells for a queen, and they prosecuted it with energy
for two days. At the end of that time, a queen was taken
from another colony and placed with them, upon which
they pulled down the cells they had made, in less than
half the time it had required to construct them, and then

206 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

began to piece out and repair the comb which, needed a
corner. The queen at once commenced laying, and soon
filled the unoccupied cells, when she was again removed,
and the bees once more began the construction of queen-
cells.

" ' The young bees now began to hatch forth, and in two
weeks the family increased so fast as to make it necessary
for them to prepare to emigrate. They had built six queen-
cells, and in about twelve days the first queen was hatched.
As soon as she was fairly born, she marched rapidly, and
in the most energetic manner, over the comb, and visited
the other cells in which were the embryo queens, seeming
at tunes furious to destroy them. The workers, however,
surrounded her, and prevented such wholesale murder.
But for two days she was intent upon her fell purpose, and
kept in almost continuous motion to effect it. On the
fourteenth day, the second queen was ready to come out,
piping and making various noises to attract attention.

" ' A part of the colony then seemed to conclude that it
was tune to take the first queen and go, but by some mis-
take she remained in the hive after the swarm had left.
The second queen came out as soon as possible after the
others had gone, and then there were now two hatched
queens in the hive ! they ran about on the comb, which
was now nearly empty, so that they could be distinctly
seen. But they had not, apparently, noticed each other,
while the workers were in a state of great uneasiness and
commotion, seeming impatient for the destruction of one
of them. The mode they adopted to accomplish it was
of the most deliberate and cold-blooded kind. A circle
of bees kept one queen stationary, while another party
dragged the other up to her, so that their heads nearly
touched, and then the bees stood back, leaving a fair field
for the combatants, in which one was to gain her laurels,

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 207

and the other to die ! The battle was fierce ana sanguinary.
They grappled each other, and, like expert wrestlers,
strove to inflict the fatal blow by some sudden or adroit
movement. But for some moments the parties seemed
equally .matched ; no advantage could be gamed on either
side. The bees stood looking calmly on the dreadful
affray, as though they themselves had been the heroes of
a hundred wars. But the battle, like all others, had its
close ; one fell upon the field, and was immediately taken
by the workers and carried out of the hive. By this tune,
the bees which had swarmed made the discovery that their
queen was missing, and although they had been hived
without any trouble, came rushing back, but not in season
to witness the fatal battle, and the fall of their poor slam
queen, who should have gone forth with them to seek a
future home.' "*

The Apiarian has already been reminded of the import-
ance of securing straight worker-combs for his stocks.
To a stock-hive, such combs are like cash capital to a
business man ; and so long as they are fit for use, they
should never be destroyed (p. 60) .f Those who have
plenty of good worker-comb, will unquestionably find it
to their advantage to use it in the place of the artificial
guides (PL L, Fig. 2, ?c).J Those who use the guides,

* " We introduced a queen into a hire," says Hnber, " after painting her thorax,
to distinguish her from the reigning queen. A circle of bees formed so closely
around the stranger, that in scarcely a minute she lost her liberty. Other workers
at the same time collected around the reigning queen, and restrained her motions.
* * * They retained their prisoners only when they appeared to withdraw from
each other ; and if one, less restrained, seemed desirous of approaching her rival,
all the bees forming the clusters gave way, to allow her fall liberty of attack ; then,
if they showed a disposition to fly, they returned to inclose them.11

t Mr. 8. Wagner has a colony over 21 years old, whose young bees appear to be
as large as any others in his Apiary.

t See Explanation of Plates of Hives, for a description of the various styles of
movable frames.

203 THE HIVK AND HONEY-BEE.

should examine a swarm two or three days after it is
hived, when, by a little management, any irregularities in
their combs may be easily corrected. Some combs may
need a little compression, to bring them into their proper
positions, and others may even require to be cut out, and
fastened as guides in other frames ; but no pains should
be spared to see that they are all right, before the work
has gone so far as to make it laborious to remedy any
defects. If a colony is small it ought to be confined, by
a movable partition, to such a space in the hive as it can
occupy with comb — as weU for its encouragement, as to
economize its animal heat, and guard against irregularities
in comb-building. Varro, who flourished before the
Christian Era, says (Liber ILL, Cap. xviii.), that bees be-
come dispirited, when placed in hives that are too large.

The possession of five frames of straight worker-comb,
may be made to answer an admirable end, if given to a
new swarm, so as to alternate with its empty frames.
After the bees have had possession of them two or three
days, they may be politely informed that these worker-
combs were only loaned to them as patterns, and their new
combs may be alternated with empty frames. Five combs
may thus be used for many successive swarms.

As the artificial guides increase the expense of the
frames, and cannot be invariably relied on, the practical
Apiarian will aim, as far as possible, to dispense with their
use. I have devised a plan — which will be elsewhere de-
scribed— for superseding them, and enabling the beginner
to compel his bees, without any comb, to build in the
frames with entire regularity.

It must be obvious to every intelligent bee-keeper, that
the perfect control of the combs of the hive is the soul of
a system of practical management, which may be modi-
fied to suit the wants of all who cultivate bees. Even the

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 209

old-fashioned bee-keeper can, with movable combs, destroy
his faithful laborers quite as speedily as by setting them
over a sulphur-pit ; thus preserving his honey from dis-
gusting fumes, while he secures it on frames from which
it may be conveniently cut, and preserves all empty comb
for future use (p. 7l).

As many who would like to keep bees are so much
afraid of being stung, that they object entirely even to
natural swarming, how, it may be asked, can such persons
open hives, lift out the combs, shake or brush off the bees,
and practice other processes which seem like bearding a
lion in its very den ? The truth is, that some persons are
so timid, or suffer so dreadfully when stung, that they are
every way disqualified from having anything to do with
bees, and ought either to have none upon their premises,
or to entrust the care of them to others. With the direc-
tions furnished in this treatise, almost any one, however,
by using a bee-dress, can learn to superintend bees with
very little risk. I find, in short, that the risk of being
stung is really diminished by the use of my hives ; although
it is very difficult for those who have not seen them in use,
to believe that this can be so.

The ignorance of most bee-keepers of the almost un-
limited control which may be peaceably acquired over
bees, has ever been regarded by the author of this treatise
as the greatest obstacle to the speedy introduction of
movable-comb hives. He might easily have invented con-
trivances which, by adapting themselves to this ignorance,
would, at first, have proved much more lucrative to him,
had he thought it just, either to the community or to
himself, to have taken such a course. Such ignorance has
led to the invention of costly and complicated hives,*

* I have before me a small pamphlet, published In London in 1851, describing
the construction of the "Bar and Frame Hive" of W. A. Mnnn, Esq. The object

210 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

all the ingenuity and expense lavished upon which, are
known, by the better informed, to be as unnecessary as a
costly machine for lifting up bread and butter, and gently
pushing it into the mouth and down the throat of an
active and healthy child.

The Rev. John Thorley, in his " Female Monarchy?
published at London, in 1744, appears to have first intro-
duced the practice of stupefying bees by the narcotic
fumes of the " puff" ball " (Fungus pulverulentus), dried
till it will hold fire like tinder. The same effect has
been produced by pushing a rag, saturated with chloro-
form or ether, into the entrance of the hive, and closing
all tight, to prevent the escape of the fumes. The .bees
soon drop motionless from their combs, and recover again
after a short exposure to the air.

Some of my readers may suppose that such an easy
mode of stupefying bees would very greatly facilitate the

of this invention is to elevate frames, one at a time, into a case with glass sides,
so that they may be examined without risk of annoyance from the bees. Great
ingenuity is exhibited by the inventor of this very costly and very complicated
hive, who seems to imagine that smoke " must be injurious both to the bees and
their brood." Even if a little smoke is so injurious, the Apiarian, by sweetened
water, or by drumming upon a hive, after closing its entrance, can cause the bees
to fill themselves with honey (p. 27), when all their combs may be safely lifted out.

A Huber-hive, or one with movable bars, may be much more safely managed
than any one which proposes to elevate the frames, witK,at permitting them to be
pushed apart (p. 150). A single hive, the arrangeme* « of which are such as to
maim and irritate bees, is more to be dreaded in a> Apiary than a thousand of
proper construction; as it educates bees to regard >»eir keeper in the light of an
enemy.

On p. 15, 1 have spoken of the bar-hive, as at ^east one hundred years old.
From " A Journey into Greece, by George Whaler, Esq.," made in 1675-6, it
appears that it was, at that time, in common use t*vere, and, probably, even then an
old invention ; he describes how it was used for Arming artificial swarms, and re-
moving spare honey. As the new swarms w»*e made by dividing the combs be-
tween two hives,' and no mention is made r< giving the queenless one a royal coll
— those old observers were probably acquainted with the fact that they could rear
one from the worker-brood. Huber »ays:— "Monticelli, a Neapolitan Professor,
claims that the plan of artificial swarming was borrowed from Favignana, and that
the practice is so ancient that eve «he Latin names are preserved by the inhabi-
tants in their procedure."

ARTIFICIAL, S WARMING. 211

removal of combs; but, however valuable to those
ignorant of the great law, that a gorged bee never vol-
unteers an attack, to the better informed, narcotics of all
kinds are, for general purposes, worse than useless. Liv-
ing bees may be easily made to get out of the way ; but
drunken ones, like drunken men, are constantly liable to
be maimed or killed.

There is a large class of bee-keepers — not bee-masters
— who desire a hive which will give them, however
ignorant or careless, a large yield of honey from their
bees. They are easily captivated by the shallowest de-
vices, and spend their money and destroy their bees, to
fill the purses of unprincipled men. There never will be
a " royal road " to profitable bee-keeping. Like all other
branches of rural economy, it demands care and experi-
ence ; and those who are conscious of a strong disposition
to procrastinate and neglect, will do well to let bees alone,
unless they hope, by the study of their systematic industry,
to reform evil habits which are well nigh incurable.

While I feel increasingly sanguine that the movable-
comb hive* will be extensively used by skillful bee-keepers,
I well know the difficulty of rapidly introducing any sys-
tem of management which is much in advance of current
knowledge; even a perfect hive (p. 116) would require
years to win its way into general use. It is only of late
years, that tlfe splendid discoveries of Huber — like the
writings of Bruce on the Sources of the Nile — have
emerged from the clouds of ridicule and aspersion in
which they were so long enveloped; and even now, to
describe a tithe of the wonders of the bee-hive, however

* The day on which I contrived the movable-frames, I wrote as follows, in my
Bee-Journal :— " The nse of these frames will, I am persuaded, give a new im-
pulse to the easy and profitable management of bees ; and will render the making
of artificial swarms an easy operation."

212 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

thoroughly they have been demonstrated, is, unfortu-
nately, in the estimation of many of our oldest bee-
keepers, to deserve the name of a fool, a liar, or a cheat.

LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 213

CHAPTER XI.

LOSS OF THE QUEEN.

THAT the Queen-Bee is often lost, and that her colony
will be ruined unless such a calamity is seasonably remedied,
ought to be familiar facts to every bee-keeper.

Queens sometimes die of disease or old age, when there
is no brood to supply their loss. Few, however, perish
under such circumstances ; for either the bees build royal
cells, aware of their approaching end, or they die so sud-
denly as to leave young brood behind them. Queens are
not only much longer lived (p. 58) than the workers, but
are usually the last to perish hi any fatal casualty. As
many die of old age, if their death did not ordinarily
occur under favorable circumstances, it would cause,
yearly, the loss of a very large number of colonies. As
they seldom die when their strength is not severely taxed
in breeding, drones are usually on hand to impregnate
their successors.*

Young queens are sometimes born with wings so imper-
fect that they cannot fly (p. 39) ; and they are often so
injured in their contests with each other, or by the rude
treatment they receive when driven from the royal cells
(p. 121), that they cannot leave the hive for impregnation.

* In preparing my stocks for "Winter, I found— on the 21st of October, 1856—
two which had sealed queens. As the drones were not killed, in some of the hives,
until after the 1st of November, these queens might have been impregnated, if the
weather had not become very cold. When examined on the 21st day of February,
these stocks had each a few sealed drones and larvae, while weaker stocks had
much brood. The following is an extract from Prof. Leidy's description of these
queens :— " Their ovaries were filled with eggs, from a mere point to such as meas-
ured four-fifths of a line long, and one-eighth of a lino broad. Their spermathecaa
were filled with mncoid, granular matter, and epithelial cells, and did not contain

214 THE H-IVE AND HONEY-BEE.

We have yet, however, to describe under what circum-
stances the majority of hives become queenless. Jfore
queens, whose loss cannot be supplied by the bees, perish
when they leave the hive to meet the drones, than in all
other ways. After the departure of the first swarm, the
mother-stock and all the after-swarms have young queens
which must leave the hive for impregnation ; their larger
size and slower flight make them a more tempting prey
to birds, while others are dashed, by sudden gusts of wind,
against some hard object, or blown into the water : for,
with all their queenly dignity, they are not exempt from
mishaps common to the humblest of their race.

In spite of their caution to mark the position and ap-
pearance of their habitation (p. 125), the young queens
frequently make a fatal mistake, and are destroyed, by
attempting to enter the wrong hive. This accounts for
the notorious fact, that ignorant bee-keepers, with forlorn
and rickety hives, no two of which look just alike, are
often more successful than those whose hives are of the
best construction. The former — unless their hives are ex-
cessively crowded — lose but few queens, while the latter
lose them almost in exact proportion to the taste and skill
which induced them to make their hives of uniform size,
shape, and color.

I first learned the full extent of the danger of crowded
Apiaries, in the Summer of 1854. To protect my hives
against extremes of heat and cold, they were ranged, side

a trace of spermatic filaments." While the intestines of these queens contained
only a little limpid excrement, the rectum of a worker, examined at the same time,
was filled with an enormous quantity of a dark, offensive substance.

These drone-laying colonies were supplied with queens from other stocks, which,
when opened in April, were found to have raised queens in February. One queen
was laying worker, and the other drone-eggs, and the former must have been im-
pregnated in March, and probably by some of the brood of the drone-laying
queens. Might not a few drone-laying queens be kept to advantage in large
Apiaries?

LOBS OF THE QUEEN. 215

by side, over a trench, so that, through ventilators in their
bottom-boards, they might receive, in Summer, a cooler,
and in Winter, a much warmer air, than the external
atmosphere. By this arrangement — which failed entirely
to answer its design — many of my colonies became queen-
less, and I soon ascertained under what circumstances
young queens are ordinarily lost.

From the great uniformity of the hives in size, shape,
color, and height, it was next to impossible for a young
queen to be sure of returning to her hive. The difficulty
was increased, from the fact that the ground before the
trench was free from bushes or trees, and no hive — except
the two end ones, which did not lose their queens — could
have its location more easily remembered, from its relative
position to some external object. Most of the hives thus
placed, which had young queens, became queenless, al-
though supplied with other queens, again and again ; and
many, even of the workers, were constantly entering hives
adjoining their own.

If a traveler should be carried, in a dark night, to a
hotel in a strange city, and on rising in the morning,
should find the strees filled with buildings precisely like it,
he would be able to return to his proper place, only by pre-
viously ascertaining its number, or by counting the houses
between it and the corner. Such a numbering faculty,
however, was not given to the queen-bee ; for who, in a
state of nature, ever saw a dozen or more hollow trees or
other places frequented by bees, standing close together,
precisely alike in size, shape, and color, with their en-
trances all facing the same way, and. at exactly the same
height from the ground !

On describing to a friend my observations on the loss of
queens, he told me that in the management of his hens,
he had fallen into a somewhat similar mistake. To econo-

216 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

mize room, and to give easier access to his setting hens, he
had partitioned a long box into a dozen or more separate
apartments. The hens, in returning to their nests, were
deceived by the similarity of the entrances, so that often
one box contained two or three unamiable aspirants for
the honors of maternity, while others were entirely for-
saken. Many eggs were broken, more were addled, and
hardly enough hatched to establish one mother as the
happy mistress of a flourishing family. Had he left his
hens to their own instincts, they would have scattered
their nests, and gladdened his eyes with a numerous off-
spring. ' . - •'

Through the length and breadth of our land, bee-
keepers who suffer heavy losses, from the proximity -and
similarity of their hives, unsuspicious of the true cause of
their misfortunes, impute them to the bee-moth, or some
of the many enemies of the bee. Judge Fishback, of
Batavia, Ohio, informed me, in the Fall of 1854, while on
a visit to his large Apiary, that he had for many years
guarded against the loss of young queens, by painting the
fronts of his hives of different colors, and making their
entrances face in various ways.* Every bee-keeper,
whose hives are so arranged that the young queens are
liable to make mistakes, must count upon heavy losses.
If he puts a number of hives, under circumstances similar
to those described, upon a bench, or the shelves of a bee-
house, he can never keep their number good without con-
stant renewal. The first swarms, and those stocks which
do not swarm, as they retain their fertile queens, will do
well enough ; but many of those that swarm will be robbed

* John Mills, in a work published at London, in 1766, gives (p. 93) the following
directions : — " Forget not to paint the months of yonr colonies with different colors,
as red, white, blue, yellow, &c., in form of a half-moon, or square, that the bees
may the better know their own home." Such precautions preserved the stocks
from becoming queenless, although they were not adopted for that end.

Fig. 51. PLATE XVI.

Fig. 52.

LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 217

by other bees, or fall a prey to the moth, or gradually
dwindle away.

As the bee-keeper, from limited space or other reasons,
may prefer to keep his colonies close together, I have de-
vised a way of effecting it, without risking the loss of
the young queens : —

If he relies upon natural swarming, he should remove
the mother-stock, as soon as it has swarmed, to a new posi-
tion, giving it two or three quarts of bees from the
swarm, before they have entered the new hive, which is
to be put on the old stand. These bees having the
swarming propensity, will supply the place (p. 156) of
those which subsequently leave.

If artificial swarming is practiced, the entrances to the
hives of the nuclei should be marked with a leafy twig,
and, if possible, made to face differently (p. 189) from
those of the adjoining stocks. The new colonies should
be formed as directed on page 186. If two Apiaries are
used, the artificial swarms may be made in any of the
ways previously described, and those colonies which have
queens to be impregnated, removed to the second Apiary.

The bees are sometimes so excessively agitated when
their queen leaves for impregnation, that they exhibit all
the appearance of swarming. They seem to have an in-
stinctive perception of the dangers which await her, and
I have known them to gather around her and confine her,
as though they could not bear to have her leave. If a
queen is lost in what the Germans call " her wedding ex-
cursion," the bees of an old stock will gradually decline ;
thos« of an after-swarm, will either unite with another
colony, or speedily dwindle away.

It would be interesting, could we learn how bees become
informed of the loss of their queen. When she is taken
trom them» under circumstances that excite the whole
10

218 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

colony, we can easily see how they find it out ; for as a
tender mother, in time of danger, is all anxiety for her
helpless children, so bees, when alarmed, always seek first
to assure themselves of the safety of their queen. If,
however, the queen is very carefully removed, a day, or
even more, may elapse, before they realize their loss.*
How do they first become aware of it ? Perhaps some
dutiful bee, anxious to embrace her another, makes diligent
search for her through the hive. The intelligence that
she cannot be found being noised abroad, the whole family
is speedily alarmed. At such times, instead of calmly
conversing, by touching each other's antennae, they may
be seen violently striking them together, and by the most
impassioned demonstrations manifesting their agony and
despair.

I once removed the queen of a small colony, the bees
of which took wing and filled the air, in search of her.
Although she was returned hi a few minutes, royal cells
were found two days later. The queen was unhurt, and
the cells untenanted. Was this work begun by some that
did not believe the others, when assured that she was
safe ? or from the apprehension that she might be removed
again ?

All colonies whose queens are to be impregnated should
be watched, that the Apiarian may be seasonably apprised
of their loss. Such colonies, if provided with suitable
brood-comb, will seldom forsake the hive, if the queen is
lost. An old stock which cannot be suppplied with a
queen or the means of raising one, should be broken up,

* " For eighteen hours after the queen was taken away, the usual labors of the
hive proceeded as regularly as if she were still present; but no sooner was her loss
discovered than all was agitation and tumult— the bees hurried backward and for-
ward over the combs, with a loud noise, rushed in crowds out of the hive, as if
going to swarm, and in short, exhibited all the symptoms of bereavement and de-
spair."—BEVAN, p. 24.

LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 219

and the bees added to another colony ; a new swarm,
unless a queen nearly mature can be given to it (p. 149),
should always be broken up. If the new colony is large,
it will be better, instead of breaking it up, to give it a
queen from some old stock which can easily raise another.
If, however, the Apiarian uses movable-comb hives, and
pursues the nucleus system (p. 188), he will always have
queens on hand for all emergencies.

Huber has proved that bees do not ordinarily transport
the eggs of the queen from one cell to another. I have,
however, in several instances, known them to carry worker-
eggs into royal cells. Mr. Wagner put some queenless
bees, brought from a distance, into empty combs that had
lain for two years in his garret. When supplied with
brood, they raised their queen in this old comb ! Mr.
Richard Colvin, of Baltimore, and other Apiarian friends,
have communicated to me instances almost as striking.

Having described the precautions necessary to prevent
the loss of queens, it remains to show how the bee-keeper
can ascertain that a hive is queenless, and how he can
remedy such a misfortune. As soon as the bees begin to
fly briskly in the Spring, a stock which does not industri-
ously gather pollen,* or accept of rye flour, and which
refuses clean water, given to it in an empty comb, is
almost certain to have no queen, or one that is not fertile —
unless it is on the eve of being destroyed by worms, or
of perishing from starvation.

A stock is sure to be queenless, if, after taking its first
Spring-flight, the bees, by roaming, in an inquiring manner,
in and out of the hive (p. 67), show that some great

* "Mr. Kandolph Peters, of Philadelphia, had a stock -which he was satisfied
was queenless, as the bees did not cany in pollen for 28 days. I put a queen into
the hive, he holding a watch in his hand, and in 3% minutes from the time she was
introduced, a bee was seen to enter with pollen on its legs J We both observed
the entrance for some time, and saw many bees carry in pollen."— P. J. MAHAN.

220 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

calamity has befallen them. Those that come from the
fields, instead of entering the hive with that dispatchful
haste so characteristic of a bee returning, well loaded, to
a prosperous home, usually linger about the entrance with
an idle and dissatisfied appearance, and the colony is rest-
less, late in the day, when other stocks are quiet. Their
home, like that of a man who is cursed in his domestic
relations, is a melancholy place, and they enter it only
with reluctant and slow-moving steps.

And here, if permitted to address a word of friendly
advice, I would say to every wife — Do all that you can
to make your husband's home a place of attraction.
When absent from it, let his heart glow at the thought of
returning to its dear enjoyments ; as he approaches it, let
his countenance involuntarily assume a more cheerful ex-
pression, while his joy-quickened steps proclaim that he
feels that there is no place like the cheerful home where
his chosen wife and companion presides as its happy and
honored Queen.* If your home is not full of dear de-
lights, try all the virtue of winning words and smiles,
and the cheerful discharge of household duties, and ex-
haust the utmost possible efficacy of love, and faith, and
prayer, before those words of fearful agony,

"Anywhere, anywhere
Out of the world !"

are extorted from your despairing lips, as you realize that
there is no home for you, until you have passed into that
habitation not fashioned by human hands, or inhabited by
human hearts.

Although when bees commence their work in the Spring,

* " The tenth and last species of women were made out of a bee ; and happy is
the man who gets snch' a one for his wife. She Is full of yirtue and prudence, and
is the best wife that Jupiter can bestow.'V-SpECTATOB, No. 209.

LOSS OF THK QUEEN. 221

they usually give reliable evidence either that all is well,
or that ruin lurks within, if their first flight is not noticed,
it is sometimes difficult, hi the common hives, to get at
the truth. If the bees are driven up among the combs,
by smoke, the presence or absence of brood may often be
ascertained. If a few imperfect bees are found on the
bottom-board, or in front of the entrance, it shows that
t£e hive has a fertile queen.

I strongly advise giving every movable-comb hive a
thorough examination, as soon as the bees begin to work
in the Spring.* The combs, with the adhering bees, may
be put into a clean hive, and the old one, after being
cleansed from everything offensive to the delicate senses
of the bees, may be given to another stock.

In making this thorough cleansing of his hives, the
Apiarian will learn which require aid, and which can lend
a helping hand to others ; and any one needing repairs,
may be put in order before being used again. Such hives,
if occasionally re-painted, will last for generations, and
prove cheaper, in the long run, than any other kind.

If, in the Spring examination, a hive has no queen, it
should be supplied, if populous, with one from a weaker
stock. If it is small, comb, with hatching bees,f should
be given to it from a stronger colony. Or it may change

* I would refer those, who think that " it is too much trouble" to examine their
hives in the Spring, to the practice of the ancient bee-keepers, as set forth by
Columella :— " The hives should be opened in the Spring, that all the filth which
was gathered in them during the Winter may be removed. Spiders, which spoil
their combs, and the worms from which the moths proceed, must be killed. When
the hive has been thns cleaned, the bees will apply themselves to work with the
greater diligence and resolution." The sooner those abandon bee-keeping, who
consider the proper care of their bees as "too much trouble," the better for them-
selves and their unfortunate bees.

t That class of bee-keepers who suppose that all such operations are the " new-
fangled " inventions of modern times, will be surprised to learn that Columella,
1800 years ago, recommended strengthening feeble stocks, by cutting out combs
from stronger colonies, containing workers "just gnawing out of their cells."

222 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

stands with a strong stock, when the bees are actively
gathering stores ; or bees brought from a distance may be
added to it.* If it raises a queen before she can be
seasonably impregnated, she may be killed, and more
brood-comb given to them. The smallest stocks may thus
be preserved until the drones appear, by which time they
may be made as strong as is desired. The stocks deprived
of their queens should be managed in the same way. By
this device, every queenless stock, however feeble, that
survives the Winter, may be nursed into profitable
strength.

A vigilant eye should be kept upon every colony that
has not an impregnated queen; and when its queen is
about a week old it should be examined, and if she has
become fertile, she will usually be found supplying one of
the central combs with eggs. If neither queen nor eggs can
be found, and there are no certain indications that she is
lost, the hive should be examined a few days later, for some
queens are longer in becoming impregnated than others,
and it is often difficult to find an unimpregnated one, on
account of her adroit way of hiding among the bees.

If the Apiarian relies on artificial swarming, he may
deprive his queens of their wings, as soon as they are im-
pregnated.! In a -large Apiary, where many swarms
might otherwise come off together, this will greatly di-

* If a common hive Is found, in the Spring, to he very much reduced in numhera,
it can be recruited in the last two ways, provided it has a healthy queen. If it has
no queen, and is not sufficiently strong to justify giving it one from a weaker stock,
the bees should be joined to another colony, and the hive reserved, with its combs,
for future swarms. It should, however, be kept out of the reach of the bee-moth,
and before it is used again a few of the central combs should be broken out, to see
that it is not infested by worms.

t Virgil speaks of clipping the wings of queens, to prevent them from escaping
with a swarm. John Mills (1766) quotes the following from an account published
of the sheep of Spain : — " The number of bee-hives kept in Spain is incredible. I
am almost ashamed to give under my hand, that I knew a parish priest who had
five thousand hives. The bees suck all their honey from the aromatic flowers

LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 223

minish the labor and perplexity of the bee-keeper. I have
devised a way of doing this, so as to designate the age of
the queens : — With a pair of scissors, let the wings, on
one side, of a young queen be carefully cut off: when the
hives are examined next year, let one of her two remain-
ing wings be removed, and the last one the third year.

The fertility of queens usually decreases after the second
year, and before they die of old age the contents of their
spermathecas sometimes become exhausted, and they lay
only drone-eggs.* Unless, therefore, queens are unusually
fertile, it will be safer to remove them after they have
entered on their third year.f

A young queen, or a sealed royal cell, should be given
to a colony, the second day after the old one is removed —
for if they raise a queen from the egg, she may find nearly
all the cells filled with honey or bee-bread, and the popu-
lation greatly reduced.

Early in October — when some brood is usually found in
every healthy stock, and when all the colonies should be
examined, with reference to the coming Winter — if any
are found to be queenless, they should be united to other
stocks. If, however, the old queens were seasonably re-
moved, and the stocks that raised young ones were
properly attended to, few queenless colonies will be found in

which enamel and perfume two-thirds of the sheep-walks. This priest cautiously
seizes the queens in a small crape fly-catch, and then clips off their wings. He
assured me that he never lost a swarm from the day of this discovery to the day
he saw me, which was, I think, five years after." — p. 77.

* Posel says, that a queen that has suffered from hunger for 24 hours never re-
covers her wonted fertility. I shall show, in another place, that after recovering
from severe cold, queens cease to lay worker-eggs.

t " Queens differ much as to the degree of their fertility. Those are best which
deposit their eggs with uniform regularity, leaving no cells unsnpplied— as the
brood hatches at the same time on the same range of comb, which can be again
supplied : the queen thus losing no time in searching for empty cells." — Dzierzon.
In bee-life, as well as in human affairs, 'those who are systematic, ordinarily accom-
plish the most.

224 THE I1IVK AND HONEY-BEE.

the Fall. At this season, or as soon as forage fails, such
stocks may usually be detected by the incessant attempts
of other colonies to rob them.

The neglect of a colony to expel its drones, when they
are destroyed in other hives, is always a suspicious sign,
and generally an indication that it has no queen. Healthy
stocks almost always destroy the drones, as soon as
forage becomes scarce. In the vicinity of Philadelphia,
there were only a few days in June, 1858, when it did not
rain, and in that month the drones were destroyed in most
of the hives. When the weather became more propitious,
others were bred to take their place. In seasons when
the honey-harvest has been abundant and long protracted,
I have known the drones to be retained, in Northern
Massachusetts, until the 1st of November. If bees could
gather honey and could swarm the whole year, the
drones would probably die a natural death.

The importance of preventing the over-production of
drones has been corroborated by the discovery of Mr. P.
J. Mahan, that those leaving the hive have quite a large
drop of honey in their stomachs — while those returning
from their pleasure excursions, having digested their
dinners, are prepared for a new supply.*

" The drone," says quaint old Butler, " is a gross, sting-
less bee, that spendeth his time in gluttony and idleness.
For howsoever he brave it, with his round velvet cap, his
side gown, his full paunch, and his loud voice, yet is he
but an idle companion, living by the sweat of others' brows.

* Aristotle (History of Animals, Book IX., Chap. XI.), speaks of the irregular
and thick combs built by some stocks, and the superabundance of drones issuing
from thorn. He notices, also, the destruction of the drones when bee-forage fails,
and describes their excursions as follows : — "The drones, when they go abroad, rise
into the air with a circular flight, as though to take violent exercise, and when they
have taken enough, return home, and gorge themselves with honey." Colnmella
says, that the proper time for removing the surplus honey is when the bees expel
the drones.

LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 225

He worketh not at all, either at home or abroad, and yet
spendeth as much as two laborers : you shall never find
his maw without a drop of the purest nectar. In the heat
of the day he flieth abroad, aloft and about, and that with
no small noise, as though he would do some great act ;
but it is only for his pleasure, and to get him a stomach,
and then returns he presently to his cheer."

It has already been stated (p. 51), that the bee-keepers
"in Aristotle's time were in the habit of destroying the
excess of drones. They excluded them from the hive —
when taking their accustomed airing — by contracting the
entrance with a kind of basket work. Butler recommends
a similar trap, which he calls a " drone-pot." The arrange-
ment used in my hives to prevent swarming, will serve
also to exclude the drones. Towards dark, or early in the
morning — when clustered, for warmth, in the portico — they
may be brushed into a vessel of water, and given to
chickens, which will soon learn to devour them. In ex-
cluding them from hives having an unimpregnated queen,
the entrance must be adjusted to. let her pass.

It is interesting to notice the actions of the drones
when they are excluded from the hive. For a while they
eagerly search for a wider entrance, or strive to force
their bulky bodies through the narrow gateway. Finding
this to be in vain, they solicit honey from the workers,
and when refreshed, renew their efforts for admission, ex-
pressing, all the while, with plaintive notes, their deep
sense of such a cruel exclusion. The bee-keeper, however,
is deaf to their entreaties ; it is better for him that they
should stay without, and better for them — if they only
knew it — to perish by his hands, than to be starved or
butchered by the unfeeling workers. With movable-
comb hives, pity and profit may be perfectly reconciled

10*

226 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

(p. 51), by removing all excess of drone-comb from the
breeding apartment.*

In the Summer of 1853, 1 discovered that after a queen
is taken from a paper cone (p. 159), the bees will run in
and out of it for a long time, thus proving that they recog-
nize her peculiar scent. It is this odor which causes them
to run inquiringly over our hands, after we have caught a
queen, and over any spot where she alighted when her
swarm came forth.

This scent of the queen was probably known in Aristo-
tle's tune, who says : " When the bees swarm, if the king
(queen) is lost, we are told that they all search for him,
and follow him with their sagacious smell, until they find
him." Wildman says : " The scent of her body is so at-
tractive to them, that the slightest touch of her along any
place or substance will attract the bees to it, and induce
them to pursue any path she takes."f

The intelligent bee-keeper will readily perceive not only
how the loss of queens may be remedied, by the movable-
comb hive, but how any operation, which in other hives
is performed with difficulty, if at all, is in this rendered
easy and certain. No hive, however, can make the
ignorant or negligent very successful, unless they live in a
region where the climate is so propitious, and the honey
resources so abundant, that bees will prosper in spite of
mismanagement or neglect.

Those who have not the leisure or disposition to manage
their own bees, may, with my hives, entrust the care of

* If a number of drones are confined in a small box, they give forth a strong
odor: Swammerdam supposed that the queen was impregnated by this scent
( aura seminalis ") of the drones.

t Before becoming acquainted with these authors, I supposed myself to have
made an original discovery. Mr. P. J. Mahan informs me that after handling the
queen he has had bees several times alight upon his fingers, when he was a mile or
more from his Apiary.

LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 227

them to competent persons. The business of the gardener
seems naturally associated with that of the Apiarian ; and
practical gardeners may find the management of bees, for
their employers, quite a lucrative part of their profession.
With but little trouble, they can make new colonies, re-
move the surplus honey, and on the approach of Winter
prepare the bees to resist its rigors.

THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER XII.

THE BEE-MOTH, AND OTHER ENEMIES OF BEES — DISEASES
OF BEES.

THE Bee-Moth (Tinea meUonelld) is mentioned by
Aristotle, Virgil, Columella and other ancient authors, as
one of the most formidable enemies of the honey-bee.
Modern writers, almost without exception, have regarded
it as the plague of their Apiaries ; while in this country its
ravages have been so fatal, that the majority of culti-
vators have abandoned bee-keeping hi despair. Most of
the contrivances devised against it have proved worthless,
and not a few have aided its nefarious designs.

Having closely studied its habits, I am able to show
how careful bee-keepers may protect their colonies from
being ruined by its assaults. The careless will obtain a
"moth-proof" hive only when the sluggard, finds a
"weed-proof" soil. Before stating how to circumvent
the moth, its habits will be briefly described.

Swammerdam speaks of two species of the bee-moth
(called in his tune the " bee-wolf"), one much larger than
the other. Linnaeus and Reaumur also describe two
kinds — Tinea cereana and Tinea mettonella. Most
writers suppose the former to be the male, and the latter
the female of the same species. The folio whig description
is abridged from Dr. Harris' Report on the Insects of
Massachusetts :

" Very few of the Tinece exceed or even equal it in
size. In its adult state it is a winged moth, or miller,
measuring, from the head to the tip of the closed wings,

ENEMIES OF BEES. 229

from five-eighths to three-quarters of an inch in length,
and its wings expand from one inch and one-tenth to one
inch and four-tenths. The fore-wings shut together flatly
on the top of the back, slope steeply downwards at the
sides, and are turned up at the end somewhat like the
tail of a fowl. The female is much larger than the male,
and much darker-colored. There are two broods of these
insects in the course of the year. Some winged moths of
the first brood begin to appear towards the end of April
or early in May — earlier or later, according to climate and
season. Those of the second brood are most abundant in
August ; but some may be found between these periods,
and even much later."

No writer with whom I am acquainted has given such
an exact description of the difference between the sexes,
that they can always be readily distinguished. The
beautiful wood-cuts of the moths, larva?, and cocoons,
which I present to my readers, were drawn from nature,
by Mr. M. M. Tidd, of Boston, Mass., and engraved by
Mr, D. T. Smith, of the same city. A large number of
specimens were furnished to Mr. Tidd,'
and great accuracy has been secured.
He seems first to have noticed that the
tongue of the female projects so as
to resemble a beak, while that of the
male is very short.*

While some males are larger than some females, and
some females much lighter-colored than
the average of males, and occasionally
some males as dark as the darkest
females, tlie peculiarity of the tongue
of the female is so marked, that she
may always be distinguished at a glance.

* Dr. Harris speaks of the tongue of the moth as "very short, and hardly
visible." This is true only of that of the male.

230 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The tongue of the female is double,
and the line of separation is shown
in the figure in which she is repre-
sented as lying on her back. Both
male and female were accurately copied
from specimens of the average size and
form.

In this sketch, an under-sized male is
represented.* His color was so dark
that, but for the tongue, he might easily
have been mistaken for a female of a
different and much smaller species.f

These insects are seldom seen on the whig, unless started
from their lurking places about the hives, until towards
dark. On cloudy days, however, the female may be
noticed endeavoring, before sunset, to gain an entrance
into the hives. " If disturbed in the daytime," says Dr.
Harris, "they open their wings a little, and spring or
glide swiftly away, so that it is very difficult to seize or to
hold them.J In the evening, they take wing, when the

* The legs are shown in this figure. In the sitting position, they are usually
concealed, as in the preceding figures. These drawings appear to better advantage
in Plate XIII.

t As all the specimens submitted to Mr. Tidd were taken from two adjoining
hives, very late in the Fall, it is possible that observations at some other season,
and in different localities, may confirm the view of those who believe that ther»
are two species. Mr. Tidd, while experimenting to ascertain the sexes, found that
a female, as soon as she was pinned fast, thrust out her ovipositor, which works
with a telescopic motion, and began to feel for some crevice in which to deposit
her eggs. Some cracks being made with a small penknife in the wood to which
the was fastened, she at once proceeded to fill them with eggs. Her abdomen
was then cut off, and the egg-laying process continued as before, while the rest of
the body leisurely walked away I The abdomen was now dissected, so as to show
the duvets of the ovaries, and, even in this mutilated condition, she thrust out her
ovipositor, all the while carefully seeking for appropriate crevices in which to
deposit her eggs ! I have repeated, with similar results, these experiments, so sug-
gestive of curious speculations as to insect volition.

$ They are surprisingly agile, both on foot and on the wing, the motions of a bee
being very slow, in comparison. " They are," says Keaumur, " the most nimble-
footed creatures that I know."

ENEMIES OF BEES. 231

bees are at rest, and hover around the hive, till, having
found the door, they go in and lay their eggs." " If the
approach to the Apiary," says Bevan, " be observed of
a moonlight evening, the moths will be found flying or
running round the hives, watching an opportunity to en-
ter, whilst the bees that have to guard the entrances
against their intrusion, will be seen acting as vigilant
sentinels, performing continual rounds near this important
post, extending their antennae to the utmost, and moving
them to the right and left alternately. Woe to the un-
fortunate moth that comes within their reach !" " It is
curious," says Huber, " to observe how artfully the moth
knows how to profit by the disadvantage of the bees,
which require much light for seeing objects, and the pre-
cautions taken by the latter in reconnoitering and expel-
ling so dangerous an enemy."

" Those that are prevented from getting within the
hive, lay their eggs in cracks on the outside ; and the little
worm-like caterpillars hatched therefrom, easily creep into
the hive through the cracks, or gnaw a passage for them-
selves under the edges, of it."* — DR. HARRIS.

" As soon as hatched, the worm encloses itself in a case
of white silk, which it spins around its body ; at first it is
like a mere thread, but gradually increases in size, and,
dui-ing its growth, feeds upon the cells around it, for
which purpose it has only to put forth its head, and find
its wants supplied. It devours its food with great avidity,
and, consequently, increases so much in bulk, that its gal-
lery soon becomes too short and narrow, and the creature
is obliged to thrust itself forward and lengthen the gal-
lery, as well to obtain more room as to procure an addi-

* If movable bottom-boards are used, It will be next to Impossible to prevent
the moth from laying her eggs between them and the edges of the hives. The
smallest opening will enable her to thrust in her ovipositor, and place her eggs
where her progeny will find an easy admission to the hive.

232 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

tional supply of food. Its augmented . size exposing it to
attacks from surrounding foes, the wary insect fortifies
its new abode with additional strength and thickness, by
blending with the filaments of its silken covering a mix-
ture of wax and its own excrement, for the external
barrier of a new gallery,* the interior and partitions of

which are lined with a smooth surface of white silk, which
admits the occasional movements of the insect, without
injury to its delicate texture. In performing these opera-
tions, the insect might be expected to meet with opposi-
tion from the b'ees, and to be gradually rendered more
assailable as it advanced in age. It never, however,
exposes any part but its head and neck, both of which
are covered with stout helmets, or scales, impenetrable to
the sting of a bee, as is the composition of the galleries
that surround it." — BEVAN.

The worm is here given of full size, and with all its
peculiarities carefully repre-
sented. The scaly head is
shown in one of the worms;
while the three pairs of claw-
like fore legs, and the five pairs

of hind ones, which are suckers, are clearly delineated.
The tail is also furnished with two of these suckers. The
breathing holes are seen on the back.

* This representation of the web, or gallery of the worm, was copied from
Swammerdam.

ENEMIES OF BEES. 233

Wax is the chief food of these worms.* When obliged
to steal their living among a strong stock of bees, they
seldom fare well enough to reach the size which they
attain when rioting at pleasure among the full combs of a
discouraged population. In about three weeks, the larvae
stop eating, and seek a suitable place for encasing them-
selves in their silky shroud. In hives where they reign
unmolested, almost any place will answer their purpose,
and they often pile their cocoons one on another, or join
them together in long rows. They sometimes occupy the
empty combs, so that their cocoons resemble the capping
of the honey-cells. In Plate XIX., Fig. 56, Mr. Tidd
has given a drawing, accurate in size and form, of a
curious instance of this kind. The black spots, resembling
grains of gunpowder, are the excrements of the worms.
In hives strongly guarded by healthy bees, many a worm,
while prying about to find a snug hiding place, is seized
by the nape of the neck, and served with an instant writ
of ejectment. If a hive is thoroughly made, it runs a
dangerous gauntlet, as it passes, in search of some
crevice, through the ranks of its enraged foes. Its mo-
tions, however, are exceedingly quick, and it is full of
cunning devices, being able to crawl backwards, to twist
round on itself, to curl up almost into a knot, and to flat-
ten itself out like a pancake. If obliged to leave the
hive, it gets under some board or concealed crack, spins
its cocoon, and patiently awaits its transformation. In
most hives, it readily finds a crack into which it can
creep, or a small space between the movable bottom-

* "Larvse fed exclusively on pure wax will die, wax being a non-nitrogenous
substance, and not furnishing the aliment required for their perfect develop-
ment."— D6NHOFF.

This statement agrees with the fact, that the larvse prefer the brood-combs, and
that the combs of an old stock are more liable to be devoured than those of a
new one.

234: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

board and the edges of the hive. It can pass through a
very small crevice, and as soon as safe from the bees, it
will begin to enlarge its cramped tenement, by gnawing
into the solid wood. The time required for the larvse to
break forth into winged insects, varies with the tempera-
ture to which they are exposed, and the season of the
year Avhen they spin their cocoons.* I have known them
to spin and hatch in ten or eleven days ; and they often
spin so late in the Fall, as not to emerge until the ensuing
Spring.

The male usually keeps away from the hive, but the
female seeks in every way to gain an entrance. If the
stock is weak and discouraged, she lays her eggsf among

* In November (1858), I procured a large number of cocoons for winter obser-
vations. From many of them, the moths quickly emerged. In others, the larvsa
slowly changed into pupae or crysalids; while, in others still, after being exposed
for more than two months to a summer temperature, they remained in the worm
state. A few were exposed for six weeks to a uniform temperature of over 80°,
and only one passed into the winged moth. Some, after being taken out of their
cocoons six times, would envelop themselves in a new shroud.

Dr. Diinhoff says, that the larvae become motionless at a temperature of from 38°
to 40°, and entirely torpid at a lower temperature. A number which he left all
Winter in his summer-house, revived in the Spring, and passed through their
natural changes. He appears to have been more successful than myself in induc-
ing them to develop in Winter, by artificial heat ; but this may be owing to the
fact that he experimented with larvae which greedily ate the food given to them,
and not as I did, with worms which had spun their cocoons. Further experi-
ments are needed, in order to determine whether dilatory development is peculiar
to those reaching maturity late in the Fall, or is caused by the sudden check
given by cold weather. ••

" If; when the thermometer stood at 10°, I dissected a chrysalis, it was not frozen,
but congealed immediately afterwards. This shows that, at so low a temperature,
the vital force is sufficient to resist frost. In the hive, the chrysalids and larvse, in
various stages of development, pass the Winter in a state of torpor, in corners and
crevices, and among the waste on the bottom-boards. In March or April, they
revive, and the bees of strong colonies commence operations for dislodging them."
— DONHOFF.

Some larvse which I exposed to a temperature of 6° below zero, froze solid, and
never revived. Others, after remaining for 8 hours in a temperature of about 12°,
seemed, after reviving, to remain for weeks in a crippled condition.

t " The eggs of the bee-moth (see Plate XIII., Fig. 44) are perfectly round, and
very small, being only about one-eighth of a line in diameter. In the ducts of the
ovariutn, they are ranged together in the form of a rosary. They are not developed

ENEMIES OF BEES. 235

the combs, or inserts them in the corners or crevices,
or among the refuse wax and bee-bread on the bottom-
board, where her progeny can be concealed and nourished
till they are able to reach the combs.

In Plate XX., Fig. 57, Mr. Tidd has faithfully de-
lineated, and Mr. Smith skillfully engraved, the black
mass of tangled webs, cocoons, excrements, and perfo-
rated combs, which may be found in a hive where the
worms have completed their work of destruction.

The entrance of the moth into a hive and the ravages
committed by her progeny, forcibly illustrate the havoc
which vice often makes when admitted to prey unchecked
on the precious treasures of the human heart. Only some
tiny eggs are deposited by the insidious moth, which give
birth to very innocent-looking worms ; but let them once
get the control, and the fragrance* of the honied dome is
soon corrupted, the hum of happy industry stilled, and
everything useful and beautiful ruthlessly destroyed.

The honey-bee is not a native of the New World,
and, when brought here, was called by the Indians the

consecutively, like those of the queen bee, but are found in the ducts, fully and
perfectly formed, a few days after the female moth emerges from the cocoon. She
deposits them, usually, in little clusters on the combs. If -we wish to witness the
discharge of the eggs, it is only necessary to seize a female moth, two or three days
old, with finger and thumb, by the head— she will instantly protrude her ovipo-
sitor, and the eggs may then be distinctly seen passing along through the semi-
transparent duct. (8eo Plate XIII., Fig. 46, C.)

" Last Summer I reared a bee-moth larva in a small box. It spun a cocoon,
from which issued a female moth. Holding her by the head, I allowed her to
deposit eggs on a piece of honey-comb. Three weeks afterwards, I examined the
comb, and found on it some web and two larvse. The eggs were all shrivelled and
dried up, except a few which were perforated, and from which, I suppose, the
larvae emerged. This appears to bo a case of true parthenogenesis in the bee-
moth."— Translated from DE. DONHOFF by S. WAGNEE.

As among hundreds of specimens furnished to Mr. Tidd very few males were
noticed, I conjectured that the eggs of these females would hatch without impreg-
nation, and took measures to have Dr. Joseph Leidy investigate the subject It
seems, however, that in this matter, our German brethren have the priority.

* The odor of the moth and larv» is very offensive.

236 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BKE.

white man's fly.* Longfellow, in his " Song of Hiawatha,"
in describing the advent of the European to the NCAV
World, makes his Indian warrior say of the bee and the
white clover: —

" Wheresoe'er they move, before them
Swarms the stinging fly, the Ahmo,
Swarms the bee, the honey-maker ;
Wheresoe'er^they tread, beneath them
Springs a flower unknown among us,
Springs the White Man's Foot in blossom."

As the bees flourished for years undisturbed by the
moth, it seems probable that it was not brought over in
the first hives, but at a much later period. In whatever
way it was introduced, it has so multiplied in our propi-
tious climate of hot summers, that few districts are now
exempt from its ravages.

Fifty years ago our markets were proportionably better
supplied with honey than, they now are, and large tubs
filled with snow-white combs were a common sight.

Many Apiarians contend that newly-settled countries
are most favorable to the bee ; and an old German adage
runs thus : —

" Bells' ding dong,
And choral song,
Deter the bee
From industry :
But hoot of owl,
And ' wolf's long howl,'
Incite to moil
And steady t^a."

* " It is suprising In what countless swarms the boos have overspread the far West,
within but a moderate number of years. The Indians consider them the harbingers
of the white man, as the buffalo is of the red man, and say that, in proportion as

the bee advances, the Indian and the buffalo retire They have been the

heralds of civilization, steadily preceding it as it advances from the Atlantic
borders ; and some of the ancient settlers of the West pretend to give the "Ty
year when tho honey-bee first crossed the Mississippi. At present it swam*

ENEMIES OF BEES. 237

Others affirm that our colonies are too numerous to find
sufficient food. That neither of these reasons account for
the change, will be subsequently shown. Others lay ah1
the blame on the moth, and others still, on our departure
from the old-fashioned mode of keeping bees.

