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PRACTICAL  TREATISE 


IIIYE  AND  HONEY-BEE, 


BY 


L.  L.  LAXGSTKOTH  ; 


A^^  INTEODUCTION,  BY  EEV.  ROBERT  BAIED,  D.  D. 


THIRD     EDITION, 
fcrVTBKD,  AND  ILLIT8TRATED  WITU  8EVENTY-SEVEX  ENGRAVISOft, 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

LONDON:  TRUBNER  &  CO. 
1865. 


Entebed,  according  to  Act  of  Coneress,  in  the  year  18&sr, 

By    L.    L.    LANGSTEOTH, 

In  the  Clerk '6  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  N«(w  Tort 


INTRODUCTION 


I  AM  happy  to  learn  from  my  friend  Mr.  La^j-gstroth, 
ihat  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  under  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.  Langsteoth  has  invented,  is  in  all  respects 
greatly  superior  to  any  which  I  have  ever  seen,  either  in 
this  or  foreign  countries.  Indeed,  I  do  not  beUeve  that 
any  one  who  takes  an  inteUigent  mterest  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 


IV  INTEODrCTION. 

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

Mr.  Lai^gsteoth  teaches  us  in  his  book,  how  bees  can 
be  taken  care  of  without  great  labor,  and  without  the  risk 
of  suffering  fi'om  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 
easy  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  Avhich 
they  may  find  in  observing  the  habits  of  these  wonderful 
Httle  creatures.  How  remarkably  does  their  entire  econ- 
omy illustrate  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  the  GRiL\.T  Authob 
of  all  things. 

I  cannot  but  believe  that  many  Ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
residing  in  rural  districts,  will  accept  of  Mr.  Langstkoth'8 
generous  offer  to  give  them  the  free  use  of  his  Invention. 
With  very  little  labor  or  exjiense,  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  which  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  ^^U  contribute 
greatly  to  promote  a  department  of  Rural  Economy,  which 
in  this  country  has  hitherto  received  so  little  scientifio 
attention.  He  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  BAIRD. 


PREFACE. 


ENcoimAGED  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  improve- 
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  disj^layed  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  seats  of  hidden  alchemy ! 
How  oft,  when  wandering  far  and  erring  long, 
Man  might  learn  truth  and  virtue  from  the  BEE  ! 

BOWRINO. 

The  attention  of  ^linisters  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  Wagxee,  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. 
OxTORO,  Butler  County,  Ohio,  March,  1859. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


List  of  Plates  and  Explanation  of  Wood-Cuts  Illustrating  the 

Natural  History  of  Bees , 11 

Ohaptee. 

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 S8 

VIII.  Requisites  of  a  Complete  Hive 95 

IX.  Natural  Swarming,  and  Hiving  of  Swarms 109 

X.  Artificial  Swarming 143 

XI.  Loss  of  the  Queen 213 

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

Bees 228 

XIII.  Robbing,  and  how  Prevented 201 

XIV.  Directions  for  Feeding  Bees 267 

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

Bees  from  Common  to  Movable-Comb  Hives 279 

XVL  Honey.... 285 

XVI L  Bee-Pa?turage.— Over-Stocking 292 

i\ 


X  TABLK    OF    CONTENTS. 

Chaptee.  vagx. 

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

XIX.  The  Italiau  Honey-Bee 318 

XX.  Size,  Shape,  and  Materials  for  Hives.— Observing-Hives.  329 

XXI.  Wintering  Bees 335 

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

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

Stock  for  making  them 37 1 

CoDious  Alphabetical  Index 385 


LIST     OF     PLATES 


PAGE. 

Frontispiece 

Mov:ible-Comb  Hive,  with  full  glass 

arrangement. 13 

Plate        1 20 

II 24 

"        III 28 

"        IV 86 

V 44 

VI 48 

«      VII 63 

"    VIII 72 

"        IX 88 

"         X 96 


PAGE. 

Plate      XI 120 

'^       XII 128 

"      XIII 144 

"      XIV 16S 

"        XV 192 

"      XVI 216 

"    XVII 240 

"  XVIII 264 

«      XIX 283 

"■        XX 312 

"      XXI 350 

"    XXII 360 

"  XXIII 363 


EXPLANATION      OF      PLATES. 


PLATES  I.  to  XI.  inclusive,  show  the  various  styles  of  Movable-Comb  Hives,  and 

the  Implements  iised  in  the  Apiary.    For  explanation  of  these  plates,  see 

p.  371. 
PLATE  XII.— Figs.  31, 32.— Queen-Bee,  of  magnified  and  natural  size.   See  p.  3a 
Figs.  33,  34.— Drone,  of  magnified  and  natural  size.    See  p.  49. 
Figs.  35,  36. — "Worker,  of  magnified  and  natural  size.    See  p.  54. 
These  Illustrations  were  copied  (with  some  alterations)  from  BagsUr. 
PLATE  XIII.— Fig.  37.— Scales  of  Wax,  highly  magnified.    See  p.  69. 
Fig.  33.— Abdomen  of  a  Worker-Bee,  magnified,  and  showing  tlie  exuding  scales 

of  wax.    See  p.  69. 
Fig.  39.— Section  of  a  Cell,  magnified,  and  showing  the  usual  position  of  the  eg^ 

See  p.  44. 
Fig.  40. — Larvae  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.  45i 
Fig.  43  —Worker-Nymph.    See  p.  45. 
Fig.  49.— a  Queen-Cell  of  the  natural  size.    See  p.  62. 
Fig.  50. — A  Queen-Cell  cut  open,  to  show  the  unhatched  queen.    See  p.  62. 
Fig.  44.— Eggs  of  the  Bee-Moth,  of  natural  and  magnified  size.    See  p.  234. 
Fig.  45.— Larvae  of  the  Bee-Moth,  fully  grown.    See  p.  231, 

xi 


XU  EXPLANATION    OF   PLATES. 

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

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

it    Seep.  230. 
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.  87. 

Figs.  64,  65. — Jaws  of  Honey-Hornet  and  Honey-Bee,  magnified.    See  p.  87. 
Some  of  these  Illustrations  were  taken  from   Swammerdam,  Eeaumur,  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  XY.— 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.  19L 
PLATE  XVL— Fig.  51.— Proboscis  of  a  Worker-Bee,  highly  magnified-    See  p.  56w 
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.    Se« 
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  Larva  of  the  Bee-Moth.    See  p.  23a 
PLATE  XX.— Fig.  57.— Mass  of  Webs,  Cocoons,  and  Excrements  left  in  a  Hive 

destroyed  by  the  Larvse  of  the  Bee-Moth.    See  p.  2.35. 
PLATE  XXL— 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.  831. 
PLATE  XXIIL — Shows  the  position  in  which  a  Frame  is  held  when  taken  from 
the  Movable-Comb  Hive.— See  p.  Ill, 


Movable  Comb  Hive,  with  full  Glftss  Arrangement 


THE  HIVE  AND  HONEY-BEE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

FACTS  CONNECTED  WITH   THE  LNVENTTON  OF  THE  MOVABLE- 
COMB  BEE-HIYE. 

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  pubhc  opinion,  it  requires  no 
Uttle  confidence  to  introduce  another  patent  hive,  and  a 
new  system  of  management ;  but  beUeving  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  vahiable  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-keepmg,  I  began 
to  experiment  with  hives  of  various  construction. 

Though  the  result  of  these  investigations  fell  far  short 
ot  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  foimd  myself  unable  to  remedy  many 
oithe  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  comhs^  so  that  any  or 
all  of  them  might  be  removed  at  pleasure.  The  use  of  the 
Huber  hive  had  satisfied  me,  that  -vnth  proper  precautions 
the  combs  might  be  removed  without  enraging  the  bees, 
and  that  these  insects  were  capable  of  beuig  tamed  to  a 
sorprising  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 


movaele-co:m:b  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  improved  mode  of  obtaining  the  surplus 
honey. 

With  hives  of  this  construction,  I  expeiimented  on  a 
larger  scale  than  ever,  and  soon  arrived  at  very  important 
results.  I  could  dispense  entirely  ^dth  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  yviih  the  means  of  obtaining  another.  If 
I  suspected  that  any  thing  was  wrong  vdth.  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  much  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  liive, 
was  attended  with  much  loss  of  time  both  to  myself  and 
the  bees.  This  led  me  to  mvent  a  method  by  Avhich  the 
combs  were  attached  to  jrovABLE  frames,  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  fijid  that  they  fully  answer  the  ends  proposed 
in  their  invention. 


IG  TKE   HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

In  the  Summer  of  1851  I  ascertained  that  bees  could 
be  made  to  work  m  glass  hives,  exposed  to  the  ftill  Hght 
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  oui'  methods  of  management,  neither 
of  us  having  any  knowledge  of  the  labors  of  the  other. 

Our  hives  he  found  to  differ  in  some  very  important 
respects.  In  Dzierzon's  hive,  the  combs  not  being 
attached  to  movable  frames  but  to  bars,  cannot  be 
removed  without  cuttmg.  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,  nhie  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.  Xotwith- 
standmg  these  disadvantages,  it  has  achieved  a  great 
triumph  in  Germany,  and  given  a  new  unpulse  to  the 
cultivation  of  bees. 

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

♦  Pronounce<l  Tseertsone. 


MOVABLE-COME    HIYE.  17 

"York,  Pa.,  Dec.  24,  1852. 

"  Dear  Sir  :-  —The  Dzierzon  theory  and  the  system  of 
bee-management  based  thereon,  ^vere  originally  promul- 
gated hypothetically  in  the  'Eichstadt  Bienen-zeitmig,' 
or  Bee-Jouraal,  in  1845,  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  which  I  translated  j^rior  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 
yow  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  sim- 
ple, 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  imder  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 
ft'om  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  here^^dth  some  interesting  statements 
respecting  Dzierzon,  and  the  estimate  in  which  his  systen. 
is  held  in  Germany.  Very  truly  yours, 

Samuel  Wagn:er. 

Rev.  L,  L.  LAXcsxROxn." 


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 
*s  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  the  theory  which  observation  and 
study  had  enabled  him  to  devise.  Thenceforward  his 
progress  was  as  rapid,  as  his  success  was  complete  and 
triumi^hant.  Though  he  met  'vnth  frequent  reverses, 
about  seventy  colonies  having  been  stolen  from  him,  sixty 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  twenty-four  by  a  flood,  yet,  in  1846, 
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  vicmity 
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  which 
attacked  aUke  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,  m  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  Spiing. 
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 
neighboring  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  sjjeaks  in  the  very  highest 
terms  of  his  success,  and  of  the  manifest  superiority  of 
his  system  of  management.  He  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  : 

*' '  Xow  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  m  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  liis  stock  after  su^ 
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  on 
rural  economy. 


Fig.  1. 


Plate  I. 


Fiff.  2. 


Fig.  8. 


MOVABLE-COilB    HIVE.  21 

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

''''Prom  the  Leipzig  Illustrated  Almanac — Report  on 
Agriculture  for  1846 : 

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

"  From  the  same^for  1851  aiid  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  OA\'n  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  ovn\  independent  discoveries,  the  system  of  bee* 


22  TflE    HI  YE   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  knoTvn  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  Gennany ;  and  he  is  undoubtedly  more 
familiar  than  any  other  man  in  this  country  with  the  state 
of  Apiarian  culture  abroad. 

1  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-Joumal,  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  ^ridely  discredited.  In  themselves,  they 
are  so  wonderful,  and  to  those  who  have  not  witnessed 
them,  ofter  so  incredible,  that  it  is  not  strange  that  they 
have  been  rejected  as  fanciful  conceits  or  bare-^ced 
inventions. 


MOVABLE-COMB    HIVE. 


92 


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  obser^ing-hives  exposed 
continually  to  the  full  light  of  day ;  so  that  observations 
may  be  made  at  all  times,  without  inteiTupting  by  any 
sudden  admission  of  Hght  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  sm-rounded  by  an  affection- 
ate circle  of  her  devoted  children.  They  haCVe  also  wit- 
nessed ^ith  astonishment  and  delight,  all  the  mysterious 
steps  in  the  process  of  raising  queens  from  eggs,  which 
"vvith  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,  that  the  time  is  now  at  hand  when  the 
number  of  practical  observers  will  be  so  multiplied,  and 
the  principles  of  bee-keeping  so  thoroughly  imderstood, 
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 ! 


24  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    HONTEY-BEE    CAPABLE    OF    BEING   TAMED. 

If  the  bee  had  not  such  a  formidable  weapon  both  of 
offence  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  Hberties 
■v\^th  this  irascible  insect,  I  deem  it  important  to  show  in 
the  very  outset  how  all  necessary  operations  may  be  per- 
formed without  incurrinor  anv  serious  risk  of  excitincr  its 
anger. 

Many  persons  have  been  unable  to  suppress  their  aston- 
islmient,  as  they  have  seen  me  openhig  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 ;  Avhen  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. 


'g'  ^' 


i'LATE    IL 

Fi2.  5. 


Fig.  7. 


r^s.  6. 


I 

f! 

.          '  V    ^        \ 

1 is!, 

lii;;.Ji!!!v!!!ii:,;::!illlilllJ!!i|iLI!!!l!i;:il!ll!li:i!:illil!!!lC^^ 

Fi£r.  «. 


THE    HONEY-BEE    CAPABLE    OF    BEIXG    TAMEl  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-hee  when  filled  with  honey  never  volunteers  an 
attach^  but  acts  solely  on  the  defensive. 

This  law  of  the  honeyed  tribe  is  so  universal,  that  a  stone 
might  as  soon  be  expected  to  I'ise  into  the  air  without 
any  j^ropelling  power,  as  a  bee  well  filled  with  honey  to 
off*er  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  opera- 
tions immediately  in  their  new  habitation,  and  being  in 
no  danger  of  starving  if  several  stormy  days  should  fol- 
low their  emigration. 

Bees  issue  from  their  hives  in  the  most  peaceable  mood 

imaginable  ;  and  unless  abused  allow  themselves  to  be 

tresited   with   great   fimiliarity.      The    hiving   of   them 

might  always  be  conducted    without   risk,  if  there   were 

2 


26  TDE    HIVE   AXD    HONEY-BEE. 

not  occasionally  some  imjDrovident  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  : 

Bees  cannot  under  any  circmmtances  resist  the  temp- 
tation 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 
imder  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  rough- 
ly, for  they  will  never  allow  themselves  to  be  pinched  or 
hurt  without  thrusting  out  their  sting  to  resent  the  in- 
dignity.    If,  as  soon  as  a  hive  is  opened,  the  exposed 


THE    HONEY-BEE    CAPABLE    OF    BEIXG    TAM:ED.  27 

bees  are  gently  sprinkled  with  water  sweetened  with 
sugar,  they  will  help  themselves  with  great  eagerness, 
and  in  a  iew  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- olfering.  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  oj^en,  to  steal  if 
possible  a  portion  of  its  treasures. 

A  third  peculiarity  in  the  nature  of  bees  gives  an  al- 
most unlimited  control  over  them,  and  may  be  expressed 
as  follows  : 

£ees  when  frighte7ied  immediately  begin  to  fill  tJcem- 
selves  with  honey  from  their  combs. 

If  the  Apiarian  only  succeeds  in  frightening  his  Uttle 
subjects,  he  can  make  thetn  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  capac- 
ity. They  act  either  as  if  aware  that  only  what  they 
can  lodge  in  this  inside  pocket  is  safe,  or,  as  if  expectins^ 
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 

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


28  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-BEE. 

hive  and  drumming  upon  it  for  a  short  time.  The  van- 
ous  processes,  however,  for  inducing  bees  to  fill  them- 
selves with  honey,  are  more  fully  explained  in  the  chap- 
ter 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  ope- 
ration ;  acquaint  yourself  fully  with  the  principles  of  man- 
aorement  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.  XI.,  Figs.  25,  27)  and 
india-rubber  gloves,  even  the  most  timid,  by  availing 
themselves  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. 


Fiff.  9. 


y';^^c^ 


Fig.  10. 


NATURAL   HISTORY    OF    THE    HONEY-BEE.  29 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  QUEEN,  OR  MOTHER-BEE  ;  THE  DRONES  ;  THE  WORKERS  ; 
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 
Queen-3ee. 

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

3d,  Many  thousands  of  a  smaller  kind,  called  Worlcers^ 
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  of  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  magniiied,  and  also 
of  the  natural  size. 

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

Those  facts  have  been  demonstrated  so  repeatedly,  that 
they  are  as  well  estabhshed  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  neces- 
sary information,  if  they  keep  bees  at  all,  should  manage 
them  in  the  old-fashioned  way,  which  demands  the  small- 
est 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  knowl- 
edge "  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  con- 
ceits for  fxcts,  will  speedily  earn  the  character  both  of  a 
fool  and  an  imposter. 

Tlie   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 
onger  ;  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  goldci  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,  ^o  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 
antenna?,  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  wailings  on  the  minor  key,  and  can  no  more 
be  mistaken  by  an  experienced  bee-keeper,  for  their 
ordinary  happy  hum,  than  the  piteous  moanings  of  a  sick 
child  could  be  confounded  by  the  anxious  mother  with 
its  joyous  crowings  M'hen  overflowing  with  health  and 
happiness. 

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

•  See  the  group  of  bees  on  the  Title-Page. 


32  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

to  give  facts,  however  wonderful,  just  as  they  are  ;  confc- 
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  Iluber,  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  Iluber, 
abused  by  the  veriest  novices  and  imposters ;  while  others, 
who  are  indebted  to  his  labors  for  nearly  all  tliat  is  of 
value  in  their  works, 

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

Ruber  in  early  manhood  lost  the  use  of  his  eyes.  His 
opponents  imagine  that  to  state  this  fu-t  is  to  discredit  all 


NATURAL    HISTOEY    OF   THE    HONEY-BEE.  33 

his  observations.  Hut  to  make  their  case  still  stronger, 
they  assert  that  his  servant,  Francis  Burn  ens,  by  whose 
aid  he  conducted  his  experiments,  was  only  an  ignorant 
peasan:.  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  Biir- 
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.  Tiiey  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  bhndness  ;  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  Huber  was  a  better  Apiarian  from  the  same  cause. 
His  active  yet  reflective  !nind  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  el&cen  days  in  performing  this  work,  and  during  the  whole  time  ho  scarcely 
allowed  himself  anv  relaxation  bat  what  the  relief  of  his  eves  required  " 
•0* 


34  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXET-BEE. 

and  experiments  of  his  fliitliful  assistants  bein^  dailj 
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.  Havihg 
repeatedly  verified  his  most  important  observations,  I  take 
great  delight  in  holding  him  up  to  my  countrymen  as  the 
Prince  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  lins  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  3^  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  comnumicating  with 
the  oviduct,  and  filled  with  a  whitish  fluid  ;  this  fluid, 
when  examined  i.nder  the  microscope,  abounded  in  the 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-BEE,  35 

spermatozoa  which  characterizes  the  seminal  fluid.  A 
comparison  of  this  substance,  later  in  the  season,  with  the 
semen  of  a  clrone,  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  "  S2')ermatheca^''  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  occurred  to  the  opponents  of  Hviber, 

that  the  existence  of  a 
permanently  impregnated 
mother-wasp  is  quite  as 
difficult  to  be  accounted 
for,  as  tlie  existence  of 
a  similarly  impregnated 
queen-bee. 

The  celebrated  Swam- 
merdam,  in  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  XVIII.),  to  ray  readers.  The  small  globu- 
lar sac  (^),  communicating  with  the  oviduct  (-£'),  which 
he  thought  secreted  a  fluid  for  sticking  the  eggs  to  the 
base  of  the  cells,  is  the  seminal  reservoir,  or  spermatheca. 
Any  one  who  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  consistino^  of  an  amazino^  number  of  ducts*  filled 
with  eggs,  which  gradually  increase  in  size.f 

Huber,  while  expei'imenting  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  time  ol 
Aristotle,  had  observed  that  all  the  brood  in  a  hive  were 
occasionally  drones.  Before  attemj^ting  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  a^-e  proved 
by  dissection  to  be  females  which  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances are  barren.  Occasionally,  some  of  thorn 
appear  to  be  sufiiciently  developed  to  be  capable  of  laying 
eggs  ;  but  these  eggs,  like  those  of  queens  whose  impreg- 
nation has  been  retarded,  always  produce  drones!  Soine- 

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

f  Sinre  the  first  edition  of  this  work  was  issued,  I  have  ascertained  that  Posel 
(pag;-  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  disi^ov.Tod 
the  fa<'t  Uiattlift  young  quo^'n';  loavo  th^ir  hive  in  ,=p.ir<'h  nf  thp  drorif^s. 


Fi-  13. 


Plate  IV. 


$mmm:.i7^:^^n^^^^m:^mm 


Fi-  U. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-BEE.  37 

times,  ^hen  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  effect  on  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  nnd  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  examinar 
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,  sufiicient  vitality  to  produce  the  drone, 
which  is  a  less  highly  organized  insect  than  the  queen  or 
worker.  It  h^d  long  been  known  that  the  queen  deposits 
drone-eggs  iu  the  large  or  drone-cells,  and  worker-eggs 


38  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-BEE, 

in  the  small  or  worker-cells,  and  that  she  makes  no  mis- 
takes. Dzierzon  inferred,  therefore,  that  there  was  some 
wa)  in  which  she  was  able  to  decide  the  sex  of  the  egg 
befc  re  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  eo-o-s,  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  spennatheca 
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  1S52,  my  assistant  found  a  young 
queen  whose  progeny  consisted  entirely  of  drones.  The 
colonv  had  been  formed  by  removing  a  few  combs  con- 
taining bees,  brood,  and  egg^,  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  v>-hich  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  And  drones  reared  in  worker- 
cells,  but  equally  so  that  a  young  queen,  who  at  first  lays 
only  the  eggs  of  \\orkers,  should  be  laying  drone-eggs; 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HONEY-BEE.  39 

and  at  once  conjectured  that  this  was  a  case  of  an  nnim- 
pregnated  drone-la jing  qneen,  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  re- 
port. "  The  ovaries  were  filled  with  eggs,  the  poison-sac 
full  of  fluid  ;  and  the  spermatheca  distended  with  a  per- 
fectly colorless,  transparent,  viscid  liquid,  vntliout  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.  Xo\v  this  is  so  completely 
contrary  to  fact  (PI.  XVIII.,  .4,  i>,)  that  it  was  a  natural 
inference  that  this  acute  and  thoroughly  honest  observer 
made  no  microscopic  dissections  of  the  insects  which  he 
examined.  I  consider  myself  peculiarly  fortunate,  in 
having  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  thf-v  would  not  have  done,  if  a  fertile  worker 


40  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXET-BEE. 

had  been  present,  by  which  the  drone-eggs  had  been  de- 
posited. 

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  eg^  from  which  they 
were  rearing  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  mi^'ht  almost  imagine  that  the  bees  had 
dosed  the  unfortunate  drone  to  death ;  as  though  they 
hoped  by  such  hberal  feeding  to  produce  a  change  in  his 
sexual  organization. 

In  the  Summer  of  1854,  I  found  another  drone-laying 
queen  in  my  Apiary,  with  wings  so  shrivelled  that  slie 
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,  185.5,  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  in 
which  she  was  hatched  was  exposed  to  the  full  liizht  of 
day;  the  entrance  small,  and  diflicult  to  find;  and  I  had 
noticed  on  several  occasions,  that  when  the  drones  left 
the  hive  in  the  greatest  numbers,  the  queen  seemed  un- 
able to  find  her  way  out.     At  such  times  she  manifested 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-BEE.  41 

unusual  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  adaj^t  them  to  the  growth  of  their  occu- 
pants. 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  tho 
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  iu  each 
from  one  to  three  spermatozoa ;  while  he  found  none  in 
dissecting  drone-eggs. 

Dr.  Donhoff,  of  Germany,  in  the  Summer  1855,  reared 
a  worker-larvae  from  a  drone-egg,*  which  he  had  artifi- 
cially impregnated. 

*  I  attempted  to  do  this  in  1852  ;  but  to  my  great  disappointment,  tho  bees  re 
moved  or  devoured  all  the  eggs  thus  treated  ;  owing  as  I  then  supposed  to  their 
unwillingness  to  raise  workers  in  drone-cells.  If  some  of  tho  oges  just  deposited 
in  a  piece  of  drone  comb  are  touched  with  a  flno  brush  dipped  in  the  diluted  semen 


42  THE    niVE    AND    HOXEY-EEE. 

Aristotle  noticed,  more  than  2,000  years  ago,  that  the 
esT^'S  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. 

It  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  incapa- 
ble 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  somethinof  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, 

of  drones,  and  given  to  bees  which  have  neither  queen  nor  brood  of  any  kind,  I 
beUeve  that  queeus,  workers,  and  drones,  may  be  raised  from  them. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HONEY-BEE.  43 

and  religion  alike  teach  iis  to  receiye,  with  becoming 
reverence,  all  imdoubted  facts,  whether  in  the  natural  or 
spiritual  world ;  assured  that  however  mysterious  they 
may  appear  to  us,  they  are  beautifully  consistent  in  the 
sight  of  Him  whose  "  understanding  is  infinite." 

All  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  bee-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  to  lay,  she  puts  her  head 
into  a  cell,  and  remains  in  that  position  for  a  second  or 
two,  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  adiuit.  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  in  the  economy  of  the  bee,  we 

*  «•  If  it  were  possible,"'  said  an  able  German  Apiarian,  in  1846, '« to  ascertain  the 
reproductive  process  of  be..s  with  as  much  certaijity  as  tluit  of  our  domcftic  ani- 
mals, bee-culture  might  unquestionably  be  pursued  with  positive  assurance  of 
proflt ;  and  would  assume  a  high  rank  among  the  various  branches  of  rural 
r  tonomy." 

t  8he  is  thus  sure  to  deix»sit  the  egg  in  the  selected  cell. 


44  TEE    III  YE    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 
(PI.  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  imchanged  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 (PI.  XIII.,  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 
nourished  ;  it  becomes  gradually  enlarged  in  its  dimen- 
sions, 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  required,  that  none  remains  in  the  cell  when  it  is  trans- 
formed to  a  nymj^h.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  eminent 
naturalists,  that  farina  does  not  constitute  the  sole  food 
of  the  larvaj  but  that  it  consists  of  a  mixture  of  fiirina, 
honey,  and  water,  partly  digested  in  the  stomachs  of  th«3 
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  thnt  of  a 
worker),  and  thus  difiering  from  thnt  of  a  honey-cell,  which 
is  paler  and  somewhat  concave."     The  cap  of  the  brood- 

*  '«  Rovan  on  tlio  Hon-iy-Boe." 


Fig.  16. 


Plate  V. 


'^e-c 


NATURAL    HISTOEY    OF    THE    HONEY-BEE.  45 

cell  is  made  uot  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  oiF  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, 
is  has  usually  borne  the  name  of  nymph^  or  impa.  It  has 
now  attained  its  full  growth,  and  the  large  amount  of 
nutriment  which  it  has  taken  serves  as  a  store  for  devel- 
oping the  perfect  insect. 

"  The  wovhing  hee-iiymph  spins  its  cocoon  in  thirty-six 
hours.  After  passing  about  throe  days  in  this  state  of 
preparation  for  a  new  existence,  it  gradually  undergoes  so 
great  a  change  (PI.  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  ^^^  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  colls 
become  smaller,  and  their  partitions  stronger,  the  oftener 
they  change  their  tenants ;  and  may  become  so  nmcb 
diminished  in  size,  as  not  to  admit  of  the  perfect  develop- 
ment of  full-sized  bees. 


46  THE    niVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

"  Such  are  the  respective  stages  of  the  Avorking-bee  : — 
those  of  the  royal  bee  are  as  follows :  she  passes  three 
days  in  the  (^gg^  and  is  live  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  workei-s  and  drones  spin  complete  cocoons,  or 
Inclose  themselves  on  every  side,  while  the  royal  larvas 
construct  only  imj^erfect  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  maybe  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  larviie  spun  complete  cocoons,  the  stings 
of  the  queens  seeking  to  destroy  their  rivals  might  be  so 
entangled  in  their  meshes  that  they  could  not  be  disen- 
gaged. '  Such,'  says  Huber,  '  is  the  instinctive  enmity  of 
young  queens  to  each  other,  that  I  have  seen  one  of  them, 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HONEY-BEE.  i7 

immediately  on  its  emergence  from  the  cell,  rush  to  those 
of  its  sisters,  and  tear  to  pieces  even  the  imperfect  larvae. 
Hitherto,  philosophers  have  claimed  our  admiration  of  na- 
ture for  her  care  in  preserving  and  multiplying  the  species. 
But  from  tt.ese  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  dees  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 
from  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  in- 
active, as  long  as  circumstances  require.  The  old  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  suflicient  heat,  fewer 

*  Huber  attributes  her  rcdiicerl  s'ze  before  swarming  to  a  wrong  cause. 


48  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

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

In  the  latitude  of  Northern  Massachusetts,  I  have  found 
that  the  queen  ordinarily  ceases  to  lay  some  time  in  Octo- 
ber; and  bijgins  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  cells  with  sealed 
brood  in  the  third.  Strong  stocks  even  in  the  coldest  cli- 
mates 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,  in- 
stead of  depositing  her  eggs  in  cells  where  they  are  not 
"svanted.  What  a  difierence  between  her  and  the  stupid 
hen,  which  so  obstinately  persists  in  sitting  upon  addled 
eggs,  pieces  of  chalk,  and  often  upon  nothing  at  aU ! 

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 


Fiff.  18. 


Plate  VI. 


^ 


Ficr.  V2. 


Fig.  19. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-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  fi'om  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  "v\dth  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  in  her  fourth  year, 
although  she  has  been  known  to  Uve  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  Dkoxes  are,  unquestionably,  the 
male  bees ;  dissection  provmg  that  they 
V^  have  the  appropriate  organs  of  genera- 
tion. They  are  much  larger  and  stouter 
^■^^i^  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  fi'om  the  flowers  ;  no  baskets  on  their  thighs 
for  holding  bee-bread,  and  no  pouches  on  their  al)domens 
for  secreting  wax.  They  are,  therefore,  physically  dis- 
quaUfied  for  the  ordinary  work  of  the  hive.  Their  proper 
oflice  is  to  impregnate  the  young  queens,  and  they  are 

3 


60  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-liEE. 

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, 
amoimting  not  merely  to  hundreds,  but  sometimes  to  thou- 
sands. As  a  single  one  Avill  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  li\4ng  in  a  forest,  which  often  has  no  neighbors 
for  miles.  A  good  stock,  even  in  our  climate,  sometimes 
sends  out   three  or  more   swanns,  and  in  the   tropical 


NATURAL    HltSTOKr    OF    THE    HONET-BEP:.  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  be 
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  killmg  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  fi-equently  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  Avorker-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  300,  la 
three  years, 
t  Such  traps  were  used  in  Aristotle's  tinae. 


62  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-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  wheu 
diiven  from  the  hive,  they  cannot  return.  If  not  ejected 
in  either  of  these  summary  ways,  they  are  so  persecuted 
and  starved,  th"  c  they  soon  perish.  At  such  times  they 
often  retreat  ti'om  the  comb,  and  keep  by  themselves  upon 
the  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  ser^dces,  impels  the  bees 
to  destroy  those  members  of  the  colony  reared  but  a  short 
time  before  with  such  devoted  attention ! 

Xone  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  Jdve^  instead  of  m  the  open  air.  A  few 
dozen  drones  would  then  have  sufficed  for  the  wants  of 
any  colony,  even  if  it  swanned,  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 


NATrEAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-BEE.  53 

prompted  by  a  true  philosophy.  Xeither  our  ignorance 
of  all  the  flicts  necessary  to  their  full  elucidation,  nor  our 
inability  to  harmonize  these  facts  in  their  mutual  relations 
and  dependencies,  A^nll  justify  us  in  rejecting  any  truth 
which  God  has  seen  fit  to  reveal,  either  in  the  book  ot 
nature,  or  in  His  holy  word.  The  man  who  would  substi- 
tute his  own  speculations  for  the  divine  teachings,  has 
embarked  Ts-ithout  rudder  or  chart,  pilot  or  compass,  on 
an  uncertain  ocean  of  theory  and  conjecture ;  unless  he 
turns  his  prow  from  its  fital  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  'iecs,'  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 
"  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    HIYE    AND    HOXEY-BEK. 

would  eventually  have  "  run  out."  By  the  present  arrange- 
ment, the  young  queens  when  they  leave  the  hive,  often 
find  the  ah*  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 
fi'om  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  'sdgor.  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  liives,  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  fi'om  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  workei-s  are  all 
females  whose  ovaiies  arv"*,  too  imperfectly  developed  to 
admit   of   their  lapng   eggs.      Being   for    a  long   time 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-BEE.  55 

reorarded  as  neither  males  nor  females,  thev  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  kno^vn  facts  respecting  fertile  workers. 

Riem,  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  in  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  knowii 
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 
2)ortion  of  the  royal  jelly  to  larva?,  which,  for  some  reason, 
they  do  not  devclope  as  full  grown  queens ;  and  that  such 
larvaj  become  fertile  M'orkers.  Iluber  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 
email  piece  of  drone  size,  a  fertile  worker  filled  the  latter 


56  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-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.  XYI.,  Fig.  51).  With  this  organ  she  obtains  the 
honey  from  the  blossoms,  and  conveys  it  to  her  honey-bag. 
This  receptacle  (PI.  XVII.,  Fig.  54,  A),  is  not  larger  than 
a  veiy  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  fi'om  the  flowers. 

Every  worker  is  amied  with  a  formidable  sting,  and 
when  provoked  makes  instant  and  effectual  use  of  her 
natural  weapon.  When  subjected  to  a  microscopic  exam- 
ination (PI.  XYII.,  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  glanda 
uniting  in  one  duct,  eject  the  venomous  liquid  along  the 
groove  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two  piercers. 
There  are  fom*  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 

*  Bevan. 


NATL'RAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HONEY-BEE.  5? 

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,  '  afibrds  an  example  of  the  union  oi  chemistry 
and  mechanism ;  of  chemistry,  in  respect  to  the  venom 
which  can  produce  such  powerful  efiects ;  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  inefiectual,  ^Wthout  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 
'^ven  to  cleave  wood.  An  exceedinfjlv  small  needle  beingr 
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  lier  sting 
she  parts  with  a  portion  of  her  intestines,  and  of  necessity 
soon  perishes. 

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


68  THE    i/'VE    A2sD    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 
bave  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  lapng  of  eggs  excepted,  is  carried 
on  by  the  industrious  little  workers. 

There  may  be  (/e/^^^ewe^^  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  ot  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  Uve  sLx  or 

•  Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this  treatise,  I  have  had  an  opportu- 
■Ity  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-boe,  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 

<even  months;  but  their  age  depends  Yery  much  upon 
their  greater  or  less  exposure  to  injurious  influences,  and 
seYere  labors.  Those  reared  in  the  Spring  and  early  pail 
of  Sumraer,  upon  whom  the  heaYicst  labors  of  the  hiYe 
dcYolve,  appear  to  Hyc  not  more  than  two  or  three 
mc>ijdis*;  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  Yery 
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. 

Xotclied  and  ragged  ^Hngs,  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  liive,  and  see  the  indefatigable 
energy  of  these  industrious  veterans,  toiling  along  with 
tlieir  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  slothfiil 
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  wliich  individual  members  of  the  community 
may  attain,  must  not  be  confounded  witli  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  aimually 

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


t)0  TTTE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

for  forty-six  years !  "  Such  cases  have  led  to  the  erroneou 
opmion,  that  bees  are  a  long-lived  race.  But  this,  as  Dr. 
Evans  has  observed,  is  just  as  wise  as  if  a  stranger,  con* 
templatmg  a  populous  city,  and  personally  unacquainted 
with  its  mhabitants,  should,  on  paymg  it  a  second  A'isit, 
many  years  after,  and  findmg  it  equally  populous,  miagine 
^hat  it  was  peopled  by  the  same  individuals,  not  ono  of 
«hom  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  suppUes, 
They  droop  successive,  and  successive  rise.'  " 

Evans. 

The  cocoons  spun  by  the  larvae  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  small  foi^  the  proper  development  of  the  young,  very 
old  combs  should  be  removed  from  the  hive.  It  is  a  gi'oat 
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  eflbi-t 
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,  tlie  pretended  rifjht  to  use  which  is 
fraudulently  sold  to  the  cheated  purchaser.* 

Apiarians,  unaware  of  the  brevity  of  the  bee's  hfe,  ha » e 
often  constructed  huge  "bee-palaces"  and  large  closets, 
vamly  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  milUons  or  billioiis. 
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  Uien 
can  be  thus  deceived,  when  often  in  theii'  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 
liundred  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  a»  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 in  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  pcrts  of  the  patent. 

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


OZ  THE    HTTE    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  \Yinter.  Had  these  in- 
sects, like  the  bee,  been  able  to  commence  the  season 
witli  the  accumulated  strength  of  a  large  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,  i,  c^d)^  which  are  not  attached  to  the 
sides  of  the  hive.  These  cells  somewhat  resemble  a  small 
pea  nut  (PI.  XIII.,  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.  XFS^.,  c.) 
These  queen-cells,  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    HOXEY-BEE.  63 

inferred  fi'om  their  being  the  center  of  so  much  attrac- 
tion. 

While  the  other  cells  open  sideways,  the  queen-cells 
always  hang  with  their  mouth  downicards.  Some  Apia- 
rians think  that  this  peculiar  position  afieets,  in  some  way, 
the  development  of  the  royal  larvie  ;  while  others,  having 
ascertained  that  they  are  uninjured  if  placed  in  any  other 
position,  consider  this  de^iiation  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 smiply  to  save  room.  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,  Avhere  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 
time.  It  is  not  fiilly  settled  how  the  eggs  are  deposited 
in  these  cells.  In  some  ftw  instances,  I  have  thought  that 
the  bees  transferred  the  eggs  from  common  to  queen-ceUs  ; 
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 
tlie  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  he  in  a 


64  THE    HH'E    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  larva3,  it  has  a  shghtly 
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  then-  combs. 

I  submitted  some  royal  jelly  to  Dr.  Charles  M.  Wethe- 
rell,  of  Philadelphia ;  an  interesting  account  of  his  analy- 
sis may  be  found  in  the  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Philadelphia  Academy  of  Xatural  Sciences  for  July,  1852. 
He  speaks  of  the  substance  as  being  a  "  truly  bread-con- 
taining, albuminous  compound."  A  comparison  of  its 
elements  v.-ith  the  food  of  the  drone  and  worker-laiwae, 
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-^vitnesses  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  their 
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  ofiice  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.  XVIII.)  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  fi-om 
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  more  than  six  or  seven 
months ;  as  a  queen,  it  may  live  seven  or  eight  times  as 
long.  All  these  wonders  rest  on  the  impregnable  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  bv  day  in  making  observations,  and  as  con- 
stantly by  night  in  recording  them  by  drawings  and  suitable  explanations. 

"  His  daily  l.ibor  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 


bb  THE  hi^t:  and  hoxet-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  thi'ee  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  X\  111.,  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 
roval  cell  (5\  is  a  perfect  queen-cell,  from  which  the 
inmate  has  not  yet  emerged.  The  queen-cell  (a),  repre- 
sents the  cap  or  hd  as  it  often  appears  just  after  the  young 
queen  has  hatched.  The  queen-cell  (c/),  which  is  open  at 
the  side,  is  one  from  which  a  young  queen  has  been  vio- 
lently abstracted ;  the  other  (c),  is  one  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- 
tinne  any  longer  upon  such  small  objects. 

"  He  often  wished,  tlie  better  to  accomplish  his  Tast,  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.'^ 


■N^ATURAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    HOXEY-BEE.  67 

bles  one  only  a  few  days  old.  On  the  face  of  the  comb  is 
a  cell  {?i),  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  mornmg,  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  famihar 
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  m  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    HIYE    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 
imder  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  apjDlied  to  the  wonders 
of  the  bee-hive,  is  it  entitled  to  serious  weight,  Avhen,  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  beUeve  any  of  the  wonders  of  the  bee-hive, 
even  although  he  is  himself  an  intelligent  eye-witness  to 
their  substantial  truth. 


Fis?.  20. 


Plate  VII. 


COMB.  69 


CHAPTER   IV. 

COMB. 

Wax  is  a  natural  secretion  of  bees,  and  may  be  called 
their  oil  or  fat.  "When  gorged  Tv-ith  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.  XIII.,  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  flutterers  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  Hubcr'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    IIITE    AXD    HONEY-BEE. 

being  taken  from  them,  and  the  bees  supplied  T\-ith  honey 
and  T\'ater,  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.  GiWng 
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  Ruber'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,  ^^ithout  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 focts,  usually  requires  severe  and  protracted  labor. 