It is undoubtedly true that the moth so super-abounds
in many districts, that no profit can be derived from
managing bees in the simple way which was once so suc-
cessful. Often the old bee-keeper, after hiving his swarms,
never looked at them again until the Fall, when all
the colonies which had too few bees, or were too light to
survive the Winter, were condemned to the brimstone-
pit. Some of the heaviest were also killed for the sake
of their honey, and the very best were reserved for stock
hives.

In a newly-settled country, where weeds are almost
unknown, the farmer who plants his corn and "lets it
alone," may often harvest a remunerative crop. If, in
process of time, as the weeds increase, he continues to
plough and plant in the " good old way," he will only be
laughed at for complaining that the pestiferous weeds have
caused his corn to "run out." And yet, with equal
folly, many bee-keepers do not understand why plans
which answered Avhen moths were unknown or were very
scarce, cannot be made to. succeed at the present time.

If the old plans had been rigidly adhered to, the
ravages of the moth, destructive as they must have been,
would never have been as great as they now are. The
use of patent hives has contributed to fill the land with

myriads in the noble groves and forests that skirt and Intersect the prairies, ard
extend along the alluvial bottoms of the rivers. It seems to me as if these beauti-
ful regions answer literally to the description of the land of promise — ' a land flow-
ing with milk and honey ;' for the rich pasturage of the prairies is calculated to
sustain herds of cattle as countless as the sands upon the sea-shore, while the
flowers with which they are enamelled render them a very paradise for the nectar-
seeking bee." — WASHINGTON IBVING, Tour on the Prairies, Chap. IX.

238 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

the devouring pest. Ever since their introduction, the
notion has almost universally prevailed that stocks must
not, under any circumstances, be voluntarily destroyed ;
and hence, thousands of colonies, which, under the old
system, were mercifully killed, are now left to perish by
slow starvation, while thousands more are so feeble in the
Spring that they serve only to breed a host of moths to be
the pest of the Apiary.

The truth is, that improved hives, without an improved
system of management, have done, on the whole, more
harm than good. In no country have they been so exten-
sively used as in our own, and no where has the moth so
completely gained the ascendency. Just so far as they
have discouraged ordinary bee-keepers from the old plan
of " taking up" their weak swarms in the Fall, just so far
have they extended "aid and comfort" to the moth.
Some of them might, unquestionably, be so managed as,
in ordinary cases, to protect the bees against the moth ;
but no hive which does not give the control of the combs,
can be relied on for ah1 emergencies. As for many of the
complicated contrivances, which have been devised by
men ignorant of the first principles of bee-keeping, and
the " swindle-traps" of sharpers, who, to fill their own
pockets, would be glad to kill all the bees hi the world,
they not only afford no more security against the moth,
than the old box-hive, but are full of fixtures, which serve
no end but to annoy the bees and multiply lurking-places
for moths and worms. The more they are used, the
worse the condition of the bees ; just as the more a man
uses the nostrums of the lying quack, the farther he gets
from health.*

* An intelligent man informed me that he paid ten dollars to a " 'bee-quack'"
professing to have an infallible secret for protecting bees against the moth. After
parting with his money, and learning that this secret consisted in " always keep-
ing strong stocks," he felt that he had been as grossly imposed upon, as if, aftei

ENEMIES OF BEES. 239

While freely admitting that the old plan of killing the
bees has, in the hands of the ignorant, met with the best
success, I am persuaded that a more humane and enlight-
ened system can be made much more profitable. The use
of movable frames permitting, as they do, the weakest
stocks to be strengthened or united to others, will, I trust,
in due time, introduce the happy era when the following
epitaph, taken from a German work, might properly be
placed over every pit of brimstoned bees :*

HERE RESTS,

CUT OFF FROM USEFUL LABOR,
A COLONY OP

INDUSTRIOUS BEES,

BASELY MURDERED

BY ITS

UNGRATEFUL AND IGNORANT
OWNER.

To the epitaph should be appended Thompson's verses :

" Ah, see, where robbed and murdered in that pit,
Lies the still heaving hive ! at evening snatched,
Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night,
And fixed o'er sulphur ! while, not dreaming ill,
The happy people, in their waxen cells,
Sat tending public cares.
Sudden, the dark, oppressive steam ascends,
And, used to milder scents, the tender race,
By thousands, tumble from their honied dome
Into a gulf of blue sulphureous flame !"

The following letter, on the first appearance of the
bee-moth hi this country, from Dr. Jared P. Kirtland, of

paying a large sum for an infallible life-preserving secret, he had been tnrned off
•with the truism that, to live forever, one must keep well !

* Killing bees for their honey was, unquestionably, an invention of the dark
ages, when the. human family had lost — in Apiarian pursuits, as well as in other
things — the skill of former ages. In the times of Aristotle, Varro, Columella, and
Pliny, such a barbarous practice did not exist. The oldxmltivators took only what
their bees could spare, killing no stocks, except such as were feeble or diseased.

240 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

Cleveland, Ohio, who is so widely known for his interest
in Horticultural and Apiarian pursuits, will be read with
great interest :

"CLEVELAND, Feb. 19th, 1859.

" DEAR SIK : — Until 1805, the honey-bee flourished in
the United States. At the commencement of the present
century, a majority of the farmers and mechanics in the
State of Connecticut cultivated the bee. Few, if any,
unfavorable contingencies interfered with that pursuit ; the
simplest form of box-hives was usually employed, though,
occasionally, a hollow gum, and, in a few instances, the
conical straw sJcep supplied their place.

" In Autumn, the weak colonies, and such of the old as
were depreciating in value, were destroyed by fire and
brimstone. The honey thus obtained was sufficiently
abundant to satisfy the demand ; hence, in those days,
caps, drawers, and side-boxes, for robbing bees, were not
employed.

"During the Spring of the year 1806, 1 read an ai'ticle,
in the Boston Patriot, describing the miller and worm,
and their depredations, and representing them as of re-
cent appearance in the vicinity of that city. A few
months subsequently, a neighbor informed me that they
were depredating extensively on his colonies ; and within
two years of that time, four-fifths of all the Apiaries in
that vicinity were abandoned.*

* Judge Fishback, of Batavia, Ohio, says that the ravages of the moth, In his
Apiary, were much more destructive the second seasoil after its appearance, than
at any subsequent period. I can only account for this, by supposing that, at first,
the bees were ignorant of its nature, and took no special precautions to prevent it
from entering their hives. In Europe, where it has been well known for more than
two thousand years, its ravages have never been of such a wholesale character. As
both worms and moth have a peculiar smell, the bees would soon learn to repel
from their hives, a moth smelling so much like the worms that were devouring
their combs.

That bees can learn to defend themselves against new enemies, is proved by tho
facts related by Huber, of their narrowing their entrances with propolis to keep

Fis*. 53. PLATE XVII.

Fig. 54.

ENEMIES OF BEK8. 241

" Since that period, a succession of patent hives, whose
originators were ignorant of the habits of the moth, has
appeared as its auxiliaries, and the two combined, have
nearly exterminated the bee from that section of the
country. The efforts of a few individuals, of more than
usual perseverance and ingenuity, were occasionally
attended with limited success.

"In the Summer of 1810, 1 resided hi the county of
Trumbull, Ohio. The moth had not reached this part of
the country, and bee-culture was extensively pursued, and
with a success I have never witnessed elsewhere. The
rich German farmers were on a strife to excel each other
in the number of their colonies. Two or three hundred
they frequently attained.

"In 1818, I again visited that county, and permanently
located there in 1823, and at both periods found that
pursuit still prospering. In August, 1828, while visiting
a sick family in Mercer Co., Pa., I observed that a large
Apiary was suffering severely from the attacks of the
worm. The proprietor informed me that it had made its
appearance for the first time the present season. Within
another year, it spread over all of Northern Ohio, and in
the Whiter of 1831-2, I learned, from members of the
Legislature, that it had reached every part of our State.
Similar results followed its progress here, as in the New
England States.

" Until the introduction of your system of movable
frames, no successful means of counteracting its ravages
were devised. I am happy to say that, by the aid of your
hives, I have not the least difficulty in meeting it.
" With great respect, yours, &c.,

" REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH. " JARED P. KIRTLAND."

out the largo death-head moth (Sphinx atropos\ a single one of which can swallow
a tablespoonful of honey.

An Apiarian, from Ohio, sent me some honey-eating moths, much larger th;in the
bee-moth, which entered his weak hives and gorged themselves with honey.

11

242 THE HIVK AND HONEY-BEE.

Almost anything hollow will often, for a series of years,
be successfully tenanted by bees. To see hives, with
large, open cracks, whose owners are ignorant and care-
less, bidding defiance to the moth, may, at first sight,
impair confidence in the value of any precautions. While
stocks often flourish in such log-cabin hives, others, in
costly " Bee-Palaces," are frequently devoured by the
worms — their owner, with all the newest devices in the
Apiarian line, being unable to protect them against their
enemies, or to explain why some colonies, like the chil-
dren of the poor, appear almost to thrive upon neglect,
while others, like the offspring of the rich, are feeble,
apparently in exact proportion to the care lavished on them *

I shall now explain why some stocks flourish in spite of
neglect, while others, most cared for, fall a prey to the
moth, and shall show how, in suitable hives, and with
proper precautions, the moth may be kept from seriously
annoying the bees.

A feeble colony being unable to cover its combs, they
are often filled with the eggs of the moth, and, frequently,
their owner becomes aware of their condition only when
their rum is completed. But how, can the novice
know when a stock, in a common hive, is seriouslyf in-
fested with these all-devouring worms ? The discouraged
aspect of the bees plainly indicates that there is trouble
of some kind within, and the bottom-board will be cov-
ered with pieces of bee-bread mixed with the excrement
of the worms, which looks like grains of g^fnpowder.\

* It Is very common to hear bee-keepers speak of having " g >od luck," or "bad
luck," with their bees ; and, as bees are managed, success or failure often seems to
depend almost entirely upon what is called " luck."

t Inexperienced bee-keepers, who imagine that a colony is nearly ruined when
they find a few worms, should remember that almost every old stock, however
strong or healthy, has some of these enemies lurking about its premises.

\ When bees in the Spring prepare their cells for brood, the bottom-board is
often covered with small pieces of comb and bee-bread ; but if these are not mixed
with the Hack excrement, they are proofs of industry, instead of sijrns of ruin.

ENEMIES OF BEES. 243

Early in the Spring, before the stocks become populous,
the bees should be driven up among their combs by
smoke, and the bottom-boards cleansed (p. 221). It too
frequently happens that, in the common hives, nothing can
be effectually done, even when the bee-keeper is aware of
the plague within. With movable frames, however, the
combs, and all parts of the hives, may be carefully
cleansed, and if a stock is weak or queenless, the proper
remedies may be easily applied. If a feeble stock cannot
be strengthened so as to protect its empty combs, they
may be taken away until the bees are numerous enough
to need them.

If the bee-moth were so constituted as to require but a
small amount of heat for its full development, it would
become exceedingly numerous early in the Spring, and
might easily enter the hives and deposit its eggs where it
pleases : for at this season, not only is there "no guard
maintained by the bees at night, but large portions of
their comb are quite unprotected. How does every fact
in the history of the bee, when properly investigated,
point with unerring certainty to the wisdom of Him who
made it !

Combs having no brood, may be smoked with the fumes
of burning sulphur, to kill the eggs or worms of the
moth. If kept from the bees, they should be carefully
protected, in a diy place, from the "moth, and examined
occasionally, to be smoked again if any worms are
found.

Directions have been given on page 140 for preventing
common hives from swarming so often that they cannot
protect, their empty combs. If not prevented from
over-swarming, in the movable-comb hives, by methods
which have been so fully described, some of the combs
of the mother-stock may be given to the after-swarma,

244 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

instead of being left where they may be attacked by the
moth.

The most fruitful cause of the ravages of the moth still
remains to be described. If a colony becomes hopelessly
queenless, it must, unless otherwise destroyed, inevitably
fall a prey to the bee-moth. By watching, in glass hives,
the proceedings of colonies purposely made queenless, I
have ascertained that they make little or no resistance to
her entrance, and allow her to lay her eggs where she
pleases. The worms, after hatching, appear to have their
own way, and are even more at home than the dispirited

How worthless, then, to a queenless colony, are all the
traps and other devices which, of late years, have been so
much relied upon. Any passage which admits a bee is
large enough for the moth, and if a single female enters
such a hive, she will lay eggs enough to destroy it, how-
ever strong. Under a low estimate, she would lay, at
least, two hundred eggs in the hive, and the second gene-
ration will count by thousands, while those of the third
will exceed a million.f

Not only do the bees of a hopelessly queenless hive

* The fact that queenless stocks do not oppose any effectual resistance to the
moths or worms— a fact which I once thought to be a discovery of my own— has
for a long time been well known to the Germans. Mr. Wagner informs me " that
their best treatises, for many years, speak of this as a settled fact, so that it has
become an axiom that, if a colony is overpowered by robber-bees, its owner is not
entitled to compensation, as it was, in all likelihood, queenless, and, would cer-
tainly have been destroyed by the moth.

My attention has been recently called to an article in the Ohio Cultivator for
1849, page 185, by Micajah T. Johnson, in which, after detailing some experiments,
he says :— " One thing is certain — if bees, from any cause, should lose their queen,
and not have the means in their power of raising another, the miller and the
worms soon take possession. I believe no hive is destroyed by worms while an
efficient queen remains in it."

This seems to be the earliest published notice of this important fact by any
American observer.

t This power of rapid increase accounts for Judge Fishback's and Dr. Kirtland's
facts respecting the rapid dissemination of the moth.

ENEMIES OF BEES. 245

make no effectual opposition to the bee-moth, but, by
their forlorn condition, they positively invite her attacks.
She appears to have an instinctive knowledge of their con-
dition, and no art of man can ever keep her out. She will
pass by other colonies to get at a queenless one, as if aware
that she will find in it the best conditions for the develop-
ment of her young ; and thus the strongest colonies, after
losing their queens, are frequently devoured by the
worms, while small ones, standing by their side, escape
unharmed.

It is certain that a queenless hive seldom maintains a
guard at the entrance, and does not fill the air with
the pleasant voice of happy industry. Even to our dull
ears, the difference between the hum of a prosperous hive
and the unhappy note of a despairing one is often suffi-
ciently obvious ; may it not be even more so to the acute
senses of the provident mother-moth ?

Her unerring sagacity resembles the instinct by which
birds that prey* upon carrion, single out from the herd a
diseased animal, hovering over its head with their dismal
croakings, or sitting in ill-omened flocks on the surround-
ing trees, watching it as its life ebbs away, and snapping
their blood-thirsty beaks, impatient to tear out its eyes,
just glazing in death, and to banquet on its flesh, still
warm with the blood o£ life. Let any fatal accident
befall an animal, and how soon will you see them, —

" First a speck and then a Vulture,"

speeding, from all quarters of the heavens, their eager
flight to their destined prey, when only a short time before
not one could be perceived.

The common hives not only furnish no reliable remedy
for the loss of the queen, but, in many cases, their owner
cannot be sure that his bees are queenless until their

246 . THE HIVE AND HONEY-BF;E.

destruction is certain ; while not unfrequently, after an
experience of years, he does not believe that there is such
a thing as a queen-bee ! In the Chapter on the Loss of
the Queen, full directions have been given for protecting
colonies in movable-comb hives, from a calamity which,
more than all others — the want of food* excepted —
exposes them to destruction.

When a colony becomes hopelessly queenless, its
destruction is certain. Even should the bees retain their
wonted zeal in gathering stores and defending themselves
against the moth, they must as certainly perish (p. 58) as a
carcass must decay, even if it is not assailed by filthy flies
and ravenous worms. Occasionally, after the death of the
bees, large stores of honey are found in their hives. Such
instances, however, though once not uncommon, are now
rare; for a motherless hive is almost always assaulted
by stronger stocks, which, seeming to have an instinctive
knowledge of its orphanage, hasten to take possession
of its spoils ; or, if it escape the Scylla of these pitiless plun-
derers, it is dashed upon a more merciless Charybdis, when
the miscreant moths find out its destitution. Every year,
multitudes of hives are bereft of their queens, most of
which are either robbed by other bees or sacked by the
moth, or both robbed and sacked, while their owner im-
putes all the mischief to something else than the real cause.

To one acquainted with the habits of the moth, the
bee-keeper who is constantly lamenting its ravages,
seems almost as much deluded as a farmer would be who,
after diligently searching for his missing cow, and finding
her nearly devoured by carrion worms, should denounce
these worthy scavengers as the primary cause of her
untimely end.

* Colonies which are almost starved become almost as indifferent to the attacks
of the moth as those which have no queen.

ENEMIES OF BEES.

The bee-moth is the only insect known to feed on wax.
It has, for thousands of years, supported itself on »the
labors of the bee, and there is no reason to suppose that
it will ever become exterminated. In a state of nature,
a queenless hive, or one whose inmates have died, being
of no further account, the mission of the moth is to
gather up its fragments that nothing may be lost.*

From these remarks, the bee-keeper will see the means
on which he must rely, to protect his colonies from the
moth. Knowing that strong stocks which have a fertile
queen, can take care of themselves in almost any kind
of hive, he should do all that he can to keep them in this
condition. They will thus do more to defend themselves
than if he devoted the whole of his time to fighting the
moth.

It is hardly necessary, after the preceding remarks, to
say much upon the various contrivances to which so
many resort, as a safeguard against the bee-moth. The
idea that gauze-wire doors, to be shut at dusk and
opened again at morning, can exclude the moth, will not
weigh much with those who have seen them on the wing,
in dull weather, long before the bees have ceased their
work. Even if they could be excluded by such a con-
trivance, it would require, on the part of those using it, a
regularity almost akin to that of the heavenly bodies.

An ingenious device has been employed for dispensing

* In the times of Aristotle and Columella, the ravages of the moth were kept
under by a judicious system of management. It may be seriously questioned
•whether its extermination in any Apiary would be desirable, unless it could be
destroyed everywhere else. The bees would soon forget all about it, and if again
exposed to its attacks, similar results might follow to those described on p. 240 ; for
unless the bees know how to protect themselves, no art of man can save them, as
is clearly seen in queenless hives, where they will not attend to their combs.
Aristotle says, " that good bees expel the moths and worms, but others, from
slothfulness, neglect their combs, which then perish." His lad bees were doubtless
those which had no fertile queen.

248 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

with such close supervision, by governing the entrance?
of all the hives by a long lever-like hen-roost, so that-
they may be regularly closed by the crowing and cack-
ling tribe when they go to bed at night, and opened
again when they fly from their perch to greet the merry
morn. Alas! that so much skill should be all in vain!
Some chickens are sleepy, and wish to retire before the
bees have completed their work, while others, from
ill-health or laziness, have no taste for early rising, and sit
moping on their roost, long after the cheerful sun has
purpled the glowing east. Even if this device could
entirely exclude the moth, it could not save a colony
which has lost its queen. The truth is, that most of the
contrivances on which we are instructed to rely, are
equivalent to the lock put upon the stable door after the
horse has been stolen ; or, to attempts to banish the chill
of death by warm covering, or artificial heat.

Let me not be understood as asserting that there are
no means of protecting the common hives from the
ravages of the bee-moth. If bee-keepers will be careful
to place their hives where the young queens are not in
danger of being lost (p. 214), they will lose comparatively
few of their colomes'. The knowledge of this fact will
enable the Apiarian to contend successmlly against the
moth, let him use what hive he will. He will, undoubt-
edly, lose many colonies which have become queenless,
from other causes than the close proximity of their hives,
and which might be easily saved in movable comb-hives ;
but his losses wih1 not be of such a wholesale character as
utterly to dishearten him in his attempts to keep bees.

The prudent bee-keeper, remembering that " prevention
is better than cure," will take unwearied pains to destroy,
as early in the season as he can, the larvae of the moth.
The destruction of a single female worm may thus bo

ENEMIES OF BEES. 24-9

more effectual than the slaughter of hundreds at a later
period.* If the common hives are used, the worms will
usually be found where the hive rests upon the bottom-
board. Such hives should be propped up on both ends
with strips of wood, about three-eighths of an inch thick,
and a piece of woolen-rag put between the bottom-board
and the back of the hive. The full-grown worm retreat-
ing to this warm hiding-place to spin its cocoon, may be
easily caught, and effectually dealt with. Only provide
some hollow, easily accessible to the worms when they
wish to spin, and to yourself when you want them, and
as bees in good condition will not permit them to spin
among the combs, you can easily entrap them. If the
hive has lost its queen, and the worms have gained pos-
session of it, break it up, instead of reserving it as a
moth-breeder, to infest your Apiary.

In the movable-comb hive, blocks of a peculiar con-
struction (Plates HI, VI, Figs. 11, 17) are used, both to
entrap the worms and exclude the moth. The only place
where she can get into these hives, is at the bee-entrance,
and as abundant ventilation can be given, independent of
this, it may be contracted to suit all possible emergencies,

* Few, who have not seen their ravages by lifting out a comb, are aware how
many young bees fall a prey to the worm as it burrows in the comb.

Mr. M. Quinby, of St. Johnsville, New York, whose common-sense treatise on
" The Mysteries of See-Keeping" will richly repay perusal, is of opinion that the
larger number of imperfect bees carried out of the hive in the Spring, have been
destroyed by the worms. He thinks that enough are often thus lost from a single
hive to make a moderate swarm of bees.

This estimate will not seem extravagant, if we take into account the number of
breeding-cells which are destroyed, and the large vacancies which are often made
by the bees in cutting out the webs and cocoons of the moth.

Dr. Kirtland, in an article in the Ohio Farmer, Dec. 185T, alluding to the times
before the advent of the bee-moth, says : " In those halcyon days of bee-raising,
swarms often came out earlier, and in larger numbers, than in recent times. It
was no unusual occurrence for a Spring swarm to fill the hive with stores and
young brood so rapidly, as to allow it, also, to throw off a swarm sufficiently early
for the latter to lay up stores for Winter."
11*

250 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

and thus force her to pass over a space which, by continually
narrowing, is more and more easily defended by the bees.
These traps are slightly elevated, so that the heat and
smell of the hive pass under them through small open-
ings, into which the moth can enter, but which do not
admit her to the hive. These openings, which resemble
the crevices between the common hives and their bottom-
boards, she will enter, rather than attempt to force her
way through the guards ; and, finding here the nibblings
of comb and bee-bread, in which her young can flourish,
she deposits her eggs where they may be reached and
destroyed. All this is on the supposition that the hive
has a healthy queen, and that the bees have no more
comb than they can warm and defend ; for if there is no
guard, or only a feeble resistance, she will penetrate to
the heart of the citadel to deposit her seeds of mischief.

These blocks have also grooves which communicate
Avith the interior of the hives, and which appear to the
prowling worm, in search of a comfortable nest, the very
place — so warm and secure — in which to spin its web,
and " bide its time." When the hand of the bee-master
lights upon it, it finds that it has been caught in its own
craftiness.

All such contrivances, instead of helping the careless
bee-keeper, will but give him greater facilities for injuring
his bees. Worms will spin undisturbed under the blocks,
and moths lay their eggs ; his traps only affording them
more effectual aid. If such incorrigibly careless persons
will persist in the folly of keeping bees, they should use
only smooth blocks, which, by regulating the entrance
to the hives, will assist the bees in defending themselves
against all enemies which seek admission to their castle.*

* In Plate V., Fig. 16, a small entrance is shown in front of the hives above the
frames. If the lower one is closed, and the bees of a feeble colony are allowed to

ENEMIES OF BEES. 251

If the worms, by any means, get the ascendancy in
movable-comb hives, the frames should be removed,
(p. 243), and the worms destroyed. If proper care has
been exercised, such an operation will be seldom needed.*
Shallow vessels of sweetened water, placed on the hives
after sunset, will often entrap many of the moths. They
are so fond of sweets, that I have caught them sticking
fast to pieces of moist sugar candy. Whey and sour
milk are said to destroy them.f

I shall close what I have to say upon the bee-moth,
with an extract from that accomplished .scholar, and
well-known enthusiast in "bee-culture, Henry K. Oliver,
of Massachusetts :

" The ravages of all the other enemiesj of the bee are
but a baby bite to the destruction caused by the bee-
moth. They are a paltry-looking, insignificant little gray-
haired pestilent race of wax-and-honey-eating and bee-
destroying rascals, that have baffled all contrivances that
ingenuity has devised to conquer or destroy them.

" Your committee would be very glad to be able to
suggest any effectual means by which to assist the honey-
bee and its friends against the inroads of this foe, whose
desolating ravages are more despondingly referred to
than those of any other enemy.

" He who shall be successful in devising the means of
ridding the bee-world of this destructive and merciless
pest, will richly deserve to be crowned ' King Bee,' in

use this, it will be kept warm by the heat rising to the top of the hive, and will be
guarded even in cool nights. Such an entrance may, in many cases, be found a
great protection against the moth.

* Old combs are much the most liable to suffer from the moth. In movable-
comb hives, no combs need remain so long in the hive as to have their value
seriously impaired.

t Devices for burning the moth date back to the times of Columella, who
recommends placing near the hives, at night, a brazen vessel, with a light burning in
it, to destroy the moths resorting to it.

t Eeport on Bees, to the Essex County Agricultural Society, 1851.

252 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

perpetuity ; to be entitled to a never-fading- wreath of
budding honey flowers, from sweetly breathing fields, all
murmuring with bees ; to be privileged to use, during his
natural life, 'night tapers from their waxen thighs,' (best
wax candles, two to the pound !) ; to have an annual
offering, from every bee-master, of ten pounds each of
very best virgin honey ; and to a body guard, for protec-
tion against ah1 foes, of thrice ten thousand workers, all
armed and equipped as Nature's law directs. Who shall
have these high honors ?"

It seems almost incredible that such puny animals as
mice should venture to invade a hive of bees ; and yet
they often slip in when cold compels the bees to retreat
from the entrance. Having once gained admission, they
build a warm nest in their comfortable abode, eat up the
honey and such bees as are too much chilled to offer re-
sistance, and fill the premises with such a stench, that the
bees, on the arrival of warm weather, often abandon
their polluted home. On the approach of cold weather,
the entrances of the hives should be so contracted that a
mouse cannot get in.*

That various kinds of birds are fond of bees, every
Apiarian knows to his cost. The King-bird (Tyrannus
musicapa), which devours them by scores, is said — when
he can have a choice — to eat only the drones ; but as he
catches bees on the blossoms — which are never frequented
by these fat and lazy gentlemen — the industrious workers
must often fall a prey to his fatal snap. There is good
reason to suspect that this gourmand can distinguish
between an empty bee in search of food, and one which,
returning laden to its fragrant home, is in excellent condi-
tion to glide — already sweetened — down his voracious maw.

* If, as the weather grows cold, the bees are allowed to use only the upper
entrance (p. 250), it will be almost impossible for mice to effect a lodgment

ENEMIKS OF BEES. 253

If — as in the olden time of fables — birds could be
moved by human language, it would be worth while to
post up, in the vicinity of our Apiaries, the old Greek
poet's address to the swallow :

" Attic maiden, honey fed,

Chirping warbler, bears't away
Thou the busy buzzing bee,

To thy callow brood a prey ?
Warbler, thou a warbler seize ?

Winged, one with lovely wings ?
Guest thyself, by Summer brought,

Yellow guests whom Summer brings ?
Wilt not quickly let it drop ?

'Tis not fair ; indeed, 'tis wrong,
That the ceaseless warbler should

Die by mouth of ceaseless song."

No Apiarian ought ever to encourage the destruction
of birds, because of their fondness for his bees. Unless
we can check the custom of destroying, on any pretence,
our insectivorous birds, we shall soon, not only be de-
prived of their serial melody among the leafy branches,
but shall lament, more and more, the increase of insects,
from whose ravages nothing but these birds can protect
us. Let those who can enjoy no music made by these
winged choristers of the skies, except that of their ago-
nizing screams as they fall before their well-aimed
weapons, and flutter out their innocent lives before their
heartless gaze, drive away, as far as they please from
their cruel premises, all the little birds that they cannot
destroy, and they will, eventually, reap the fruits of their
folly, when the caterpillars weave their destroying webs
over their leafless trees, and insects of all kinds riot in
glee on their blasted harvests.*

* " The farmers of Europe having learned, by repeated observation, that, without
the aid of mischievous birds, their work would be sacrificed to the more destructive

254 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The toad is a well-known devourer of bees. Sitting,
towards evening, under a hive, he will sweep into his
mouth, with his swiftly-darting tongue, many a late
returning bee, as it falls, heavily laden, to the ground ;
but as he is also a diligent consumer of various injurious
insects, he can plead equal immunity with the insective-
rous birds.

It may seem amazing that birds and toads can swallow
bees without being stung to death. They seldom, how-
ever, meddle with any, except those returning fully laden
to their hives, or such as, being away from home, are in-
disposed to resent an injury. As they are usually swal-
lowed without being crushed, they do not instinctively
thrust out their stings, and before they can recover from
their surprise, they are safely entombed.

Bears are excessively fond of honey ; and in countries
where they abound, great precautions are needed to
prevent them from destroying the hives.

In that quaint but admirably common-sense work,
entitled, " The Femenine Monarchie, written out of
Experience, by Charles Butler; printed in the year
1609," we have an amusing adventure, related by a Mus-
covite ambassador to Rome :

"A neighbor of mine, saith he, in searching in the
woods for honey, slipped down into a great hollow tree,
and there sunk into a lake of honey up to the breast ;
where — when he had stuck fast two days, calling and cry-
ing out in vain for help, because nobody in the meanwhile
came nigh that solitary place — at length, when he was

insect race, forgive the trespasses of such birds, as we forgive those of cats and
dogs. The respect shown to birds by any people, seems to bear a certain ratio to
the antiquity of the nation. Hence, the sacredness with which they are regarded
in Japan, where the population is so dense that the inhabitants would feel that they
could ill afford to divide the produce of their fields with the birds, unless they
were convinced of their usefulness."— Atlantic Monthly for 1859, p. 825

DISEASES OF BEES. 255

out of all hope of life, he was strangely delivered by the
means of a great bear, which, coming thither about the
same business that he did, and smelling the honey, stirred
with his striving, clambered up to the top of the tree, and
then began to lower himself down, backwards, into it.
The man bethinking himself, and knowing that the worst
was but death, which in that place he was sure of, beclipt
the bear fast with both his hands about the loins, and,
withal, made an outcry as loud as he could. The bear
being thus suddenly affrighted, what with the handling
and what with the noise, made up again with all speed
possible. The man held, and the bear pulled, until, with
main force, he had drawn him out of the mire ; and then,
being let go, away he trots, more afeard than hurt,
leaving the smeared swain in a joyful fear."

Ants, in some places, are so destructive, that it becomes
necessary to put the hives on stands, whose legs are set
in water.* Hy limits forbid me to speak of wasps,
hornets, millepedes (or wood-lice), spiders, and other
enemies of bees. If the Apiarian keeps his stocks strong,
they will usually be their own best protectors, and, unless
they are guarded by thousands ready to die in their
defence, they are ever liable to fall a prey to some of
their many enemies, who are all agreed on this one point,
at least — that stolen honey is much sweeter than the
slow accumulations of patient industry.

DISEASES OF BEES.

Bees are subject to but few diseases which deserve
special notice. The fatal effects of dysentery have already
been alluded to (p. 90). "The presence of this disorder,"
says Bevan, "is indicated by the appearance of the excre-

* Small ants often make their nests about hives, to have the benefit of their
warmth, and neither molest the bees nor are molested by them.

256 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

ment, which, instead of a reddish yellow, exhibits a
muddy black color, and has an intolerably offensive smell.
Also, by its being voided upon the floors and at the
entrance of the hives, which bees, in a healthy state, are
particularly careful to keep clean."*

Various opinions have prevailed as to the causes of this
disease. All Apiarians are agreed that dampness in the
hives, especially if the bees are long confined, is sure to
produce it. Feeding bees late in the Fall on liquid honey—
which they have not time to seal over, and which sours
by attracting moisture — should be avoided ; also, all unne-
cessary disturbance of colonies in the "Winter, which, by
exciting them, causes an excessive consumption of food.
Populous stocks, well stored with honey, in hives so venti-
lated as to keep the combs dry, will seldom suffer severely
from this disease.

The disease called by the Germans '•'•foul brood," is of
all others the most fatal (p. 19) to bees. The sealed
brood die in the cells, and the stench from their decaying
bodies seems to paralyze the bees.f

There are two species of foul-brood, one of which the
Germans call the dry, and the other, the moist or foetid.
The dry appears to be only partial in its effects, and not
contagious, the brood simply dying and drying up in cer-

* I have discovered a kind of dysentery which confines its ravages to a few bees
in a colony. Those attacked are at first excessively irritable, and sting without
any provocation. In the latter stages of this complaint, they may often be seen on
the ground, stupid and unable to fly, their abdomens unnaturally distended with an
offensive yellow matter. I can assign neither cause nor cure for this disease.

t Dzierzon thinks that this disease was produced in his Apiary by feeding bees
on " American honey" (honey from the West India Islands). As this honey does
not ordinarily produce it, he probably used some taken from colonies having the
disease. Such honey is always infectious.

Mr. Quinby informs me that he has lost as many as 100 colonies in a year from
this pestilence. It has never made its appearance in my Apiaries, and I should
regard its general dissemination through our country as the greatest possible
calamity to bee-keeping.

DISEASES OF BEES. 257

tain parts of the combs. In the moist, the brood, instead
of drying up, decays, and produces a noisome stench,
which may be perceived at some distance from the
hive.*

In the Spring or Summer, when the weather is fine
and pasturage abounds, the following cure for foul-brood
is recommended by a German Apiarian : — " Drive out
the bees into any clean hive, and shut them up in a dark
place without food for twenty-four hours; prepare for
them a clean hive, properly fitted up with comb from
healthy colonies, transfer the bees into it, and confine
them two days longer, feeding them with pure honey."

My readers are indebted to Mr. Samuel Wagner for
a translation of Dzierzon's mode of treating foul-brood :

" I admit that I can furnish no prescriptions by ifiuch a
diseased colony may be forthwith cured. Nay, I consider
it highly improbable that a colony, in which the disease
has made marked progress, can be cured by any medica-
ments. The removal of the putrid and infectious matter,
already so abundant in the cells, must at least be simul-
taneously effected — and this seems to be altogether
impracticable. Nevertheless, there would be much gained
if we could neutralize or destroy the virus in the bees,
themselves, and also render the infected honey harmless.
A bee-keeping friend recently informed me that, if such
honey be somewhat diluted with water, and then well
boiled and skimmed, it maybe safely used in feeding bees.
Suspected honey should invariably be boiled and skimmed
before it is fed to bees. For the hive itself, chloride of
lime might prove an efficient disinfectant. J simply let
the hives, which contained diseased colonies, stand exposed

* As Aristotle (History of Animals, Book IX., Chap. 40) speaks of a disease
•which is accompanied by a disgusting smell of the hive, there is reason to believe
that foul-brood was common more than two thousand -years ago.

258 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

to sun and air for two seasons, and stock them thereafter
without experiencing a return of the malady.

" On the whole, the disease has now lost its terrors for
me. Though my bee£ may re-introduce it from neighbor-
ing Apiaries or other foreign sources, I no longer appre-
hend that it will suddenly break out in a number of my
colonies, or spread rapidly in any of my Apiaries, because
I shall hereafter avoid feeding foreign or imported honey,
even if, in an unfavorable year, it should become neces-
sary to reduce the number of my stocks to one-half or
one-fourth of the usual complement.

" But when the malady makes its appearance in only
two or three of the colonies, and is discovered early
(which may readily be done in hives having movable-
combs), it can be arrested and cured without damage
or diminution of profit. To prevent the disease from
spreading in a colony, there is no more reliable and effi-
cient process THAN TO STOP THE PRODUCTION OF BKOOD,
for where no brood exists, none can perish and putrefy.
The disease is thus deprived both of its aliment and its
subjects. The healthy brood will mature and emerge in
due time, and the putrid matter remaining in a few cells
will dry up and be removed by the workers. All this
will certainly result from a well-timed removal of the
queen from such colonies. If such removal becomes
necessary in the Spring or early part of Summer, a super-
numerary queen is thereby obtained, by means of which
an artificial colony may be started, which will certainly
be healthy if the bees and brood used, be taken from
healthy colonies Should the removal be made in the
latter part of Summer, the useless production of brood
will at once be stopped, and an unnecessary consumption
of honey prevented. Thiffi, in either case, we are gainers
by the operation. If we have a larger number of colonies

DISEASES OF BEES. 259

than it is desired to winter, it is judicious to. take the
honey from the colonies deprived of their queens, imme-
diately after all the brood has emerged, as they usually
contain the greatest quantity of stores at that time. If
the disease be not malignant foul-brood, the colony may
be alloAved to remain undisturbed after it has bred a new
queen, and, in most instances, such colonies will subse-
quently be found free from disease. I have, indeed, ascer-
tained the singular fact that, if both bees and combs be
removed from an infected hive, and healthy bees and pure
comb be placed therein, these will speedily be infected
with foul-brood ; whereas, when the queen of an incipiently
infected colony is removed, or simply confined in a cage,
and the workers are still sufficiently numerous to remove
all impurities, the colony will speedily be restored to a
healthy condition. It thus seems as though the bees can
become accustomed to the virus which usually adheres so
pertinaciously to the hive.

" Foul-brood, indeed, is a disease exclusively of the
larvce, and not of the emerged bees, or of brood suffi-
ciently advanced to be nearly ready to emerge. Hence,
the cause of the disease may exist already in the food
provided for the larvae, and have its seat in the chyle-
stomach of the nursing bees, though these latter may not
themselves be injuriously affected thereby.

" Though the colonies treated in this manner generally
appear to be free from infection during the ensuing
season, and the brood proceeding from the eggs of a
queen subsequently given to them, or from those of one
reared by themselves, is healthy, maturing and emerging
in due time, still, the disease, in most instances, re-appears
in the following Summer. It is, indeed, possible that the
bees may have re-introduced it from foreign sources, but
it is not unlikely, also, that the infectious matter really

260 . THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

remained latent in the hive. The bees do not usually,
remove all the putrid matter from the cells, but let some
portions remain in the corners after it has become dry,
merely covering it with a film of wax or propolis, through
which, subsequently, when circumstances favor its action,
the virus may exert a malignant influence and cause a
revival of the disease. Hence, when I do not break up
such colonies altogether in Autumn, and transfer the bees
to new hives or other colonies with pure combs, I
invariably regard them with suspicion, as unreliable,
and keep them under strict surveillance at least a year
longer.

" I also use these suspected colonies, by preference, for
the production of queens with which to supply queenless
colonies or start artificial swarms — successively removing
from them the young queens as soon as they prove to be
fertile or I have occasion to use them. In this way, I
make such a colony furnish three or four — nay, sometimes,
by inserting sealed royal cells, even five or six young
queens. But, in such operations, I invariably take the
bees and brood for the artificial swarms, from colonies
which are unquestionably free from the disease. For this
purpose, I select strong colonies having young and
vigorous queens, and which are consequently able to
furnish the required supplies without any serious diminu-
tion of population, when the season is at all favorable to
the multiplication of stocks. In such seasons, strong
colonies, in good condition, with a vigorous queen in the
prime of life, can easily supply brood and bees sufficient
for four swarms." — Biemnzeltung, 1857, No. 4.

261

CHAPTER XIII.

BOBBING, AXD HOW PREVENTED.

are so prone to rob each other, that, unless
great precautions are used, the Apiarian will often lose
some of his most promising stocks. Idleness is with
them, as with men, a fruitful mother of mischief. They
are, however, far more excusable than the lazy rogues of
the human family ; for they seldom attempt to live on
stolen sweets when they can procure a sufficiency by
honest industry.

As soon as they can leave their hives in the Spring, if
urged by the dread of famine, they begin to assail the
weaker stocks. In this matter, however, the morals of
our little friends seem to be sadly at fault ; for, often those
stocks which have the largest surplus are — like some rich
oppressors — the most anxious to prey upon the meagre
possessions of others.

If the marauders, who are ever prowling about in
search of plunder, attack a strong and healthy colony,
they are usually glad to escape with their lives from its
resolute defenders. The bee-keeper, therefore, who ne-
glects to feed his needy colonies, and to assist such as
are weak or queenless (p. 221), must count upon suffer-
ing heavy losses from robber-bees.

It is sometimes difficult for the novice to discriminate
between the honest inhabitants of a hive, and the robbers
which often mingle with them. There is, however, an air
of roguery about a thieving bee which, to the expert, is
as characteristic as are the motions of a pickpocket to a

262 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

skillful policeman. Its sneaking look, and nervous, guilty
agitation, once seen, can never be mistaken. It does
not, like the laborer carrying home the fruits of honest
toil, alight boldly upon the entrance-board, or face the
guards, knowing well that, if caught by these trusty
guardians, its life would hardly be worth insuring. If it
can glide by without touching any of the sentinels, those
within — taking for granted that all is right — usually per-
mit it to help itself.

Bees which lose their way, and alight upon a strange
hive, can be readily distinguished from these thieving
scamps. The rogue, when caught, strives to pull away
from his executioners, while the bewildered unfprtunate
shrinks into the smallest compass, submitting to any fate
his captors may award.

These dishonest bees are the " Jerry Sneaks" of their
profession, and, after following it for a time, lose all taste
for honest pursuits. Constantly creeping through small
holes, and daubing themselves with honey, their plumes
assume a smooth and almost black* appearance, just as
the hat and garments of a thievish loafer acquire a
"seedy" aspect. " Honesty is as good policy" among
bees as among men, and, if the pilfering bee only knew
its true interests, it would be safely laboring amid the
smiling fields, instead of risking its life for a taste of for-
bidden sweets.

It is said that bees occasionally act the part of highway
robbers, by waylaying a humble-bee as it returns to its
nest with a well-stored sac. Seizing the honest fellow,
theygive him to understand that they want his honey.
If they killed him, they would never be able to extract

* Dzierzon thinks that these black bees, which Huber has described as so bitterly
persecuted by the rest, are nothing more than thieves. Aristotle speaks of " a
black bee which is called a thief."

ROBBING. 263

his spoils from their deep recesses ; they, therefore, bite
and tease him, after their most approved fashion, all the
tune singing in his ears, " Your honey or your life," until
he empties his capacious receptacle, when they release
him and lick up his sweets.

Bees sometimes carry on their depredations upon a
more imposing scale. Having ascertained the weakness
of some neighboring colony, they sally out by thousands,
eager to engage in a pitched battle. A furious onset is
made, and the ground in front of the assaulted hive is
soon covered with the bodies of innumerable victims.
Sometimes the baffled invaders are, compeUed to sound a
retreat ; too often, however, as in human contests — right
proving but a feeble barrier against superior might — the
citadel is stormed, and the work of rapine forthwith
begins. And yet, after all, matters are not so bad as
at first they seemed to be, for often the conquered bees,
giving up the unequal struggle, assist the victors in plunder-
ing their own hive, and are rewarded by being incorpo-
rated into the triumphant nation. The poor mother,
however, remains in her pillaged hive, some few of her
children — faithful to the last — staying with her to perish
by her side amid the ruins of their once happy home.*

If the bee-keeper would not haver his bees so demoral-
ized that their value will be seriously diminished, he will
be exceedingly careful (p. 199) to prevent them from
robbing each other. If the bees of a strong stock once
get a taste of forbidden sweets, they will seldom stop

* "Bees, like men, have their different dispositions, so that even their loyalty
will sometimes fail them. An instance not long ago came to onr knowledge, which
probably few bee-keepers will credit. It is that of a hive which, having early
exhausted its store, was found, on being examined one morning, to be utterly
deserted. The comb was empty, and the only symptom of life was the poor queen
herself, ' unfriended, melancholy, slow,' crawling over the honeyless cells, a sad
spectacle of the fall of bee-greatness. Marius among the ruins of Carthage — Napo-
leon at Fontainebleau — was nothing to this." — London Quarterly Review.

264 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

until they have tested the strength of every hive. Even
if all the colonies are able to defend themselves, many
bees will be lost in these encounters, and much time
wasted ; for bees, whether engaged in robbing, or battling
against the robbery of others, lose both the disposition
and the ability to engage in useful labors.*

By keeping the movable entrance-blocks of my hives
very close together, when a colony is feeble, if thieves try
to slip in, they are almost sure to be overhauled and put
to death ; and if robbers are bold enough to attempt to
force an entrance, as the bottom-board slants forward,
it gives the occupants -of the hive a decided advantage.
If any succeed in entering, they find hundreds standing
in battle-array, and fare as badly as a forlorn hope that
has stormed the walls of a beleaguered fortress, only to
perish among thousands of enraged enemies.

By putting these blocks before the entrance of a hive
which has ceased to offer any effectual resistance, the
dispirited colony will often recover heart, and drive off
their assailants.

When bees are actively engaged in robbing, they sally
out with the first peep of light, and often continue their
depredations until it is so late that tliey cannot find the
entrance to their hive. When robbing has become a
habit, they are sometimes so infatuated with it as to
neglect their own brood !

The cloud of robbers arriving and departing need

* If the Apiarian would guard his bees against dishonest courses, he must be
exceedingly careful, in his various operations, not to leave any combs where
strange bees can find them (see note, p. 172) ; for, after once getting a taste of
stolen honey, they will hover round him as soon as they see him operating on a
hive, all ready to pounce upon it and snatch what they can of its exposed
treasures.

Some bee-keepers question whether a bee that once learns to steal ever returns
to honest courses. I have known the value of an Apiary to be so seriously im-
paired by the bees beginning early in the season to rob each other, that the owner
was often tempted to wish that he had never seen a bee.

FIG. 55. PLATE XVIII.

ROBBING. i65

never be mistaken for honest laborers carrying, with un-
wieldy flight, their heavy burdens to the hive. These
bold plunderers, as they enter a hive, are almost as
hungry-looking as Pharaoh's lean kine, while, on coming
out, they show by their burly looks that, like aldermen
who have dined at the expense of the city, they are stuffed
to their utmost capacity.

When robbing-bees have fairly overcome a colony, the
attempt to stop them — by shutting up the hive or by
moving it to a new stand — if improperly conducted, is
often far more disastrous than to allow them to finish their
work. The air will be quickly filled with greedy bees,
who, unable to bear their disappointment, will assail, with
almost frantic desperation, some of the adjoining stocks.
In this way, the strongest colonies are sometimes over-
powered, or thousands of bees slain in the desperate
contest.

When an Apiarian perceives that a colony is being
robbed, he should contract the entrance, and, if the
assailants persist in forcing their way in, he must close it
entirely. In a few minutes the hive will be black with
the greedy cormorants, who will not abandon it till
they have attempted to squeeze themselves through the
smallest openings. Before they assail a neighboring
colony, they should be thoroughly sprinkled with cold
water, which will make them glad to return to their
homes.

Unless the bees that were shut up can have an abund-
anoo of air, they should be carried to a cool and dark*

• " In Germany, when colonies in common hives are being robbed, they are often
removed to a distant location, or put in a dark cellar. A hive, similar in appear-
ance, is placed on their stand, and leaves of wormwood and the expressed juice of
thb plant are put on the bottom-board. Bees have such an antipathy to the
odor of this plant, that the robbers speedily forsake the place, and the assailed
colony may then be brought back.

" The Eev. Mr. Kleine says, that robbers may be repelled by imparting to the

THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

place. Early the next morning they may be examined,*
and, if necessary, united to another stock.

There is a kind of pillage which is carried on so secretly
as often to escape all notice. The bees engaged in it do
not enter in large numbers, no fighting is visible, and the
labors of the hive appear to be progressing with their
usual quietness. All the while, however, strange bees are
carrying off the honey as fast as it is gathered. After
watching such a colony for some days, it occurred to me,
one evening, as it had an unhatched queen, to give it a
fertile one. On the next morning, rising before the
rogues were up, I had the pleasure of seeing them meet
with such a warm reception, that they were glad to make
a speedy retreat.

May not the fertile mother give to each hive (p. 203)
its distinguishing scent ? And may not a hive without
such a queen be so pleased (p. 226) with the odor of other
bees, as to let them do what they will with its stores ?
As bees are seldom engaged in raising young queens,
except in the swarming season, when honey is so plenty
that they are not inclined to rob, this may, if my conjec-
tures are correct, account for the scarcity of this kind of
pillage.

hive some Intensely powerful and unaccustomed odor. He effects this the most
readily by placing in it, in the evening, a small portion of musk, and on the follow-
ing morning the bees, if they have a healthy queen, will boldly meet their
assailants. These are nonplussed by the unwonted odor, and, if any of them
enter the hive and carry off some of the coveted booty, on their return home,
having a strange smell, they will be killed by their own household. The robbing
is thus soon brought to a close." — S.WAGNER.

* It will usually be found that a stock which is overpowered by robbers has no
queen, or one that is diseased (p. 244, note).

267

CHAPTER XIV.

DIRECTIONS FOR FEEDING BEES.

FEW things in practical bee-keeping are more important
than the feeding of bees; yet none have been more
grossly mismanaged or neglected. Since the sulphur-pit
has been discarded, thousands of feeble colonies starve in
the Winter, or early Spring ; while often, when an unfa-
vorable Summer is followed by a severe Winter and late
Spring, many persons lose most of their stocks, and
abandon bee-keeping in disgust.

In the Spring, the prudent bee-keeper wiU no more
neglect to feed his destitute colonies, than to provide for
his own table. At this season, being stimulated by the
returning warmth, and being largely engaged in breed-
ing, bees require a liberal supply of food, and many
populous stocks perish, which might have been saved with
but trifling trouble or expense.*

" If e'er dark Autumn, with untimely storm,
The honey'd harvest of the year deform ;
Or the chill blast from Eurus' mildew wing,
Blight the fair promise of returning Spring ;
Full many a hive, but late alert and gay,
Droops in the lap of all-inspiring May." — EVANS.

* " If the Spring is not favorable to bees, they should be fed, because that Is the
season of their greatest expense in honey, for feeding their young. Having plenty
at that time, enables thetn to yield early and strong swarms/' — WILDMAN.

A bee-keeper, whose stocks are allowed to perish after the Spring has opened, is
on a level with a farmer whose cattle are allowed to starve in their stalls ; while
those who withhold from them the needed aid, in seasons when they cannot gather
a supply, resemble the merchant who burns up his ships, if they have made an
unfavorable voyage.

Columella gives minute instructions for feeding needy stocks, and quotes approv-

268 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

When bees first begin to fly in the Spring, it is well to
feed them a little, even when they have abundant stores,
as a small addition to their hoards encourages the pro-
duction of brood. Great caution, however, should be
used to prevent robbing, and as soon as forage abounds,
the feeding should be discontinued. If a colony is over-
fed, the bees will fill their brood-combs, so as to inter-
fere with the production of young, and thus the honey
given to them is worse than thrown away.

The over-feeding of bees resembles, in its results, the
noxious influences under which too many children of the
rich are reared. Pampered and fed to the full, how often
does their wealth prove only a legacy of withering
curses, as, bankrupt in purse and character, they prema-
turely sink to dishonored graves.

The prudent Apiarian will regard the feeding of bees
—the little given by way of encouragement excepted —
as an evil to be submitted to only when it cannot be
avoided, and will much prefer that they should obtain
their supplies in the manner so beautifully described by
him whose inimitable writings furnish us, on almost every
subject, with the happiest illustrations :

" So work the honey bees,
Creatures that, by a rule in Nature, teach
The art of order to a peopled kingdom.
They have a king and officers of sorts,
Where some, like magistrates, correct at home ,
Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad ;
Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings,
Make boot upon the Summer's velvet buds ;
Which pillage they, with merry march, bring home
To the tent royal of their emperor,
Who, busied in his majesty, surveys

tngly the directions of Hyginns — whose writings are no longer extant— that thli
matter should he most carefully (" diligentis&ime") attended to.

FEEDING. 269

The singing masons building roofs of gold ;
The civil citizens kneading up the .honey ;
The poor mechanic porters crowding in
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate ;
The sad-eyed justice, with his surly .hum,
Delivering o'er, to executors pale,
The lazy, yawning drone."

SHAKSPEARE'S Henry V., Act /., Scene 2.

Impoverished stocks, if in common hives, may be fed
by inverting the hives and pouring a teacupfull of
honey among the combs in which the bees are clustered.
A bee deluged by sweets, when away from home, is a
sorry spectacle ; but what is thus given them does no
harm, and they will lick each other clean, with as much
satisfaction as a little child sucks its fingers while feasting
on sugar candy. When the bees have taken up what has
been poured upon them, the hive may be replaced, and
the operation repeated, at intervals, as often as is needed.
If the stock is in a movable-comb hive, the food may be
put into an empty comb, and placed where it can be
easily reached by the bees.

If a colony has too few bees, its population must be
replenished (p. 221) before it is fed. If it has but a
small quantity of brood-combs, unless fed very moder-
ately, it will fill the cells with honey instead of brood.
If the Apiarian wishes the bees to build new comb, the
food must be given so regularly as to resemble natural
supplies, or they will store it in the cells already built.

To build up small colonies by feeding, requires more
care and judgment than any other process in bee-culture,
and will rarely be required by those who have movable-
comb hives. It can only succeed when everything is
made subservient" to the most rapid production of brood.

By the time the honey-harvest closes, all the colonies
ought to be strong in numbers; and, in favorable sea-

270 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

sons, their aggregate resources should be such that, when
an equal division is made, there will be enough food for
all. If some have more and others less than they need,
an equitable division may usually be effected in movable-
comb hives. Such an agrarian procedure would soon
overthrow human society ; but bees thus helped, will not
spend the next season in idleness ; nor will those which
were deprived of their surplus, limit their gatherings to a
bare competency.

Early in October — in northern latitudes, by the mid-
dle of September — if forage is over, all feeding required
for wintering bees should be carefully attended to. If
delayed to a later period, the bees may not have sufficient
time to seal over their honey, which, by attracting moist-
ure and souring, may expose them (p. 256) to dysentery.
Such colonies as have too few bees to winter well, should
be added to other stocks.

West India honey is, ordinarily, the cheapest liquid
bee-food. To remove its impurities, and prevent it from
souring or candying in the cells, it should have a little
water added to it, and, after boiling a few minutes, should
be set to cool; the scum on the top should then be
removed. A mixture of three Ibs. of honey, two of brown
sugar, and one of water, prepared as above, has been
used by me (p. 257) for many years, without injury to
my bees.

It is desirable to get through with feeding as rapidly
as possible,* as the bees are so excited by it, that they
consume more food than they otherwise would. In my
hives, the feeder may be put over one of the holes of the
honey-board, into which the heat ascends. The bees can
then get their food without being chilled in cold weather,

* Feeding stocks, driven late in the Fall into empty hives, unless combs (p. 71)
can be giv«n to them, will seldom pay expenses.

FEEDING. 271

and its smell is not so likely to attract robber bees. To
make a cheap and convenient feeder (see Plate XL, Fig.
26), take any wooden box holding at least two quarts;
about two inches from one end put a thin partition, com-
ing within half an inch of the top; cut a hole in the
bottom of the small apartment, so that when the feeder
is put over any hole, the bees can pass into it and get
access to the division holding the food. The joints of the
feeding apartment should be made honey-tight, by running
into the corners a mixture (p. 78) of wax and rosin ; and
if the sides are washed with the same hot mixture, the
wood, absorbing no honey, will keep sweet. The lid
should have a piece of glass, to show when the feeder
needs replenishing, and a hole, for pouring in the food,
made and closed like those admitting the bees to the
spare honey receptacles. Some clean straw, cut short
enough to sink readily, as the bees consume the honey,
will prevent them from being drowned.*

Water is indispensable to bees when building comb or
raising brood. They take advantage of any warm Win-
ter day (see Chapter on Wintering Bees) to bring it to
their hives; and, in early Spring, may be seen busily
drinking around pumps, drains, and other moist places.
Later in the season, they sip the dew from the grass and
leaves.

Every careful bee-keeper will see that his bees are well
supplied with water.f If he has not some sunny spot
where they can safely obtain it, he will furnish them with

* If such a box Is covered thickly with cotton or wool, so as to retain the
ascending heat, it may be used all Winter as a honey or water-feeder.

Columella recommends -wool, soaked in honey, for feeding bees. When the
weather is not too cold, a saucer, bowl, or vessel of any kind, filled with straw, will
make a convenient feeder.

t An old Grecian bee-keeper says, " that if the weather is such that the bees
are prevented from flying, for only a few days, the brood will perish from want of
water."

272 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

shallow wooden troughs, or vessels filled with floats or
straw, from which — sheltered from cold winds, and
warmed by the genial rays of the sun — they can drink
without risk of drowning.

Bees seem to be so fond of salt, that they will alight
upon our hands to lick up the saline perspiration.
" During the early part of the breeding season," says Dr.
Bevan, "till the beginning of May, I keep a constant
supply of salt and water near my Apiary, and find it
thronged with bees from early morn till late in the
evening. About this period, the quantity they consume
is considerable, but afterwards they seem indifferent to it.
The eagerness they evince for it at one period of the
season, and their indifference at another, may account for
the opposite opinions entertained respecting it."

The Rev. Mr. Weigel, of Silesia, recommends plain
sugar-candy as a substitute for liquid honey. If bees can
get access to it, without being chilled, they will cluster
on it, and, when supplied with water, will gradually eat it
up. Four pounds of candy* will, it is said, sustain a colony
having scarcely any winter stores. It is cheaper than
liquid food, and less liable to sour in the cells.

If the common hives are inverted, and sticks of candy,
placed gently between the combs where the bees are
clustered, they may be easily fed in the coldest weather.
In my hives, if the spare honey-board, or cover, is elevated
on strips of wood, about an inch and a half above the
frames, and the candy laid on them just above the clus-
tered bees, it will be accessible to them in the coldest

* To mako candy for bee-feed : add water to the sugar, and clarify the syrnp
with eggs ; put about a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to about 20 Ibs. of sugar,
and boil until the water is evaporated. To know when it is done, dip yonr finger
first into cold water and then into the syrup. If what adheres is brittle when
chewed, it is boiled enough. Pour it into shallow pans, slightly greased, and, when
cold, break it into pieces of a suitable size. After boiling, balm, or any other
flavor agreeable to bees, may bo put into the syrup.

FEEDING. 273

weather. It may also be gently put between the combs,
.in an upright position, among the bees.*

Mr. Wagner has furnished me with the following
interesting facts, translated by him from the Bienen-
zeitung :

" ' The use of sugar-candy for feeding bees,' says the Rev. Mr.
Kleine, ( gives to bee-keeping a security which it did not possess
before. Still, we must not base over-sanguine calculations on it,
or attempt to winter very weak stocks, which a prudent Apiarian
would at once unite with a stronger colony. I have used sugar-
candy for feeding, for the last five years, and made many experi-
ments with it, which satisfy me that it cannot be too strongly
recommended, especially after unfavorable Summers. Colonies
well furnished with comb, and having plenty of pollen, though
deficient in honey, may be very profitably fed with candy, and
will richly repay the service thus rendered them.

" ' Sugar-candy, dissolved in a small quantity of water, may be
safely fed to bees late in the Fall, and even in Winter, if abso-
lutely necessary. It is prepared by dissolving two pounds of
candy in a quart of water, and evaporating, by boiling, about
two gills of the solution ; then skimming and straining through a
hair sieve. Three quarts of this solution, fed in Autumn, will
carry a colony safely through the Winter, in an ordinary location
and season. The bees will carry it up into the cells of such
combs as they prefer, where it speedily thickens and becomes
covered with a thin film, which keeps it from souring.

" { Grape-sugar, for correcting sour wines, is now extensively
made from potato-starch, in various places on the Rhine, and has
been highly recommended for bee-food. It can be obtained at a
much lower price than cane-sugar, and is better adapted to the
constitution of the bee, as it constitutes the saccharine matter of
honey, and hence, is frequently termed honey-sugar.

" ' It may be fed either diluted with boiling- water, or in its raw

* By sliding a few sticks of candy under their frames, a small colony may be fed
in warm weather, without tempting robbers by the smell of liquid honey. If a
email quantity of liquid food is needed in Summer, loaf sugar dissolved in water,
having little smell, is the best
12*

24 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

state, moist, as it comes from the factory. In the latter condition,
bees consume it slowly, and, as there is not the waste that occurs
when candy is fed, I think it is better winter-food.'

''• The Rev. Mr. Sholz, of Silesia, recommends the following as
a substitute for sugar-candy in feeding bees :

" ' Take one pint of honey and four pounds of pounded lump-
sugar; heat the honey, without adding water, and mix it with
the sugar, working it together to a stiff doughy mass. When thus
thoroughly incorporated, cut it into slices, or form it into cakes or
lumps, and wrap them in a piece of coarse linen and place them
in the frames. Thin slices, enclosed in linen, may be pushed
down between the combs. The plasticity of the mass enables
the Apiarian to apply the food in any manner he may desire.
The bees have less difficulty in appropriating this kind of food
than where candy is used, and there is no waste.'

" Mr. Kleine grates* candy, for a winter bee-food, into cells
previously dampened with sweetened water."

It is impossible to say how much honey will be needed
to carry a colony safely through the Winter. Much will
depend (see Chapter on Wintering Bees) on the way in
which they are wintered, whether in the open air or in
special depositaries, where they are protected against the
undue excitement caused by sudden and severe atmos-
pheric changes ; much, also, on the length of the Winters,
which vary so much in different latitudes, and the for-
wardness of the ensuing Spring. In some of our Northern
States, bees will often gather nothing for more than six
months, while, in the extreme South, they are seldom
deprived of all natural supplies for as many weeks. In
ah1 our Northern and Middle States, if the stocks are to

* Granulated loaf-sugar would probably make a good bee-feed, and, by wetting
the combs after it has been sifted into them, it might easily be made to stay in the
cells. Neither sugar nor candy can be used by bees unless they have water to dis-
solve them.

I have seen bees flock by thousands around the mills where the Chinese sugar-
cane (Sorghum) was Vine: ground. The value, as a bee-food, of the raw juice and
the syrup should be carefully tested.

FEEDING. 275

be wintered out of doors, they should have at least
twenty-five pounds* of honey.

All attempts to derive profit from selling cheap honey
fed to bees, have invariably proved unsuccessful. The
notion that they can change att sweets, however poor their
quality, into good honey, \ on the same principle that cows
secrete milk from any acceptable food, is a complete
delusion.

It is true that they can make white comb from almost
every liquid sweet, because wax being a natural secretion
of the bee, can be made from all saccharine substances,
as fat can be put upon the ribs of an ox by any kind of
nourishing food. But the quality of the comb has nothing
to do with its contents ; and the attempt to sell, as a prune
article, inferior honey, stored in beautiful comb, is as truly
a fraud as to offer for good money, coins which, although
pure on the outside, contain a baser metal within.

The quality of honey depends very little, if any, upon
the secretions of the bees ; and hence, apple-blossom, white
clover, buckwheat, and most other vaiieties of honey,
have each its peculiar flavor.^

* In movable-comb hives, the amount of stores may be easily ascertained by
actual inspection. The weight of hives is not always a safe criterion, as old combs
are heavier than new ones, besides being often over-stored (p. 82) with bee-
bread.

t When the bees are rapidly storing their combs, they disgorge the contents of their
honey-sacs as soon as they return from the fields. That the honey undergoes no
change during the short time it remains in their sacs cannot positively be affirmed,
but that it can undergo only a very slight change is evident from the fact that the
different kinds of honey or sugar-syrup fed to the bees can be almost as readily dis-
tinguished, after they have sealed them up, as before.

The Golden Age of bee-keeping, in which bees are to transmute inferior sweets
into such balmy spoils as were gathered on Hybla or Hymettus, is as far from prosaio
reality as the visions of the poet, who saw —

u A golden hive, on a golden bank,
Where golden bees, by alchemical prank,
Gather gold instead of honey."

$ " That bees gather honey, but do not secrete it, is argued from the fact that
bee-keepers find cells filled with honey (in new swarms) on the first or second day."
— Aristotle.

276 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The evaporation* of its watery particles is the only well,
marked change that honey appears to undergo from its
natural state in the nectaries of the blossoms, and bees
are very unwilling to seal it over until it has been brought
to such a consistency that it is in no danger of becoming
acid in the cells.f

Even if cheap honey could be "made over" by the
bees so as to be of the best quality, it would cost the pro-
ducer, taking into account the amount consumed (p. 71)
in elaborating wax, almost, if not quite, as much as the
market price of white clover honey ; and, if he feeds his
bees after the natural supplies are over, they will sufier
from filling up their brood cells. J

The experienced Apiarian will fully appreciate the

* If a strong colony is put on a platform scale, it will be found, during the height
of the honey harvest, to gain a number of pounds on a pleasant day. Much of this
weight, however, will be lost in the night from the evaporation of the newly •
gathered honey, the water from which often runs in a stream from the bottom-
board. The Kev. Levi Wheaton, of North Falmouth, Mass., is of opinion that ven
tilation will greatly aid the bees in evaporating the water from their unsealed
honey. The thorough upward ventilation which I now give to my hives may,
therefore, contribute to increase the yield of honey.

t Aristotle notices this fact, which I once thought a discovery of my own. The
remarks of this wonderful genius on the generation of bees show that he appre-
ciated the difficulties which, until of late, have so much perplexed modern
Apiarians. After discussing this topic, he says: "All pertaining to this subject
has not yet been sufficiently ascertained ; but, if it ever should be, then wo must
place more confidence in our observations than in our reasonings. Theory, how-
ever, as far as it conforms to facts observed, is worthy of credit." Have we not
here the inductive system as well guarded and as well expressed as ever it was by
Bacon ?

$ The following is my recipe for a beautiful liquid, honey, which the best judges
have pronounced one of the most luscious articles they ever tasted : Put two
pounds of the purest white sugar in as much hot water as will dissolve it ; take
one pound of strained white clover honey— any honey of good flavor will answer—
and add it warm to the syrup, thoroughly stirring them together. As refined loaf
sugar is a pure and inodorous sweet, one pound of honey will give its flavor to two
pounds of sugar, and the compound will be free from that smarting taste which
pure honey often has, and will usually agree with those who cannot eat the latter
with impunity. Any desired flavor may be added to it.

Although no profit can be realized from inducing bees to store this mixture in
boxes or glasses, the amateur may choose, in bad seasons, or in districts where the
honey is poor, to secure in this way choice specimens for his table.

FEEDING. 277

necessity of preventing his bees getting a taste of for-
bidden sweets, and the inexperienced, if incautious, will
soon learn a salutary lesson. Bees were intended to
gather their supplies from the nectaries of flowers, and,
while following their natural instincts, have little disposi-
tion to meddle with property that does not belong to
them ; but, if their incautious owner tempts them with
liquid food, especially at times when they can obtain no-
thing from the blossoms, they become so infatuated with
such easy gatherings as to lose all discretion, and will
perish by thousands if the vessels which contain the food
are not furnished with floats, on which they can safely
stand to help themselves.

As the fly was not intended to banquet on blossoms,
but on substances in which it might easily be drowned,
it cautiously alights on the edge of any vessel containing
liquid food, and warily helps itself; while the poor bee,
plunging in headlong, speedily perishes. The sad fate of
their unfortunate companions does not in the least deter
others who approach the tempting lure, from madly alight-
ing on the bodies of the dying and the dead, to share the
same miserable end ! No one can understand the extent
of their infatuation, until he has seen a confectioner's shop
assailed by myriads oT hungry bees. I have seen thou-
sands strained out from the syrups in which they had
perished ; thousands more alighting even upon the boiling
sweets ; the floors covered and windows darkened with
bees, some crawling, others flying, and others still, so
completely besmeared as to be able neither to crawl nor
fly — not one in ten able to carry home its ill-gotten spoils,
and yet the air filled with new hosts of thoughtless
comers.

I once furnished a candy-shop, in the vicinity of my
Apiary, with guaze-wire windows and doors, after the

278 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

bees had commenced their depredations. On finding
themselves excluded, they alighted on the wire by thou-
sands, fairly squealing with vexation as they vainly tried
to force a passage through the meshes. Baffled in every
effort, they attempted to descend the chimney, reeking
with sweet odors, even although most who entered it fell
with scorched wings into the fire, and it became necessary
to put wire-guaze over the top of the chimney also.*

As I have seen thousands of bees destroyed in such
places, thousands more hopelessly struggling in the delud-
ing sweets, and yet increasing thousands, all unmindful
of their danger, blindly hovering over and alighting on
them, how often have they reminded me of the infatuation
of those who abandon themselves to the intoxicating cup.
Even although such persons see the miserable victims of
this degrading vice falling ah1 around them into premature
graves, they still press madly on, trampling, as it were,
over their dead bodies, that they too may sink into the
same abyss, and their sun also go down in hopeless
gloom.

The avaricious bee that, despising the slow process of
extracting nectar from " every opening flower," plunges
recklessly into the tempting sweets, has ample time to
bewail its folly. Even if it does not forfeit its life, it
returns home with a woe-begone look, and sorrowful
note, in marked contrast with the bright hues and merry
sounds with which its industrious fellows come back from
their happy rovings amid " budding honey-flowers and
sweetly-breathing fields."

* Manufacturers of candies and syrups will find it to their interest to fit such
guards to their premises ; for, if only one bee in a hundred escapes with its load,
* considerable loss will be incurred in the course of the i

THE APIAKY. 279

CHAPTER XV.

THE APIAKY — PROCURING BEES TO STOCK IT — TEAKSPEB-
BING BEES FKOM COMMON TO MOVABLE-COMB HIVES.

AN intimate acquaintance with the honey resources of
the country is highly important to those desirous of
engaging largely in bee-culture. While, in some localities,
bees will accumulate large stores, in others, only a mile or-
two distant, they may yield but a small profit.*

Wherever the Apiary is established, great pains should
be taken to protect- the bees against high winds.f Their
hives should be placed where they will not be annoyed
by foot passengers or cattle, and should never be very
near places where sweaty horses must stand or pass. If
managed on the swarming plan, it is very desirable that
they should be in full sight of the rooms most occupied,
or at least where the sound of their swarming will be
easily heard.

In the Northern and Middle States, the hives should
have a south-eastern exposure, to give the bees the benefit
of the sun when it will be most conducive to their welfare.
By using my movable stands (Plate V., Fig. 16), the
hives may be made to face in any desired direction. The
plot occupied by the Apiary should be in grass, mowed
frequently, and kept free from weeds. Hives are too

* " While Huber resided at Cour, and afterwards at Vival, his bees suffered so
much from scanty pasturage, that he could only preserve them by feeding, although
stocks that were but two miles from him were, in each case, storing their hives
abundantly." — BKVAN.

t By tacking a piece of muslin to the alighting-board and the projecting parts of
the stand (Plate V., Fig. 16), the bees, as they slack up, will alight on the cloth—
to escape being bruised or blown away— and thus will easily gain their hives. In
windy situations, thousands of bees (p. 186) may be thus saved.

280 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

often placed where many bees perish by falling into the
dirt, or among the tall weeds and grass, where spiders
and toads find their choicest lurking-places.

Covered Apiaries, unless built at great expense, afford
little or no protection against extreme heat or cold, and
much increase the risk of losing the queens.

In the Summer, no place is so congenial to bees as the
shade of trees, if it is not too dense, or their branches so
low as to interfere with their flight. As the weather
becomes cool, they can easily be moved to any more
desirable Winter location. If colonies are moved in the
line of their flight, and a short distance at a time, no loss
of bees will be incurred ; but, if moved only a few yards,
all at once, many will often be lost. By a gradual pro-
cess, the hives in an Apiary may, in the Fall, be brought
into a narrow compass, so that they can be easily shel
tered from the bleak Winter winds. In the Spring, they
may be gradually returned to their old positions.*

PBOCUKING BEES TO STOCK AH APIABY.

The beginner will ordinarily find it best to stock his
Apiary with swarms of the current year, thus avoiding,
until he can prepare himself to meet them, the perplexi-
ties which often accompany either natural or artificial
swarming. If new swarms are purchased, unless they are
large and early, they may only prove a bill of expense.
If old stocks are purchased, such only should be selected
as are healthy and populous. If removed after the work-
ing season has begun, they should be brought from a
distance of at least two miles (p. 156).

* By removing the strongest stocks in an Apiary the first day, and others not
so strong the next, and continuing the process until all were removed, I have safely
changed the location of my Apiary, when compelled to move my hees in the work-
ing season. On the removal of the last hive, but few bees returned to tho old
spot. The change, as thus conducted, strengthened the weaker stocks.

STOCKING THE APIAKY. 281

If the bees are not all at home when the hive is to be
removed, blow a little smoke into its entrance, to cause
those within to fill themselves with honey, and to prevent
them from leaving for the fields. Repeat this process
from time to time, and in about half an hour all will
have returned. If any are clustered on the outside, they
may be driven within by smoke.

The common hives may be prepared for removal by
inverting them and tacking a coarse towel over them, or
strips of lath may be laid over wire-cloth, and brads driven
through them into the edges of the hive.

Confine the hive, so that it cannot be jolted, to a bed
of straw in a wagon with springs, and be sure, before
starting, that it is impossible for a bee to get out. The
inverted position of the hive will give the bees what air
they need, and guard their combs from being loosened.
It will be next to impossible, in warm weather, to move a
hive which contains much new comb.

New swarms may be brought home in any old box
which has ample ventilation. A tea-chest, with wire-
cloth on the top, sides, and bottom-board, will be found
very convenient. The bees may be shut up in this box as
soon as they are hived. New swarms require even more
air than old stocks, being full of honey, and closely clus-
tered together. They should be set in a cool place, and,
if the weather is very sultry, should not be removed until
night. Many swarms are suffocated by the neglect of these
precautions. The bees may be easily shaken out from
this temporary hive (p. 139).

When movable-comb hives are sent away to receive a
swarm, two strips of wood, with small pieces nailed to them
to go between the frames and keep them apart, should be
laid over the frames. The cover, or honey-board, should
then be screwed fast, and, if the strips are of proper

282 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

thickness, one-eighth of an inch air-space will be left all
around the hive, which, with the other ventilators, will
give air enough. If an old stock, in hot weather, is to
be moved any distance in such a hive, it will be advisable
to fasten wire-cloth in front of the portico, so that the bees
can leave their combs (p. 91) and cluster there. Hives
with movable frames should be arranged in such a posi-
tion that the frames run from front to rear, and not from
side to side, in the carriage. My glass hives ought never
to be sent off for swarms.

Inexperienced persons will seldom find it profitable to
begin bee-keeping on a large scale. By using movable-
comb hives, they can rapidly increase then- stocks after
they have acquired skill, and have ascertained, not simply
that money can be made by keeping bees, but that they
can make it. While large profits can be realized by care-
ful and experienced bee-keepers, those who are otherwise
will be almost sure to find their outlay result only in
vexatious losses. An Apiary neglected or mismanaged is
worse than a farm overgrown with weeds or exhausted
by ignorant tillage ; for the land, by prudent management,
may again be made fertile, but the bees, when once
destroyed, are a total loss.

TRANSFERRING BEES FROM COMMON TO MOVABLE-COMB
HIVES.

This process may be easily effected whenever the
weather is warm enough for bees to fly.* It is conducted
as follows: Drive the bees into a forcing-box (p. 354),
which put on their old stand, and carry the parent-hive to
some place where you cannot be annoyed by other bees.
Have on hand tools for prying off a side of the hive ; a

* It has frequently been done, in Winter, for purposes of experiment, by remov
ing the bees into a warm room.

STOCKING THE APIARY. 283

large knife for cutting out the combs; vessels for the
honey; a table or board, on which to lay the brood-
combs ; cotton-twine or tape, for fastening them into the
frames ; and water for washing off, from time to time, the
honey which will stick to your hands. Having selected
the working combs, carefully cut them rather large, so
that they will just crowd into the frames, and retain their
places in their "natural position until the bees have tune to
fasten them. It will be well to wind some twine or tape,
which should be subsequently removed, around the upper
and lower slats of the frames, as an additional security.
Small pieces of empty comb may be fastened with melted
wax and resin (p. 72).*

When the hive is thus prepared, the bees may be put
into it and confined, water being given to them, until they
have time to make all secure against robbers.

When the weather is cool, the transfer should be made
in a warm room, to prevent the brood from being fatally
chilled. An expert Apiarian can easily complete the whole
operation — from the driving of the bees to the returning
of them to their new hive — in about half an hour, and with
the loss of very few bees, old or young. The best time
for transferring bees is about ten days after a swarm has
issued or been forced from the old hive. The brood will
then be sealed over, and able to bear considerable ex-
posure.

Until the feasibility of transferring bees by movable
frames had been thoroughly tested, I felt irreconcilably

* The Eev. Lev! Wheaton prefers to use combs for guides, and confines them by
a thin strip of wood sprung between the uprights of the frames, so as to press against
the lower edges of the combs.

Mr. Wm. W. Gary, in transferring, uses strips three-eighths of an inch wide and
one-eighth thick, cut from any springy wood, and half an inch longer than the depth
of the frames. He fastens them together in pairs, with strings which keep them
just far enough apart to pass over the tops and bottoms of the frames. Two pairs
will be needed for each frame, and they must be removed after the combs are
firmly secured by the bees, which will be done in two or three days.

284 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

opposed to any attempt to dislodge them from their
previous habitations. The process, as it has been ordi-
narily conducted, has resulted in the wanton sacrifice of
thousands of stocks.

Dr. Kirtland thus speaks of the results of transferring
some of his colonies to the movable-comb hives : "I had
three stocks transferred to an equal number of Mr.
Langstroth's hives. The first had not swarmed in two
years, and had long ceased to manifest any industry ; the
others had never swarmed. All the hives were filled with
black and filthy comb, candied honey, concrete bee-bread,
and an accumulation of the cocoons and larvae of the
moth. Within twenty-four hours, each colony became
reconciled to its new tenement, and began to labor with

far greater activity than any of my old stocks I

have now no stronger colonies than these, which I consi-
dered of little value till my acquaintance with this new
hive."— Ohio Farmer •, Dec. 12, 1857.

HONEY. 285

CHAPTER XVI.

HONEY.

THAT hon&y is a vegetable product, was known to the
ancient Jews, one of whose Rabbins asks : " Since we may
not eat bees, which are unclean, why are we allowed to
eat honey ?" and replies : " Because bees do not make
honey, but only gather it from plants and flowers."

Bees often obtain a saccharine substance from the
honey-dews, which are found on the foliage of many
trees, and are sometimes merely an exudation from their
leaves, though oftener a discharge from the bodies of
small aphides or " plant-lice."*

Messrs. Kirby and Spence, in their interesting work on
Entomology, have given a description of the honey-dew
furnished by the aphides :

" The loves of the ants and the aphides have long been cele-
brated; you will always find the former very busy on those trees
and plants on which the latter abound; and, if you examine
somewhat more closely, you will discover that the object of the
ants, in thus attending upon the aphides, is to obtain the saccha-
rine fluid secreted by them, which may well be denominated their
milk. This fluid, which is scarcely inferior to honey in sweet-
ness, issues in limpid drops from the abdomen of these insects, not
only by the ordinary passage, but also by two setiform tubes,
placed one on each side, just above it. Their sucker being inserted
in the tender bark, is. without intermission, employed in absorb-

* The Abbe Boissier de Salvages, in " 1672, described very fully and accurately
these two species of honey-dew. The first kind, he says, has the same origin with
the manna on the ash and maple trees of Calabria and Briancon, where it flows
plentifully from their leaves and trunks, and thickens in the form in which it ia
usually seen. ' I have received specimens of a honey-dew from California, which ia
said to fall from the oak trees in stalactites of considerable size.

286 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

ing the sap, which, after it has passed through these organs, they
keep continually discharging. When no ants attend them, by a
certain jerk of the body, which takes place at regular intervals,
they ejaculate it to a distance."

" Mr. Knight once observed a shower of honey-dew descending
in innumerable small globules, near one of his oak trees. He cut
off one of the branches, took it into the house, and, holding it in a
stream of light admitted through a small opening, distinctly saw
the aphides ejecting the fluid from their bodies with considerable
force, and this accounts for its being frequently found in situations
where it could not have arrived by the mere influence of gravita-
tion. The drops that are thus spurted out, unless interrupted by
the surrounding foliage, or some other interposing body, fall upon
the ground ; and the spots may often be observed, for some time,
beneath and around the trees, affected with honey-dew, till washed
away by the rain. The power which these insects possess of
ejecting the fluid from their bodies, seems to have been wisely
instituted to preserve cleanliness in each individual fly, and,
indeed, for the preservation of the whole family; for, pressing as
they do upon one another, they would otherwise soon be glued
together, and rendered incapable of stirring. On looking stead-
fastly at a group of these insects (Aphides salicis) while feeding
on the bark of the willow, their superior size enabled us to per-
ceive some of them elevating their bodies and emitting a trans-
parent substance in the form of a small shower :

" ' Nor scorn ye now, fond elves, the foliage sear,
When the light aphids, arm'd with puny spear,
Probe each emulgent vein, till bright below,
Like falling stars, clear drops of nectar glow.' — EVANS.

" Honey-dew usually appears upon the leaves as a viscid,
transparent substance, as sweet as honey itself, sometimes in the
form of globules, at others resembling a syrup. It is generally
most abundant from the middle of June to the middle of July —
sometimes as late as September.

"It is found chiefly upon the oak, the elm, the maple, the
plane, the sycamore, the lime, the hazel, and the blackberry ; occa-

HONET. 287

sionally also on the cherry, currant, and other fruit trees. Some-
times only one species of trees is affected at a time. The oak
generally affords the largest quantity. At the season of its
greatest abundance, the happy, humming noise of the bees may
be heard at a considerable distance, sometimes nearly equalling in
loudness the united hum of swarming." — BEVAN.

In some seasons, bees gather large supplies from these
honey-dews, but it is usually abundant only once in three
or four years. The honey obtained from it, though
seldom light-colored, is generaUy of a good quality.

The quality of honey varies very much : some kinds
are bitter, and others very unwholesome, being gathered
from poisonous flowers. A Mandingo African informed a
lady of my acquaintance that his countrymen eat none
that is unsealed until it has been boiled. In some of our
Southern States, all that is unsealed is rejected. The
noxious properties of honey gathered from poisonous
flowers would seem to be mostly evaporated (p. 276)
before it is sealed over by the bees. The boiling, how-
ever expels them still more effectually, for some persons
cannot eat even the best, when raw, with impunity.
When honey is taken from the bees, it should be put
where it will be safe from all intruders, and not exposed
to so low a temperature as to candy in the cells. The
little red and the large black ant are extravagantly fond of
it, and will carry off large quantities if within their reach.
Old honey is more wholesome than that freshly gathered
by the bees.*

* The following extract from the work of Sir J. More, London, 1707, will show
the extravagant estimate which the old writers set upon bee-products:

" Natural wax is altered by distillation into an oyl of marvellous vertue : it is
rather a Divine medicine than humane, because, in wounds or Inward diseases, it
worketh miracles. The bee helpeth to cure all your diseases, and is the best little

friend a man has in the world Honey is of subtil parts, and therefore 3oth

pierce as oyl, and easily passeth the parts of the body; it openeth obstructions, and
cleareth the heart and lights of those humors which fall from the head ; it purgeth
the foulness of the body, cureth phlegmatick matter, and sharpeneth the stomach ;

288 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

To drain honey from virgin combs, bring it to the boil-
ing point in any clean vessel, and, when cool, the wax
will float on the top, and the honey may be strained and
poured into bottles or jars, which should be tightly
covered, to exclude the air. Should it candy, these may
be put into cold water, and brought to the boiling-point,
when the honey will be as nice as ever. Combs which
contain bee-bread should be kept separate from the
others, as the honey from them is of an inferior quality.*

Empty oomb which cannot be used in the hive or spare
honey-boxes (p. 71), may be put into water and boiled,
when the pure wax will float upon the top, and harden if
poured into cold water. If melted again, and run into
vessels slightly greased, the impurities will settle at the
bottom. Combs which have been so long used by bees
for breeding that they will not readily part with their
wax, maybe put into a coarse woolen bag, with a flat-iron
on the top to make it sink, and boiled until the wax has
risen to the top of the kettle. Very old brood-combs are
seldom worth rendering into wax.

New swarms, unless very large, ought not to be
admitted to the surplus honey receptacles until they have
been hived three or four days. Old stocks should have
access to them quite early in the season. If the hives
stand in the sun, and Jhe weather is warm, ample venti-
lationf should be given, while bees are storing honey.

it purgeth those things which hurt the clearness of the eyes, breedeth good blood,
stirrethup natural heat, and prolongeth life; it keepeth all things uncorrnpt which
are put into it, and IB a sovereign medicament, both for outward and inward mala-
dies ; it helpeth the greif of the jaws, the kernels growing within the mouth, and
the sqninancy ; it is drank against the biting of a serpent or a mad dog ; it is good for
such as have eaten mushrooms, for the falling sickness, and against the surfeit.
Being boiled, it is lighter of digestion, and more nourishing."

* In Kussia and Germany, very little honey is sold in the comb. Purchasers in
this country should beware of the inferior West India honey, which is often sold
in cans as a superior article, for two or three times its cost

+ My hives admit of such complete ventilation, that they may be safely put
anywhere except whore there is a pent heat

PLATE XIX.

The surplus honey may be taken from my hives in a
great variety of ways :

(1st.) The hive may be made so long that it can be
taken from the ends on frames; and if these ends be
separated from the main body of the hive by movable or
permanent partitions, the purest honey will be deposited
in them. The partitions should be kept about a quarter
of an inch from the top and bottom, to allow the bees to
pass freely into the ends.*

(2d.) The surplus honey may be stored in large or
small frames, put in an upper box or hive (see Plates III.,
V., and VII., Figs. 9, 16, and 20). Such a box,f when
full, may, by a little smoke, be easily removed, and the
bees driven from it. Its contents may be sold in gross,
or by the single frame.

In all my hives, any additional storage-room may be
given, which the season or locality can ever require. The
experienced bee-keeper well knows that bees will make
much more honey in a large box, than in several small
ones whose united capacity is the same. In small boxes,
they cannot so well maintain their animal heat, and their
effective force is thus often wasted at the height of
the honey-harvest, when time is, to the last degree,
precious.J

* Such a hive, holding a dozen frames in the central apartment, and six In each
of the end ones may be cheaply made. The side apartments may be rabbeted so
as to receive short frames running from the ends to the partitions, or long ones from
front to rear.

t In a favorable season, I have taken two such boxes, each holding over fifty
pounds, from a non-swarming hive, and, in good locations, still larger returns may
oftcn-be realized. The boxes may be sefaover the main hive, and, as the bees can
pass into them without being obliged to travel over the combs, the unusual height
will not annoy them.

$ I am not aware that the attention of Apiarians has ever been called to the loss
incurred by compelling bees to store their surplus honey in small receptacles. The
bee-keeper cannot afford to sell honey stored in small receptacles, except at a
considerable advance over its value in large boxes. By movable frames, the usual
objections to large boxes are removed, as honev may be conveniently taken from
them for sale or use.

13

290 THE HIVE AND HONEiT-B&E.

No metallic slides are needed for removing surplus
honey-boxes. By blowing smoke into them, before they
are taken off, most of the bees will retreat to the main
hive, and, if removed early in the morning, or late in the
afternoon, and placed on a sheet fastened to the hive, the
bees, attracted by the hum of their companions, will
speedily leave them, but not until they have swallowed
all that they can hold. When gorged, they are very
reluctant to fly, and this is the reason they are so long in
leaving when boxes are carried from the hive. The
sooner the bees are driven from them the better, and care
must be taken to protect them from robbers, who would
soon carry their contents to their own hives. If any of the
frames contain brood, they may be returned to the bees.
Should the queen be in the box, many bees will refuse to
leave it until she is returned to the hive.

(3rd.) Glass vessels, of almost any size or form, make
beautiful receptacles for the spare honey; they should
have a piece of comb fastened in them, and should be
covered with something warm if the weather is cool.*

(4th.) If small boxes are used for surplus honey, the one
shown in Plate X., Fig. 24, the dimensions of Avhich are
given in the Explanation of Hives, will probably be found
the simplest, cheapest, and best.f

To remove surplus honey stored in small receptacles,

* Honey, stored in tumblers just large enough to receive one comb, may be
placed in an elegant form upon the table. While all small receptacles waste the
time of the bees, the shallow cells, so many of which must be made in any cylin-
drical vessel, require as large a consumption of time and materials for their covers
and bottoms as those which hold more than twice as much honey.

t Such a bos, which should be furnished either with guides or pieces of comb,
will hold three store-combs, weighing together over four pounds, and, by removing
a glass, one may be cut out without disturbing the others.

If all the joints of a box are made air-tight by a melted mixture of wax and resin,
the bees will be saved much labor in stopping them with propolis ; and, when the
entrance is closed and covered with the same mixture, the honey may be trans-
ported without leakage, even if the combs are broken. Boxes containing honey
should be very carefully packed, and lifted without the slightest jarring.

HONEY. 29J

slowly pass a thin knife or spatula under the box, to
loosen its attachments to the hive ; then, before raising it
enough to allow any bees to escape, blow smoke under
it, and, when they have gorged themselves, it may be
safely removed, the hole from the hive being closed or
covered with another box. The few bees remaining in
the receptacle that is taken off, Avill quickly fly to their
hive. Those who are very timid, may use a slide to
prevent any bees from escaping from the hole. Smoke,
however, is altogether preferable.

"While the most timid may, with proper instructions,
safely remove honey, even from the main hive (p. 169),
a child ten years old may learn to take off small boxes or

292 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER XVII.

BEE-PASTURAGE — OVER-STOCKING.

EVERT bee-keeper should carefully acquaint himself
with the honey-resources of his own neighborhood. My
limits will allow me to mention only some of the most
important plants from which bees draw their supplies.
Since Dzierzon's discovery of the use which may be made
of rye flour, early blossoms, producing pollen only, are
not so important.

All the varieties of willow abound in both bee-bread
and honey, and their early blossoming gives them a
special value :

" First the gray willow's glossy pearls they steal,
Or rob the hazel of its golden meal,
While the gay crocus and the violet blue,
Yield to their flexile trunks ambrosial dew." — EVANS.

The sugar-maple (Acer saccharinus) yields a large,
supply of delicious honey, and its blossoms, hanging in
graceful fringes, will be alive with bees.

Of the fruit trees, the apricot, peach, plum, cherry, and
pear, are great favorites; but none furnishes so much
honey as the apple.

The dandelion, whose blossoms furnish pollen and
honey, when the yield from the fruit trees is nearly over,
is worthy of a high rank among honey-producing plants.

The tulip tree (Liriodendrori), often called "poplar"
and " white wood," is one of the greatest honey-producing
trees in the world. As its blossoms expand in succession,
new swarms will sometimes fill their hives from this

TASTURAGE. 293

source alone. The honey, though dark,* is of a good
flavor. This tree often attains a height of over one hun-
dred feet, and its rich foliage, with its large blossoms of
mingled green and yellow, make it a most beautiful
sight.

The linden, or bass-wood (Tilia Americana) yields an
abundance of white honey of a delicious flavor, and, as it
blossoms when both the swarms and parent-stocks are
usually populous, the weather settled, and other bee-
forage scarce, its value to the bee-keeper is very great.f

" Here their delicious taskrthe fervent bees
In swarming millions tend : around, athwart,
Through the soft air the busy nations fly,
Cling to the bud, and with inserted tube,
Suck its pure essence, its etherial soul." — THOMSON.

This majestic tree, adorned, so late in the season, with
beautiful clusters of fragrant blossoms, is well worth
attention as an ornamental shade-tree. By adorning our
villages and country residences with a fair allowance of
tulip, linden, and such other trees as are not only beautiful
to the eye, but attractive to bees, the honey-resources of
the country might, in process of time, be greatly increased.

The common locust is a very desirable tree for the
vicinity of an Apiary, yielding much honey when it is
peculiarly needed by the bees. In many districts, locust
and bass-wood plantations would be. valuable for their
timber alone.

Hives in the vicinity of extensive beds of seed-onions
will speedily become very heavy ; the offensive odor of

* The honey of Hymettus, which has been so celebrated from the most ancient
times, is of a fair golden color. The lightest-colored honey Is by no means always
the best.

t Judge Fishback says that nearly all his surplus honey is gathered from the
linden. A correspondent of the Jiienenzeitunff, in Wisconsin, states that, in 1858,
several of his hives increased in weight one hundred pounds each, while this tree
was in blossom.

294: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BE K.

the freshly-gathered honey disappears before it is sealed
over by the bees.

Of all the sources from which bees derive their supplies,
white clover is usually the most important. It yields large
quantities of very pure white honey, and wherever it
abounds, the bee will find a rich harvest. In most parts
of this country, it seems to be the chief reliance of the
Apiary. Blossoming at a season of the year when the
weather is usually both dry and hot, and the bees gather-
ing its honey after the sun has dried off the dew, it is
ready to be sealed over almost at once. This clover
ought to be much more extensively cultivated than it now
is. The Hon. Frederick Holbrook, of Brattleboro', Ver-
mont, one of New England's ablest practical farmers and
writers on agricultural subjects, thus speaks of its value :
" Red-top, red clover, and white clover seeds, sown together,
produce a quality of hay universally relished by stock. My prac-
tice is, to seed all dry,* sandy, and gravelly lands with this mix-
ture. The red and white clover pretty much make the crop the
first year ; the second year, the red clover begins to disappear, and
the red-top to take its place ; and after that, the red-top and white
clover have full possession, and make the very best hay for horses
or oxen, milch cows or young stock, that I have been able to pro-
duce. The crop per acre, as compared with herds-grass (timothy)
is not so bulky ; but; tested by weight and by spending quality
in the Winter, it is much the more valuable."

For years I sought in vain to procure a cross between
the red and white clover, having the honey and hay-
producing properties of the red, with a short blossom,
into which the domestic bee might insert its proboscis.
Such a variety, originating in Sweden, has been imported

* Mr. Wagner says: "The yield of honey from various plants and trees depends
not only on the character of the season, but on the kind of soil, in which they
grow. Marshy meadows are inferior to those of a drier soil for bee-pasturage.
White clover growing in the latter will be visited by bees, when that growing in
the former is neglected by them."

PASTURAGE. 295

by Mr. B. C. Rogers, of Philadelphia. It grows as tall as
the red clover, bears many blossoms on a stalk, in size
resembling the white, and, while it answers admirably for
bees, is said to be preferred by cattle to almost any other
kind of grass. It is known by the name of Alsike, or
Swedish white clover.
Mr. Wagner thus speaks of it :

" The views of the value of Swedish white clover, presented
by reports from twelve different agricultural societies in the dis-
trict of Dresden, are the result of careful experiments, made in
localities differing greatly in soil and exposure. We recapitulate
the chief points :

" 1. That Swedish white clover is not so liable as red clover to
suffer from cold and wet weather. 2. That on dry and sandy
soils it is not so certain or valuable a crop as common white
clover, but succeeds admirably on more loamy soils, and, on such,
surpasses either of the other kinds. 3. That, in any rotation, it
may safely follow the common red clover. 4. That the yield per
acre of the first mowing is not inferior to that of the red clover,
but that, ordinarily, the aftermath, or rowen, is not so abundant.
5. That, for soiling purposes, it should not be mown till it is in
full blossom. 6. That, when cured, it is, as hay, a highly nutri-
tious fodder, and is preferred, by cattle and milch cows, to that
made from red clover. 7. That the aftermath is followed by a
dense and excellent growth, furnishing most valuable pasturage
till late in the season. 8. That it yields an abundance of seed,
easily threshed out by flail or machine, three or four days after
mowing. 9. That Swedish white clover is fed to most advantage
after it has fully matured its blossoms; whilst red clover, if
allowed to stand to this stage, will have already lost a consider-
able portion of its nutritive properties.

" E. Fiirst, the editor of the Frauendorfer Blatter, says that this
clover is pre-eminent, both in quality and quantity of product,
and is especially valuable for the continued succulency of the
stalk, even when the plant is in full bloom. It requires a less
fertile soil than the red clover, and is less liable to be thrown out

296 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

by frost in Winter.- It also yields a heavier second crop than the
common white clover."

The blossoms of buckwheat often furnish, late in the
season, a very valuable bee-food.*

Buckwheat is uncertainf in its honey-yielding qualities,
and, in some seasons, hardly a bee will be seen upon large
fields of it. Our best agriculturists are agreed that, on
many soils, it is a very profitable crop, and every Apiary
ought to have some in its vicinity.J

The Canada thistle yields copious supplies of very pure
honey, after the white clover has begun to fail. If
farmers will tolerate its growth, it is interesting to know
that it can be turned to so good an account.

The raspberry furnishes a most delicious honey. In
flavor it is superior to that from the white clover, while
its delicate comb almost melts in the mouth. The sides
of the roads, the borders of the fields, and the pastures of
much of the "hill-country" of New England, abound
with the wild red raspberry, and, in such favored loca-
tions, numerous colonies of bees may be kept. When it
is in blossom, bees hold even the white clover in light

* This honey is usually gathered when the atmosphere is moist, and in wet sea-
sons, is somewhat liable to sour in the cells. Honey gathered when the atmosphere
is dry is usually of the thickest consistency.

t The secretion of honey in plants, like the flow of the sap from the sugar-maple,
depends on a variety of causes, many of which elude our closest scrutiny. In
some seasons the saccharine juices abound, while in others they are so deficient
that bees can obtain scarcely any food from fields all white with clover. A change
in the secretion of honey will often take place so suddenly, that the bees will, in a
few hours, pass from idleness to great activity.

$ Dzierzon says : " In the stubble of Winter grain, buckwheat might be sown,
whereby ample forage would be secured to the bees, late in the season, and a remune-
rating crop of grain garnered besides. This plant, growing so rapidly and maturing
BO soon, so productive in favorable seasons, and so well adapted to cleanse the land,
certainly deserves more attention from farmers than it receives ; and its more
frequent and general culture would greatly enhance the profits of bee-keeping. Its
long-continued and frequently-renewed blossoms yield honey so abundantly, that
* populous colony may easily collect fifty pounds in two weeks, if the weather is
favorable."

PASTUKAGE. 297

esteem. Its drooping blossoms protect the honey from
moisture, and they can work upon it when the weather is
so wet that they can obtain nothing from the upright
blossoms of the clover. As it furnishes a succession of
flowers for some weeks, it yields a supply almost as lasting
as the white clover. The precipitous and rocky lands,
where it most abounds, might be made almost as valuable
as some of the vine-clad terraces of the mountain districts
of Europe.

" Dr. Bevan suggests the use of lemon- thyme as an edging for
garden walks and flower beds. No material good, however, can be
done to a large colony by the few plants that can be sown around a
bee-house. The bee is too much of a roamer to take pleasure in trim
gardens.* It is the wild tracts of heath and furze, the broad acres
of beau-fields and buckwheat, the lime avenues, the hedge-row
flowers, and the clover meadows, that furnish her haunts and fill
her cells. To those who wish to watch their habits, a plot of bee-
flowers is important, and we know not the bee that could refuse
the following beautiful invitation of Professor Smythe :
" ' Thou cheerful Bee! come, freely come,
And travel round my woodbine bower ;

Delight me with thy wandering hum,
And rouse me from my musing hour :

Oh ! try no more those tedious fields ;

Come, taste the sweets my garden yields :

The treasures of each blooming mine,

The buds, the blossoms — all are thine !