Honey  and  sugar  contain  by  weight  about  eight  pounds 
of  oxygen  to  one  of  carbon  and  hydrogen.     Wlien  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.  Xow  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  tv.ecty 
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  poimds  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  l)e  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  ordinaiy  liives  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  ono  hundred  and  eightieth  part  of  an  inch  I 


72  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

When  new,  it  maybe  easily  attached  to  frames,  or  spare 
honey-receptacles,  by  dipping  the  edge  into  melted  wax, 
and  firmly  holdmg  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  ^\dll  secure  a  finuer  adhesion. 
WHien  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  mii- 
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  flicilitate  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  pomid  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 
Btocks  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  YIII. 


I 


co:mb.  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  fan*  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  f\il, 
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  clear  moonlight  nights,  I  have  known  bees  to  gather  hoa         vm  the 
tulip  tree  {Liriodendron  ttUi2]fera). 

4 


74  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

The  size  of  the  cells  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  disjDlay  an  admirable  saga- 
city in  making  the  transition  by  a  set  of  irregular  inter- 
mediate cells.  Plate  XY.  (Fig.  48),  exhibits  an  accurate 
and  beautiful  representation  of  comb,  draA^m  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,  vnXh  its  three  four-sided  figures  at  the 
base! 

The  shape  of  these  figures  cannot  be  altered  ever  so  lit- 
tle, except  for  the  worse.  In  addition  to  the  desirable 
quahties  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  kno'WTi  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, 
Avhich  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  oif  through  the  reticulated  cover  of  its 
cell ;  may  not  a  hexagon,  therefore,  wliile  approaching  so 
nearly  to  the  shape  of  a  circle,  as  not  to  incommode  the 
young  bee,  furnish,  in  its  six  comers,  the  necessary  vacan- 
cies for  a  more  thorough  ventilation  ? 

Is  it  credible  that  these  little  hisects  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  acknowledo-e 
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- 


76  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

did  miiid,  the  smallest  piece  of  honey-comb  is  a  perfect 
demonstration  that  there  is  a  "  Gkeat  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  Grecian  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   Y. 

PROPOLIS. 

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  Avhile  bringing 
in  a  load,  it  will  be  found  to  adhere  very  firmly  to  her 
legs. 

"  Huber  planted  in  Spring  some  branches  of  the  -w-ild 
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  vriih  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 


FKOPOLIS.  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  smi. 

Propolis  is  freqnently  gathered  from  the  alder,  horse- 
chestnnt,  birch,  and  willoAV ;  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  vicmity  of  Matamoras,  Mexico,  Avhere  propolis 
seems  to  be  scarce,  I  saw  them  using  green  paint  from  win- 
dow-blinds, 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  ^nth  their  fore  feet, 
and  transferring  it  to  the  hinder  legs,  as  described  by 
Huber. 

"  With  merry  hum  the  Willow's  copse  they  scale, 
The  Fir's  dark  pyramid,  or  Poplar  pale ; 
Scoop  from  the  Alder's  leaf  its  oo/y  flood, 
Or  strip  the  Chestnut's  resin-coated  bud  ; 
Skim  the  light  tear  that  tips  Narcissus'  ray, 
Or  round  the  Flollyhock'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  ai-e  varnished  with  a  delicate 
coating  of  propolis,  which  adds  greatly  to  their  strength ; 


78  THE    HIYE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

but  as  this  natural  rarnish  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  Uberal  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, 
w^hich  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  difiicult  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  ^ 
to  bees,  it  is  honey  y  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 
Year  after  year,  life's  loitering  spark  remains.' 

Evans. 

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

♦  Bevan, 


PROPOLIS.  79 

being  unable  to  dislodge  it,  they  covered  it  all  over  ^-itli 
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  shower; 
Embalmed  in  shroud  of  glue  the  mummy  lies. 
No  worms  invade,  no  foul  miasmas  rise.' 

Evans. 

"  In  these  instances,  who  can  withhold  liis  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  impenetrabihty  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  ^Yith.  these  sagacious  creatures,  at  the  least 
possible  expense  of  labor  and  materials.  They  applied 
theu'  cement  where  alone  it  was  required — round  the 
verge  of  the  shell.  I?i  the  latter  case^  to  obidate  the  e\il 
of  decay,  by  the  total  exclusion  of  air,  they  were  obliged 
to  be  more  lavish  in  the  use  of  their  embalimnc:  material, 
and  to  case  over  the  '  slime-girt  giant,'  so  as  to  guard 
themselves  from  his  noisome  smell.  \Aniat  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  theu*  sorrowmg  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  ahght  upon  the  coffin 
whenever  it  is  exposed.  A  clergj-man  told  me,  that  he 
attended  a  ftmeral,  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, 
beinor  ensras-ed  in  varnishing^  a  table,  the  bees  ahorhted 
upon  it  in  such  numbers,  as  to  convince  hun,  that  love  of 
varnish,  rather  than  sorrow  or  respect  for  the  dead,  was 
the  occasion  of  their  conduct  at  the  ftmeral.  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-BREAD." 

Pollen  is  gathered  by  the  bees  from  blossoms,  and  is 
indispensable  to  the  nourishment  of  their  young — repeat- 
ed experiments  harag  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  disced- ery,  that  pol- 
len is  the  principal  food  of  the  youns:  bees.     As  large 


POLLEN.  81 

supplies  were  often  found  in  bives  whose  inmates  had 
starved,  it  was  evident  that,  without  honey,  it  could  not 
support  the  mature  bees ;  and  this  led  former  obser^'ers 
to  conclude  that  it  served  for  the  building  of  comb.  Ru- 
ber, after  demonstrating  that  wax  can  be  secreted  fi'om 
an  entu'ely  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  Tvith  honey,  eggs,  and  larvae.  In  a  short  time, 
the  young  aU  perished.  A  fi-esh  supply  of  brood  being 
given  to  them,  with  an  ample  allowance  of  pollen,  the 
development  of  the  larvae  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  artifici;d 
swarm  of  the  previous  year,  and  found  many  of  the  cells 
filled  A^-ith  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  time,  and  at  a  great  expense  of 
vital  energy  ;  just  as  the  strength  of  an  animal  nursing  its 
young  is  i-apidly  reduced,  if,  for  want  of  proper  food,  th( 
very  sul)staiice  of  the  mother's  body  must  be  convei'ted 
into  milk.  The  experiment  just  described  does  not  cor 
roboi-ate  this  theory,  but  confirms  Iluber's  view,  tliat 
pollen  is  indispensable  to  the  development  of  bi-ood. 

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


82  THE    HITE    AND    H0NP:Y-BEE. 

colony  vrith  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  T\'ill  be 
hatched ;  but  the  worms  will  all  die  within  twenty-four 
hours. 

Some  Apiarians  beheve  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, ^\dthout  pollen,  severely  taxes  their  strength. 

In  September,  1856,  I  put  a  very  large  colony  of  bees 
into  a  new  hive,  to  determine  some  points  on  which  I  was 
then  experimenting.  The  Aveather  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 
cdlild  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  can  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 
farma  adheres.  AVith  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  fi'om  her  thighs  what 
they  want  for  immediate  use ;  the  rest  she  stores  away 
for  future  need,  by  inserting  her  body  in  a  cell  and  brush- 
ing it  from  her  legs ;  it  is  then  carefully  packed  do^Ti, 
being  often  covered  with  honey,  and  sealed  over  ^dth 
wax.  Pollen  is  very  rarely  deposited  in  any  except 
worker-cells. 

Aristotle  observed,  that  a  bee,  hi  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  foimd  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  fi-om  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  knoT\Ti, 
it  is  only  of  late  that  any  attempts  have  been   made  to 


84  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

furnish  a  substitute.  Dzierzon,  early  hi  the  Spring, 
observed  liis  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-keepmg  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  Avdth  finely  ground^ 
dry^  unbolted  rye-meal.  Thousands  of  bees,  when  the 
w^eather  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 ;  prefening  the  meal  to  the  old  pollen  stored  in 
their  combs.  They  thus  breed  early,  and  rapidly  recruit 
their  numbers.  The  feeding  is  continued  tiD,  the  blos- 
soms furnishmg  a  preferable  article,  they  cease  to  carry 
ofi"  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 
SAvarm. 

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  suftering  for  the  want  of  it,  wlifin 
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  fi-uit-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  ti.eir  beautiful  peaches  and  pears, 
and  choicest  grapes  and  plums. 

In  conversation  with  a  gentleman,  I  once  assigned  three 
reasons,  why  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  suppUes  of  honey  from  the  blossoms  had  entirely 
failed,  the  season  (1854)  behig  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  skiu 
even  of  his  most  delicate  grapes. 


86  THE    HITE    AND    HOXEY-BEE. 

In  reply  to  these  arguments,  being  invited  to  go  to  his 
vines,  and  see  the  depredators  in  the  very  act,  the  result 
justified  my  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  aUght  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 "v^-ith  strong,  saw-like  jaws,  for  cutting  the  woody  fibre 
with  wliich  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 
o^vn  private  bone. 

After  the  mischief  has  been  begun  by  other  insects,  or 
wherever  a  cracJx\  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  mquire  it^ 
on  the  whole,  they  are  not  far  more  usefiil  than  injurious. 
As  bees  carry  on  their  bodies  the  pollen,  or  fertilizing 
substance,  they  aid  most  powerfully  in  the  impregnation 
of  plants,  while  prj^ing  into  the  blossoms  in  search  of 
honey  or  bee-bread.  In  genial  seasons,  fruit  vnW  often  set 
abundantly,  even  if  no  bees  are  kept  in  its  vicinity ;  but 


POLLEN.  87 

many  Springs  are  so  unpropitions,  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  sun  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  hihos- 
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  Spruig  for  all 
wasps  and  hornets  destroyed  in  their  vicinity. 

Fig.  62  (PI.  XIII.),  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,  higlily  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  destructi^'e  to 
them." 


88  THE    HIVE    AND    H0NF:Y-BEE. 


CHAPTER    yil. 

VEXTTLATIOX    OF    THE    BEE-HITE. 

If  a  populous  stock  is  examined  on  a  warm  day,  a  num- 
ber of  bees  may  be  seen  standing  upon  the  alighting- 
board,  with  theu'  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  s^vift  rotation  on  its  axis.  A 
brisk  current  of  air  may  be  felt  proceeding  fi*om  the  hive  ; 
and  if  a  small  piece  of  doT\ni  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  au*  ?  To  Huber,  we  owe  the  satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  these  curious  phenomena.  The  bees  thus  singu- 
larly plying  their  rapid  \sings,  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  expermients,  Huber  ascertamed 
that  the  air  of  a  crowded  hive  is  almost  as  pure  as  tlie  sur- 
rounding atmosphere.  Xow,  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  fiom  one  open- 


YiiT.  22. 


Plate  IX. 


>--  -^  -y.-^rvvyi^t^:^'^;^  '/<^/^0/r/,: ':  ^  /g;v  <:^ . ;  ^x^^^^^^^&■,^^^\^^>^^:y;%i;%^-/^^ 


m 


VENTILATION.  89 

ing,  an  equal  current  will  force  its  way  into  the  other,  and 
the  lamp  will  burn  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  t^vinlding" 
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  time,  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  m  their  laborious  emplo}Tnent.  If 
its  entrance  is  contracted,  speedy  accessions  will  be  made 
to  their  nmnbers,  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  liive ;  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  m  a  short  time,  if 
mirefieved,  will  die  of  sufibcation. 

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    AXD    HOXEY-BEE. 

cially  in  warm  weather,  to  confine  them,  miless  they  have  a 
very  fi-ee  admission  of  air ;  and  even  then,  miless  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  fetal  to  human  bemgs  ?  the  filthy,  damp,  and  imven- 
tilated  abodes  of  the  abject  poor,  becoming  perfect  lazar- 
houscs  to  their  wretched  inmates. 

I  have  several  times  examined  the  bees  of  new  swarms 
which  were  brought  to  my  Apiary,  so  closely  confined,  that 
they  Lad  di-  ;d  of  sufibcation.  In  each  instance,  their  bodies 
were  distei  ded  ^Wth  a  yellow  and  noisome  substance,  as 
though  they  had  perished  fi'om  dysentery.  A  few  were 
still  alive,  and  although  the  colony  had  been  shut  up  only 
a  few  hour-j,  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 
times,  they  are  particularly  careful  not  to  cluster  on  new 
combs  containing  sealed  honey,  Avhich,  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  tilings  are  so  well  fitted  to  imj^ress  the  mind  with 
their  admirable  sagacity,  as  the  truly  scientific  deA^ice  by 
which  they  ventilate  their  dwellmgs.  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  Avas  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  eftbrt  ?  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    AXD    HOXET-BEE. 

ment;  nor  might  thev,  as  some  shallow  utilitarian  may 
imagine,  be  better  employed  in  gathering  honey,  or 
sujDerintending  some  other  department  in  the  economy  of 
the  hive.  At  great  expense  of  time  and  labor,  they  are 
supplyuig  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  jjreater  activ- 
ity  by  au--tight,  or  rather  lung-tight  stoves,*  which  can 
economize  ftiel  only  by  squandering  health  and  endan- 
gering life.  Xot  only  our  private  houses,  but  all  our 
places  of  pubhc  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  sufier  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  emplo^mients  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.  Troadwell,  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,  "  m  the  signs  of  physical  health,  com- 
23are  most  unfavorably  with  all  but  the  absolutely  starving 
classes  in  Europe;"  all  these  indications  of  debihty,  to 
say  nothing  of  their  care-worn  foces  and  joremature 
wrmkles,  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,  ^ill  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  chmate,  whose  severe  extremes  of  tempera- 
ture forcibly  impress  upon  the  bee-keeper,  the  maxim  of 
Vii-gil, 

"  Utraque  vis  pariter  apibus  mctuenda." 
"  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  compUcated  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  opening? 
into  their  hollow  trees  are  so  small,  that  they  must  employ 


94  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

in  hot  weather,  a  larger  force  in  ventUation,  than  would 
otherwise  he  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  mjure  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  in  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 
alloTsing  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  liive  should  all  be  kept  opeu. 


REQUISITES    OF    A    COMPLETE    HIVE.  95 


CHAPTER    YIII. 

REQUISITES    OF    A    COMPLETE     HITE. 

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  mviting  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 
A\dll  serve  to  test  the  comparative  merits  of  the  various 
hives  in  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  cuttinsj  them,  or  enrao-ino;  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  manao-incr  them. 

3.  It  should  afford  suitable  protection  agamst  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  tlie  anger  of  the  bees. 

5.  Xot  one  unnecessary  motion  should  be  requu-ed  ot 
a  single  bee. 


96  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 
wliich  compel  them  to  travel  ^dth  their  heavy  burdens 
thi'ough  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,  fi'om  any  comb  in  the  liive,  and  into  every  box, 
without  traveling  at  all  over  the  combs. 

6.  It  should  afford  suitable  faciUties  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  Tvith  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,  mstead  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  raismg  drones,  cannot  be  expected  to 
prosper. 

11.  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 


Fig.  23. 


Plate  X. 


Fig.  73. 


REQUISITES    OF    A    COMPLETE    HIVE.  97 

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

This  is  effected,  in  my  hives,  by  adjusting  the  blocks 
(PI.  III.,  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 
stormg  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  hi  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 
Tnder  which  worms,  when  fully  grown,  will  retreat  to  spin 
heir  webs.  In  my  hive,  there  is  no  place  where  the  moth 
>an  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,  liowever,  any  prefer  mova- 
ble bottom-boards,  they  can  be  used  in  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. 

5 


98  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

20.  The  bottom-board  should  admit  of  behig  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, 
wlien  the  weather  moderates,  the  bees  often  fall  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  reflise  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  Tvdth  no  risk  from  robber-})ees. 

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  ^nth  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 
liers,  and  the  bee-moth ;  and  when  the  entrance  is  altered, 


REQUISITES    OF    A    COMPLETE    HIVE.  99 

the  bees  ought  not,  as  m  most  hives,  to  lose  vahiable  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  fi'ee  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  w411  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  hnportant  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  mam  hive,  by  remov- 
ing the  full  frames,  and  supplpng  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  the  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,  containmg  a 
large  amount  of  bee-bread,  and  bemg  of  a  size  adapted 
to  the  breeding  of  workers,  will  be  very  suitable  for  aiding 
weak  colonies. 


REQUISITES    OF    A    COMPLKTE    HIVE.  101 

36.  It  should  be  able  to  compel  the  force  of  a  colony  to 
be  mainly  directed  to  raismg  yomig  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  sim  may  be  allowed  in  early 
Spring  to  encourage  breedmg,  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  Lq  the  usual  way. 
Even  on  this  plan,  the  control  of  the  combs  ^ill  be  found 
to  afford  unusual  advantages. 

Non-swarming  hives,  managed  in  the  ordhiary  way,  are 
liable  to  swarm  unexpectedly,  in  spite  of  aU  precautions. 
In  my  hives,  the  queen  may  be  prevented  from  leavhig, 
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  surplus  honey,  to  prevent 
their  swarnnng  more  than  once  in  a  season. 

41.  It  should  enable  the  Apiarian,  who  relies  on  natural 
swarming,  and  ^^4shes  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  strengtliened,  usually  make  the  best  stock- 
hives.  My  hives  enable  me  to  supply  all  such  swarms  at 
once  with  combs  containing  bee-bread,  lioney,  and  matur- 
ing brood. 


102  THE    HIVE    AXD    HONEY-BEE. 

42.  It  should  enable  the  Apiarian  to  multiply  his  colo- 
nies with  a  certainty  and  rapidity  which  are  impossible  if 
he  depends  ujDon  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  fertihty 
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  wdth  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  hif» 
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  lias  had  the  ordinary  share  of  vexatious  experi- 
ence witl   such  fixtures. 


reqthsites  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  mth  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  sho'ild  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  Avhere  the  bees  will 
most  need  it. 

If  the  latter  part  of  the  season  has  been  unpropitious, 
the  centre  combs,  in  which  a  colony  usually  -w-inters,  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,  -w-ithout  detriment  either  to 
the  bees,  or  to  theii'  owner. 

K  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  m  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  carrj-ing 
it  bodily  away. 

CO.  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.  lUo 

61.  A  complete  Live,  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,  -vdthout  being 
exceedingly  complicated  and  expensive.  On  the  contrary, 
the  cheapness  and  simpUcity  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  j^oints 
besides.  Bees  can  work,  in  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  Avhile 
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  all  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  former  seek  for  some  kind  of 
wheat  wliicli  will  yield  an  enormous  crop,  in  any  soil,  and 
in  every  season. 

It  cannot  enable  the  cultivator,  while  rapidly  multij>ly- 
ing  his  stocks,  to  secure  the  largest  yield  of  honey  from  his 
bees.  As  well  might  the  breeder  of  poultry  pretend,  that 
in  the  same  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 
cheaijly,  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  endeaAored  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 
Avants  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  pubhc.  I  would, 
however,  utterly  repudiate  all  claims  to  having  devised  even 
a  perfect  bee-hive.  Perfection  belongs  only  to  the  works 
of  Him,  to  whose  onmiscient  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, tliat  it  is  no  wonder  they  turn  from  everything 


REQUISITES   OF    A    COMPLETE   HIVE.  107 

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

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  m  advance  of  a  simple  box-hive,  with  an  upper 
chamber. 

A  hive  of  the  simplest  possible  constimction^  is  a  close 
imitation  of  the  abode  of  bees  in  a  state  of  nature :  beingr 
a  mere  hollow  receptacle,  where,  protected  from  the 
weather,  they  can  lay  up  then-  stores.  A7i  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  m  propor- 
tion as  they  depart  from  it.  While  they  tempt  the  com- 
mon bee-keeper  to  ruinous  departures  ti-om  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 
msect,  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 
substantial  advance  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 
tlie  spare  honey-boxos. 


108  THE    HR'E    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

Havins:  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  trials  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' 
me?it,  but  a  coi/ijylete  revolution  in  bee-keeping." 


SWARMING    AND    HTYING.  109 


CHAPTER   IX. 

NATURAI.   SWARMIXG,    AXD    HIVIXG    OF    SAVARMS. 

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  eve 

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  m  colonies  during  the  wann 
weather  only,  as  hornets,  was}xs,  and  liumble-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  Avhile  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  anunation,  as  to  recall  to  life  the 
stiifened  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  wasjis  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  Avarmth  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  ftill  advan- 
tage of  the  honey-harvest,  and  to  jirovision  the  new  hive 
against  the  ai>proach  of  Winter,     From  these  considera- 


SWARMING    AND    HIVING.  Ill 

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

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

The  time  when  new  swarais  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  })art  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*  witli 
comb,  can  no  longer  accommodate  its  teeming  ])opulation, 
the  bees  prepare  for  emigration,  by  Iniilding  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  unt:ivoral)le 
weather,  usually  leaves  soon  after  one  or  more  of  the  royal 
cells  are  sealed  over.  There  are  no  signs  from  Avhich 
the  Apiarian  can  predict  the  certain  issueof  a^r.s'^  swarm. 
For  years,  I  spent  much  time  in  the  vain  attem])t  to  dis- 
cover some  infallible  indications  of  first  swarming ;  until 
facts  convinced  me  that  there  can  be  no  such  uulications. 


*  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  Matamoraa  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  mmds, 
and  refuse  to  swarm  at  all,  even  although  their  prepara- 
tions have  been  so  fully  completed,  that,  hke  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  mth  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  withm  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  tlie  air,  -vdth  their  heads 
turnecl  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 


SWARl^nNG    AND    HTVrNTr.  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. 
Xot  a  bee  looks  behind,  but  each  pushes  straight  ahead, 
as  though  flying  "  for  dear  life,"  or  urged  on  by  some  in- 
visible 230wer,  in  its  headlong  career. 

Often,  the  queen  does  not  come  out  until  many  have 
left ;  and  she  is  fi-equently  so  heavy,  fi'om  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  Ave  to  lifteen 
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,  m  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  never 
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    HIYE    AND    HONEY-EKE. 

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  Hfe  ;  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 
Xovember  day.  Wliether,  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  ^-ish  no  better  luck  to  every  bee-master 
that  neglects  the  tradition,  than  that  he  may  lose  every 
swarm  for  which  he  omits  to  raise  tliis  time-honored  con- 
cert." 

If,  before  its  issue,  a  swarm  has  selected  a  new  home, 
no  amount  of  ??o/56  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  conmion 
when  bees  are  neglected,  seldom  occurs  when  they  are 
properly  cared  for. 

When  the  Apiarian  perceives  that  a  swarm,  instead  of 
clustering,  rises  liigher  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  theit  vagrant  propensities.  "Water  or  dirt  thrown 
among  them,  will  often  so  disorganize  them  as  to  comj>el 
them  to  alight.     Tlie  most  original  of  all  devices  for  sto])- 

*  The  pipinc  of  the  qnecn  has  a  shrill,  metallic  sound,  which  poKsihly  may  be 
overpowered  by  the  ringing,  so  as  to  distract  bees  which  intend  to  decamp,  and 
cause  them  to  alight 


SWARlinNG    AND    HITTXG.  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  elo^jing,  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,  with  unsealed  worker-brood,  may  be  transferred  to 
the  new  hive,  when  a  swarm  ^^11  seldom  forsake  it. 

It  may  generally  be  ascertained,  soon  after  hiving  a 
swarm,  whetlier  or  not  it  intends  to  remain.  If,  on  ajv 
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- jjlace, 
and  seldom  trouble  themselves  to  build  any  comb.  If  the 
hive  permits  inspection,  we  may  tell  at  a  glance  Avheu 
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  doggc<l  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    HrV'E    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  ^\ith  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  swanning,  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  kno^\Ti  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  agam,  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  an 
obvious  imperfection,  proves,  on  closer  examination,  to  be 
a  special  contrivance  to  answer  important  ends. 

To  return  to  our  new  swarm.     The  queen  sometimes 


6WAKMLXG    AND    HIYING.  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,  fi*om  weakness,  into  some  spot  where  she  is 
unnoticed  by  the  bees. 

Percei^vdng  a  hive  m  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,  TN^ith  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 
pui*pose  of  making  herself  as  conspicuous  as  possible.  Tlie 
few  bees  Avhieh  first  noticed  her,  instead  of  alighting, 
darted  rajndly  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.  ])ees 
when  on  the  ^^n.ng  intercommunicate  "wdth  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  exjJorations,  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  sufti- 
cient  elevation,  they  can  see,  at  the  distance  of  several 
miles,  any  prominent  olyects  in  the  vicinity  of  their  in- 
tended mImmK'. 


118  THE    niVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

Whether  bees  send  out  scouts  before  or  after  swaniiing, 
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 tarrjdng.  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  du-ectly  upon  them,  they  \vill  often  leave  before 
they  have  found  a  suitable  habitation.  Sometimes  the 
queen  of  an  emigrating  SAvarm,  being  heavy  A\'ith  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  attem])t  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.  Zollickoft'er,  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  e\})loi-crs  seems  to  be  unqnos- 


SWAKMING    AND    HIVING.  119 

tionable,  unless  we  can  admit  that  bees  have  the  faculty  of 
flymg  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. 

Plaving  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  srvarni  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, 
nnist  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 
wlien  there  is  a  teeming  population,  and  when  thousands 
of  young  are  daily  hatching,  and  tens  of  thousands  rapidly 
maturing,  the  hive,  in  a  short  tunc,  is  almost  as  populous 
as  it  was  before  swarming. 

Tliose  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  raooed  wini^s  of  asre,  others  are  so  vounc 
as  to  lie  barely  able  to  fiy. 


120  TUE    HR'E    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

After  the  tumult  of  swaniiiiig  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  he  the  impression 
made  upon  an  insect,  to  cause  it  in  a  few  minutes  so  com- 
pletely to  lose  its  strong  aifection  for  the  old  home,  that 
when  estahUshed  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  circi3S 
about  the  spot  where  the  missing  hive  stood ;  and  som^ ' 
times  continue  the  vain  search  for  their  companions,  unti\ 
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  time  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  reftise  to 
swarm  more  than  once ;  while  the  repeated  ''warming  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- 
Nered  innocents  (PI.  XIV.,  Fig.  47,  d),  and  remove  them 


Fig.  24. 


Fig.  26. 


Fig.  27. 


r 


Fig.  28. 


Fig.  29. 


■CO 


Fig.  30. 


=0 


SWARMING    AND    HR'ING.  121 

from  the  cells.  Their  dead  bodies  may  often  be  fomid  on 
the  gromid  in  front  of  the  hive. 

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

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  oAvn 
way,  she  is  highly  offended  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 
unhatched  queens  vn\\  respond,  in  a  somewhat  hoarser 
key,  just  as  a  cock,  by  croAving,  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  infiillible  indications  that  a  second  swarai  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  "  pijiing,"  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 

6 


122  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

begun.  If,  during  this  period,  these  notes  are  not  heard, 
it  is  an  infalliljle  indication  that  the  first  hatched  queen 
has  no  rivals ;  and  that  swarniing,  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  fi*equently  happens  in  the  agitation  of  swarming,  that 
the  usual  guard  over  the  queen-cells  is  T\'ithdrawn,  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  seer 
young  queens  thrust  out  their  tongues  ft-om  a  hole  in  their 
cell,  to  be  fed  by  the  bees.  If  allowed  to  issue  at  T\dll, 
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- 


aWARMING    AJs'D    HIVING.  123 

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

Young  queens,  whose  ovaries  are  not  burdened  with 
eggs,  are  much  quicker  on  the  wmg  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 
sometmies  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-swarmmg,  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 


12-i  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

had  been  set  out  for  them  to  duster  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  sheets  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  iox  a 
crowded  colony,  the  old  stock  being  imable  to  maintahi  the 
requisite  heat,  great  nmnbers  of  the  brood  often  perish. 

The  efiect  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  swann 
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. 


SWAKMmG    AND    HIVING.  125 

The  Apiariau  who  desii'es  by  natural  swaiTning  to  mul- 
tiply his  colonies  as  rapidly  as  possible,  will  find  full 
directions  m  the  sequel,  for  building  up  all  after-swanns, 
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  unpregnation,  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  ^nth  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,  tlie  male  organ  will  often  be  perma- 
nently extruded,  with  a  motion  very  like  the  popping  of 
roasted  pop-corn ;  and  the  insect,  "svith  a  shiver,  will  curl  up 
and  die,  as  quickly  as  if  blasted  with  the  lightiiing's  stroke. 
This  singular  provision  is  unquestionably  intended  to  give 
additional  security  to  the  queen,  when  she  leaves  her  hive  to 


12^  THE    HR'E    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

have  intercourse  with  the  drone.  Huber  first  discovered 
that  she  returned  with  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  ^\'ith  the  drone  as 
to  incur  a  very  great  lisk  of  being  devoured  by  birds. 
In  one  mstance,  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  SieboWs  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  2l8t 
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  *brmed 
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  extnict  from  my  journal : 
"■AugiiM  25th,  1S52. — 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 
Btrate  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  tasa  deferentia  of  these 
drones  were  found  to  be  full  of  the  spermatic  fluid.  The  spermntheca  of  the 
qneen  was  distended  with  the  same  semi-fluid,  spermatic  matter.'  This  one  exani> 
Ination  demoyutratefs  that  the  drones  are  males,  and  that  they  impregnate  the 
queen  by  actual  coition." 

Prof  ?iebold  further  says :  "  As  in  the  act  of  copulation  of  the  bee.s,  the  penis 
of  a  drone  is  completely  protruded  outwards,  and  as  no  particular  muscular  appa- 
ratus exists  for  the  exti-usion  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. 


SWAR:srTXG    AXD    HIYING.  127 

SO  firmly  to  her  body,  that  it  could  not  be  lemoved  vnth- 
out  tearing  her  to  pieces. 

The  folloAving  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  -s^-ith  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  by  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.  M)  "was  made  by 
Beriepsch,  in  order  to  confirm  the  drone-productiveness  of  a  virgin  queen.  He 
contrived  the  exclusion  of  queens  at  the  end  of  September,  1S54,  and,  therefore,  at 
a  time  when  there  was  no  longer  any  males;  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  c«lls  with  brood.  That  this  drone- 
bearing  queen  remained  a  virgin,  was  proved  by  the  dissection  which  Leuckart 
undertook,  at  the  request  of  Beriepsch.  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  spermatozoid.s,  but  only  a  limpid  fluid,  destitute 
of  cells  and  granules,  which  is  produced  from  the  two  appendicular  glands  of  the 
Beminal  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  88,  39,  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  184-3,  examined  the  spermatheca  of  the  queen-bee,  and  found  it 
after  copulation,  filled  with  the  seminal  fluid  of  the  drone.  At  that  titno.  Api- 
arians paid  no  attention  to  his  views,  but  considered  them,  as  he  says,  to  be  only 
*'•  tTieoretical  gtuffy  It  seems,  then,  that  Prof.  Leidy's  dissection  (pp.  .34. -Sol  was 
not,  as  I  had  hitherto  supposed,  the  first,  of  an  impregnated  spermatheca. 

*  Dzierzon  supposes  that  the  wwrarf  of  the  queen's  wings,  when  she  is  !n  the 
air,  excites  the  drones.    In  the  interior  of  the  hive,  thev  are  never  seen  to  notice 


128  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

collected  around  her  in  very  large  numbers.  After 
remaining  in  the  aii'  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  ftilly  appreciated  her  importance  to  then*  welfare. 

A  first  swarm  will  sometimes  swarm  again,  about  a 
month  after  it  is  hived ;  but  in  Northern  climates  this  is  a 
rare  occurrence.  In  South-western  Texas,  I  have  knowni 
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.  Li  our  Xortheru  and  3Iiddle  States,  swarni- 
mg  is  usually  over,  thi-ee  or  four  weeks  after  it  begms. 
Inexperienced  bee-keepers,  unaware  of  this,  often  watch 
theii'  Apiaries,  long  after  the  swarmhig  season  has  passed. 

I  shaU  now,  while  givhig  such  directions  for  liivnig 
swarms  as  may  aid  even  some  experienced  Apiarians,  at- 
tempt to  make  them  sufliciently  minute  to  guide  those. 


her ;  so  that  she  is  not  molested,  even  if  thousiin<ls  are  members  of  the  sam<> 
colony  with  herself. 

*  Haber  supposed  "that  male  eggs  were  not  developed  in  her  ovaries  until  the 
second  year;  but  as  the  sex  depends  upon  the  impregnation  of  the  egirs,  he  was 
evidently  mistaken.  In  warm  climates,  where  after-swarms  swarm  again,  dronos 
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. 
Id  colder  climates,  have  been  regarded  as  fixed  laws,  are  only  exceptional  adap- 
tatioms  to  unfavorable  circumstances. 


Plate  XII. 


Fig.  83. 


Fiff.  34. 


Fig.  36. 


SWARMING    AND    HIVING.  129 

who,  having  never  seen  a  swarm  hived,  are  apt  to  imagine 
that  the  process  must  be  quite  formidable.  Experience  iq 
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  Bienenzeitimg,  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  hns 
become  thoroughly  dry,  which  will  be  in  two  or  tliree 
days,  it  is  to  be  bruslied  over  lightly  with  a  tliin  coat  of 
boiled  linseed  oil,  to  whicli  any  desirable  color  may  be 
given.  The  boards  to  which  the  paint  is  to  be  a}ti)lied 
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  m  the  sun,  ought  never  to  be 

•  Roman,  or  common  Hydraulic  cement  is  probably  meant,  or  would  answer. 


130  THE    HITE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

used  for  new  swarms.  Bees,  when  they  swami,  being 
nnnaturnlly  excited  and  heated,  often  refuse  to  enter  such 
hives,  and  at  best,  are  slow  in  taking  possession  of  thera. 
The  temperature  of  the  parent-stock,  at  the  moment  of 
swarming,  rises  rery  suddenly,  and  many  bees  are  often 
so  drenched  \Yiih  perspiration,  that  they  are  maable  to 
take  ^^ing  and  join  the  emigrating  colony.  To  attempt 
to  make  swarming  bees  enter  a  heated  hiye  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  fi-ames,  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  afeic  instances,  known  them  to  build  their  combs 
dii-ectly  across,  fi-om  fi-ame  to  fi-ame,'so  that  they  could 
not  be  removed  Avithout  cutting  them  to  pieces.  This 
may  easily  be  prevented,  by  attaching  a  piece  of  guide- 
comb  to  a  single  frame  (see  p.  72).  ^Yhile  the  hive  should 
be  set  so  as  to  incline  fi-om  rear  to  fi-ont,  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- 
ino-  a  horde  of  useless  consumers.  Such  comb,  if  wliite, 
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 


SWARMING    AND    HmXG.  131 

be  attached  to  a  frame,  should  be  used,  both  for  its  intrm- 
sic  vahie,  and  because  bees  are  so  pleased  when  they  find 
such  unexpected  treasures  m  a  hive,  that  they  will  seldom 
forsake  it.  A  new  swann  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  unpelling  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  mstincts  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  fostened 
with  propoHs  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,  M'hen  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  swann  will  almost  always 
alight  wherever  they  see  a  mass  of  clustering  bees,  I  find 
that  tliey  can  be  determined  to  some  selected  spot  by  an 
old  black  hat,  or  even  a  mullen  stalk,  which,  when  colored 
black,  can  hardly  be  disthiguished,  at  a  distance,  from  a 

*  For  their  prefer  adjustment,  see  Explanation  of  Plates. 


132  THE    niVE   AND    HONEY-BEE. 

clustering  swarm.  A  black  woolen  stocking  or  piece  of 
cloth,  fostened  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  purjDose.  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  clmg,  the  better  to 
support  their  grape-Uke  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 
de'S'ised  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  "  hee-hoh^''  about  Ins 
Apiary,  Avlien  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 
swaiTO,  are  in  a  very  peaceable  mood,  having  filled  tliom- 
selves  wv\\\  honey  before  leaving  the  parent-stock.  If  he 
is  timid,  or  suffers  severely  from  the  stmg  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  excitiug  pi'ofuse  perspiration,  increases  their  liability  to 
be  stung.  Those  Avho  show  so  little  self-possession,  must 
not  be  surprised,  if  lliey  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  dirt  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  hito  a  basket  held  under  them, 
witli  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  now  be  gently  sha- 
ken or  poured  out  on  the  sheet,  in  front  of  theii*  new 
home.  K  they  seem  at  all  reluctant  to  enter  it,  gently 
scoop  up  a  few  of  them  with  a  large  S})oon,  and  shake  them 
close  to  its  entrance.  As  they  go  in  with  fanning  wings, 
tliey  will  raise  a  peculiar  note,  which  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  smgle  bee. 

When  bees  are  once  shaken  down  on  the  sheet,  they  ai'C 
quite  unwilling  to  take  ^ving  again  ;  for,  being  loaded  with 


134  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

houey,  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  surfoce  ;  and  if  the  sheet  is  not  smooth- 
ly stretched,  they  are  otlen  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,  Avhere  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  mto  the  hiving-basket,  some 
will  take  Anng,  and  others  will  remain  on  the  tree  ;  but  if 
the  queen  has  been  secured,  they  wtII  quickly  form  a 
fine  of  commimication  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  T\-ith  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  sharj)  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  jjole,  and  raised  directly 
under  them  ;  Avhen  a  quick  ujt-sx  ard  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  \owqv  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  jarrmg, 
by  a  gmilet,  and  with  a  little  smoke  compel  them  to  ascend 
it.  If  the  place  is  inaccessible,  they  Avill  enter  a  well-shaded 
basket,  inverted,  and  elevated  just  above  the  mass  of  the 
bees.  I  once  hived  a  neighbor's  swarm  which  settled  iii 
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  hi  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  youi- 
disposal ;  or  sujtply  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-brttod.  If  the  Apiarian  who  uses 
the  common  hives  does  not  succeed  in  getting  a  mature 


136  THE    HIVE    AND    HONKT-BEE. 

queen  for  each  hive,  the  qiieenless  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,  Avhen  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  M-ithout  danger,  as  she  never  stings,  imless  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  hstless  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  Avheat ;  experience  will  soon  convince 
them,  that  the  ease  with  which  they  may  be  managed  is 
not  at  all  exaggerated. 

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


SWARMTNG    AND    HTYTNG.  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  AYestern  Massachusetts,  told  me,  that  in  the 
Apiary  of  one  of  his  parishioners,  five  swarms  once  clus- 
tered together.  As  he  had  no  hive  Avhich  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  in  the  middle ;  and  there  was  a 
distinct  interval  separating  the  Avorks  of  the  dift'erent 
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  follownig  morning, 
they  would  probably  be  found  in  separate  clusters,  and 
might  easily  be  put  into  difterent  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  M'ith  discouraged 
or  dissatisfied  stocks,  an<l  T  have  occasionally  had  swarms 
which  had  only  immature  queens  i?i  their  hive  issue,  on 


138  IHE    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,  fi-om  the  noise  produced  by  the 
ordinary  flight  of  busy  workers,  however  numerous.  My 
observations  on  this  jDoint,  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,  wdth  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  ^\^ll 
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,  wlien  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  tlie 
bees  may  enter  at  their  leisure. 


SWARIVIING    AND    HR-mG.  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  foil,  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-hivcs  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  honey.  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  attractive  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  hable  to  swaiTQ  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  retm-ned  again  and  agahi, 
before  one  queen  is  allowed  by  the  bees  to  destroy  the 
others.  In  this  way,  a  large  part  of  the  gatheiing  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  swanning, 
as  practiced  with  the  common  hives,  is,  that  it  ftirnishes  no 
fjicilities  for  making  vigorous  stocks  of  late  and  small 
swarms.     The  time  and  money  devoted  to  feeding  small 

*  Before  inyenting  the  movable-comb  hive,  I  obviated,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
evils  of  after-swarming,  by  the  following  plan:  the  second  swarm,  as  soon  as 
hived,  was  ])laced  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 — sutticient  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  AVinter,  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  wdth  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 ;  imtil  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  ftirnished,  in  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-swaiTns  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  m  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 


142 


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


ARTIFICIAL    SWAKMING.  143 


CHAPTER   X. 

AKTIFICIAL      SWARMING. 

The  numerous  efforts  made  for  more  than  fifty  years, 
to  dispense  with  natural  svrarming,  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  m- 
herent  to  this  mode  of  mcrease,  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  all  who  keep  bees,  one-fourth  of  the  best  swarms 
are  lost  every  season.  While  some  bee-keepers  seldom 
lose  a  swarm,  the  majority  sufter  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 
Bwarming-season ;  and  if  this  business  is  intrusted  to 
thoughtless  children,  or  careless  adults,  many  swarms  will 


3i4  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BKE. 

be  lost.  If  many  colonies  are  kept,  a  competent  person 
should  always  be  on  hand,  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 
mtensely  fascinating  to  an  inquiring  mind.*  Xo  man  who 
spends  some  of  his  leisure  in  studying  the  wonderful  hi- 
stmcts  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  \^Tth 
great  advantage,  even  m  large  cities,  and  those  who  are 
debarred  from  rural  pursuits  may  still  listen  to  their  sooth- 
ing hum,  and  harvest  annually  their  delicious  nectar. 