And, careless of this noontide heat,
I'll follow as thy ramble guides,

To watch thee pause and chafe thy feet,
And sweep them o'er thy downy sides ;

Then in a flower's bell nestling lie,

And all thy envied ardor ply !

Then o'er the stem, though fair it grow,

With touch rejecting, glance and go.

* I should almost as soon expect, from a small grass-plot, to furnish Ibod for •
herd of cattle, as to provision bees from garden plants.
13*

298 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

0 Nature kind ! 0 laborer wise !

That roam'st along the Summer's ray,
Glean'st every bliss thy life supplies,

And meet'st prepared thy wintry day !
Go, envied, go — with crowded gates,
The hive thy rich return awaits ;
Bear home thy store in triumph gay,
And shame each idler of the day !' "

,London Quarterly Review.

If there is any plant which would justify cultivation
exclusively for bees, it is the borage (Borago officinalis).
It blossoms continually from June until severe frost, and,
like the raspberry, is frequented by bees even in moist
weather. The honey from it is of a superior quality, and
an acre would support a large number of stocks.

The golden-rod (Solidago) affords a late and very
valuable pasturage for bees, yielding, in some regions and
seasons, an important part of their Winter stores. Some
of the earlier-flowering varieties are of no value to bees ;
but those which blossom in September abound in honey
of a superior quality.

The numerous species of asters, lining, in many dis-
tricts, the road-sides and the borders of fields, are almost
as valuable to the bees as the golden-rod. Where these
two plants abound, bees should not be fed until they have
passed out of bloom, as light but populous stocks will
often obtain from them all the Winter stores they need.

The following catalogue of bee-plants, which might
easily be enlarged, is taken from Nutt, an English
Apiarian :

"Alder, almond, althea frutex, alyssum, amaranthus, apple,
apricot, arbutus, ash, asparagus, aspin. aster, balm, bean, beach,
betony, blackberry, borage, box, bramble, broom, bugloss (viper's),
buckwheat, burnet, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cherry, chestnut,
chickweed, clover, cole or coleseed, coltsfoot, coriander, crocus,

OVER-STOCKING. 299

crowfoot, crown imperial, cucumber, currants, Cyprus, daffodil,
dandelion, dogberry, elder, elm, endive, fennel, furze, golden-rod,
gooseberry, gourd, hawthorn, hazel, heath, holly, hollyhock
(trumpet), honeysuckle, honeywort (cerinthe), hyacinth, hyssop, ivy,
jonquil, kidney bean, laurel, laurustinus, lavender, leek, lemon,
lily (water), lily (white), lime, linden (bass-wood), liquidamber,
liriodendron, locust, lucerne, mallow (marsh), marigold (French),
marigold (single), maple, marjoram (sweet), mellilot, melons,
mezereon, mignionette, mustard, nasturtium, nectarine, nettle
(white), oak, onion, orange, ozier, parsnip, pea, peach, pear,
peppermint, plane, plum, poplar, poppy, primrose, privet,
radish, ragweed, raspberry, rosemary (wild), roses (single), rud-
beckiae, saffron, sage, saintfoin, St. John's wort, savory (winter),
snowdrop, snowberry, stock (single), strawberry, sunflower, syca-
more, squash, tansy (wild), tare, teasel, thistles, thyme (lemon),
thyme (wild), trefoil, turnip, vetch, violet (single), wallflower
(single), woad, willow-herb, willow tree, yellow weasel-snout."

OTJR COUNTRY NOT IN DANGER OF BEING OVERSTOCKED
WITH BEES.

If the opinions commonly entertained on the danger
of overstocking are correct, bee-keeping must, in this
country, be always an insignificant pursuit.

It is difficult to repress a smile when the owner of a
few hives, hi a district where as many hundreds might be
made to prosper, gravely imputes his ill-success to the fact,
that too many bees are kept in his vicinity. If, in the
Spring, a colony of bees is prosperous and healthy, it
will gather abundant stores, in a favorable season, even
if hundreds equally strong are in its immediate vicinity ;
while, if it is feeble, it will be of little or no value, even
if it is in " a land flowing with milk and honey," and
there is not another stock within a dozen miles of it.

As the great Napoleon gained many of his victories by
having an overwhelming force at the right place, in the
right time, so the bee-keeper must have strong colonies,

300 THE HIVE AND HOKEY-BKE.

when numbers can be turned to the best account. If
his stocks become strong only when they can do nothing
but consume what little honey has been previously
gathered, he is like a farmer who suffers his crops to
rot on the ground, and then hires a set of idlers to eat
him out of house and home.

There is probably not a square mile in this whole
country which is overstocked with bees, unless it is so
unsuitable for bee-keeping as to make it unprofitable to
keep them at all. Such an assertion may seem unguarded,
but I am happy to be able to confirm it by the following
letter from Mr. Wagner, showing the experience of the
largest cultivators in Europe :

" DEAR SIR : — In reply to your inquiry respecting the over-stock-
ing of a district, I would say, that the present opinion of the cor-
respondents of the Bienenzeitung, appears to be, that it cannot
readily be done. Dzierzon says, in practice at least, ' it never is
done ;' and Dr. Radlkofer, of Munich, the President of the second
Apiarian Convention, declares that his apprehensions on that
score were dissipated by observations which he had opportunity
and occasion to make when on his way home from the Convention.
I have numerous accounts of Apiaries in pretty close proximity,
containing from 200 to 300 colonies each. Ehrenfels had a thou-
sand hives, at three separate establishments, indeed, but so close
to each other that he could visit them all in half an hour's ride ;
and he says that, in 1801, the average net yield of his Apiaries
was two dollars per hive. In Russia and Hungary, Apiaries num-
bering from 2.000 to 5,000 colonies are said not to be unfrequent ;
and we know that as many as 4,000 hives are oftentimes congre-
gated, in Autumn, at one point on the heaths of Germany.
Hence, I think we need not fear that any district of this country,
so distinguished for abundant natural vegetation and diversified
culture, will very speedily be overstocked, particularly, after the
importance of having stocks populous early in the Spring comes
to be appreciated. A week or ten days of favorable weather at
that season, when pasturage abounds, will enable a strong colony

OVEK-STOCKING. 301

to lay up an ample supply for the year, if its labor be properly
directed.

" Mr. Kaden, one of the oldest contributors to the Bienenzeitung,
in the number for December, 1852, noticing the communication
from Dr. Radlkofer, says : ' I also concur in the opinion that a
district of country cannot be overstocked with bees, and that, how-
ever numerous the colonies, all can procure sufficient sustenance,
if the surrounding country contain honey-yielding plants and
vegetables, in the usual degree. Where utter barrenness prevails,
the case is different, of course, as well as rare.'

" The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of German Agriculturists was
held in the city of Hanover, on the 10th of September, 1852, and
in compliance with the suggestions of the Apiarian Convention,
a distinct section devoted to bee-culture was instituted. The pro-
gramme propounded sixteen questions for discussion, the fourth
of which was as follows :

" ' Can a district of country embracing meadows, arable land,
orchards, and forests, be so overstocked with bees, that these may
no longer find adequate sustenance, and yield a remunerating
surplus of their products ?'

" This question was debated with considerable animation. The
Rev. Mr. Kleine — nine-tenths of the correspondents of the Bee-
Journal are Clergymen — president of the section, gave it as his
opinion that ' it was hardly conceivable that such a country could
be overstocked with bees.' Counsellor Herwig, and the Rev. Mr.
Wilkens, on the contrary, maintained that 'it might be over-
stocked.' In reply, Assessor Heyne remarked that, 'whatever
might be supposed possible, as an extreme case, it was certain
that, as regards the kingdom of Hanover, it could not be even
remotely apprehended that too many Apiaries would ever be
established ; and that, consequently, the greatest possible multi-
plication of colonies might safely be aimed at and encouraged.
At the same time, he advised a proper distribution of Apiaries.'

" I might easily furnish you with more matter of this sort, and
designate a considerable number of Apiaries in various parts of
Germany, containing from twenty-five to five hundred colonies.
But the question would still recur, do not these Apiaries occupy

302 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

comparatively isolated positions ? and, at this distance from the
scene it would obviously be impossible to give a perfectly satis-
factory answer.

" According to the statistical tables of the kingdom of Hanover,
the annual production of bees- wax in the province of Lunenberg
is 300,000 Ibs., about one-half of which is exported ; and, assum-
ing one pound of wax as the yield of each hive, we must suppose
that 300,000 hives are annually 'brimstoned* in the province;
and assuming further, in view of casualties, local influences, un-
favorable seasons, &c., that only one-half of the whole number of
colonies maintained, produce a swarm each every year, it would
require a total of at least 600;000 colonies (141 to each square
mile) to secure the result given in the tables. The number of
square miles stocked, even to this extent, in this country, are, I
suspect, 'few and far between.7 It is very evident that this
country is far from being overstocked ; nor is it likely that it ever
will be.

" A German writer alleges that l the bees of Lunenberg pay all
the taxes assessed on their proprietors, and leave a surplus
besides.' The importance attached to bee-culture accounts, in part,
for the remarkable fact that the people of a district so barren, that
it has been called ' the Arabia of Germany,' are, almost without
exception, in easy and comfortable circumstances. Could not
still more favorable results be obtained in this country, under a
rational system of management, availing itself of the aid of
science, art, and skill ?

" But I am digressing. My design was, to furnish you with an
account of bee-culture as it exists in an entire district of country,
in the hands of the common peasantry. This, I thought, would be
more satisfactory, and convey a better idea of what may be done
on a large scale, than any number of instances which might be
selected of splendid success in isolated cases. — Very truly yours,

" REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH. SAMUEL WAGNER."

I am persuaded that, even in the poorest parts of New
England, there are but few districts which could not be
made to yield as large returns as the province of Lunen-

OVER-STOCKING. 303

berg, even if the old-fashioned plan of management was
adhered to. The following interesting statements have
been furnished to me by Mr. Wagner :

" < When a large flock of sheep,' says Oettl, ' is grazing on a
limited area, there may soon be a deficiency of pasturage. But
this cannot be asserted of bees, as a good honey-district cannot
readily be overstocked with them. To-day, when the air is
moist and warm, the plants may yield a superabundance of
nectar ; while to-morrow, being cold and wet, there may be a
total want of it. When there is sufficient heat and moisture, the
saccharine juices of plants will readily fill the nectaries, and will
be quickly replenished when carried off by the bees. Every cold
night checks the flow of honey, and every clear, warm day re-
opens the fountain. The flowers expanded to-day must be visited
while open ; for, if left to wither, their stores are lost. The same
remarks will apply substantially in the case of honey-dews.
Hence, bees cannot, as many suppose, collect to-morrow what is
left ungathered to-day, as sheep may graze hereafter on the pas-
turage they do not need now. Strong colonies and large Apiaries
are in a position to collect ample stores when forage suddenly
abounds, while, by patient, persevering industry, they may still
gather a sufficiency, and even a surplus, when the supply is small,
but more regular and protracted.'

" The same able Apiarian, whose golden rule in bee-keeping is,
to keep none but strong colonies, says that, in the lapse of twenty
years since he established his Apiary, there has not occurred a
season in which the bees did not procure adequate supplies for
themselves, and a surplus besides. Sometimes, indeed, he came
near despairing, when April, May, and June were continually
cold, wet, and unproductive ; but in July, his strong colonies
speedily filled their garners, and stored up some treasure for him ;
while, in such seasons, small colonies could not even gather
enough to keep them from starvation.

"Mr. A. Braun states, in the Bienenzeitung, September, 1854,
that he has a mammoth hive furnished with combs containing at
least 184,230 cells,* and placed on a platform scale, that its weight

* Such a hive would hold about three bushels. Wildman gays that " a clergy-

304 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

may readily be ascertained at stated periods. On the 1 8th of May,
it gained eighteen pounds and a half. On the eighteenth of June,
a swarm weighing seven pounds issued from it, and the following
day it gained over six pounds in weight. Ten days of abundant
pasturage would enable such a colony to gather a large surplus,
while five times the number of equally favorable opportunities
would be of small avail to a feeble stock.

" The island of Corsica paid to Rome an annual tribute of
200.000 Ibs. of wax, which presupposes the production of from
two to three million pounds of honey yearly. The island contains
3790 square miles.

" According to Oettl (p. 389), Bohemia contained 160,000 colonies
in 1853; from a careful estimate, and he thinks the country could
readily support four times that number. The kingdom contains
20,200 square miles.

" In the province of Attica, in Greece, containing forty -five
square miles, and 20,000 inhabitants, 20,000 hives are kept, each
yielding, on an average, thirty pounds of honey and two pounds
of wax.

" East Friesland, a province of Holland, containing 1,200 square
miles, maintains an average of 2,000 colonies per square mile. —
(HEUBKL, Bienenzeitung. 1854, p. 11.)

''• According to an official report, there were in Denmark, in
1838, eighty-six thousand and thirty-six colonies of bees. The
annual product of honey appears to be about 1,841.800 Ibs. In
1855, the export of wax from that country was 118,379 Ibs.

" In 1856, according to official returns, there were 58,964
colonies of bees in the kingdom of Wurtemberg.

" In 1857, the yield of honey and wax in the empire of Austria
was estimated to be worth over seven millions of dollars."

Doubtless, in these districts, where honey is so largely
produced, great attention is paid to the cultivation of
crops which, while in themselves profitable, afford abun-
dant pasturage for bees.

man set a well -stocked hive of bees on a tnb turned bottom up, after having made
a hole through the bottom, and took from the tub four hundred and twenty poundj
of honey."

OVER-STOCKING. 305

Although bees will fly, in search of food, over three
miles,* still, if it is not within a circle of about two miles
in every direction from the Apiary, they will be able to
store but little surplus honey .f If pasturage abounds
within a quarter of a mile from their hives, so much the
better ; there is no great advantage, however, in having
it close to them, unless there is a great supply, as bees,
when they leave the hive, seldom alight upon the neigh-
boring flowers. The instinct to fly some distance seems
to have been given them to prevent them from wasting
their time in prying into flowers already despoiled of their
sweets by previous gatherers.

In all my arrangements, I have aimed to save every
step for the bees that I possibly can. With the alighting-
board properly arranged, and covered, in windy situations,
with cotton cloth (p. 279), bees will be able to store more
honey, even if they have to go a considerable distance
for it, than they otherwise could from pasturage nearer at
hand. Many bee-keepers utterly neglect all suitable pre-
cautions to facilitate the labors of their bees, as though
they imagined them to be miniature locomotives, always

* " Mr. Kaden, of Mayence, thinks that the range of the bee's flight does not usually
extend more than three miles in all directions. Several years ago, a vessel, laden
with sugar, anchored off Mayence, and was soon visited by the bees of the neigh-
borhood,which continued to pass to and from the vessel from dawn to dark. One
morning, when the bees were in full flight, the vessel sailed up the river. For a
short time, the bees continued to fly as numerously as before ; but gradually the
number diminished, and, in the course of half an hour, all had ceased to follow the
vessel; which had, meanwhile, sailed more than four miles."— fiienenseitvtiff,
1854, p. 83.

t " Judging from the sweep that bees take from the side of a railroad train In
motion, we should estimate their pace at about thirty miles an hour. This would
give them four minutes to reach the extremity of their common range.

" Mr. Cotton saw a man in Germany who kept all his numerous stocks rich by
changing their places as soon as the honey-season varied. ' Sometimes he sends
them to the moors, sometimes to the meadows, sometimes to the forest, and some-
times to the hills. In France — and the same practice has existed in Egypt from
the most ancient times— they often put hundreds of hives in a boat, which floats
down the stream by night and stops by day.' " — London Quarterly Review.

306 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

fired up, and capable of an indefinite amount of exertion.
A bee cannot put forth more than a certain amount of
physical effort, and a large portion of this ought not to be
spent in contending against difficulties from which it
might easily be guarded. They may often be seen pant-
ing after their return from labor, and so exhausted as to
need rest before they enter the hive.

Dzierzon's* experience as to the profits of bee-keeping
has already been given (p. 21). With proper manage-
ment, five dollars' worth of honey may, on an average of
years, be obtained for each stock that is wintered in good
condition. The worth of the new colonies I set off against

* " It is by no means easy to devise a rule for estimating the profits of bee-culture,
whether we regard the number of colonies or the number of square miles. He is
not the best Apiarian who obtains the largest yield from a single hive, but keeps
only one or two. By very judicious and careful management, a hundred colonies
might yield a large profit, yet fall far short of what three hundred would have
yielded in the same location and same season, with much less supervision and atten-
tion. He is not the most successful farmer who produces the most extraordinary
yield from a single rod of ground, but he who secures the amplest crops from an
extensive area, well cultivated. The swarming system may be very advantageous
in certain localities, in spite of its manifest wastefulness ; though, in other localities,
it would, because of that unavoidable wastefulness, render bee-keeping a decidedly
losing business, since the system involves a vast expenditure of honey for the pro-
duction and maintenance of brood, which scarcely matures before it is doomed to
the brimstone-pit, leaving to its owner often a smaller quantity of honey than the
swarm would have produced if taken up three weeks after it was hived.

" Confine the queen of an artificial swarm, so as to prevent her from depositing
eggs in the combs, and the colony will, in a short time in the gathering season,
accumulate much larger stores of honey than one whose queen is left at liberty,
though equal in age and population. Thus, also, a colony having a very prolific
queen, will, even in favorable seasons, lay up much less honey, unless ample store-
room is given them, than one whose queen lays fewer eggs. From these and
similar facts, which might bo enumerated, it is evident that a very large number
of particulars must be taken into consideration when endeavoring to form some
general rule for estimating the profits of bee-culture."— DZIERZON.

The old-fashioned bee-keeper should know well the honey-resources of his
district, in order to decide upon the best time for " taking up " his bees. If bees
are smothered, it will be found decidedly advantageous to remove and destroy their
queens, at least three weeks before taking their honey. In this way, the produc-
tion of brood and consumption of honey will be checked, and the combs will be
in a much better condition for melting.

OVEK-STOCKING. 307

the labor of superintendence, cost of hives, and interest
on the capital invested.

A careful man, who, with mylrives, will begin bee-keep-
ing on a prudent* scale, enlarging his operations as his
skill and experience increase, will find, in any region
where honey commands a good price, that the preceding
estimate is a moderate one. In favorable localities, a much
larger profit may be realized.

* Bee-keepers cannot be too cautious In entering largely upon new systems of
management, until they have ascertained, not only that they are good, but that
they can make a good use of them. There is, however, a golden mean between the
stupid conservatism that tries nothing new, and that rash experimenting, on an
extravagant scale, which is so characteristic of the American people.

308 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE ANGER OF BEES — REMEDIES FOR THEIR STINGS,

THE gentleness of bees, when properly managed, makes
them wonderfully subject to human control. When
gorged with honey, they may be taken up by handfuls,
and suffered to . run over the face, and may even have
their glossy backs gently smoothed as they rest on our
persons ; and all the feats of the celebrated Wildman may
be safely imitated by experts, who, by securing the queen,
can make the bees hang in large festoons from their chin,
without incurring any risk of being taken by the beard.
" Such was the spell, which round a Wildman's arm,

Twin'd in dark wreaths the fascinated swarm ;

Bright o'er his breast the glittering legions led,

Or with a living garland bound his head.

His dextrous hand, with firm yet hurtless hold,

Could seize the chief, known by her scales of gold,

Prune 'mid the wondering train her filmy wing,

Or o'er her folds the silken fetter fling."

M. Lombard, a skillful French Apiarian, narrates the
following interesting occurrence, to show how peaceable
bees are in swarming time, and how easily managed by
those who have both skill and confidence :

" A young girl of my acquaintance, who was much afraid of
bees, was completely cured of her fear by the following incident :
A swarm having come off, I observed the queen alight by herself
at a little distance from the Apiary. I immediately called my little
friend, that I might show her the queen; she wished to see her
more nearly ; so, after having caused her to put on her gloves, I
gave the queen into her hand. We were in an instant surrounded
by the whole bees of the swarm. In this emergency, I encouraged

ANGER OF BEES.

309

the girl to be steady, bidding her be silent and fear nothing, and
remaining myself close by her. I then made her stretch out her
right hand, which held the queen, and covered her head and
shoulders with a very thin handkerchief. The swarm soon fixed
on her hand, and hung from it, as from the branch of a tree.
The little girl was delighted above measure at the novel sight,
and so entirely free from all fear, that she bade me uncover her face.
The spectators were charmed with the interesting spectacle. At
length I brought a hive, and, shaking the swarm from her hand,
it was lodged in safety, and without inflicting a single wound."

A practical acquaintance with the principles set forth in
this Treatise, will render it unnecessary, under any cir-
cumstances, to provoke to fury a colony of bees. When
thoroughly aroused, by the overturning, or violent jar-

AN UNFORTUNATE BEE-ING.

310 THE HIVB AND HONEY-BEE.

ing of their hive, or by the presence of a sweaty horse,
or any offensive animal, they are terribly vindictive and
severe, and even dangerous consequences may ensue. As
our domestic animals may, by ill-treatment, be roused to
such fury as to endanger our lives, so the most peaceful
family of bees may be quickly taught to attack any living
• thing that approaches their domicile.

When a colony of bees is unskillfully dealt with, they
will "compass about" their assailant with savage feroc-
ity; and wo be to him, if they can creep up his clothes, or
find a single unprotected spot on his person. He will
fare as badly as the "UNFORTUNATE Bee-ing f so ludi-
crously depicted in " Hood's Comic Sketches."

Those who have much to do with bees, should wear a
bee-hat, unless they are proof against the venom of their
stings; for, while tens of thousands will continue their
pursuits without annoying those who do not molest them,
a few dyspeptic bees (p. 256), will come buzzing around
their ears, determined to sting, without the slightest
provocation. Even these, however, retain some touch of
grace, amidst all their desperation. Like the scold, whose
elevated voice gives timely warning to escape the sound of
her tongue, so a bee bent on mischief, by raising its note
far above the peaceable pitch, gives fair warning that
danger is impending. Even then, if it has not been pro-
voked to madness, it will seldom sting, unless it can plant
its weapon on the face of its victim, and, if possible, near
the eye ; for, like all the stinging tribe, it has an intuitive
perception that this is the most vulnerable spot. If the
head is quietly lowered, and the face covered with the
hands, they will follow a person, often for rods, all the time
sounding their war-note in his ears, and daring the sneak-
ing fellow to allow them to catch but a glimpse of his
coward face.

ANGEK OF BEES. 311

Cotton, quoting from Butler, who, in these remarks,
follows mainly Columella, says :

" Listen to the words of an old -writer : — ' If thou wilt have the
favour of thy bees, that they sting thee not, thou must avoid such
things as offend them : thou must not be unchaste or uncleanly ;
for impurity and sluttiness (themselves being most chaste and
neat) they utterly abhor ; thou must not come among them smell-
ing of sweat, or having a stinking breath, caused either through
eating of leeks, onions, garlick, and the like, or by any other
means, the noisomeness whereof is corrected by a cup of beer ;
thou must not be given to surfeiting or drunkenness ; thou must
not come puffing or blowing unto them, neither hastily stir among
them, nor resolutely defend thyself when they seem to threaten
thee ; but softly moving thy hand before thy face, gently put them
by ; and lastly, thou must be no stranger unto them. In a word,
thou must be chaste, cleanly, sweet, sober, quiet, and familiar ;
so will they love thee, and know thee from all others. When
nothing hath angered them, one may safely walk along by them •
but if he stand still before them in the heat of the day, it is a
marvel but one or other spying him, will have a cast at him.'*

" Above all, never blowf on them; they will try to sting directly,
if you do.

" If you want to catch any of the bees, make a bold sweep at
them with your hand ; and if you catch them without pressing
them, they will not sting. I have so caught three or four at a
time. If you want to do anything to a single bee, catch him { as
if you loved him,' between your finger and thumb, where the tail
joins on to the body, and he cannot hurt you."

If a person is attacked by angry bees, not the slightest

* Many persons imagine themselves to be quite safe, if they stand at a consider-
able distance from the hives ; whereas, cross bees delight to attack those whose
more distant position makes them a surer mark to their long-sighted vision, than
persons who are close to their hives.

t While bees resent the toarm breath exhaled slowly from the lungs, I have
ascertained, that they will run from a blast of cold air blown upon them by the
month of the operator, almost as quickly as from smoke. Before employing smoke,
I often used a pair of bellows.

312 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

attempt should be made to act on the offensive ; for, if a
single one is struck at, others will avenge the insult ; and
if resistance is continued, hundreds, and at last, thousands,
will join them. The assailed party should quickly retreat
to the protection of a building, or, if none is near, should
hide in a clump of bushes, and He perfectly still, with his
head covered, until the bees leave him. When no bushes
are at hand, they will generally give over the attack, if he
lies still on the grass, with his face to the ground.

Those who are alarmed if a bee enters the house, or
approaches them in the garden or fields, are ignorant of
the important fact, that a bee at a distance from its hive,
never volunteers an attack. Even if assaulted, they seek
only to escape, and never sting, unless they are hurt.

If they were as easily provoked away from home, as
when called to defend those sacred precincts, a tithe of
the merry gambols in which our domestic animals indulge,
would speedily bring about them a swarm of infuriated
enemies ; we should no longer be safe in our quiet ram-
bles among the green fields ; and no jocund mower could
whet or swing his peaceful scythe, unless clad in a dress
impervious to their stings. The bee, instead of being the
friend of man, would, like savage wild beasts, provoke his
utmost efforts for its extermination.

Let none, however, take encouragement from the con-
trast between the conduct of bees at home and abroad, to
reserve all their pleasant ways for other places than the
domestic roof; for, towards the members of its own family
the bee is all kindness and devotion ; and while, among
human beings, a mother is often treated by her own chil-
dren with disrespect or neglect, among bees she is always
waited upon with reverence and affection.

It is true, that if any members of a colony become una-
ble to perform their share of labor, they are dragged from

Fig. 57.

PLATE XX.

ANGER OF BEES. 313

the hive by their pitiless companions. It is, however, a
necessary law of their economy, that those who cannot
work, shall not eat ; nor is there anything in the nature
of a bee, that can be benefitted by nursing the sick, while
the noblest traits of humanity are often developed by the
incessant care bestowed upon the weak and helpless.

Huber has demonstrated, that bees have an exceedingly
acute sense of smell, and that unpleasant odors quickly
excite their anger.* Long before his time, Butler said,
" Their smelling is excellent, whereby, when they fly aloft
into the air, they will quickly perceive anything under
them that they like, even though it be covered." They
have, therefore, a special, dislike to those whose habits
are not neat,f and who bear about them a perfume not iu
the least resembling

" Sabean odors
From the spicy shores of Araby the blest."

A sweaty horse is detested by bees, and, when assailed
by them, is often killed ; as, instead of running away, like
most other animals, it will plunge and kick until it falls
overpowered. The Apiary should be fenced in, to prevent
horses and cattle from molesting the hives.

The sting of a bee, upon .some persons, produces very
painful, and even dangerous effects. I have often noticed
that, while those whose systems are not sensitive to the
venom, are rarely molested by bees, they seem to take a
malicious pleasure in stinging those upon whom their

* Stroiig perfumes, however pleasant to us, are disagreeable to bees ; and Aris-
totle observes, that they -will sting; those scented with them. I have known per-
sons ignorant of this fact to be severely treated by bees.

t Some persons,' however cleanly, are assaulted by bees as soon as they approach
their hives. It is related of a distinguished Apiarian that, after a severe attack
of fever, he was never able to be on good terms with his bees. That they can
readily perceive the slightest differencesJn smell, is apparent from the fact that any
number of colonies, fed from a commoivVessel, will be gentle towards each other,
while they will assail the first strange bee that alights <>i} t
U

314: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. •

poison produces the most virulent effect. Something in
the secretions of such persons may both provoke the
attack and render its consequences more severe.

The smeU of their own poison produces a very irritating
effect upon bees. A small portion of it offered to them
on a stick, will excite their anger.* " If you are stung,"
says old Butler, " or any one in the company — yea, though
a bee hath stricken but your clothes, especially in hot
weather — you were best be packing as fast as you can, for
the other bees, smelling the rank flavor of the poison, will
come about you as thick as hail."

REMEDIES FOR. THE STING OF A BEE.

If only a few of the host of cures, so zealously advo-
cated, could be made effectual, there would be little
reason to dread being stung.

The first thing to be done after being stung, is to pull
the sting out of the wound as quickly as possible. When
torn from the bee, the poison-bag, and all the muscles
which control the sting, accompany it; and.it penetrates
deeper and deeper into the flesh, injecting continually
more and more poison into the wound. If extracted at
once, it will very rarely produce any serious consequences.
After the sting is removed, the utmost care should be
taken not to irritate the wound by the slightest rubbing.
However intense the smarting, and the disposition to
apply friction to the wound, it should never be done, for
the moment that the blood is put into violent circulation,
the poison is quickly diffused over a large part of the
system, and severe pain and swelling may ensue. On
the same principle, by severe friction, the bite of a mos-
quito, even after the lapse of several days, may be made

* When bees thrust out their stings in a threatening manner, a minute drop of
poison can be seen on their points, some of which is occasionally flirted into the
eye of the Apiarian, and causes severe irritation.

REMEDIES FOE THE STING OF A BEE. 315

to swell again. As most of the popular remedies are
rubbed in, they are worse than nothing.

If the mouth is applied to the wound, unpleasant conse-
quences may follow ; for, while the poison of snakes,
affecting only the circulating system, may be swallowed
with impunity, the poison of the bee acts with great power
on the organs of digestion. Distressing headaches are
often produced by it, as any one who has been stung or
has tasted the poison, very well knows.*

Mr. Wagner says : " The juice of the ripe berry of the
common coral honeysuckle (Lonicera caprifolium) is the
best remedy I have ever used for the sting of bees, wasps,
hornets, &c. The berries or the expressed juice may be
preserved in a bottle well closed, and will keep their
efficacy more than a year."

The milky juice of the white poppy is highly recom-
mended. An old German writer states that it will instan-
taneously allay the pain and prevent swelling.

Others recommend the juice of tobacco as a sovereign
panacea. Relief has unquestionably been found, by
different persons, from each of these remedies, and there
is as little reason to expect that one remedy will answer
for all, as that the same disease can always be cured by
the same medicines.

In my own case, I have found cold water to be the best
remedy for a bee-sting. The poison being very volatile,
is quickly dissolved in it; and the coldness of the water
has also a powei-ful tendency to check inflammation.

The leaves of the plantain, crushed and applied to the
wound, are a very good substitute when water cannot at

* An old writer says ; " If bees, when dead, are dried to powder, and given t3
either man or beast, this medicine will often give immediate ease in the most
excruciating pain, and remove a stoppage in the body when all other means have
failed." A tea made by pouring boiling water upon bees has recently been pre-
scribed, by high medical authority, for violent strangury ; while the poison of the
bee, under the name of apix, is a great homwopathic remedy.

316 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

once be procured. Bevan recommends the" use of spirits
of hartshorn, and says that, in cases of -.severe, stinging,-
its internal use is also beneficial*

Timid Apiarians, and all who suffer, severely , from the
sting of a bee, should by all means proteet .themselves
with a bee-dress. The great objection to such a dress, as
usually made, is, that it obstructs clear vision, so highly
important in all operations, besides producing such exces-
sive heat and perspiration, as to make one using it pecu-
liarly offensive to the bees. I prefer what I call a bee-hat
(Plate XL, Fig. 25), of entirely novel construction. It is
made of wire-cloth, the meshes of which are too fine to
admit a bee, but coarse enough to allow a free circulation
of air, and to permit distinct sight. The wire-cloth should
be first sewed together like a hat, and made large enough,
to go very easily over the head ; its top may be of cotton
cloth, and the same material should be fastened around its
lower edge. If the top is made of sole leather, it will
serve a better purpose. A piece of wire-cloth one foot

* It may be some comfort to novices to know that the poison will produce less
and less effect upon their system. Old bee-keepers, like Mithridates, appear almost
to thrive upon poison itself. When I first became interested in bees, a sting was
quite a formidable thing, the pain being often very intense, and the wound swelling
so as sometimes to obstruct my sight. At present, the pain is usually slight, and,
if the sting is quickly extracted, no unpleasant consequences ensue, even if no
remedies are used. Huish speaks of seeing the bald head of Bonner, a celebrated
practical Apiarian, covered with stings, which seemed to produce upon him no un-
pleasant effects. The Eev. Mr. Kleine advises beginners to suffer themselves to be
stung frequently, assuring them that, in two seasons, their system will become
accustomed to the poison 1

An old English Apiarian advises a person who has been stung, to catch as speedily
as possible another bee, and make it sting on the same spot. Even an enthusiastic
disciple of Huber might hesitate to venture on such a singular homoeopathic
remedy ; but as this old writer had stated, what I had verified in my own expe-
rience, that the oftener a person was stung the less he suffered from the venom, I
determined to make trial of his prescription. Allowing a sting to remain until it
had discharged all its poison, I compelled another bee to insert its sting, as nearly as
possible, in the same spot. I used no remedies of any kind, and had the satisfac-
tion., in my zeal for new discoveries, of suffering more from the pain and swelling
than for years before.

REMEDIES FOR THE STING OF A BEE. 317

wide, by two and a half feet long, will make a good fit
for most persons. With such a hat, there is no danger
from waspish bees, and its cape may be tucked under the
coat, or so securely fastened, as to defy all assailants.

The hands may be protected by india-rubber gloves,
such as are now in common use. These gloves, while
impenetrable to the sting of a bee, do not materially
interfere with the operations of the Apiarian. As soon,
however, as the bee-keeper acquires confidence and skill,
he will much prefer to use nothing but the bee-hat, even
at the expense of an occasional sting on his hands. If the
hands are wet with honey, they will seldom be stung.

Woolen gloves are objectionable, as everything rough
or hairy has an extremely irritating influence upon bees.
This is probably owing to the fact that, in a state of
nature, bears, foxes, and other hairy animals, are their
principal enemies. No sooner do they feel the touch of
anything rough or hairy, than they dart out their stings.

Butler says : " They use their stings against such things
as have outwardly some offensive excrement, such as hair
or feathers, the touch whereof provoketh them to sting.
If they alight upon the hair of the head or beard, they
will sting if they can reach the skin. When they are
angry, their aim is most commonly at the face, but the
bare hand, that is not hairy, they will seldom sting, unless
they be much offended."

318 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE ITALIAN HONEY-BEE.

ARISTOTLE speaks of three different species of the honey-
bee, as well known in his time. The best variety he des-
cribes as " fjuxpoi, grpoy/^Xij xai #01x1X17" — that is, small and
round in size and shape, and variegated in color.

Virgil ( Georgicon, lib. IV., 98) speaks of two kinds as
flourishing in his time ; the better of the two, he thus
describes :

Elucent aliae, et fulgore coruscant,
Ardentes auro, et paribus lita corpora guttis.
Hsec potior soboles ; hinc cceli tempore certo
Dulcia mella premes."

The better variety, it will be seen, he characterizes as
spotted or variegated, and of a beautiful golden color.

The attention of bee-keepers has recently been called to
this variety of the honey-bee, which, after the lapse of
more than two thousand years, still exists distinct and
pure from the common kind. The following letter from
Mr. Wagner will show the importance attached to this
species, by some of the most skillful and successful Apia-
rians in Europe :

"YORK, Pa., August 5, 1856.

': MY DEAR SIR : — The first account we have of the Italian
bees, as a distinct race or variety, is that given by Capt. Balden-
stein, in the Bienenzeitung, 1848, p. 26.* Being stationed in

* The Rev. E. W. Oilman, of Bangor Maine, has recently directed my attention
to Spinola's " Insectorum Ligurice species nova out rariores" from which it
appears, that Spinola accurately described all the peculiarities of this bee, which he
found in Piedmont, in 1S05. He fully identified it with the bee described by Aris-
totle, and calls it the Ligurian See, a name now very generally adopted in
Europe.

THE ITALIAN BEE. 319

Italy, during part of the Napoleonic wars, he noticed that the bees,
in the Lombardo-Venetian district of Valtelin, and on the borders
of Lake Como, differed in color from the common kind, and seem-
ed to be more industrious. At the close of the war, he retired
from the army, and returned to his ancestral castle, on the Rhae-
tian Alps, in Switzerland ; and to occupy his leisure, had recourse
to bee-culture, which had been his favorite hobby in earlier years.
While studying the natural history, habits, and instincts of these
insects, he remembered what he had observed in Italy, and resolved
to procure a colony from that country. Accordingly, he sent two
men thither, who purchased one, and carried it over the mountain,
to his residence, in September, 1843.

" In May, 1847, this colony, the queen of which had never failed
to produce genuine Italian brood, began to show signs of weak-
ness, but suddenly recovered in the following month : and it was
evident that it had supplied itself with a new queen, which had
fortunately been impregnated by an Italian drone, as she produced
genuine, .or pure brood. On the 15th of May, 1848, this queen
issued with a swarm, and he hoped that, as he had placed the
parent-hive in a rather isolated location, her successor would be
impregnated by an Italian drone. But in this, he was doomed to
disappointment ; she produced a bastard progeny, while the emi-
grant queen produced genuine brood, as before. Similar disap-
pointments awaited him from year to year; and in June. 1851, he
possessed only one colony of the pure stock.

" Among the points which he considered as definitely estab-
lished, by his observations on the Italian bee, are the following :
1. The queen, if healthy, retains her proper fertility at least three
or four years. 2. The Italian bee is more industrious, and th«
queen more prolific, than the common kind ; because, in a most
unfavorable year, when other colonies produced few swarms and
little honey, his Italian colony produced three swarms, which
filled their hives with comb, and, together with the parent-stock,
laid up ample stores for Winter ; the latter yielding, besides, a
box well filled with honey. The three young colonies were among
the best in his Apiary. 3. The workers do not, at most, live
longer than one year ; for, though the been and brood in the

320 THE HIVE AND UONEY-BEE.

parent-hive, when the first swarm and old queen left, were of the
Italian stock exclusively, few of this kind remained in the Fall,
and none survived the Winter. 4. The young queen is impreg-
nated sewn after she is established in a colony, and continues fer-
tile during, life. Were this not so, the genuine queens would not
have continued to produce pure brood during those seven succes-
sive years. 5. .The queen leaves the hive to meet the drones.
1 1' not, it would scarcely have happened, that all the young queens
bred in those seven years, with only one exception, were impreg-
nated by common drones, and produced a bastard progeny. 6. The
old queen regularly leaves with the first swarm, or the genuine
Italian brood would not invariably have been the product of the
swarm, but occasionally, at least, of the parent colony, which
never happened in all that time.

" These observations and inferences impelled Dzierzon — who
had previously ascertained that the cells of the Italian and com-
mon bees were of the same size — to make an effort to procure the
Italian bee ; and, by the aid of the Austrian Agricultural Society
at Vienna,* he succeeded in obtaining, late in February, 1853, a
colony from Mira, near Venice. On the following day, he trans-
i'erred the combs and bees into one of his own hives, and, when
the season opened, placed the hive on a stand in his Apiary, and
screwed it fast, that it might not be stolen. He never moved it
during the ensuing Summer, but took from it combs with workei
and drone-brood, at regular intervals, supplying their place with
empty comb. In this way, he succeeded in rearing nearly fifty
young queens, about one-half of which were impregnated by Italian
drones, and produced genuine brood. The other half produced a
bastard progeny. He continued thus to multiply queens by the
removal of brood, till the parent-stock, and several of his artificial
colonies, suddenly killed off their drones, on the 25th of June.
The bees of the original colony still labored very assiduously, but

* Some of the Governments of Europe have recently taken great interest in dis-
seminating among their people a knowledge of Dzierzon's system of Bee-Culture.
Prussia furnishes annually a number of persons from different parts of the King-
dom, with the means of ac<juiring a practical knowledge of this system ; while the
Bavarian Government hao prescribed instruction in Dzierzon's theory and pnioti'-e
of bee-culture, as a part of the regular course of studies in its teachers' Soininsrl, a.

THE ITALIAN BEE. 321

gradually became less diligent, till when the buck-wheat came
into blossom, they were surpassed in industry by many colonies
of the common bees. But, as young bees continued to make their
appearance he felt satisfied that the colony was in a healthy con-
dition. Later in the season, he unfastened the hive, preparatory
to putting it into winter quarters ; and on attempting to lift it,
found he was scarcely able to move it. He now discovered why
it had so greatly fallen behind the other colonies in industry.
Having early rid itself of drones (as probably is done instinctively
in Italy), it had, in consequence of its extraordinary activity, filled
all the cells with honey, in a very short time, and was thencefor-
ward doomed to involuntary idleness. It had attained a weight
which scarcely any of his colonies reached in the Summer of
1846, when pasturage was so superabundant ; whereas, the Sum-
mer of 1853 was a very ordinary one in this respect.*

" ' The general diffusion of this species of bee,' says Dzierzon,
' will form as marked an era in the bee-culture of Germany, as
did the introduction of my improved hives.f The profit derived
by the farmer from feeding stock, depends not alone on due atten-
tion to the habits and wants of the animals, but mainly on the

* "His experiments on this colony made it manifest, that frequent disturbance
had not produced any injurious effect. Until Midsummer, he not only removed a
brood-comb containing about 5000 cells, every other day, but had, on numerous
other occasions, taken out comb after comb, several times a day, to find the queen,
and show her to bee-keeping friends, who visited him. "When, in consequence of
such interruptions, the queen retreated to the opposite end of the hive, he usually
found her, half an hour thereafter, on the same comb she had occupied before,
engaged in laying eggs. Such disturbances, if the combs be not broken, or ma-
terially damaged, he thinks, do no injury ; but that, on the contrary they not
unfrequently produce a certain excitement among the bees, which impels them to
issue in greater numbers, and labor with increased assiduity."— S. WAGNER.

t After my application for a patent on the movable-frames was favorably
decided upon, the Baron Von Berlepsch, of Seebach, Thuringia (see p. 126), invented
frames of a somewhat similar character. Carl T. E. Von Siebold, Professor of
Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, in the University of Munich, thus speaks of
these frames: "As the lateral adhesion of the combs built down from the bars"
{see pp. 15, 16 of this Treatise), "frequently rendered their removal difficult,
Berlepsch tried to avoid this inconvenience, in a very ingenious way, by suspend-
ing in his hives, instead of the bars, small quadrangular frames, the vacuity of
which the bees fill up with their comb, by which the removal and suspension of
the combs are' greatly facilitated, and altogether such a convenient arrangement to
given to the Dzierzon-hive, that nothing more remains to be desired."
14*

322 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

character of the breed itself. So also with the bee. We find
marked differences in point of industry, even among our common
bees; but the Italian bee surpasses these in every respect. A
chief difficulty in the way of a more general attention to bee-
culture, arises from the almost universal dread of the sting of this
insect. Many fear even the momentary pain which it inflicts,
though no other unpleasant consequences follow ; but in some per-
sons it causes severe and long-protracted swelling and inflamma-
tion. This, especially, deters ladies from engaging in this pur-
suit. All this can be avoided by the introduction of the Italian
bee, which is by no means an irascible insect.* It will sting
only when it happens to be injured, when it is intentionally
annoyed, or when it is attacked by robbing bees : then it will
defend itself with undaunted courage, and such are its extraordi-
nary vigor and agility, that it is never overpowered, so long as the
colony is in a normal condition. Colonies of common bees may
speedily be converted into Italian stocks, by simply removing the
queen from each, and, after the lapse of two or three days, or as
soon as the workers decidedly manifest consciousness of the
deprivation, supplying them with an Italian queen. We are
thereby also enabled to note the gradual disappearance of the old
race, as it becomes supplanted by the new. Besides the increased
profit thus derivable from bee-culture, this species also furnishes
us with no small gratification, in studying the nature, habits, and
economy of the insect to greater advantage, because, by means of
it, the most interesting experiments, investigations, and observa-
tions may be instituted, and thus the remaining doubts and diffi-
culties be cleared up.'

" He further says : ' It has been questioned, even by experienced
and expert Apiarians, whether the Italian race can be preserved in
its purity, in countries where the common kind prevail. There
need be no uneasiness on this score. Their preservation could be
accomplished, even if natural swarming had to be relied on.
because they swarm earlier in the season than the common kind,

* Spinola speaks of the more peaceable disposition of this bee; and Columella,
1800 years ago, had noticed the same peculiarity, describing it as " mittor mori-
fctw." Both its superior industry and peaceableness have been noticed from the
earliest ages.

THE ITALIAN BEE. 323

and also more frequently. Captain Baldenstein's want of success
was most probably the result of a deficiency of drone-comb* in his
Italian hives, as a consequence of which, only few drones were
produced.'

'• The main thing to be attended to in any localities where
common bees are found or kept, is to secure the production of
drones in numbers overwhelmingly large ; though Dzierzon is
under the impression, that where both kinds of drones exist in
about equal numbers, the Italian queens will usually encounter
Italian drones, both queens and drones being more active and
agile than the common kind. Besides, the wings of both queens
and drones are finer and more delicate than those of the common
kind, and the sounds produced in flying are clearer and higher-
toned. Hence, probably, they are readily able to distinguish each
other when on the wing.f

" The Baron of Berlepsch, one of the most enthusiastic and
skillful Apiarians, on a large scale, in Germany, says he can. from
his own experience confirm the statements of Dzierzon, in relation
to the Italian bee, having found,

* * Dzierzon guarded against this, by giving to a very large colony, which ordi-
narily produced drones in great numbers, a fertile queen very early in the season.
Thousands of drones soon made their appearance, and he immediately formed an
artificial colony by removing this queen, -with a sufficient number of workers,
adding worker-brood from other colonies. On the twelfth day following, he heard
a young queen ' teeting ' in the parent hive and, to his surprise, a large swarm
issued from it on the same day, though the weather was then cool and cloudy. This
swarm came forth suddenly, without any previous indication of its intention, just
as after-swarms usually do. On a similar day, Dzierzon says, he had never seen a
first swarm of common bees leave. So cold was the weather, that some of the bees
became chilled before the swarm was hived. As the swarm was unusually large,
he divided it into two, as he was able to procure an additional queen from the
parent hive. Both throve well, and each of the queens was impregnated by an
Italian drone. From this occurrence, he judged that these bees have an instinctive
proclivity to swarm early. Our common kind would have lingered long, rather
than ' swarm in weather so cold and cloudy.' " — S. W AGREE.

t " If, at the time when young queens are emerging, the bees and drones be
tempted to sally out earlier than usual in the day, hours before the common drones
come forth, by feeding them with diluted honey, the perpetuation of the genuine
breed will the more probably be secured. But this end will the most certainly be
attained, if measures are taken to have Italian queens and drones bred early in the
season, before the common drones make their appearance ; and again late, after the
latter have been ' killed off.' This may readily be done by the improved hive, and
the application of certain known principles in bee-culture." — 3. WAGXKB.

324 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

"1. That the Italian bees are less sensitive to cold than the
common kind. 2. That their queens are more prolific. 3. That
the colonies swarm earlier and more frequently, though of this he
has less experience than Dzierzon. 4. That they are less apt to
sting. Not only are they less apt, but scarcely are they inclined
to sting, though they will do so if intentionally annoyed or irri-
tated. 5. That they are more industrious. Of this fact he had
but one Summer's experience, but all the results and indications
go to confirm Dzierzon's statements, and satisfy him of the
superiority of this kind in every point of view. 6. That they are
more disposed to rob than common bees, and more courageous and
active in self-defence. They strive on all hands to force their
way into colonies of common bees ; but when strange bees attack
their hives, th$f fight with great fierceness, and with an incredible
adroitness.*

" From one Italian queen sent him by Dzierzon, Berlepsch suc-
ceeded in obtaining, in the ensuing season, one hundred and thirty-
nine fertile young queens, of which number about- fifty produced
pure Italian progeny .f

"Busch (Die Honig-biene,. Gotha, 1855) describes the Italian
bee as follows : ' The workers are smooth and glossy, and the
color of their abdominal rings is a medium between the pale
yellow of straw and the deeper yellow of ochre. These rings have
a narrow black edge or border, so that the yellow (which might

* Spinola speaks of these bees as "velociores moW — quicker in their motions
than the common bees.

t " It is a remarkable fact that an Italian queen, impregnated by a common drone
and a common queen impregnated by an Italian drone, do not produce workers
of a uniform intermediate cast, or hybrids ; but some of the workers bred from
the eggs of each queen will be purely of the Italian, and others as purely of the
common race, only a few of them, indeed, being apparently hybrids. Berlepsch
also had several bastardized queens, which at first produced Italian workers exclu-
sively, and afterwards common workers as exclusively. Some such queens pro-
duced fully three-fourths Italian workers ; others, common workers in the same
proportion. Nay, he states that he had one beautiful orange-yellow bastardized
Italian queen which did not produce a single Italian worker, but only common
workers, perhaps a shade lighter in color. The drones, however, produced by a
bastardized Italian queen are uniformly of the Italian race, and this fact, besides
demonstrating the truth of Dzierzon's theory, renders the preservation and per-
petuation of the Italian race, in its purity entirely feasible in any country where
they may be introduced." — S. WAG> i •.:;.

THE ITALIAN BEE. 325

be called leather-colored) constitutes the ground, and is seemingly
barred over by these slight black edges, or borders. This is most
distinctly perceptible when a brood-comb, on which bees are
densely crowded, is taken out of a hive. The drones differ -from
the workers in having the upper half of their abdominal rings
black, and the lower half an ochry-yellow, thus causing the
abdomen, when viewed from above, to appear annulated. The
queen differs from the common kind chiefly in the greater bright-
ness and brilliancy of her colors.'

<: Otto Radlkofer, Jr., of Munich, in a communication to the
Bienenzeitung. says that a colony of Italian bees, which he trans-
ferred in February, began to build new comb before the middle of
March, while his common bees had not, at the date of his commu-
nication (the last of April), begun to build any new comb. ' Not
only,' says Mr. Radlkofer, ' are the Italian bees distinguished by
an earlier-awakened impulse to activity and labor, but they are
remarkable also for the sedulous use they make of every opening
flower, visiting some on which common bees are seldom or never
seen. They have also demonstrated their superior agility in self-
defence ; nay, they would not tolerate the presence of other bees
on comb that had been strewed with flour for their common use.
In all these respects, the palm of superiority must be awarded to
the Italian bee.'

" Considerable difficulty has been encountered, even by expe-
rienced Apiarians, in inducing a colony of common bees, deprived
of its queen, to accept an Italian queen in its stead, and many
failures have occurred, involving the loss of the offered queen,
and causing grievous disappointment. The safest course appears
to be, to remove the queen several days before the substitution is
intended to be made, and to destroy all the royal cells and
embryo queens the day before the Italian queen is introduced.
At the time of her introduction, the combs should again be
thoroughly examined, and. if any more royal cells have been
started, they must likewise be destroyed. The Italian queen
should be placed in a cage for her protection, and a small
quantity of pure honey in open cells should be put in the case.
The conduct of the workers will speedily show whether and when

326 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

they will receive her. Mr. Lange advises that the Italian queen
be introduced immediately after the bees of a deprived colony
manifest undoubted consciousness of the loss they have sustained,
and before they have started any royal cells, or made arrangements
for doing so. — Yours truly, SAMUEL WAGNER."

" REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH."

The chief obstacle to the rapid diffusion of this valuable
variety has been the difficulty experienced by the ablest
German Apiarians in preserving the breed pure, even
Berlepsch having failed entirely to do so. By means of
my non-swarmer, however, this difficulty may be readily
overcome.

Let the bee-keeper who obtains an Italian queen in the
Spring, give her, with proper precautions (p. 200), to a
populous colony, whose hive is well furnished with drone-
combs, having first deprived it of its queen. When
the drone cells are filled with sealed brood, let nuclei
(p. 189) be formed from this stock, and replace the combs
removed, with others containing workers ready to hatch.
By thus keeping the parent-stock always populous, a
large number of nuclei may be formed from it. Just
before the young Italian queens mature, adjust the non-
swarmer (Plates- II., V., Figs. 5, 17) to all the hives con-
taining common drones, so as to shut them in, while free
egress is given to queens and workers. As only the drones
bred by the Italian queen have their liberty, all the young
females will be fertilized by them. As fast as the queens
of the nuclei become fertile, they may be given to the
various stocks, and from these, in a short time, other
nuclei which will raise Italian queens, maybe formed. In
this way, an expert, who can be sure of having Italian
drones until late in the season, might easily convert an
Apiary of a thousand or more hives into stocks containing
none but the new variety.

THE ITALIAN BEE. 327

To secure the requisite number of drones, part of the
Italian drone-brood should be given to some of the nuclei,
so that, in case the parent-stock kills its drones, others
may be on hand. If the Apiarian removes the queen
from this colony before the drones are killed, the bees
will tolerate their presence much longer. The same
object may also be accomplished by liberal feeding as
soon as natural forage fails (p. 224).

Dzierzon found that a queen which had been refri-
gerated for a long time, after being brought to life by
warmth, laid only male eggs, whilst previously she had
also laid female eggs. Berlepsch refrigerated three
queens by placing them thirty-six hours in an ice-house,*
two of which never revived, and the third laid, as before,
thousands of eggs, but from all of them only males were
evolved. In two instances, Mr. Mahan has, at my sug-
gestion, tried similar experiments, and with like results.
It does not seem to have occurred to the German
Apiarians that by this refrigerating process we may
secure as many Italian drones as we need. All that is
necessary is to convert by it one or more of the queens
of the nuclei into drone-layers. The reception of an
Italian queen quite late in the season may. thus be turned
to good account.

If the Apiarian is in the vicinity of hives to which he
cannot apply the non-swarmer, it will be necessary for
him to seek some place where the common drones cannot
interfere with his proceedings. Unless the breed is kept
pure, the advantages proposed by its introduction cannot
be secured.

Italian queens may be safely sent in my hives to any
part of the country. A hive for this purpose should be

* A short exposure of a queen to pounded ice and salt, will answer every pur-
pose. The spermatozoids are in some way rendered inoperative by severe cold.

328 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

made to hold only one comb, which ought to be old and
very securely fastened. Into such a hive, suitably pro-
visioned, an Italian queen may be introduced, with a few
hundred bees to keep her company, and, if sufficient ven-
tilation is given, with a little water daily, they will bear a
journey of many days. If received at a season unsuit-
able for rearing new queens,- she maybe given to some
strong colony and reserved for future operations.

It is hardly necessary to say, that a species of the
honey-bee so much more productive than the common
kind, and so much less sensitive to cold, will be of very great
value to all sections of our country.* Its superior docility
would make it worthy of high regard, even if in other
respects it had no peculiar merits. Its introduction into
this country will, it is confidently believed, constitute a
new era in bee-keeping, and impart an interest to its pur-
suit which will enable us, ere long, to vie with any part
of the world in the production of honey.

* An attempt was made, in 1855, by Mr. Wagner, to import the Italian bees, but,
unfortunately, the colonies perished on the voyage. Mr. Kichard Colvin, of Balti-
more, Mr. Wagner, and myself, have made arrangements to have them brought to
this country this Spring (1859).

SIZE OF HIVES. 329

CHAPTER XX.

SIZE, SHAPE, AND MATERIALS FOR HIVES — OBSERVING HIVES.

NOTWITHSTANDING the almost innumerable experiments
which have been made to determine the best size, shape,
and materials for bee-hives, the ablest practical Apiarians
are still at variance on these points. In most districts in
this country, it is pretty generally agreed that hives hold-
ing less than a bushel, in the main apartment, are not
profitable in the long run. As regards, however, the size,
both of the main hive and the apartments for spare honey,
so much depends on seasons and localities, and on whether
the bees swarm or not, that no rule, applicable to all cases,
can be given. Every bee-keeper must determine these
questions by reference to the honey-resources of his own
district. As the plan of my hives admits of their being
enlarged and again contracted, without destruction or
alteration of existing parts, the size, either of the main
hive or surplus storage room, may be varied at pleasure.

Being able to remove any surplus, I prefer to make the
interior of my hives considerably larger than a bushel.
Many hives cannot hold one-quarter of the bees, comb,
and honey which, in a good season, may be found in my
large hives ; while their owners wonder that they obtain
so little profit from their bees. A good swarm of bees,
put, in a good season, into a diminutive hive, maybe com-
pared to a powerful team of horses harnessed to a baby
wagon, or a noble fall of water wasted in turning a petty
water-wheel.

A hive tail in proportion to its other dimensions, has
some obvious advantages; for, as bees are disposed to

330 THE 1IIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

carry their stores as far as possible from the entrance,
they will fill its upper part with honey, using the lower
part mainly for brood, thus escaping the danger of being
caught, in cold weather, among empty ranges of comb,
while they still have honey unconsumed. If the top of
this hive, like that of an old-fashioned churn, is made (on
the Polish plan) considerably smaller than the bottom, it
will be better adapted to a cold climate, besides being
more secure against high winds. Such a hive is deficient
in top-surface for the storing of honey in boxes, and it
would be impossible to use frames* in it to any advantage ;
but, to those who prefer to keep bees on the old plan,f
one of this shape, made to hold not less than a bushel and
a half, is decidedly the best.

A hive long from front to rear, and moderately low
and narrow, seems, on the whole, to unite the most
advantages. Such a hive resembles a taU one, laid upon
its side, and, while affording ample top-surface for surplus
honey, it greatly facilitates the handling of the frames,
besides diminishing their number and cost.J

* The deeper the frames, the more difficult it is to make them hang true on the
rabbets, and the greater the difficulty of handling them without crushing the bees
or breaking the combs.

t It is instructive to see how the very first departure from the olden way proves
the truth, in bee-culture at least, of the hackneyed quotation :
" A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

Even so simple an improvement as that of top-boxes will, as used by many,
eventually destroy their bees ; for, while in favorable years such boxes may be
safely removed, in others the surplus honey which they contain, is the life of

J Mr. M. Quinby, of St. Johnsville, New York, in calling my attention to some
stocks, which he had purchased in box hives of this shape, informed me that bees
wintered in them about as well as in tall hives, the bees drawing lack among their
stores in cold weather, just as in tall hives they draw -up among them. My hive,
as at first constructed, was fourteen and one-eighth inches from front to rear,
eighteen and one-eighth inches from side to side, and nine inches deep, holding
twelve frames. After Mr. Quinby called my attention to the wintering of bees in
his long box-hives, I constructed one that measured twenty-four inches from front
to rear, twelve inches from side to side, and ten inches deep, holding eight frames.

MATERIALS OF HIVES. £31

The common Dzierzon hive* is long and flat, but, as
the combs run fom side to side, instead of from front to
rear, the bees, unless the hive is uncommonly well pro-
tected, will suffer from cold in Whiter. As the German
Apiarian uses slats instead of frames, it would be incon-
venient for him to remove any very long combs from his
hive.

The variety of opinions respecting the best materials
for hives, has been almost as great as on the subject of
their proper size and shape. Columella and Virgil recom-
mend the hollowed trunk of the cork tree, than which
no material would be more admirable if it could only be
cheaply procured. Straw hives have been used for ages,
and are warm hi Winter and cool in Summer. The diffi-
culty of making them take and retain the proper shape
for improved bee-keeping, is an insuperable objection to
their use. Hives made of wood are, at the present time,
fast superseding all others. The lighter and more spongy
the wood, the poorer will be its power of conducting
heat, and the warmer the hive in Winter and the cooler
in Summer.f Cedar, bass-wood, poplar, tulip-tree, and
soft pine, afford excellent materials for bee-hives. The
Apiarian must be governed, in his choice of lumber, by
the cheapness with which any suitable kind can be ob-
tained in his own immediate vicinity.

I have since preferred to make my hives eighteen and one-eighth inches from front
to rear, fourteen and one-eighth inches from side to side, and ten inches deep. Mr.
Qninby prefers to make my movable frames longer and deeper.

* Dzierzon builds hives in structures for two, four, and even many more colonies.
On Plate XXII., Fig. 71 (the Frontispiece to the first edition of my work), I have
given a representation of a triple hive. The little that can be saved in the first
cost of such hives, seems to me to be more than lost by the great inconvenience of
handling them.

t Mr. Wagner informs me that Scholz, a German Apiarian, recommends hives
made of adobe — in which frames or slats may be used — as cheaply constructed, and
admirable for Summer and Winter. Such structures, however, cannot be moved.
But in many parts of our country, where both lumber and saw-mills are scarce,
and where people are accustomed to build adobe houses, they might prove desir
nble. The material is plastic clay, mixed with cut straw, waste tow, &c.

332 THE HIYE AND HONEY-BEE.

A serious disadvantage attaching to all kinds of wooden
hives, is the ease with which they conduct heat, causing
them to become cold and damp in Winter, and, if exposed
to the sun, so hot in Summer as often to melt the combs.
The Winter inconveniences are greatly increased if the
hives are well painted, while, if this is neglected, they
cannot ordinarily be exposed to sun or weather without
serious injury.*

To make the movable-comb hives to the best advan-
tage, the frames at least should be cut out by a circular
saw, driven by steam, water, or horse-power. In build-
ings where such saws are used, the frames may be made
from the small pieces of lumber, seldom of any use, except
for fuel, and may be packed almost solid in a box, or in a
hive which will afterwards serve for a pattern. One
frame in such a box, properly nailed together, will serve
as a guide for the rest. The other parts of the hive can
easily and cheaply be made by any one who can handle
tools, and can never be profitably manufactured to be sent
far, unless made where lumber is cheap, and the parts
closely packed, to be put together after reaching their
destination.

_MOV ABLE-COMB OBSERVING HIVES.

Each comb hi these hives is attached to a movable
frame, and, as both sides admit of inspection, all the won-
ders of the bee-hive may be exposed to the light of day,
as well as that of (pp. 23, 116) lamps and gas.

In the common observing-hive, experiments are con-
ducted only by cutting away parts of the comb ; whereas,
in this, they can be performed by the simple removal of
a frame ; and if a colony becomes reduced in numbers, it

* The abundant ventilation now given to my hives, •will enable the Apiarian to
dispense with paint, except on the joints and roofs ; and if the latter are, in Summer,
covered with straw, battened to them so that the air can circulate under it, they
may be safely placed in the sun, if not exposed to a close, suffocating heat.

OBSERVING HIVES. 333

may be recruited, in a few minutes, by giving it maturing
brood from another hive.*

These observing-hives may be constructed to accommo-
date a full swarm. I do not, however, recommend such
a hive for ordinary purposes, but one holding only a sin-
gle frame (PL IV., Figs. 14, 15), which, while it gratifies
curiosity, admits of easy control, and requires only a few
bees to be diverted from more profitable hives.

A parlor observing-hive of this form may be conveni-
ently placed in any room in the house — the alighting-
board being outside, and the whole arrangement such
that the bees may be inspected at all hours, day, or night,
without the slightest risk of their stinging. Two such
hives may be placed before one window, and put up or
taken down in a few minutes, without cutting or defacing
the wood-work 'of the house. In one, the queen may
always be shown, and in the other, the process of rearing
young queens from worker-eggs. These miniature hives
may be stocked in the same way that a nucleus is formed,
or a small after-swarm may be hived in them.

An observing-hive will prove an unfailing source of
pleasure and instruction ; and those who live in crowded
cities, may enjoy it to the full, even if condemned to the
penance of what the poet has so feelingly described as an
" endless meal of brick." The nimble wings of these agile
gatherers will quickly waft them above and beyond " the
smoky chimney-pots ;" and they will bear back to their
city homes the balmy spoils of many a rustic flower,
"blushing unseen," in simple loveliness. Might not their

* A writer, in a description of the differe'nt hives exhibited at the World's Fair,
In London, laments that no method has yet been devised, to enable bees to cluster,
in cold weather, in an observing-hive, so as to preserve them alive in Winter, even
in the moderate climate of Great Britain. By the use of movable frames, this
difficulty can be easily obviated, as, on the approach of cold weather, the frames,
with the bees, may be put into a suitable hive, and returned in the Spring to their
old abode.

334 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

pleasant murmurings awaken in some the memory of
long-forgotten joys, when the happy country child listened
to their soothing music, while intently watching them in
the old homestead-garden, or roved with them amid pas-
tures and hill-sides, to gather the flowers still rejoicing in
their "meadow-sweet breath," or whispering of the
precious perfumes of their forest home !

" To me more dear, congenial to my heart,
One native charm than all the gloss of art ;
Spontaneous joys, where nature has its play,
The soul adopts and owns their first-born sway ;
Lightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind,
Unenvied, unmolested, uncoufined.
But the long pomp, the midnight masquerade,
With all the freaks of wanton wealth array' d,
In these, ere triflers half their wish obtain,
The toilsome pleasure sickens into pain ;
And e'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy,
The heart distrusting asks, IF THIS BE JOT."

GOLDSMITH.

WINTERING BEES. 335

CHAPTER XXI. 0

WINTERING BEES.

As soon as frosty weather arrives, bees cluster com-
pactly together in their hives, to keep warm. They are
never dormant, like wasps and hornets (p. 110), and a
thermometer pushed up among them will show a Summer
temperature, even when, in the open air, it is many
degrees below zero. When the cold becomes intense,
they keep up an incessant tremulous motion, in order to
develop more heat by active exercise ; and, as those on
the outside of the cluster become chilled, they are re-
placed by others.

As all muscular exertion requires food to supply the
waste of the system, the more quiet bees can. be kept, the
less they will eat. It is, therefore, highly important to
preserve them, as far as possible, in Winter, from every
degree, either of heat or cold, which will arouse them to
great activity.

The usual mode of allowing them to remain all Winter
on their Summer stands, is, in cold climates, very objec-
tionable. In those parts of the country, however, where
the cold is seldom so severe as to prevent them from
flying, at frequent intervals, from their hives, perhaps no
better way, all things considered, can be devised. In
such favored regions, bees are but little removed from
their native climate, and their wants may be easily sup-
plied, without those injurious effects which commonly
result from disturbing them when the weather is so cold
as to confine them entirely to their hives.

If the stocks are to be wintered in the open air, the}

336 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

should all be made populous, and rich, in stores, even if to
do it requires the number of colonies to be reduced one-
half, or more.* The bee-keeper who has ten strong
stocks in the Spring, will, by judicious management with
movable-comb hives, be able to close the season with a
larger Apiary than one who begins it with thirty, or more,
feeble colonies.

If two or more colonies, which are to be united in the
Fall, are not close together, their hives must be gradually
approximated (p. 280), and the bees may then, with
proper precautions (p. 203), be put into the same hive.

If the central combs of the hive are not Avell stored
with honey, they should be exchanged for such as are, so
that, when the cold compels the bees to recede from the
outer combs, they may cluster among their stores. If the
fullest honey-combs are not of worker" size, the caps of
their cells may be sliced off, and the combs put in the
upper apartment, where the bees can remove the honey,
and store it in the centre of the hive. In districts where
bees gather but little honey in the Fall, such precautions,
in cold climates, will be specially needed, as, often, after
breeding is over, their central combs will be almost
empty.

As .bees are natives of a warm climate, they do not
instinctively place their honey where it will be most acces-
sible to them in cold weather, but simply where it will
least interfere with the raising of brood. Neither, if, while
the weather is warm, they can easily communicate through
the combs, of the hive, can they be depended on to make
such passages through them, as will allow them to pass
readily, in cold weather, from one to another.

* Small colonies consume, proportionally much more food than large ones, and
often perish from inability to maintain sufficient heat. Stocks should not, how-
ever, be made over-populous, as their great internal heat would create restlessness,
and engender dysentery, by leading to an inordinate c;>n.;mnption of food (p. 256).

WINTERING BEES. 337

The Apiarian, should, therefore, late in the Fall, cut,
with a pen-knife, a hole, an inch in diameter, in the centre
of each comb, about one-third from the top.*

Great care should be taken to shelter hives from the
piercing winds, which in Winter so powerfully exhaust
the animal heat of the bees ; for, tike human beings, if
sheltered from the wind, they will endure a low tem-
perature far better than a continuous current of very
much warmer air.f

In some parts of the West,' where bees suffer much
from cold winds, their hives are protected, in Winter, by
sheaves of straw, fastened so as to defend them from both
cold and wet. With a tittle ingenuity, farmers might
easily turn their waste straw to a valuable account in
sheltering their bees.

If the colonies are wintered in the open air, the
entrance to their hives must be large enough to allow
the bees to fly at pleasure. Many, it is true, will be lost,
but a large part of these are diseased ; and, even if they
were not, it is better to lose some healthy bees than to
incur the risk of losing, or greatly injuring, a whole

* If these holes are made before they feel the need of them, they will frequently
close them. Mr. Wm. W. Gary (p. 204) has Invented a process of making these
holes without removing the combs. He makes a hole in the side of the hive,
which, when not in use, is covered with a button or ping (PI. V., Fig. 16), through
•which he slowly worms an instrument in the shape of a flour or butter-taster
(sharpened at the end), until it strikes the opposite side of the hive. By this
process of making the Winter passages, only a very few bees are hurt. As the
queen always runs away from danger, she is not liable to be hurt. An application
for a patent on this device is now pending. If the patent issues, the right to use it
will be free to all owning the right to use the movable-comb hive.

I strongly advise every one using my hives to make Winter passages for their
bees. As the frames touch neither the top, bottom, nor sides of the hives, the bees
have such extraordinary facilities for intercommunication, that they cannot be
depended on to leave any holes in their combs.

t The Winter of 1855-6 will long be remembered, not only for the nncon mon
degree and duration of its cold, but for the tremendous winds, which, often for
days together, swept like a Polar tornado over the land. Apiaries standing in
exposed situations were, in many instances, nearly ruined.
15

338 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

colony by the excitement created by confining them when
the weather is warm enough to entice them abroad.*

The best Apiarians are still at variance as to how much
air should be given to bees in Winter, and whether hives
should have upward ventilation, or not. If the hives have
no upward ventilation, then I believe that they need as
much, or even more, air, than in Summer. If upAvard
ventilation is given, the smaller the lower openings the
better, as it is not desirable that there should be a strong
current of cold air passing ^hrough the hives.

In my hives, all the lower passages can easily be closed
air-tight, and the bees allowed to go in and out through
the Winter-entrance, which is made at the top of the
hive (PL I., Fig. 1 ; PI. V., Fig. 17).f

If the hive has an upper box-cover, as1 in PI. HI., Fig.
9, the holes in the honey-board must be left open, or
closed only with wire-cloth, that the dampness, which would
otherwise condense or freeze on the combs and interior
walls of the hive, may escape without injuring the bees.

If an upper hive, as in Plate V., Fig. 16, is placed on
the top of the one in which the bees are wintered, its
roof should be slightly elevated, to allow the escape of
moisture. If a single hive, like that in Plate I, Fig. 1, or
Plate V., Fig. 17, is used, the same opening must be
allowed for the escape of dampnessj.

* If the sun is warm and the ground covered with new-fallen snow, the light
may so blind the bees, that they will fall into this fleecy snow, and quickly perish.
At such times, it would probably be best to confine them to their hives. If the
snow is hard enough to bear up a healthy bee, it is seldom lost, unless tempted to
fly by the sun shining full upon its hive as it stands in a sheltered place.

t The lower entrance maybe closed in the Fall, while the bees are still flying,
and they will quickly accustom themselves to the upper one. Mr. Wheaton sug-
gests making this Winter-entrance in the back of the hive, and in the Fall rovers-
ing the pile, stand and all. This entrance is merely proposed for trial.

$ Small strips of wood, one-eighth of an inch thick, may be placed between the
sides of the hive and the under-surface of the roof, and, when the roof is securely
fastened, the dampness can escape from the front and rear of the hive, where tht»
openings are sheltered by the clamps, from the snow and rain.

WINTERING BEES. 339

As facts observed have a value far above theories, I
shall give the substance of numerous observations made
by me, at Greenfield, Massachusetts, in the Winter of
1856-7, on wintering bees in the open air :

JAN. OTH, 1857. — Examined a number of stocks with
Winter-passages in their combs, and with all the holes in
their honey-board uncovered. The previous month had
been extremely cold, and, for three days before the exami-
nation, the thermometer had been one-half of the time
below zero, and only once ten above, the wind blowing an
almost continuous gale. In none of these hives could I find
any frost or dampness, or any bees killed by being caught
away from the main body of the colony. In a tempera-
ture below zero, they would rush up from their combs on
the slightest jar of their hives, rapidly pouring through
the Winter-passages, and showing their ability to reach
any of their stores.* In a few colonies, to which no up-
ward ventilation had been given, the interior walls of the
hive, and many of the combs were coated with frost.

JAN. 14TH. — Carefully examined three hives. No. 1,
made of boards seven-eighths of an inch thick, had stood
with its honey-board removed, the same as would show
by removing (/) in Plate HI., Fig. 9. It had a good stock
of bees, and, although the mercury in the morning was
1(H° below zero, there was scarcely any frost in the hive.
The bees were dry and lively, and the central combs con-
tained eggs and unsealed brood. No. 2 contained an
equally strong stock, in a thin hive holding eighteen
frames, ten of which (five on each side) had no combs.
This hive had no upward ventilation, and was very frosty.

* On a cold November day, I have found bees, in a hive -without any Winter-
passages, separated from the main cluster, and so chilled as not to be able to move ;
while, with the thermometer many degrees below zero, I have repeatedly noticed,
in other hives, at one of the holes made in the comb, a cluster, varying in size,
ready to rush out at the slightest jar of their hive.

340- THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

The central combs had eggs and unsealed brood. No. 3
was most thoroughly protected by double sides, filled in
with charcoal, and all the holes in its honey-board were left
open. It had a little frost, as No. 1. and its central combs
contained eggs and some sealed brood. Although it had
a better stock of bees than either of the others, it ap-
peared to have begun to breed only a few days earlier.

JAN. 30TH. — This month has been the coldest on record
for more than fifty years. My hives have been exposed
to a temperature of 30° below zero, and for forty-eight
hours together the wind blew a strong gale, and the mer-
cury rose only once to 6° below zero. No. 1 was again
examined, and the bees found in good condition. The
central comb was almost filled with sealed brood, nearly
mature ; all the combs were free from mould, and the
interior of the hive was dry. In a hive as well protected
as No. 3, but which had no upward ventilation, the
vapor, or breath of the bees, which had frozen in it, having
melted in consequence of a sudden thaw, both combs and
bees were in a wretched condition.

As long as the vapor remains congealed, it can only
injure the bees by keeping them from stores which they
need ; but, as soon as a thaw sets in, hives which have no
upward ventilation are in danger of being ruined.*

Mr. E. T. Sturtevant, of East Cleveland, Ohio, so widely
known as an experienced Apiarian, in a letter to me, thus
gives his experience in wintering bees in the open air :

" No extremity of cold that we ever have in this climate, will
injure bees, if their breath is allowed to pass off, so that they arc

* In March, 1856, I lost some of my best colonies, under the followirg circum-
stances: The Winter had been intensely cold, and the hives, having no upward ven-
tilation, were filled with frost, and, in some instances, the ice on their glass sides
was nearly a quarter of an inch thick. A few days of mild weather, in which the
frost began to thaw, were followed by a temperature below zero, accompanied by
furious winds, and in many of the hives, the bees, which were still wet from the
thaw, were frozen together in an almost solid ma«s.

WINTERING BEES. 341

dry. I never lost a good stock that was dry, and had plenty of
honey.

" In the Winter of 1855-6, 1 had twenty stocks standing in a row,
all but one of which would have been regarded as in a good con-
dition for wintering — not too tight below, nor yet too open above.
One was in a hive suspended twenty inches from the ground, and
without any bottom-board. The chamber for surplus honey-boxes
was open to the north ; and had eight one-inch holes, all uncov-
ered.

" I left home about the 12th of February, the weather being very
cold, and the hives all banked up with drifted snow. Return-
ing the last of the month, I examined the whole row, and found
the nineteen thawed out, but in a sadly wet and miserable plight.
If I could have taken them into a room, out of the reach of the
frost, until they were dry, they might have been saved. The
weather changed to severe freezing before the next morning, and
all the nineteen swarms soon died ; while the one that was
apparently so neglected, came out strong and healthy. Before
adopting upward ventilation, I had lost my best swarms in this
way, until I became discouraged."

In the coldest parts of our country, if upward ventila-
tion is neglected, no amount of protection that can be
given to hives, in the open air, will prevent them from
becoming damp and mouldy, even if frost is excluded.
Often, the more they are protected, the greater the risk
from dampness. A very thin hive unpainted, so that it
may readily absorb the heat of the sun, will dry inside
much sooner than one painted white, and in every way
most thoroughly protected against the cold. The first,
like a garret, will suffer from dampness for a short tune
only ; while the other, like a cellar, may be so long in
drying, as to injure, if not destroy, the bees.

Much has been said in Germany, within the last few
years, of the danger of bees that have upward ventilation
perishing in Winter for want of water. Mr. Wagner has
furnished me with a translation of an able article in the

34:2 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

Bienenzeitung, by Von Berlepsch, and G. Eberhardt, the
substance of which is as follows :

" The Creator has given the bee an instinct to store up honey
and pollen, which are not always to be procured, but not water,
which is always accessible in her native regions. In northern
latitudes, when confined to the hive, often for months together,
they can obtain the water they need only from the watery parti-
cles contained in the honey, the perspiration which condenses on
the colder parts of the hive, or the humidity of the air which
enters their hives.

"Vital energy in the bee is at its lowest point in November and
December. If, at this time, an unusual degree of cold does not
force her to resort to muscular action, she remains almost motion-
less, a death-like silence prevailing in the hive; and we know, by
actual experiment, that much less food is consumed than at any
other time. Breeding having ceased, the weather-bound bees
have no demands made on their vital action, and we have never
known them at this time to suffer for want of water. As soon,
however, as the queen begins to lay, which occurs in many colo-
nies early in January, and in some by Christmas, the workers
must eat more freely both honey and pollen, to supply jelly for
the larvae, and wax for sealing their cells. Much more water is
needed for these purposes, than when they can procure the fresh
nectar of flowers ; and the want of it begins to be felt about the
middle of January. The unmistakable signs of the dearth of water
in a colony, are found in the granules of candied honey lying on
the bottom of the hive. The suffering bees will now open cell after
cell of the sealed honey, to obtain what remains uncandied. and
when these supplies of moisture fail, will attack the unsealed
larvse, and devour the eggs, if any are still laid. They now give
way to despair, disperse through the hive, if the cold does not
prevent, as though they had lost their queen, and perish amid
stores of honey, unless milder weather permits them to go in search
of water, or the Apiarian supplies it in their hive, when order
will again be restored.

" After protracted and severe Winters, of every six bees that
perish, five die for want of water, and not, as was hitherto sup-

WINTERING BEES. 343

posed, from undue accumulation of faces. Dysentery is one of
the direct consequences of water-dearth, the bees, in dire need of
water, consuming honey immoderately, and taking cold by roam-
ing about the combs.

" On the llth of February, we examined a number of colonies,
on whose bottom-boards we noticed particles of candied honey, and
found that in all of them, the sealed honey had been opened in
various points, and that breeding had entirely ceased. The colo-
nies that we had supplied with water on discovering that they
needed it, contained healthy brood, in every stage of development.

': In March and April, the rapidly increasing amount of brood
causes an increased demand for water ; and when the thermome-
ter is^s low as 45°. bees maybe seen carrying it in at noon, even
on windy days, although many are sure to perish from cold. In
these months, in 1856, during a protracted period of unfavorable
weather, we gave all our bees water, and they remained at home
in quiet, whilst those of other Apiaries were fly ing briskly in search
of water. At the beginning of May, our hives were crowded with
bees ; whilst the colonies of our neighbors were mostly weak.

" The consumption of water in March and April, in a populous
colony, is very great, and in 1856, one hundred stocks required
eleven Berlin quarts pei1 week, to keep on breeding uninterruptedly.
In Springs where the bees can fly safely almost every day, the
want of water will not be felt.

" The loss of bees by water-dearth, is the result of climate, and
no form of hive, or mode of wintering, can furnish an absolutely
efficient security against it. The colonies may be put in yard-
long lager-hives, or in towering standards, in shapeless gums, in
neat straw hives, or in well lined Dzierzons : in wood, or straw,
or clay domiciles : or may dwell in hollow trees, or clefts of rocks ;
they may remain unshielded on their Summer stands : be protected
by a covering of pine shatters or chaff; or be'stored in dark cham-
bers or vaults — still, water-dearth may occur, here and there,
earlier or later, and more or less injuriously : because it is counter
to the original instincts of the bee to dwell in Northern climates,
confined to its habitation for months.

" If water is regularly given to the bees, from the middle of

344 THE HIVE AND IIONEY-BEE.

January till the Spring fairly opens (unless the weather permit*
them to fly safely), they will not suffer. This water may be
placed in a wet sponge in a feeding-box, directly over the bees,
and protected by a cushion of moss. A hundred or more colonies
may thus, without disturbance, be quickly supplied."

That bees cannot raise brood without water, has been
known from the times of Aristotle. Buera, of Athens
(Cotton, p. 104), aged 80 years, said in 1797 : "Bees daily
supply the worms with water ; should the state of the
weather be such as to prevent the bees from fetching
water for a few days, the worms would perish. These
dead bees are removed out of the hive by the working-
bees, if they are healthy and strong ; otherwise, the ^tock
perishes from their putrid exhalations." I have repeat-
edly known colonies to suffer severe losses, for want of
water ; and in my correspondence with bee-keepers, the
last Winter (1858-9),* have directed their attention to
this point, and have had my estimate of the value of water
to bees in Winter greatly increased. But as yet, I have
had no satisfactory evidence that any colonies, whose
honey was not candied, have died from water-dearth.

The Baron Yon Berlepsch says, that " death from this
cause more rarely occurs in districts where there is late
Fall bee-forage than in those like his own, where pas-
turage fails occasionally in July, and usually early in
August. In such regions, the honey becomes very thick
in Winter, and sometimes thoroughly candiedf before

* I am particularly indebted to Mr. William W. Gary, Mr. Richard Colvin, Rev.
J. C. Bodwell, Mr. E. T. Sturtevant, and Eev. Levi "Wheaton, for careful observa-
tions made — last Winter, at my suggestion — on •wintering bees.

t Madame Vicat, in some observations on bees, published in 1764 — see Wild-
man, p. 231 — speaks of finding, " on the 24th of March, when the weather was so
cold that the bees of her other hives did not go abroad, much candied honey on the
bottom of a hive, and bees which seemed to be expiring. A singular noise was made
in the hive, at intervals, and at such times numbers of bees would fall into tho
candied honey, and perish. The bees not being able to swallow the candied honey
emptied it out of their combs to get at such as they could swallow."

WINTERING BEES. 345

Spring." It is fortunate that, in the coldest parts of
our country, late forage is usually abundant.

Berlepsch and Eberhardt not only condemn upward
ventilation, as depriving the bees of the moisture which
they need, but insist that it often hastens the ruin of a
stock, by causing an excess of dampness among the bees,
although they are actually in want of water. Dzierzon
thinks that these acute observers have here fallen into a
great mistake ; and, did my limits permit, I could show
that their objections to upward ventilation do not
accord with facts, as observed in this country. So far
from its being true " that the hive in which perceptible
condensation of moisture occurs needs water, and that in
which it does not take place needs none" — moisture often
condenses so as to wet the combs and the bees,* showing
plainly that there is an excess of water instead of a defi-
ciency. The following facts, which have been furnished
to me by the Rev. J. C. Bodwell, of Framingham, Mas-
sachusetts, are highly important in this connection. His
colonies were wintered in a very dry cellar :

"About the beginning of the year (1859). opened my single
glass hive, and found the bees abundant, and apparently healthy,
but no eggs nor brood.

" Feb. 2. — Examined the same hive, and found sealed brood,
and unsealed, but no eggs. A considerable part of the brood had
perished, probably from lack of water.

" Opened another hive, not so full of bees, and found the same
state of things, except that less of the brood had perished. Combs
dry in both, and many honey-cells open. Gave water to all, to
their evident joy, and closed up the glass hive at the top, for expe-
riment as to dampness,, leaving the rest with upward ventilation.

" Feb. 5. — Examined both hives. No eggs in glass hive. The

* In very cold weather, ice and moisture may super-abound in a hive, but it may
b« so far from the cluster that they cannot obtain it, even when perishing for the
want of it.

15*

346 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

bees had been busy expelling dead brood. In the other, found
eggs in moderate quantity. Very small larvae in both.

"Feb. 11. — Opened glass hive, and found the cells mostly
emptied of dead brood, and abundance of eggs, and larvae just
hatched. Discovered an opening between the hive and top-board,
permitting upward ventilation, and closed it.

<: March 1. — Made a thorough examination of both hives. Eggs,
larvae, and sealed b'rood in both. The glass hive very wet, water
standing on the tops of the frames, and at least a gill on the bottom-
board ; combs mouldy, and whole aspect of things comfortless.
The other, quite dry, both hive and combs. Examined two other
glass hives, having top ventilation, and found them dry. All have
been treated precisely alike, except that the closed-up hive has
had less water, as the bees did not seem to want it — manifesting
no pleasure at receiving it. This hive had not so many eggs as
the other, though much the larger stock, and appeared in a less
healthy condition generally."

In any of my hives which have an upper cover, the bees
can be easily supplied with water, and in those which
have none, it may be injected with a straw into the
winter entrance, or poured through the roof by a small
hole, stopped with a plug, care being taken not to give
too much.*

If the oolonies are strong in numbers and stores, have
upward ventilation, easy communication from comb to
comb, and water when needed — and the hive entrances are

* Mr. Wheaton finds that they will easily supply themselves with water from a
sponge put over a hole, and covered with a tumbler : " If the water is sweetened,
they will always drain the sponge ; if not, they pay little attention to it, unless
prevented from going abroad."

Mr. Wagner suggests that a piece of roofing-slate, fastened to the underside of
the bottom-board, will cause the water to condense over the bees, where they can
easily get access to it. Mr. Gary, at my suggestion, has placed a pane of glass
on the frames directly over the bees, and the water condensed on it has seemed
to supply all their wants. It should be elevated, so that the bees can pass under it.
It may be found that, by some such simple device, we can, without any super-
vision, supply all the moisture that a strong colony needs in the coldest weather,
before breeding has begun very actively. There is little doubt that it would i
-for bees that are not wintered in the open air.

WINTERING BEES. 347

sheltered from piercing winds, they have all the condi-
tions essential to wintering successfully in the open air.

Great injury is often done by disturbing a colony of
bees when the weather is so cold that they cannot fly.
Many which are tempted to leave the cluster, perish
before they can regain it, and every disturbance, by
rousing them to needless activity, causes an increased
consumption of food. About once in six weeks, however,
it will be advisable to clean the bottom-boards of hives
wintered in the open air, of dead bees, and other refuse.
Where permanent bottom-boards are used, this may be
done with a scraper (Plate XI., Fig. 30), made of a piece
of iron-wire, about two feet long ; this, when heated, is
bent about four inches, and flattened to one-quarter of an
inch wide, both edges being made sharp.*

Bees very rarely discharge their faeces in the hive,
unless they are diseased or greatly disturbed. If the
Winter has been uncommonly severe, and they have had
no opportunity to fly, their abdomens, before Spring, often
become greatly distended, and they are very liable to be
lost in- the snow, if the weather, on their first flight, is not
unusually favorable. After they have once discharged
their faeces, they will not venture from their hives, in un-
suitable weather, if well supplied with water. .

Having given the necessary precautions for wintering
bees out of doors, the methods for defending them
against atmospheric changes, by placing them in special
depositories, will be described.

In some parts of Europe, it is customary to winter all

* Where a ventilator is made on the back of the hive (Plate V., Fig. 16), any
refuse may be llown out by a pair of bellows. A very little smoke should be used
before cleaning the bottom-board. Palladius, who nourished nearly two thousand
years ago, says that bees ought not to be disturbed in Winter, except for the pur«
pose of cleaning their hives of dead bees, &c.

348 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

the stocks of a village in a common vault or cellar.
Dzierzon says:

" A dry cellar is very well adapted for wintering bees, even
though it be not wholly secure from frost ; the temperature will
be much milder, and more uniform than in the open air • the bees
will be more secure from disturbance, and will be protected from
the piercing cold winds, which cause more injury than the greatest
degree of cold when the air is calm.

" Universal experience teaches that the more effectually bees
are protected from disturbance and from the variations of tempe-
rature, the better will they pass the Winter, the less will they
consume of their stores, and the more Vigorous and numerous will
they be in the Spring. I have, therefore, constructed a special
Winter repository for my bees, near my Apiary. It is weather-
boarded both outside and within, and the intervening space is
filled with hay or tan, &c. ; the ground plat enclosed is dug out
to the depth of three or four feet, so as to secure a more moderate
and equable temperature. When my hives are placed in this
depository, and the door locked, the darkness, uniform tempera-
ture, and entire repose the bees enjoy, enable them to pass the
Winter securely. I usually place here my weaker colonies, and^
those whose hives are not made of the warmest materials, and
they always do well. If such a structure is to be partly under-
ground, a very dry site must be selected for it."

Mi*. Quinby, who has probably the largest Apiary in
the United States, has for many years wintered his bees,
with great success, in a room specially adapted to the pur-
pose. To get rid of the dampness, he inverts the com-
mon hives, and removes the board that covers my
frames.

Mr. Wagner has furnished me with the following trans-
lation of a very able article from the JSienenzeitunff.
The author, the Rev. Mr. Scholtz, of Lower Silesia, is
widely known in Germany for his skill in bee-keeping :

" Farmers have long been in the habit of placing apples, potatoes,
turnips, &c., in clamps, to preserve them during Winter. They

WINTERING BEES. 349

are piled in a pyiamidal form, on a bed of straw, and covered sis
or eight inches thick, with the same material, evenly spread, as in
thatching ; and the whole is covered, in a conical form, with a
layer of earth twelve inches thick, taken from a trench which is
dug around the clamp. The proper finish is given by beating this
earth smooth and even, with the back of the spade. This mode
of preservation, when well executed, is found to keep fruit, tuber-
ous roots, &c., in better condition during cold weather, than can
be effected in cellars or vaults.

" These facts suggested to me the idea of protecting bees during
the Winter, in a similar manner. It was evident, however, that
a bee-clamp would require various modifications, to secure proper
ventilation, to prevent undue development of heat, and to obviate
an accumulation of moisture ; and an arrangement, also, for readily
ascertaining, and effectually regulating the temperature. All
this, too, without seriously disturbing the bees, after the hives
have been deposited in the clamp.

" To attain these objects, a circular space, sufficiently large for
the intended purpose, is to be marked off on the driest and most
elevated part of a garden, or other suitable spot of ground. The
surface-soil containing vegetable matter, liable to decay, is then
to be removed, and in the central part of the plot, a pit, three feet
square, and three feet deep (see Fig. 66), is to be dug, spreading
the earth taken therefrom evenly around, and treading it down
hard. This pit is designed to serve as an air-chamber, as will be
fully explained hereafter.

" The area having been properly prepared, four trenches, one
inch and a half wide and deep, are to be dug ; one extending from
the middle of each of the four sides of the pit, to the outer edge
of the periphery of the plot (PL XXL, Fig. 66). Into each of
these trenches, a lead pipe, one inch in diameter, is to be laid, so
as to form a communication between the pit and the air outside
of the clamp when finished (PL XXI., Fig. 66). When these
pipes are covered with earth, and the ground again leveled, a
narrow strip of board should be laid thereon, to designate the
position of the tubes, that they may not be injured in subsequent
operations.

J*50 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

" The area, including the air-chamber, is now to be covered with
pieces of four- inch scantling, placed radiating from the centre, as
nearly as practicable at regular distances apart, to serve as a plat-
form on which the lower tier of hives is to be placed. The scant-
ling should be cut of unequal lengths, and placed end to end, four
inches apart, so as to leave interstices for the free circulation of
air ; and where required, as the space widens towards the circum-
ference, additional pieces are to be laid in, so that the hives may
be set firm and level. On this platform, the hives are to be built
up in tiers, so that the clamp, when completed, shall present the
form of a pyramid. Thus, the lower tier may consist of four
ranges, of four hives each ; the second, of three ranges, of three
hives each ; and the third, of two ranges, of two hives each. The
fourth, or apex, however, must be formed of two hives, instead of
one, for reasons which will hereafter appear (PI. XXL, Fig. 68).
The whole will thus form a four-sided pyramid, consisting of
thirty-one hives, which, if Dzierzon's double hives be used, will
contain sixty- two colonies, in a comparatively small space. The
oblong clamp (PI. XXI., Fig. 70), is constructed on similar princi-
ples, with the requisite variation in shape.

" These hives, which are placed on the platform directly over the
pit, or air-chamber, must be set six inches apart, so that a con-
tinuous funnel, or direct air-passage, may be formed from the
centre of the air-chamber below, to the apex of the clamp j and
on the opposite fronts of the two uppermost hives, is to be placed
a kind of chimney (see p. 351), made of four pieces of board, eight
inches broad, and thirty inches long, having a movable cap, with
a suitable slope, to prevent the entrance of rain. Holes are to be
made in the sides of the chimney, below the cap, to allow the
upward passage of air from the interiy of the clamp. The rest
of the hives may be placed closer together, though it is advanta-
geous that they should not touch each other, so as to obstruct cir-
culation in the interior, as it is important that the proprietor
should be able to regulate the internal temperature uniformly.
Very great exactness in arranging the hives, is, however, not
require. It is essential only that they be set firm and level, so
as to constitute a regular pyramid. Care must also be taken, not

PLATE XXI.

Fig. 66,

Fig. 67.

Fig. 68.

Fig. 70. Fig. 69.

351

WINTERING BEES. 353

to commence by placing the hives too near the periphery of the
area ; because, between the outer edge of the lower tier of the
hives, and the exterior mouths of the ventilating tubes, sufficient
space must be reserved for the external cojjering, or mantle of the
clamp (PI. XXL, Fig. 69).

" When the hives have been arranged in the manner described,
and the chimney has been placed on the two upper ones, over the
flue communicating with the pit, they are to be covered in with
boards, cut to proper lengths, and placed vertically, side by side,
around the sides of the pyramid. On and against these boards is
to be laid a thick layer of rushes or old dry straw, forming a
regular and dense coating, from base to apex. This coating is, in
turn, to be covered with a layer of earth, five or six inches thick,
spread as evenly as practicable, commencing below and proceed-
ing upward to the chimney, so that the latter, having already been
secured in its place by the boards and the straw or rushes, is now
covered by the earth, to within six or seven inches of its top. The
earth for covering, is taken directly from the base of the clamp,
around which a trench six inches deep, and eighteen inches wide,
is now to be dug, so as to expose the mouths of the ventilating
tubes at the upper edge of the interior side of the trench. In dig-
ging the trench, care must be taken not to close or injure the
mouths of the tubes, which should, moreover, be secured by a per-
forated tin cap, to exclude mice, and other vermin, and yet allow
the free passage of air. The trench will serve to receive and
carry off rain or snow-water, during the Winter ; and to effect
this more perfectly, several gutters or furrows should be drawn
from it outwards. If sufficient earth be not obtained from the
trench to cover in the straw or rushes completely, at least five
inches thick, the deficiency must be supplied from other sources.
The earth covering should be dressed smooth and even with the
back of a spade.

" In this state, the clamp should be allowed to remain till severe
frosts occur, when an additional coat of leaves or pine shatters
is to be given. This should be five or six inches thick, and
applied as evenly as possible, from base to apex, leaving only
about four inches of the chimney exposed. This material should

354: THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

be applied wet. as it will thus pack more closely, and afterwards
better confine the heat. When finished, it should be well sprinkled
with water from a watering-can, and allowed to freeze. A very
compact structure will*thus be formed (Figs. 69 and 70). The
mouths of the ventilating tubes should next be protected, by plac-
ing a piece of board before each of them ; and the trenches are then
to be filled loosely with tangled straw.

" All this labor must be performed gently, so as to disturb the
confined bees as little as practicable. The covering of leaves or
pine-shatters should not be applied till after cold weather sets in ;
and it may be deferred till after the earlier snows have fallen and
melted, and the severer weather of December or January makes
additional protection desirable.

" If an extensive Apiary renders a clamp of larger dimensions
necessary, two or three pits, or air-chambers, with their appur-
tenant ventilating tubes and chimneys (PI. XXL, Fig. 70) may
be introduced.

" On clear, mild days, the protecting boards may be removed from
the mouth of the ventilating tubes, that fresh air may freely enter
the clamp, and carry off any dampness which may have formed
within ; and, as the entire interior is in direct communication
with the air-chamber, a dry and healthy atmosphere will speedily
be diffused throughout, by means of the draught of the chimney.
Towards evening, the protecting-boards should be replaced. On
the return of milder weather, or on the termination of severe and
protracted frosts, the mouths of the ventilating tubes may be
uncovered, and left open, day and night, to prevent the undue
development of heat in the interior ; but in clear weather, the
direct rays of the sun should be excluded from the mouths of the
tubes. If the holes in the sides of the chimney should at any time
become closed with snow, the obstructions must be removed, by-
means of a rake or other convenient implement. When the
exterior of the clamp is covered with snow, the mouth of one of
the ventilating tubes should be kept open, even in cold weather,
and of all of them, when the weather is moderate, because the
snow covering causes great internal warmth.

" To ascertain the interior temperature, a thermometer attached

WINTERING BEES. 355

to a long rod may be introduced into the air-chamber, through the
chimney, on removing the cap. This should be done frequently,
to serve as a guide for opening or closing the mouths of the venti-
lating tubes. Ventilation seems, however, according to the nu-
merous experiments which I have made, to be of less importance
to the health of the bees, than to preserve the combs and interior
of the hives from dampness and mould ; and it is in view of this
fact, that I have adopted the peculiar arrangement of my clamps,
which places it in the power of the Apiarian, at almost any time,
to cause an adequate circulation of pure dry air within them.

" Apart from their cheapness, these clamps are far superior, for
the purpose intended, to the best vaults or cellars ordinarily
accessible. It might be' objected to this mode of wintering bees,
that the hives cannot be inspected during the Winter, however
desirable such inspection might seem to be. That is so; but, in
devising my clamps, I really had no reference whatever to that
class of bee-keepers who are in the habit of operating among their
colonies in Winter. Their case, in fact, seems to me to be a rather
hopeless one at best, since colonies that are thus treated at that
season, will scarcely ever enable their owner to found an Apiary
worthy of the name. I prefer to let my bees remain undisturbed
during cold weather, satisfied that if they were in good condition
when inclosed in the Fall, thay will pass the Winter uninjured,
and be found with adequate supplies of honey even in April. Of
this I am the more assured, since I have ascertained that bees
preserved in clamps consume scarcely one-half of the quantity of
honey required by such as are wintered in the open air, or in the
Apiary.

" To institute a comparison between different modes of winter-
ing bees, I placed a portion of my colonies in a clamp of the fore-
going construction, on the 17th of November, 1856, and transferred
the remainder into a well-protected dark chamber in my dwelling-
house. Of some of the latter, I closed the entrances, but gave
them air through a grate or ventilating-passage in the rear of their
hives. Of the remainder, the entrances, as well as the ventilat-
ing-passages, were shut close. Several of those placed in the
clamp were designedly selected as having only eight r r ten pounds

356 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

of honey each, that I might ascertain whether they would survive
with so small a supply of food. I placed therein, also, a late
after-swarm, which had built only a few short combs, and con-
tained not more than four or five pounds of honey. All the
others had ample stores. I closed the entrance and ventilating-
passage of one strong colony, and placed some pieces of empty comb
in the rear of the hive, to test whether, if moisture were generated
from want of ventilation, mould would form on those combs.