K  the  Apiarian  could  always  be  at  home  during  the 
swarming-season,  it  would  still  be  oftentimes  very  hicon- 
venient  for  him  to  attend  to  his  bees,  Tlie  farmer,  for 
instance,  may  be  mtcrrupted  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  swann  is  Morth.  Tlius, 
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. 
I^  after  a  succession  of  days  unfavorable  for  swarming, 
the   weather   becomes   pleasant,   it   often    happens    that 

*  "  Bee-lifo,"  eays  Prof.  Siebold,  "does  not  merely  serve  to  furnish  man  with 
wax,  honey,  and  mead,  but  constitutes  an  ext.  .nely  imjiortant  link  in  the  grea* 
and  most  multifariously-composed  chain  of  animal  existence." 


Fig.  oi 


Fig.  89. 


Fig.  41. 


Plate  XIII. 
Fig.  42.  Fig.  3^ 


^ 


Fig.  43. 


Fig.  40. 

In?       ^      i      I      J   ^ 


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


Fig.  4G. 


Fig.  44. 


Fig.  62.      Fig.  63. 


FiiT.  64. 


Fig.  65. 


ARTIFICIAL   SWARMING.  1-15 

Beveral  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  multipljdng  of  bees  by  natural  swarming,  must, 
in  our  country,  almost  entirely  prevent  the  establishment 
of  large  Apiaries. 

The  swarmuig  season  is,  with  most  bee-keepers,  the 
busiest  23art  of  the  year,  and  if  they  keep  a  large  number 
of  swarming-hives,  they  must  devote  nearly  all  their  tune, 
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 
Avith  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 Ajiiarians  believe  that  there  are  half  as  many 
colonies  in  our  Xorthern  and  Middle  States,  as  there  were 
twenty  years  ago  ;  and  most  of  them  would  abandon  bee- 


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  fiilfills  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  folio-wing  calculation  of  possifAe  profits  from  bee-calture,  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 
STrarms  to  be  taken,  but  to  do  well,  and  swarm  once  every  year" — bees  most  be 
naughty,  indeed,  if  they  dare  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.  ? 

Tears.                                 Rites.  PrqfiU. 

£   8.d. 

1  1  0    0  0 

2 2  1    1  0 

8  4  ..,., 2    2  0 

4  8  4    4  0 

«*  **   *    «  * 

14  S192  4300  16  0 

•*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,  Ac."  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  mure  than  a  million,  when,  prohalily.  be  would  be  willing 
to  close  his  bee-business,  by  selling  them  for  over  two  and  three-quarter  milHona 
of  dollars!  The  attention  of  all  venders  of  humbug  bee-hives,  is  respectftillj  In- 
rlted  to  this  antique  ^ecimen  of  the  art  of  puffing. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWARMING.  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  swann,  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  unj^ropitious  that  the  young  queens 
approach  maturity  before  the  old  ones  can  leave,  and  are 
all  destroyed.  Under  su^h  circumstances,  swanning,  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  multii)ly  colonies  very 
rapidly  by  natural  swarming. 

The  numerous  per})lexities  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.   Scudamor©  quotes  <^lumella.  who,  about  the  middle  of  the  first   cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  Era,  wrote  twelve  books  on  husbandry— "  Z>e  re  rustica  "— ai 


l-iS  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

The  ancient  methods  of  artificial  increase  appear  to  have 
met  with  Uttle  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  tlie  physiology 
of  the  bee,  felt  the  need  of  some  way  of  multiplpng  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  ^vith 
their  propolis,  so  that  they  camiot  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  havmg  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 
ills   frames   the   requisite   play,  by  suspending   them   on 

giving  directions  for  making  artificial  swarms.  Although  he  taught  how  to  furnish 
!i  queen  to  a  destitute  colony,  and  how  to  transfer  brood-comb,  with  maturing 
Uees,  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. 


AKTIFTCTAI,    STVARMTXG.  14:9 

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  exj^eri- 
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  stoiing  honey,  and  are  too  large  for 
the  rearing  of  loorkers.  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 
mifit  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  '"'•  ahnormaJ^''''  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  very  clearly  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing to  multiply  colonics  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  sufllicient  new  comb  to  make  it  of  any  value,  it 
M'ill  build  such  as  is  designed  only  for  storing  honey ;  using, 
chiefly  for  breeding  ]>urposes,  the  half  of  the  hive  contain- 
ing the  old  comb.     The  next  year,  if  this  hive  is  divided, 


150  THE    HTVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

one  hall'  ^vill  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  Tvdth  a  Huber-hive,  the  plan  of  multiplying  colo- 
nies by  dividing  a  full  hive  into  two  parts,  and  adding  an 
empty  half  to  each,  ^\dll  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  fi-ame  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  multij^ly  colonies  by  the  common  di\ad- 
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  way. 

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  conmience 
building  worker-combs.*     When  a  new  colony  is  formed 

♦  In  attempting  to  rear  artificial  swarms  by  moving  a  full  stock,  my  bees  hav« 
built  combs  nearly  four  inches  thick;    and  have  afterwards  pieced  their  low«r 


ARTIFICIAL    SWAK^HNG.  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  everywliere  practiced, 
if  it  could  only  be  made  efibctual.  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  ofl^n  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  known  a  strong  swarm  with  a  virgin  queen,  almost  to  fill  their  hive  with 
beautiful  worker-comb,  before  a  single  a^^):^  was  deposited  in  the  cells. 

*  Every  observing  bee-keeper  must  liave  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  h^ss  than  that  time,  it  does  not  contain  one  half  its  original  number. 


152  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-BEE. 

a  single  swarm,  of  its  own  accord,  will  form  a  large  num- 
ber of  independent  families,  each  possessing  its  own  queen, 
and  all  li-vdng  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  fi'om  one  hive  to  another,  they  wdll  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  l»reeding ;  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  wq^v  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  themst'lvfs. 

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  lie 
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 


AETIFICIAL    SWAEMIXG.  153 

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

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  ad\  ocate  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  e^-ident  that  if  the  formation  of 
new  colonies  were  generally  discouraged,  the  msect  would 
soon  be  exterminated. 

Although  the  movable-comb  hive  may  be  made  more 
eifectually  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 
Tvath  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  fertihty  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  tliat  have  passed  their  prime, 
and  some  which  may  die  when  there  are  no  eggs  from 
M'hich  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  wlioin  this  chai)ter  may,  at  first,  seem  need- 
lessly diffuse,  will  find  that  it  contains  many  im})ortant 
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  i^racticod   iu   the  iiiovaliic-coml) 


154  THE    HIVE    AND   HONEY-BEE. 

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

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,  puif 
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  I  shall 
call  the  forcing-hox — 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 
shghtest  jar,  turn  it  over,  and  carefully  cany  it  off  about 
a  rod,  as  bees,  if  disturbed,  are  much  more  inclined  to  be 
peaceable,  when  removed  a  short  distance  from  their  flimi- 
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  thnid  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 
placuig  it  on  the  ground,  the  forcing-l)ox  must  be  put  over 
it,  and  every  opening  between  it  and  the  hive,  from  wliich 
a  bee  might  escapef ,  should  be  stopped  with  paper,  or  anj' 
convenient  material.     The  forcing-box,  if  smooth  inside, 

♦"Drlvij>g  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." — Bevax. 

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  boes  that  may  escape,  even  if 
not  full  of  honey,  are  too  bewildered  by  their  change  of  position,  to  make  any  attack. 


ARTIFICIAL  swar:ming.  155 

should  have  slats  fastened  one-third  of  the  distance  from 
Ihe  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 — 
npon  their  old  stand,  which  those  returning  from  the 
Belds  may  enter,  mstead  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  sui^  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  return  to  our  imprisoned  bees :  their  hive  should  be 
beaten  smartly  with  the  palms  of  tlie  hands,  or  two  small 
rods,  on  the  sides  to  which  the  combs  are  attached,  so  a? 
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  ott* 
what  they  can,  each  bee  begins  to  lay  in  a  supply,  and  m 

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


156  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXET-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  m  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  makmg  of  artificial  swarms.  Neither  method, 
however,  can  be  pm-sued  without  serious  loss ;  for  if  the 
position  of  a  colony  has  been  changed  by  the  hee-heeper^ 
the  bees  will  not  adhere  to  the  new  place,  as  they  do 
when  they  swarm  of  their  oicn  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  oicn  free  loill^  most  of  them 
appearing  to  forget  that  their  location  has  been  changed, 
return  to  the  famUiar  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  7ietc  place,  the  latter  would  lose  so  many  of  the 
bees  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  bo  so  dopopulnlccl  as  to  be  of  little  value. 


ARTTFICIAL    SWARMING.  15T 

These  difficulties  may  be  obviated  by  remoying  either 
colony  about  half  a  niile  from  its  former  home,  m  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  in 
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  ov  their  old 
stands. 

As  the  transportation  of  colonies  is  laborious,  and  often- 
times expensive,  I  shall  describe  the  methods  which,  after 
years  of  experimenting,  I  have  devised  for  dispensing  Avitb 
it.  I  have  ascertained  that,  if  a  hive  is  removed,  most 
of  the  bees  returning  fi-om  abroad  and  ahghting  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  careftilly  as  a  new  swarm.  Now  I  find  tliat, 
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  swann, 
the  forcing-box  must  be  gently  lifted  off,  and  srt  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    A^^)    HONET-BEE. 

running  in  and  out  of  the  decoy-hive,  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  distraction,  ^vill  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  diiven, 
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  Avill  j^roceed  to  construct  them. 

Artificial  colonies  should  not  be  fonned  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  Apiaiian,  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  connnunicated  to  the  whole  colony  ;  the 

*  In  closing  the  entrance,  the  bee-ke<>per  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 


AETIFICIAL    SWAP.MING.  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- 
ing 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  joyfiil  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,  Avhether  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 
dri\ang  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  hnve  directed  tliiit  it  be  done  wlien 

*  To  witness  tbcso  interesting  prooeedinsrs,  it  is  only  necesfwiry  to  catch  the 
queen,  and  keep  her  until  she  is  missed  by  her  colony.  For  jTre-ater  security,  I 
usually  confine  her,  when  taken  from  the  bees,  in  a  small  paper-funnel,  with 
twisted  ends,  fnmi  which  she  may  be  easily  taken. 

It  is  a  Tiiistake  to  suppose  that  a  swarm  will  not  enter  a  hive  unless  the  queen 
Is  with  them.  If  some  start  for  it,  the  others  will  speedily  follow,  all  seeming:  to 
take  foi  ffrantcd  that  the  queen  is  somewhere  amon^j  them.  Even  after  they 
betrin  to  <lisperse  in  search  of  her,  they  may  often  be  induced  to  jeturn,  by  pour- 
ing; out  a  fresh  lot  of  bees,  which,  by  enterins  the  hive  with  fannin?;  winjs,  cause 
the  others  to  believe  that  the  queen  is  coming  at  last. 

Bises  which  miss  their  queen,  under  such  circumsUinees.  will  accept  of  any  on« 
•hat  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  be 
induced  to  adhere  to  the  parent-stock.  Many  bee-keepers, 
however,  may  prefer  to  make  their  swarms  early  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 
A\ing,  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  coh^r 
with  that  of  the  parent-stock.  If  they  are  very  unlike,  and 
the  returning  bees  attempt  to  enter  a  neighboring  liive, 
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,  exchnnge  the 


AIlTIFTCtAL    SWARMTNO.  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,  imtil  the  cells  for  rearing  young  queens  are 
begim ;  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  i^arent-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  loft, 
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  r»ermanent  stand,  and  opened  an 
hour  or  two  before  sunset,  when  the  bees  wnll  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  unite  in  the 


162  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

labors  of  iha  hive.  The  imprisoned  bees  ought  to  be 
supplied  with  water,  to  enable  them  to  prepare  food  for 
the  larvae.  In  the  common  hive  this  maybe  injected  ^4th 
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-keej^^r,  a  mile  or  two  off,  or  from  one  of 
his  own  stocks,  carried  that  distance  before  the  bees  began 
to  work  in  the  Sprmg.  Bringing  it  home,  accordmg  to 
the  directions  subsequently  given  for  transportmg  bees, 
let  it  be  confined  in  a  cool  place,  so  as  to  have  j^lenty  of 
air.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  or  early  next  mornmg,  let  hun 
force  four  or  fivef  swarms,  j^lacing  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  fi*om  taking  wing.  With  a  saucer, 
scooj)  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.  Contmue 
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  difierent  hives  in  which  they  are  placed,  and  thus, 

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

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

t  The  queen  should  be  looked  for,  and  the  hive  noted  to  which  she  is  given.  If 
6he  has  entered  the  empty  hive,  she  may  be  easily  secured. 


ARTrFICIAL    SWAKMING.  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  o^vn  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  artitieial 
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  tlie  bees  in 
the  box,  and  in  a  few  hours  they  will  swarm."* 

The  directions  given  ihv  the  formation  of  artificial  colo- 
nies, differ,  in  some  important  respects,  from  any  furnished 
by  other  writers,  and  are  so  simi)le  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  qneen,  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 
hciiiht.  Then  open  the  hive,  and  as  the  bees  begin  to  take  wing,  present  to  them 
their  qneen  (see  p.  InQ).  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  ho  has  several  times  suc- 
ceeded in  making  an  old  colony  adhere  to  a  new  place  in  the  Apiary,  by  Jieaiincf 
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,  out 
neaily  all  will  return  to  their  hive  on  the  new  stand. 


164  THE    HITE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

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

It  wWl  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  gains  his  infor- 
mation from  other  sources,  may  yet  remain  ignorant  of 
Fome  of  the  most  important  principles  in  the  physiology 
of  the  honey-bee:  wliile  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  thu 
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.'" — Bevax. 

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 ! 
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    SWARMENG.  165 

may  be  easily  and  quickly  performed.  An  empty  hive, 
with  its  frames  properly  arranged,  must  ha  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.  VIII., 
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  "w^th  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 
make  his  swarms  by  lilling  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  la  used  by  Apiarians  to  designate  any  upper  box  placed  over  the 
main  lower-hive.  An  empty  hive,  like  that  in  PI.  I*,  Fig.  1.,  or  a  hive  like  that  in 
PI.  III.,  Fig.  2.— if  inverted— will  answer  for  a  forcing-box. 

t  Time  will  be  saved  by  arranging  (p.  162)  to  force  several  swarms  at  once. 


166  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-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  ofl'  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  faU  off.  As  soon 
as  the  necessary  number  of  bees  have  been  transferred  to 
the  new  hive,  the  precautious  previously  given  must  be 
used  to  obtain  adhering  bees  for  the  parent-stock. 

If  the  proper  ahowance  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  beesfi'om  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  swarimng  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  mar 
ture,  so  that  every  parent-stock  may  have  one.  If  an  un- 
hatchcd  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  ui 


ARTIFICIAL    SWA"iMIXG.  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  vrill  soon  fasten  it  to  suit  themselves. 

Unless  ver^  great  care  is  used  in  transferring  a  royal 
cell,  its  inmate  will  be  destroyed,  as  her  body,  imtil  she  is 
nearly  mature,  is  so  exceedingly  soft,  that  a  shght  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  havmg  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  suiRcient  light  not  only  to  enable  tlie 
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  ii'ascible  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  be  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  time  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  tliat 
ha^  e  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-di-ess,  although  I  by  no  means  advise  the  neglect  of 


168  THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-BEE. 

such  precautions.  Wliile  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  "w-ith  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  aiTangement  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  do^ii  between  all  the  ranges  of 
comb,  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  use  smoke*  in  every 
operation.  The  use  of  smoke  fi-equently  causes  the  queen 
to  leave  the  combs,  for  greater  security.  This  often  causes 
great  delay  in  the  formation  of  artificial  swamis  by 
removing  the  fi-ames,  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  efiect  jtroduced  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 
smgular  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  fight ;  they  appear  rather  to 
testiiS'  fear  than  anger.  Many  retire,  and  entering  the 
cells,  seem  to  conceal  themselves."     Huber  has  here  tallen 

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


Plate  XIV. 


AKTIFICIAL    SWAKMIi^G.  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,  how^ever,  "  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  Hbation*  is 
poured  upon  them,  and  their  surprise  is  quickly  changed 
into  pleasure ;  or  they  are  saluted  with  a  puif  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  used,  instead  of  Bugar  water 
or  sniolie,  in  sprinkling  the  bees,  its  smell  will  be  very  apt  to  entice  maranders 
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  used. 
It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  induce  them  to  notice  honey-combs,  even  when  put  in 
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  ahnost  magic  celerity,  while  a  whole  colony 
M'ill  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  yery  difficult  to  subdue 
them,  and  the  unfortunate  operator,  if  mexperienced,  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.  Eyery  motion  should  be 
dehberate,  and  no  attempt  whatever  made  to  strike  at 
them,  K  inclined  to  be  cross,  they  will  often  resent  even 
a  quick  pohiting  at  them  "^dth  the  finger,  by  darting  upon 
it,  and  leaving  their  stings  behind.  A  no^-ice,  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 
SAyeet  solution.  This  should  descend  from  the  watering- 
pot  in  a  fine  stream,  so  as  not  to  dre?ivh  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  fro?2t,  or  vice  versa.  If  the  rabbets  were  only 
just  wide  enough  to  receive  the  shoulders  of  the  frames, 


ARTIFICIAL    SWAKMING.  171 

it  would  Le  necessary,  in  loosening  the  frames,  to  pry 
them  laterally,  or  toicards  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  vriW  have  filled 
themselves,  or  if  all  have  not,  the  intelligence  that  sweets 
have  been  fiirnished,  will  difl:use  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  injuiing  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  kiUing  the  bees.  In  handUng  the 
frames,  be  careful  not  to  incUne  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  lluber-hive,  and  even  then  some  of  the  bees  will 
probably  be  crushed.  The  great  caution  recommended  by  Uuber  in  opening  bis 
hives,  shows  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  make  himself  independent  of  the  anger 
of  the  bees. 


172  THE    UIVK    AND    UONEY-BEK. 

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  vdR  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  difiliculty  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 
\rith  such  remarkable  tenacity,  it  would  be  fir  more  difli- 
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« 
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,  is 
getting  it  off,  not  to  start  the  frames  so  as  to  crush  the  bees  between  the  combs. 


AETIFICIAL    SWARMING.  1T3 

moved,  are  all  arranged  in  a  continued  line,  the  bees,  instead 
of  leaving  them,  will  stoutly  defend  them  against  the 
thieving  pi  ^pensities  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  sloidy^  that  a  bee,  on 
feeUng  the  slightest  pressure,  may  have  a  chance  to  creej. 
from  under  them  before  it  is  hurt.  In  shutting  up  the 
hive,  the  surplus  honey-board  should  be  carefully  slid  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  Hfting  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.  YII., 
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.  Fifi;een  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,  Avithout  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,  imlcss  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  eeason  for  natural  swarming  is  approaching. 


174:  THK    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  usefuhiess,  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  Apiaiian ; 
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  swarm,  unless — having  fair  warning 
of  their  mtentions — he  prefers  to  allow  them  to  swarm  in 
the  natural  M'ay.  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  5-32dst 
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.  III., 
Figs.  11,  12.) 

This  method  of  preventing  swarming,^  requires  great 

*  Bees  communicate  with  each  other  by  their  antenna,  and  Huber  has  proved 
that  queens  deprived  of  these,  drop  their  eggs  without  care,  and  are  unfit  for  pre- 
Eidine  over  a  hive. 

t  Huber  does  not  give  the  size  necessary  for  confining  a  queen ;  but  he  speaks 
of  adjusting  a  glass  tule,  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 
tr»  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 
mai/  allow  the  young  queens  to  engage  in  mortal  combat    In  this  case,  the  block* 


ARTIFICIAL    SWAKMING.  175 

accuracy  of  measurement,  for  a  very  trifling  deviation 
from  the  dimensions  given,  Avill  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  Winter. 
When  used  to  prevent  all  scanning,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  adjust  them  a  Httle  after  suni'ise  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  used  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  thiory 
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  hnd  that  colonies  can  be  multiplied  at  will,  they  are  very 
apt  to  so  overdo  the  matter,  as  to  risk  losing  their  bees.  Notwithstanding  ripeate<i 
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  Oth.rs 
will  probably  do  the  same  thing;  for  it  would  seem  that  nothing  but  a  sad  experi- 


1' 


THE    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-BEE. 


The  Apiarian  who  aims  at  obtaining  much  surplus 
honey  in  any  season,  camiot,  usually,  at  the  furthest,  more 
than  double  his  stocks  ;  nor  even  that,  unless  all  are  strong, 
and  the  season  is  favorable.  If,  in  any  season  that  is  not 
lixvorable,  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.  K  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  con^ince 
men  of  the  danger  of  "making  haste  to  be  rich.'"  If,  in  spite  of  all  that  can  bo 
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    SWARMING.  177 

honey-harvest  will  pass  away,  and  the  bees  be  able  to  ob- 
tain very  little  from  it.  During  all  this  time  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 
starv^e,  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  shoMm  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,  imless  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  a\  ith  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 
intiioatcs  from  what  sources  the  bees  have  eathered  their  supplies 

8* 


178  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

With  the  inovable-comb  hives,  the  death  of  the  beea 
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  contahiing  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  m  replacmg  those  taken  away,  so 
that  when  the  honey-harvest  closes,  they  must  be  fed  to 
save  them  fi'om  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 
peld  large  supplies  of  surplus  honey.  Even  the  douhUng 
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.  xVnother  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  mol- 
Uplied,  the  honey-hanest  was  suddenly  cut  short  by  a  drought,  and  I  found,  on 
my  return,  that  most  of  my  stocks  were  ruined.  The  bees,  not  having  b©eD 
fed,  had  ;one  into  the  groi-eries,  and  perir*hed  hy  hundreds  of  thousands. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWAKMING.  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 
Fah,  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  }deld  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  Avith  reference  to  pecuniary  profit.* 
Any  bee-keeper  can  easily  experunent  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  rasli  and  un- 
profitable courses.  Beginners,  especially,  should  follow  my 
directions  as  closely  as  possible ;  for,  although  tliey  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  experimenta." 


180  THK    HIVK    AND    HONKY-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  tchich  he  relies  for  surplus  honey ^ 
the  better.  Their  hives  ought  not  to  be  needlessly  opened, 
and  the  bees  should  never  be  so  much  interfered  ^nth,  as 
to  feel  that  they  hold  their  possessions  by  an  uncertain 
tenure  ;  as  such  an  impression  will  often  impaii*  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  }deld  of  honey,  by 
forming  only  one  new  colony  from  tico  old  ones. 

When  it  is  time  to  form  artificial  colonies,  drum  a 
strong  stock — which  call  A — so  as  to  secure  cdl  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 
Ptrong   stock — which    call  I) — and   put  A    in   its   place. 

*  These  remarks  apply  more  particnlarly  to  stocks  engrasred  in  storing  honey  in 
receptacles  tint  rn  the  mnin  hire.  The  experience  of  Dzierzon  and  myself,  shows 
thai  opening  thf  hivf>s,  ordinarily  intorrnpts  their  labor?  for  only  a  few  minutes. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWA.RMING.  181 

Thousands  of  the  bees  that  belong  to  JB^  as  they  return 
from  the  fields,*  will  enter  A^  which  thus  secures  enough 
to  develop  the  brood,  rear  a  new  queen,  and  gather,  if  the 
season  is  favorable,  large  surplus  stores. 

If  J}  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  ;  Imost  as  powerful  as  before  it  was  re- 
moved.f 

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.  Ko  doub*^  they  often  llel  ♦hat  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  tbem  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. 

X  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  sw.irming,  in  regions  where  rapid  increase  is  not  profitable, 
this  is  the  best,  provided  the  colonies  do  not  stand  too  close  together,  and  ths 
hives  used  in  the  process  are  alike  in  shape  and  color. 


182 


THE  hivp:  a^'d  honi:y-bee. 


best.  It  not  only  secures  a  reasonable  increase  of  colonies, 
but  maintains  them  all  in  high  vigor ;  and  in  ordinaiy 
seasons  will  yield,  in  good  locations,  more  surplus  honey, 
than  if  all  increase  of  colonies  was  discouraged.  If  every 
bee-keeper  would  adopt  tliis  plan,  our  coimtry  might 
soon  be  like  the  ancient  Palestine,  "  a  land  flowing  with 
mDk  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.  By  the  use  of  movable-comb  hives^  it  may 
he  at  once  supplied  icith  a  fertile  young  queen.  Before 
sho^dng  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 
alter-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;  M'hile  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    SWARMING.  183 

as  is  well  known — often  very  much  injures  the  parent- 
stock,  although  its  queens  are  rapidly  maturing  ;  but  the 
fc/i'ced  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  ^^ith  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."t  I  have 
had  stocks  which,  after  parting  with  four  swarms  m  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  hive  of  moderate  size,  is  examined,  at  the  height 
of  the  honey-harvest,  nearly  all  the  cells  will  often  be  found  full  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 
qieen  in  such  a  colony,  or  in  a  hive  having  few  bees,  often  appears  almost  as 
Blender  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, 
lie  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  tiken 
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  instiitcts  of  the  bees  teach  them  to  rear  all  the  eggs 
deposited  In  cells,  their  avaricious  prope-Jiities  often — as  In  human  beings — get  the 


184  THE    HIVE    AND    HONKY-BKE. 

natural  swarming,  in  not  disturbing  the  combs  of  the 
mother-stoclv,  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 
swarm,  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  warai 
chmates — to  stay  where  she  is  put.  Even  if  the  old  queen 
is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  mother-stock,  she  ^vill  seldom 
leave,  if  sufficient  room  is  given  for  storing  surplus  honey  ; 
and  it  makes  no  difference — as  far  as  liabiUty  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,  so  that  they  give  their  queen  no  chance  to  lay,  and  thus  incnr  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  buiM  drone-comb— their  young  queens  seldom  laying  many  drone-eg^ 
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  .inother  Important  step  in  advance. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWARMING.  185 

to  the  mother-stock,  instead  of  stopping  short  witli  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  time  when  forage 
fails,  or  the  bee-keeper  chooses — fi-om  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  fi*om  J3, 
which  I  shall  call  D.  Put  D  on  the  stand  of  ^,  and 
liter  removing  A  to  a  new  place,  set  JB  where  A  stood, 
giving  to  -S  a  fertile  young  queen.  If  another  colony, 
£J^  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  £  —  forcing  the  new  colony 
alternately  from  each — to  make  successively,  at  intervals 
of  about  ten  days,  F^  G^  H^  <fcc. ;  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,  B,  A. 

"      3d       " 

(7,  A,  2),  BJ,  B. 

"      4th      " 

(7,  B,  B,  B\  F,  A, 

"      oth      " 

C,  A,  B,  E,  F,  G,  B. 

"      6th      " 

(7,  B,  B,  E,  F,  G,  H,  A. 

By  Jooking  at  this  table,*  it  will  be  seen  that  the  new 

*  The  table  i3  not  intended  to  recommend  setting  hives  in  rows,  close  together. 
A  and  B  may  be  anywhere  in  the  Apiary,  and  (7,  Z),  E,  dtc,  as  far  apart  as  is  at  all 
desirable.  (See  Chap,  on  Loss  of  Queen.) 


186  THE    HR'E    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

colonies,  C,  Z>,  -F,  &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  sufiice  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  chiefiy 
by  removing  the  forced  swarms  to  a  distant  Apiary. 
Though  this  plan  has  some  decided  merits,  and  might  suit 
two  pei'sons — sufiiciently  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  mside  of  the  bottom-board  of 
my  hivesf — the  glass  ones  excepted — artificiiil  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  are  almost  crazv  to  get  it,  however  windy  the 
weather,  and  some  Apiarians,  on  such  days,  confine  them  to  their  hives. 

+  These  holes  are  similar  to  those  in  the  spare  honey-board  (PL  VIII.,  Fig.  21\ 
Bnc  are  closed  in  the  same  way,  when  not  in  use.  They  permit  the  bets  to  lom- 
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 
(PL  X.,  Fig.  28),  in  large  or  small  frames. 


ARriFiciAL  swae:ming  187 

from  that  of  A — and  uncover  the  holes  in  the  bottom- 
board  of  C,  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  uj^per  entrance,  so  that  when  a  colony  is  driven 
from  A,  and  the  mother-stock  is  put  in  place  of  C\  it  will 
have  th(;  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.  lu  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  C,  unless  the  bee-keeper  wishes 
to  return  a  few  to  the  parent-stock. 

With  a  fertile  queen,  a  new  colony  may  be  foimed  by 
simply  reversing  the  positions  of  ^  and  C,  when  the  bees 
are  in  full  flight ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  if  C 
is  weaker  than  ^1,  the  position  of  the  colonies  may  be 
again  reversed  :  or  A  and  C  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  And,  by  referring:  to  tnr  Journal,  that  I  devised  this  method  in  the  Summer 
of  1854,  when  using  frames  in  hives  which,  like  Dzierzon's,  opened  at  both  ends. 
I  soon  asccrtaineJ  that  such  hives-even  with  my  frames — did  not  give  Bul\abl« 
facilities  for  man;iging  bees. 


188  THE    HrV^F.    AND    HONEY-BEE 

transfeiTed  to  (7,  when  the  bees  are  in  full  flight.  Olhei 
methods  still  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  expert. 

To  those  who  have  learned  to  open  the  hives  an^ 
remove  the  combs,  and  who  nse  but  one  Apiary,  this  way 
of  making  artificial  swarms — which  I  call  the  pili?ig  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  styiell,  and  retains  in  the  mother-stock 
adult  bees  enough  to  gather  water,  and  attend  to  all  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  light  enough  to  do  it,  a  comb 
containing  worker-eggs,  and  bees  just  gnawing  out  of 
their  cells,  and  put  it,  with  the  nfature  bees  that  are  on  it, 
into  an  empty  hive.  If  there  are  not  bees  enougli  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  Avhich  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  things  are  favorable,  the  bees,  in  a  few  houi-s, 
will  usually  begin  to  raise  a  queen.* 

*  I  have  known  about  a  tea-cup  full  of  bees,  confined  in  a  dark  place,  to  b«gliL 
within  an  hour,  enlarging  cells  for  raisi  ig  a  queen. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWAltMIN^-J.  189 

If  the  comb  used  in  forcing  such  a  colony—  svhich  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  mtense  heat  of  the  sun ;  it 
should  always  be  well  supplied  -with  honey  and  water.* 
Suitable  precautions  should  also  be  taken  to  guard  against 
ehe  loss  of  its  young  queen,  when  she  leaves  the  hive  to 
meet  the  drones.     (See  Chap,  on  Loss  of  Queen.) 

The  best  way  of  foiTning  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  placing  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  may  be  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,  vriSS.  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  queenlcss  condition.     The 

*  Whenever  the  position  of  a  colony  is  so  changed  as  to  intemipt  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  THK    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

comb  belonging  to  the  nucleus,  with  all  the  b(.€S  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  C. 

If  the  stocks  are  to  be  doubled^  a  second  nucleus  must 
be  formed,  by  taking,  about  ten  days  later,  a  brood-comb 
from  ^,  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 
be<nn  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  i?,  and  re- 
placed with  another  that  is  well  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 
(7  is  to  be  forced  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  Z>,  ^,  F^  tfcc, 
at  interv^als  of  ten  days.f  Then,  as  before,  (7,  -4,  and  B 
(p.  185),  represent  the  positions  of  the  colonies  on  the  1st 
of  June,  and  the  other  columns,  their  places  on  the  10th, 
20th,  &Q.     Now,  let  Zand  7Z represent  the  nuclei — I  use 

*  Those  who  rely  entirely  on  natural  swarmins,  may  often  secure  fertile  queens, 
by  catching  the  supernumerary  young  queens  of  after-swarms  ip.  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  or 
season,  climate,  and  weather,  can  always  be  conducted  with  the  mathematical 
accuracy  with  which  thev  -ire  set  forth  in  such  an  illustration. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWARMING.  191 

this  name  when  speaking  of  more  than  one  nucleus — and 
Z\  11'^  represent  them  when  each  has  a  queen ;  7"^,  11"^^ 
when  each  has  raised  its  second  queen ;  /^,  ZT^,  when  each 
has  its  third,  and  so  on,  it  being  always  understood  that 
/,  77",  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,  J,  June  20th,  7^  77, 

"  20th,  7",     77,         "      30th,  7;     77^, 

June  1st,     71,  77,  July    10th,  7^  77", 

"  10th,  7;     II\      "      20th,  7;     773^ifcc.,  &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,  fi-om  the  pen  of  Rev.  Mr.  Kleine,  one 
of  the  ablest  German  Apiarians,  -will  be  interesting  in  this 
connection : — "  Dzierzon  recently  intimated  that,  as  Iluber, 
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  jwrtion  of  royal 
jelly  in  cells  containing  worker-larvoe  !  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  injuringthe  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 : 
^Vhen  I  have  selected  a  comb  with  unsealed  brood,  for 
rearing  queens,  I  shake  or  brush  ofi*  the  bees,  and  trim  off*, 
if  necessary,  the  empty  cells  at  its  margin.  I  then  take 
an  imsealed  royal  cell — which  usually  contains  an  excess 
of  royal  jelly — and  remove  fi'om  it  a  portion  of  the  jelly, 


192  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BKE. 

on  the  i^oint  of  a  kiiife  or  pen,  and  by  placing  it  on  the 
inner  margin  of  any  worker-cells,  feel  confident  that  the 
larvae  hi  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  m- 
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  7",  be- 
fore the  fii'st  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,  I  and  iZ,  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  sliglitly  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  seasoo,  one- 
half  the  price  of  a  new  swarm. 

t  If  the  adhering  bees  are  thus  obtained,  and  there  is  not  a  cluster  of  beea  on 
the  brood-comb,  they  maj-  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  th»t 
were  put  in  with  the  comb. 

While  it  is  admitted  that  bees  can  raise  a  queen  from  any  worker-egg  or  young 
iarva,  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  it*  own  sub- 
eistence.  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  niwses. 

••Although  the  external  difference  be  inconsiderable,  this  is  not  an  Imaginary 


Plate  XV 


ARTIFICIAL   SWARMING.  193 

One  queen  can  be  made  to  supj^ly  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  wdth  eggs ;  and  after  replen- 
ishing her  own  liive,  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  vrith  dififcrent 
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  larvae,  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." 

Kow,  as  Iluber's  statements  have  proved  to  be  uncommonly  reliable,  perhaps 
*vnen  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  larva;. 

If  Huber  had  possessed  the  same  facilities  for  observation  with  Dr.  Donh:ff(gee 
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  these  conjectures ;  and  they  will  [irobably  find  the  tiisk 
more  diflicult  than  to  cover  whole  reams  of  paper  with  careless  assertions. 

9 


194  THE    HIYE    AND    IIOXEY-BEE. 

days,  are  found  to  be  untenanted.  At  the  second  attempt 
they  usually  start  a  larger  number,  and  seldom  fail  of  sue- 
cess.  Does  practice  make  them  more  perfect  ?  or  were 
some  of  the  necessary  conditions  wanting  at  first? 

The  folloTring  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  Hfe  ;  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,  I  introduced  an  Italian 
queen  into  a  colony  of  common  bees;  and  on  the  10th  of 
May  following,  the  first  ItaUan  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  Avorkers 
emerged  ;  and  on  the  iVth  they  made  their  first  appear- 
ance outside  of  the  hive.     On  the  next  day,  and  then 

An  extract  from  Huber's  preface  will  be  interesting  in  this  connection.  After 
Bpeaking  of  his  blindness,  and  praising  the  extraordinary  taste  for  Natural  History, 
of  his  assistant,  Bumens,  "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 
Bumens  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  ha 
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  the 
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,  haa, 
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  29tli,  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  Avere  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  m  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  aAvay.  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  tliat, 
during  the  first  two  weeks  of  the  worker-bee's  life,  the 
impulse  for  gathering  honey  and  pollen  does  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  lioney  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    HOXEY-BEE. 

sufficiently  developed  to  impel  her  to  fly  abroad,  and 
seek  for  honey  and  pollen  among  the  flowers. 

"  I  made,  further,  the  following  observations  respecting 
the  domestic  employments  of  tbe  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  liive  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  imremittingly,  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  -v-isibly  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  exammed  the  colony  during  the  first 
three  weeks  after  the  Italian  bees  emerged,  I  foimd  the 
brood-combs  covered  principally  by  bees  of  that  race : 

♦  I  have  liad  a  queen  which  continued  to  lay  eggs  in  a  comb,  after  it  was  removed 
from  the  hive. 


ARTIFICIAL    SWARMIXG.  197 

and  it  is,  hence,  probable  that  the  brood*  is  chiefl\ 
attended  to  and  nursed  by  the  younger  bees.  The  evi- 
dence, however,  is  not  so  conchisive  as  m  the  case  of  comb- 
building,  masrauch  as  they  may  have  congregated  on  the 
brood-combs  because  these  are  warmer  than  the  others. 

"I  may  add  another  interesting  obsen^ation.  The 
feces  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 
OA\Ti  sustenance." — B.  Z.  1855,  p.  163.     S.  Wagxer. 

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  imtil 
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  malie  royal  cells,  but  even  devoured  the  egsrs  which  were  §riveu  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.  DcinhoflTs  observation* 
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  niunber,  their  new  queen  emerged,  but 
vdih  Tvdngs  so  imperfect  that  she  could  not  fly.  Crippled 
Is  she  was,  they  treated  her  with  almost  as  much  respect 
Us  though  she  were  fertile.  In  the  course  of  a  week 
ixjore,  scarce  a  dozen  workers  remained  in  the  hive,  and  a 
few  days  later,  the  queen  was  gone,  and  only  a  few  dis- 
consokite  Avretches  were  left  on  the  comb. 

Shame  ^n  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,  vriih  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,  imtil  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  hable  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 
me  risk  of  endino;  the  season  with  a  number  of  st:»rving 


ARTTFICTAL    SWARMING.  199 

colonies.  For  these  and  other  reasons,  I  much  prefer  the 
methods  which  I  have  devised,  for  dispensing  vriih  so  much 
opening  of  hives  and  handling  of  combs.  If,  however, 
any  of  the  new  colonies  are  weak  enough  to  need  it,  they 
may  he  helped  to  combs  from  stronger  stocks. 

Whatever  method  of  artificial  increase  is  pursued  by 
the  Apiarian^  he  shoidd  never  reduce  the  strength  of  his 
'inother-stocks^  so  as  seriously  to  cripple  the  reproductive 
power  of  their  queens.  This  principle  should  be  to  him 
as  "the  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  which  altereth 
not :"  for  while  a  queen,  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  Avill  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  gains,  as  to  be  in  danger  of  perishing. 
In  such  situations^  all  attempAs  at  rapid  increase  arc 
entirely  futile. 

Artificial  operations  of  all  kinds  are  most  successful 
lichen  heeforage  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,  whicli 
are  almost  certain  to  l^e  robbed,  if  they  are  incautiously 
opened.  Wlien  forage  is  scarce,  the  hives  should  be 
opened  before  sunrise,  or  after  sunset,  or  when  very  few 
bees  areflpng  abroad ;  and  if  it  is  necessary  to  open  them 
at  other  times,  they  must  be  removed  out  of  the  reach  of 
annoyance  from  other  colonies.     The  Apiarian  who  does 


200  TUE    Hn^E    AXD    HONEY-BEE. 

not  guard  against  robbing,  will  seriously  impair  the  value 
of  his  stocks,  and  entail  upon  himself  much  useless  and 
vexatious  labor,  JBeicare  of  demoralizing  hees^  by  tempU 
incj  them  to  roh  each  other  I 

In  an  Apiary  where  hives  very  unlike  in  size^  shape^ 
and  color^  are  crowded  together^  artificial  operations  Tvdll 
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  all 
of  the  same  color  and  pattern,  it  ^nll  be  best  to  carry 
to  a  second  Apiary,  either  the  forced  swarms,  or  the 
mother-stocks  from  which  they  v>'ere  made. 

The  bee-keeper  has  already  been  reminded  that  caution 
is  needed  in  giving  to  bees  a  stranger-queen.  Huber  thus 
describes  the  Avay  in  which  a  new  queen  is  usually  re- 
ceived by  a  hive  : 

"  If  another  queen  is  introduced  into  the  hive  M-ithin 
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,  iind  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  well  received,  from  the 
moment  of  her  introduction. 

"  Reaumur  afiirms,  that,  should  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  theii  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  securmg  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  THE    HTVE    AND    H0NP:T-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  antenna  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  attemj^ting  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.  "  Mc  nihilo  nihil  Jit " — 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 
sohcit  honey,  when  returned ;  and  if  kept  away  for  an 
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    SWAKMIXG.  203 

queen-cage,  with  a  suite  of  well-fed  workers,  arrived  in 
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  ha\ing  a  fertile  queen  will 
almost  always  quarrel  with  those  having  an  unimpregnated 
one;  and  this  is  one  reason  why  a  furious  contest,  in 
which  thousands  perish,  often  ensues  when  new  swarms 
attempt  to  mingle. 