"From the 18th to the 23rd of November, the weather was
very mild, and the ventilating-tubes were, therefore, all left open
day and night. On the 24th, the clamp was covered with snow,
and I closed three of the ventilating-tubes. On the 26th, a thaw
commenced, and the weather continued to be very moderate to
the end of the month, the thermometer standing at 33° in the
open air. Two of the tubes were kept open. From the 1st to
the 3rd of December, ten inches of snow fell, with the thermo-
meter ranging from 20° to 22° f and I kept only one tube open.
On the 6th, the weather moderated ; from the 7th to the 12th, the
thermometer stood at from 54° to 66°, and I again opened all the
tubes, and kept them open till the end of the month, and to the
5th of January. On the 6th, the weather became cold and freez-
ing, and I now added the outer mantle, or coating of leaves and
pine shatters, closing all the tubes. The cold spell continued till
the 17th of January. From the 18th till the end of the month,
we had continuous fair, mild weather, and I opened all the venti-
lating-tubes. In February, the weather was particularly mild
and fair, and, from the 18th to the 21st, the thermometer ranged
from 76° to 78°. The bees belonging to some of my neighbors,
and which were wintered in the open air, were now flying briskly
every day, and most of the colonies in my chamber became so
restless that I was constrained to remove them out of their
Winter quarters. 1 did so with the less reluctance, as w*e had all
the indications of an early Spring. The fair weather continuing,
I deemed it wrong to keep my colonies longer confined in the
clamp, and accordingly opened it on the 27th of February, to
release them.

" Though the clamp had been exposed to the direct rays of the

WINTERING BEES. 357

noonday sun, and the thermometer had daily ranged at trom 76°
to 78° for some time previous, yet, on removing the outer mantle,
I found the earth-covering below it still frozen, so that it had to
be removed with a hoe — a satisfactory proof that the interior of
the clamp could not have been affected by external variations of
temperature. I now became exceedingly anxious to see whether
rain or snow-water had penetrated to the straw covering, as I
apprehended might be the case, having had no previous expe-
rience in such matters. To my surprise and gratification, how-
ever, I found it thoroughly dry — showing conclusively that the
earth-covering had sufficed effectually to shed off the rain and
snow- water, and that the ample and efficient internal ventilation
had prevented the formation of moisture and mould. On remov-
ing the straw, I perceived no symptom of dampness on the boards ;
and when, finally, these latter were taken away, the hives pre-
sented themselves as clean and dry as when put there in the Fall.
" Anxious now to ascertain the condition of their inmates, I
tapped against the hives, but. to my dismay, heard no response.
I seized a stick, and, tapping harder and harder, finally proceeded
to blows ; still all remained mute within. An old man from the
neighboring village, who chanced to be present, seemed vastly
gratified at my chagrin and consternation, as he and his neigh-
bors had kept bees for many years, but had no fancy for such
novel contrivances and experiments as mine. I must admit that
I was, for the moment, thoroughly disconcerted on finding, as I
then supposed, all my anticipations and confident calculations
thus suddenly and effectually nullified. But, resolved to know
the worst, I removed the hives to the Apiary, where the sun
shone bright and warm ; and scarcely were the entrances opened,
when the bees began to pour forth in masses, humming joyously,
to my irrepressible delight, and to the utter discomfiture of the
old villager. With special gratification did I notice that the bees
came forth from their long imprisonment with bodies as attenuate
and slender as they had in the preceding Autumn, whilst those
which had been wintered in the dark chamber soiled their hives
and all surrounding objects, by profuse discharges of faecal matter.
This led me to conjecture that these colonies had consumed com-

358 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

paratively little honey, which was found to be the fact ou open-
ing the hives and examining the condition of their stores. Those
colonies which had only eight or ten pounds of honey in the Fall,
had still a surplus remaining, and were healthy and strong; while
the poor little after-swarm had not only well preserved its num.
bers, but had the greater portion of its small supply of honey
still in reserve. Few dead bees were found, and those probably
died of old age. The loss of bees was very much greater in the
colonies which had been wintered in the house, and more than
double the quantity of honey had been consumed by each of them ;
so that a very important saving can manifestly be effected by means
of clamps, apart from the other important advantages which this
mode of wintering bees possesses. The combs in all the colonies
were clean and free from mould, and I could perceive no differ-
ence in this particular between the hives which had their entrances
and ventilating passages closed, and those in which the latter had
been left open, the pieces of old comb, even, having remained dry
and free from mould. Satisfactory proof was thus furnished that,
where the temperature is moderate and uniform throughout, con-
densation of moisture will not result from close confinement.
Still, from various considerations, I would recommend ventilation
in every hive ; and previous experience has taught me that bees
will remain more tranquil during the Winter in hives duly venti-
lated, than in such as are closed. A number of the colonies
deposited in my dark room were purposely confined without ven-
tilation. Three of these became very restless, consumed a dis-
proportionate amount of their stores, and very many of the bees
perished. Precisely these three colonies, though still strong and
healthy in the Spring, were yet the weakest of the whole lot,
though in as good condition as the others when removed from the
Apiary in Autumn. Nothing similar occurred in the colonies
which had even partial ventilation.

"Having thus, by these diversified experiments in wintering
bees, arrived at certain and satisfactory results, I shall never
hereafter winter my movable colonies otherwise than in clamps.

" Since the publication of my mode of wintering bees in
damps, some objections have been urged against it, which 1 shall

WINTERING BEE8. 359

briefly notice, before giving the results of my further experience
in this matter.

" The expense of constructing..the clamps has been alleged as an
objection to the use of them. In my case, the cost of labor was
simply the hire, for one day, of two men, who assisted me in pre-
paring the area, carrying the hives thither, and arranging and
enclosing them. The materials used, with the exception of the
scantling, cost literally nothing, as any old boards can be made
to serve the purpose, and the rushes, or straw, leaves, &c., em-
ployed, are always worth their cost for litter.

i: A second objection is, that rats and mice will be induced to
collect and harbor in the clamps, if straw be used. I never use
any but old straw, thoroughly divested of grain, and prefer using
rushes when they can conveniently be procured. I have, how-
ever, thus far, not been annoyed by rats or mice.

" To show how very superior clamps are for wintering bees, in
thin hives especially, I will state that one «f my neighbors,
whose hives are made of inch boards, and who invariably lost
many bees, and frequently entire colonies, when he left them to
winter, as he usually did, in his open Apiary, was induced by my
success to place his hives in a clamp last Fall. They were put
in on the llth of November. 1857, and remained undisturbed till
the 29th of March, 1858. When opened, all the colonies proved
to be in excellent condition, strong, and entirely free from mould
or moisture. Never, in any previous season, had he been equally
successful, nor had his bees ever before required or received so
little personal attention from him. He was ' a doubting Thomas,'
when he saw me arranging my first clamp, but is now a thorough
convert to the system, and declares that he will, in future, use
no other mode, as he cannot conceive that a better could be

" My own colonies remained in the clamp from the 13th of
November to the 29th of March, 1858, and were perfectly sound
and healthy when I opened them. The earth under the outer
mantle was still frozen, and had to be removed with a hoe, as in
the previous year, thus showing that the bees were not affected
by the prevalent mild weather. Long confinement had not

3fiO THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

injured them in the least degree, because, reposing in a low and
equable temperature, they had consumed proportionably little
honey, and remained without excitement or disturbance during
the whole period. I am now fully convinced that bees may
remain confined in this manner during the most protracted
Winter, not only without injury, but with positive benefit, as
they are altogether secure from the always detrimental, and
frequently ruinous, effects of exposure to the vicissitudes of the
weather in our variable climate.

" To simplify the construction of the clamps, I made my last
one longer and lower than the one I prepared the previous Fall ;
and I was thus able to apply the successive covers, or mantles,
more easily and conveniently. I also dispensed with the chimney,
and could thus close the top more regularly and perfectly, laying
over the apex, boards weighted down with stones to keep them in
place. I found no disadvantage resulting from discarding the
chimney, as the vfntilating-tubes enabled me still to regulate the
internal temperature, and give the bees a sufficient supply of
fresh air. I also enlarged the air-chamber, making it three feet
deep, as before, by only thirty inches broad, and lengthening it so
as to extend the whole length of the interior diameter of the
clamp. In every other respect, the construction remained the
same."

When hives are wintered in a special repository, I
should advise giving them upward ventilation. If they
are in cellars or rooms, the upper cover may be entirely
removed ; and, if put in clamps, then it may be fastened,
as advised on page 338, and some air be allowed to enter at
the lower part of the hive.

In all the northern parts of this country, it is verv
obvious that those who mean to establish large Apiaries
will have to so winter their bees, that they shall not be
exposed to the usual atmospheric changes. What way
precisely is the best can only be determined by careful
and long-continued experiments. These ought not to be
conducted so as to hazard too much in one venture.

71.

PLATE XXII.

WINTERING BKES. SCI

Great loss is often incurred in replacing upon their
Summer stands the stocks which have been kept hi special
depositories. Unless the day when they are put out is
very favorable, many will be lost when they fly to dis-
charge their faeces. In movable-comb hives, this risk can
be greatly diminished, by removing the cover from the
frames, and allowing the sun to shine directly upon the
bees ; this will warm them up so quickly, that they will all
discharge their faeces in a very short time.*

After the stocks are placed on their Summer stands,f
the precautions already described should be taken to
strengthen feeble or impoverished colonies (p. 221).

* The following is an extract from my journal :

" Jan. 31st, 1S5T. — Removed the upper cover, exposing the bees to the full heat
of the sun, the thermometer being 30° in the shade, and the atmosphere calm.
The hive standing on the sunny side of the house, the bees quickly took wing and
discharged their faeces. Very few were lost on the snow, and nearly all that
alighted on it took wing without being chilled. More bees were lost from other
hives which were not opened, as few which left were able to return ; while, in tho
one with the cover removed, the returning bees were able to alight at once among
their warm companions."

t Dzierzon advises placing them on their former stands, as many bees still
remember the old spot. Mr. Quinby uses this time for equalizing the colonies, w
he finds that, "being all wintered in one room, their scent is so much alik
that they mix together without contention."

362 THE IIIVE AND IIONKY-BKK.

CHAPTER XXII.

BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR — BEE-KEEPER'S AXIOMS.

THIS Chapter gives to the inexperienced bee-keeper
brief directions for each month in the year,* and, by
means of the full Alphabetical Index, all that is said on
any topic can easily be referred to.

JANUARY. — In cold climates, bees are now usually in a
state of repose. If the colonies have had proper attention
in the Fall, nothing will ordinarily need to be done that
will excite them to an injurious activity. In very cold
climates, however, when a severe temperature is of long
continuance, it will be necessary, unless the hives have
thorough upward (p. 340) ventilation, to bring them into
a warm room (p. 341), to thaw out the ice, remove the
dampness, and allow the bees to get access to their sup-
plies. In January there are occasionally, even in very
cold latitudes, days so pleasant that bees can fly out to
discharge their fa>ces ; do not confine them (p. 337), even
if some are lost on the snow. In this month clean the
bottom-boards (p. 347), but disturb the bees as little as
possible. See, also, that they are properly supplied with
water (p. 344), as healthy stocks have already begun
breed (p. 239).

FEBRUARY. — This month is sometimes colder thai
January, and then the directions given for the previous
month must be followed. In mild seasons, however, and in
warm regions, bees begin to fly quite lively in February,
and in some locations they gather pollen. The bottom-

* Palladius, who wrote on bees nearly 2,000 ye.°.rs ago, arranges his remarks in
the form of a monthly calendar.

:

BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR. 363

board should be again attended to, as soon as the bees
are actively on the wing, and, if any hives are suspiciously
light, sugar-candy (p. 272) should be given them. Strong
colonies will now begin to breed considerably, but nothing
should be done to excite them to premature activity.
See that the bees are supplied with water (p. 344) .

MARCH. — In our Northern States, the inhospitable
reign of Winter still continues, and the directions given
for the two previous months are applicable to this. If
there should be a pleasant day, when bees are able to fly
briskly, seize the opportunity to remove the covers
(p. 361) ; carefully clean out the hives (p. 221), and learn
the exact condition of every colony. See that your bees
have water (p. 344), and are well supplied with rye-flour
(p. 84). In this month, weak stocks commonly begin to
breed, while strong ones increase quite rapidly. If the
weather is favorable, colonies which have been kept in a
special Winter depository, may now be put upon their
proper stands (p. 3 6 1 ) . As soon as severe Winter weather
is over, it will be necessary to shut off all upward ventila-
tion.

APRIL. — Bees will ordinarily begin to gather much
pollen in this month, and sometimes considerable honey.
As brood is now very rapidly maturing, there is a largely
increased demand for honey, and great care should be
taken to prevent the bees from suffering for want of
food. If the supplies are at all deficient, breeding will be
checked, even if much of the brood does not perish, or the
whole colony die of starvation. If the weather is pro-
pitious, feeding to promote a more rapid increase of young
(p. 268) may now be commenced. Feeble colonies must
now be reinforced (p. 221), and should the weather con-
tinue cold for several days at a time, the bees ought to
be supplied with water (p. 344) in their hives. In April,

364 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

if not before, the larvse of the bee-moth will begin to make
their appearance, and should be carefully destroyed
(p. 248).

MAY. — As the weather becomes more genial, the
increase of bees in the colonies is exceedingly rapid, and
drones, if they have not previously made their appearance,
begin to issue from the hives. In some locations, the bees
will now gather much honey, and it will often be advisa-
ble to give them access to the spare honey receptacles ;*
but in some seasons and locations, either from long and
cold storms, or a deficiency of forage, stocks not well sup-
plied with honey will exhaust their stores, and perish,
unless they are fed. In favorable seasons, swarms may be
expected in this month, even in the Northern States.
These May swarms often issue near the close of the blos-
soming of fruit-trees, and just before the later supplies of
forage, and if the weather becomes suddenly unfavorable,
may starve, unless they are fed. Even if there is no dan-
ger of this, they will make so little progress in comb-
building and breeding, when food is scarce, as to be sur-
passed by much later swarms. The Apiarian should have
hives in readiness to receive new swarms, however early
they may issue, or be formed. If new colonies are to be
made by artificial processes, a seasonable supply of
queens (p. 188) should be reared. •

JUNE. — This is the great swarming month in all our
Northern and Middle States. As bees keep up a high
temperature in their hives, they are by no means so de-
pendent upon the weather for forwardness, as plants, and
as most other insects necessarily are. I have had as early
swarms in Northern Massachusetts, as in* the vicinity of
Philadelphia.

* If natural swarms are wanted, the bees should not be allowed to occupy too
much surplus storage-room.

BEE-KEEPEK'S CALENDAR. 365

If the Apiary is not carefully watched, the bee-keeper,
after a short absence, should examine the neighboring
bushes and trees, on some of which he will often find a
swarm clustered, preparatory to their departure for a new
home.*

As fast as the surplus honey-receptacles are filled,f and
the cells capped over, they should be removed, and empty
ones put in their place. Careless bee-keepers often lose
much, by neglecting to -do this in season, thereby con-
demning their colonies to a very unwilling idleness. The
Apiarian will bear in mind, that all small swarms which
come off late in this month, should be either aided, doubled,
or returned to the mother-stock. With my hives, the
issue of such swarms may be prevented, by removing, in
season, the supernumerary queen-cells. During all the
swarming season, and, indeed, at all other times when
young queens are being bred, the bee-keeper must ascer-
tain seasonably, that the hives which contain them, suc-
ceed in securing a fertile mother (p. 218).

JULY. — In some seasons and districts, this is the great
swarming month ; while in others, bees issuing so late, are
of small account. In Northern Massachusetts, I have
known swarms coming after the Fourth of July, to fill
their hives, and make large quantities of surplus honey
besides. In this month, all the choicest spare -honey
should be removed from the hives, before the delicate

* "As It may often be important to know from which hive the swarm has Issued,
after it has been hived and removed to its new stand, let a cup-full of bees be taken
from it, and thrown into the air, near the Apiary ; they will soon return to the
parent-stock, and may easily be recognized, by their standing at the entrance, and
fanning, like ventilating bees."— DZIEKZON. In my hives, it will be easy, from the
back ventilator, to decide whether a stock is full enough to swarm, or has recently
swaimed, even when there is no glass for observation.

t Mr. Qninby informs me, that he succeeds in making bees fill a double tier of
small boxes, by placing one set on the hive first ; when they have partially filled
these, he puts the second set under the first By making a hole in the top, as well
as in the bottom of the box <P1. XI., Fig. 24), this can easily be effected.

366 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

whiteness of the combs becomes soiled by the travel of
the bees, or the purity of the honey is impaired by an
inferior article gathered later in the season.

The bees should have a liberal allowance of air during
all extremely hot weather, especially if they are in unpaint-
ed hives, or stand in the sun.

AUGUST. — Inmost regions, there is but little forage for
bees during the latter part of July, and the first of
August, and being, on this account, tempted to rob each
other, the greatest precautions should be used in opening
hives. In districts where buckwheat is extensively culti-
vated, bees will sometimes swarm when it comes into
blossom, and in some seasons, extraordinary supplies are
obtained from it. In 1856, 1 had a buckwheat swarm as
late as the 16th of September!

If any colonies are so full of honey, that they have not
room enough for raising brood, some of the combs should
now be removed (p. 183). If the caps of the cells are
carefully sliced off with a very sharp knife, and the combs
laid over a vessel, in some moderately warm place, and
turned once, most of the honey will drain out of them,
and they may be returned to the bees, to be filled again.

The bee-keeper who has queenless stocks on hand in
August, must expect, as the result of his ignorance or
neglect, either to have them robbed by other colonies, or
destroyed by the moth (p. 246).

SEPTEMBER. — This is often a very busy month with
bees. The Fall flowers come into blossom, and in some
seasons, colonies which have hitherto amassed but little
honey, become heavy, and even yield a surplus to their
owner. Bees are quite reluctant to work in boxes, so late
in the season, even if supplies are very abundant ; but if
empty combs are inserted in the place of full ones removed,
they will fill them with astonishing celerity. These full

BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR. 367

combs may afterwards be returned, if the bees have not a
sufficient supply without them.

If no Fall supplies abound, and any stocks are too light
to winter with safety, then, in the Northern States, the
latter part of this month is the proper tune for feeding
them. I have already stated (p. 274), that it is impossible
to tell how much food a colony will require, to carry it
safely through the Winter ; it will be found, however,
very unsafe to trust to a bare supply, for even if there is
food enongh, it may not always be readily accessible to
the bees. Great caution will still be necessary to guard
against robbing; but if there are no feeble, queenless, or
impoverished stocks, the bees, unless tempted by improper
management, will seldom rob each other.

OCTOBER. — Forage is now almost entirely exhausted in
most localities, and colonies which are too light should
either be fed, or have surplus honey from other stocks
given to them, early this month. The exact condition of
every stock should now be known, at the latest, and, if
any are queenless, they should be broken up. Small
colonies ought to be united, and all the hives put into
proper condition for wintering. Some full honey-combs
should be put in the centre of the hive, and holes, for
easy intercommunication, made in the combs (p. 337) ;
and, if the hives have a winter-passage, bees should now
be accustomed to use it (p. 338). By the last of this
month, the glass hives should be packed between their
outer cases and the glass, with cotton waste, moss, or any
warm material.

NOVEMBER. — I take for granted that all necessary pre-
parations for Winter have, in our Northern States, been
completed by the last of the previous month. If, how-
ever, the bee-keeper has been prevented from examining
his stocks, he may, on warm days, in November,

368 THE I11VK AKD HONEY-BEE.

perform all necessary operations, the feeding with liquid
honey excepted. The entrances to the hives must now
be secured against mice, and it will be well to give the
roofs a new coat of paint. If the hives are to be exposed
to the sun, no color is so good as a pure white ; but, if
they are set under the shade of trees (p. 280), a dark
color will do them no harm, in the hottest weather, while
early in the season, before the leaves are expanded, by
absorbing instead of reflecting the heat, it will prove
highly advantageous to the bees.

By the latter part of November, in our Northern
States, Winter usually sets in, and colonies which are to
be kept in a special Winter depository, should be properly
housed. The later in the season that the bees are able to
fly out and discharge their fasces, the better. The bee-
keeper must regulate the tune of housing his bees by the
season and climate, being careful neither to take them in
until cold weather appears to be fairly established, nor to
leave them out too late. If colonies are carried in too
early, and quite warm weather succeeds the first cold, it
may be advisable to replace them on their Summer
stands.*

As soon as freezing weather sets in, the colonies stand-
ing in the open air must have upward ventilation (p. 338).

DECEMBER. — In regions where it is advisable to house
bees, the dreary reign of Winter is now fairly established,
and the directions given for January are for the most part
equally applicable to this month. It may be well, in
hives out of doors, to remove the dead bees and othei
refuse from the bottom-boards ; but, neither in this month
nor at any other time should this be attempted with those
removed to a dark and protected place. Such colonie?

* If the beea are wintered on Mr. Scholtz's plan, it will neither be possible noi
desirable to replace them on their Summer stands. «

PLATE XXIII.

BEE-KEEPER'S AXIOMS. 369

must not, except under the pressure of some urgent
necessity, be disturbed in the very least.

I recommend to the inexperienced bee-keeper to read
this synopsis of monthly management, again and again,
and to be sure that he fully understands and punctually
discharges the appropriate duties of each month, neglect-
ing nothing, and procrastinating nothing to a more con-
venient season ; for, while bees do not require a large
amount of attention, in proportion to the profits yielded
by them, they must have it at the proper time and in the
right way. Those who complain of their unprofitable-
ness, are often as much to blame as a farmer who neglects
to take care of his stock, or to gather his crops, and then
denounces his employment as yielding only a scanty
return on a large investment of capital and labor.

BEE-KEEPER'S AXIOMS.

There are a few first principles in bee-keeping which
ought to be as familiar to the Apiarian as the letters of
his alphabet :

1st. Bees gorged with honey never volunteer an attack.

2nd. Bees may always be made peaceable by inducing
them to accept of liquid sweets.

3rd. Bees, when frightened by smoke or by drumming
on their hives, fill themselves with honey and lose all dis-
position to sting, unless they are hurt.

4th. Bees dislike any quick movements about their
hives, especially any motion which Jars their combs.

5th. Bees dislike the offensive odor of sweaty animals,
and will not endure impure air from human lungs.

6th. The bee-keeper will ordinarily derive all his profits
from stocks, strong and healthy, in early Spring.

7th. In districts where forage is abundant only for a
16*

370 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE.

short period, the largest yield of honey will be secured
by a 'very moderate increase of stocks.

8th. A moderate increase of colonies in any one season,
will, in the long run, prove to be the easiest, safest, and
cheapest mode of managing bees.

9th. Queenless colonies, unless supplied with a queen,
will inevitably dwindle away, or be destroyed by the
bee-moth, or by robber-bees.

10th. The formation of new colonies should ordinarily
be confined to the season when bees are accumulating
honey ; -and if this, or any other operation must be per-
formed, when forage is scarce, the greatest precautions
should be used to prevent robbing.

The essence of all profitable bee-keeping is contained in
Oettl's Golden Rule: K-TCTCP YOTJK STOCKS STRONG (p. 303).
!tf you cannot succeed in doing this, the more money you
invest in bees, the heavier will be your losses ; while, if
your stocks are strong, you will show that you are a bee-
master, as well as a bee-keeper, and may safely calculate
on generous returns from your industrious subjects.

13*

EXPLANATION OF PLATES OF HIVES.

DESCBIPTION OF WooD-Curs OF THE VARIOUS STYUES OP

MOVABLE-COMB HlVES, WITH BlLIS OF STOCK FOK
MAKING THEM.

ALL the engravings,* except those which are in perspective,
are on the scale of H inches to the foot, so that every i of an inch
is an inch in a hive of full size. The thickness of stock used, is
mostly £ths of an inch — inch bo'ards, when planed, being usually
of that thickness — but the measurements can be easily varied, to
suit any required dimensions. In making a lot of hives (see p. 332),
the small pieces, which otherwise would be refuse, should be used
for the frames. Good stock will prove much the cheapest in the
end.

Those not accustomed to longitudinal and cross sections, will
be greatly assisted by the perspective views. In the longitudinal
sections, the hive is represented as sawed in two, from front to
rear, and in the cross sections, from side to side. All the parts
supposed to be cut by the saw, are marked by cross lines ; the
parts which, though not cut, would be seen after the cutting, are
also represented. Any measurement may be verified, by applying
an accurate rule to the sections.

The reader will bear in mind, that those only who have pur-
chased the patent right — Ministers of the Gospel excepted — can
legally use these hives. For terms, see p. 407.

Figs. 1, 2, and 3, page 24, Hive No. 1.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hive of the simplest form, the

* Since the publication of the second edition— for which most of these plates were
engraved — some changes have been made in the construction of the hives, all of
which are fully noted in the bills of stock, though not, in all cases, shown in tha
plates.

371

3T2 EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

cover being removed, to show one of the frames. Fig. 2 is a ver
tical longitudinal section, and Fig. 3, a vertical cross section of
the same.

(b) Two pieces, front and rear of hive, I4|"x8|"xf . (c)
Two pieces, sides of hive, 1 9-|" x 1 0" x -J-", with outside lower
edges beveled off — when a movable bottom-board is used — to
avoid crushing bees, or giving lurking-places to moths or worms.
When the bottom-board is fixed in the hive, the sides should
be 19|"xlO|"x$", and the bottom-board 25£"x I4j"x£",
clamped on the under side. If another hive, of the same form, is
put on the first, for surplus honey, as in Fig. 16 (p. 48), holes
may be made through this bottom-board, as directed for Hives
No. 2. (d) Two pieces, strips on upper part of hive, front and
rear, forming rabbets for the frames to rest upon. 15%" x l£"x|".
(/) Movable cover, 25^" x 18"x-J". This should be tongued
and grooved together, and may also be rain-grooved, as shown for
the top of the hive in Fig. 23 (p. 96). The grain of the wood
should run from front to rear, (g) Two pieces, clamps on
under side of cover, 18"x2"x|". The front and rear (b)
of the hive should be nailed between the sides (c), flush with
their ends, but with the upper edges of (b) -|" below the upper
edges of (c) . Some may prefer that the grain of the wood, both
of the bottom-board and cover, should run from side to side,
instead of from front to rear.

Movable Comb-Frames. Figs. 1, 4, and 22, pages 20, 24, 88.

(t) Two pieces, .top, 19f xl^'x^"; bottom, I7f"x$"x£''.
(u) Ends or vertical pieces.* two pieces, 8f" x |-" X \." (u) One
piece, triangular-top comb-guide, 1 6|" X •£" X -J" X |". This should
be nailed to the top of the frame, centrally with regard to its

* The triangular pieces, represented in many of the engravings, not answering
the ends intended, I return to the shape originally used. The Winter passage (-»),
which was suggested for trial, is also discarded. I now suggest for trial, the
placing a second triangular piece about three inches below the first, and dis-
pensing with the bottom piece ; or (if no triangular guides are used), putting the
bottom piece one third of the distance from the top. Such an arrangement, besides
giving an excellent "Winter passage from comb to comb, will enable us to cut out
honey from the upper part of the fcuie without disturbing the brood below.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 373

x

width and length, and the frame may be stiffened by driving one
nail through each end into it. If comb is used for guides (pp. 72,
130), or the other devices for securing straight comb succeed, these
triangular guides may be dispensed with.

Double Movable Comb-Frames. Fig. 73, Plate X., page 96.

This frame is made up of the same parts as two single frames,
differing from them only by having their end pieces in common,
which are 8£ " x 2t" x |". In putting this frame together, if the
triangular guides are used, they are first to be nailed, as in the single
frames, centrally to the top pieces ; each top piece, when nailed
to the end pieces, projects over their edges one-eighth of an inch,
and the bottom pieces come flush with the edges of the end pieces.
As one side of a comb is usually a fac simile of the other, these
double frames, which are proposed for trial, may answer a valu-
end, in connection with the single ones. They rest very firmly
on the rabbets, and are easily adjusted and handled.

All the parts of the movable frames should be cut out by cir-
cular saws (p. 332). and the measurements should be exact, so
that the frames when nailed together may be square. If they are
not strong and perfectly square, the proper working of the hive
will be greatly interfered with. Ten single, or«.five double frames,
equally distant from each other, are placed in the lower hive, and
nine single frames, or four double frames and one single one, may
be placed in the upper hive, for surplus honey.

Comb-Guides. Fig. 72, Plate VI., page 48.

This figure shows the form of a metallic stamp, invented by
Mr. Wehring, of Bavaria, Germany, for printing or stamping the
foundations of the combs upon the under side of the frames.
After the outlines are made, he rubs melted wax over them, and
scrapes off all that does not sink into the depressions. Mr. Wehr-
ing represents this device as enabling him to dispense with guide-
combs, the bees appearing to be delighted to have their work thus
accurately sketched out for them. In first using the triangular
guides I waxed their edges, but soon found that this was unneces-

374: EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

eary. Mr. Wehring's foundations may also be found to answer
without any wax.

Mr. Wagner suggests forming these outlines with a simple in-
strument, somewhat like a wheel cake-cutter. Where a large
number are to be made, a machine might easily be constructed
which would stamp them with great rapidity.

Mr. Colvin has also invented a device for securing straight
combs, which, in the few instances in which it was used last Sum-
mer (1858), was perfectly successful. It will be fully tested the
coming season.

Gage-Block for fastening the movable frames together. Figs. 6,
7, and 8, page 24.

Fig. 6 is a view of the front of this block, Fig. 8 a view of the
back, and Fig. 7 is a cross-section.

(a) Foundation board, 21£" x 9i" x£". (b b) Guides, for sides
(u u), of frames, fastened to (a), equally distant from its ends, and
so as to leave I7f" between (b 6), and i" from upper edge of (a)
to ends of (bb), (c c) Buttons for holding sides of frames (uu),
against (bb), 6i"xli"x#". (//) Guides in which the top tri-
angular comb-guide is placed, in order to have the top strip [t)
nailed thereto; each .piece (/) is 21#"x2"xi", and they are
beveled from one edge, back T^", and are then fastened to (a),
forming a triangular groove, each side of which is i". Two tri-
angular pieces, $" x %" x #" x 2i", are fastened (Fig. 6) at each
end of the groove, (g) Guide-strip, ^"x^'xlQi, fastened to
(/) i" from its beveled edge, (h) Guide-strip, ^"x-^"x3|",
fixed on and across the pieces (//), i" from their ends. To nail
the frames together, put the triangular comb-guide (u) in the
groove formed by the pieces (//) : place the piece (t) on the top
of (u), and against the guides (g) and (h), and nail it to (u) with
two brads each about 2" from the end. Proceed in this way until
all the triangular guides are nailed to the top strips. Now turn
over the gage-block and secure the vertical pieces (u u) against
the guides (bb), by the buttons (cc), and nail the bottom (t) to
(u u), with two brads at each end. Turn the gage-block, and place
the top of the frame (<), which has before been nailed to the guide

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 375

(u), in its proper position, and nail it to (uw) with two biads in
each end.

Fig. 10, page 24, shows the arrangement of the circular saw to

cut the triangular comb-guides.

The first piece cut is waste ; as fast as a guide is sawed, the
piece from which it is cut must be turned over, end for end.*

Surplus Honey Box. Fig. 24, page 120.

Top and bottom, two pieces, i" x 6" x 5i". Bore in the centre
of the bottom, with If" centre-bit, Jg" deep from the outside of
the box, and then bore through with If bit. Sides, two pieces,
i" x 5|" wide x 5" high. Ends, glass, two pieces, 5" x 6", cut
from glass 10"xl2". A block, 5i"x5"x5f"5 will be found
very convenient to nail the boxes together upon.

Movable Stool for Hives. Figs. 16 and 17, page 44.
Two pieces for uprights, or legs ; rear leg 7" wide, front leg 5"
wide, both 20" x£". Take two pieces, 32"xlt"xi", and nail
them to the top edge of the rear leg, flush with its ends, and pro-
jecting beyond it 4" ; nail them also to the front leg in the same
way, but let them project 9". Then brace the legs and top strips,
as shown in the figure. Hive No. 1, and any of the forms of Hive
No. 2, will sit upon this stool, between the top strips ; cotton
cloth (p. 279) is tacked to the alighting board, and to the longest
ends of the top strips. Hive No. 5, also sits upon this stool, the
top strips going between the clamps on the bottom of the hive.
Hive No. 4 must be set upon the strips of this stool.

Movable Blocks for Entrance-Regulators, f Figs. 11, 16. 17, and

18, pages 28, 44, and 48.

Fig. 11 is a right-angled triangle, i" thick X4"x5f"x7. In
the bottom, grooves are cut I" deep xi" wide, as traps for the
larvae of the bee-moth. Two of these blocks, made right and

* To save beveling the first edge of the board by hand, the edge of the angular
bed on the saw bench should be placed against the gage, with the saw passing
through it, instead of against the saw, as represented in the figure.

trigs. 12 and 19, pages 28 and 48, show the old arrangement for uniting the
Non-Swarmer with the entrance-block*.

3 76 EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

left, are used for a hive. By changing the position of these blocks
oil the alighting-board (see Fig. 18. page 48, in which some of
the positions are shown), the size of the entrance to the hive may
be varied in a great many ways, and the bees always directed to
it by the shape of the block, without any loss of time in search-
ing for it.

Non-Swarmer. Figs. 5 and 17, pages 24 and 44.
Two pieces, i" thick x 4i" long x f " wide : saw a slot through
one of these, in the centre of its length and width, 2" long x-j^"
wide ; bevel the other piece to each edge, leaving a surface of $"
in the middle of the width, the bevels being made for 2" only in
the centre of the length of the piece : these pieces are to be fast-
ened together with a piece between them at each end, f" thick
xlf long xi" wide, and the whole together then beveled off
equally at each end, so as to make the length of one of the sides,
where the passage appears, 2^-g". A metallic slide, to be used in
the slot, is 1" wide X 1^-f" long, and is cut away on one edge to
the exact depth of -^", and on the other, -^", leaving projections
at each end, of '£" each, which serve as feet, and rest on the plane
surface left on the lower piece : sheet brass is the best metal for
the slide.* The Non-Swarmer may be varied from the above in
length and bevel of the ends, so as to fit between the entrance-
blocks in any of the positions shown in Fig. 18, page 48.

Movable Divider. No Figure

One piece, J 8^" x 9-f " x -|", each end made i" beveling, for easy
adjustment; the bevels should be parallel to each other. One
piece, f"x-J"x 19i", nailed on the first piece, like the top piece
(t) of the movable comb frames. By this divider the size of any
hive may be diminished at will.

Temporary Movable Partition. No Figure.
14$"x8J" x#", from each end, cut to within l" of the upper

*By making the slot wider, a wooden slide might be made to answer. These
measurements may have to be slightly varied for the Italian bees. This Non-
Swarmer is designed to prevent alterations by warping or swelling, and to allow
of adjustment without confusing the bees. It may also be used for excluding the
drones (p. 225), or confining them to the hive (p. 826).

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 377

edge, |"; into the opposite, or short edge, drive two nails near the
ends of the partition, letting them project J". These nails serve
the purpose of feet to support the weight of the honey which is stored
^ the short frames resting by one end on this partition. The par-
tition is further held, across the centre of the length of the hive,
by two screws, one passing through each side of the hive into tho
partition, at the projections left upon the upper part of the ends.
This partition is used only when a double set of small frames are
put in a surplus honey-box of the same size as the lower hive.

Small Frames for Surplus Honey.

Top, 9$"xH"x^". Bottom, 7i"x |" x±". Ends, or ver-
tical pieces, two pieces, 8f"xi"xi". Triangular comb-guide,
(if used), 6*"x*"x*"xi".

Hive No. 2, with Observing-glass at the back.

See perspective drawings (Figs. 16 and 17, p. 44), and the ver-
tical longitudinal section (Fig. 9, p. 28). and the vertical cross-
section (Fig. 13, p. 36), in which sectional drawings, and this
bill of stock, and the two others immediately succeeding it, parts
that are similar are marked with similar letters. This hive, in
one of the three forms given, is recommended as the best for gen-
eral use.

(a) Bottom-board, 24t"xl5"x£", tongued and grooved to-
gether, with the grain of the wood running across the hive ; the
board to be rabbeted from one surface, at each edge, across the
grain, -fa" x ^", to fit into grooves formed in the sides (c) ; six
holes are to be bored from the largest surface of this board, first
with a 1|" centre-bit. ^" deep, and then through with a li" bit.*
The centres of these holes are to be in the intersections of lines
gaged 3 1" from the centre of the width of the board, and 4i",
10i", and 164", from the rear of it. (b) Front of hive, 14i"x
8$"xi"; nail this between sides (c), f" below their upper edges,
and 4" from their notched ends, (c) Sides of hive, two pieces,

* These holes, when not In use, are closed most conveniently by small covers cut
out of refuse tin with a punch. They should be made only in the bottom-boards
of those hives intended to be used one over another.

378 EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

24|" x 10£" x %"; notch out of one corner of each, to receive por-
tico roof, 4" on the length of the pieces x 2£" deep, and ^j"
from the unnotched edge of each piece, make a groove to receive
the bottom, -^" square. Gage 4" on from the notched ends, and
across the side pieces (c), for a line by which to set the outside of
the front, which should come i" below the upper edges of the
sides, (d) Ledges around sides and rear end of hive-body, nailed
thereon 1J" down from top edge; two pieces, 20f" x #" x £", and
one piece, I7|"x£"xi". (e) Roof of portico, I7i"x4£"x£",
beveled off from i" thick at front edge, back 2t" to full thick-
ness, front edge rounded over from upper side only. * — One
piece, 1 5i" x 1 i" x £", nailed to the upper side of (e) flush with its
rear edge, and in the centre of its length. — Cover for hive,
25t"xl9"x£", tongued and grooved together, and rain-grooved,
the grain of the wood running front and rear of the hive.
— Cleats for cover, two pieces, 19" x If" x i", nailed on the under
side of cover, flush with the ends. — Observing-glass at rear of
hive, 14"x5" ; an outer glass of the same size can be used, if
desired, for additional protection in Winter. — Shutter over
glass, 14"x#"x5i" wide outside, and 5|" wide inside, the bevel
being made on the upper edge. — Clamps on this shutter, two
pieces, 5i" x 14" x £". nailed upon outside, each projecting J" over
the end of the shutter, to cover the open joints. A piece, 14i"x
2|" x £", is nailed to a piece, 15£" x 11" x £", centrally with re-
gard to length, and so that one edge of both will be flush with
each other. The ends of the longest piece are made dove-tailing,
to fit in the sides (c), as shown in Fig. 16, p. 44 : the lower or
flush edges of both pieoes coming V above the bottom-board. The
lower outer corner of this sash-rail, and the upper outer corner
of the bottom-board, may be rabbeted a little to receive a covering
of wire cloth, and the ventilator so formed may be furnished with
a button slide arrangement, similar to those shown in the Fig., p.
13.f The upper sash rail is made up of a piece, 14V' x If" x £",

* Those parts marked with a ( — ), are not lettered In any of the Figures.

t The ventilating passage may be closed by a strip of wood which nearly fills it,
and this may be kept in place by the button which confines the shutter. The
objection to this is, that the bees would be very apt to stick the strip fast with
propolis within the ventilating passage. Mr. Wheaton uses no back ventilator,

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 379

nailed to a piece, 14£"x£"xlf" wide on one side, and 2J" on
the other ; gage f " from the square edge of the beveled piece, on
its narrowest side, for a mark to set the other piece to in nailing,
and then nail the upper sash rail in place between the sides of
the hive, the beveled piece being flush with the tops and ends of
the sides. — Strips to hold the observing-glass, V wide x i"
thick, are nailed all around the place left to receive it, ^" from
the interior of the hive. Two such hives, having one cover, are
placed one on the top of the other (facing the same way), the
npper one being designed to receive surplus honey, either in boxes
placed over the holes in the bottom-board, or on frames.

Hive No. 2, without observing-glass.

This hive is similar to "Hive No. 2, with observing-glass,"
with the exception that those parts rendered necessary by the use
of glass are omitted. The rear is 15"x8f"xi", and is halved
into the sides (c), flush with their ends, and |" below their tops.
The sides (c) are 23f" long, but otherwise are the same as in the
previous hive.

A strip, which forms the rear rabbet of the hive, in which the
frames rest, is 15i"x2i"x£"; this is nailed across the rear of
the hive, to, and flush with, the tops of the sides (c). As the
back ventilator will admit of all necessary inspection for general
purposes (p. 365, note), a hive of this form will probably be best
for those largely engaged in bee-culture.

Hive No. 2, with box-cover. Figs. 9* and 13, pages 28 and 36.

This hive may be made like either of the preceding hives, and
has, in addition, a box-top, designed to cover small honey-boxes
placed over the hive, or a large box, arranged to receive frames
for the storage of surplus honey. The following comprises the
additions referred to :

(/) Honey-board, 2H"x 15i" x$", tongued and grooved, and

"but depends upon a current of air from the front entrances of the lower and upper
hive, the upper one being used for storing surplus honey on frames. The amount
of ventilation needed will depend much upon climate and location.

* Fig. 9 shows the construction, when neither observing-glass nor back venti-
lator are used, and when the front and rear of the hive are of double thickness.

380 EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

held together by cleats tongued and grooved to the ends of the
board. Bore such holes through this board as are described in
bottom-board (a), and at proper distances to receive the size of
small honey-boxes used, (k) Honey-box cover, like (/), without
the holes, (h) Front and rear of honey-box, front 1 4i" x 9|" x %" ;
rear, two pieces, 14V' X If " X |" j nail the front between the sides,
the lower edges flush, as is also one of the rear pieces, the other
being f " below the top edges of the sides, (i) Two pieces, sides of
honey-box, 19J" x 10" x %". (j) Ledges at front and rear of honey-
box, two pieces, 15^" x H" x f ", nailed on flush with the top edges
of the sides. (TO) Observing-glass in rear of honey-box, 14"x6".
(n) Strips to hold observing-glass, -J-" x i", nailed all around the
space left for the glass, and within -fo" of the interior of the honey-
box, (o) Top of box cover, tongued and grooved together, and
rain-grooved, 26£"x 19£"x£". (p) Two pieces, front and rear
of upper part of box cover, I7i"x8f"x-j" ; these pieces are
nailed between the sides. (<?) Two pieces, sides of upper part of
box cover, 24£" x 8 f" x f". (r) Two pieces, front and rear of
lower part of box cover. l7V'x5"xi". (s) Two pieces, sides
of lower part of box cover, 24V'x5"x£". (w) Four pieces,
2" x 1" x ilr", buttons for holding the upper to the lower part of the
cover, to which they are nailed ; the upper inside part of the but-
tons is beveled off, to allow the upper part of the cover to set
down readily on the lower part. The side pieces, (q) and (s),
must be halved across the ends, to receive the front and rear ; the
upper and the lower parts of the box cover may be halved where
they join, as shown in Hive No. 4. Fig. 23, p. 96.

A ventilator for the top cover should be made by boring a num-
ber of f" holes in the rear piece, as close as convenient to the
roof; this ventilator may be opened and closed by means of the
arrangement shown in the drawing opposite page 13.

Upper or Winter Entrance. Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 17, pages 20 and 44.

In all the Hives No. 2, a winter entrance for the bees may be
made to open upon the portico roof for an alighting-board ; gage
from the upper side of the piece, forming the front rabbet, where
the frames rest, 1" and H", and then mortise a slot through, 3"

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 381

long, in the centre of the length of the piece, between the gage
marks, and slanting upwards, so that the lower side of the slot
will come even with the top of the piece on which the frames
rest.

This entrance, which is proposed for trial, may also be made
at the back of the hives, and in Hive No. 1 .

Hive No. 3. Observing-Hive (p. 332). Figs. 14 and 15, page 36.

Fig. 14, is a side view, and Fig. 15. a vertical cross-section.

(a) Base-board, 24f"x4i"x£". An entrance-hole, £". is bored
3^ inches deep into the end of (a), and two holes are bored in its
centre, £" in diameter and 1|-" from centre to centre, the wood
being cut out between them, (b) Bottom of hive, 2J" x 1 8$" X -|" ;
make a rabbet at both upper corners, f" on x •£$" deep ; start a
|" hole, 1" from the end, and bore slanting, to meet entrance-hole
in (a), and make a hole in the centre to match centre hole in (a),
for a ventilator, and cover with wire-gauze on the inside, (c)
Front and rear of hive, H" x 2£" x 1 0-J-" ; rabbet the inner corners,
up and down, i"xi": make a ventilator in each piece, like the
one in (a) : f " from the upper ends, cut in \" ; and £" from the
lower end. cut in J". (d) Side strips. $" x 1" x 20$ " ; on one cor-
ner of each, rabbet on, i". and in, £" for the glass, (e) Movable
cover, 21i"x4i"x4-"; holes may be made in this cover, as in
Fig. 21, over which glass receptacles for honey may be placed.
(/) Glass, two panes, 9£"xl8$". (g) Alighting-board, 4" x 4t"
xi". (h) Clamps on base-board, 4fc"x 2" x£". (i and y) Clamps
on cover, and ledges on hive, four pieces, 4i" x 1" X i".

Hive No. 4, Double-story Glass Hive. Figs. 19, 20, 21, 22, and
23, pages 48, 68, 88, and 96.

This and the following hive are not intended for general use in
the Apiary, but for those who want one or more elegant hives.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view with the cover down. Fig. 20 is
a perspective view with the cover elevated, so as to show the
working of the bees, both in the main hive and the upper honey-
box. Fig. 21 is a plan of the lower part of the hive, showing the
surplus honey-board in place, and the holes made in it to allo\v

382 EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

the bees to pass up into the surplus honey-receptacles. On thig
board, receptacles of glass or wood, of any size or shape, may be
set (see Glass hive opposite to the Frontispiece), instead of the
upper box. Fig. 22 is a vertical longitudinal section, and Fig. 23
a vertical cross-section. This hive has glass on four sides, for
purposes of general observation. A cornice under the projecting
roof of the cover would improve its appearance.

(a) Main bottom of hive, tongued and grooved, 3l"x20f"xJ".
(b) Outer * bottom of hive, 27£" x 18i" x $". (c) Rabbeted strips
for outer bottom, two pieces, 29£"xH"x$", and two pieces,
17£"x li"x$". (d) Front and rear of lower outer case of hive,
one rabbet in upper outer corner of each, T7^" x y7^-" ; front, 1 1J" X
20f"xl"; cut out of the centre of the lower edge, 14£"x£";
rear, 4i" x 201" x i". (e) Sides of lower outer part, with rabbets
the same as front and rear (for form of this, see Fig. 20), two
pieces, 311" long x£" thick, 4J" wide at one end, and 12£" wide
at 4$" from the other end, where a notch is cut out. 1^-" deep

x4" long. (/) Roof of alighting-board, 23i"x4i"x£"; i"
thick in rear, and I" thick in front, (g) Board under which bees
pass into the hive, 14£" x 4" x i". (h) Front posts of lower hive,
two pieces. 9i" long X 4" X $". (i) Rear posts of lower hive,
two pieces,. 10" long X If'x-J". with tenon, J"xl"x-i-", on one
end. (j) Front and rear strips of lower hive, on which the
frames hang, two pieces. 1 5£" x If" X i", with rabbet, 3"x|",
and notch, f'x-J", cut at each end from upper side, (k) Side
strips from post to post, in lower hive, 21$"x-J"xi", with notch,
i" deep x If", cut in the under side of each end. (?) Spare
honey-board, 17i"x2H"x|", nine holes bored If" diameter

x-jJg." deep, and then bored through with a li" bit; these holes
when not in use are covered with pieces of tin, cut out with a
punch ; they may be bored plain, and covered with pieces of glass
or wood, (m) Front and rear of lower part of cover, 6f" X 20f "

xf", rabbets (Fig. 22) TV"XTV"? on botn uPPer and lower edges.
(n) Sides of lower part of cover, two pieces, 27-J" from front to
rear x 6|-" x 1", with rabbets -fa" X ^" ', for shape of these pieces,

* This outer bottom may be dispensed •with, and clamps, 27% x 2 x % inches,
nailed lengthwise to the bottom of the hive, about 1 inch under and from its «idea,
for getting hold of the hivo to lift it, and to prevent dampness.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 383

see Fig. 20. (o) Front and rear of upper part of cover, one piece,
5j"x20J"x|", and one piece, 13$-" X 20|" x 1". (p) Sides of
upper part of cover, two pieces, each 5f" and 13^" x 27i"xi",
with rabbets, ^" x TV ; for shape, see Fig. 20. (q) Top of cover,
tongued and grooved from front to rear, and rain-grooved on top
(Fiss. 19 and 23), 24£" x 30f"x|". (r) Honey-box cover, 21*"
x!9i"xi". (s) Clamps for honey-box cover, two pieces, 21|"
xi"xi". (2.) Triangular checks to hold the cover when elevated,
two pieces, 1 J" x If" x 2J" x i". ( 3.) Four buttons, 1 V' x 2" x |".
(w) Posts of surplus honey-box, four pieces, Ij"x8£"xj". (x)
Front and rear bottom-strips of honey-box, two pieces. H"x 151"
x $". (y) Side-bottom strips of honey-box, two pieces, 21i"x$"
X I" ; (x) and (y} are halved together at ends. (2) Front, rear,
and side top pieces of honey-box, made up of two strips, 1 j-" x |"
x 17£", two strips, Ij"x|"x21|", halved together at ends; and
two strips, 17|"x3"x J", two strips. 19i"xJ"x$". (4.) Clamps
for spare honey-board, two pieces, 21J"x£"x£". Glass, two
pieces 14x9, four pieces 18x9, and two pieces 14x8, for the
double glass of lower hive: two piecea 18x8, and two pieces
14x8, for the spare honey-box.

Hive No. 5, Single-story Glass Hive. See Perspective opposite

page 13 ; also the Figures referred to in Hive No. 4.
(a) Bottom-board, i" thick X 24i"x 36|", tongued and grooved
together, and halved out of, or rabbeted, across the grain of the
wood, }V'xiV> at eacn °f ^ne l°n=est sides of the board, to fit
into grooves made in the side pieces of the lower part of the case ,
the grain of the wood must run across the bottom, (d) Front and
rear of case : bottom part, front. 24 J" x 10 X £", cut out from the
centre of the length on one edge, 14£"x i". and rabbet the other,
•3^" x -jTg" ; rear, 24}"x3i"xi". rabbet one edge. •&" x-^'*, and
cut out of the other edge to match the front, (e) Sides of case,
lower part, two pieces. 36J"x$"xlO&" wide 5" from one end,
and 3|" wide at the other, where one side of each piece should
be halved out J" on x^" deep, to receive the rear piece; at the
wide end. where the slant terminates, cut out for roof of portico,
l-j^-"x5", and rabbet the slant edges, -^g-"Xy\", out of the sides
opposite to the halving on the narrow ends : for shape of (e), (n),

384: EXPLANATION . OF PLATES.

and (p), see Fig. 20, p. 68. On the grooved sides of (e). 5J" from
their wide ends, square a mark across, to which the inside of the
front of the case (d) is to be set. and cut a groove, |" wide x -fa"
deep, extending from the upper edge into the groove formed to re-
ceive the bottom-board. (/) Portico roof, 26f"x6"xi"; bevel
from |" thick on front edge, back 5", to full thickness, and round
the front edge from the upper side, (g) Covers of passage way
into hive, and to lower rear ventilator, two pieces, 14|" x 5f" x £" ;
bore three holes in each of these, as directed for the holes in (/),
their centres being in a line gaged 2" from one edge, one being in
the centre of the length of the piece, the others being spaced 4j"
each side from this, (h] Front posts, two pieces : (i) rear posts,
two pieces, 10" x oi" x f " : on one side of each, |" from one end,
and I" wide, rabbet out -fa" deep, to receive (g). Notch out from
one upper corner of each post, opposite the rabbeted end, 14"
from the width, and |" from the height of each post, to receive
the upper frame of the internal hive, and cut the groove formed
on the sides of the posts, near their bases, across the notched edge
of each, -3*3" deep, to receive the lower side sash rails. The rear
posts may be beveled or curved from 3i" above their base, to the
notches formed in their upper ends, and both the front and rear
posts are to be screwed to the front and rear of the case, centrally
with its width, so that there shall be a space of 14|" left between
them. The front posts have rabbeted out of their upper ends on
their inner sides, £" x £". (j) Front and rear top strips of hive,
two pieces, li" wide x£" thick x 151" j rabbet one edge i" wide
by %" deep, and cut from each end of each, to the depth of the
rabbet, -J" on. (k) Side top strips of hive, two pieces, |" x $" x
21£", cut out of one end of each, l|"xi". The four strips (_;')
and (k), make, when nailed together into the top notches made in
the posts, a frame for the top of the hive, and in which the mova-
ble-comb frames hang. Lower or sash rails, two pieces, 19" x£"
wide x \" thick, cut T8^" from the width at each end, on one side,
and for a length of ^". Collateral side honey-boards, for surplus
honey-glasses, two pieces, 29i"x 3$" x i" ; bore seven holes in
each, in centre of width, one being in the centre of the length of
each, and the rest spaced at intervals of 4J" on each side. Cleats
or supports are to be nailed on the underneath sides of these

EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 385

boards at convenient intervals. (I) Surplus honey-board, i"x
2H"x 18", the grain of the wood to run crosswise of the board,
which is to have clamps, tongued and grooved against the edge
of the. grain ; 9 holes are w be bored for surplus honey-boxes ;
they are first bored ^" deep with If" centre-bit, and then through
with 1 1" bit ; these holes are arranged in 3 rows, one in the cen-
tre, and the others at 3" from the edges of the board, the end
holes of each row being 3" from the ends of the board ; 6i" from
each end of the board, cut slots through, 14" long xi"wide;
make a slight rabbet all around the slots, to receive wire-gauze
ventilators, (m) Front and rear of case, middle* part, two
pieces. 24 J" x 4}" x $" ; rabbet out from opposite corners of each
edge, •£$" x -j-y . (n) Sides of case, middle part, two pieces ; for
shape of these, see Fig. 20, p. 48 ', 3 If" from front to rear, meas-
ured square across, or 32i" measured on the angle, x 4i" wide
measured vertically, or 4$" measured square across : rabbet out
from opposite corner of each edge, iV"x^"- (°) Front and rear
of case, upper part : front, 24f" x 8f" x $" • rabbet one edge,
•£s"*-fr") rear> 24J"xl5f"x£" ; rabbet one edge, iV'x-jV'-
(p) Sides of case, upper part, 31$"x 15£" wide at back, and 8i"
wide at front x $•" thick ; rabbet the slant edges, -fa" x -fa" ; for
shape, see Fig. 20, p. 68. (q) Top of upper part of case, 33£" x
28i"xf", tongued and grooved together, and rain-grooved from
front to rear (see Fig. 23, p. 96) ; (n) and (p), sides of case, are
halved out at the ends, -J" x ^", to receive the front and rear of
the case (m) and (o). (2) Triangular checks to hold the case
when elevated, if'x It"x3"xi", two pieces. (3) Guides on
outside of case (see Fig. 19, p. 48), four pieces, Ii"x2"x$".
— Cover to upper ventilator, 25i"xl"x|"; this ventilator is
made by boring — holes, |" in diameter, in the rear of upper
part of case, as near to (g) as possible. — Cover to lower back
ventilator, 15" x 1" X J". — Buttons for holding ventilating cov-
ers; their construction and form are shown in Fig. 16, p. 44, and
also opposite p. 13 ; four pieces. Nail all around the spaces left
for glass, strips $•" X J", within •£$" of the inner boundaries of the
hive. — Small front honey-board, |"x4fc"xl8"; three holes
bored as directed in (I).

* Two frames, 1 inch less than the usual height, and 4 inches less than the usual
length, may be put here for surplus honey, or glasses may be used.

388

EXPLANATION OF PLATKS

DESCRIPTION OP IMPLEMENTS USED IN THE APIAET.

PLATE XI., page 144.

Fig. 24 is a Box for storing surplus honey ; see page 289.
Fig. 25 is a Bee-hat; see page 316.
Fig. 26 is a Box for feeding bees; see page 271.
Fig. 27 is an India-rubber Glove ; see page 317.
Fig. 28 — Shoemaker's Pincers, a convenient tool for many opera-

tions in the Apiary.

Fig. 29 is a Knife for cutting the combs from a box-hive.
Fig. 30 is a Scraper for cleaning the bottom-board ; see page 347.

INDEX.

Adobe, for hives, 831 (note 2).

Advantages required in complete hives,
95-108?

Adventure, amusing, in search of honey,
254.

After-swarming, 120 ; causes and indi-
cations of, 121 ; easily prevented in
mov. comb hives, 124, 140; evils of,
140 ; author's mode of obviating evils
of, before invention of mov. comb
hive, 140 (note) ; excessive, exposes
stock to bee-moth, 248.

After-swarms, easily strengthened in
mov. comb hives, 140; when to ex-
pect, 122; often issue in bad weather,
122; often have more than one queen,
122; seriously reduce strength of
parent-stocks, 124, 140; wise arrange-
ment concerning, 124 ; easily prevent-
ed in inov. comb hive, 124 ; weak, of
little value, 140, 141 ; returning of, to
parent-stock, or doubling, unprofit-
able, 140; make few drone-cells the
first season, 184 (note).

Age, of bees, 58; queen-bee, 49; of
workers, proved from Italian bee, 59
(note) ; signs of old, 59 ; of colonies,
59 ; of queens, designated by the clip-
pings of their wings, 223.

Air, necessary for bees, 88 ; bees need in
Winter, 89, 838; pure, necessary for
'eggs, brood, and bees, 89 ; pure, neces-
sary for health of man, 91 ; abundance
of, supplied by mov. comb hive, 94;
new swarms require more than old,
281; cold, alarms bees, 811 (note);
how to give in Winter, to mov. comb
hives, 838.

Air-tight stoves, deficient in ventilation,

Alighting-board, should shelter from
wind and wet, 103 ; improved, by at-
taching muslin, 279 (note): PL V.,
Figs. 16,17.

Alsike, or Swedish white clover, 294;
value of, for bees and stock, 295.

American women, their sufferings from
bad ventilation, 92.

Analysis of royal jelly, 64.

387

Anger of bees, 308-814 ; difficult to re-
press, when once aroused, 170 ; excit-
ed by the human breath, quick mo-
tions, or jarring, 170 ; and sometimes
by smoke, 168 (note) ; should not be
violently repelled, 170 ; occasioned by
disease, 25(5 (note); never necessary
to provoke a colony to, 809; when
provoked to, terribly vindictive, 810 ;
of dyspeptic bees, troublesome, 810 ;
bee-hat a protection from, 310 ; But-
ler's directions how to prevent the
rising of, 311 ; warm breath provokes,
811 (note 2) ; when excited, how to
act, 811 ; never excited away from
home, 812; excited by disagreeable
odors, and uncleanly persons, 818 ;
aroused by a smell of the bee-poison,
814; and by rough and hairy substan-
ces, 317.

Ants, white, their fecundity, 82 ; some-
times injure bees, 255; small, harm-
less, 265 (note); extravagantly fond
of honey, 237.

Aphides, singular mode of propagation
of, 42; description of, 285; cause of
honey-dew, 285.

Apiarians, see Bee-Keepers.

Apiaries, must be closely watched in
swarming-season, 148 ; large, rendered
difficult by natural swarming, 145;
danger of crowded, 214 ; stocking, &c.,
279-284; in establishing, a knowledge
of the honey resources of the locality
important, 279 (and note 1) ; should be
protected from high winds, and from
cattle, and sweaty horses, 279 (note
2); should be in sight of occupied
rooms, 279 ; proper exposure for, 279 ;
covered, objectionable, 280; shaded,
agreeable to bees, 280; location of,
how to change, 280 ; procuring bees
for, 280 ; to secure bees in their hives,
for removal to, 281 ; precautions to be
observed in moving hives to, 281;
transferring bees from common to
mov. comb hive, for, 282 ; large, in
Europe, 300 ; should be fenced ag'ainst
cattle and horses, 813.

Apple-tree, yields much honey, 292.

Apricot-tree, honey-yielding, 292.

388

INDEX.

Aristotle, noticed similarity of drone

after-swarming, 184; capable of s*ft

and worker-eggs, 42; observed that

expansion, 185 ; how to double stocks

bees collect pollen from one kind of

by, 185; Dzierzon's mode of, 186;

flower at a time, 83; observation of.

author's mode of, for single UII-.H-'H-.-,

concerning the flight and feeding of j 186 ; mode of, resembling natural

drones, 224 (note); on the difficulties swarming, 186 ; mode of, by reversing
which perplexed the Apiarian, 276 position of hives, 187 ; how to provide

(note) ; described the Italian bee, 319

a full supply of queens for, 188;

Artificial honey, recipe for, 276 (note).

nucleus for rearing queens for, 189;

Artificial rearing of queens, 188 ; the

rapid increase of stocks by, 190 ; how

process to be performed late in the
day, 188 ; honey and water to be sup-
plied to bees in, 189 ; when to confine

to induce bees, in, to rear queens on
convenient parts of the comb, 191 ;
how to secure adhering bees tor the

bees in, 189.

nuclei in, 192 (and note 2) ; queens, in,

Artificial swarming, 143,211; not per-

made to supply several stocks with

formed by Columella, 147 (note); ill-

eggs, 193; mother-stocks, in, should

success of ancient method of, 148;
Huber's plan of, objectionable, 148 ; by
dividing hives, unsatisfactory, 149 ; by

be kept strong, 199 ; most successful
when forage is abundant, 199 ; hazard-
ous in a crowded apiary, 200 ; how to

removing full hives and substituting

supply stocks, in, with stranger-

empty ones, worse, 150, 151 ; by self-

queens, 200; queen-cage for, 201;

colonizing hives, ineffectual, 151 ;

union of bees of different stocks in,

causes of failure of, 152 ; has received

203 ; practiced in ancient times, 210.

great attention from author, 153;

Artificial swarms, where should be

mode ,of, adapted to common hives,

put, 158; how to know whether

154 ; cautious handling of combs in,

they have a queen, 158 ; will ac-

needful, 155 (and note); how to pre-

cept a strange queen, 159 (note);

vent bees in, from returning to old

cautions to be observed in locating,

stand, 156, 157 ; not to be performed

159; how to make, by slightly chang-

till drones appear, 158 ; tokens of the
absence or presence of the queen in,

ing position of parent stock, 101 ; how
to form several with one natural

158; how to proceed if the queen is
absent, 159 ; if done in morning or late

swarm, 163; quickly made in mov.
comb hive, 164, 173; when to force, in

in afternoon, how to proceed to secure

cases of retarded swarming, 174; can-

bees for the old stock, 160 ; proportion
Of bees necessa'ry for old stocks in, 160 ;
new and decoy-hive should resemble
that of parent stock, or adjoining hives
be covered, 160 ; mode of, by exchang-
ing hives, 160 ; by juxta-position, 161 ;

not be formed by merely transferring
combs and bees into an empty hive,
175; caution against too rapid multi-
plication of, 175 (note); the piling
mode of forming, its advantages, 188;
not to be increased so as to reduce the

by confining bees in parent stock, 161 ;
preferable plan when to be done on a
large scale, 162 ; rapidity of this plan,
162 (note) ; its advantages, 163 ; Dr.
DonhofTs method of, 163 ; how to at-
tach bees to new places, in, 163 (note) ;

strength of the mother stock, 199 ; at-
tempts at rapid increase of, in vicinity
of sugar-houses, &c., 199; difficult to
form when forage is scarce, 199.
Asters, furnish valuable pasturage for
bees, 298.

difficult for persons ignorant of the
laws which control the breeding of
bees, 164; easily performed with

Attica, its yield of wax and honey, 804
Austria, value of its honey crop, 304.
Axioms, bee-keeper's, 869.

mov. comb hive, 164 ; mode of per-

forming it, 165 ; queen to be sought

B.

for, 166; supply of sealed queens pro-
vided for, 166; great care necessary

Baldenstein, Capt, on Italian bee, 818;

in transferring sealed queens, 167;

ill-success of, in propagating pure

should not be attempted in cool wea-

breed, 819.

ther, or when dark, 167 ; early morn-
ing best time for, 167 ; little danger

Bar-hives, ancient, 210 (note); author'a
experiments with, 14.

attending, 167, 168; perfectly safe,

Basket, used as a hiver, 183.

even at midday, 168; sugar-water

Bass-wood, see Linden.

often better than smoke, useful in,

Bears, destroyers of bees. 254.

168; honey-water objectionable, 169

Bee-bob, to attract swarms, 132.

(note) ; caution in, enjoined, 170;

Bee-bread, see Pollen.

how to apply sugar-water in, 170 ;

Bee-dress, use of, recommended, 132,

how to remove frames in, 170; rapidly

209, 816.

performed, 173; best mode of, 180,
181 ; supply of queens to mother-
stocks, in, 182 ; obviates" the risk of

Bee-glue, see Propolis.
Be.-h.at author's, how made, 816 (PI

389

Bee-journal, much needed in .this pearance of their cocoons in emotv

country, 22.

combs, 233 (ami PL XIX., Fig. 66) ;

Bee-keeping, depressed condition of, in
America, 18, 145 ; a fascinating pur-
suit, 144, 146; estimate of profit of,

activity of, 233 ; transformation of, to
the winged form, and effect of cold
on, 234 (and note), 243; movable

146 (note) ; better understood by the
ancients than the moderns, 147 (note) ;
with feeble stocks, unprofitable, 177 ;

frames a remedy against, 239, 241 ;
signs of presence of, in hives, 242 i
sulphur fumes fatal to, 243 ; should

no " royal road " to, 21 1 ; demands care

be destroyed early in the season, 248 ;

and experience, 211 ; in Spain, exten-

extent of their ravages, 249 (and

sive, 222 (note 2); on a large scale,

note) ; how to entrap them, 249 ;

unprofitable to beginners, 282.

traps for, of no use to the careless,

p«e-moth, permanent bottom-boards, a

250.

security against, 97 ; easily dislodged
from mov. comb hive, 141; has more
sins to bear than she commits, 216,
246; habits, &c., of, described, 223-

Bee-palaces, objections to, 61,242.
Bees, honev, will work in the light, 16,
23, 332 ; may be tamed, 24, '28, 808 ; in-
tended for man's comfort, 24; never

252; mentioned by ancient authors,

attack when gorged with honey, 25,

228 ; pest of modern apiaries, 228, 251 ;

132, 169 ; when swarming, peaceable,

when a moth-proof hive will be ob-
tained, 228 ; Dr. Harris's account of,

25, 132; always accept of offered
sweets, 26, 168, 169, 170; sometimes

228; to distinguish female of, from

attracted from other hives by sprink-

male, 229 ; cut of female and male,

ling sugar- water, "tl ; gorge themselves

230 ; nocturnal, 230 ; interesting expe-
riment with female "230 (note 2); agility
of, 280 (and note 8) ; eggs of, laid in
the cracks of the hive, &c., 231, 235 ;
cut of gallery of, 232 ; cocoons o£ in
empty combs, 233 (and PL XIX., Fig.
56) ; female will deposit eggs on pres-
sure, 234 (note 2) ; condition of a hive

when frightened, 27, 155, 169; sub-
dued by smoke or drumming on the
hive, 27, 154 ; and chloroform <y ether,
210 ; the most timid may manage,
28 ; can nourish only in colonies, 29 ;
how affected by loss of queen, 81 ; in-
telligence of, 48; breed in Winter, 48,
839 ; number of, in a colony, 54 ; honey-

destroyed by, 235 (and PL XX., Fig.

bag of, 56 (PL XVII., Fig. 54); pol-

57) ; did not appear simultaneously in
this country with the bee, 236 ; multi-
plied by the use of patent hives, 237,
241 ; movable frames a remedy for the

len-basket, 56; proboscis of, 56 (PL
XVI., Fig. 51, PL XIII., Fig. 68) ;
sting, 56 (PL XVII., Fig. 53) ; loss of
sting fatal, 57 ; age of, 58 ; industry of,

evils of, 289, 241; first appearance
noted, 240 ; rapid spread of, in Ohio,
241 ; commonly infest old stocks, 251

instructive, 59; number of, in a colo-
ny, why limited, 61 ; advantages of
their being able to Winter in a colony

(note); eggs of, deposited on un-

state, 62 ; despair of, when without

covered combs in weak stocks, 242 ;

queen or brood-comb, 67, 245 ; work

signs of presence of, in hives, 242 ; not
developed in low temperature, 243 ;

night and day, 78 ; sagacity of, in the
structure of their cells, 74 ; supersti-

sulphur fumes will kill the eggs and

tions connected with, 80 ; not injuri-

larvae of, in combs, 243 ; will certainly

ous to fruit, 85 ; need little air in Win-

destroy queenless stocks, 244 (and

ter, if comfortable, 89 ; when distur-

note) ; fertility of, 244 ; instinct of, in

bed or confined, require much air,

discovering queenless stocks, 245 ;

90 ; become diseased in impure air,

easily conquer stocks suffering from

90 ; annoyed by thin hives in hot

hunger, 246 (and note) ; mission of,

weather, 90 ; superior to man in ven-

247 (and note) ; keeping stocks strong
the surest defence against, 247 ; inse^

tilation, 91 ; why they do not cluster
on sealed honey in not weather, 91 ;

curity of other contrivances, 247 ;
placing hives so as not to endanger

averse to jarring, 96 ; not torpid in
Winter, 110, 835" ; chilled by cold,

the loss of their queens, an important

110 ; must live in communities, 110 ;

protection against, 24S ; adaptation of

conduct of, when queen is lost in

mov. comb hive to protect stocks
from, 249; facilities of destroying, of
no use to careless bee-keepers, 250;

swarming, 113 ; sometimes abandon
hives to avoid starvation, 116; why
they do not select new homes before

protection from, by an upper entrance,
250 (note) ; caught by sweets and sour
milk, 251 ; destroyed by fire, 251 (note

abandoning the old, 116 ; intercom-
municate quickly on the wing, 117 ;
send scouts to seek new abodes, 117 ;

2);

sight of, for distant objects, acute.

Bee-moth, Larvae of (with cuts), 229 ;

117; commotion of, during absence oi

how it secures itself from the attacks
of the bees, 231 ; representation of its

queen for impregnation, lii5. 217; na-
tive of hot climate, 12S (note) ; detest

gallery, 232; food of, 233, 247 ; ap-

smell of fresh paint, 129 often per-

390

INDEX.

spire 'while swarming, and reluctant
to enter heated hives, 130 ; pleased to

e4 will readily mingle, 203 (and note);
in too large hives, become dispirited,

find comb in hive, 131 ; modes of secur-

208 ; in large apiaries, if the hives are

ing swarms in difficult places, 135;

alike, liable to mistake them, 214 ;

acute of hearing, 138 ; refusing
to swarm, should have plenty of

effect on, of loss of qi een, 217 ; ene-
mies of, 2-2ft---T),'i ; vigilance of, against

storage-room, 139 ; may be advanta-

the moth, 231 ; not a native of the

geously kept in cities, 144 ; often re-
fuse to swarm, 145 ; seldom colonize

New World, 235 ; a harbinger of civ-
ilization, 236 (note) ; can learn to de-

unless blossoms abound in honey, 147 ;

fend themselves against new enemies,

ability of, to rear queens from work-

240; destroyed by mice and by birds,

er-brood, when discovered, 148; with-

252 ; by toads and bears, 254 ; dis-

out mature queens, build comb*

eases of, 255-260 ; propensities of, to

with large cells, 149, 150 (and note) ;
diminish rapidly in number after

rob, and appearance of thieving bees,
261 ; habitual robbers become black,

swarming, 151 (and note) ; will not

262 (and note) ; sometimes rob the

form independent colonies in inter-

humble-bee, 262 ; grand battles of,

communicating hives, 152 ; work bet-
ter in new swarms than in old colo-

263 ; of conquered colonies, incorpor-
ate themselves with the victors, 263 ;

nies, 153 ; laden with stores, welcom-
ed by strange swarms, 155 ; without
stores, expelled, 155; frightened by
rappings on the hive, 155 ; disposition
of, when moved, to return to old lo-

frantic fury of robbers, when deprived
of their spoil, 265 ; how to cool them
into temporary honesty, 265 ; feeding
of, 267-278 ; are fond of salt. 272 ; in-
fatuation of, for confectionary, 277 ;

cation, 156 ; effect on, of temporary
loss of home, 157 ; how to make ad-

compared to intemperate men, 278 ;
the avaricious, folly of, 278; fond of

here to old home, wherever put, 157 ;

shade, 280 ; procuring for an apiary,

losing their queens, will accept of

280 ; transferring from common to

others, 159 (note) ; more irascible at

mov. comb hives, 282 ; get supplies

night, 167; confounded by sudden in-

from honey-dews, 287 ; flight of, its

troduction of light into their hives,

extent, 305 ; pacific temper of, 308 ;

168, 169; difficult to subdue when
once thoroughly excited, 170 ; use all

incident illustrating good nature ef,
while swarming, 308 ; readily taught

available space for honey 172 (note
2) ; tenacious adherence of, to their

by ill treatment to be vindictive, 310 ;
human breath offensive to, 311 ; at a

combs, 172 ; losing their queen when

distance from their hives, never sting

swarming, return to parent stock,

unless hurt, 312 ; kindness of, at home,

174 ; their mode of communication

a lesson for man, 312 ; their treat-

174 (note 1) ; storing surplus honey
to be unmolested, 180 (and note 1);

ment of the sick, 312 ; their sense of
smell, 313 ; dead, medicinal qualities

amusing conduct of, on finding a

of, 315 (note) ; will more surely sting

strange hive where their own should
be, 181 (note 1) ; emboldened to self-

hairy than bare parts, 317 ; maintain a
high temperature in Winter, 835;

defence by presence of queen, 182 ;

eat less in Winter when kept qniet,

judicious renewal of, for swarms, not
injurious to mother-stocks, 183; their

335, 355 ; wintering of, 335-361 ; unit-
ing small colonies of, for wintering,

instinct to become over-rich, 183 (note

836 ; do not store honey so as alwavs

2) ; their passion for forage, 186 (note

to be accessible in Winter, 836 ; can-

1) ; when destitute of queen, will rear

not be relied on to make Winter pas-

young ones, if they have brood-comb,
188 ; need water when confined, 189

sages in combs, 336 ; should be pro-
tected from Winter winds, 337, 848 ;

(note) ; how encouraged to work in

if out of doors in Winter should be

an upper hive, 189 ; do not always
cluster on brood-comb in nuclei, 192

allowed to fly, 337 ; sometimes perish
in snow, 338 (note 1) ; experiments

(note) ; sometimes start queen-cells

on wintering, by author, 339 ; need

that fail, 193 ; young, do inside, and
old, outside work, 194 ; young are

water in cold weather, 342-346 ; need
water to eat candied honey, 342-344 ;

wax-workers, 196; their occasional
refusal to make royal cells explained,

injured by being disturbed in Winter,
847, 355 ; seldom discharge their fasces

197 (note) ; a worthy trait of, 197 ;

in the hive, 347 ; on wintering in dry

their treatment of strange queens,

cellars, 848 ; in special depositories,

200 ; to cause, to receive strange

349-360; eat less and fewer die in

queens kindly, 201 ; of different colo-

clamps than in other special Winter

nies may be united, 203 ; distinguish
their hive companions by smell and
actions, 203 ; conduct of, when fright-

depositories, 355, 858.
jcc-ki'i-pers, common hives do not teach
the laws of bee-breeding, 164; \t

ened, 203 ; when disturbed and scent-

timid, should use bee-dresc. 200 ,

Ignorance of, the greatest obstacle to
speedy introduction of mov. comb
hive, 209 ; often captivated by shal-
low devices, 211 ; scepticism of many,
in regard to the wonders of the bee-
hive, 211 ; often mistake the cause of
the loss of their queens, 2 Hi : careless,
will be unsuccessful, 226, 26u ; should
not encourage the destruction of birds,
253 ; specimen of, opposed to improve-
ments, 357.

Bee-quack's secret, 238 (note).

Bees, queen of, see Queen Bees.

Beginners, should be cautious in experi-
menting, 179, 807.

Berg, Eev. Dr., first informed author of
Dzierzon's discoveries, 16.

Berlepsch, Baron of, his stocks injured
by scientific experiments, 179 (note) ;
uses frames similar to the author's, 821
(note 2); experiments on impregna-
tion of queens, 126 (note); Italian
bee, 323 ; his experiments on the effect
of cold on queens, 827 ; shows that
bees need water in Winter, 342.

Be van, on eggs, and larva? of bees, 44-47 ;
on "driving," or forced swarming
(note), 154 ; an experiment of, in re-
moving a queen, 218 (note); feeds
salt to bees, 272 ; his description of
honey-dew, 286.

Birds, bee-devouring, 252; why they
should not be destroyed, 253 (and
note).

Blocks, entrance regulating (Plate III.,
Figs. 11, 12); useful to prevent
swarming, 174 (and note) ; security
against mice, 175, 252 ; against robber-
bees, 264.

Bod well, J. C., experiments of, in win-
tering bees, 345.

Boerhave's account of Swammerdam's
labors, 65 (note).

Bohemia, its production of honey, 304.

Boiling honey improves it, 287.

Borage, valuable for bees, 298.

Bottom-boards, should be permanently
fixed to hive, 97 ; should slant towards
entrance, 97 • cleaning of, 98 ; dangers
of movable, from the moth, 231;
Spring cleaning of, 248; Winter
cleaning of, 347.

Boxes for spare honey, 289, 290.

Braum, Mr. A., his experiment to ascer-
tain the increase of honey in a hive,
803.

Breath, human, offensive to bees, 170,
311.

Breeding "in-and-in," injurious, 54 ;
early, encouraged by spring-feeding,

Brood, temperature necessary for its
development, 46, 48 ; attended to by
young bees, 197 ; production of, check-
ed by over-feeding, 268; found in
hives in Winter, 48, 839.

Brood-comb, see Comb.

Brown, Hon. Simon, his description of a
combat between two queens, 205.

Buckwheat, valuable for late bee-pas-
ture, 296; its yield, and quality of
honey variable, 296 (and. notes 1 and
2) ; its cultivation recommended, 296
(and note 3) ; blossoming o^ may cause
swarming, 366.

Buera, on the need of water for bees, 344.

Burnens, great merits of, as an observer,
33 ; laborious experiment of, 33 (note) ;
Huber's tribute to, 194 (note).

Busch, his description of the Italian
bee, 324.

Butler's description of the drone, 224;
his drone-pot, 225 ; his anecdote of a
honey-hunting swain, 254 ; his direc-
tions for procuring the favor of bees,
311, 817.

C.

Cage, see Queen Cage.

Calendar, bee-keeper's, 362-370.

Candied honey, bees need water to dis-
solve, 342-344.

Candy, sugar, recommended for bee-
feed, 272; recipe for making, 272
(note).

Cary, Wm. W., his mode of uniting
colonies, 204; of fastening comb in
frames, 283 (note) ; his mode of mak-
ing winter-passages in combs, 337
(note) ; on wintering bees, 346 (note 2).

Casts, see After-Swarms.

Catalogue of bee-plants, 298.

Cellars, dry, good for wintering bees,

Cells,' of bees, their contents, 29 ; covers
of, 44; for breeding, become too
small, 60; wood-cuts of, Plates XIII.,
XIV., and XV.; royal, 62,218; thin-
ness of their sides, 71 (note); sizes of,
74, PI. XV., Fig. 48 ; demonstrate the
existence of God, 75.

Cherry-tree yields honey, 292.

Chickens, curious use of, 248.

Children of the rich, compared to pam-
pered bees, 268 ; may learn from bees
how to treat their mothers, 312.

Chloride of lime, useful as a disinfectant
of foul hives, 257.

Chloroform, subdues bees by stupefac-
tion, 210.

Clamps, for wintering bees, 348-860.

Clover, white, most important source of
honey, 294; Mr. Holbrook, on the
value of, for stock, 294; Swedish, 294.

Clustering of swarms, 113, 116.

Cocoon, complete one, spun by drone
and worker-larvae, 46 ; imperfect one,
by queen-larvje, 46 ; of larva', never
removed from cells, 60 ; of t';.e moth,
231, (PI. XIX).

Cold, moderate, makes bees almost dor-
mant, 89 ; ohills bees, 110 ; water, use-
ful in subduing robbers, 2C5.

Colonies, of bees (see also Stocks of

392

INDEX.

bees) ; rapid increase of, in Australia,
51 (note) ; age of, 59 ; new, composed

Bee-Keeping, 147 (note) ; his remedy
against the over-storing of hives, 183

of young and old bees, 119; impossible
to multiply rapidly, by natural swarm-
ing, 147; folly of attempting to mul-
tiply, by dividing-hives, 149; to re-

(note 2) ; advice of, concerning Spring
examination of stocks, 221 (note 1);
recommended that weak stocks be
strengthened from strong ones, 2il

move, from old locations, 156, 157 ;

(note 2); his suggestion as to the

artificial, not to be formed till drones

proper time to remove surplus honey,

appear, 158; artificial, time necessary

224 (note) ; his mode of feeding bee's,

to form, 173; cautions against too

271 (note 1); his directions how to

rapid increase of, 175 (note), 176-178 ;
weak, easily strengthened by use of

gain the favor of bees, 811.
Comb, 69-76 ; too old, can be easily re-

mov. comb hive, 178 ; possible extent

moved in mov. comb hives, 60, 209 ;

of multiplication of, 178 ; most profit-

materials of, 69 ; wood-cuts of, repre-

able rate of increase, 179; to form one
new colony from two old ones, 180;

senting various kinds of cells, Plates
XIII., XIV., and XV. ; empty, great

mother, easily supplied with young
fertile queens, in mov. comb hive,
182; sometimes over-stored with

value of, to bee-keeper, 71 ; should
not be melted into wax, 71 ; rapidly
refilled by bees, 71 ; easily supplied to

honey, 188 (notes 1 and 2); table

bees in mov. comb hive, 71 ; how at-

illustrating rapid increase of, 185;

tached to frames, 72, 283 (and note) ;

new, must remain where first put,

drone-comb, not to be put in breed-

1 85 ; many bees may be removed from,

ing apartment, 72, 130 ; artificial, sug-

when the queens are fertile, 186;

gestion concerning, 72; author's ex-

new, formed by reversing position of

periments to induce bees to make it

hives, 187; piling mode of forming,
188 ; should, when moved, be suppli-

from old wax, 72; building of, carried
on most actively by night, 72 ; comb-

ed with water, 189 (note) ; to supply
queens for rapid increase of, 190-193 ;

building and honey-gathering simul-
taneous, 73 ; danger to, in hot weather,

how they may be safely mingled,

91; caution respecting, in artificial -

203, 336 ; if small, should be confined

swarming from common hives, 155

by movable partition, to suitable
limits, 208; endangered by loss of
queen, 217, 246 ; having young queens,

(and note) ; generally built somewhat
waving, 171 ; how to examine, when in
mov. comb hive, 172; brood, used for

should be watched, 218, 222; signs

nuclei, 189; worker, used to rear

that, have no queen, 219 ; Spring care
.of, 221 ; qneenless in October, to be

queens, 191 ; building of, by young
bees, 196; worker, should never bo

united with other colonies, 223 ; old,

destroyed, '207 (and note 2); prefer-

ages of worms, 233, 251 (note) ; queen-

208; control of, essential to a system

less, will be destroyed by the moth,
244 (and note); when hopelessly

of management, adapted to the wants
of all bee-keepers, 208; safely taken

queenless, their destruction certain,

from hive when bees are filled with

246 ; how to be treated when infected

honey or sugar-water, 210 ; old, most

with dysentery, 256; how, when

liable to be infested with worms, 283,

attacked with foul brood, 257-260;

251 (note); empty, should sometimes

suspected, used by Dzierzon to rear

be removed from feeble stocks, 243 ;

surplus queens for artificial stocks,

new, unsafe to move in warm weather,

260 ; strong, can, in a season, supply
materials for four sw'arms, 260 ; feed-

281 ; containing bee-bread, has in-
ferior honey, 288 ; very old brood, not

ing of, 267-278; should be strong

worth rendering into wax, 288; to

when honey harvest closes, 269 ;

make Winter bec-pasxti.'vs in, :>37 (and

weak, in the Fall, should be added to

note 1).

other stocks, 270, 336; location of,

Composition for corners of hives, to

how to change, 280; removal of, to

secure them from moths, 78.

new Apiaries, 281 ; weak, ill success
of, has led to the belief that we are

Confectioners, how they may prevent
annoyance from bees, 277.

over-stocked, 299 ; only strong, profit-

Control of comb, essential to a true

able, 299, 303 (and note) ; itinerating,

system of bee-cnltnre, 208.

305 (note 2); when broken up for

Corsica, ancient, yield of honey of, 304

their honey, the queens should be

j.

removed beforehand, 806 (note) ; of

common bees, readily converted into

Dampness, injurious to bees, 90, 95,

Italian, 322.

338-42, 845, 348 ; produces dysentery,

Color, aids in recognizing" their hive,
214, 216.

OK/»

Dandelion,' furnishes honey and pollen.

Coluinclla, notice of his Treatise on

292.

393

Dangers of too rapidly multiplying
stocks, 176-178 ; of using hives of uni-

Italian queens, 326; refrigerated
queens produce only, 327.

form size, shape, and color, 214.

Drought, failure occasioned by, 178

Daylight, needed for operations on bees,
107.

(note).
Drumming on hive subdues bees, 210

Denmark, its honey-produce, 304.

(note).

Desertion of hives by swarms, indica-

Dunbar, his description of how queen

tions and prevention of, 115.

lays, 48.

Diseases of bees, 255-260.

Dysentery, from bad ventilation, 90 ;

Dishonesty, as poor policy in bees as in

from dampness and sour honey, 256 ;

men, '.'62.

how prevented, 256 ; makes bees cross,

Dissection of queen bees, 34, 213 (note).
Disturbing bees in cold weather, in-

810 ; caused by want of water in
Winter, 343. '

jurious, 256, 335, 347, 355.

Dzierzon, facts connected with inven-

Dividing-hives, worthless for artificial

tion of his hive, 19 ; rise of his system,

swarming, 149, 150.
Dimhoff, Dr., on artificial impregnation
of a drone-egg, 41 ; on thickness of

19 ; his apiary nearly destroyed by
"foul brood," 19; committee of apia-
rian convention report favorably on

sides of cells, 71 (note) ; his mode of

his system, 20; it creates a revolution

forced swarming, 163 ; his experiment
indicating a division of labor among
bees according to age, 194; on food of

in German bee-keeping, 20 ; profits
of his apiary, 21 ; discovered that uu-
feenndated eggs produce males, 87 ;

bee-moth larvae, 233 (note) ; on eggs

thinks some brood may be raised

of bee-moth, 234 (note 2).
Doubled stocks, produce a large yield
of honey, 135?

without pollen, 81 ; discovered rye-
meal to be a good substitute for pol-
len, 84 ; supposes sound of queen's

Doubling stocks, yearly, 185.

wings excites drones, 127 (note); his

Draining combs of honey, 288.
Drawings, explanation of, for making
mov. comb hive, 871.

mode of forcing swarming, 186; his
estimate of the value of a queen, 194
(note) ; his treatment of foul brood,

Drone-comb, wood-cut of, PI. XV., Fig.

257; recommends the cultivation of

48; the cause of excess of, 51; excess
of, should be removed from breeding

buckwheat, 296 ; on the difficulty of
estimating profits of bee-culture, 306

apartments, 51, 225; if new, advan-

(note); his experiments with the Ita-

tageous in boxes for surplus honey, 130.
Drone-eggs, not impregnated, 37 ; at-
tempt of bees to rear a queen from,
89; artificial impregnation of, 41 ; laid

lian bee, 320; thinks bees not injured
by the opening of their hives, 321
(note); his mode of wintering bees,

by superannuated queens, 49.

Drone-laying queens, 88, 40, 213 (note) ;
use to be made of, 2 14 (note), 827.

E.

Drones, or male bees, produced by re-

Eggs of bees, how fecundated, 35 ; fecun-

tarded impregnation of queens, 36;

dated produce females, unfecundated,

always by unfecundated eggs, 37 ; »
often by unfecundated queens, 37, 127
(note) ; their development from egg

males, 87 ; sex of, determined by queen,
88 ; what is necessary to their impreg-
nation, 41 ; no difference in size be-

to insect, 46 ; description and wood-

tween drone and worker eggs, 42;

cuts of, 49; PL XIL, Figs. 33, 34
(natural and magnified size); office

process of laying, 48 ; description of,
44; PI. XIII., Fig. 89; degree of heat

of, to impregnate young queens, 49 ;
time of their appearance, 50; often

necessary to hatch them, 46 ; power of
queens over their development, 47 ;

very numerous, 50 ; how to prevent
excessive multiplication of, 51 ; why
destroyed by workers, 52, 224 ; wis-

laid ten months in the year, 48, 339 ;
supernumerary, how disposed of, 48 ;
ventilation necessary for hatching, S9 ;

dom displayed in providing so many,
63; length of life, 58; perish in im-

of workers transferred to royal cells,
219 ; of bee-moth 234 (note 2).

pregnation of queen, 125, 126 (note) ;

Ehrenfels, profits of his large apiary,

never molest queens in hive, 127

800.

(note) ; on leaving the hive, are filled

Enemies of bees, 228-255; moth, 22*-

with honey, but on returning are

252; mice, 252; birds, 252; toads,

empty, 224; Butler's description of,

254; bears, 254; ants, 255; wasps,

224 ; destroyed by ancient bee-keepers,

spiders, Ac,, 255; all agreed in fond-

51, 225; easily destroyed by use of

ness for honey, 255.

mov. comb hive, 225; their anxiety,

Energy of bees, instructive, 197.

when excluded from the hive, 225;

Engravings, see wood-cuts.

their odor, 226 (note 1); how to pre-
vent common, from impregnating

Entrance of hives, should not ordin-
arily be above the level of the bottom-

17*

394

board, 9S ; should be readily varied
without perplexing the bees, 98 ; a
small upper one, uses of, 25U, 33S (and
note) ; should be nearly closed when

sugar-candy a good and cheap article
for, 272 (and note), and 273 (note) ;
Kleine's mode of using candy, 273,
274; value of grape-sugar for, 273;

colony is threatened by robbers, 264 ;
how to regulate in Winter, 338.
Epitaph on bees killed by sulphur, 239.
Ether, used for stupefying bees, 210.
Evans, Dr., quotations from poem of,
on bees. 60, 60, 69, 76, 77, 78, 79, 109,

Sholz1 sugar-honey for, 274 ; granu-
lated sugar for, 274 (and note) ; quan-
tity of honey needed for, to Winter
bees, 274; weight of hives, unsafe
standard to determine amount of
honey for, 275 (note) ; caution to be

267, 292.

observed in, 277 ; should not be too

Experiments, an interesting one, 67 ; of
Huber, showing the use of pollen, 80;
author's, to the same effect, 81 ; nume-

early in the Fall, 298 ; cheap honey,
to sell again, unprofitable in, 275.
Fertility of queens, 32; diminishes

rous, of author, 179 ; cautious con-

with age, 141, 223; diminished by

cerning, to beginners, 179; bee-keep-

hunger and cold, 223 (note 1).

ers invited to make, 1*0 ; of Huber,

Fish back, Judge, his precautions to pre-

showing two kinds of workers, 193

vent loss of young queens, 216; his

(note) ; difficulty of demonstration by,

experience with the bee-moth, *40

193 (note); Dr. Dimhoff's, showing
that young, bees are nurses and old

(note).
Flight of bees, its extent, 305 ; its rapid-

bees honey-gatherers, 194; of author

itv, 305 (note 2).

in wintering bees, 339 ; of E. T. Stur-

Flowers for bees, Nutt's catalogue of,

tevant, 340; of Berlepsch and Eber-

298; garden, furnish little bee-pasture,

hardt, 342 ; of «I. C. Uodwell, 845 ; of

297.

Mr. Scholtz, 348 ; further, needed in
wintering bees, 360.
Examination of combs and bees in hive,

Foul-brood, its malignity, 19, 256 ; dry
and moist, 256; remedy, 257, 258; a
disease exclusively of the larva'. L'.">'.);

importance of, in Spring, 221.
Experience renders bee-keeping profit-

supposed cause, 2o6 (note), 259 ; liable
to appear the second time, 259.

able, 282.

Forcing-box, its size and use, 154, 165.

Frames, movable, invented by author,

F.

15; how they must be made to be

lifted out of hive, 150, 171, 209 (note);

Facts, however wonderful, should be

process of removing from the hive,

received, 42.
Ffeces, appearance of, in young and old
bees, different, 197 ; healthy bees do

171, 370(P1.XXIV.); with comb used
for patterns, 208 ; effect on bee-culture,
211 (note); a protection against the

not discharge, in hive, 347; how to

ravages of the moth, 239, 241 ; render

make bees in mov. comb hives, safely

the. cleaning of hive easy, 243; used

discharge, 361 (and note).
Faint-heartedness rebuked, 198.

by Berlepsch, 321 (note 2) ; approved
of by Siebold, 321 (note 2); not well

Famine causes bees to abandon hives,
116.

adapted to tall hives, 330.
Friesland, East, its productiveness in

Fear, effect of, in taming bees, 27 ; in

honey, 804.

uniting swarms, 204.
Feeble stocks unprofitable, 141, 177, 269,

Fruit, honey-bees beneficial to, 85-87 ;
wasps and hornets injurious to, 86.

836.

Fruit-trees, blossoms of, yield honey,

Feeder, convenience of, in mov. comb

292.

hive, 270 ; construction of, 271 ; PI.

Fumigation of hives with puff-ball, ob-

XL., Fig. 26.

jectionable, 210.

Feeding bees, 267-278; few things more

important in practical bee-keeping,
267 ; Spring feeding specially neces-
sary, 267 (and note) ; caution in, re-

G.

Gardeners might manage their em

quired, 268; over-feeding, like pam-

ployer's bees, in mov. comb hive,

pering children, 268 ; to be submitted

226.

to only in extremities, 268 ; how

Garden plants insufficient to furnish

done, in common hives, 269; diffi-

bee-pasture, 297.

cult to build up small colonies by,

Glass, vessels of, for spare honey, should

269 ; equitable division of resources,
In. *70; when it should be done for

have guide-combs, 290 ; objections to,
290 (note).

Winter, 270; what should be used in,
270; unprofitable in late Fall stocks,

Gloves, india-rubber, to protect the
hands, 817 (PI. XI., Fig. 27); woolen.

270 (note); mode of, bv means of a , objectionable, 317.

feeder, 271 ; water should be supplied, 1 Goldsmith, on spontaneous and fashion-
271, 842 ; importance of salt, in, 272; | able joys, 834.

INDEX.

395

* Good old way * of corn-raising, 237.
Goldou-rod, some varieties of, furnish

forage is scarce, 199 ; royal combat wit-
nessed in author's observing, 205 ; with

food for bees, 298.

poor arrangements, educate bees to re-

Governments, of Europe, interest of

gard their keeper as an enemy, 210

some hi disseminating knowledge of

(note) ; wonders of, unknown by many

bee-culture, 320 (note).

bee-keepers, 211 ; in crowded apiary,

Grape-sugar, as food for bees, 273.

214-210 ; condition of, should be ascer-

Guide for combs, artificial, secure regu-

tained, 221; patent, evil results of,

larity in building comb, 180, 207; can-

237, 241 ; should be cleaned in early

not be invariably relied on, 208; Ger-

Spring, 243 ; common, furnish no re-

man invention of, (PI. VI., Fig. 72).
Gundelach, on the necessity of pollen

liable remedy for loss of queen, 245 ;
infected with foul-brood, to disinfect,

for rearing brood, 81.

257 ; common, how prepared for re-
moval when occupied by stocks, 281 ;

H.

to transfer bees from common to mov.

comb, 282 ; size, shape, and materials

Hairy objects, why offensive to bees,

for, 829-382 ; size of author's can be

817. '

varied at pleasure, 829 ; tall, advan-

Harris, Dr., his account of the bee-moth,

tages and disadvantages of, 329 ; most

228.

advantageous form of, 830; Dzierzon's,

Hartshorn, spirits of, remedy for bee-

disadvantages of, 331 ; double and

stings, 816.
Health, bad ventilation of houses im-

triple, 831 (note); proper materials
for, 831 ; suggestions as to making

pairs, 92.

mov. comb, 832.

Hearing, in bees, acute, 188.

Hives, mov. comb, see Movable Comb

Heat, degree required to hatch the eggs

Hives.

of bees and develop the pupa, 46;
great, attendant on comb-building, 71.
Hens, too much crowded, mistake their
nests, 215 ; not good tenders of moth-

Hives, patent, see Patent Hives.
Hiving bees, directions for, 129 ; expert-
ness in, makes pleasant, 129 ; should
be conducted in shade, 130 ; should

traps, 248.

be attended to soon after swarm set

Hevne, on over-stocking, 301.

ties, 182 ; process of, 133 ; basket for,

Hirer, basket for, 133.