Members  of  difierent  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  m  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  sprinkUng  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  coiced  look^  which  unmistakably  proclaims  that 
he  is  conscious  of  being  an  intruder.  If,  therefore,  the 
bees  of  one  colony  are  left  on  their  own  struid^  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  7iew 
standi  and  shaken  out  together  on  a  sheet,  they  will 
peaceably  mingle,  when  scented  alike.* 

*  I  find  substantially  the  same  thing  recommended,  in  17T8,  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  possessioivof  its  honciV 


204  THE    HIVE    AND    liONEY-liEE. 

If,  when  two  colonies  are  put  together,  the  bees  in  the 
one  on  the  old  stand  are  not  gorged  ^yiih  honey,  they  "will 
often  attack  the  others,  which  are  loaded,  and  speedily  sting 
them  to  death,  in  spite  of  all  theii-  attempts  to  purchase 
immunity,  by  offering  their  honey.  Mr,  Wm.  W.  Cary, 
of  Coleraino,  Massachusetts,  who  has  long  been  an  accurate 
observer  of  the  habits  of  bees,  unites  colonies  very  suc- 
cessfully, by  alarmhig  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  Avith  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  unwillmgness  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  then*  defense,  in  case  of  an 
attack,  than  the  single  sword  of  a  Washington  or  a  Wel- 
liniiton  could  decide  a  s^reat  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-fiTe  years  before 
Huberts  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  convinced 
that  wax  was  secreted  from  honey,  that  he  recommended  feeding  new  swarms, 
when  the  weather  is  stormy,  that  they  may  sooner  buUd  comb  for  the  eggs  of  the 
queen. 

Mr.  Wagner  refers  me  to  "Orerbeck's  Glossarium  Melliturgium'''— Bremen, 
1765,  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  Tastor,  named  Herman  C.  Horn- 
bostel.  He  gave  his  discoveries  to  the  world  in  the  so-c.illed  "Hamburgh 
tiiBEART,"  vol.  2,  p.  45 ;  and  they  are  bo  particularly  described  as  to  leave  no  douM 
of  their  coiTCctness. 


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,  with  every  demonstration  of  the  most 
vindictive  hatred.  Why,  then,  are  not  both  often  de- 
stroyed ?  We  can  never  sufficiently  admke  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  under  that  of 
her  rival,  so  as  to  mflict  a  deadly  wound,  without  any  risk 
to  herself — the  moment  the  position  of  the  two  combats 
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  theu*  conflict  for  a  short  time ! 

The  foUo^dng  interesting  statements  were  furnished  to 
the  Xeio  England  Farmer  (Oct.  1855),  by  Hon.  Simon 
Brown,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  in  1855. 

"  On  the  1 7th  of  July  last,  we  placed  in  our  dinuig- 
room  window  one  of  Mr.  Langstroth's  observing  bee-hives, 
constructed  of  glass,  so  that  all  the  operations  of  the  bees 
could  be  plainly  and  conveniently  seen.  A  comb  about  a 
foot  square  was  placed  in  it,  containhig  some  brood,  Avith 
plenty  of  workers  and  drones,  but  icithout  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  liad  made,  in  less  than 
half  the  time  it  had  required  to  construct  them,  and  theu 


206  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

began  to  piece  out  and  repair  the  comb  which  needed  a 
corner.  The  queen  at  once  commenced  lading,  and  soon 
filled  the  miocciipied  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 
fur  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  times  furious  to  destroy  them.  The  workers,  however, 
surrounded  her,  and  prevented  such  Avholesale  murder. 
But  for  two  days  she  was  intent  upon  her  fell  purpose,  and 
kept  in  almost  continuous  motion  to  efl:ect  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  time  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  tico  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  accomphsh  it  was 
of  the  most  deUberate  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  Avhich  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  mfiict  the  fatal  blow  by  some  sudden  or  adroit 
movement.  But  for  some  moments  the  parties  seemed 
equally  matched  ;  no  advantage  could  be  gained  on  either 
side.  The  bees  stood  looking  calmly  on  the  dreadful 
afi'ray,  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  time, 
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  fotal  battle,  and  the  fall  of  their  poor  slain 
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.  GO).t  Those  who  have 
plenty  of  good  worker-comb,  will  unquestionably  find  it 
to  their  advantage  to  use  it  in  the  place  of  tlie  artificial 
guides  (PI.  I.,  Fig.  2,  io).l     Those  who  use  the  guides, 

*  "  We  introduced  a  queen  into  a  hive,"  says  Iluber,  "  after  paintin<r  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 
a*  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  full  liberty  of  attack ;  then, 
if  they  showed  a  disposition  to  fly,  they  returned  to  inclose  them."' 

t  Mr.  S.  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  framea. 


2:08  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

should  examine  a  swarm  two  or  three  days  after  it  is 
hived,  when,  by  a  httle  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  well  for  its  encouragement,  as  to 
economize  its  animal  heat,  and  guard  against  irregularities 
in  comb-building.  Yarro,  who  flourished  before  the 
Christian  Era,  says  (Liber.  III.,  Cap.  xviii.),  that  bees  be- 
come dispuited,  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  "udth  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  ^nth  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  o;?,  the  ju-actical 
Apiarian  will  aim,  as  far  as  possible,  to  dispense  with  their 
use.  I  have  devised  a  plan — w^hich  will  be  elsewhere  de- 
scribed— for  superseding  them,  and  enabling  the  beginner 
to  compel  his  bees,  w^ithout  any  comb,  to  build  in  the 
frames  wdth  entire  regularity. 

It  must  he  obvious  to  every  intelligent  bee-keeper^  that 
the  perfect  control  oftJie  combs  of  the  hive  is  the  soul  of 
a  system  of  practical  managemerd.,  which  may  be  modi- 
fied to  suit  the  wants  of  all  who  cultivate  bees.     Even  tho 


ARTIFICIAL    SWARMING.  209 

old-fasliioned  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  fi'om  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.  71). 

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  tliis  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  beUeve  that  this  can  be  so. 

The  ignorance  of  most  hee-keepers  of  the  almost  vn- 
limited  control  xohich  mcnj  he  peaceably  acquired  over 
hees^  has  ever  been  regarded  by  the  author  of  this  treatise 
as  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  speedy  introduction,  of 
movable-cond)  hives.  He  might  easily  have  invented  con- 
trivances which,  by  adapting  themselves  to  this  ignorance, 
would,  at  first,  have  proved  much  more  lucrative  to  liiin, 
liad  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.  Munn,  Esq.    The  object 


210  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

all  the  iugenuity  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  1 744,  appears  to  have  first  intro- 
duced the  practice  of  stupefying  bees  by  the  narcotic 
fames  of  the  "  puff  ball "  {Fungus  pulverulentus)^  diied 
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  fiimes.  The  bees 
soon  drop  motionless  fi'om  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 i>nth  glass  «i'^*, 
60  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  sweoto»ed 
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-hivc,  or  one  with  movable  bars,  may  be  much  more  safely  managed 
than  any  one  which  proposes  to  elevate  the  frames,  without  permitting  them  to  he 
pushed  apart  (p.  150).  A  single  hive,  the  arrangemo  s  of  which  are  such  as  to 
maim  and  irritate  bees,  is  more  to  be  dreaded  in  ai  Apiary  than  a  thousiind  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  Whr-tler,  Esq.,"  made  in  1675-6,  it 
appears  that  it  was,  at  that  time,  in  common  use  i^Sere,  and,  probably,  even  then  «<n 
old  invention  ;  he  describes  how  it  was  used  for  forming  artificial  swarms,  and  re- 
moving spare  honey.  As  the  new  swarms  w»-Te  made  by  dividing  the  combs  be- 
tween two  hives,  and  no  mention  is  made  iK  giving  the  queenless  one  a  royal  cell 
^those  old  observers  were  probably  acqi«ftinted  with  the  fact  that  they  could  rear 
one  from  the  worker-brood.  Huber  *ays:  — "  Monticelli,  a  Neapolitan  Professor, 
claims  that  the  plan  of  artificial  swa-'-oingwas  borrowed  from  Favignana,  and  that 
the  practice  is  so  ancient  th.^t  cv©  the  Latin  names  are  preserved  by  the  iuhabi 
tants  in  their  procedure." 


ARTIFICIAL    SWARMINQ.  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  procrastmate  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*  Tvdll  be  extensively  used  by  skUlful  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  the  splendid  discoveries  of  lluber — 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-.Tournal :— "  The  use  of  these  frames  will,  I  am  persuaded,  give  a  new  Im- 
pulse to  the  easy  and  i)rofitable  management  of  bees ;  and  will  render  the  making 
of  artificial  swarms  an  easy  operation." 


212  THE    HIYE    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 
imder  such  circumstances ;  for  either  the  bees  build  royal 
cells,  aware  of  their  approachmg  end,  or  they  die  so  sud- 
denly as  to  leave  young  brood  behind  them.  Queens  are 
not  only  much  longer  hved  (p.  58)  than  the  workers,  but 
are  usually  the  last  to  perish  in  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  tlie  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,  1S5C — 
two  -which  had  scaled  queens.  As  the  drones  were  not  killed,  in  some  of  the  hives, 
until  after  the  1st  of  November,  these  queens  might  have  been  imjircgnated,  if  the 
weather  had  not  become  very  cold.  When  examined  on  the  21st  day  of  February, 
these  stocks  had  each  a  few  sealed  drone-'i  and  larvie,  while  weaker  stocks  had 
much  brood.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  Prot  Leidy's  description  of  these 
queens :—"  Their  ovaries  were  filled  with  egg*,  from  a  more  point  to  such  as  mo;is- 
ured  four-fifths  of  a  line  long,  and  one-eighth  of  a  line  broad.  Their  spormathecas 
were  filled  with  mucoid,  granular  matter,  and  epithelial  cells,  and  did  not  contain 


214  THE    HIVE    AND    HONET-BEE. 

We  have  yet,  hoT\'ever,  to  describe  under  what  circum- 
stances the  majority  of  hives  become  queenless.  More 
queens^  whose  loss  cannot  he  supplied  by  the  bees,  perish 
when  they  leave  the  hive  to  meet  the  drones,  than  in  aU 
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, 
ao-ainst  some  hard  object,  or  blowm  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  habitatiort  (p.  125),  the  young  queens 
frequently  make  a  fatal  mistake,  and  are  destroyed,  by 
attemptiyig  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  ahke,  are 
often  more  successful  than  those  whose  hives  are  of  the 
best  construction.  The  former — unless  their  hives  are  ex- 
cessively crow^ded — ^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  fiill  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  JUamejits.'"  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-eg<rs,  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  bo  kept  to  advantage  in  large 
Apiaries? 


LOSS    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 — wliich  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  hke  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  laculty, 
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  giye  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  aspu-ants  for 
the  honors  of  maternity,  while  others  were  entu'ely  for- 
saken. Many  eggs  were  broken,  more  were  addled,  and 
hardly  enough  hatched  to  establish  one  mother  as  the 
happy  mistress  of  a  flom-ishing  family.  Had  he  left  his 
hens  to  their  own  instincts,  they  would  have  scattered 
their  nests,  and  gladdened  his  eyes  with  a  numerous  oft- 
sj^ring. 

Through  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land,  bee- 
keepers who  sufter  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  yoimg  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 
Uable  to  make  mistakes,  must  count  upon  heavy  losses. 
If  he  puts  a  number  of  hives,  under  circumstances  sunilar 
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  retaui  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  1T66,  gives  (p.  98)  the  following 
directions  : — "Forget  not  to  paint  the  mouths  of  your  colonies  with  different  colors, 
as  red,  white,  blue,  yellow,  &.c.,  in  form  of  a  half-moon,  or  square,  that  the  beea 
may  the  better  know  their  own  home,"'  Such  precautions  preserved  the  stocks 
from  becoming  queenless,  although  they  were  not  adopted  for  that  end. 


Fia:.  51. 


Plate  XYI. 


Fig.  52. 


LOSS    OF    THK    QUEEN.  217 

by  other  bees,  or  fiill  a  prey  to  the  moth,  or  gradually 
dwindle  away. 

As  the  bee-keeper,  from  Ihnited  space  or  other  reasons, 
may  prefer  to  keep  his  colonies  close  together,  I  have  de- 
vised a  way  of  efiecting  it,  without  risking  the  loss  of 
the  young  queens  : — 

If  he  relies  upon  natural  swarming,  he  should  remove 
the  motlier-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  jDlace  (p.  156)  of 
those  which  subsequently  leave. 

If  artilicial  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  j^age  186.  If  two  Ajiiaries  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 percej^tion  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 
(puien  is  lost  in  what  the  Germans  call  "  her  wedding  ex- 
cursion," the  bees  of  an  old  stock  will  gradually  decline  ; 
those  of  an  after-swarui,  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 
from  them,  under  circumstances  that  excite  the  Mhole 
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  alaimed,  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  mother,  makes  diligent 
search  for  her  through  the  hive.  The  intelligence  that 
she  cannot  be  found  being  noised  abroad,  the  whole  flimily 
is  speedily  alarmed.  At  such  times,  mstead  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  in  a  few  minutes,  royal  cells 
were  fi^und  two  days  later.  The  queen  was  unhurt,  and 
the  cells  mitenanted.  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  maybe  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  supppUed  with  a 
queen  or  the  means  of  raising  one,  sliould  be  broken  up, 

♦  "  For  eighteen  hours  after  the  queen  was  taken  a-way,  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,  aa  if 
going  to  swarm,  and  in  short,  exhibited  all  the  symptoms  of  bereavement  and  de- 
ipair."— Bevan,  p.  2-4. 


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  Colvm,  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  staiwation. 

A  stock  is  sure  to  be  queenless,  if,  after  taking  its  first 
Spring-flight,  the  bees,  l)y  roaming,  in  an  inquiring  manner, 
in   and  out  of  the  hive  (p.   C7),   show  that  some  great 

♦  "Mr.  Eandolph  Peters,  of  Philadclpliia,  had  a  stock  which  he  was  satisfied 
was  queenless,  as  the  bees  did  not  carry  in  pollen  for  28  days.  I  put  a  queen  into 
the  hive,  he  holding  a  watch  in  his  hand,  and  in  8>;  minutes  from  the  time  she  was 
introduced,  a  bee  was  seen  to  enter  with  pollen  on  its  leirs!  We  l»oth  observed 
the  entrance  for  some  time,  and  saw  many  bees  carry  in  jxtlion." — P.  J   Mauan. 


220  THE    HIVE    AND    HONET-BFE. 

calamity  has  befallen  them.  Those  that  come  fi'om  the 
fields,  mstead  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-mo\dng  steps. 

And  here,  if  permitted  to  address  a  word  of  friendly 
advice,  I  would  say  to  every  wife — Do  all  that  you  can 
♦o  make  your  husband's  home  a  place  of  attraction. 
Wlien  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  ^dfe  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  efiicacy  of  love,  and  faith,  and 
prayer,  before  those  words  of  fearful  agony, 

'*  Anywhere,  anywhere 
Out  of  the  work! !" 

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  ont  of  a  bee:  and  happy  Is 
the  man  who  gets  such  a  one  for  his  wife.  She  is  full  of  virtue  antl  prudence,  and 
*s  the  best  wife  that  Jupiter  can  bestow."^SPKrTATOR,  No.  200. 


LOSS    OF    THK    QIEKN.  221 

tliey  usually  give  reliable  evideuce  either  that  all  is  well, 
or  that  ruin  lurks  within,  if  their  first  flight  is  not  noticed^ 
it  is  sometimes  difficult,  in  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 
the  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,  ^vith  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  w^iich  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,t  should 
be  given  to  it  from  a  stronger  colony.     Or  it  may  change 

*  I  would  rtfor  those,  who  think  that  "  it  is  too  much  trouble"'  to  examine  their 
hives  in  the  Sprintr,  to  the  praeticc  of  the  ancii-nt  bee-keepers,  as  set  forth  by 
Colninclla: — "The  hives  should  be  opened  in  the  Sprinfj,  that  all  the  filth  which 
was  gathered  in  them  durinpc  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  thus  cleaned,  the  bees  will  apply  themselves  to  work  with  tho 
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  cv/^/w;/ out  combi 
from  stronger  colonies,  containing  workers  "just  gnawing  out  <>f  their  c<d!6.'' 


222  THE    HITK    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

Stands  witli  a  strong  stock,  when  the  bees  are  actively 
gathering  stores;  or  bees  brought  from  a  distance  maybe 
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  ini- 
pregnated.f  In  a  large  Apiary,  where  many  swarms 
might  otherwise  come  oif  together,  this  will  greatly  di- 

*  If  a  common  Live  is  found,  in  the  Spring,  to  be  very  much  reduced  in  numbers, 
:t  can  bo  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  f.o  give  under  my  hand,  that  I  knew  a  parish  priest  who  had 
five  thousand  hives.    The  bees  suck  all  their  honey  from  the  aromatic  flowera 


LOSS    OF    THE    QUEEN.  223 

miuish  the  labor  and  perplexity  of  tlie  bee-keeper.  I  have 
de^^sed  a  way  of  doing  this,  so  as  to  designate  the  age  of 
the  queens  : — With  a  pair  of  scissors,  let  the  ^dngs,  on 
one  side,  of  a  young  queen  be  careMly  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  ^2.^^  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  l)e 
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. 

*  Pcisel  says,  that  a  queen  that  has  suflFered  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. 

+  "  Queens  differ  much  as  to  the  degree  of  their  fertility.  Those  are  best  which 
deposit  their  eggs  with  uniform  regularity,  leaving  no  cells  nnsupplled— 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." — Dziereon. 
In  bee-life,  as  well  as  in  hura.-in  affairs,  those  who  are  systematic,  ordinarily  accom- 
plish the  most. 


224  THE    HIV?:    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  Korthem 
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.  XL),  speaks  of  the  irregular 
and  thick  combs  built  by  some  stocks,  and  the  superabundance  of  drones  issuing 
from  them.  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  flisht,  as  though  to  take  violent  exercise,  and  when  they 
have  taken  enough,  return  home,  and  gorge  themselves  with  honey."  Columella 
Bays,  that  the  proper  time  for  removing  the  surplus  hon<\v  is  when  the  bees  expel 
ihe  drones. 


LOSS    OF    THE    QUEEN.  225 

He  worketb  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  w^ould  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  destrojdng  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.  Findhig 
this  to  be  in  vain,  they  soUcit  honey  from  the  workers, 
and  when  refreshed,  renew  their  efforts  for  admission,  ex- 
pressing, all  the  while,  w^ith  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    HOXET-BEE. 

(p.  51),  by  removing  all  excess  of  drone-comb  from  the 
breeding  apartment.* 

In  the  Summer  of  1853,  I  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  ner  pecuhar  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  Imown  in  Aristo- 
tle's time,  who  says :  "  When  the  bees  swarm,  if  the  king 
(queen)  is  lost,  we  are  told  that  they  all  search  for  him, 
and  follow  him  Avith  then-  sagacious  smell,  mitil  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."t 

The  intelligent  bee-keeper  wiU  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  j)erformed  with  difficulty,  if  at  all,  is  in  this  rendered 
easy  and  certain.  Xo  hive,  however,  can  make  the 
ignorant  or  negligent  very  successful,  unless  they  live  in  a 
region  where  the  chmate  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 
(   au7'a  seminalis''')  of  the  drones. 

+  Before  becoming  acquainted  with  these  authors,  I  supposed  myself  to  haTo 
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  Auiary. 


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  sm'plus  honey,  and  on  the  approach  of  Winter 
prepare  the  bees  to  resist  its  rigors. 


228  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE     BEE-MOTH,    AND    OTHER    ENEMIES    OF    BEES DISEASES 

OF    BEES. 

The  Bee-Moth  {Tinea  rtiellonelld)  is  mentioned  by 
Aiistotle,  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  in  despair.  Most  of 
the  contrivances  devised  against  it  have  proved  worthless, 
and  not  a  few  have  aided  its  nefarious  designs. 

Ha\dng  closely  studied  its  habits,  I  am  able  to  show 
how  careful  bee-keepers  may  protect  their  colonies  fi'om 
being  ruined  by  its  assaults.  The  careless  will  obtam  a 
"  inoth-proof''''  hive  only  when  the  sluggard  finds  a 
'"'' loeed-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  time  the  "  hee-icolf^'')^  one  much  larger  than 
the  other.  Linnseus  and  Reaumur  also  describe  two 
kinds  —  Tinea  cereana  and  Tinea  mellonella.  Most 
writers  suppose  the  former  to  be  the  male,  and  the  latter 
the  female  of  the  same  species.  The  following  description 
is  abridged  from  Dr.  Harris'  Report  on  the  Insects  of 
Massachusetts : 

"  Yery  few  of  the  TinecB  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  Anngs  expand  from  one  inch  and  one-tenth  to  one 
inch  and  four-tenths.  The  fore-T\ings  shut  together  flatly 
on  the  top  of  the  back,  slope  steeply  do^vnwards  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  mnged  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  ^\-ith  whom  I  am  acquainted  has  given  such 
an  exact  description  of  the  difi*erence  between  the  sexes, 
that  they  can  always  be  readily  distinguished.  The 
beautiful  wood-cuts  of  the  moths,  larvae,  and  cocoons, 
which  I  present  to  my  readers,  were  dm^\m  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 
Female  to7igue  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 
j^^j^  females,  the  peculiarity  of  the  tO)igue 

of  the  female  is  so  marked^   that  she 
may  alicays  he  distinguished  at  a  glance. 

*  Di .  Harris  speaks  of  the  tongue  of  tbe  moth  as  "  very  short,  and  hardlf 
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  Avhich  she  is  repre- 
sented as  Ipng  on  her  back.  Both 
male  and  female  were  accurately  copied 
from  specimens  of  the  average  size  and 

Female.  f^j.^^^ 

In  this  sketch,  an  under-sized  male  is 
represented.*     His  color  was  so    dark 
that,  but  for  the  tongue,  he  might  easily 
Small  Male.  havc  bccu  mistaken  for  a  female  of  a 

diflerent  and  much  smaller  species.f 

These  insects  are  seldom  seen  on  the  wing,  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  ^vings  a  little,  and  spring  or 
glide  swiftly  away,  so  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  seize  or  to 
hold  them.|     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 
.'he  was  fastened,  she  at  once  proceeded  to  fill  them  with  eggs.  Her  abdomen 
was  ther.  cut  off,  and  the  egg-laying  process  continued  as  before,  while  the  rest  of 
the  body  leisurely  walked  away !  The  abdomen  was  now  dissected,  so  as  to  show 
the  ducts  of  the  ovai-ies,  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. 

t  They  are  surprisingly  agile,  both  on  foot  and  on  the  wing,  the  motions  of  a  bee 
being  very  slow,  in  comparison.  "  They  are,"  says  Reaumur,  "  the  most  nimble- 
footed  creatures  that  I  know." 


ENEMIES    OF    BEES.  231 

bees  are  at  rest,  and  hover  around  the  hive,  till,  haA^ing 
found  the  door,  they  go  in  and  lay  their  eggs"  " If  the 
approach  to  the  Apiary,"  says  Bevan,  "  be  observed  of 
a  moonhght  evening,  the  moths  Tvill  be  foimd  flying  or 
running  round  the  hives,  watching  an  opportunity  to  en- 
ter, whilst  the  bees  that  have  to  guard  the  entrances 
against  theii'  intrusion,  will  be  seen  acting  as  vigilant 
sentinels,  perfomiing  continual  rounds  near  this  important 
post,  extending  their  antennse  to  the  utmost,  and  mo\iug 
them  to  the  right  and  left  alternately.  Woe  to  the  un- 
fortunate moth  that  comes  within  their  reach  I"  "  It  is 
curious,"  says  Huber,  "  to  observe  how  artfully  the  moth 
knows  how  to  profit  by  the  disadvantage  of  the  bees, 
which  requu'e  much  light  for  seeing  objects,  and  the  pre- 
cautions taken  by  the  latter  in  reconnoitering  and  expel- 
]ino-  so  dan  onerous  an  enemv." 

"  Those  that  are  prevented  from  getting  within  the 
hive,  lay  theu*  eggs  in  cracks  on  the  outside  ;  and  the  little 
worm-hke  caterpillars  hatched  therefrom,  easily  cree])  mto 
the  hive  through  the  cracks,  or  gnaw  a  passage  for  theni- 
selves  under  the  edges  of  it."* — Dk.  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, 
duiing  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  })rocure  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  oggi 
where  her  progeny  will  find  an  easy  admission  to  the  hive. 


232  THE    HIVE    AlsT)    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  vnth  opposi- 
tion from  the  bees,  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*  AYhen  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  larvai 
stop  eating,  and  seek  a  suitable  23lace  for  encasing  them- 
selves in  then*  silky  shi'oud.  Li  hives  where  they  reign 
unmolested,  almost  any  place  ^^ill  answer  their  purpose, 
and  they  often  pile  their  cocoons  one  on  another,  or  join 
them  together  in  long  rows.  They  sometunes  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  m  size  and  form,  of  a 
curious  instance  of  this  kind.  The  black  spots,  resembUng 
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  Avith  an  instant  writ 
of  ejectment.  If  a  hive  is  thorouglily  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  i)ancake.  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- 

*  "  Larva}  fed  exclusively  on  pure  wax  will  die,  wax  being  a  non-nitrogonoua 
substance,  and  not  furnishing  the  aliment  required  for  their  perfect  develop- 
ment.''— DoNlIOFF. 

7'niB  statement  agrees  with  the  fact,  that  the  larvae  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    HIYE    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  larvae  to 
break  forth  into  winged  msects,  varies  with  the  tempera^ 
ture  to  which  they  are  exposed,  and  the  season  of  the 
year  when  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  liive,  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  (1S5S),  I  procured  a  large  number  of  cocoons  for  winter  obser- 
vations. From  many  of  them,  the  moths  quickly  emerged.  In  others,  the  larv89 
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  larvte  become  motionless  at  a  temperature  of  from  3S° 
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  larvse  which  greedily  ate  the  food  given  to  them, 
and  not  as  I  did,  xoith  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  larvaj,  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  larvae  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-3ighth  of  a  line  in  diameter.  In  the  ducts  of  the 
ovarium,  they  are  ranged  togethof  in  the  form  of  a  rosary.   Th.\v  aro  not  developed 


ENEMIES    OF    BEES.  235 

tLe  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  msidious  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  Xew  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- 
eitor,  and  the  eggs  may  then  be  distinctly  seen  passing  along  through  the  semi- 
transparent  duct.     (Sec  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  examinod  the 
comb,  and  found  on  it  some  web  and  two  larvaj.  The  eggs  were  all  shrivelled  and 
dried  up,  except  a  few  which  were  perforated,  and  from  which,  I  suppose,  the 
larvjB  emerged.  This  appears  to  bo  a  case  of  true  parthenogenesis  in  the  bee 
moth." — Tranf<lated  from  Dr.  Dunhuff  by  S.  Wagner. 

As  among  hundreds  of  s{>ecimens  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  (<lor  of  the  moth  and  larva;  is  very  otTensive. 


236  THE    HR'E    A^'D    HONEY-BKE. 

white  man's  fly.*  Longfellow,  in  his  "  Song  of  Hiawatha," 
in  describing  the  advent  of  the  European  to  the  New 
World,  makes  his  Indian  warrior  say  of  the  bee  and  the 
white  clover: — 

"  Wheresoe'er  they  move,  before  them 
Swarms  the  stingiug  fly,  the  Ahmo, 
Swarms  the  bee,  the  honey-maker  ; 
"Wheresoe'er  they  tread,  beneath  them 
Springs  a  flower  miknown  among  us, 
Springs  the  White  Man's  Foot  in  blossom." 

As  the  bees  flourished  for  years  undisturbed  by  the 
moth,  it  seems  j^robable  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  m  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  ^-ith  snow-white  combs  were  a  common  sight. 

Many  Apiarian?  contend  that  newly-settled  countries 
are  most  favorable  to  the  bee;  and  an  old  German  adage 

rims  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  f^" 

•  "  It  is  suprising  in  what  countless  swarms  the  bees  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  buflfalo  retire They  have  been  tho 

hemlds  of  civilization,  steadUy  preceding  it  as  it  advances  from  the  Atlantic 
borders ;  and  some  of  the  ancient  settlers  of  the  West  pretend  to  give  the  *'*'ry 
year  when  the  honey-bee  first  crossed  the  Mississippi.     At  present  it  swarn^ 


ENE:snE3    OF    BEES.  237 

Others  affirm  tliat  our  colonies  are  too  numerous  to  find 
sufficient  fi^od.  That  neither  of  these  reasons  account  for 
the  change,  will  be  subsequently  shown.  Others  lay  all 
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 
suiwive  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 
anknoA^-n,  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  bo 
laughed  at  for  complaming  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  when  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  C07itributed  to  Jill  the  land  with 

myriads  in  the  noble  groves  and  foresta  that  skirt  and  intersect  the  prairies,  a:.d 
extend  alon?  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 — 'aland  flow- 
ing with  milk  and  honey;'  for  the  rich  pasturage  of  the  prairies  is  calculated  to 
sustaii  herds  of  cattle  as  countless  as  the  sanls  upon  the  sea-shore,  while  the 
flowers  with  which  they  are  enamelled  render  them  a  very  paradise  for  the  nectar- 
eeeking  bee." — Washington  Ihvixg,  Tour  on  the  Prairie*,  Chap.  IX. 


238  THE  HIVE   A^^)  hoxey-bee. 

the  devouring  j^est.  Ever  since  theii-  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  ohl 
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  o\\ti,  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  m  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  all  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  theii'  o^^ti 
pockets,  would  be  glad  to  kill  all  the  bees  in  the  world, 
they  not  only  afibrd  no  more  secuiity  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  .sgainst  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  upiMi,  as  if,  aftei 


ENEMIES    UF    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  himiane  and  enUght- 
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 

INDU8TEI0US       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  in  this  country,  from  Dr.  Jared  P.  Kirtland,  of 

pajing  a  large  sum  for  an  infallible  life-preserving  secret,  he  had  been  tnrned  oflf 
witli  the  truism  that,  to  live  forever,  one  must  keep  welll 

*  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  t)arbarous  practice  did  not  exist.  The  old  cultivators  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  he  read  with 
great  interest : 

"Cleveland,  Feb.  19th,  1859. 

"Dear  Sir: — Until  1805,  the  honey-bee  flourished  iu 
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  skep  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  article, 
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 
^\  ere  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  hi* 
Apiary,  were  much  more  destructive  the  second  season  after  \X*  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  n»  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  boos  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 


Fig.  53.  Plate  XVII. 


Fig.  54. 


ENEMIES    OF    BEKS.  24:1 

"  Siuce  that  period,  a  succession  of  patent  hives,  whose 
originators  were  ignorant  of  the  habits  of  the  moth,  has 
appeared  as  its  auxiharies,  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,  I  resided  in  the  county  of 
rriunbull,  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 
wonn.  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  "Winter  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  Xew 
England  States. 

"Until  the  introduction  of  your  system  of  movable 
frames,  no  successful  means  of  counteracting  its  ravages 
were  devised.     I  am  hapi)y  to  say  that,  by  the  aid  of  your 
hives,  I  have  not  tlie  least  difficulty  in  meeting  it. 
"  With  great  respect,  yours,  etc  , 

''Rev.  L.  L.  Lang.stroth.  •*  Jarkd  P.  Kirtland.'' 

out  the  large  death-head  moth  {Sphinx  atropoH\  a  single  one  of  which  can  swallow 
a  tablespoonful  of  honey. 

An  AjMariau,  from  Ohio,  sent  mc  some  honey-eating  moths,  much  larger  thAn  the 
bee-moth,  which  entered  his  weak  hive3  and  gorged  themselves  with  honey. 
li 


242  THE    IITYE    AND    HOXET-BEJb;. 

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  o\^Tier,  with  all  the  newest  devices  in  the 
Apiarian  line,  being  unable  to  protect  them  agaijist  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  oflspring  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,  m  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  Avith  the  eggs  of  the  moth,  and,  frequently, 
their  o^^Tier  becomes  aware  of  their  condition  only  when 
their  ruin  is  completed.  But  how,  can  the  novice 
know  when  a  stock,  in  a  common  hive,  is  seriouslyf  in- 
fested with  these  all-devourin(T  worms?  The  discourasred 
aspect  of  the  bees  plainly  indicates  that  there  is  trouble 
of  some  kind  withm,  and  the  bottom-board  mil  be  cov- 
ered with  pieces  of  bee-bread  mixed  with  the  excremefit 
of  the  worms,  which  looks  like  grains  of  gunpowder.X 

*  It  is  very  common  to  hear  bee-keepers  speak  of  having  "  g  >od  Inck,"  or  "baj 
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. 

X  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 
vrith  the  black  excrement,  they  are  proofs  of  industry,  instead  of  signs  of  ruin. 


ENEMIES    OF    BEES.  243 

Early  in  the  Spring,  before  the  i>tocks  become  populous, 
the  bees  should  be  driven  up  among  their  combs  by 
smoke,  and  tlie  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  w^ere  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  docs  every  fact 
in  the  history  of  the  bee,  Avhen  properly  investigated, 
point  with  unerring  certainty  to  the  wisdom  of  Him  who 
made  it  I 

Combs  having  no  brood,  maybe  smoked  witb  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  dry  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-swarms, 


24:4:  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 
bees.* 

How  worthless,  then,  to  a  queenless  colony,  are  all  the 
traps  and  other  devices  which,  of  late  years,  have  been  so 
much  rehed  upon.  Any  passage  which  admits  a  bee  is 
large  enough  for  the  moth,  and  if  a  single  female  enters 
such  a  hive,  she  tvtII  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  thu'd 
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,  a»  it  was,  in  all  likelihood,  queenless,  and  tcould  cer- 
tainly have  been  destroyed  hy  the  moth. 

Mv  attention  has  been  recently  called  to  an  article  in  the  Ohio  Cultivator  for 
1&49  page  1S5,  by  Micajah  T.  Johnson,  in  which,  after  detailing  some  experiments, 
hesays:— "One  thing  is  certain — if  bees,  from  any  cause,  should  lose  tht-ir  queen, 
iind  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. 

+  This  power  of  rapid  increase  accounts  for  Judge  Fishback's  and  Dr.  Kirtland'a 
tacts  respecting  the  rapid  «llsstmination  of  the  moth. 


KNEMTES    OF    BEER.  245 

make  no  efi'ectual  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  sufti- 
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  of  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 


24 (j  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

deslruction  is  certain ;  wliile  not  unfrequently,  after  an 
experience  of  years,  lie  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  m  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  wortliy  scavengers  as  the  primary  cause  of  her 
untimely  end. 

♦  Colonies  which  are  almost  starved  become  almost  as  in<lifiFerent  to  the  attacks 
of  the  moth  as  those  which  have  no  queen. 


ENE]VnES    OF   BEES.  247 

The  bee-motli  is  the  only  msect  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  notliing  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  keej)  them  in  this 
condition.  They  will  thus  do  more  to  defend  themselves 
than  if  he  devoted  the  whole  of  his  tune  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,  Avill  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  sucli  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  dispenshig 


*  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  extefmiiiation  in  any  Apiary  would  be  desirable,  unless  it  could  be 
destroy.>d  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  h(id  bees  were  doubtlesi 
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  crowmg  and  cack- 
Img  tribe  when  they  go  to  ?jed  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  lazhiess,  have  no  taste  for  early  rising,  and  sit 
moping  on  their  roost,  long  after  the  cheerful  sim  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  cliiU 
of  death  by  warm  covering,  or  artificial  heat. 

Let  me  not  be  understood  as  asserting  that  there  are 
no  means  of  protecting  the  conmiou  hives  from  the 
ravages  of  the  bee-moth.  If  hee-keepers  will  he  careful 
to  place  their  hives  ichere  the  young  queens  are  not  in 
danger  of  being  lost  (p.  214),  they  will  lose  comparatively 
few  of  their  colo?iies.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact  will 
enable  the  Apiarian  to  contend  successfully  against  the 
moth,  let  him  use  what  hive  he  will.  He  will,  undoubt- 
edly, lose  many  colonies  wliich  have  become  queenless, 
from  other  causes  than  the  close  proximity  of  their  hives, 
and  which  might  be  easily  saved  hi  movable  comb-hives ; 
but  his  losses  will  not  be  of  such  a  wholesale  character  as 
utterly  to  dishearten  liim  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  larva^  of  the  moth. 
The  destruction  of  a  sinole  female   worm  mav  thus  be 


ENEMIES    OF    BEES.  249 

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,  easUy  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  worais  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  m.,  YI.,  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.  Johusville.  New  York,  who<e  (.•uiiwuon-.sense  treatise  on 
"  The  Mysteries  of  Bee-Keeping"  will  richly  repay  perusal,  is  of  opinion  that  the 
larger  number  of  imperfect  bees  carried  ouL  of  the  hive  in  the  Spring,  have  been 
destroyed  by  the  worms.  He  thinks  that  enuugh  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  ISoT,  alluding  to  the  times 
before  the  advent  of  tte  bee-moth,  says:  "In  those  halcyon  days  of  bee-rai.sing, 
Bwarms  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  ^u!liciently  early 
for  tlie  latter  to  biv  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  sHghtly  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  T\ill  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 
with  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  tune."  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  injuruig 
his  bees.  Worms  will  spin  undisturbed  under  the  blocks, 
and  moths  lay  their  eggs  ;  his  traps  only  aflbrding  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  regulathig  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  abare  the 
frames.     If  the  lower  one  is  closed,  and  the  bees  of  a  feeble  colony  are  allowed  to 


ENEMIKS    OF    EKES.  25] 

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  1  have  to  say  upon  the  bee-moth, 
with  an  extract  from  that  accomphshed  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  agamst  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-Avorld  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 
guardod  even  in  coo!  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 

X  Report  on  Bees,  to  the  Essex  County  .Nprioultural  Societv,  1S51. 


252  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

perpetuity ;  to  be  entitled  to  a  never-fading  \v  reath  of 
budding  honey  flowers,  from  sweetly  breathmg  fields,  all 
murmuring  with  bees  ;  to  be  privileged  to  use,  during  his 
natural  life,  'night  tapers  from  their  waxen  thighs,'  (best 
Avax  candles,  two  to  the  pound  I) ;  to  have  an  annual 
oifering,  from  every  bee-master,  of  ten  pounds  each  of 
very  best  virgin  honey  ;  and  to  a  body  guard,  for  protec- 
tion against  all  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  tliat  a 
mouse  cannot  get  in.* 

That  various  kinds  of  birds  are  fond  of  bees,  every 
Aj^iarian  knows  to  his  cost.  The  King-bird  [Tyr annus 
micsicapa)^  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  srrows  cold,  the  bees  are  allowed  to  use  only  the  uppei 
entrance  (p.  2oO),  it  will  bo.  almost  impossible  Cor  mice  to  effect  a  lodgment 


ENEMIKS    OF    BEES.  -53 

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  a3rial  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,  exceijt  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.* 

*  "  Tho  farmers  of  Europe  having  learned,  by  repeated  observation,  that,  without 
the  aid  of  mischievous  birds,  their  work  would  be  sacrificed  to  the  more  dtstructi  v«j 


254  THE    HIYE    AND    HONEY-BKK. 

The  toad  is  a  well-known  devourer  of  bees.  Sitting-, 
towards  evening,  mider  a  hive,  he  will  sweep  into  his 
mouth,  Ts-ith  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  vaiious  mjurious 
msects,  he  can  plead  equal  immunity  mth  the  insective- 
rous  birds. 

It  may  seem  amazing  that  birds  and  toads  can  swallow 
bees  without  being  stimg  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  mjury.  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  liives. 

In  that  quaint  but  admirably  common-sense  work, 
entitled,  "  The  Femenine  Monarchies  icritteii  out  of 
Experience^  by  Charles  Butler;  printed  i?i  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  mto  a  great  hollow  tree, 
and  there  sunk  into  a  lake  of  honey  up  to  the  breast ; 
where — when  he  had  stuck  fast  two  days,  calUng  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  bv  any  people,  seems  to  bear  a  certain  ratio  to 
the  antiquity  of  the  nation.  Hence,  the  sacredness  with  which  they  are  regarded 
in  Japan,  whore  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." — AUaiUic  Monthly  /br  1859,  p.  8*25 


DISEASES    OF    BEES.  255 

out  of  all  hope  of  life,  he  was  strangely  delivered  by  tlie 
means  of  a  great  bear,  which,  coining  tliither  about  the 
same  business  that  he  did,  and  smeUing  the  honey,  stu-red 
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,  wliich  in  that  place  he  was  sure  of,  becUpt 
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.*  My  limits  forbid  me  to  speak  of  wasps, 
hornets,  millepedes  (or  wood-Hce),  spiders,  and  other 
enemies  of  bees.  If  the  Apiarian  keeps  his  stocks  stronsf, 
they  will  usually  be  their  own  best  protectors,  and,  unless 
they  are  guarded  by  thousands  ready  to  die  in  tlieir 
defence,  they  are  ever  liable  to  fall  a  prey  to  some  of 
their  many  enemies,  who  are  all  agreed  on  this  one  j^oint, 
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 
8]3ecial  notice.  Tlie  fatal  effects  of  dysentery  have  aln^idy 
been  alluded  to  (p.  90).  "Tlie  presence  of  this  disorder," 
says  Bevan,  "is  indicated  by  the  appearance  of  the  exere- 

*  Small  ants  often  make  their  nests  about  hives,  to  have  the  benefit  of  theii 
warmth, and  neither  molest  the  bor,  nor  are  molosteil  by  them. 


256  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

rnent,  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  whicli  sours 
by  attracting  moisture — should  be  avoided ;  also,  all  unne- 
cessary disturbance  of  colonies  in  the  AYinter,  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  hrood^''  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  //hicli  the 
Germans  call  the  dry^  and  the  other,  the  mouc  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  .stiges  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  aor  cure  for  this  disease. 

t  Dzierzon  thinks  that  this  disease  was  produced  in  his  Apiary  by  feeding  bcos 
on  "American  honey"  (honey  from  the  West  India  Islands).  As  this  honey  docs 
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  pe.stilence.  It  has  never  made  its  appearance  in  my  Api.**  les,  and  I  should 
regard  its  general  dissemination  through  our  country  as  th.  groiitest  possible 
ealamity  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  fi'om  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  Tckich  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 efiected — 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  may  be  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.  I  simply  let 
the  hives,  which  contained  diseased  colonies,  stand  exposed 

*  As  Aristotle  {Ilistory  of  Animals,  Book  IX.,  Chap.  40)  speaks  of  a  disease 
which  is  accompanied  by  a  disg:usting  smell  of  the  hive,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  foul-brood  was  common  more  than  twc  thousand  years  ago. 


258  THR    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEK. 

to  suu  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  bees  may  re-introduce  it  from  neighbor- 
ing Apiaries  or  other  foreign  sources,  I  no  longer  appre- 
hend that  it  Tvdll  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  i7i  a  colony^  there  is  no  more  reliable  and  effi- 
cient process  than  to  stop  the  production  of  brood, 
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  mil  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  tliis 
will  certainly  result  from  a  ^cell-timed  removal  of  the 
queen  from  such  colonies.  If  such  removal  becomes 
necessary  in  the  Spring  or  early  part  of  Sunnner,  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  pre^  ented.  Thus,  in  either  case,  we  are  gainers 
by  the  operati  m.     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  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed  after  it  has  bred  a  new 
queen,  and,  in  most  instances,  such  colonies  ^^dll  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-broody  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  larvce^  and  have  its  seat  in  the  chyle- 
stomach  of  the  nurslmj  bees^  though  these  latter  may  not 
themselves  be  injuriously  alFected  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  emerghig 
m  due  time,  still,  the  disease,  in  most  instances,  rc-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  ^ith  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  fiirnish  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  fi-ee  from  the  disease.  For  this 
purpose,  I  select  strong  colonies  having  young  and 
vigorous  queens,  and  which  are  consequently  able  to 
furaish  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,  vvith  a  vigorous  queen  in  the 
prime  of  life,  can  easily  supply  brood  and  bees  sufficient 
for  four  swarms." — Bienenzeitung^  1857,  Ko.  4. 


BOBBING.  261 


CHAPTER    XIII 

ROBBING,    AXD    HOW   PREVENTED. 

Bees  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  hve  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    HUNEY-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.  K  it 
can  glide  by  A^thout  touching  any  of  the  sentinels,  those 
witliin — taking  for  granted  tliat  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  t hie v  big 
scamps.  The  rogue,  when  caught,  strives  to  pull  away 
from  his  executioners,  while  the  bewildered  unfortunate 
shrinks  into  the  smallest  compass,  submitting  to  any  flito 
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  A\'itli  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, 
they  give  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  Iluber  has  described  as  so  bitterly 
persecuted  by  the  rest,  are  nothing  more  than  thieves.  Aristotle  speaks  of  *'  t 
black  bee  which  is  called  a  thif/.'"' 


KOBBING.  263 

his  spoils  from  their  deep  recesses ;  they,  thei-efore,  bite 
and  tease  him,  after  their  most  approved  fashion,  all  the 
time  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  compelled  to  sound  a 
retreat ;  too  often,  however,  as  in  human  contests — right 
proving  but  a  feeble  barrier  against  superior  might — tlie 
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, 
givmg  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  have  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  longa?o  came  to  our  knowleilsje,  which 
probably  few  bee-keepers  will  credit.  It  is  that  of  a  hive  which,  haviiij,'  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  qin.en 
Vrsclf,  'unfriended,  melancholy,  slow,' crawling  over  the  honeylcss  cells,  a  sad 
spectacle  of  the  fall  of  bee-greatness.  Marius  among  the  ruins  of  Carthage— Napo- 
leon atFonlainebleau — was  nothing  to  this."— Zon'ion  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  usefiil  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  ofier  any  efiectual  resistance,  the 
dispii'ited  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  they  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  Tarious  operations,  not  to  leave  any  combs  where 
strange  bees  can  find  them  (see  note,  p.  172) ;  for,  after  once  getting  a  taste  of 
Btolen  honey,  they  will  hover  round  him  as  soon  as  they  see  him  operating  on  n 
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  XYIII. 


ROBBING.  265 

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 
himgry-looking  as  Pharaoh's  lean  kine,  while,  on  coming 
ou%  they  show  by  their  burly  looks  that,  Hke  aldermen 
w^ho  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  ^nth  greedy  bees, 
who,  unable  to  bear  their  disappointment,  Avill  assail,  vA\X\ 
almost  frantic  desperation,  some  of  the  adjoining  stocks. 
In  this  way,  the  strongest  colonies  are  sometunes  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  then*  way  in,  he  must  close  it 
entirely.  In  a  few  minutes  the  hive  will  be  black  "vvith 
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- 
ano\}  of  air,  they  should  be  carried  to  a  cool  and   dark* 

♦  "  In  Gennany,  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 
the  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  Rev.  Mr.  Kleine  says,  that  robbers  may  be  rcprlk-d  by  imparting  to  the 

VI 


266  THE    HIVE    AND    HONKY-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 
roguos  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  distmguishing  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  efiFects  this  the  most 
readily  by  placing  in  it,  in  the  evening,  a  small  portion  of  mmk,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  bees,  if  they  have  a  healthy  queen,  will  boldly  meet  their 
dssailants.  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,  Tiote). 


FEEDING.  267 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

DIRECriOXS    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 
Spiing,  many  persons  lose  most  of  their  stocks,  and 
abandon  bee-keeping  in  disgust. 

In  the  Spring^  the  prudent  hee-keeper  will  no  more 
neglect  to  feed  his  destitute  colonies^  than  to  provide  for 
his  own  table.  At  this  season,  being  stimulated  by  the 
returning  wannth,  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'  mildevr  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,  thev  should  be  fed,  because  that  Is  the 
Mason  of  their  greatest  expense  in  honey,  for  feeding  their  young.  Having  plenty 
at  that  time,  enables  them  to  yield  early  and  strong  swarms.""— Wildman. 

A  bee-keeper,  whose  stocks  are  allowed  to  perish  after  the  Spring  has  opened,  is 
on  ft  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  .in 
unfavorable  voyage. 

Columella  gives  minute  instructions  for  feedinc  needy  stocks,  and  f^uotes  appro  v- 


268  THE    HIVE    AJNI)    UOXEY-Bi-JE. 

When  bees  fii'st  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  feedhig  should  be  discontinued.  If  a  colony  is  over- 
fed^ the  bees  T\ill  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  fiill,  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  excejDted — 
as  an  e^il  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  mimitable  wiitmgs  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,  hke  magistrates,  correct  at  home , 
Others,  hke  merchants,  venture  trade  abroad ; 
Others,  hke  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 

Ingly  the  directions  of  Hygrinns — whose  writings  are  no  longer  extant— that  thii 
matter  should  be  most  carefully  ("  (fiUgenti^t,ime")  attended  to. 


FEEDLN^G.  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  F.,  Act  /.,  Seem  2. 

Irapoverishecl  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  ckistered. 
A  bee  dekiged  by  sweets,  when  away  from  home,  is  a 
sorr}^  spectacle ;  but  what  is  thus  given  them  does  no 
harm,  and  they  T\dll  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  i-equired  by  those  who  have  movable- 
comb  hives.  It  can  only  succeed  when  everything  is 
made  subservient  to  the  most  ra])i<l  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    HOXEY-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,  hmit  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  ^"intering  bees  should  be  carefuUy  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  ^\iiiter  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  ceUs,  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  lbs.  of  honey,  two  of  brown 
sugar,  and  one  of  water,  prepared  as  above,  has  been 
used  by  me  (p.  25 V)  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  given  to  them,  will  seldom  pay  expenses. 


FEEDLNG.  271 

and  its  smell  xo  Aot  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 T\dthin  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  Tioney-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  Hd 
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  v^tien  building  comb  or 
raising  brood.  They  take  advantage  of  any  warm  Win- 
ter day  (see  Chapter  on  Wmtering  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  tliey  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 
asceuding  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    HIYE    AND    II()NEY-r>F.K. 

shallow  wooden  troughs,  or  vessels  filled  \dth  floats  or 
straw,  from  which — sheltered  from  cold  winds,  and 
warmed  by  the  genial  rays  of  the  sun — they  can  drmk 
without  risk  of  drowning. 

Bees  seem  to  be  so  fond  of  salt,  that  they  ^vill  alight 
upon  our  hands  to  lick  up  the  saUne  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  mdifference  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  bemg  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 
fi-ames,  and  the  candy  laid  on  them  just  above  the  clus- 
tered bees,  it  will  be  accessible  to  them  in  the  coldest 

*  To  make  candy  for  bee-feed :  add  water  to  the  sugar,  and  clarify  the  syrnp 
•with  o<rg.< ;  put  about  a  teaspoonful  of  cream  of  tartar  to  about  20  lbs.  of  sugar, 
and  boil  until  the  water  is  evaporated.  To  know  when  it  is  done,  dip  your  finger 
first  into  cold  water  and  fhen  into  the  sjTup.  If  what  adheres  is  brittle  when 
chewed,  it  is  boiled  enough.  Pour  it  into  shallow  pan.s  slightly  greased,  and,  when 
cold,  break  it  into  pieces  of  a  suitable  size.  After  boiline,  balm,  or  any  other 
flavor  agreeable  to  bees,  may  be  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  Hienen- 
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, 
?r  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 
lioney,  and  hence,  is  frequently  termed  honey-sugar. 

'■  •  It  may  be  fed  either  diluted  wiih  boiling-water,  or  in  its  raw 

*  By  sliding  a  few  sticks  of  canrly  under  their  frames,  a  small  colony  may  be  fed 
In  warm  weather,  without  tempting  robbers  by  the  smell  of  liquid  honey.     If  a 
small  quantity  of  liquid  food  is  needed  in  Summer,  loaf  sugar  dissolved  in  water, 
having  little  smell,  is  the  best. 
1  \1'' 


-274  THE    HITE    AND    HOXEY-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  j  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.' 

'•  ^Ir.  Kleine  grates*  candy,  for  a  winter  bee-food,  into  cells 
previously  dampened  with  sweetened  water." 

It  is  impossible  to  say  how  mucli  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  ^^intered,  whether  m  the  open  air  or  in 
special  depositaries,  where  they  are  protected  agamst  the 
undue  excitement  caused  by  sudden  and  severe  atmos- 
pheric changes;  much,  also,  on  the  length  of  the  Wmters, 
which  vary  so  much  in  different  latitudes,  and  tlie  for- 
wardness of  the  ensuing  Spring.  In  some  of  our  Xorthem 
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 
all  our  Xorthern  and  ^Middle  States,  if  the  stocks  are  to 

*  Granulated  loaf-sugar  would  probably  make  a  good  bee-feed,  and,  by  wettin» 
the  combs  after  it  has  been  sifted  into  them,  it  misrbt  easily  be  made  to  stay  in  the 
eells.  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- 
cjme  {Sorghum)  was  being  ^ound.  The  value,  as  a  beo-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  all  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  hquid  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  prime 
article,  inferior  honey,  stored  in  beautiful  comb,  is  as  truly 
a  fraud  as  to  ofier  for  good  money,  coins  which,  although 
pure  on  the  outside,  contain  a  baser  metal  within. 

The  quality  of  honey  depends  very  httle,  if  any,  upon 
the  secretions  of  the  bees;  and  hence,  apple-blossom,  white 
clover,  buckwheat,  and  most  other  varieties  of  honey, 
have  each  its  peculiar  flavor.J 

*  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  rapiilly  storing  their  combs,  they  disgorge  the  contents  of  their 
honey-sius  as  soon  as  they  return  from  the  fields.  That  the  honey  undergoes  no 
change  during  the  short  time  it  reinains  in  their  sacs  cannot  positively  be  affirmed, 
but  that  it  can  undergo  only  a  very  slig'it  change  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the 
diflfL-ient  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  Ilybla  or  Hymettua,  is  as  far  from  prosaic 
reality  as  the  visions  of  the  poet,  who  saw — 

"  A  golden  hive,  on  a  golden  bank, 
Whi-re  golden  bees,  by  alchemical  prank. 
Gather  gold  instead  of  honey." 

X  "  That  bees  gather  honey,  but  do  not  secrete  it,  is  argued  from  the  fact  thai 
bee-keepers  find  cells  filled  •with  honey  (in  new  swarms)  on  the  first  or  second  day.' " 
—Ariistotle. 


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  becommg 
acid  in  the  cells.t 

Even  if  cheap  honey  could  be  '•^  made  over'''*  hy  \.\\q 
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  ^vill  suifer 
from  filling  up  their  brood  cells.]; 

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  Eev.  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  we  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  ? 

X  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  glas.ses,  the  amateur  may  choose,  in  bad  seasons,  or  in  districts  where  the 
nont-y  is  ooor,  to  secure  in  tliis  way  choice  specimens  for  his  table. 


FEEDING.  277 

necessity  of  preventing  his  bees  getting  a  taste  of  for- 
l)idden  s\veets,  and  the  inexperienced,  if  incautious,  will 
?oon  learn  a  salutary  lesson.  Bees  were  intended  to 
^•;ither  their  suppHes  from  the  nectaries  of  flowers,  and, 
while  followmg  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- 
thmg  from  the  blossoms,  they  become  so  infatuated  with 
such  easy  gatherings  as  to  lose  all  discretion,  and  will 
peiish  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;  w^hile  the  poor  bee, 
plungmg  in  headlong,  speedily  perishes.  The  sad  fote  of 
their  unfortunate  companions  does  not  in  the  least  deter 
others  who  approach  the  tempting  lure,  from  madly  aUght- 
ing  on  the  bodies  of  the  dpng  and  the  dead,  to  share  the 
same  miserable  end  !  Xo  one  can  understand  the  extent 
of  their  infatuation,  until  he  has  seen  a  confectioner's  shop 
assailed  by  myriads  of  hungry  bees.  I  have  seen  thou- 
sands strained  out  from  the  S}Tups  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  ftimished  a  candy-shop,  in  the  vicinity  of  my 
Apiary,  with    guaze-wire  windows  and  doors,  after    tlio 


278  THE    mVB    AXD    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 
sffort,  they  attempted  to  descend  the  cliimney,  reeking 
with  sweet  odors,  even  although  most  who  entered  it  fell 
with  scorched  wings  into  the  fire,  and  it  became  necessary 
'.o  put  T\TLre-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  ahghting  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  all  around  them  mto  premature 
graves,  they  still  press  madly  on,  trampling,  as  it  were, 
over  their  dead  bodies,  that  they  too  may  sink  mto  the 
same  abyss,  and  their  sun  also  go  down  in  hopeless 
gloom. 

The  avaricious  bee  that,  despising  the  slow  process  of 
*?xtracting  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  sorrowfiil 
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 
luards  to  their  premises ;  for,  if  only  one  bee  in  a  hundred  escapes  ^'rith  its  load, 
I  considerable  loss  will  be  i  curred  in  the  course  of  the  season. 


THE    APIARY.  '  279 


CHAPTER     XY. 

FHE    APIARY PEOCURIXG    BEES    TO    STOCK     IT TRANSFER- 

niNG   BEES    FROM    COMMON   TO    MOVABLE-COMB    HITES. 

Ax  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  occujiied, 
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  Y.,  Fig.  16),  the 
hives  may  be  made  to  face  in  any  desired  direction.  The 
plot  occu])ied  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  Vivai,  his  bees  suffered  so 
much  from  scanty  pasturage,  that  he  could  only  preserve  them  by  feedlns,  althoufrh 
Btocks  that  were  but  two  miles  from  him  were,  in  each  case,  storing  their  hives 
abundantly.'" — Bevan. 

t  By  tacking  a  piece  of  muslin  to  the  alighting-board  and  the  projectintr  parts  of 
the  stand  (Plate  V.,  Fig.  16).  the  bees,  as  they  slack  up,  will  alight  on  the  cloth— 
to  esciipe  being  bruised  or  blown  away — and  thus  will  easily  gain  their  hives.  Id 
windv  situatl'ius,  thousands  of  bees  (p.  1S6)  may  be  thus  save.l. 


280  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BF.E. 

often  placed  where  many  bees  perish  by  falling  into  tlio 
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 
liecomes  cool,  they  can  easily  be  moved  to  any  more 
desii'able  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, 
vU  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  Whiter  winds.  In  the  Spring,  they 
may  be  gradually  returned  to  their  old  positions.* 

PEOCTKIXG   BEES   TO    STOCK  A2^  APIARY. 

The  beginner  wUl  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  pm'chased,  unless  they  are 
large  and  early,  they  may  only  prove  a  bill  of  expense. 
If  old  stocks  are  purchased,  such  only  sliould  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 
BO  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  bees  in  the  work- 
ing seasoiu  On  the  removal  of  the  last  hive,  but  few  bees  returned  to  tho  olil 
spot     The  change,  as  thus  conducted,  strengthened  the  weaker  stocks. 


STOCKING     THK    AIM  ART.  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  vriW 
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.  N'ew  swarms  require  even  more 
air  titan  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  sufibcated  by  the  neglect  of  these 
precautions.  The  bees  may  be  easily  shaken  out  from 
this  temporary  hive  (p.  130). 

When  movable-comb  hives  are  sent  away  to  receive  a 
swarm,  two  strips  of  wood,  with  small  pieces  nailed  to  thera 
to  go  between  the  frames  and  keep  them  apart,  should  be 
laid  over  the  frames.  The  cover,  or  honey-board,  slunild. 
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 
T^dth  movable  frames  should  be  arranged  in  such  a  posi- 
tion that  the  frames  run  iYom  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  their  stocks  after 
they  have  acquired  skill,  and  have  ascertained,  not  simply 
that  money  can  be  made  by  keeping  bees,  hut  that  they 
can  make  it.  While  large  profits  can  be  realized  by  care- 
ful and  experienced  bee-keepers,  those  who  are  otherwise 
^ill  be  almost  sure  to  find  their  outlay  result  only  in 
vexatious  losses.  An  Apiary  neglected  or  mismanaged  is 
Avorse  than  a  firm  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. 

TEANSFEERING     BEES     FKOM     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.  154), 
which  put  on  their  old  stand,  and  carry  the  parent-hive  to 
some  place  where  you  cannot  be  annoyed  by  other  bees. 
Have  on  liand  tools  for  ]>rying  off  a  side  of  the  hive;    a 

*  It  has  frequently  been  done,  in  Winter,  for  purposes  of  experiment,  by  ren)o\ 
Ing  the  bees  into  a  warm  room. 


STOCKING    THE    APIARY.  ^83 

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 
fi-ames ;  and  water  for  washing  ofi",  from  time  to  time,  the 
honey  which  will  stick  to  your  hands.  Having  selected 
the  working  combs,  carefully  cut  tliem  rather  large,  so 
that  they  will  just  crowd  into  the  frames,  and  retain  their 
places  in  their  natural  position  until  the  bees  have  time  to 
fasten  them.  It  will  be  well  to  wind  some  twine  or  tape, 
which  should  be  subsequently  removed,  around  the  ujjper 
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  behig  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.  Levi  Wheaton  prefers  to  uae  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  thiclc,  cut  from  any  springy  wood,  and  half  an  inch  longer  than  the  depth 
of  the  frames.  He  fastens  them  tctgether  in  pairs,  with  strings  whi<;h  keep  them 
just  far  enough  apart  to  pass  over  the  tops  and  bottoms  of  the  frames.  Two  paira 
will  be  needed  for  each  frame,  and  they  must  be  removed  after  the  combs  are 
tirmly  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  sacrijfice  of 
thousands  of  stocks. 

Dr.  Kirtland  thus  speaks  of  the  results  of  transferidng 
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 

fjir  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    XYI 


HONEY. 


That  hone  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  fohage  of  many 
trees,  and  are  sometunes  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  eele- 
biated;  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  saecha- 
riixe  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  pa-^^sage,  but  also  by  two  setiform  tubes, 
placed  one  on  each  side,  just  above  it.  Their  sucker  being  inserted 
in  the  tender  bark,  is,  without  intermi.ssion.  employed  in  absorb- 

*  The  Abbe  BoUsier  de  Saurage-i,  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  is 
usually  seen. '  I  have  received  specimens  of  a  honey-dew  from  California,  which  ia 
wid  to  fall  from  the  oak  trees  in  stalactites  of  considerable  size. 


286  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

ing  the  sap.  which,  after  il  has  passed  through  these  organs,  they 
keep  continually  discharging.  When  no  anls  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  Ire  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,  arra'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.  \he  hazel,  and  the  blackberry  ;  occa- 


HONEY.  287 

sionally  also  on  the  cherry,  currant^  and  other  fruit  trees.  Some- 
times only  one  species  of  trees  is  aiFeeted  at  a  time.  The  oak 
generally  affords  the  largest  quantity.  At  the  season  of  us 
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,  thougli 
seldom  light-colored,  is  generally  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 
iady  of  my  acquaintance  that  his  coimtrymen  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  impunit}'. 
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  Avdll  carry  off  large  quantities  if  within  their  reacli. 
Old  honey  is  more  wholesome  than  that  freshly  gathered 
by  the  bees.* 

*  The  following  extract  from  the  work  of  Sir  J.  More,  London,  17o7,  will  sho^v 
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  inwanl  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  doth 

pierce  as  oyl, and  easily  passeth  the  parts  of  the  body:  it  openeth  obstructions, and 
tleareth  the  heart  and  lights  of  those  humors  which  fall  from  the  head ;  it  purgt-th 
the  foulness  of  the  body  cureth  phlegmatick  matter,  and  sharpeneth  the  stomach; 


288  THE    HIVK    AND    IiONEY-J3KE. 

To  drain  honey  from  vii'gin  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 
pom'ed  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  comb  which  cannot  be  used  in  the  hive  or  spare 
honey-boxes  (p.  Vl),  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  sHghtly  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,  may  be  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.  Yery  old  brood-combs  are 
seldom  worth  rendering  into  wax. 

New  swarms,  imless  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  the  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, 
%ti  Teth  up  natural  heat,  and  prolongeth  life ;  It  keepeth  all  things  uncorrnpt  which 
are  put  into  it,  and  is  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  squinancy  ;  it  is  drank  against  the  biting  of  a  serpent  or  a  mad  dog ;  it  is  good  for 
Buch  as  have  eaten  mushrooms,  for  the  falling  sickness,  and  against  the  surfeit. 
Being  boiled,  it  is  lighter  of  digestion,  and  more  nourishing." 

•  In  Eussia  and  Germany,  very  little  honey  is  sold  in  the  comb.  Purchasers  in 
this  country  should  beware  of  the  inferior  We)*i  India  honey,  which  is  often  sold 
in  cans  as  a  superior  article,  for  two  or  three  times  its  cost. 

■t-  My  hives  admit  of  such  complete  ventilation,  that  they  may  be  safely  put 
fcnywhere  except  where  there  is  a  pent  heat. 


Pi.ATE    XIX. 


HONEY.  289 

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  \yi\l  be  deposited 
in  them.  The  partitions  should  be  kept  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  from  the  toj)  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,t  when 
full,  may,  by  a  little  smoke,  be  easily  removed,  and  the 
bees  diiven  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  wiU  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  theii*  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.  I 

*  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 
often  be  realized.  The  boxes  may  be  set  over  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  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  email  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  largo  boxes  are  removed,  as  honev  may  be  conveniently  token  from 
them  for  sale  or  use. 

13 


290  THE    HIVE    AND    IIONEr-BEE. 

No  metallic  slides  are  needed  for  removing  surplus 
lioney-boxes.  By  blowing  smoke  into  them,  before  they 
are  taken  oif,  most  of  the  bees  wiU  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  then*  OTvm  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  shoidd 
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,  tlie  one 
shown  in  Plate  X.,  Fig.  24,  tlie  dimensions  of  which  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  box,  which  should  be  furnished  either  with  guides  or  pieces  of  comb, 
will  hold  three  store-combs,  weiirhing  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  tne  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.  291 

slowly  pass  a  thin  knife  or  spatula  tinder  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  Tvdth  another  box.  The  few  bees  remaining  in 
the  receptacle  that  is  taken  off,  will  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 
S^lasses. 


292  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 


CHAPTER     XVII. 

BEE-PASTUEAGE  —  OVEB-STOCKTNG. 

Every  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  di'aw  their  supplies. 
Since  Dzierzon's  discovery  of  the  use  which  may  be  made 
of  rye  flour,  early  blossoms,  producing  pollen  o?i/y,  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  sacchartnus)  yields  a  large 
supply  of  delicious  honey,  and  its  blossoms,  hanging  in 
graceftil  frmges,  will  be  alive  with  bees. 

Of  the  fruit  trees,  the  apricot,  peach,  plum,  cherry,  and 
pear,  are  great  favorites;  but  none  iurnishes  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  (Liriodendron)^  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   fi'om    this 


PASTtRAGE.  293 

source  alone.  Tlie  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  task,  the  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  desk-able  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  jolantations  would  be  valuable  for  their 
tunber  alone. 

Hives  in  the  vicinity  of  extensive  l)eds  of  seed-onions 
w  ill  speedily  become  very  heavy ;    the  offensive  odor  of 

*  The  honey  of  Hymettas,  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  Bienenzeitung,  in  Wisconsin,  states  that,  in  1S53, 
several  of  his  hives  increa.sed  in  weiuht  one  hundred  pounds  each,  while  this  tr*^ 
was  in  blossom. 


294  THE    HI  YE    AND    HONEY-BEE, 

the  freshly-gathered  honey  disappears  before  it  is  sealed 
OYer  by  the  bees. 

Of  all  the  sources  from  which  bees  derive  their  supplies, 
white  cloYer  is  usually  the  most  important.  It  yields  large 
quantities  of  Yery  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  rehance  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  sim  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  Yalue: 

"  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 
ip  the  Winter,  it  is  much  the  more  valuable," 

For  years  I  sought  in  Yain  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.  Waomer  gays :  "  The  yield  of  honey  from  varions  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  t  >  those  of  a  drier  soil  for  bee-pasturage. 
White  clover  growing  in  the  latter  will  be  visited  by  bees,  when  th.it  growing  ir 
the  former  is  neglected  by  them." 


PASTUKAGE.  295 

by  Mr.  B.  C.  Rogers,  of  Philadelphia.  It  grows  as  tall  as 
the  red  clover,  bears  many  blossoms  on  a  stalk,  in  size 
resemblmg  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  ni 
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  tins 
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  ill  Winter.  It  also  yields  a  heavier  second  crop  than  tlie 
common  white  clover." 

The  blossoms  of  buckwheat  often  furnish,  late  in  the 
season,  a  very  valuable  bee-food.* 

Buckwheat  is  uncertain!  in  its  honey-yielding  qualities, 
and,  m  some  seasons,  hardly  a  bee  ^tU  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  \acinity.3; 

The  Canada  thistle  yields  coj^ious  supplies  of  very  pure 
honey,  after  the  white  clover  has  begun  to  fail.  If 
fiirmers  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  dehcate  comb  almost  melts  in  the  mouth.  The  sides 
of  the  roads,  the  borders  of  the  fields,  and  tlie  pastures  of 
much  of  the  "  hill-couutry "  of  Xew  England,  abound 
with  the  wild  red  raspberry,  and,  in  such  favored  loca- 
tions, numerous  colonies  of  bees  may  be  kept.  AYhen  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- 
eons,  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 
Bome  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  acti%nty. 

X  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 
so  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 
a  populous  colony  may  easily  collect  fifty  ponnds  in  two  weeks,  if  the  weather  la 
favorable." 


rASTUKAGK.  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  Sinythe  : 
"  '  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, 
ril  follow  as  thy  ramble  guides. 

To  watch  thee  pause  and  chafe  thy  feet. 
And  sweep  them  o'er  tliy  downy  sides  ; 

Then  in  a  flower's  bell  nestling  lie, 

And  all  thy  envied  ardor  ply  ! 

Then  o'er  the  stem,  though  foir  it  grow, 

With  touch  rejecting,  glance  and  go. 

♦  T  should  almost  as  soon  expect,  from  a  small  i^crass-plot,  to  furnish  ft^oci  for 
herd  of  cattle,  as  to  provision  bees  from  eanlen  plant*. 

l:l* 


298  TDR    UIVE    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  sujoport  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 
oflen  obtain  from  them  all  the  Winter  stores  they  need. 

The  following  catalogue  of  bee-plants,  which  might 
easily  be  enlarged,  is  taken  fi-om  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 
[U-umpet).  honeysuckle,  honeywort  [cerinthe)^  hyacinth,  hyssop,  iv^^, 
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- 
beckise,  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." 

OUR  cou:ntry   xot  ix  daxger   of   being   overstocked 

"WITH    BEES. 

If  the  opinions  commonly  entertained  on  the  danger 
of  overstocking  are  correct,  "bee-keeping  must,  in  this 
country,  l)e  always  an  insigniiicant  pursuit. 

It  is  difficult  to  repress  a  smile  when  the  owner  of  a 
few  hives,  in  a  district  where  as  many  hundreds  miglit  be 
made  to  prosper,  gravely  imjjutes  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  gatlier  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  hmd  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    HTVE    AND    HOXKY-BEE. 

when  numbers  can  be  turned  to  the  best  account.  If 
his  stocks  become  strong  only  when  they  can  do  nothing 
but  consume  what  httle  honey  has  been  previously 
gathered,  he  is  Hke  a  former  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  wliole 
country  which  is  overstocked  ^yit\\  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  respeciing  the  over-stock- 
ing of  a  district,  1  would  say,  that  the  present  opinion  of  the  cor- 
respondents of  the  Eienenzeitung,  appears  to  be,  that  it  cannot 
readily  he  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 hive.s,  at  three  separate  establishments,  indeed,  but  so  close 
to  each  other  that  he  could  visit  them  all  in  half  an  hours  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  a' 
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.  Ptadlkofer,  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,  As.sessor  Heyne  remarked  that,  -whatever 
might  be  supposed  pos.sible,  as  an  extreme  ca.se,  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 
ecene  it  would  obviously  be  impossible  to  give  a  perfectly  satis- 
factory answer. 

"According  to  tlie  statistical  tables  of  the  kingdom  of  Hanover, 
the  annual  production  of  bees- wax  in  the  province  of  Lunenberg 
is  300,000 lbs.,  about  one-half  of  which  is  exported;  and.  assum- 
ing one  pound  of  wax  as  the  yield  of  each  hive,  we  must  suppose 
that  30G.000  hives  are  annuaMy  ^  brimstoned^  in  the  province; 
and  as.'^uming  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,  1 
suspect,  '  few  and  far  between.'  It  is  very  evident  that  this 
country  is  far  from  being  overstocked ;  nor  is  it  likely  that  it  ever 
will  be. 

"  A  German  wTiter  alleges  that  '  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  ari  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  Xew 
England,  there  are  but  few  districts  wliich  could  not  be 
made  to  yield  as  large  returns  as  the  province  of  Luneu- 


OYER-STOCKING.  SOS 

berg,  even  if  the  old-fhsliioned  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 

•  Sucli  a  hive  would  hold  about  three  bushels.     Wildman  says  that  "a  clergv 


304  THE    HIYE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

may  readily  be  ascertained  at  stated  periods.  On  the  18th  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  lbs.  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  colonics 
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. — 
{Beubej.,  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  lbs.  In 
1855,  the  export  of  wax  from  that  country  was  118,379  lbs. 

"In  1856,  according  to  ofiicial  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. 

mar.  set  a  well-stocked  hive  of  bees  on  a  tub  turned  bottom  up,  after  ha\-ing  made 
a  hole  through  the  bottom,  and  took  from  the  tub  four  hundred  and  twenty  pound* 
of  honey.'' 


OYER-STOCKTXG.  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  ^^ill  be  able  to 
etore  but  httle  surplus  honey. f  K  pasturage  abounds 
wdthin  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  then* 
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  ^^indy  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  facOitate  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- 
borhooii,which  continued  to  pass  to  and  from  the  vessel  from  dawn  to  dark.  One 
Tiiorning,  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  gra<lually  the 
number  diminished,  and,  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour,  all  had  ceased  to  follow  the 
vpssel,  which  had,  meanwhile,  sailed  more  than  four  miles." — Bienemeitung, 
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  floate 
down  the  stream  by  night  and  stops  by  day.'  " — Lan/lon  Quarterly  Eevieic. 


306  THE  hrt:  axd  honey-bee. 

fired  up,  and  capable  of  an  indefinite  amount  of  exertion. 
A  bee  cannot  put  forth  more  than  a  certain  amount  of 
physical  efibrt,  and  a  large  portion  of  this  ought  not  to  be 
spent  in  contending  against  difiiculties  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  obtamed  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  imavoidable  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 
fiwarm  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  be  enumerated,  it  is  evident  that  a  verj-  large  number 
of  particulars  must  be  taken  into  consideration  when  endeavoring  to  form  some 
general  rule  for  estimating  the  profits  of  bee-culture."— Dzierzox. 

The  old-fashioned  bee-keeper  should  know  well  the  honey-resourcos  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. 


OVKE-bTOCKING.  307 

the  labor  of  superintendence,  cost  of  hives,  and  interest 
on  the  caj^ital  invested. 

A  careful  man,  who,  with  my  hives,  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  locaUties,  a  much 
larger  profit  may  be  realized. 

*  Bee-keepers  cannot  be  too  cautions  in  entering  largely  npon  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    HIVK    AND    IIONEY-BEii;. 


CHAPTER     XYIII. 

THE  AXGEK    OF   BEES EEMEDIES  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  handfiils, 
and  suffered  to  run  over  the  face,  and  may  even  have 
theu'  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  'raid  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  her.«elf 
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 


ANGEK    OF    BEES. 


J09 


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- 
cmnstances,  to  provoke  to  fury  a  colony  of  hees.  When 
thoroughly  aroused,  by  the  overturning,  or  violent  jar. 


An  Unfuktunate  Bke-inc 


310  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

ing  of  their  hive,  or  by  the  presence  of  a  sweaty  horse, 
or  any  offensive  animal,  they  are  terribly  ^dictive  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  unskillflilly  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  sj^ot  on  his  person.  He  will 
fare  as  badly  as  the  "Uxfortunate  Bee-ing^^  so  ludi- 
crously depicted  in  "  Hood's  Comic  Sketches." 

Those  who  have  much  to  do  with  bees,  should  wear  a 
hee-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),  Tvill  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  fiir  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 
soimding  their  war-note  in  his  ears,  and  daring  the  sneak- 
ing fellow  to  allow  them  to  catch  but  a  glimpse  of  his 
coward  face. 


I 


ANGKii    OF    IJKFsS.  311 

Cotton,  quoting  from  Butler,  who,  in  these  remarks, 
foUows  mainly  Columella,  says  : 

"  Listen  to  the  ^vo^ds  of  an  old  writer : — '  If  thou  wilt  have  the 
favour  of  thy  bees,  that  they  sting  thee  not,  thou  mu.st  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; 
60  will  they  Icve  thee,  and  know  thee  from  all  others.  When 
nothing  hath  ani^ered  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,  w*ill  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  rvant  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. 

+  While  bees  resent  the  warm  breath  exhaled  slowly  from  the  lungs,  I  have 
ascertained,  that  they  will  run  from  a  blast  of  cold  air  blown  upon  them  by  the 
mouth  of  the  operator,  almost  as  quickly  as  from  smoke.  Before  employing  .smoke, 
I  olten  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  ^vill  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 
hes  stiU  on  the  grass,  T\dth  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  hee  at  a  distance  from  its  Jdve^ 
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,  Uke  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  then*  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  v\-ith  reverence  and  affection. 

It  is  true,  that  if  any  members  of  a  colony  become  una- 
ble to  i)erlbrm  their  share  of  labor,  tliey  are  dragged  fi'om 


Fig.  57. 


Plate  XX. 


ANGEK    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  m  the  nature 
of  a  bee,  that  can  be  benefitted  by  nm-sing  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  then-  anger.*  Long  before  his  time,  Butler  said, 
"  Their  smelling  is  excellent,  Avhereby,  when  they  fly  aloft 
into  the  air,  they  will  quickly  perceive  anything  imder 
them  that  they  hke,  even  though  it  be  covered."  They 
have,  therefore,  a  special  dishke  to  those  whose  habits 
are  not  neat,f  and  who  bear  about  them  a  perfume  not  in 
the  least  resembling 

"  Sabeaii  odors 
From  tlie  spicj'  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  sliould  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 
tliat,  while  those  whose  systems  are  not  sensitive  to  the 
venom,  are  rarely  molested  by  bees,  they  seem  to  take  a 
mahcious   j)leasure  in  stinging  those  u])on    whom   their 

*  Strong  pcrfuuies,  however  pleasant  to  us,  are  di&igrteable  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  attaek 
of  fever,  he  was  never  able  to  be  on  good  terms  with  his  bees.  That  they  can 
readily  perceive  the  slightest  dilferences  in  smell,  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  any 
number  of  colonies,  fed  from  a  coinmi>n  vessel,  will  be  gentle  towards  each  other, 
whil.!  they  will  assail  the  first  .stramre  bee  that  aliuhts  ou  llie  fieder. 
U 


314  THE  HIVE  a:sd  honey-bef. 

poison  produces  the  most  wulent  effect.  SomethiDg  in 
the  secretions  of  such  persons  may  both  provoke  the 
attack  and  render  its  consequences  more  severe. 

The  smell  of  their  o^\ti  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  tlie  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   STIXG    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  doiie^  for 
the  moment  that  the  blood  is  put  into  violent  circulation, 
the  poison  is  quickly  diflused  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  ont  their  stings  in  a  threaten  ng  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    FOR    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  2:)0wer 
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  powerful  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  vrriter  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  aj^tf*,  is  a  great  homoeopathic  remedy. 


316  THE    HIVE    AND    UO^EY-BEE. 

once  be  procured.  Be  van  recommends  the  use  of  spiiita 
of  hartshorn,  and  says  that,  in  cases  of  severe  stbigiiig, 
its  internal  use  is  also  beneficial.* 

Timid  Apiarians,  and  all  who  suffer  severely  from  the 
bting  of  a  bee,  should  by  all  means  protect  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  hee-hat 
(Plate  XI.,  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  cii'culation 
of  air,  and  to  pennit  distinct  sight.  The  wire-cloth  should 
be  first  sewed  together  Hke  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  toj:)  is  made  of  sole  leather,  it  will 
serve  a  better  purpose.     A  piece  of  wii'e-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 
60  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  I 

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  aa 
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  vears  before. 


REMEDIES    FOR    THE    STING    OF    A    BEE.  317 

wide,  by  two  and  a  half  feet  long,  ^^ill  make  a  good  lit 
for  most  persons.  \Yith  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.  Xo  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  vrHl  seldom  sting,  unless 
they  be  much  ofiended." 


318  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    ITAUAX    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  "fbixpa,  c,T^oyyoKyj  xai  croixjXv;" — that  is,  smaU  and 
round  in  size  and  shape,  and  variegated  in  color. 

Virgil  [Georgico'n^  lib.  IV".,  98]  speaks  of  two  kinds  as 
flourishing  in  his  time ;  the  better  of  the  two,  he  thus 
describes : 

Elucent  alias,  et  fulgore  coruscant, 
Ardentes  auro,  et  paribus  lita  corpora  guttis. 
Haec  potior  soboles ;  hinc  coeli  tempore  certo 
Dulcia  mella  premes." 

The  better  variety,  it  Avill  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  follo^nng  letter  fi'om 
Mr.  TVagner  \^-ill  show  the  importance  attached  to  this 
species,  by  some  of  the  most  skillful  and  successful  Apia- 

lians  in  Europe  : 

"York.  Pa.,  August  5.  18  6. 
'•  My  Dear   Sir  : — The  first  account  we  have  of  the   Italian 
bees,  as  a  distinct  race  or  variety,  is  that  dven  by  Capt.  Balden- 
stein,  in   the  Bienenzeittmg.    1848,   p.  26*     Being  stationed  in 

*  The  Eev.  E.  W.  Gilman,  of  Bangor  Maine,  has  recently  directed  my  attention 
to  Sp\no\&'s '■^ Inr'tectorum  Ligariv  »pe-^iis  novcB  aut  rariore-%"  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  Bee,  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  observ^ed  in  Italy,  and  resolved 
to  pn^cure  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  loth  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  di.-^ap- 
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  tliR 
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,  beside.'*,  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   bees  and  brood   in  the 


320  THE    HlVt    A>i])    HijNKY-BKK. 

parent-hive,  when  the  first  swarin  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 soon  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. 
If  not,  it  would  scarcely  have  happened,  that  ail  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  efibrt  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  ISIira,  near  Venice.  On  the  following  day,  he  trans- 
ferred 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  wei-e  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  2oth  of  June. 
The  bees  of  the  original  colony  still  labored  very  assiduously,  but 

*  Some  of  the  Governments  of  Europe  have  recently  taken  ^rreat  interest  in  dis- 
seminating among  their  people  a  knowledge  of  Dzierzon's  svstem  of  Bee-Culture. 
Prussia  furnishes  annually  a  number  of  persons  from  difFirent  parts  of  the  King- 
dom, with  the  means  of  acquiring  a  practical  knowledge  of  this  system  ;  while  the 
Bavarian  Government  has  prescribed  instruction  in  Dzierzon's  theory  and  practice 
of  bee-cultnre,  as  a  part  of  the  regular  course  of  studies  in  its  teachers"  Seminarioti 


THE    ITALIAN    BEE.  3:21 

gradually  became  less  diligent,  till  when  the  buck- wheat  came 
into  blossom,  they  were  surpassed  in  industry  by  many  colonics 
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  lime,  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  lajing  eggs.  Such  disturbances,  if  the  combs  be  not  broken,  or  ma- 
terially damaged,  he  thinks,  do  no  injury;  but  that,  on  the  contrary  they  nut 
unfrequently  produce  a  certain  excitement  among  the  bees,  which  impels  them  to 
issue  in  greater  numbers,  and  labor  with  increased  assiduity.'" — S.  Wagxkr. 

t  After  my  application  for  a  patent  on  the  movable-frames  was  fiivorably 
decided  upon,  the  Baron  Yon  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  >>t 
these  frames:  "As  the  lateral  adhesion  of  the  combs  built  down  from  the  burs" 
\&ee  pp  15,  16  of  this  Treatise),  "frequently  rendered  their  remov.al  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  arrangeniont  ii 
given  to  the  Dzierzon-hive,  that  nothins  more  remains  to  be  desiretU" 

14* 


322  THE    HIVK    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

character  of  the  breed  itself.  So  also  with  the  bee.  We  finJ 
marked  ditferences  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  siing 
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  tiian  the  common  kind. 

*  8pinola  speaks  of  the  more  peaceable  disposition  of  this  bee ;  and  Columella, 
1800  years  ago,  had  noticed  the  same  peculiarity,  describing  it  as  "  mitior  mori- 
bus"''    Both  its  superior  industr    and  poaceableness  have  been  noticed  from  the 

earliest  ages. 


THE    ITAr.IAN    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  distmguish  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  aj^inst  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  sw-irm 
issued  from  it  on  the  same  day,  though  the  weather  was  then  cool  and  clouiiy.  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  largo, 
he  divided  it  into  two,  as  he  was  able  to  procure  an  addition.nl  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 
th.in  '  sw.irm  in  weather  so  cold  and  cloudy,' " — S.  "Waoner. 

t  "  If.  at  the  time  wLen  young  queens  are  emerging,  the  bees  and  drones  he 
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 
Dreed  will  tiie  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  tho 
season,  before  the  common  drones  make  their  appearance ;  and  again  late,  after  the 
latter  have  been  'kille.l  off.'  This  may  roadily  be  done  by  the  improved  hive,  and 
the  .application  of  cert.-iin  known  principles  Ui  t<ec-culture." — S.  Wagner. 


324:  THE    HIVE    AM)    IIONEY-BEK. 

••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 
Sling.  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  Dzierzou'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  iheir 
way  into  colonies  of  common  bees  :  but  when  strange  hees  attack 
their  hives,  they  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  j 

"Busch  [Die  Honig-bieney  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  (wliich  might 

*  Spinola  speaks  of  these  "bees  as''^ relociores  tnoiu" — 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  workera 
of  a  uniform  intermediate  cast,  or  hybrids ;  but  some  of  the  workers  bred  from 
the  eggs  of  each  queen  vn.\l  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.  ZS'ay,  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  presei-vation  and  per- 
petuation of  the  Italian  race,  in  its  puritv,  entiroly  foiwhlf  in  any  country  where 
they  may  be  introduced.'" — S.  Waontr. 


THK    ITALIAN    BEE.  325 

be  called  leather-colored)  constitutes  the  ground,  and  is  seemingly 
barred  over  by  these  slight  bJack  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  briglir- 
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  cx]ie- 
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  cage. 
The  condu  t  of  the  workers  will  speedily  show  whether  and  when 


o2G  THE    HIVK    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

they  will  receive  her.  Mr.  Lange  advises  that  the  Italian  queeu 
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  tliis  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-swarrner^  however,  this  difficulty  may  be  readily 
overcome. 

Let  the  bee-keeper  who  obtains  an  Italian  queen  in  the 
SjDring,  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  fi'om  it.  Just 
before  the  yoimg  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  ItaUan  queen  have  their  liberty,  all  the  yoimg 
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  imtil  late  in  the  season,  might  easily  convert  an 
Apiary  of  a  thousand  or  more  hives  into  stocks  containing 
none  but  the  ne^»  v  a  riot  v. 


THK    ITALIAN    BEE.  6'^  i 

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,  otheis 
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  accomphshed  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,  alter  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  thiity-six  hours  in  an  ice-house,* 
two  of  which  never  revived,  and  the  thii-d  laid,  as  before, 
thousands  of  eggs,  but  fro77i  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  hy  this  refrlgeratmg  j^'ocess  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  lie 
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  kc]! 
pure,  the  advantages  proposed  by  its  introduction  cannot 
be  secured. 

Italian  queens  may  be  safely  sent  in  my  hives  to  anv 
part  of  the  country.     A  hive  for  this  purpose  should  be 

*  A  short  exposure  of  a  queen  to  ponn.led  ice  an<l  salt,  will  answer  every  pur- 
pose.    The  stermatdzoids  are  in  some  way  renileroil  inuperative  by  severe  col.i. 


328  THK    IllVi';    .SNI)    H<»NKY-IiKK. 

made  to  hold  only  one  comb,  which  ought  to  be  old  and 
7ery  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.  K  received  at  a  season  unsuit- 
able for  rearing  new  queens,  she  may  be  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,  AviU  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  1856,  by  Mr.  Wagner,  to  import  the  Italian 
bees;  but,  unfortunately,  the  colonies  perished  on  the  voyage.  The  first 
living  Italian  bees  landed  on  this  continent  were  imported  in  the  fall 
of  1859  by  Mr.  Wagner  and  Mr.  Richard  Colvin,  of  Baltimore,  from 
Dzierzon's  apiary.  Mr.  P.  G.  Mahan,  of  Philadelphia,  brought  over  at  the 
same  time  a  few  colonies.  In  the  spring  of  1860,  Mr.  S.  B.  Parsons,  of 
Flushing,  L.  I.,  imported  a  number  of  colonies  from  Italy.  Mr.  William 
G.Rose,  of  XewYork,  in  1861,  imported  also  from  Italy.  Mr.  Colvin  has 
made  a  number  of  importations  from  Dzierzon's  apiary  ;  and  in  the  fall 
of  1SG3  and  1864  I  also  imported  queens  from  the  same  apiary.  This 
valuable  variety  of  the  honey-bee  is  now  quite  extensively  disseminated 
in  North  America. 


SIZE    OF    HIVES.  329 


CHAPTER     XX. 

SIZE,  SHAPE,  AXD  MATEEIALS  FOE  KITES OBSER^TXG  HIVES. 

NoTWiTHSTAXDiXG  the  aliuost  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  hi 
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  behig 
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  duninutive  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  tall  in  proportion  to  its  other  dimensions,  lias 
some  obvious  advantages ;  for,  as  bees  are  disposed  to 


330  THE    HIVE    AXD    HONEY-BF^.. 

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  clanger  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  chmate,  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  hi^'e  long  from  front  to  rear^  and  moderately  low 
and  narrow,  seems,  on  the  whole,  to  unite  the  most 
advantages.  Such  a  hive  resembles  a  tall  one,  laid  upon 
its  side,  and,  while  afibrding  ample  top-surface  for  surplus 
honey,  it  greatly  facilitates  the  handfing  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  gieater  the  difficulty  of  handling  them  without  crushing  the  beea 
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 
the  bees. 

%  Mr.  M.  Qninby,  of  St.  Johnsville,  New  York,  in  calling  my  attention  to  some 
stocks,  which  he  had  purchased  in  box  hives  of  this  shape,  informed  mo  that  bees 
wintered  in  them  about  as  well  as  in  tall  hives,  the  bees  drawing  hack  among  their 
stores  in  cold  weather,  just  as  in  tall  hives  thi-y  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  iuches  from  side  to  side,  and  ten  inches  deep,  holding  eight  frames 


MATERIALS    OF    HIVES.  o31 

The  common  Dzierzou  hive*  is  long  and  flat,  but,  as 
the  combs  rmi  fom  side  to  side,  instead  of  from  front  to 
rear,  the  bees,  unless  the  hive  is  uncommonly  well  pro- 
tected, will  sufler  fr'om  cold  in  Winter.  As  the  German 
Apiarian  uses  slats  instead  of  frames,  it  would  be  mcon- 
venient  for  him  to  remove  any  very  long  combs  from  his 
hive. 

The  variety  of  oj^inions  respecting  the  best  materials 
for  hives,  has  been  almost  as  great  as  on  the  subject  of 
their  j^roper  size  and  shape.  Colimiella  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  in  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  iipunfjy 
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.  Tlie 
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  toake  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. 
Quinby  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.  Tl  (the  Frontispiece  to  the  first  edition  of  my  work\  I  have 
given  a  representation  of  a  <ri/)/e  hive.  The  little  that  can  bo  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  uie  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 
nblfe.    The  material  is  pla.stic  clay,  mixed  with  cut  straw,  waste  tow,  ka. 


332  THE    HIVE    ANT)    HONEY-BEE. 

Aseiious  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,  wdll  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 
took,  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. 

MOVABLE-COMB    OBSERVING    HIVES. 

Each  comb  in  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,  110)  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  Suminor, 
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,  suflfocating  heat 


OBSERVING    HIVES.  333 

may  be  recruited,  iu  a  few  minutes,  by  giving  it  maturing 
brood  from  another  bive.* 

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  requu'es  only  a  few 
bees  to  be  diverted  from  more  profitable  hives. 

A  parlor  obser^dng-hive  of  this  form  may  be  conveni- 
ently jDlaced  in  any  room  in  the  house — the  alightmg- 
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  AnndoAv,  and  put  uj)  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 
youns:  queens  from  worker-eggs.  These  miniature  hives 
may  be  stocked  in  the  same  way  that  a  nucleus  is  formed, 
or  a  smaU  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  dififerent  hives  exhibited  at  the  World's  Fair, 
n  London,  laments  that  no  method  has  yet  been  devised,  to  enable  bees  to  cluster, 
»n  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,  thi.s 
.litiiculty  can  be  easily  obviated,  as,  on  the  approach  of  cold  weather,  the  frames, 
»vith  the  bees,  may  be  put  into  a  suitable  hivo,  and  returned  in  the  Spring  to  their 
lid  abode. 


334  THK    HIVE    AND    HOXEY-BKE. 

pleasant  muruiuriDgs  awaken  in  some  the  memory  of 
loDg-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  pa.s- 
tures  and  hill-sides,  to  gather  the  flowers  still  rejoicuig  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,  uncoufiued. 
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  art?  decoy, 
The  heart  distrusting  asks,  if  this  'I'c  joy." 

GOLDSMITE. 


WINTERING    BEES.  335 


CHAPTER      XXI. 

WINTERING   BEES. 


As  soon  as  frosty  weather  arrives,  bees  cluster  com- 
pactly together  in  their  hives,  to  keep  Avarm.  They  are 
never  dormant,  like  wasps  and  hornets  (p.  110),  and  a 
thermometer  pushed  up  among  them  will  show  a  Simimer 
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,  they 


336  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-liEE. 

should  all  be  made  j^opulous,  and  rich  in  stores,  even  if  tc 
do  it  requires  the  number  of  colonies  to  be  reduced  on»- 
half,  or  more.*  The  bee-keeper  Avho  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,  \\  hich  are  to  be  united  in  the 
Fall,  are  not  close  together,  their  hives  must  be  gradually 
aj^proximated  (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  well  stored 
with  honey,  they  should  be  exchanged  for  such  as  are,  so 
that,  when  the  cold  compels  the  bees  to  recede  from  the 
cuter  combs,  they  may  cluster  among  their  stores.  If  the 
fullest  honey-combs  are  not  of  worker  size,  the  caps  of 
their  cells  may  be  sHced  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,  then-  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,  it',  while 
the  weather  is  warm,  they  can  easily  communicate  through 
the  combs  of  the  hive,  can  they  be  depended  on  to  make 
Buch  passages  through  them,  as  T\ill  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,  &s  their  great  internal  heat  would  create  restlessness, 
and  engender  dysentery,  by  leading  to  an  inordinate  cunsuiiiption  ul'  food  (p.  266). 


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,  like  human  beings,  if 
sheltered  from  the  wmd,  they  will  endure  a  low  tem- 
perature far  better  than  a  continuous  current  of  very 
much  warmer  air.f 

Li  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  little  ingenuity,  farmers  might 
easily  tuiii  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.  Cary  (p.  204)  has  invented  a  process  of  making  these 
holes  without  removing  the  combs.  He  makes  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the  hire, 
which,  when  not  in  use,  is  covered  with  a  button  or  plug  (PI.  V.,  Fig.  16),  through 
which  he  slowly  worms  an  instrument  in  the  shape  of  a  flour  or  butter-tasUr 
(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  cannrt  be 
depended  on  to  leave  any  holes  in  their  combs. 

t  The  Winter  of  1S55-6  will  long  be  remembered,  not  only  for  the  uncoiimon 
degree  and  duration  of  its  cold,  but  for  the  trememlous  winds,  which,  oftt  i  for 
day.s  together,  swept  like  a  Polar  tornado  over  the  land.  Apiaries  standLig  In 
exposed  situations  were,  in  many  iu^luuccc.  ucarly  ruiu..  J. 

15 


338  THE    HH'E    AXD    HOXET-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.  Il'the  hives  have 
no  upward  ventilation,  then  I  beUeve  that  they  need  as 
much,  or  even  more,  air,  than  in  Summer.  If  upward 
ventilation  is  given,  the  smaller  the  loxcer  openings  the 
better,  as  it  is  not  desirable  that  there  should  be  a  strong 
current  of  cold  air  passing  through  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  (PI.  L,  Fig.  1 ;  PI.  V.,  Fig.  17).t 

If  the  hive  has  an  upper  box-cover,  as  in  PI.  III.,  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  mjuring  the  bees. 

If  an  upper  hive,  as  in  Plate  Y.,  Fig.  16,  is  placed  on 
the  top  of  the  one  in  which  the  bees  are  wintered,  its 
roof  should  be  sUghtly  elevated,  to  allow  the  escape  of 
moisture.  K  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  ■wann  and  the  ground  covered  with  new-fallen  snow,  the  light 
may  so  blind  the  bees,  that  they  will  fi\ll  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  may  be  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  revers- 
ing the  pile,  stand  and  all.     ThU  entrance  is  merely  proposed  for  trial. 

X  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  th« 
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  ^sintering  bees  in  the  open  air  : 

Jan.  9th,  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.  Xo.  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  III.,  Fig.  9.  It  had  a  good  stock 
of  bees,  and,  although  the  mercury  in  the  morning  was 
10i°  below  zero,  there  was  scarcely  any  fiost  in  the  hive. 
The  bees  were  dry  and  lively,  and  the  central  combs  con- 
tained eggs  and  unsealed  brood.  Ko.  2  contained  an 
equally  strong  stock,  in  a  thm  hive  liolding  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. 


34:0  THE    HrV'E    AND   HONEY-BEE. 

The  central  combs  had  eggs  and  unsealed  brood.  Ko.  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  httle  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  earHer. 

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  T\ind  blew  a  strong  gale,  and  the  mer- 
cury rose  only  once  to  6°  below  zero.  Xo.  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,  6r  breath  of  the  hees^  which  had  fi'ozen  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,  1S56,  I  lost  some  of  my  best  colonics,  under  the  foUowirg  clrcnm- 
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  bfes,  which  were  still  wet  from  tb« 
thaw,  were  frozen  Uigether  in  an  almot:t  kolid  nuisa. 


WINTERING   BEES.  3-il 

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  time 
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 


342  TIIK    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  suflfer  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  icater 
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 
larvae,  and  devour  the  eggs,  if  any  are  still  laid.  They  now  give 
way  to  despair,  disperse  through  the  hive,  if  the  cold  does  noi 
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.  3i3 

posed,  fi-om  rrdue  accumulation  of  fseces.  Dysentery  is  one  of 
the  direct  scrsoquences  of  water-dearth,  the  bees,  in  dire  need  of 
water,  consuniing  honey  immoderately,  and  taking  cold  by  roam- 
ing about  the  combs. 

'•  On  the  11th  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  as  low  as  45°.  bees  may  be  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  flying  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  per  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  furni.sh  an  abi^olutely 
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  injuriou.*:ly  :  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 


3J:4  THE    HIYE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

January  till  the  Spring  fairly  opens  (unless  the  weather  permiu 
them  to  fly  safely),  they  will  not  suflier.  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  wonns  would  jDerish.  These 
dead  bees  are  removed  out  of  the  hive  by  the  working- 
bees,  if  they  are  healthy  and  strong  ;  otherwise,  the  stock 
perishes  from  their  putrid  exhalations."  I  have  repeat- 
edly known  colonies  to  suffer  severe  losses,  for  want  of 
water ;  and  in  my  coiTespondence  ^dth  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  e^'idence  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  Hke  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,  Eer. 
J.  C.  Bodwell,  Mr.  E.  T.  Sturtevant,  and  Rev.  Levi  Whcaton,  for  careful  observa- 
tions made — last  Winter,  at  my  suggestion — on  wintering  beos. 

t  Madatne  Vicai.,  in  some  observations  on  bees,  published  in  1764 — see  Wild- 
nian,  p.  2.31— 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 
(n  the  hive,  at  intervals,  and  at  such  times  numbers  of  bees  would  fall  into  the 
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." 


WIXTERIXQ   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  m 
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  followmg  facts,  which  have  been  ftimished 
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  saper-abound  in  a  hive,  but  It  may 
be  so  far  from  the  cluster  tl  jit  they  cannot  obtain  it,  even  when  perishing  for  th« 
want  of  It. 

15* 


S46  THE   HTVE   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  brood  in  both.  The  glass  hive  very  ivet^  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  Ail  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  colonies  are  strong  in  numbers  and  stores^  have 
vpicard  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 
eponge  pat  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  cohmy  needs  in  the  coldest  weather, 
before  breeding  has  begun  very  actively.  There  is  little  doubt  that  it  would  answei 
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  au",  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  opportimity  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  supphed  with  water. 

Ha\ing  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  i)arts  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  hlcncn  out  by  a  pair  of  bellows.  A  very  little  smoke  should  be  used 
before  cleaning  the  bottom-board.  Palladius,  who  flourished  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. 


34 S  THE    HIVE    AXD    HONEY-BEE. 

the  Stocks  of  a  village  in  a  common  vault  or  cellar. 
Dzierzon  says : 

"A  c?r3/ 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  Wmter,  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." 

Mr.  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  folio wiug  trans- 
lation of  a  very  able  article  from  the  Blenenzcitung, 
The  autlior,  the  luev.  Mr.  Scholtz,  of  Lower  SHesia,  is 
widely  known  in  Germany  for  his  skill  in  bee-keeping: 

"  Farmers  have  long  been  in  the  liabit  of  placing  applet,  potatoes, 
turnips,  i.c..  in  clamps,  to   preserve  lliein  during  Winter.     They 


WENTERINQ   BEES.  349 

are  piled  in  a  pyiamidal  form,  on  a  bed  of  straw,  and  covered  sis 
or  eight  ixiches  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-damp  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  (PI.  XXI.,  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  (PI.  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. 


h60  THE   HIYE   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  (PL  XXI.,  Fig.  68). 
The  whole  will  thus  form  a  four-sided  pyramid,  consisting  of 
thirty-one  hives,  M'hich.  if  Dzierzon's  double  hives  be  used,  will 
contain  sixty-two  colonies,  in  a  comparatively  small  space.  The 
oblong  clamp  (PI.  XXL,  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  :  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  interior  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,  noi 
requi.^iTe.  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. 


Fio-.  GV. 


m 


Ficr.  68. 


Fig.  70. 


Fior.  69. 


351 


WINTERING     BEES.  353 

to  commence  by  placing  the  hives  too  near  the  periphery  of  tho 
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  covering,  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  ^ccur,  when  an  additional  coat  of  leaves  or  pine  shatters 
IS  to  be  givor  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.     Tliis  material  should 


oO-i  THE    m^-E    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

be  applied  wet.  as  it  will  thus  pack  more  closely,  and  afterwards 
better  confine  the  heat.  When  fini.shed.  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  witV.  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  oflf  any  dampness  which  may  have  formed 
within  :  and.  as  the  entire  interior  is  in  direct  co  :  munication 
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  ot'  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 


WrXTERIXG    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  mouihs  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  lime, 
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,  they  vsill  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  diiferent  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  rr  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° ;  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  fairj  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  we  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  Irom  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  1 
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  ofl^  the  rain  and 
«now-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  rom- 


358  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

paratively  little  honey,  which  was  found  to  be  the  fact  on  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  po.ssesses.  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 
clamps,  some  objections  have  been  urged  against  it,  which  I  shall 


WINTERING   BEES.  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. 

'•  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  of  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  11th  of  November,  1857,  and  remained  undisturbed  till 
the  29th  of  March,  1858.  When  opened,  all  the  colonics  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  nie  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 
devised. 

''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 


360  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 
.■■.he  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  ventilating-tubes  enabled  me  still  to  regulate  the 
internal  temperature,  and  give  the  bees  a  sufiicient  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  very 
obvious  that  those  who  mean  to  estabhsh  large  j^piaries 
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. 


Plate  XXTT, 


WINTERING     BEES.  361 

Great  loss  is  often  incurred  in  replacing  upon  thoir 
Summer  stands  the  stocks  which  have  been  kept  in  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  Avarm  them  up  so  quickly,  that  they  will  all 
discharge  their  feces  in  a  very  short  time.* 

After  the  stocks  are  placed  on  their  Summer  stands,! 
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,  1S57. — Eemoved  the  upper  cover,  exposing  the  bees  to  the  full  heat 
of  the  sun,  the  thermometer  being  SO^'  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  fasces.  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  bUU 
remember  the  old  spot.  Mr.  Quinby  uses  this  time  for  equalizing  the  colonies,  v 
be  finds  that,  "being  all  wintered  in  o^ie  room,  their  scent  is  so  much  alik 
tliat  they  mix  together  without  contencion- 


10 


362  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE, 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

bee-keeper's  calexdar — bee-keeper's  axioms. 

This  Chapter  gives  to  the  inexperienced  bee-keei)er 
brief  du-ections  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. 

Ja2sUary. — 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 
^^dll  excite  them  to  an  injurious  activity.  In  very  cold 
climates,  however,  when  a  severe  temperature  is  of  long 
continuance,  it  ^nll  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  iiL  very 
cold  latitudes,  days  so  pleasant  that  bees  can  fly  out  to 
discharge  their  faeces ;  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  Uttle  as 
possible.  See,  also,  that  they  are  properly  suppHed  with 
water  (p.  344),  as  healthy  stocks  have  already  begun  to 
breed  (p.  239). 

February. — This  month  is  sometimes  colder  than 
Januaiy,  and  then  the  directions  given  for  the  previo-is 
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  years  ago,  arranges  his  remarks  io 
the  fyrni  of  ;i  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  suppUed  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.  361).  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  A\dth  water  (p,  344)  in  their  hives.     In  April, 


364  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

if  not  before,  the  larva3  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 
bicrease  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  fi*uit-trees,  and  just  before  the  later  supplies  of 
forage,  and  if  the  weather  becomes  suddenly  unflivorable, 
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  breedmg,  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. 

JuxE. — 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  msects  necessarily  are.  I  have  had  as  early 
swarms  in  Xorthern  Massachusetts,  as  in  the  vicinity  of 
Philadelphia. 

*  If  natural  swarms  are  wanted,  the  bees  should  not  bo  allowed  to  occupy  too 
much  surplus  storago-room. 


bee-keepek's  calendar.  365 

If  the  Apiary  is  not  carefully  watched,  the  bee-keeper, 
after  a  short  absence,  should  examine  the  ueigliboring 
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  neglectmg  to  do  this  in  season,  thereby  con- 
demning their  colonies  to  a  very  unwilhng  idleness.  The 
Apiarian  will  bear  in  mind,  that  all  small  swaims  which 
come  oft"  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,  mdeed,  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  season^  and  districts,  this  is  the  great 
swai-ming  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  tlie  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  hfts  issued, 
after  it  has  been  hived  and  removed  to  its  new  stand,  let  a  cup-full  of  bees  be  taken 
fron)  it.  and  thrown  into  the  air.  ne.nr  the  Apiary ;  they  will  soon  return  to  the 
parent-stock,  and  m.iy  easily  be  recognized,  by  their  standing  at  the  entrance,  and 
fanning,  like  ventilating  bees."— Dzterzon.  In  my  hives,  it  will  be  easy,  from  the 
back  ventilator,  to  decide  whether  a  stock  is  full  enough  to  swarm,  or  has  recently 
Bwaimed.  even  when  there  is  no  glass  for  observation. 

t  Mr.  Quinby  informs  me.  that  he  succeeds  in  making  bees  fill  a  double  tier  of 
email  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  welj 
as  ID  the  bottom  of  the  box  (PI.  XI.,  Fig.  24),  this  can  easily  be  eflfected- 


366  THE    HIVE    AND    HONEY-BEE. 

whiteness  of  the  combs  becomes  soiled  by  the  travel  oi 
the  bees,  or  the  purity  of  the  honey  is  imjoaiied  by  an 
inferior  article  gathered  later  in  the  season. 

The  bees  should  have  a  liberal  allo\vance  of  air  during 
all  extremely  hot  weather,  especially  if  they  are  in  unpaint- 
ed  hives,  or  stand  in  the  sun. 

August. — In  most  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,  I  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  quecnless  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). 

Septembeii. — This  is  often  a  very  busy  month  with 
bees.  The  Fall  flowers  come  into  blossom,  and  in  some 
seasons,  colonies  Avhicli  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  retm-ned,  if  the  bees  have  not  a 
sufficient  supply  Avithoiit  them. 

If  no  Fall  suijplies  abound,  and  any  stocks  are  too  light 
to  '\\^nter  with  safety,  then,  in  the  Northern  States,  the 
latter  part  of  this  month  is  the  proper  time  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  imsafe  to  trust  to  a  bare  supply,  for  even  if  there  is 
food  enough,  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,  wdll  seldom  rob  each  other, 

October. — Forage  is  now  almost  entirely  exhausted  in 
most  localities,  and  colonies  w^hich  are  too  hght  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  imited,  and  all  the  hives  put  mto 
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  Avinter-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  w^aste,  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,  safely 


368  THE    HIVE    AND    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  Xovember,  in  our  Xorthern 
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  faeces,  the  better.  The  bee- 
keeper must  regulate  the  time  of  housing  his  bees  by  the 
season  and  clunate,  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  m,  the  colonies  stand- 
ing in  the  open  air  must  have  upward  ventilation  (p.  338). 

DECEifBER. — In  regions  where  it  is  advisable  to  house 
bees,  tlie  dreary  reign  of  Winter  is  now  fairly  established, 
and  the  directions  given  for  January  are  for  the  most  part 
equally  api)licable  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  colonies 

*  If  the  bees  are  wintered  on  Mr.  Scholtz's  plan,  it  will  neitlier  be  possible  noi 
desirable  to  replace  them  on  their  Sammer  stands. 


Plate  XXIII. 


.S69 


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  thek  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 
denoimces  his  employment  as  peldmg  only  a  scanty 
return  on  a  large  investment  of  capital  and  labor 

bee-kejeper's  axioms. 

There  are  a  few  first  principles  in  bee-keeping  which 
ought  to  be  as  familiar  to  tlie  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  J«;'5  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-BER. 

short  period,  the  largest  yield  of  honey  will  be  secured 
by  a  uery  moderate  increase  of  stocks. 

8th.  A  moderate  increase  of  colonies  in  any  one  season, 
\\411,  in  the  long  run,  prove  to  be  the  easiest,  safest,  and 
cheapest  mode  of  managing  bees. 

9th.  Queenless  colonies,  miless  supplied  with  a  queen, 
will  inevitably  d^Wndle  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:  keep  your  stocks  strong  (p.  303). 
Af  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  ^-ill  show  that  you  are  a  hee- 
master^  as  well  as  a  bee-keeper,  and  may  safely  calculate 
on  generous  returns  from  your  industrious  subjects. 


!»♦ 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES  OF  HIYES. 


Description  of  "Wood-Cuts  of  the  vaeious  Styucs  of 
MovABLE-CoitB    Hives,   with    Blli.s   of    Stock   for 

MAKING   THEM. 

All  the  engravings,*  except  those  which  are  in  perspective, 
are  on  the  scale  of  li  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  boards,  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  (sec  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,  ti.ough  not  cut,  would  be  seen  after  the  cutting,  are 
also  represented.  Any  measurement  may  be  verifled,  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.   391. 

Figs.  1,  2,  and  3,  page  24.  Hive  No.  1. 
Fig.  1  is  a  perspective  view  of  a  hive  of  the  simplest  form,  tlio 

•  Since  the  publication  of  the  second  edition— for  which  most  of  these  plates  were 
enpraved — some  chansros  have  been  made  in  the  construction  of  the  hives,  all  of 
which  arc  fully  noted  in  the  bilb  of  stock,  though  not,  in  all  cases,  shown  in  the 
plates. 

371 


3<2  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 

[h)  Two  pieces,  front  and  rear  of  hive,  14^"x8^"x^".  (c) 
Tv/o  pieces,  sides  of  hive,  19|-"  x  10"  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|"xl0f' xf,  and  the  bottom-board  25^"  x  14-|"  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  1-^"  x|^". 
(/)  Movable  cover,  25-^"  x  18"x-|".  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,  19|"  1"  x^";  bottom,  17|"x-|"  x-J-''. 
(w)  Ends  or  vertical  pieces,*  two  pieces,  8-|"  x  ^"  x  ^."  («)  One 
piece,  tria.i)gular-top  comb-guide,  1 6^^"  x  i"  x  i"  x  i".  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  f  r  trial,  is  also  discarded,  Mr.  Gary's  method  (p.  337)  being 
much  better. 


EXPLANATION     OF    PLATES.  373 

width  and  leuglli,  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|"x2i"xi".  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  a  sixteenth  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- 
cnd,  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  ail  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  practice  it  is  found  to  be 
inferior  to  the  triangular  comb  guides.     Mr.  R.  Colvin  has  in- 


374  EXPLANATION     OF     PLATES. 

vented  a  device''  for  securing  the  combs  not  merely  siraifjM^  but 
of  uniform  thickness.  It  will  be  tested  on  a  large  scale,  this  season 
(1860),  and  the  results  given  to  the  pubHc.  In  those  instances  in 
which  it  has  been  tried,  it  has  succeeded  admirably. 

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,  2U"x9i"x^".  {h  h)  Guides,  for  sides 
(m  u).  of  frames,  fastened  to  (a),  equally  distant  from  its  ends,  and 
60  as  to  leave  17|"  between  (6  6),  and  i"  from  upper  edge  of  (a) 
to  ends  of  {hb).  [c  c)  Buttons  for  holding  sides  of  frames  (m  «), 
against  (&6),  6^"  x  H"  x  1".  (//)  Guides  in  which  the  top  tri- 
angular comb-guide  is  placed,  in  order  to  bave  the  top  strip  [t) 
nailed  thereto;  each  piece  (/)  is  2H"x2"xf",  and  they  are 
beveled  from  one  edge,  back  -^"^  and  are  then  fastened  to  (a), 
forming  a  triangular  groove,  each  side  of  which  is  i" .  Two  tri- 
angular pieces,  i"  x  1"  x  |"  x  2i",  are  fastened  (Fig.  6)  at  each 
end  of  the  groove,  [g]  Guide-strip.  |"x^"xl9|-.  fastened  to 
(/)  i"  from  its  beveled  edge.  (A)  Guide-strip.  i"Xjl^"x3|", 
fixed  on  and  across  the  pieces  (//).  i"  from  their  ends.  To  nail 
the  frames  together,  put  the  triangular  comb-guide  (i/)  in  the 
groove  formed  by  the  pieces  (//)  :  place  the  piece  [t)  on  the  top 
of  (w),  and  against  the  guides  [g]  and  (A),  and  nail  it  to  (m)  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  tlie  vertical  pieces  [uu)  anainst 
the  guides  [hb).  by  the  buttons  (cc),  and  nail  the  bottom  (f)  to 
(m  It),  with  two  brads  at  each  end.  Turn  the  gage-block,  and  place 
the  top  of  the  frame  (?),  whi-'h  has  before  been  nailed  to  the  guide 

*  This  device  is  Bubstantially  the  same  with  the  one  alluded  to  on  p.  208  ;  Mr 
Colvin's,  however,  was  invented  before  mine. 


EXPLANATION    OF    PLATES.  375 

(u).  in  its  proper  position;  and  nail  it  to  (uu)  with  two  biads  in 
each  end. 

Fig.  10,  page  28;  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  li"  centre-bit.  Jy"  deep  from  the  outside  of 
the  box,  and  then  bore  through  with  li"  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"x5i",  wiU  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  i".  Take  two  pieces.  32"xli"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,!  Figs.  11,  16,  17,  and 

18,  pages  28,  44,  and  48. 

Fig.  11  is  a  right-angled  triangle,  i"  thick  x4"x5J"x7.     In 

fhe   bottom,  grooves  are  cut    k"  deep  x  i"  w^ide.  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  angnlar 
bed  on  the  saw  bench  should  be  placed  asoinst  the  page,  with  the  saw  passing 
through  it,  instead  of  again.st  the  saw,  as  represented  in  the  figure. 

t  Figs.  12  and  19,  pages  28  and  48.  show  the  old  arrangement  for  uniting  the 
Non-Swarmer  with  the  entrance-blocke. 


376  EXPLANATION     OF     PLATES. 

left,  are  used  for  a  hive..  By  changing  the  position  of  these  blocki 
on  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  man}'  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  4^'  long  x  i"  wide  ;  saw  a  slot  through 
one  of  these,  in  the  centre  of  its  length  and  width,  2"  long  x^" 
wide  :  bevel  the  other  piece  to  each  edge,  leaving  a  surface  of  i" 
in  the  middle  of  the  width,  the  bevels  being  made  for  2"  only  iu 
the  centre  of  the  length  of  the  piece  :  these  pieces  are  to  be  fast- 
ened together  with  a  piece  between  them  at  each  end,  |"  thick 
X  li"  long  X  i"  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 ^y.  A  metallic  slide,  to  be  used  in 
the  slot,  is  1"  wide  x  li|"  long,  and  is  cut  away  on  one  edge  to 
the  exact  depth  of  ■^",  and  on  the  other,  -^",  lea%ing  projections 
at  each  end,  of  i"  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,  18-^"  x  9f"  x-|",  each  end  made  i"  beveling,  for  ea.<5y 
adjustment:  the  bevels  should  be  parallel  to  each  other.  One 
piece,  i"xi"xl9i",  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. 
14i"x  83"  X  ;;",  from  each  end,  cut  to  within  l"  of  the  upper 

*  By  making  the  slot  wider,  a  wooden  slide  might  be  made  to  answer.  Theso 
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  witlioul  contusing  the  bees.  It  may  also  be  used  for  excluding  or 
confining  the  drones  ;  see  pp.  -I'lb,  326.     It  bas  not  yet  been  fully  tested. 


EXPLANATION    OF     PLA'JES.  377 

edge,  i" ;  into  the  opposite,  or  short  edge,  drive  iwo  nails  near  the 
ends  of  the  partition,  letting  them  project  i".  These  nails  serve 
the  purpose  of  feet  to  support  the  weight  of  the  honey  which  is  stored 
.n  the  short  frames  resting  by  one  end  on  this  partition.  The  par- 
tition is  furiher  held,  across  the  centre  of  the  length  of  the  hive, 
by  two  screws,  one  passing  through  each  side  of  the  hive  into  the 
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,  9rxU"XyV'-  Bottom,  7rxi"xi".  Ends,  or  ver- 
tical pieces,  two  pieces,  Sf"  X  i"  x  i".  Triangular  comb-guide, 
(if  used),  6i"xi"xi"x-l". 

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)  Boitom-board,  24i"xl5"xi",  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,  -j^'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  U"  bit.* 
The  centres  of  these  holes  are  to  be  in  the  intersections  of  lines 
gaged  3§"  from  the  centre  of  the  width  of  the  board,  and  4J", 
lOJ",  and  161",  from  the  rear  of  it  {b)  Front  of  hive.  14i"x 
Si"xi"',  nail  this  between  sides  (c).  i"  below  their  upper  edges, 
and  4"  from  their  notched  ends,     (c)  Sides  of  hive,  twi  pieces, 

*  These  holes,  -when  not  in  use,  are  closed  most  conveniently  by  small  covers  out 
out  of  refuse  tin  with  a  punch.  They  should  be  made  only  in  the  bottom-boards 
of  those  hives  intended  to  bo  used  one  over  another. 


6ib  EXPLANATION     OF     PLATES. 

24i"  X  10  J"  X  i"  :  notch  out  of  one  corner  of  each,  to  receive  por* 
tico  roof.  4"  on  the  length  of  the  pieces  X  2V  deep,  and  -^" 
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  H"  down  from  top  edge;  two  pieces,  20i"  xi"  xi",  and 
one  piece,  l7i"xi"xi".  {e)  Roof  of  portico.  J7i"x4i"xi", 
beveled  off  from  i"  thick  at  front  edge,  back  2i"  to  full  thick- 
ness, front  edge  rounded  over  from  upper  side  only.  * —  One 
piece,  15i"  X  li"  X  i'\  nailed  to  the  upper  side  of  (e)  flush  with  iis 
rear  edge,  and  in  the  centre  of  its  length.  —  Cover  for  hive, 
25i"xl9"xi",  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"  X  5";  an  outer  glass  of  the  same  size  can  be  used,  if 
desired,  for  additional  protection  in  Winter.  —  Shutter  over 
glass,  14"xi"x5|r"  wide  outside,  and  5}"  wide  inside,  the  bevel 
being  made  on  the  upper  edge.  —  Clamps  on  this  shutter,  two 
pieces,  5i"  x  14"  x  i".  nailed  upon  outside,  each  projecting  i"  over 
the  end  of  the  shutter,  to  cover  the  open  joints.  A  piece,  14i"x 
2i"x  i'\  is  nailed  to  a  piece,  151"  x  li"xl"j  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  pie«es  coming  i"  above  the  bottom-board.  Th« 
lower  outer  corner  of  this  sash-rail,  and  the  upper  outer  corner 
of  the  bottom-board,  maybe  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. 
33.t     The  upper  sash  rail  is  made  up  of  a  piece,  14i"  x  1|"  x  }" 

♦  Those  parts  marked  witb  a  ( — ),  are  not  lettered  in  anj'  of  the  figures. 

■\  The  ventilating  passage  may  be  closed  by  a  strip  of  wood  which  nearly  Alls  it : 
or  it  may  be  regulated  by  a  slide  as  shown  in  the  engraving  on  page  13.  The 
objection  to  the  strip  is,  that  bees  would  be  very  apt  to  stick  the  strip  fast  with 
propohs  within  the  ventilating  passage.     Mr.  Wheaton  uses  do  back  ventilalor, 


EXPLANATIOii     OF     PLATES.  379 

nailed  to  a  piece,  14i"xi"x  li"  wide  on  one  side,  and  2i"  on 
the  other ;  gage  |"  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  oi 
the  sides.  —  Strips  to  hold  the  observing-glass,  i"  wide  x  i" 
thick,  are  nailed  all  around  the  place  left  to  receive  it,  ^"  from 
the  ii.terior  of  the  hive.  Two  such  hives,  having  one  cover,  are 
placed  one  on  the  top  of  the  other  (facing  the  same  way),  the 
Tipper  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"x8i"xi",  and  is  halved 
into  the  sides  (c),  flush  with  their  ends,  and  ^"  below  their  tops. 
The  sides  (c)  are  231"  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.  21i"  x  15f"  x  1",  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  surplts  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 aie  used,  and  when  the  front  and  rear  of  the  hive  are  of  double  thicknoea 


380  EXPLANATION     OF     I'LATES. 

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  (/),  witliout 
the  holes,  [h)  Front  and  rear  of  honey-box.  front  1 4  V  x  9i"  x  i"  ] 
rear,  two  pieces,  14i"  X  1|"  x  }"  ;  nail  the  front  between  the  sides, 
the  lower  edges  flush,  as  is  also  one  of  the  rear  pieces,  the  other 
being  i"  below  the  top  edges  of  the  sides,  (i)  Two  pieces,  sides  of 
honey-box,  19^"  x  10"  x  i".  (j)  Ledges  at  front  and  rear  of  honey- 
box,  two  pieces,  15i"  x  H"  x  i",  nailed  on  flush  with  the  top  edges 
of  the  sides,  (m)  Observing-glass  in  rear  of  honey-box,  14"x6". 
(n)  Strips  to  hold  observing-glass,  i"  x  i",  nailed  all  around  the 
space  left  for  the  glass,  and  within  ^^"  of  the  interior  of  the  honey- 
box,  (o)  Top  of  box  cover,  tongued  and  grooved  together,  and 
rain-grooved,  26i"  x  19^"  x  i".  {p)  Two  pieces,  front  and  rear 
of  upper  part  of  box  cover,  17i"x8i"xl";  these  pieces  are 
nailed  between  the  sides,  {q)  Two  pieces,  sides  of  upper  part  of 
box  cover,  24i"x8i"xl".  (r)  Two  pieces,  front  and  rear  of 
lower  part  of  box  cover.  17^"x5"xi".  (5)  Two  pieces,  sides 
of  lower  part  of  box  cover,  24i"  x  0"  x  i".  {w)  Four  pieces, 
2"  X  1"  X  i",  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  (5), 
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  i"  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 
and  H",  and  then  mortise  a  slot  through,  3" 


KXPLAl^ATION    OF    PLATES.  381 

iong,  in  the  centre  ot  the  length  of  the  piece,  between  tte  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  has  been  found  on  trial  to  be  very  important 
where  bees  are  wintered  in  the  open  air.  The  lower  entrance 
should  be  closed  in  winter. 

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,  24 f"  x  4i"  x  i".  An  entrance-hole,  |",  is  bored 
3h  inches  deep  into  the  end  of  {a),  and  two  holes  are  bored  in  its 
centre,  ^"  in  diameter  and  If"  from  centre  to  centre,  the  wood 
being  cut  out  between  them,  [b]  Bottom,  of  hive.  2i"  x  1 8f "  x  |"  : 
make  a  rabbet  at  both  upper  corners,  |"  on  X-j^"  deep;  start  a 
I"  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  2i"  x  10|-"  ;  rabbet  the  inner  corners, 
up  and  down,  i"xf";  make  a  ventilator  in  each  piece,  like  the 
one  in  [a)  :  i"  from  the  upper  ends,  cut  in  |-" ;  and  ^"  from  the 
lower  end,  cut  in  i".  {d)  Side  strips.  |"  x  l"  x  20|"  ;  on  one  cor- 
ner of  each,  rabbet  on,  i",  and  in,  i"for  the  glass,  {e)  Movable 
cover,  21i"x4i"x^";  holes  may  be  made  in  this  cover,  as  in 
Fig.  21,  over  which  glass  receptacles  for  honey  may  be  placed. 
(/)  Glass,  two  panes,  9i"x  18^".  (g)  Alighting-board,  4"  x  4i" 
X  i".  {h)  Clamps  on  base-board.  4^"  x  2"  x  i".  {i  audj)  Clamps 
on  cover,  and  ledges  on  hive,  four  pieces,  4i"  x  i"  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  tlie  upper  honey- 
box.  Fig.  21  is  a  plan  of  the  lower  part  of  the  hive,  showing  ihe 
surplus  honey- board  in  place,  and  the  holes  made  in  it  to  allovv 


382  EXPLANATION     OF     PLATES. 

the  bees  to  pass  up  into  the  surplus  honey-receptacles.  On  this 
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,  31"  X  20|"  X  J". 
{h)  Outer  ^  bottom  of  hive.  271"  x  18i"  x  |".  (c)  Rabbeted  strips 
for  outer  bottom,  two  pieces,  291"xU"xi",  and  two  pieces, 
17i"x  H"xl".  [d)  Front  and  rear  of  lower  outer  ca.se  of  hive, 
one  rabbet  in  upper  outer  corner  of  each,  ^"  x  ■^^"  ;  front.  1  H"  x 
20f"xi";  cut  out  of  the  centre  of  the  lower  edge,  14i"x^"; 
rear.  4i"  x  20|"  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  xj"  thick.  4i"  wide  at  one  end.  and  12i"  wide 
at  4i"  from  the  other  end.  where  a  notch  is  cut  out.  1  j^"  deep 
x4"  long.  (/)  Roof  of  alighting-board,  23^"  xiV  xi" ;  i" 
thick  in  rear,  and  ^"  thick  in  front,  (g)  Board  under  which  bees 
pass  into  the  hive,  14^"  x  4"  x  i".  (A)  Front  posts  of  lower  hive, 
two  pieces.  9i"  long  x  4"  x  i".  [i)  Rear  posts  of  lower  hive, 
two  pieces,  10"  long  x  If"  x  i".  with  tenon,  i"  x  i"  x  1",  on  one 
end.  {j)  Front  and  rear  strips  of  lower  hive,  on  which  the 
frames  hang,  two  pieces,  loi"  X  li"  x  i",  with  rabbet,  l"x|", 
and  notch,  |"  x  i",  cut  at  each  end  from  upper  side,  {k)  Side 
strips  from  post  to  post,  in  lower  hive,  211"  xi"  x  i",  with  notch, 
i"  deep  xli",  cut  in  the  under  side  of  each  end.  (/)  Spare 
honey-board,  171"  x  21f"  xi",  ni»e  holes  bored  1|"  diameter 
x^'j"  deep,  and  then  bored  through  with  a  H"  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"x20i" 
xl",  rabbets  (Fig.  22)  y^"x-^"',  on  both  upper  and  lower  edges 
{n)  Sides  of  lower  part  of  cover,  two  pieces,  271"  from  front  to 
rear  x  6i"  x  1",  with  rabbets  ^"  x  ^^" ;  for  shape  of  these  pieces. 

♦This  outer  bottom  maybe  dispensed  with,  and  clamps,  27'^x2x'j  Inche^ 
oajlcd  len;grthwise  to  the  bottom  of  the  hive,  about  1  inch  under  and  from  its  «ldeA, 
for  getting  hold  of  the  hivo  to  lift  it,  and  to  prevent  dampness. 


EXPLANATION     OF     PLATES.  3b3 

see  Fig.  20.  [o)  Front  and  rear  of  upper  part  of  cover,  one  piece, 
5f''x20|"x|",  and  one  piece,  13^' X  20^'' x  ^".  (;;)  Sides  of 
upper  part  of  cover,  two  pieces,  each  5t"  and  13i^"  x  27|"  x  1", 
with  rabbets,  xV  ^tV"  5  ^^^  ^hape,  see  Fig.  20.  {q)  Top  of  cover, 
tongued  and  grooved  from  front  to  rear,  and  rain-grooved  on  top 
(Figs.  19  and  23),  241"  x  30|"  x  i".  (r)  Honey-box  cover,  21|" 
Xl9i"xi".  (s)  Clamps  for  honey-box  cover,  two  pieces,  21 1" 
X  i"  X  1".  (  2.)  Triangular  checks  to  hold  the  cover  when  elevated, 
two  pieces,  1 1"  x  1  i"  x  2i"  x  i".  (  3.)  Four  buttons,  1  i"  x  2"  x  i". 
{w)  Posts  of  surplus  honey-box,  four  pieces,  li"x8i"xi".  (cr) 
Front  and  rear  bottom-strips  of  honey-box,  two  pieces,  1|"  x  151" 
X^".  (y)  Side-bottom  strips  of  honey-box,  two  pieces,  21|"x|" 
xi".;  [x)  and  {y)  are  halved  together  at  ends,  {z)  Front,  rear, 
and  side  top  pieces  of  honey-box,  made  up  of  two  strips,  li"  x  i" 
X  17^",  two  strips,  If"  X  i"  x  21i",  halved  together  at  ends  ;  and 
two  strips,  17i"  X  i"  X  i",  two  strips,  19i"  x  i"  x  i".  ( 4.)  Clamps 
for  spare  honey-board,  two  pieces,  2H"xJ"xi".  Glass,  two 
pieces  14x9,  four  pieces  18x9,  and  two  pieces  14x8,  for  the 
double  glass  of  lower  hive:  two  pieces  18x8,  and  two  pieces 
14x8,  for  the  spare  honey-box. 

Hive  No.  5,  Single-story  Glass  Hive,  as  made  by  Mr.  Colvin,  see 
drawing  on  page  389  See  perspective  on  page  13 ;  also  the 
Figures  referred  to  in  Hive  No.  4. 

(a)  BoUom-loard,  |"  thick  x  25"  lengthwise,  and  36^"  across 
the  grain  of  the  wood,  in  two  pieces  only,  tongued  and  grooved 
together,  and  rabbeted  on  under  side  of  ends  ■^"  on,  x  ^"  deep, 
forming  tongues  on  ends  at  top  edge  -f^"  x  j%",  which  are  let  into 
sides,  (d)  Front  and  rear  ends  of  case,  bottom  part ;  front,  one 
piece,  25 j"  x  9f "  x  ]" ;  cut  out  from  centre  of  length  on  lower 
edge,  14 J"  x  i";  rabbet  top  outside  of  edge  -^"  x  IjV'l  ^^^^ 
251-"  X  3^"  X  I",  rabbet  outside  edge  at  top  y\"  x  ^",  and  cut  out 
from  centre  of  length  same  as  front,  {e)  Sides  of  case,  lower 
part,  two  pieces,  36^"  x  IH"  wide,  at  4  f|-"  back  from  front  end 
X  I"  thick  and  3|"  wide  at  the  other  end;  at  the  wide  end,  where 
slant  terminates,  cut  out  for  roof  of  portico,  1,^"  x  4y^^",  and 
rabbet  the  outside  of  slant  edge,  ■^"  x  y\" ;  cut  a  groove  y\"  up 
from  bottom  edge,  inside,  ■^"  x  ^"  the  whole  length  of  sides,  to 


384  EXPLAXATIOX   OF   PLATES. 

let  in  tongued  ends  of  bottom;*  rabbet  back  end  inside,  from  l* 
up  from  bottom  edge  to  top  edge,  -^"  deep  x  |"  on,  to  let  in  bade 
end ;  4|"  back  from  front  end.  If"  up  from  bottom  edge,  cut  groove 
yV  deep  X  I"  wide  to  top  edge,  to  let  in  front ;  for  shape  of  (e), 
(n),  and  (p),  see  Fig.  20,  p.  48.  Portico  roof,  one  piece,  27"  x  5|' 
X  I",  bevel  from  |",  at  front  edge,  back  y%"  on  top  side,  to  full 
thickness,  and  round  the  front  edge  from  the  upper  side,  (g) 
Cover  of  passage-way  into  hive,  one -piece,  14|"  x  6"  x  A"  let  into 
front  posts,  i",  full  thickness,  \  up  from  bottom  ends ;  bore  four 
holes,  as  directed  in  (?),  in  the  centre  of  its  width,  the  centre  of 
the  end  holes  being  3|"  from  the  ends;  space  the  others  equally 
between,  {h)  Frant  posts,  two  pieces,  |"  x  9g"  x  6".  (i)  Rear 
posts,  two  pieces,  ^"x  9  |",  6"  wide  at  bottom  and  1^"  at  top, 
slope  commencing  3|"  up  from  bottom  ends  of  posts,  and  made 
"  ogee  "  in  form ;  these  posts  are  fastened  to  the  case  by  screws 
passing  through  the  front  and  back  end  boards  of  it  into  their 
edges,  and  are  not  mortised  into  the  bottom-board,  but  rest  on  it; 
in  each  post,  i"  up  from  bottom  end,  cut  a  gi'oove  |"  deep,  |"  wide, 
entirely  across  their  width  (6"),  to  let  in  covers  of  "  passage-way," 
and  "back  ventilator;"  also  mortise,  in  one  edge,  I"  up  from  bot- 
tom end,  I"  wide  x  f "  long  x  |"  deep,  for  bottom  rail  of  sides  of 
"  bee-chamber."  (/)  Rear  and  front  top  rails  of  "  bee-chamber," 
two  pieces,  15|"  x  1|"  x  |":  rabbet  one  edge  I"  wide  x  |"  deep, 
and  cut  from  the  top  of  ends  to  the  depth  of  rabbet,  I"  on.  (k)  Side 
top  rails,  two  pieces,  20"  x  I"  x  I".  Bottom  side  rails,  two  pieces, 
19"  x  I"  X  f";  tenon  on  ends  I"  long  x  |"  x  f' in  centre.  (J)  Sur- 
plus honey-hoard,  |"  x  21^"  x  15|",  the  grain  of  the  wood  to  run 
crosswise  of  the  board,  wliich  is  to  have  clamps,  tongued  and 
grooved  against  the  end  of  the  grain,  and  form  part  of  the  above 
dimensions ;  9  holes  are  to  be  bored  for  surplus  honey-boxes ;  they 
are  first  bored  -jV"  deep,  with  1|"  centre-bit,  and  then  tlirough 
with  1\"  bit;  these  holes  are  arranged  in  three  rows,  one  in  the 
centre,  and  the  others  2|"  from  the  side  edges  of  the  board,  the 

•  The  sides  are  toc-nailed  to  brtWom-boards  with  four  nails  oTtly,  one  on  each  side 
of  tongue  and  groove  in  bottom-board,  and  about  one  inch  apart,  so  that  when  the 
bottom-board  swells  and  shrinks,  the  jotn^  in  it  is  kept  closed  and  stationary,  while 
Bwelling  forces  the  edges  of  bottom-board  out,  front  and  back,  and  shrinking  draws 
them  in  again.    Sliding  in  the  grooves  in  the  sides,  which  prevent  its  warping. 


EXPLANATION   OF   PLATES.  885 

front  and  back  end  holes  of  each  row  being  3|"  from  the  ends,  (m) 
Front  and  rear  of  case,  middle  part*  two  pieces,  9|"  x  25\"  x  I" ; 
rabbet  out  -j\"  x  -j^"  on  inside  of  lower  edges,  and  same  on 
outside  of  upper  edges,  (n)  Sides  of  case,  middle  part,  two  pieces 
(for  shape  of  these,  see  Fig.  20,  p.  48),  32|"  long  x  9V'  'wide 
(measuring  on  a  straight  hne  from  front  to  rear  of  case  for  length, 
and  square  across  this  section  for  width);  rabbet  out  inside 
lower  edges  and  outside  upper  edges,  same  as  ends ;  also  rabbet 
j^g"  in  X  I"  on,  inside  ends,  to  let  in  end  pieces,  (o)  Front  and 
rear  of  case,  upper  part,  front,  25^"  x  7|"  x  f";  rear,  25]"  x  14" 
X  I";  rabbet  out  inside  lower  edges,  ^"  x  ^".  (p)  Sides  of  case, 
upper  part,  32 1"  long  x  14"  wide  at  back  end,  and  7f  wide  at  front 
end  X  y ;  rabbet  inside  lower  edges,  -^^"  x  -^",  and  inside  at  ends, 
^"  in  X  I"  on,  to  let  in  ends  (for  shape  see  Fig.  20,  p.  48).  {q)  Top 
of  upper  part  of  case,  five  pieces,  of  equal  width  and  length,  form- 
ing together  30"  x  36"  x  |",  tongued  and  grooved  together,  and 
rain-grooved  t  (see  Fig.  23,  p.  72).  Collateral  side  honey -hoards, 
for  surplus  honey-glasses,  two  pieces,  30|"  x  4|"  x  |" ;  bore  six 
holes,  as  directed  in  (?),  in  the  centre  of  width,  the  end  ones  2" 
from  ends,  and  the  rest  equally  spaced  between.!  Collateral  rear 
honey-board,  for  surplus  honey-glasses,  same  as  covered  passage- 
way into  hive,  let  into  posts,  and  perforated  with  holes  as  in  (Z). 
Cleats  for  under  side  of  collateral  side  honey-boards,  six  pieces, 
4:\"  X  "I"  X  I",  one  of  which  is  nailed  under  each  end,  and  one 
under  the  middle  of  each  side  honey-board.  Collateral  front  honey- 
hoard,  one  piece,  15 J"  x  6 j"  x  I",  clamped  across  the  ends,  same 
as  (Z),  and  bore  holes  same  as  (g) ;  frames  may  be  hung  in  the 
space  under  this  honey-board,  and  glasses  on  it,  or  tlie  glasses 
may  be  placed  instead  of  frames  (as  preferred)  to  receive  the 
surplus  honey;  two  pieces,  6"  x  |"  x  I",  are  nailed  on  outer  edges 
of  tops  of  front  posts,  (/t),  to  form  rabbets  for  frames.     Triangijr- 

*  The  middle  part  need  not  be  made,  uuless  the  hive  is  iutended  to  be  used  with 
two  stories,  as  in  Hive  No.  4. 

t  By  increasing  the  width  and  length  of  this  top  so  as  to  project  4^  in.  over  sides, 
and  placing  turned  "  drops  "  or  other  ornaments  under  the  eave  it  may  be,  at 
Email  cost,  made  highly  ornamental.     See  drawing  on  page  — . 

X  When  it  is  desired  to  close  the  opening  under  side-rails  of  bee-chamber,  turn 
the  collateral  side  honey-boards  upside  down 


886  EXPLANATION   OF   PLATES. 

lar  checks  to  hold  the  case  when  elevated^  two  pieces,  3"  longx  If" 
X  Y  at  one  end,  and  |"  x  yV  at  the  other.  Guides  on  outside  of 
case  (see  Fig.  19,  p.  48),  four  pieces,  1^''  x  2"  x  |".  Cover  to  up' 
per  ventilator  of  case,  one  piece,  24"  x  1"  x  |"  hung  on  buttons 
with  screws ;  this  ventilator  is  made  by  boring  holes  about  f "  in 
diameter  in  the  rear  of  upper  part  of  case,  |"  below  (2). 

No.  2,  Box  Hive,  as  made  by  Mr.  Colvin,  see  drawing  on  page  390, 
with  box-cover  and  observing  glass  in  rear  end. 

Bottom  (in  two  pieces  only,  plowed  and  grooved  together,  the 
grain  of  the  wood  running  across  the  hive),  24f"  x  14f"  x  |";  rabbet 
across  under  side  of  ends  -fg"  on,  j^"  in,  forming  tongue  ^"  x  3^"  on 
upper  side  of  ends,  which  are  let  into  groove  in  sides.  Sides,  two 
pieces,  24|"  x  10 1"  x  I",  cut  out  from  front  end  on  top  edge,  4"  x 
li"  deep,  for  portico  roof  ;  on  inside,  ys"  up  from  bottom  edge,  cut 
a  groove  -j^"  x  ^"  the  entire  length,  to  receive  tongue  on  bottom- 
board  ;  4"  back  from  front  end,  from  1§"  up  from  bottom  edge,  cut 
a  groove  ^"  x  ^"  to  within  |"  of  the  top  edge  to  let  in  front ; 
(these  sides  are  nailed  to  bottom  same  as  No.  5).  Portico  roof 
one  piece,  17|"x4^"x^";  bevel  on  top  side,  to  h"  thick  at  front 
edge,  back  2}"  to  full  thickness :  front  edge  rounded  from  upper 
side.  Front,  one  piece,  14f"  x  8^"  x  |",  let  into  sides  -j^"  at 
each  end.  Ohserving-glass  in  rear,  14"  x  6";  strips  to  form 
rabbet  for  glass,  \"  x  |",  nailed  all  around  the  space  left  for  the 
glass,  and  within  ■^"  of  inside  of  hive.  Rear  end,  two  pieces, 
14g"xl|"x|",  one  of  these  nailed  to  a  piece  15y"xl{"x|",  so 
that  the  bottom  edges  will  be  flush  w^ith  each  other,  is  to  be  dove- 
tailed into  the  ends  of  sides  ^"  up  from  the  top  side  of  bottom- 
board,  the  other  to  be  nailed  to  a  piece  \4i\"  x\"  x2\",  on  one 
side,  and  If"  on  the  other,  the  top  edge  of  the  inside  piece  |"  below 
the  outside  piece ;  then  nail  these  pieces  between  the  sides  of 
hive,  so  that  the  square  edge  and  widest  side  come  flush  with  the 
ends  and  tops  of  sides.  Cover  for  ohserving-glass,  one  piece, 
14''  X  \"  X  6|"  inside  x  6^"  outside,  the  bevel  being  made  on 
the  upper  edge;  clamps  on  this  cover,  two  pieces,  68"xl|"x^", 
screwed  in  the  middle  and  nailed  at  ends  on  the  outside  of  cover, 
each  projecting  |"  over  its  end  to  cover  the  joint.     Ledges  around 


EXPLANATION  OF   PLATES.  387 

sides  and  ends,  to  support  the  box-cover,  &c.,  screwed  on  |"  down 
from  top  edge  of  hive ;  two  pieces  (sides),  21|"  x  |"  x  |" ;  one  piece 
(back),  17^"  X  I"  X  I"  ;  one  piece  (front),  15|"  x  I"  x  |",  this  last 
piece  to  be  nailed  on  the  top  side  of  portico  roof;  notch  out  of  centre 
of  length,  3"  long  x  -j^",  for  winter  entrance.  Honey-hoard,  21"  x 
15|"  X  |"(in  two  pieces  only),  plowed  and  grooved  together ;  clamps 
tongued  and  grooved  against  ends  and  forming  part  of  its  dimen- 
sions, and  toe-nailed  to  clamps  ^'  each  side  of  the  groove  only  ; 
six  holes  are  bored  in  this,  same  size  as  in  Hive  No.  5,  in  two 
rows  from  front  to  back,  and  three  rows  across,  at  the  intersections 
of  lines  gauged  3f  from  its  sides,  and  4f"  x  10|"  x  16|"  from 
either  front  or  back  ends.  Box-cover,  front  and  rear,  two  pieces, 
16 1"  X  8f "  X  I",  cut  out  of  centre  of  bottom  edge  of  front,  3"  x  y"'^", 
for  winter  entrance.  Sides^  two  pieces,  23|"x  8J"x  |",  rabbet 
at  ends,  |"  on,  -^"  in,  to  let  in  ends :  bore  five  holes  in  rear  end, 
for  ventilation,  with  f "  centre-bit,  2"  from  each  end,  and  3|"  from 
centre  to  centre,  within  \"  of  top  edge.  Cover  for  ventilator,  one 
piece,  15"  x  1"  x  |",  held  in  its  place  by  two  buttons.  Top  of 
hox-^iover,  four  pieces,  26^"  x  |"  x  5}";  when  tongued  and  grooved 
together,  rain-grooved  on  each  side  of  joints.  Cover  for  hack  lower 
ventilator,  one  piece,  14f"x|"xl^"  rabbeted  on  under  side  and 
at  ends  I"  in  x  I"  on ;  button  for  securing  this  and  the  cover  of 
observing-glass,  1^"  x  f "  x  |"  ;  cut  out  |"  x  ^"  from  the  lower  end. 


EXPLANATION   OF   PLATES. 


389 


(JOT.VIV  \o  5 


COI.VIN    Or.NAMENTAU 


890  EXPLANATION   OF  PLATES. 


Cotvuj  No.  iL 


I  ISr  13  E  X. 


Adobe,  for  hrres,  331  (note  2). 

Adrantages  required  in  complete  hives, 
95-108. 

Adventure,  amusing,  in  search  of  honey, 
254. 

After  swarming,  120;  causes  and  iudi 
cations  of,  121  ;  easily  prevented  in 
mov.  comb  hives,  12-4,  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,  243. 

After-swarms,  easily  strengthened  in 
mov.  comb  hives,  140  ;  when  to  ex- 
pect, 122  ;  often  issue  in  had  weather, 
122  ;  often  have  more  than  one  queen, 
122  ;  seriously  reduce  strength  of  par- 
ent-stocks, 124, 140  ;  wise  arrangement 
concerning,  124  ;  easily  prevented  in 
mov.  comb  hive,  124  ;  weak,  of  little 
value,  14U,  141  ;  returning  of,  to  parent 
stock,  or  doubling,  unprofitable,  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,  338  ;  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,  311,  (note)'; 
how  to  give  in  Winter,  to  mov.  comb 
hives,  33«. 

Air-tight  stoves,  deficient  in  ventilation, 
92. 

Alighting-board,  should  shelter  from 
wind  and  wet,  103  ;  improved  by  at- 
taching muslin,  279  (note):  PI."  V., 
Figs.  16,  17. 

Alsike,  or  Swedish  white  clover,  294  ; 
value  of,  for  beos  and  stock,  295. 

American  women,  their  suflferings  from 
bad  ventilation,  92. 

Analysis  of  royal  jelly,  64. 


I  Anger  of  bees,  308-314  ;  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,  256  (note);  never  necessary 
to  provoke  a  colony  to,  309  ;  when 
provoked  to,  terribly  vindictive,  310  ; 
of  dyspeptic  bees,  troublesome,  310  ; 
bee-hat,  a  protection  from,  310  ;  But- 
ler's directions  how  to  prevent  the 
rising  of,  311  ;  warm  breath  provokes, 
311  (note  2)  ;  wLen  excited,  how  to 
act,  311  ;  never  excited  away  from 
home,  312 ;  excited  by  disagreeable 
odors,  and  uncleanly  persons,  313 ; 
aroused  by  a  smeH  of  the  bee-poison, 
314  ;  and  by  rough  and  hairy  substan- 
ces, 317. 

Ants,  white,  their  fecundity,  32  ;  some- 
times injure  bees,  255  ;  small,  harm- 
less, 265  (note);  extravagantly  fond 
of  honey,  i;87. 

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 
s warming-season,  143  ;  large,  rendered 
dilhcult  by  natural  swarming,  145  ; 
danger  of  crowded,  214  ;  stocking,  &c., 
279-'.i84  ;  in  establishing,  a  knowledge 
of  the  honey  resources  of  the  locality 
important, -^79  (and  note  1);  should  be 
protected  from  high  winds,  and  Irom 
cattle,  ami  sweaty  horses,  279  (note 
2)  ;  should  be  in  sight  of  occupied 
rooms,  279  ;  propor  exposure  for,  '^79  ; 
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  ;  shouM  be  fenced  against 
cattle  and  horses,  313. 

Apple-tree,  yields  much  honey,  292. 

Apricot-tree,  honev-vielding,  292. 
(391) 


892 


INDEX. 


Aristotle,  noticed  similarity  of  drone  and 
worker-eggs,  42  ;  observed  that  bees 
collect  pollen  from  one  kind  of  flower 
at  a  time,  80  ;  observation  of,  concern- 
ing the  flight  and  feeding  of  drones, 
224  (note)  ;  on  the  difficulties  which 
perplex  the  Apiarian,  276  (note);  de- 
scribed the  Italian  bee,  318. 

Artificial  honey,  recipe  for,  276  (note). 

Artificial  rearing  of  queens,  188  ;  the 
process  to  be  performed  late  in  the 
day,  188  ;  honey  and  water  to  be  sup- 
plied to  bees  in,  189  ;  when  to  confine 
bees  in,  189. 

Artificial  swarming,  143,  211  ;  not  per- 
formed by  Columella,  147  (note)  ;  ill 
success  of  ancient  method  of,  148  ; 
Huber's  plan  of, objectionable.  148  ;  by 
dividing  hives,  unsatisfactory,  149  ;  by 
removing  full  hives  and  substituting 
empty  ones,  worse,  150,  151  ;  by  self- 
colonizing  hives,  ineffectual,  151;  causes 
of  failure  of,  152  ;  has  received  great 
attention  from  author,  153  ;  mode 
of,  adapted  to  common  hives,  154  ; 
cautious  handling  of  combs  in,  need- 
ful, 155  (and  note);  how  to  prevent 
bees  in,  from  returning  to  old  stand, 
156,  157  ;  not  to  be  performed  till 
drones  appear,  158  ;  tokens  of  the  ab- 
sence or  presence  of  the  queen  in,  158; 
how  to  proceed  if  the  queen  is  absent, 
159  ;  if  done  in  morning  or  late  in  after- 
noon, how  to  proceed  to  secure  bees 
for  the  old  stock,  160  ;  proportion  of 
bees  necessary  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  ; 
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  advant;iges,  163  ;  Dr. 
Ddnholf 's  method  of,  163  ;  how  to  at- 
tach bees  to  new  places,  in,  163  (note) ; 
ditficult  for  persons  ignorant  of  ihe 
laws  which  control  the  breeding  of 
bees,  164  ;  easily  performed  with  raov. 
comb  hive,  164  :  mode  of  performing 
it,  165  ;  queen  to  be  sought  for,  166  ; 
supply  of  sealed  queens  provided  for, 
166  ;  great  care  necessary  in  transfer- 
ring sealed  queens,  167  ;  should  not  be 
attempted  in  cool  weather,  or  when 
dark,  167  ;  early  morning  best  time 
for,  167  ;  little  danger  attending,  167, 
168  ;  perfectly  safe  even  at  mid-day, 
168 ;  sugar-water  often  better  than 
smoke,  useful  in,  168  ;  honey-water 
objectionable,  169  (note);  caution  in, 
eiyoined,  170;  how  to  apply  sugar- 
water  in,  170  ;  how  to  remove  frames 
in,  170  ;  rai)idly  performed,  173  ;  best 
mode  of,  180,  181  ;  supply  of  queens 
to   mother-stocks,  in,   182  ;    obviates 


the  risk  of  after-swarming,  184  ;  capo- 
ble  of  safe  expansion,  185  ;  how  to 
double  stocks  by,  185 ;  Dzierzon's 
mode  of,  186  ;  author's  mode  of,  for 
single  apiaries,  186  ;  mode  of,  re- 
sembling natural  swarming,  186: 
mode  of,  by  reversuig  position  of 
hives,  187  ;  h<nv  to  provide  a  fufl 
supply  of  queens  for,  188  ;  nucleus  for 
rearing  queens  for,  189  ;  rapid  in- 
crease of  stocks  by,  190  ;  how  to  in« 
duce  bees,  in,  to  rear  queens  on  con- 
venient parts  of  the  comb,  191  ;  how 
to  secure  adhering  bees  for  the  nuclei 
in,  192  (and  note  2);  queens,  in,  made 
to  supply  several  stocks  with  eggs, 
193;  muther-stocks,  in,  should  be 
kept  strong,  199 ;  most  successful 
when  forage  is  abundant,  199  ;  haz- 
ardous in  a  crowded  apiary,  200  ;  how 
to  supply  stocks,  in,  with  stranger- 
queens,  200  ;  queen-cage  for,  201  ; 
union  of  bees  of  different  stocks  in, 
203  ;  practiced  in  ancient  times,  210. 

Artificial  swarms,  where  should  be  put, 
158  ;  how  to  know  whether  they  have 
a  queen,  158;  will  accept  a  strange 
queen,  159  (note)  ;  cautions  to  be  ob- 
served in  locating,  159  ;  how  to  make, 
by  slightly  changing  position  of  parent 
stock,  161  ;  how  to  form  several  with 
one  natural  swarm,  163 ;  quickly 
made  in  mov.  comb  hive,  164,  173  : 
when  to  force,  in  cases  of  retarded 
swarming,  174  ;  cannot  be  formed  by 
merely  transferring  combs  and  bees 
into  an  empty  hive,  175 ;  caution 
against  too  rapid  multiplication  of, 
175  (note) ;  the  piling  mode  of  forming, 
its  advantages,  188  ;  not  to  be  increas- 
ed so  as  to  reduce  the  strength  of  the 
mother  stock,  199;  attempts  at  rapid 
increase  of,  in  vicinity  of  sugar-houses, 
&c.,  199  ;  dilUcult  to  form  when  forage 
is  scarce,  199. 

.(^ters,  furnish  valuable  pasturage  for 
bees,  298. 

Attica,  its  yield  of  wax  and  honey,  304. 

Austria,  value  of  its  honey  crop,  304 

Axioms,  bee-keeper's,  369. 


Baldenstein,Capt.,  on  Italian  bee,  318; 

ill-success    of,    in    propagating    pure 

breed, 319. 
Bar-hives,  ancient,  210  (note)  ,  author'i 

experiments  with,  14. 
Basket,  used  as  a  hiver,  133. 
B;iss-W(-K)d,  see  Linden. 
Bears,  destroyers  of  bees,  254. 
Bee-bub,  to  attract  swarms,  132. 
Bee-bread,  see  Pollen. 
Bee-dress,  use  of,  recoraraeaded,  132, 

209,  316. 


INDEX. 


393 


Bee-glue,  see  Propolis. 

Bee-hat,  author's,  how  made,  316  (PI. 
XL,  Fig.  25.) 

Bee-journal,  much  needed  ui  this  coun- 
try, 22. 

Bee-keeping,  depressed  condition  of,  in 
America,  13,  145  :  a  fascinating  pur- 
suit, 144,  146  ;  estimate  of  profit  of, 
146  (note)  ;  better  understood  by  the 
an:;ients  than  the  moderns,  '47  (note); 
with  feeble  stocks,  unprofitable,  177  ; 
no  "  royal  road"  to.  211  ;  demands  care 
and  experience,  211  ;  in  Spain,  exten- 
sive, 222  (note  2);  on  a  large  scale, 
unprofitable  to  beginners,  282. 

Bee-moth,  permanent  bottom  boards,  a 
security  against,  97  ;  easily  dislodged 
from  mov.  comb  hive,  141 ;  has  mure 
sins  to  bear  than  she  commits,  216. 
246;  habits,  &c.,  of,  described,  228- 
252  ;  mentioned  by  ancient  authors, 
228  ;  pest  of  modern  apiaries,  228,  25!  ; 
when  a  moth-proof  hive  will  be  ob- 
tained, 228  ;  Dr.  Harris's  account  of, 
228  ;  to  distinguish  female  of,  from 
'  male,  229  ;  cut  of  female  and  male, 
230  ;  nocturnal  230  ;  interesting  exper- 
iment with  female,  230  (note  2);  agility 
of,  230  (and  note  3) ;  eggs  of,  laid  in 
the  cracks  of  the  hive,  &c.,  231,  235  ; 
cut  of  gallery  of,  232  ;  cocoons  of,  in 
empty  combs,  233  (and  PI.  XIX.,  Fig. 
56) ;  female  will  deposit  eggs  on  pres- 
sure, 234  (note  2);  condition  of  a  hive 
destroyed  by,  235  (and  PI.  XX.,  Fig. 
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  evils  of,  239,  241  ;  first  appearance 
uoted,  240  ;  rapid  spread  of,  in  Ohio, 
241  ;  commonly  infest  old  stocks,  251 
(note)  ;  eggs  of,  deposited  on  un- 
covered combs  in  weak  stocks,  242  ; 
signs  of  presence  of,  in  hives,  242  ;  not 
developed  in  low  tem[)eraiure,  243 ; 
sulphur  fumes  will  kdl  the  eggs  and 
larvae  of,  in  combs,  243  ;  will  certainly 
destroy  quceuless  stocks,  244  (and 
note);  fertility  of,  244  ;  instinct  of,  iu 
discovering  queenless  stocks,  245  ; 
easily  conquer  stocks  suffering  from 
hunger,  246  (and  note)  ;  mission  of, 
247  (and  note) ;  keeping  slocks  strong 
the  surest  defence  against,  247;  in- 
security of  other  contrivances,  247  ; 
placing  hives  so  as  not  to  endanger 
the  loss  of  their  queens,  an  iniportiint 
protection  against,  248  ;  a<laptation  of 
irov.  comb  hive  to  protect  stocks 
from,  249  ;  facilities  of  destroying,  of 
no  use  to  ciireless  bee-keepers,  •.:50  ; 
protection  from,  by  an  upi)or  entrance, 
250  (note);  caught  by  sweots  and  sour 
milk,  25)  ;  destroyed  by  fire,  251  (nt>te 


Bee-moth,  Larvae  of  (with  cuts  229); 
how  it  secures  itself  from  the  attacks 
of  the  bees,  231  ;  representation  of  its 
gallery,  232  ;  food  of,  233,  247  ;  ap- 
pearance of  their  cocoons  in  empty 
combs,  233  (and  PL  XIX.,  Fig.  56); 
activity  of,  233  ;  transformation  of,  to 
the  winged  form,  and  effect  of  cold 
on,  234  (and  note),  243;  movable 
frames  a  remedy  against,  239,  241  ; 
signs  of  i^reseuce  of,  in  hives,  242  ; 
sulphur  fumes  fatal  U),  243  ;  shouid 
be  destroyed  early  in  the  season,  248  ; 
extent  of  their  ravages  249  (and 
note)  ;  how  to  entrap  them,  •_49  ; 
traps  for,  of  no  use  to  the  careless, 
250. 

Bee-palaces,  objections  to,  61,  242. 

Bees,  honey,  will  work  in  the  light,  16; 
23,332;  may  be  tamed,  24,  28,308; 
intended  for  man's  comfort,  24  ;  never 
attack  when  gorged  with  honey,  25, 
132, 169  ;  when  swarming,  peaceable, 
25,  132 ;  always  accept  of  offered 
sweets,  25,  168,  169,  170;  sometimes 
attracted  from  other  hives  by  sprink- 
ling sugar-water,  7  ;  gorge  themselves 
when  frightened,  27,  154,  169  ;  sub- 
dued by  smoke  or  drumming  on  the 
hive,  27,  154  ;  and  chloroform  or  ether, 
210 ;  the  most  timid  may  manage, 
28  ;  can  flourish  only  in  colonies,  •.i9  ; 
how  affected  by  loss  of  queen,  31  ;  in- 
telligence of,  48  ;  breed  in  Winter,  48, 
339  ;  number  of,  in  a  colony ,  54  ;  houev- 
bag  of,  56  (I'l.  XVIL,  Fig.  54)  ;  pol- 
len-basket, 56  ;  proboscis  of,  56  (I'l. 
XM.,  Fisr.  51,  PI.  XllL,  Fig.  63); 
stiiig,  56  (I'l.  XVIL,  Fig.  53);  loss  of 
sting  fatal,  57  ;  age  of,  58  ;  industry  of, 
instructive,  59  ;  number  of,  in  a  colo- 
ny, why  limited,  61  ;  advantages  of 
their  being  able  to  Winter  iu  a  colony 
slate,  62;  despair  of,  when  without 
queen  or  broixi-comb,  67,  245  ;  work 
night  and  day,  73  ;  sagacity  of,  iu  the 
structure  of  their  cells,  74  ;  supersti- 
tions connected  with,  80  ;  not  injur' 
ous  to  fruit,  85  ;  need  little  air  in  Win 
ter,  if  comfortable,  89  ;  when  disturb- 
ed or  confined,  require  much  air, 
90 ;  become  di.seased  in  impure  air, 
90 ;  amioyed  by  thin  hives  iu  hot 
weather,  90  ;  superior  to  man  in  ven- 
tilation, 91  ;  why  they  do  not  cluster 
on  sealed  honey  in  hot  weather,  91  ; 
averse  to  jarring,  96 ;  not  torpiil  in 
Winter,  110,  335  ;  chilled  by  cold, 
110;  must  live  in  comuumiliis,  130; 
conduct  of,  when  queen  is  lost  in 
swarming,  113  ;  sometimes  abandon 
hives  to  avoid  starvation,  116  ;  why 
they  do  nut  select  new  homes  belore 
abandoning  the  old,  116;  intercom- 
municate quickly  on  the  wing,  117  ; 
send  scouts  to  .«et'k  new  abodes,  117 


394 


INDEX. 


Bight  of,  for  distant  objects,  acute, 
117  ;  commotion  of,  during  absence  of 
queen  for  impregnation,  125,  217  ;  na- 
tive of  hot  climate,  1::8  (note);  detusl 
smell  of  fresh  paint,  129  ;  often  per- 
spire while  swarming,  and  reluctant 
to  enter  heated  hives,  130  ;  pleased  to 
find  comb  in  hive,  131  ;  modes  of  se- 
curing swarms  in  difficult  places,  lo5  ; 
acute  of  hearing,  138  ;  refusing 
to  swarm,  should  have  plenty  of 
storage-room,  139  ;  may  be  advanta- 
geously kept  in  cities,  "l44  ;  often  re- 
fuse to  swarm,  145  ;  seldom  colonize 
unless  blossoms  abound  in  honey,  147  ; 
ability  of,  to  rear  queens  from  worker- 
brood,  when  discovered,  148  ;  with- 
out mature  queens,  build  combs 
with  large  cells,  149,  150  (and  note); 
diminish  rapidlj"  in  number  after 
swarmmg,  151  "(and  note);  will  not 
form  indepeudeut  colonies  in  inter- 
communicating hives,  152  ;  work  bet- 
ter in  new  swarms  than  in  old  colo- 
louies,  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- 
cation, 156  ;  effect  on,  of  temporary 
loss  of  home,  157  ;  how  to  make  ail- 
here  to  old  home,  wherever  put,  157  ; 
losing  their  queens,  will  accept  of 
others,  159  (note);  more  irascible  at 
night,  167  ;  confounded  by  sudden  in- 
troduction of  light  into  their  hives, 
168,  169 ;  difficult  to  subdue  when 
once  thoroughly  excited,  170  ;  use  all 
available  space  for  honey,  172  (note 
2);  tenacious  adherence  of,  to  their 
combs,  172;  losing  their  queen  when 
swarming,  return  to  parent  stuck, 
174 ;  their  mode  of  communication, 
174  (note  1);  storing  surplus  honey 
to  be  unmolested,  180  (aud  note  ij; 
amusing  conduct  of,  on  fiuding  a 
strange  hive  where  their  own  should 
be,  181  (note  1)  ;  emboldened  to  self- 
defence  by  presence  of  queen,  182 ; 
judicious  renewal  of,  for  swarms,  not 
injurious  to  mother-stocks,  183  ;  their 
instiact  to  become  over-rich,  183  (note 
2);  their  passion  for  forage,  186  (note 
1);  when  destitute  of  queen,  will  rear 
young  ones,  if  they  have  brood-comb, 
188;  need  water  when  confined,  189 
(note);  how  encouraged  to  work  in 
an  upper  hive,  189  ;  do  not  always 
cluster  on  brood  comb  in  nuclei,  192 
(note)  ;  sometimes  suirt  queen-cells 
that  fail,  193  ;  young  do  inside,  and 
old,  outside  work,  194 ;  young  are 
wax-workers,  196;  their  occasional 
refusal  to  make  royal  cells  explained, 
197  (note)  ;  a  wortiiy  trait  of,  197  ; 
their    treatraeut    of    strange    queens, 


200 ;  to  cause,  to  receive  strange 
queens  kindly,  201  ;  of  dififerent  colo- 
nies may  be  united,  203  ;  distinguish 
their  hive  companions  by  smell  and 
actions,  203  ;  conduct  of,  when  fr4ght- 
ened,  203  ;  when  disturbed  aud  scent- 
ed, will  readily  mingle,  203  (and  note); 
in  too  large  hives,  become  dispirited, 
208  ;  in  large  apiaries,  if  the  hives  are 
alike,  liable  to  mistake  them,  214 ; 
eflect  on,  of  loss  of  queen,  217  ;  ene- 
mies of,  228-255  ;  vigilance  cf,  against 
the  moth,  231  ;  not  a  native  of  the 
New  World,  "/Sd  ;  a  harbinger  of  civ- 
ilization, 236  (note);  can  learn  to  de- 
fend themselves  against  new  enemies, 
240  ;  destroyed  by  mice  and  by  birds, 
252 ;  by  toads  and  bears,  254 ;  dis- 
eases of,  255-260  :  propensities  of,  to 
rob,  and  appearauce  of  thieving  bees, 
261  ;  habitual  robbers  become  black, 
•i62  (and  note)  ;  sometimes  rob  the 
humble  bee,  262  ;  grand  battles  of, 
263  ;  of  conquered  colonies,  incorpor- 
ate themselves  with  the  victors,  263  ; 
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  confectionery,  277  ; 
comi>ared  to  intemperate  men,  278  ; 
the  avaricious,  folly  of,  278  ;  fond  of 
shade,  280 ;  procuring  Ibr  an  apiary, 
280  ;  transferring  from  common  to 
mov.  comb  hives,  282  ;  get  supplies 
from  honey -dews,  287  ;  flight  of,  its 
extent,  305  ;  pacific  temper  of,  308  ; 
incident  illustrating  good  nature  of, 
while  swarming,  308  ;  readily  taught 
by  ill  treatment  to  be  vindictive,  310  ; 
human  breath  otfensive  to,  311  ;  at  a 
disunce  from  their  hives,  never  sting 
unless  hurt,  312  ;  kindness  of,  at  home, 
a  lesson  for  man,  312 ;  their  treat- 
ment of  the  sick,  312;  their  sense  of 
smell,  313;  dead,  medicinal  qualities 
of,  315  (note);  will  more  surely  sting 
hairy  than  bare  parts,  317  ;  maintain 
a  high  temperature  in  Winter,  335 ; 
eat  less  in  Winter  when  kept  quiet, 
335,  355  ;  wintering  of,  335-361  ;  unit- 
ing small  colonies  of,  for  wintering, 
336  ;  do  not  store  honey  so  as  always 
to  be  accessible  in  Winter,  336  ;  can- 
not be  relied  on  to  make  Winter  pas- 
sages in  combs,  336;  should  be  pro- 
tected from  Winter  winds,  337,  3-J8 ; 
if  out  of  doors  in  Winter  should  be 
allowed  to  ny,o37  ;  sometimes  p^-rish 
in  suow,  338  (note  1)  ;  experiments 
on  wintering,  by  author,  339 ;  need 
water  in  cold  weather,  342-346  ;  n-ed 
water  to  eat  candied  honey,  342-^44  ; 
injure  I  by  being  disturbed  in  Winter, 
347.355  ;  seldom  discharge  their  feces 
in  the  hive,  347  ;  on  wiutering  iu  dry 


INDEX. 


395 


cellars,  3i8 ;  in  special  depositories, 
349-360 ;  eat  less  and  fewer  die  in 
clamps  than  in  other  special  Winter 
depositories,  355,  358. 

Bee-keepers,  common  hives  do  not  teach 
the  laws  of  bue-breeding,  164: ;  if 
timid,  should  use  bee-dress,  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,  216  ;  careless, 
will  be  unsuccessful,  226,  250  ;  should 
not  encourage  ihe  destruction  of  birds, 
253  ;  specimen  of,  opposed  to  improve- 
ments, 357. 

Bee-quack's  secret,  238  (note) . 

Bees,  queen  of,  see  Quet;n  Bees. 

Beginners,  should  be  cautious  in  experi- 
menting, 179,  o07. 

Berg,  Kev.  Dr.,  first  informed  author  of 
Dzierzon's  discoveries,  16. 

Berlepsch,  Baron  of,  his  stocks  injured 
by  scienlitic  experiments,  179  (note); 
uses  frames  simdar  to  the  author's,  3:^1 
(note  2);  experiments  on  impregna- 
tion of  queens,  126  (note)  ;  Italian 
bee,  323  ;  his  experiments  on  the  eflect 
of  cold  on  queens,  3.:7  :  shows  tbat 
bees  need  water  in  winter,  342. 

Bevan,  on  eggs,  and  larvae  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  honoy- 
dew,  286. 

Birds,  bee  devouring,  252 ;  why  th.'y 
should  not  be  destroyed,  253  (and 
note) . 

Blocks,  entrance  regulating  (Plate  III., 
Figs.  11,  12);  useful  to  prevent  swarm- 
ing, 174  (and  note);  security  against 
mice,  175,  252  ;  against  robber-bees, 
264. 

Bodwell,  J.  C,  experiments  of,  in  winter- 
ing bees  345. 

Boerhave's  account  of  Swammcrdams 
labors,  65  (uote). 

Bohemia,  its  production  of  honey,  304. 

BoiUng  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,  243  ;  Winter  clean- 
ing of,  347. 

Boxes  for  spare  honey,  289,  290. 

Braum,  Mr.  A.,  his  experiment  to  ascer- 
tain the  increase  of  honey  in  a  hive, 
303. 

Breath,  human,  o(reu.sivc  to  bees,  170, 
311. 

Breeding    "  in-and-in,"     injurious,    54  ; 


early,  encouraged   by  spring-feeding, 
268. 

Brood,  temperature  necessary  for  its 
development,  46,  48  ;  attended  to  by 
young  bees,  197  ;  production  of,  check- 
ed by  over-feeding,  268 ;  found  in 
hive-s  in  Winter,  48,  339. 

Brood-comb,  see  Comb. 

Brown,  Hon.  .-jimon,  his  description  of  a 
combat  between  two  queens,  2c5. 

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  of,  may 
cause  swarming.  366. 

Buera,on  theneed  of  water  for  bees,  344. 

Burnens,  great  merits  of,  as  an  observer, 
33  ;  laborious  experiment  of,  S3  (uote); 
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, 
311,317. 


Cage,  see  Queen  Cage. 

Calendar,  bee-keeper's,  362-370. 

Candied  honey,  bees  need  w^ater  to  dis- 
solve, 342-344. 

Candy,  sugar,  recommended  for  bee- 
feed,  272 ;  recipe  for  making,  272 
(note). 

Cary,  Wm.  W.,his  mode  of  uniting  colo- 
nies, 204  ;  of  fastening  comb  in  frames, 
283  (note);  his  mode  of  making  winter 
passages  in  combs,  337  (note); on  win- 
tering bees,  346  (note  2). 

Casts,  see  After-Swarms. 

Catalogue  of  bee-plants,  298. 

Cellars,  dry,  good  for  wintering  bees, 
345,  348. 

Cells,  of  bees,  their  contents,  29  ;  covers 
of,  44  ;  for  breeding,  become  too  small, 
60;  wood-cuts  of,  i'lates  XIII.,  XIV., 
and  XV.  ;  royal  62,  213  ;  thinness  of 
their  sides,  71  (note)  ;  sizes  of,  74,  PI. 
XV.,  Fig.  48;  demonstrate  the  exist- 
ence 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  beea 
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,  348-360. 

Clover,  whit(>,  most  imporlani  source  of 
honey,  294;  Mr.  llolbrook,  on  the 
value  of,  for  stock,  294  ;  Swedish,  294. 


396 


IISDEX. 


Clustering  of  swarms,  113, 116. 

Lkjcoon,  complete  one,  spun  by  drone 
and  worker-larvae,  46  ;  imperlect  one, 
by  queen-larvae,  46  ;  of  larvae,  never 
removed  from  cells,  60  ;  of  the  moth, 
231,  (PI.  XIX.) 

Cold,  moderate,  makes  bees  almost  dor- 
mant, 89  ;  chills  bees,  110  ;  water,  use- 
ful in  subduing  robbers,  265. 

Colonies,  of  bees  (see  also  Stocks  of 
bees  ;  rapid  increase  of,  in  Australia, 
51  (note)  ;  age  of,  59  ;  new,  composed 
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- 
move, from  old  locations,  156,  157  ; 
artificial,  not  to  be  formed  till  drones 
appear,  158  ;  artificial,  time  necessary 
to  form,  173 ;  cautions  against  too 
rapid  increase  of,  175  (note),  176-178  ; 
weak,  easily  strengthened  by  use  of 
mov.  comb  hive,  178  ;  possible  extent 
of  multiplication  of,  178  ;  most  profit- 
able rate  of  increase,  179  ;  to  form  one 
new  colony  from  two  old  ones,  180  ; 
mother,  easily  supplied  with  young 
fertile  queens,  in  mov.  comb  hive, 
182  ;  sometimes  over-stored  with  hon- 
ey, 183  (notes  1  and  2) ;  table  illustrat- 
ing rapid  increase  of,  185  ;  new,  must 
remain  where  first  put,  185  ;  many 
bees  may  be  removed  from,  when  the 
queens  are  fertile,  186  ;  new,  formed 
by  reversing  position  of  hives,  187  ; 
piling  mode  of  forming,  188  ;  should, 
when  moved,  be  supplied  with  water, 
189  (note)  ;  to  supply  queens  for 
rapid  increase  of,  190-193  ;  how  they 
may  be  safely  mingled,  203,  336  ;  if 
small,  should  be  confined  by  movable 
partition,  to  suitable  limits^  208  ;  en- 
dangered by  loss  of  queen. 217,  246  ; 
having  young  queens  should'be  watch- 
ed, 218,  222;  signs  that,  have  no 
queen,  219  ;  Spring  care  of,  221  ; 
queenless  in  October,  to  be  united  with 
other  colonies,  223;  oM,  more  liable 
than  young,  to  the  ravages  of  worms, 
233,  251  (note)  ;  queenless,  will  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  moth,  244  (and  note)  ; 
when  hopelessly  queenk-siJ,  their  de- 
struction certain,  216 ;  how  to  be 
treated  when  infected  with  dysentery, 
256  ;  how,  when  attacked  with  foul 
brood,  357-2i30  ;  suspected,  used  by 
Dzierzon  to  rear  surplus  queens  for 
artificial  stc^jks,  200  ;  strong,  can,  in 
a  season,  supply  materials  for  four 
8 warms,  260  ;  feeding  of,  267-278  ; 
should  be  strong  when  honej'  harvest 
closes,  269  ;  weak,  in  the  Fall,  should 
be  added  to  other  stocks,  20,  336; 
location  of,  how  to  change,  280  ;  re- 
moval of,  to  new  apiaries,  281  ;  weak, 
ill-success   of,   has    led    to   the    belief 


that  we  are  over-st-.cked,  299;  onTj 
strong,  profitable,  299,  Wi  (and  not*); 
itinerating,  305  (note  2);  when  broksn 
up  for  their  honey,  the  queens  should 
be  removed  beforehand,  £00  (note);  of 
common  bees,  readily  converted  into 
Italian,  £22. 

Color,  aids  in  recognizing  their  hive,  814 
216. 

Columella,  notice  of  his  Treatise  on 
Bee_Keeping,  147  (note)  ;  his  remedy 
against  the  over-storuig  of  hives,  183 
(note  2);  advice  of,  concerning  Spring 
examination  of  stocks,  221  (note  1)  ; 
recommended  that  weak  stocks  bo 
strengthened  from  strong  ones,  221 
(note  2);  his  suggestion  as  to  the 
l)roper  time  to  remove  surplus  honey, 
224  (note)  ;  his  mode  of  feeding  bees, 
271  (note  1)  ;  his  directions  how  to 
gain  the  favor  of  bees,  311. 

Colvin,  his  method  of  securing  straight 
comb,  373 ;  manner  of  making  the 
mov.  comb  hive  383. 

Comb,  69-76  ;  too  old,  can  be  easily  re- 
moved in  mov.  comb  hives,  60,  200  , 
materials  of,  69  ;  wood-cuts  of,  repre- 
senting various  kinds  of  cells.  Plates 
XIII.,  XIV.,  and  XY.;  empty,  great 
value  of,  to  bee-keii)or,  71  ;  should 
not  be  melted  into  wax,  71  ;  rapidly 
refilled  by  bees,  71 ;  easily  supplied  to 
bees  in  mov.  comb  hive,  71  ;  how  at- 
tached to  frames,  72,  283  (and  note)  ; 
drone-comb,  not  to  be  put  in  breed- 
ing apartments,  72,  ILO  ;  artificial,  sug- 
ge.stion  concerning,  72;  author's  ex- 
periments to  induce  bees  to  make  it 
from  old  wax,  72  ;  building  of,  carried 
on  most  actively  by  night,  72  ;  comb- 
building  and  honey-gathering  simul- 
taneous, 73  ;  danger  to,  in  hot  weather, 
91  ;  caution  respecting,  in  artificial 
swarming  from  common  hives,  155 
(and  note) ;  generally  built  somewhat 
waving,  171  ;  how  to  examine  ;  when  iu 
mov.  comb  hive,  172  ;  brood,  used  for 
nuclei,  189 ;  worker,  used  to  rear 
queens,  191  ;  building  of,  by  young 
bees,  196  ;  worker,  should  never  bo 
destroyed,  207  (and  note  2);  prefer- 
able to  artificial  comb-guides,  207, 
208  ;  control  of,  essential  to  a  system 
of  management,  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  all  bee-keepers,  208  ;  safely  taken 
from  hive  when  bees  are  filled  with 
honey  or  sugar-water,  210;  old,  most 
liable  to  be  infested  with  worms,  233, 
251  (note);  empty,  should  somet>mea 
bo  removed  from  feeble  stocks,  243; 
new,  unsafe  to  move  in  warm  weather, 
281;  containing  bee-bread,  has  in- 
ferior honey, 288;  very  old  brood,  not 
worth  rendering  into  wax,  288;  to 
make  Winter  bee-passages  in,  337  {and 
note]). 


INDEX. 


397 


Composition  for  corners  of  hives,  to 
secure  them  from  moths,  78. 

Confectioners,  how  they  may  prevent 
annoyance  from  bees,  277. 

Control  of  comb,  essential  to  a  true  sys- 
tem of  bee-cultiire,  208. 

Corsica^  ancient,  yield  of  honey  of,  304. 


D. 


Dampness,  injurious  to  bees,  90,  S5,  338- 
342,345,  348  ;  produces  dysentery, 256. 

Dandehon,  Tarnishes  honey  and  pollen, 
292. 

Dangers  of  too  rapidly  multiplying  stocks, 
176-178  ;  of  using  hives  of  uniform 
size,  shape,  and  color,  214. 

Daylight,  needed  for  operations  on  bees, 
167. 

Denmark,  its  honey-produce,  304. 

Desertion  of  hives  by  swarms,  indications 
and  prevention  of,  115. 

Diseases  of  bees,  255-260. 

Dishonesty,  as  poor  policy  in  bees  as  in 
men,  262. 

Dissection  of  queen  bees  34,  213  (note). 

Disturbing  bees  in  cold  weather,  inju- 
rious, 256,  335,  347, 355. 

Dividing  hives,  worthless  for  artificial 
swarming,  149,  150. 

DonhoflT,  Dr.,  on  artificial  impregnation 
of  a  drone-egg,  41  ;  on  thickness  of 
sides  of  cells,  71  (nutj);  his  mode  of 
forced  swarming,  163  ;  his  experiment 
indicating  a  division  of  labor  among 
bees  according  to  ago,  194  ;  on  food  of 
bee  moth  larvte,  233  (note);  on  eggs 
of  bee-moth,  2.-;4  (note  2). 

Double-stocks,  produce  a  largo  yield  of 
hone}',  135. 

Doubling  stocks  yearly,  185. 

Draining  combs  of  honey,  288. 

Drawings,  explanation  of,  for  making 
mov.  comb  hive,  371. 

Drone-comb,  wood-cut  of,  PI.  XV.,  Fig. 
48  ;  the  cause  of  excess  of,  51  ;  excess 
of,  should  bo  removed  from  breeding 
apartments,  51,  225  ;  if  new,  a  Ivanta 
geous  in  boxes  for  surplus  honey,  130. 

Drone-eggs,  not  impregnated,  37;  attempt 
of  bees  to  rear  a  queen  from,  39  ;  arti- 
ficial impregnation  of,  41  ;  laid  by 
superannuated  queens,  49. 

Drone-laying  queens,  38,40,213  (note); 
use  to  be  made  of,  214  (note) ,  327. 

Drones,  or  male-bees,  produced  by  re- 
tarded impregnation  of  queens,  36  ; 
always  by  unfecundated  eggs,  37  ; 
often  by  unfecundated  queens,  37,  127 
(note)  ;  their  development  from  egg 
to  insect,  46  ;  description  and  wood- 
cuts of,  49;  IM.  XII.,  Figs.  33,  34 
(natural  and  magnified  size)  ;  oflice 
of,  to  impregnate  young  queens,  49  ; 
time   of  ihe^r   appearance,  50 ;    often 


very  numerous,  50  ;  how  to  prevent 
excessive  mnltiplieation  of,  51  ;  why 
destroyed  by  workers,  52,  224  ;  wis- 
dom displayed  in  providing  so  many, 
53  ;  length  of  life,  58  ;  perish  in  im- 
pregnation of  queen,  125,  126  (note); 
never  molest  queens  in  hive,  127 
(note);  on  leaving  the  hive,  are  filled 
with  honey,  but  on  returning  are 
empty,  224  ;  Butler's  description  of, 
224  ;  destroyed  by  ancient  bee-keeiiers, 
51,  225  ;  easily  destroyed  by  use  of 
mov.  comb  hive,  225  ;  their  anxiety 
when  excluded  from  the  hive,  225  ; 
their  odor,  226  (note  1);  how  to  pre- 
vent common,  from  impregnating 
Italian  queens,  326  ;  refrigerated 
queens  produce  only,  327. 

Drought,  failure  occasioned  by,  178 
(note). 

Drumming  on  hive  subdues  bees,  210 
(note). 

Dunbar,  his  description  of  how  queen 
lays,  43. 

Dysentery  from  Dad  ventilation,  90 ; 
from  dampness  and  sour  honey,  256  ; 
how  prevented,  256  ;  makes  bees  cross, 
310  ;  caused  bv  waut  of  water  iu 
Winter,  343. 

Dzierzon,  facts  connected  with  the  inven- 
tion of  his  hive,  19  ;  rise  of  his  system, 
19  ;  his  apiary  nearly  destroyed  by 
"  foul  brood,"  19  ;  committee  of  apia- 
rian convention  report  favorably  on 
his  system,  20  ;  it  creates  a  revolution 
in  German  bee-keeping,  20 ;  profits 
of  his  apiary,  21  ;  discovered  that  un- 
fecundated eggs  produce  males,  37  ; 
thinks  some  brood  may  be  raised 
without  i)ollen,  81  ;  discovered  rye 
meal  to  be  a  good  substitute  for  pol- 
len, 84 ;  supposes  sound  of  queen's 
wings  excites  drones,  127  (note)  ;  his 
mode  of  forcing  swarming,  186  ;  his 
estimate  of  the  value  of  a  queen,  192 
(note);  his  treatment  of  foul  brood. 
257  ;  recommends  the  cultivation  of 
buckwheat,  296  ;  on  the  difiiculty  of 
estimating  profits  of  bee-culture,  306 
(note);  his  experiments  with  the  Ital- 
ian bee,  320  ;  thinks  bees  not  injured 
by  the  opening  of  their  hives,  321 
(note)  ;  his  mode  of  wintering  bees, 
348. 


Eggs  of  bees,  how  fecundated,  35  ;  fecun- 
dated produce  females,  unfecundated, 
males,  37;  sex  of,  dfiermined  by  queen, 
38  ;  what  is  necessary  to  their  impreg- 
nation, 41  ;  no  dilference  in  size  be- 
tween drone  and  worker  eggs,  42  ; 
process  of  laving,  43;  description  of, 
44  ;  PI.  XIII.,  VigT  33  :  degree  of  heat 
upcesi^iry   tn  hat<:h  them .  46  ;  i>owcr 


898 


INiDEX. 


of  queens  over  their  development,  47  ; 
laid  tea  months  iu  the  yeai',  48,  339  ; 
superuumerarj',  how  disposed  of,  48  ; 
venliiatiou  necessary  for  hatching,  89  ; 
of  workers  transferred  to  royal  cells, 
219  ;  of  uee-moth,  234  (note  -i). 

iShreafels,  profits  of  his  large  apiary, 
300. 

Enemies  of  bees,  228-255 ;  moth,  228- 
252  ;  mice  252  ;  birds,  252,  toads,  254  ; 
bears,  254  ;  ants,  255  ;  wasps,  spiders, 
&c.,  255  ;  all  agreed  in  fondness  for 
honey,  255. 

Energy  of  bees,  instructive,  197. 

Engravings,  see  wood-cuts. 

Entrance  of  hives,  should  not  ordina- 
rily be  above  the  level  of  the  bottom- 
board,  98  ;  should  be  readily  varied 
without  perplexing  the  bees,  98  ;  a 
small  upper  one,  uses  of,  250,  388  (and 
note);  should  be  nearly  closed  when 
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.,  quotatio'ns  from  poem  of, 
on  bees,  50,  60,  69,  76,  77,  78,  79,  109, 
267,  292. 

Experiments,  an  interesting  one,  67  ;  of 
Huber,  showing  the  use  of  pollen,  80  ; 
author's  to  the  same  etfect,  81 ;  nume- 
rous, of  author,  179 ;  cautions  con- 
cerning, to  beginners,  179  ;  bee-keep- 
ers invited  to  make,  180  ;  of  Huber, 
showiug  two  kinds  of  workers,  193 
(note);  difficulty  of  demonstration  by, 
193  (note)  ;  Dr.  Donhoffs,  showing 
that  young  bees  are  nurses  and  old 
bees  hou«y -gatherers,  194  ;  of  author, 
'  in  wintering  bees,  33y  ;  of  E.  T.  Stur- 
tevant,  340  ;  of  Berlepsch  and  Eber- 
hardt,  342  ;  of  J.  G.  Bodwell,  345  ;  of 
ill-.  Scholtz,  348  ;  further,  needed,  in 
wintering  bees,  360. 

Examination  of  combs  and  bees  in  hive, 
imi'urtance  of,  in  Spring,  221. 

Elxperieci>e  renders  bee-keeping  profit- 
able. 282. 


Facts,  however    wonderful,   should    be 

received,  42. 
Faeces,  appearance  of,  in  young  and  old 

bf>es,  ditfereut,  197  ;  healthy  bees  do 

not  discharge,   in   hive,  347  ;   how   to 

make  bees  in  mov.  comb  hives,  safely 

aiscnarg" ,  361  (and  note). 
Faint-nearijdncss,  rebuked,  198. 
Famine  causes  bees  to  abandon  hives, 

116. 
Fear,  effect  of,  in  taming  bees,  27  ;  in 

uniting  swarms,  204. 
Feeble  stocks  unprotiUble,  141, 177,  269, 

336. 
Feeder,  convenience  pf,  in  mov.  comb 


hive,  270  ;  construction  of,  271 ;  I'i. 
XL.,  Fig.  26. 
Feeding  bees,  267-278  ;  few  things  more 
important  in  practical  bee-keeping, 
267  ;  £rpring  feeding  specially  neces- 
sary, 267  (and  note);  caution  in,  re- 
quired, 268  ;  over-feeding,  like  pam- 
pering children,  268  ;  to  be  submit- 
ted to  only  in  extremities,  268  ;  bi)W 
done,  in  common  hives,  269;  dilli 
cult  to  build  up  small    colonies   by, 

269  ;  equitable  division  of  resources, 
in,  270 ;  when  it  should  be  done  for 
Winter,  270  ;  what  should  be  used  iu, 

270  ;  unprofitable  in  late  Fall  slocks, 
270  (note) ;  mode  of,  by  means  of  a 
feeder,  271  ;  water  should  be  supphed, 
271,  342  ;  importance  of  salt,  iu,  272  ; 
sugar-candy  a  good  and  cheap  article 
for,  272  (and  note),  and  273  (note); 
Kleine's  mode  of  lising  candy,  273, 
274  ;  value  of  grape-sugar  for,  273 ; 
Sholz'  sugar-honey  for,  274  ;  granulat- 
ed sugar  for,  274  (and  note);  quantity 
of  honey  needed  for,  to  Winter  bees, 

274  ;  weight  of  hives,  unsafe  standard 
to  determine   amount  of   honey   for, 

275  (note);  caution  to  be  observed  in, 
277  ;  should  not  be  too  early  in  the 
Fall,  298  ;  cheap  honey,  to  sell  again, 
unprofitable  in,  275. 

Fertility  of  queens,  32  ;  diminishes  with 
age,  141,  223  ;  diminished  by  hunger 
and  cold,  223  (note  1). 

Fishback,  Judge,  his  precautions  to  pre- 
vent loss  of  young  queens,  216  ;  his  ex- 
perience with  the  bee-moth,  24o(uote). 

Fhght  of  bees,  its  extent,  305;  its  rapidity, 
305  (note  2). 

Flowers  for  bees,  Nutt's  catalogue  of, 
298  ;  garden,  furnish  little  bee-pasture, 
297. 

Foul-brood,  its  malignity,  19,  256 ;  dry 
and  moist,  256  ;  remedy,  257,  268  ;  a 
disease  e.xclusively  of  the  larv«,  259  ; 
supposed  cause,  2.'i6  (note),  259  ;  liable 
to  appear  the  second  time,  259. 

Forcing-box,  its  size  and  use,  154, 165. 

Frames,  movable,  invented  by  author, 
15  ;  how  they  must  be  made  to  be 
lifted  out  of  hive,  150,  171,  209  (note)  ; 
process  of  removing  from  the  hive, 
171,370  (Pl.XXlV.):  with  comb  used 
for  patterns,  208  ;  etfect  on  bee-culture, 
211  (note)  ;  a  protection  against  the 
ravages  oi  the  moth,  239,  241 ;  render 
the  cleaning  of  hive  easy,  243  ;  used 
by  Berlepsch,  321  (note  2)  ;  approved 
of  by  Siebold,321  (note  2),  not  well 
adapted  to  tall  hives,  330. 

Friesland,  East,  its  productiveness  in 
honey,  304. 

Fruit,  honey  bees  beneficial  to.  So-*? 
wasps  and  hornets  injurious  t<^^>.  86. 

Fruit-trees,  blossoms  of,  yield  hone}, 
292. 


INDEX, 


399 


Fumigation  of  hives  with  pufT-ball,  ob- 
jectionable, 210. 


Cfardeners  might  manage  their  employ- 
ers' bees,  in  mov.  comb  hive,  226. 

Garden  plants  insufficient  to  furnish  bee- 
paslure,  297. 

Glass  vessels  of,  for  spare  honey,  should 
have  guide-combs,  290  ;  objections  to, 
290  (note). 

Gloves,  india-rubber,  to  protect  the 
hands,  317  (PI.  XL,  Fig.  27);  woollen, 
objectionable,  317. 

Goldsmith,  on  spontaneous  and  fashion- 
able joys,  334. 

"  Good  old  way"  of  corn-raising,  237. 

Golden-rod,  some  varieties  of,  furnish 
food  for  bees,  298. 

Governraeuts,  of  Europe,  interest  of  some 
iu  disseminating  knowledge  of  bee  cul-  j 
ture,32..»(Doto). 

Grape-sugar,  as  tood  for  bees,  273. 

Guide  for  combs,  artificial,  secure  regu-  | 
larity  in  building  comb,  130,207  ;  can- 
not be  invariably  relied  on,  208  ;  Ger- 
man invention  of,  (PI.  \1.,  Fig.  72). 

Gunrielach,  on  the  necessity  of  pollen  for 
rearing  brood,  81. 

H. 

Hairy  objects,  why  offensive  to  bees, 
317. 

Harris,  Dr.,  his  account  of  the  bee-moth, 
228. 

Hart.<horn,  spirits  of,  remedy  for  bee- 
stings, 316. 

Health,  bad  ventiLition  of  houses  impairs, 
'.2. 

Hearing,  in  bees,  acute,  138. 

Heat,  degree  required  to  hatch  the  eggs 
of  bees  and  develop  the  pupa,  46  ; 
great,  attiiUilaut  on  cumb-buil<liug,  71. 

Hens,  too  much  crowded,  mistake  their 
nests,  215  ;  not  good  tenders  of  moth- 
traps,  248. 

Heyue,  on  over-stocking,  301. 

Hiver,  basket  for,  133. 

Hives  (see  Mov.  Comb  Hive),  Ruber's, 
author's  experiments  with,  14;  made 
with  slats,  15,  210  (note)  ;  should  be 
made  of  sound  lumber,  78  ;  mixture 
for  sealing  corners  of,  78  ;  thin,  an- 
noying to  bees  in  hot  weather,  90  ; 
Bixly-one  requisites  for  complete,  95- 
108  ;  size  of,  should  ailmitof  variation, 
96  ;  "  improved,"  otteu  bad,  107;  quali- 
ties of  best,  107  ;  paint  on,  should  be 
very  dry  before  hiving,  129  ;  heated  in 
the  sun,  should  not  be  used  for  new 
swarms,  129  ;  should  incline  forward, 
but  stand  level  from  side  to  side,  130  ; 
if  clean,  need  no  washing  or  rubbing 
with  herbs,  131  ;    five  stocks  in  one. 


137  ;  snonld  be  placed  where  it  is  to 
stand,  as  soon  as  swarm  is  secured, 

138  ;  if  not  ready  to  swarm,  how  to 
proceed,  139;  difQcult  to  rid  of  bee- 
moth,  141  ;  common,  ditficult  to  remove 
unleitde  queen  from,  141  ;  Huberts, 
148  ;  "  dividing,"  and  objections  to, 
149;  self-colonizing,  ineffectual,  151: 
thorough  inspection  of,  necessary  for 
success,  152  ;  non-swarmmg,  likely  to 
exterminate  the  bee,  if  generally  used, 
153  ;  decoy  when  to  be  used,  155  ;  for 
surplus  honey,  should  be  undisturbed, 
ISO,  (and  note)  ;  like  Dzierzon's,  even 
with  movable  frames,  give  inadequate 
control  of  bees, 187  (note)  ;  should  be 
opened  before  or  after  sun-light,  when 
forage  is  scarce,  199  ;  royal  combat 
witnessed  in  author's  observing,  205  ; 
with  poor  arrangements,  educate  bees 
to  regard  their  keeper  as  an  enemy, 
210  (note)  ;  wonders  of,  unknown  by 
many  bee-keepers,  211  ;  in  crowded 
apiary,  214-216  ;  condition  of,  should  be 
ascertained,  221  ;  patent,  evil  results 
of,  237,  241  ;  should  be  cleaned  in  early 
Spring,  243  ;  common,  furuish  no  re- 
liable remedy  for  loss  of  queen,  245  ; 
infected  with  foul-brood,  to  disinfect, 
257  ;  common,  how  prepared  for  re- 
moval when  occupifd  by  stocks,  2S1  ; 
to  transfer  bees  from  common  to  mov. 
comb,  2;2  ;  size,  shape,  and  materials 
for,  o2f-oo2;  size  of  author's  can  be 
varied  at  pleasure,  129  ;  tall,  ad  van- 
tages«and  di.sadvanUiges  of ,  i>23  ;  most 
a.dvantageous  form  of,  330  ;  1  zierzon's, 
disadvantages  of,  331  ;  double  and 
triple,  331  (note)  ;  proper  materials 
for ,  331  ;  suggestions  as  to  making  mov. 
comb.  3t2. 

Hives,  mov.  comb,  see  movable  Comb 
Hives. 

Hives,  patent,  sec  Patent  Hives. 

Hiving  bees,  ilirectimis  for,  12  > ;  cxpert- 
ness  iu,  makes  pleasant,  12?;  should 
be  conducted  in  shade,  130 ;  should 
be  attended  to  soon  after  swarm  set- 
tles, 112  ;  process  of,  133  ;  ba.sket  for, 
133;  sheet  fur,  how  arranged,  133; 
how  to  expedite,  133  ;  pruce.«s  of,  must 
be  repeated  when  queen  not  secured, 
134  ;  when  settled  out  of  reach,  how 
to  secure  the  swarm,  134  :  when  swarm 
alights  in  dilficult  place, or  two  swarma 
cluster  te)gethcr,  135  ;  how  to  secure 
the  queen,  136 ;  old-fashioned  way 
of,  bad,  136  ;  so  as  to  prevent  swarms 
uniting,  138 ;  when  done,  remove 
swarms  to  proper  stands,  138  ;  danger 
of  dolavinsr,  138  •  what  to  do  if  uo  hive 
is  ro:idy,  139. 

Holbro'jk,IIon.    F.,    on    cultivation    ot 

j      while  clover, 294. 

'  Home,  should  bo  made  attractive,  223. 

I  Honey ,  2S5-'2&2  ;  its  elements,  70  ;  quan 


400 


inde:x. 


tity  consumed  in  secre(.ing  wax,  71, 
176  ;  gathered  by  day,  72  ;  sometimes 
gathered  by  moonlight,  73  (note)  ; 
houey-gathering  and  comb-building 
simultaneous,  73  ;  surplus,  incompati- 
ble with  rapid  increase  of  colonies,  176  ; 
how  to  secure  the  largest  yield  of,  180  : 
more  abundant  fifty  years  ago  than 
now,  236 ;  reasons  assigned  for  the 
deficiency,  227  ;  foreign,  supposed 
cause  of  foul  brood,  256,  258  ;  from 
foal-brood  colonies,  infectious,  256 
(not«  2)  ;  infected,  how  purified,  257  ; 
West  India,  used  for  bee-feed,  256 
(note),  270;  and  sugar  (Sholz'  com- 
position), 274;  quantity  of,  necessary 
for  wintering  slocks,  274 ;  poor,  not 
convertible  into  good,  275  ;  not  a  secre- 
tion of  the  bee,  2,5  (and  note  2)  :  re- 
tains the  flavor  of  the  blossoms  fmm 
whence  it  is  taken,  275  ;  evaporation 
produces  the  principal  changes  in,  276 
(and  note  1)  ;  "  making  over"  honey 
not  profitable,  276  :  reci[)efor  artificial, 
276  (note)  ;  a  vegetable  product,  285  ; 
qualities  of,  vary,  2S7  ;  hurtful  quali- 
ties cured  by  boiling,  287  (and  note)  ; 
should  not  be  exposed  to  low  tem- 
perature, 2S7  ;  old,  more  wholesome 
than  new,  2S7  ;  virtues  ascribed  to  it 
by  old  writers,  287  (note)  ;  to  drain 
from  the  comb,  288,  366 ;  to  make 
liquid  when  candied,  2S8  ;  caution  as  to 
West  India,  288  (note)  ;  of  Hymettus, 
213  (note)  ;  yield  of,  affected"  by  soil, 
2M  (note)  ;  from  the  raspbewy,  deli- 
cious, 2J6  ;  yield  of,  by  plants  uncer- 
tain, 2^6  (note  2);  large  amount  gath- 
ered in  a  day,  303  ;  on  the  hands,  pro- 
tects them  against  bee-stings,  317  ; 
bees  eat  less  in  Winter,  when  kept 
quiet.  335,  348,  358  ;  how  to  get  in 
centre  of  hive,  for  Winter,  336  ;  can- 
died, bees  need  water  to  dissolve,  342- 
344. 

Honey-bag,  worker's,  56  (PI.  X\TI.,  Fig. 
54). 

Honey-bees,  see  Bees. 

Honey-board,  spare,  holes  in,  left  open 
in  Winter,  338  ;  sometimes  strongly 
glued  by  bees,  172  (note)  ;  care  in 
placing  ncces.sary,  173. 

Honey-dews,  2S5  ;  of  California,  285 
(note)  ;  when  most  abundant  and 
where  found,  286. 

Honey -hornets,  Mexican,  58  (note)  87. 

Honey-resources,  how  to  increase,  2)3. 

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  undisturbed  stocks, 
ISO  ;  receptacles  for,  when  to  admit 
bees  to,  288,  364  ;  how  secured,  259  ; 
quantity  from  one  stock.  289  (note  2)  ; 
large  boxes  mo'e  profitable  than  small, 


for,  289  (and  note  2),  290  (note  1) , 
glass  vessels  and  small  boxes,  for,  2jO, 
air-tight  boxes,  to  preserve,  20  (note 
2) ;  receptacles  of,  how  and  when  to 
r.tnove  them,  2S1,3C5  ;  boxes  for,  bees 
reluctant  to  fill,  late  in  the  season,  366. 

Honey -water,  objectionable  for  subduing 
bees, 1C9  (note). 

Hornets,  fecundation  of,  35  ;  Mexican, 
honey,  68  (note),  87  ;  injure  fruit,  86; 
should  be  destroyed  in  Spring,  87  ;  tor- 
pid 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,  £2-34;  dis- 
covered how  queens  are  impregnated, 
34 ;  that  unfecunded  queens  produce 
only  drones,  36;  experiments  of,  to 
test  the  secretion  of  wax,  69  ;  to  show 
the  use  of  pollen,  80  ;  his  discovery  of 
ventilation  by  bees,  88  ;  his  supyxisitioa 
as  to  development  in  queen  of  male 
eggs,  12S  (note)  ;  his  plan  for  artificial 
swariniugand  its  objections,  148;  effect 
of  his  leaf  hive  in  pacifying  bees,  168  ; 
his  mistake  as  to  the  cause,  169  ;  an  in- 
convenience of  his  hive,  171  (note)  ;  his 
description  of  workers,  192  (note  2)  ; 
his  curious  experiments  showing  a  dis- 
tinction among  them,  193  (note)  ;  his 
tribute  to  Burnens,194  (note)  ;  his  ac- 
count of  the  treatment  by  bees  of 
strange  queens,  200  ;  his  trial  of  two 
queens  in  a  hive,