138; sheet for, how arranged, 133;

Hives (see Mov. Comb Hive), Huber's,

how to expedite, 183; process of,

author's experiments with, 14 ; made

must be repeated when queen not

with slats, 15, 210 (note) ; should be

secured, 134; when settled out of

made of sound lumber, 78 ; mixture

reach, how to secure the swarm, 134;

for sealing corners of, 78 ; thin, an-

when swarm alights in difficult place,

noying to bees in hot weather, 90;

or two swarms cluster together, 135 ;

sixty-one requisites for complete, 95-
108; size of, should admit of variation,

how to secure the queen, 136; old-
fashioned way of, bad, 136 ; so as to

96; " improved," often bad, 107 ; quali-

prevent swarms uniting, 138 ; when

ties of best, 107; paint on, should be

done, remove swarms to proper

very dry before hiving, 129 ; heated in

stands, 133 ; danger of delaying, 138,

the sun, should not be used for new

what to do if no hive is ready, 139.

swarms, 129; should incline forward,

Holbrook, Hon. F., on cultivation of

but stemd level from side to side, 130;
if clean, need no washing or rubbing

white clover, 294.
Home, should be made attractive, 220.

with herbs, 181; five stocks in one,
137 ; should be placed where it is to

Honey, 286-292 ; its elements, 70 ; quan-
tity consumed in secreting wax, 71,

stand, as soon as swarm is secured,

176 ; gathered by dav, 72 ; sometimes

188 ; if not ready to swarm, how to
proceed, 139 ; difficult to rid of bee-
moth, 141 ; common, difficult to re-

gathered by moonlight, 78 (note);
honey-gathering and comb-building
simultaneous, 78; surplus, incom-

move unfertile queen from, 141 ;

patible with rapid increase of colonies,

Huber's, 148 ; " dividing," and objec-

176 ; how to secure the largest yield

tions to, 149; self-colonizing, ineffec-

of, 180; more abundant fifty years

tual, 151 ; thorough inspection of,

ago than now, 236; reasons assigned

necessary for success, 152; non-

for the deficiency, 237 ; foreign, sup-

swarming, likely to exterminate the

posed cause of foul-brood, 256, 258 ;

bee, if generally used, 153; decoy,

from foul-brood colonies, infectious,

when to be used, 155; for surplus
honey, should be undisturbed, 180

256 (note 2) ; infected, how purified,
257; West India, used for bee-feed,

(and note) ; like Dzierzon's, even with

256 (note), 270 ; and sugar (Sholz' com-

movable frames, give inadequate con-

position), 274 ; quantity of, necessary

trol of bees, 1S7 tuute); should be

for wintering stocks, 274 ; poor, not

opened before or after sun-light, when

convertible into good, 275 ; not a secrer

396

tionofthe bee, 275 (and note 2) ; re-
tains the flavor of the blossoms from
whence it is taken, 275; evaporation
produces the principal change in, 276
(and note 1) ; " making over " honey
not profitable, 276 ; recipe for artifi-
cial, 276 (note) ; a vegetable product,
285 ; qualities of, vary, 287 ; hurtful
qualities cured by boiling, 287 (and
note) ; should not be exposed to low
temperature, 287 ; old, more whole-
some than new, 287 ; virtues ascribed
to it by old writers, 287 (note) ; to
drain from the comb, 288, 366; to
make liquid when candied, 288 ; cau-
tion as to West India, 288 (note) ; of
Hymettus, 293 (note); yield of, affect-
ed by soil, 294 (note) ; from the rasp-
berry, delicious, 296; yield of, by
plants uncertain, 296 (note 2); large
amount gathered in a day, 303; on
the hands, protects them against bee-
stings, 817 ; bees eat less in Winter,
when kept quiet, 835, 348, 358 ; how
to get, in centre of hive, for Winter,"
886 ; candied, bees need water to dis-
solve, 842-44.
Honey-bag, worker's, 56 (PL XVIL, Fig.

Honey bees, see Bees.

Honey-board, spare, holes in, left open
in Winter, 838; sometimes strongly
glued by bees, 172 (note); care in
placing necessary, 173.

Honey-dews, 285 ; of California, 285
(note) ; when most abundant and
where found, 286.

Honey-hornets, Mexican, 58 (note), 87.

Honey-resources, how to increase, 293.

Honey-suckle, juice of, a remedy for
bee-stings, 315.

Honey, surplus, much, incompatible
with rapid multiplication, of stocks,
176, 178; best yield of, from undis-
turbed stocks, 180 ; receptacles for,
when to admit bees to, 288, 364 ; how
secured, 289 ; quantity from one stock,

289 (note 2) ; large boxes more profit-
able than small, for, 289 (and note 2),

290 (note 1) ; glass vessels and small
boxes, for, 290, air-tight boxes, to

E reserve, 290 (note 2) ; receptacles of,
ow and when to remove them, 291,
865 ; boxes for, bees reluctant to fill,
late in the season, 366.
Honey-water, objectionable for subdu-
ing bees, 169 (note).
Hornets, fecundation of, 35 ; Mexican,

hone

y, 58 (note), 87; inju
ld be destroyed in

re fruit, 86;

should be destroyed in Spring, 87 ;

torpid in Winter, 109.
Horses sweaty, very offensive to bees,

279, 313.
Horticulturists, honey-bees their

friends, 85, 87.

Houses, ventilation of, neglected, 91.
Huber, Francis, tribute to, 82-34; dis-

covered how queens are impregnated,
84 ; that unfecundated queens pro-
duce only drones, 86 ; experiments of,
to test tlie secretion of wax, 69 ; to
show the use of pollen, 80 ; his dis-
covery of ventilation by bees, 88 ; his
supposition as to development in
queen of male eggs, 128 (note) ; his
plan for artificial swarming and its
objections, 148 ; effect of his leaf hive
in pacifying bees, 163 ; his mistake as
to the cause, 169 ; an inconvenience
of his hive, 171 (note); his description
of workers, 192 (note 2) ; his curious
experiments showing a distinction
among them, 198 (note) ; his tribute
to Burnens, 194 (note) ; his account of
the treatment by bees of strange
queens, 200 ; his trial of two queens
in a hive, 207 (note) ; splendid discov-
eries of, formerly ridiculed, 211.

Humble-bee robbed by honey-bees, 262.

Hunger impairs fertility of queen-bee,
223 (note 1).

Hunt, Kev. T. P., his mode of securing
swarms, 132.

Hunter, I)r., discovers pollen in the
stomach of bees, 80.

Hurting bees, important to avoid, 95.

Hyginus, on feeding bees, 267 (note).

I.

n-bees, 34-43 ; re-
remarkable law
of, in aphides, 42 ; takes place in the
air, 50, 320 ; act of, fatal to drone, 125,
126 (note); Shrimplin's experiment
illustrative of, 127.

Italian honey-bees, 41 ; singular result
of crossing with common drones, 41,
324(note2); used to showadivi.-iuii ,,f
labor among bees, 194 ; account of 818
-328 ; described by Aristotle and Vir-
gil, 318 ; Mr. Wagner's letter on, 318 ;
their modern introduction to notice,
818; value of, in the study of the
physiology of the honey-bee, 819;
cells of, the same size as those of the
common bee, 820 ; Dzierzon's experi-
ments with, 320; frequent disturbances
abate nothing from the industry of,
821 (note); general diffusion of, de-
sirable, 321 ; superior to common bee,
322, 324, 325 ; peaceable disposition of,
322 ; may readily be introduced into
hives of common bees, 322; furnishes
new means of studying the habits of
bees, 322 ; the purity of, can be pre-
served, 322 ; character of, as tested by
Berlepsch, 824 ; number of queens
obtained in one season, from one
queen, 324; remarkable fact in rela-
tion to hybrids, 824 (note); descrip-
tion of, by Busch, 324 ; Hadlkoffer's
account of, 325; how to introduce an
Italian queen to a stock of common

INDEX.

397

bees, 825 ; advantages of author's non-
swarmer in preserving the Italian bee
pure, 826 ; how to produce abundance
of drones of, 327 ; precaution suggest-

Kleine, Eev. Mr., on making bees rear
queens in selected cells, 191; his
method of preventing robberies among
bees, 265 (note); on feeding bees,

ed when non-swarmer cannot be

273 ; on over-stocking, 301 ; on accus-

used, 327; queens of, safely moved

toming the human system to the

in mov. comb hive, 327; introduction

poison of bees, 816 (note).

of, into this country, important, 328;

arrangements to that end, 328 (note).

L.

Itinerating colonies, 305 (note 2).
Ignorance, the occasion of the inven-

Larvse of honey-bee, development of,

tion of costly and useless hives, 209

44 (PI. X-III., Figs. 40, 41, 42) ; royal.

(and note).
Increase of colonies, rapid, impractica-
ble, by natural swarming, 147 ; or by
dividing-hives, 149; rapid, cautions
against, 175-178 ; rapid, incompatible
with large yield of surplus honey,

64; perish without ventilation, 89 ;
of bee-moth, see Bee-moth, Larvae of;
of honey-bee, disease of, 259.
Leidv, Dr. Joseph, his dissection of fer-
tile and drone-laying queens, 34, 39
213 (note); of a queen just impreg-

176 ; a tenfold, possible., in mov. comb
hive, 178; sure, not rapid, to be aimed

nated, 126 (note).
Light, bees will work when exposed to,

at, 179 ; forming one new from two old
colonies best, and how effected, 180;

16, 205, 332; its sudden admission,
effect of, on bees, 168, 169 ; of day,

rapid, requires liberal feeding, 184.

needed for operations about the hive,

Inexperienced persons should not begin
bee-keeping on a large scale 282.

167.
Ligurian, or Italian, bee, 318 (note).

Indian name for honey-bee, 236.

Linden, or bass-wood tree, yields much

Industry taught by the bee, 59.
Intemperate men, compared to infatu-
ated bees, 278.

honey, 293 (and note).
Liriodendron, yields much honey, 292.
Locust, valuable for bees, 293.

Intercommunication of bees in hives,

Lombard, his interesting anecdote of

important, 103, 336, 337 (and note),
839 (and note).

swarming, 808.
Longfellow, H. W., his Indian warrior's

Irving, Washington, his account of the
abundance of bees at the West, 236

description of the bee, 236.
Loss of queen, 213-227 ; frequent, though

(note).

J.

the queen is usually the last to perish
in any casualty, 213 ; when by old age,

Jansha, on impregnation of queen, 36.
Japanese, veneration for birds, 253

bees prepare for her successor, 213 ;
occurs oftenest when queen leaves
hives for impregnation, 213, 214 ; how

(note).
Jarring, disliked by bees, 96, 170, 809.
Jelly, royal, the food of immature
queens, 63 ; a secretion of the bees, 64 ;
analysis of, 64; effect of, in develop-
ing larvse, 64, 191 ; pollen necessary
for its production, 197.
Johnson, M. T., the first -American
observer of the fact that queenless
stocks are soon destroyed by the
moth, 244 (note).

occasioned, by queens mistaking their
hives, 214, 215; bees, like hens in this
respect, 215; Judge Fishback's pre-
ventive of, 216 ; author's preventive,
217 ; effect of, on stocks, 217 ; some-
times not discovered by bees for some
time, 218 (and note) ; excitement in
hive when discovered, 218 ; will not
cause bees to abandon the hive if
they are supplied with brood-comb,
218 ; nucleus system will remedy it,

219; indications of, 219; the most

J£~

common cause of destruction of stocks

Kaden, Mr., on over-stocking, 801.
Killing bees for honey, an invention of
the dark ages, 239 (note) ; more
humane than to starve them, 238 ; not

by bee-moth, 219.
Lunenburg, number of colonies of bees
in, 802 ; bees of, more than pay all the
taxes, 802.

necessary, 239.
Kindness of bees at home, a lesson for

M.

man, 312.
King-bird, eats bees, 252.
Kirby and Spence, on ants and aphides,

Mahan, P. J., on causing bees to adhere
to new locations, 163 (note); inter-

285.

esting observations of, 219 (note) ; his

Kirtland, Dr. J. P., his letter on the in-

discovery that drones leave their

troduction of the bee-moth, 240 ; on

hives with honey and return without

benefits of transferring stocks into

any, 224; on the odor of the queen,

mov. comb hive, 284.

226 (note 2).

Knight, on honey-dews, 286. Maple-tree a source of honey, 292.

398

INDEX.

Maraldi, anecdote from, of bees and a

swarming plan, 153 ; enables the ap1«

snail, 78.

arian to learn the laws regulating the

Materials for hives, 831.
Meal, a substitute for pollen, 84, 219.
Medicine, poison of bee, used for, 315

internal economy of bees, 164; ena-
bles artificial swarming to be quickly
performed, 164 ; advantages of mov-

(note).

able top of, 168 ; affords facilities for

Mice, ravages of, and protection against,

supply of fertile queens to mother

i>52.

stocks, in forced swarming, 182, 192 ;

Miller, see Bee-moth.
Mills, John, on marking hives with dif-
ferent colors, 216 (note).

danger of being stung, diminished by
use of, 209 ; the greatest obstacle to
its speedy introduction, 209 ; the au-

Mixing of bees, of different colonies,
203 ; precautions concerning, 203.

thor sanguine of its extensive use by
skillful bee-keepers, 211 ; should be

Months of the year, direction for treat-

thoroughly examined in Spring, 221 ;

ing bees in, 362-369.

durable and cheap, if properly taken

Moonlight, bees sometimes gather ho-

care of, 221 ; advantages of, readily

ney by, 73 (note).
More, Sir J., on the sovereign virtues of
honey, 287 (note).

perceived by intelligent bee-keepers,
226 ; adaptation of, to protect stocks
from the moth, 249 ; enables the apia-

Moth, see Bee-moth.

rian to know the amount of honey

Moth, death-head, 240 (note).

stocks contain, 275 (note) ; how pre-

Moth, large honey-eating, from Ohio,

pared for transporting bees, 281 ; to

241 (note).
Mothers, unkind treatment of, reproved

transfer into, from common hive, 283 :
designed to economize the labor of

by bees, 312.

bees, 805 ; experiments concerning

Mother-stock, in forced swarming, easily

the size of, 330 (note 8) ; suggestions as

supplied with fertile queen, 182 ; ex-
posed to perish without a prompt

to making, 332 ; observing, 332 ; how
to get honey in centre of, for Winter,

supply of queen, and by over swarm-
ing, if left to supply itself, flS2 ; also

836 ; how to make Winter passages in
combs of, 887 (and note 1); how to

to be robbed, 182; advantages of sup-

ventilate, in Winter, 338; bills of stock

plying with fertile queen, 183.
Moth-proof hives a delusion, 228, 238,

for making, 871.
JJovable entrance blocks, see Blocks,

247.

entrance regulating.

Moths, honey-eating, ravages of, 240

Movable bottom-boards, dangerous, 231.

(and note).

Movable stands for hives, 279.

Motions, in operating on hives, should
be deliberate, 170.

Moving stocks, 281.
Munn, W. A., his « bar and frame hive,"

Movable-comb hive, invention of, 13-28;

209 (note).

superiority to Dzierzon's, 16, 18; ena-

Musk, used to stop robbing, 265 (note).

bles each bee-keeper to observe for

himself, 23, 164 ; admits of easy re-

N.

moval of old comb, 60; bees in it

easily supplied with empty coinb, 71 ;
its facilities for ventilation, 94, 276

Narcotics, in managing bees, worse than
useless, 211.

(note 1); size of, adjustable to the

Natural swarming and hiving of swarms,

wants of colony, 96, 329 ; facilities of,

109-142 : guards against extinction of

for securing surplus honey, 100, 289,
829 ; advantages of, for preventing

bees, 109 ; not unnatural, 111 ; time
of, 111 ; seldom occurs in Northern

after-swarming, 124, 140 ; enables one

climates, when hives are not well fill-

person to superintend various colo-

ed with comb, 111 (note) ; signs of,

nies, 102, 226 ; not easily blown down,

111 ; only in fair weather, 112 ; time

103; may be made secure against

of day of, 112 ; preparation of bees for,

mice, 108, 252, and thieves, 104; dur-
ability of, 104; cheapness and simpli-
city of, 105 ; some desirables it does

112 ; queen often lost in, 113 ; rinsing
of bells and tanging, useless, 113 ; how
to stop a fugitive swarm, 114 ; after,

not possess, 105 ; invention of, result

ventilation should be regulated, ISA ;

of experience, 105; perfection dis-

hiving should be done in shade, or

claimed for, 105 ; merits of, submit-

hive be covered, 130 ; should be

ted to experienced bee-keepers, 108 ;

promptly attended to after swarm

desertion of, by swarms easily pre-
vented, 115 ; by use of; can employ all

settles, 132; process of, 133; basket
for, 133 ; sheet for, 133 ; how arranged,

good worker comb, 130 ; furnishes

133 ; how to expedite if bees are

storage-room for non-swarming bees,
139 ; importance of, in supplying ex-
tra queens, 141, 188 ; easily cleared of
the bee-moth, 246; best for non-

dilatory, 138, 184 ; must be repeated
if queen not secured, 134; small limbs
cut with pruning-shears in, 184 ; when
swarm out of reach, how to secure,

399

134 ; when in difficult places, or two
swarms cluster together, 135; how to
secure queen, 136 ; old-fashioned w.ay,

Ovaries of queen-bee, 85, (PL XVIII) ;
of workers, are undeveloped, 29, 54.
Over-stocking, 299-307 ; no danger of

objectionable, 136 ; more than one

299 ; Wagner's letter on, 800 ; Oettl

swarm in a hive, 187 ; to prevent

and Braun's statistics on, 303.

swarms uniting while hiving, 138 ;

Ovum, what necessary to impregnate

swarms, as soon as hived, should be

it, 41.

lemoved to their stands, 183 ; an ex-

P.

pedient, if no hive be ready, 139 ; sug-

gestions for making more profitable,
139-142; excessive, prevented by use

Paint, smell of fresh, detested by bees,
129 ; if fresh be used, it should con-

of mov. comb hive, 140 ; affords no fa-
cilities for strengthening late and fee-
ble stocks, 140; objections to, 139-147;

tain no white lead, and be made to dry
quickly, 129 ; recipe for, preferable to
oil paint, 129; color of, for hives,

uncertainty of, 147 ; why some stocks

868.

refuse to swarm, 147.

Pasturage for bees, 292 ; effect of, on

"New England Farmer," extract from,

removal of colonies, 157 ; honey-yield-

describing a combat of queens, 205.
Night-work, on bees, hazardous, 167.

ing trees and plants, 292-299 ; gardens
too limited for, 297 ; catalogue of bee-

Non-swarmer, author's prevents swarm-
ing, 174; excludes drones, 22A ; facili-
ties it offers to preserve pure the Ita-
lian bee, 326; wood-cut of, PL II.,

plants, 298 ; range of, 305.
Patent hives, deceptions in vending,
61 (note), 106, 146 (note) ; have greatly
multiplied the bee-moth, 237; and

Fig. 5.

done more harm than good, 237, 241.

Non-swarming colonies, may lose their

Peach-tree, yields honey, -J92.

queens, or queens become unfertile,

Pear-tree yields honey, 292.

in common hive, 153 ; queens may

Peppermint, use of, in uniting colonies,

be supplied to, in mov. comb hive,

203.

Non-swarming hive, advocated by many,
154 ; objections to, 153 ; mov. comb

Perfection, folly of claiming for hives,
Perfumes, disagreeable to bees, 818

hive best for, 153.

(note).

Nuclei, what they are, and how to form.

Perseverance of bees, worthy of imita-

them, 189 ; to obtain adhering bees

tion by man, 197.

for, 192 (and note) ; must not be allow-

Persons, attacked by bees, directions

ed to get too much reduced, 197 ;

for, 312, 314.

always furnish plenty of queens, 219.
Nutt, his list of bee flowers, 298.
Nyaiph, bee, see Pupa.

Peters, Kandolph, interesting experi-
ment of, 219 (note).
Pillage of hives, secret, cause and remedy
of, 266.

0.

Piping of queens, an indication of after-

swarming, 121.

Objections to natural swarming, 143-

Plantain, a remedy for bee-stings, 815.

147.

Plum-tree, a source of honey, 292.

Observing-hive, mov. comb, 332-334 ;

Poison of bees, smell of, strong and irri-

Hon. 8. Brown's experiment with,

tating to bees, 814 ; effect of, on the

205; its facilities for observing the

eve, 814 (note) ; remedies for, 314-

internal operations of the bees, 332 ;

817 ; effect of, when taken into the

for wintering, 332 (note) ; those with

month, 315 ; cold water the best rem-

single frames recommended, 888 ;

edy for, 815 ; a homoeopathic remedy,

adapted for the parlor, 388 ; how to

315 (note) ; the human system can 6e

stock with bees, 833 ; source of plea-

inured to, 316 (note).

sure and instruction, 838 ; may be

Poisonous honey, and how to remove

kept in cities, 833.
Odor, of queens, 226, 266; of drones, 226

its injurious qualities, 287. •
Pollen, or bee-bread, 80-87 ; found in

(note 1) ; of workers, 203.

stomachs of wax-makers, 80 ; may aid

More, unpleasant, offensive to bees, 813 ;

in secretion of wax, SO ; whence ob-

used to prevent robberies, 265 (note) ;

tained, 80 ; food of immature bees,

excite bees to anger, 313.

as shown by Hnber's experiments, 80 ;

Dettl, remarks of, on over-stocking,

author's, to the same effect, 81 ; Gun-

803 ; his golden rule in bee-keepins,

delach's opinion of, 81 ; useful in se-

303; his statistics of bee culture, 803^

cretion of wax, 82 ; bees prefer fresh

Old age, sisrns of in bees, 59.
Oliver, H. K., observations of, on bee-

to old, 82 ; in mov. comb hives, excess
of, in old stocks, can be given to

moth, 251.

others, 82 ; how gathered and stored

Onions, blossoms of, yield much honey,

by bees, 83; bees gathering, aid in im-
pregnating plants, 83; bees collect,

400

INDEX.

only from one kind of flower at a
time, 83 ; wheat and rye meal a sub-
stitute for, 84 ; necessary for the pro-
duction of wax and jelly, 197 ; the

ing, 62; larvse of, effects of royal jelly
on, 63 ; process of rearing in special
emergency, 66 ; development of, an
argument against infidelity, 68; old,

gathering of, by bees, indicates a fer-
tile queen in the hive 219 (and note).

leads first swarm, 111 ; often lost in
swarming, 112 ; loss of, in swarming,

Pollen-basket, on leg of bee, 56.

causes bees to return to parent stock,

Poppy, white, a remedy for bee-stings,

113; how to prevent, from deserting

815.

new hive, 115 ; influence of, in causing

Posel, discovery of, on use of sperma-
theca, 36 (note).

bees to cluster, 117 ; prevented by
bees from killing inmates of royal

Proboscis of a worker. 56; wood-cuts of,

cells, 121 ; piping of, 121 ; several

Plates XIII., XVI.; Figs. 63, 51.

sometimes accompany after-swarms,

Profits of bee-keeping, Dzierzon's expe-

122; emerges from her cell mature,

rience in, 21; Sydserff's calculation
of, 146 (note) ; dependent on strong

122 ; young more active on wing than
old, 123; young, often reluctant to

stocks, 176 ; difficulty of estimating,
806 (note) ; safe estimate of, 306.

leave hive, 123 ; young, does not
leave for impregnation till established

Propolis, 76-80 ; whence obtained, 76 ;

as sole head, 51, 125 ; her precautions

curious sources of, in Mexico, 77 ; its

to regain her hive, 125 ; never molest-

uses, 77 ; bee-moth lays her eggs in,

ed by drones in hive, 127 (note);

78 ; curious anecdotes, illustrating its

begins laying two days after impreg-

uses, 78.

nation, 128 ; lays mostly worker-eggs

Prussia, bee-keeping encouraged by go-

the first year, 128 ; never stings ex-

vernment of, 820 (note).

cept in combat with other queens,

Pupa, or bee-nymph, 45 ; heat required
for its development, 46.

136, 204; alacrity of, in entering hive
for new swarm, 186 ; young, often lost

Punk, smoke of, subdues bees, 27, 154.

after swarming, 141 ; her loss easily

remedied by mov. comb hive, 141 ;

Q.

unfertile, difficult to remove in com-

mon hives, 141 ; when immature, bees

Queen-bee, wood-cut of (natural and
magnified size), PI. XII., Figs. 81, 82;

do not build worker-comb, 149 ; sel-
dom enters side-apartments, 152;

wood-cut of ovaries and spermatheca

signs indicating her presence or ab-

of, 85, PL XVIII. ; description of, 30 ;

sence in forced swarms, 158 ; supply

the mother of the whole colony, 30 ;

of sealed, for forced swarming, how to

affectionate treatment of, by the other

secure, 166 ; how to cut sealed ones

bees, 81 ; effect of her loss on the

from comb, 166 ; fertile, deprived of

colony, 81 ; her fertility, 32 ; how her

wings to prevent swarming, 178 ; may

eggs are fecundated, 84-41 ; Iluber

be confined to prevent swarming,

discovers impregnation of, to take

174 ; unfertile, should not be confined,

place out of hive, 34 ; dissection of, by

175; fertile, easily supplied to desti-

Dr. Leidy, 84, 126 (note), 213 (note);
effect of retarded impregnation on,
86 ; she determines the sex of the egg,
88 ; Dr. Leidy 1s dissection of a drone-

tute mother-stocks, 182; young, in
after-swarrns, lay few drone-eggs, 184
(note) ; to raise, for artificial-swarm-
ing, 188 ; when to be given to newly-

laying, 88, 126 (note), 218 (note); at-

forced swarms, 189 ; to induce bees to

tempt of bees to rear, from a drone-

raise, on what part of the comb you

egg, 89; account of a drone-laying.

please, 191 ; her value, 192 (note) ;

afterwards laying worker-eggs, 40 ;
a drone-laying, with shrivelled wings,

can she be developed from any
worker-larvae ? 192 (note 2) ; made to

40 ; Italian, impregnated by common
drones, produce Italian drones, while
the females are a cross, 41, 324 (note

supply several stocks with eggs, 193 ;
will lay eggs while under inspection,
196 (note) : caution needed in giving,

2) ; becomes incapable of impregna-

to strange stocks, 200 ; stranger, how

tion, 42 ; process of laying, 43 ; deve-
lopment of, in pupa state, 46 ; enmity

to induce stocks to receive, 201 ; pro-
tected bv Queen-cage, 201 ; care to be

of, to each other, 46, 120, 205-207; can used in catching, 202 ; never stings,

regulate development of eggs in her but sometimes bites, 202, 204 ; may
ovaries, 47 ; disposition by, of super- i be lost if allowed to fl v, 202 ; her great
numerary eggs, 48 ; fertility of, de- appetite, 202 ; her life indispensable to
creases with age, 49, 223 ; longevity the safety of the colony, 204 ; loss of,
of, 49, 58; when superannuated, lays ' see "Loss of Queen;" young, dangers
only drone-eggs, 49; why impreg- besetting, 213; should be given to

nated in the air, 53 ; office of, no sine- ; queenless stocks in Spring, 221 ; when

cure, 58 ; Italian, use of, to show how unimpregnated, colony should bo

long workers live, 59 ; manner of rear- watched, 222 ; when unimpregnated,

INDEX.

401

hid^s, 222; wings of, maybe clipped
for artificial swarming, U22; how to
mark the age of, 223; fertility of, dim-
inished by hunger and cold, 2'>3
inote 1) ; should be removed in their
third year, and new one given, 223 ;
regular and systematic, best, 223 (note
2) ; odor of; 226 ; removal of, a remedy
for foul-brood, 258 ; surplus, reared by
Dzierzon, in suspected hives, 260; de-
serted by her subjects when they have
been conquered by stronger stocks,
263 (and note) ; should be removed
before smothering the bees, when
stocks are broken up for their honey,
806 (note) ; Italian, how to propagate,
326 ; after being chilled, lay only drone-
eggs, 827.

Queen Bees, why, when two fight, both
are not killed, 2 )5 ; combat of, as wit-
nessed In one of author's observing
hives, 205.

Queen-cage, use and construction of;
*<>1, 325.

Queen cells, see Royal Cells

Qucenless stocks, signs of, 219, 245 ; to
be supplied with queens, 221 ; in Oc-
tober, should be united with other
stocks, 223 ; a sure prey to the moth,
if not protected in time, 244 (and note).

Quinby, M., author of a very valuable
work on bee-keeping, 249 (note) ; on
the ravages of the larvte of bee-moth,
249 (note) ; on shape of mov. comb
hives, 880 (note 3); on wintering bees,
348 ; on equalizing colonies when re-
moved from Winter repository, 861,
(note 2) ; on making bees work in a
double tier of surplus honey-boxes,
865 (note).

Radlkofer, Doctor, on over-stocking,
300; on the Italian bee, 325.

Rapping on hives, its effect on bees; 27,
155, 204.

Raspberry, one of the best bee-plants,
and very abundant in hill towns of
New England, 296.

Reaumur, his account of a snail cover-
ed with propolis, by bees, 78; his
error as to the treatment of strange
queens by bees, 201 ; thought there
were two species of bee-moth, 228.

Reid, Dr. on the shape of honey-cells, 75.

Religion, revealed, appeal to those who
reject, 52.

Remedies for bee-stings, 814-817.

Riem, the first to notice fertile workers,
65.

Ringing bells, in swarming time, use-
less, 113.

Requisites of a complete hive, 95-108.

Robbers, highway, bees sometimes act
the part of, 262.

Robbing, by bees, frequent when forage
is scarce, and caution against, 199, 261,

263 ; how prevented, 261-266 ; commit-
ted chiefly on feeble or queenless colo-
nies, 261 : signs indicating a bee en-
gaged in. 261, 2(i5; begets a disrelish
for honest pursuits, 262, 264 (and
note); movable entrance blocks pro
tect bees against, 264; infatuation
produced by, on bees, 264 ; caution
needed in checking, when a hive is
vigorously attacked, 265 ; how to stop
bees engaged in, 265 ; secret, its re-
medy, 206.

Royal cells, described, 62; wood-cuts
of, Plates XIII., XIV., and XV.;
attention paid to, by workers, 62 ; why
they open downward, 63 ; number of,
in a hive, 63 ; how supplied with eggs,
63 ; description of, 66 ; when built,
111 ; queen prevented from destroy-
ing, 121 ; remains of, indicate number
of queens, hatched, 121 ; may be re-
moved in mov. comb hives, to pre-
vent after swarming, 124 ; how to de-
cide whether inmate of has been
hatched or killed, 121 ; how to cut out
of combs, 166 ; sign that the queens in,
are nearly mature, 167 ; how to make
bees rear, in convenient places on the
comb, 191 ; to be given to colonies
second day after removal of queen,
223.

Royal jelly, see Jelly, royal.

Rye-meal, see Meal.

Sagacity of bees, 47, 48.

Salt, fondness of bees for, 272.

icent, see smell and odor.

Schirach, on artificial rearing of queens,

Scouts sent out by swarms to find a new
home, 117; necessity of, 118.

Scraper, for cleaning the bottom-board
of mov. comb hive, 347.

Scudamore, Dr., on many swarms clus-
tering together, 187.

Secret recipe for keeping stocks strong,
sham vendor of, 238.

Scholtz, Mr., on wintering bees in
clamps, 348-860.

Sex of bees, determined by queen, 88.

Shakspeare's description of the Hive,
26$.

Shrimplin, experiment of, showing im-
pregnation to take place in the air,

Sick persons, the care of, beneficial to
man, 318.

Siebold, Professor, extracts from his
.Parthenogenesis, 126 (note) ; his dis-
section of spermatheca, 127 (note);
found spermatozoa in worker, but not
in drone eggs, 41 ; on bee life, 144
(note) ; recommends movable frames,
321 (note 2).

Sight of bees, acute, for distant objects,

402

Signs of swarming, 111 ; of queenless

hive, 209; diseased bees inclined to,

colonies, 219, 224 ; of presence of

310 ; risk of, not increased by prox-

moths in hive, 242.

imity to the hive, 311 (note) ; not to

Size of hives, 329-332.

be feared from a bee away from ita

Smell, of hives, in gatherin°»season, 177

hive, 812; effect of, sometimes danger-

(note) ; strange bees distinguished by,

ous, 813 ; Italian bee less inclined-to,

203 ; the same, to be given in uniting
colonies, 208 ; sense of, in bees, acute,
S13 ; of their own poison irritates bees,

than common bee, 322, 324.
Stocks, of bees, (see also Colonies of
bees), enfeebled bv " in-and-in breed-

314.

ing," 54 ; strong, will rapidly fill emp-

Smoke, importance of, in subduing bees,

ty comb, 71 ; often lose young queens

27, 154 ; its use in forced swarming,

after swarming, 141 ; fewer in this

165, 168, 169 ; its use of, very ancient,
210; drives clustered bees inside of

country than there were years ago,
145 ; often refuse to swarm, 189, 14%

hive, 281 ; useful in removing surplus

147; new, work better than old, 153;

honey, 289.

if weak in Spring, usually unprofit-

Smothering bees, cautions for prevent-

able, and sometimes require to be

ing, 231.
Snails, sometimes covered by bees with

fed, 177 ; the less disturbed, the better
for surplus honey, 180 ; best mode for

propolis, 78.

rapid increase of, 184 ; doubling, treb-

Snow, bees perish on, when carrying out
their dead, 98; sometimes fatal to

ling, &c., 185; subject to great loss of
bees in storms, 186 ; rapid increase of,

bees, 338 (note 1) ; often harmless to

hopeless in vicinity of sugar-houses,

bees, 361 (note 1).
Solidago, see Golden Eod.

&c., 199 ; hostility of, to strange queens,
200 ; when united, the bees should be

Sontag, F., on meal as a substitute for

gorged with honey, 204; will adhere to

pollen, 84.
Spare honey, see Honey, surplus.
Spermatheca, of the queen-bee, wood-

the hive when the queen is lost, if sup-
plied with brood-comb, 218 ; queenless,
should be broken up, if not supplied

cut and description of, 35 ; PL XVI1L,

with a queen or brood-comb, 218;

Fig. 55: dissection of, 84 126 (note),

Spring-care of, 221 ; healthy, destroy

213 (note).
Spermatozoa, found in spermatheca of

the drones when forage is scarce, 224 ;
weak, with uncovered comb, infested

queen-bee, 34, 126 (note).
Sphinx Atropos, see Moth, Death-head.
Spinola, described the Italian bee, 318

by moths, 242 ; suffering from hunger,
are an easy prey to the moth, 246 (and
note).

(note).

Stocks, union of, see Union of Colo-

Spring, importance of sun-heat, in, to

nies.

hives, 101 ; feeble stocks, in, unprofit-

Stomach of worker, wood-cut of, PL

able, 177 ; examination of bees, in, im-
portant, 221 : colonies should be fed,

XVII., Fig. 54.
Stoves, air-tight, deficient in ventilation,

in, 267, 268.

92; Franklin, a good kind of, 92

Sprinkling bees, should not be done to

(note).

excess, 170 ; cools their robbing fren-
zy, 265.
Starving of bees, often happens when

Straw, use of, for protecting hives, 887.
Stupefaction of bees, by smoke, chloro-
form, and ether, 210.

there is honey in the hive, 336, 342.

Sturtevant, E. T., on wintering bees,

Sting, Sevan's description of, 56; PL

340.

XVII., Fig. 58; microscopic appear-
ance of, 57 ; loss of, fatal to bees, 57 ;

Suffocation of bees, symptoms attend-
ing, 90.

loss of, in stinging, a benefit to man,

Sugar, its elements, 70.

58; of queen, 65; wood-cut of queens,
Pl.XVllI.

Sugar-candy, see Candy.
Sugar-water, use of, to pacify bees, 26,

Sting, poison of, dangerous to some, 313 ;

154, 168-170; how to apply it, 170;

remedies for, 314-817 ; smell of poison

used in mingling stocks, 208.

of, irritating to bees, 314; instant ex-

Sulphur, use of, in killing eggs and

traction of, important, 314; rubbing
the wound made by, should be avoid-

worms of bee-moth, 243.
Sun, heat of, important to bees in

ed, 314 ; Mr. Wagner's remedy for,

Spring, 101, 868.

815 ; different remedies answer for

Superstitions about bees, 79.

different persons, 815; human system
maybe inured to, 31 6 (note); amus-
ing remedy for, 816 (note).

Surplus honey, see Honey, surplus.
Swallow, address of Grecian poet, to a
bee-eating, 253.

Stinging, bees when gorged, disinclined

Swammerdam, his drawing of queen's

to, 25, 169, 308 ; little risk of, unless

ovaries described, 85 ; great merits of,

bees are irritated, 28, 163, 170; risk

as an observer, C5 (note); his drawing

of, diminished by use of mov. comb

of queen's ovaries, PL XVIII.; how

403

he learned the internal economy of the

more air than old, 281 ; precautions in

hive, and his reverence in studying

moving, 2S1 ; a late one, 366.

the works of Nature, 164 (note) ; spoke

Swarming, signs of, 111 ; indisposes bees

of two species of bee-moth, 228.

to return to parent hive, 120 ; unsea-

3warms, new, often construct drone-

sonable, often caused bv famine. 116;

• comb to store honey, 51 ; number of

causes bees to mark the' place of their

bees in a good one, 54 ; first ones led

new abode, 1-20; incident in. in Mex-

bv old queens. 111 ; no sure indica-

ico, 123; after, care needed to pre«

tions of first, 111 ; will settle without

serve young brood in parent hive,

ringing of bells, &c., 113 ; more in-

124; in tropical climates, at all sea-

clined to elope, if bees are neglected,

sons, 128; season ot, 128: inconve-

114; how to arrest a fugitive, 114;

niences of, 189-147; artificial, mode

how to prevent, from deserting a new

of for common hives, 154 ; best pre-

hive, 115 ; indications of intended de-

vented by use of author's hive, 158;

sertion, 115; clustering of, before de-

for the season, can be accomplished in

parture, of special benefit to man. 116 ;

few days with author's hive, 173 ; time

send out scouts, 117 ; sometimes build

of natural, easily determined in au-

comb on fence-rails, &c., 118; how

thor's hive, 178 (note) ; prevented by

parent hive is re-populated, after de-

clipping wings of queen, 173, 228 ; pre-

parture of, 119: composed of young
and old bees, 119 ; none of the bees of

vented by contracting the entrance
of hive, 174; last plan not thoroughly

new, return to garent hive, 120 ; signs

tested, 174(note3); frequent, unprofit-

and time of second, 122 ; sometimes

able, 176 : best mode of artificial, 181 ;

settle in several clusters, 122 ; singular

how to obtain extra queens in natu-

instance of pluralitv of queens (in

ral, 190 (note); interesting anecdote

Mexico), 122 ; signs and time of third,

of, 308.

123 ; first, sometimes swarms again,

Swarming, artificial, see Artificial

128; new, reluctant to enter heated

Swarming.

hives, 130; often take possession of

Swarming, natural, see Natural Swarm-

deserted hives stored with comb, but

ing.

seldom of empty hives, 131 ; trees con-

Swarming season, commencement and

venient for clustering of, 131 ; can be

duration of, 111, 128.

made to alight on a selected spot, 181 ;

Sweatv horses, detested and often killed

hiving of. should not be delayed, 132 ;
several, clustering together, 187 ; may
be separated by hiving in large hive,
137; hissing sound of bees, while

by bees, 813.
Sydserff s calculation of profits of bee-
culture, 146 (note).

swarming, causes other stocks to

T.

swarm, 187 ; how to prevent their

mingling, 188 ; should be placed where

Table, illustrating the increase of stocks

intended to stand, as soon as hived,

by artificial swarming, 185 ; of form-

188 ; how to proceed when hive is not

ing nuclei, 191.

ready to receive, 139 ; feeble after-

' Taking up bees," facilitated by mov.

swarms, of little value, 140, 141; strong,

comb hive, 209 : suggestions as to

tempted to evil courses, 141 ; many.

time of, 306 (note).

annually lost, 143 ; danger of losing, in

Temperature of hive, rises at time of

swarming season, 144; decrease of,

swarming, 130.

in bees, after swarming, 151 (and

Theories often fail, when put to a prac-

note) ; new, have greater energy than
old, 153 ; forced, 154 ; will enter hives

tical test, 175 (note).
Thistle, Canada, a good bee-plant,

without the queen, 159 (note) ; when

296.

forced, how to induce to adhere to

Thompson, poetical extract from, upon

new locations, 163 (and note); to

killing bees 289; on bees in linden

avoid risk of losing, in swarming-time,

trees, 293.

178 ; too rapid multiplication of, un-
profitable, 176; second, usually val-

fhorley, John, first stupefied bees by
puff-ball smoke, 210.

ueless, unless early, and season good,

Tidd, M. M., his experiment on a female

177 ; weak, may be strengthened by

moth, 230 (note 2) ; notices the differ-

use of mov. comb hive, 178; one new,

ence between tongue of the male and

made from two old ones, 181 (note 8) ;
artificial, rapid increase of with mov.

female moth, 230.
Time of bees, economized in mov. comb

comb hive, 183; dangers attending,
in large apiaries where the hives are

hive, 95, 96 ; importance of saving,

uniform in appearance, and near to-
gether, 216; how to avoid the danger,
217 ; Washington Irving's account of,
in the West, 286 (note); new, need

Timid persons may safely remove sur-
plus honey, 289-291 ; should use bee-
dress while hiving bees, 182, 154; often
stung while other persons seldom are,

4:04

INDKX.

168 ; some should not attempt to rear

stocking, 300 ; letter of, on the Italian

bees, 209.

bee, 318 ; extracts from, on preserv-

Toad, eats bees, 254.
Tobacco, should not be used for subdu-

ing the purity of the Italian bee, 323
(notes) ; states a remarkable fact con-

ing bees, 169.
Top-boxes, for surplus honey, should be
used with caution, 330 (note).

cerning hybrid bees, 324 (note 2) ;
attempt of, to import Italian bee, 328
(note) ; translation of Scholtz on win-

Transferring bees from common to mov.
comb hive, 282-284; mode of, 282;

tering bees, 348-360.
War, how waged by different colonies,

best time for, 283 ; results of, 284.

263.

Transportation of bees, easy in mov.
comb hive, 281.

Wasps, fecundation of, 35: injure fruit,
86; should be destroyed in Spring, 87;

Traps for moths, usually worthless,
244.

torpid in Winter, 109.
Water, necessary to be supplied for bees

Trees, combs built on. by bees, 118 ;

confined, 189 (and note) ; the refusal

apiaries should be near, 131 ; substi-

of, in Spring, by bees, indicative of a

tute for, 131 ; limbs of, need not be cut,
in hiving bees, 133; shade of, agree-
able to bees, 280 ; honey-producing,

queenless colony, 219 (and note) ; cold,
useful in checking robbery, 205 : in-
dispensable to bees when building

292.

comb, or rearing brood, 271, 342-346 ;

Tulip (poplar, or whitewood,) tree yields
great quantities of honey, 292.

bees need, in cold weather, 342-346 ;
advantages of giving, to bees in cold
Springs, 343.

U.

Union of colonies, facilitated by giving
them the same smell, 203 ; mode of,

Wax, scales of, wood-cuts, PI. XIII.,
Figs. 37 and 88 ; secreted from honey,
69, 275 ; pouches for, 69 ; wood-cut of,
PI. XIII., Fig. 88 ; Huber's experi-

203, 204; for wintering, 336.

ments on secretion of, 69 ; pollen may

Unbelief in revelation not prompted by
true philosophy, 52.
Uncleanly persons disagreeable to bees,

aid its secretion, 70 ; its elements, 71 ;
largo quantity of honey consumed
in secretion of, 71 ; shavings of, used
by bees, to build new comb, 72 ; a bad

conductor of heat, 73 ; pollen useful

V.

in its secretion, 82, 197 ; origin of, dis-

covered by Hornbostel, 204 (note);

Varnish, used by bees in place of propo-
lis, 80.

the food of the larvse of the bee-moth,
233, 247 ; how to render, from comb,

Varro, his remark that bees in large

288.

hives become dispirited, 20a
Ventilation, furnished to larvae by shape

Weather, unpleasant, delays or pre-
vents 'swarming, 112.

of cells, 75 ; of the hive, 88-94 ; pro-

West India honey, as bee-food, 256

duced by the fanning of bees, 88 ;

(note), 270.

lluber on, 88 ; its neceessity, 89 ; re-

Wetherell, Dr. C. M., his analysis of

marks on, in human dwellings, 91;
provided for and easily controlled in

royal jelly, 64.
Wheaton, Levi, on upward ventilation,

mov. comb hive, 93, 94; artificial,

276 (note 1); on wintering bees, 346

must be simple to be useful, 93 ;

(note 1).

should be attended to, after swarming,

White clover, see Clover, white.

124 ; ample, should be given, while

Weigel, Kev. Mr., first recommended

bees are storing honey, 288, 866 ; how

candy, as bee-feed, 272.

to give, in Winter, 838 ; upward, need-

Wheeler, George, on ancient bar-hives,

ed in Winter, 838, 840 (note), 341,

210 (note).

SCO.

Willow, varieties of, abound in honey

Vice, effect of, on man, compared to ra-
vages of the moth, 235.

and pollen, 292.
Wildman, Thomas, feats of, in hand-

Virgil, described the Italian bee, 818.

ling bees, 308 : states the fact that fear

disposes colonies to unite, 203 (note) ;

W.

his approach to modern modes of

Wagner, Samuel, letter of, on mov. comb
hive, 17-18 ; theory of, on how queen

taming bees, 204 (note.); on the queen's
Winds' bees should be protected

determines sex of egg, 38 ; his account
of bees building comb on a tree, 118 ;
on the effect of soil on the quality

against, 103, 186, 279.
Wings of queens, may be made to mark
their age, 223.

of honey-yielding plants. 294 (note) ;
on the Swedish white clover, for bees

Winter, wasps and hornets, but not
bees, torpid in, 109, 335 ; quantity of

and stock, 295; letter of, on over-

honey needed by a stock in, 274;

INDEX.

405

bees eat less in, when kept quiet,
335, 855*858 ; bees should be protected
from winds of, 337 ; bees in, if out of
doors, should be allowed to fly, 337 ;
how to ventilate hives in, 338 ; snow
in, when inj urious to bees, 338 (note 1) ;
bees need water in, S42-346 ; when
honey is candied in, bees need water,
842-344 ; disturbing bees in, injurious,
847, 355 ; fewer bees die in, when
hives are in clamps, than when in
other special depositories, 358 ; tem-
porary removal of colonies in, to a
warm room, 341, 862.

Wintering bees, 335-361 ; objections to,
in the open air, 835; how to get honey
for, in centre of hive,' 336 ; bee pas-
sages in comb for, 887 (and note 1),
889 (and note) ; in a dry vault or cel-
lar, 848 ; in special repositories, 348-
860 ; further experiments in, needed,
860 ; requires caution in removing
them from winter quarters, 861.

Wives, a friendly word to, 220.

Wood-cuts, explanation of, 11, 371.

Women, American, suffer from bad
ventilation, 92.

Worker-comb, size of the cells of, 74 ; all
good, can be used in mov. comb hive,
130; not built unless bees have a
mature queen, 149.

Worker-bees, are females with undevel-
oped ovaries, 29; when fertile, their

progeny always drones, 36; Huber's
theory concerning fertile, 37, 55;
sometimes exalted to be queens, 37 ;
one raised from a drone egg, by L)r.
Donhoff, 41 ; incapable of impregna-
tion, 42; wood-cuts of, Plate XII.,
Figs. 35, 86 ; number of, in swarm, 54;
author's opinion respecting fertile, .Vi ;
fertile prefer to lay in drone cells, 55 ;
honey-bag, 56 ; representation of, PI.
XVII., Fig. 54, A ; use of proboscis of,
56 ; wood-cut of proboscis of, PI.
XVI., Fig. 51 ; pollen-basket, 56 ; sting,
56; wood-cut of, PI. XVII., Fig. 53;
loss of sting fatal, 57 ; do all the work
of the hive, 58 ; their age, 58 ; lesson
of industry from, 59 ; attention to royal
cells, 62 ; wood-cut of abdomen of, PI.
XVI., Fig. 5-2 ; two kinds of, described
by Huber, 192 (note 2) ; differently
occupied in different periods of life,
194 ; impulse of, to gather honey, un-

• developed in early life, 195.

Worms, see Bee-Moth, larvaj of.

Wormwood, use of, for driving away
robbing bees, 265 (note).

Wurtemberg, number of its colonies of

Zollickoffer, H. M., his account of bees
building combs on a tree, 118.

ADVERTISEMENT.

AN individual or farm right, to make and use the Movable-Comb
Hive, will be sold for five dollars.* Such a right entitles the owner, in
the territory where it is purchased, to make for his own use, and not
otherwise, any number of hives.

Ministers of the Gospel, «f all denominations, are entitled to an indi-
vidual right for their own use, without any charge.

The Inventor has secured, to all purchasers of individual rights, the
privilege of using, without any further charge, any improvements which
he may hereafter patent For the information of the Public (see note
on page 61), the following extract is given from the Patent Office
Report of 1852-3:

" Patent No. 9300 — Improvement in Bee-Hives.

" What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is —

u First. — .The use of a shallow chamber, substantially as described, in combination
with a perforated cover, for enlarging or diminishing at will the size and number
of the spare honey receptacles.

"•Second.— The use of the movable frames, A, A, Fig. 4, or their equivalents, sub-
stantially as described ; also, their use in combination with the shallow chamber,
with or without my arrangement for spare honey receptacles.

" Third.— A divider, substantially as described, in combination with a movable
cover, allowing the divider to be inserted from above, between the ranges of comb.

"Fourth. — The use of the double glass sides in a single frame, substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.

"•Fifth.— The construction of the trap for excluding moths and catching worms,
so arranged as to increase or diminish at will the size of the entrance for bees, sub-
stantially in the manner, and for the purposes set forth.

L. L. LANGSTBOTH."

For individual and territorial rights, in the States of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island, and the Counties of Cheshire, Hillsboro', Rocking-
ham, Merrimack, Sullivan and Belknap, in New Hampshire, address
W.B.Gleason,No. 70 State Street, Boston.

For individual and territorial rights in New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Texas, and Arkansas, address P. J. Mahan, No. 720 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia.

For individual rights in the following Counties in Ohio, Adams,
Athens, Belmont, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark,
Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Crawford, Dark, Delaware, Fairfield,

408 ADVEKTISEMENT.

Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hancock, Hap
din, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox,
Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Medina, Meigs, Mont-
gomery, Monroe, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Preble, Richland,
Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Union, Vinton^Warren, Washington, and Wyan-
dott, address Richard Colvin, Delaware, Ohio.

For individual and territorial rights in the State of Kentucky, and
the Counties of Ashtabula, Cayahoga, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning, Port-
age, Summit, and Trumbull, in Ohio, address E. T. Sturtevant & Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio.

For individual and territorial rights in the States of Maine, Ver-
mont, Connecticut, and the Counties of Grafton, Carroll, and Coos, in
New Hampshire — also, for rights in Connecticut, New York, and the
Western States and Territories, address R. C. Otis, Kenosha, Wis-
consin.

N. B. — Owners of territorial rights, who may wish to have their
names inserted in this advertisement, can ascertain terms by ad-
dressing A. 0. Moore & Co., 140 Fulton Street, New York.

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY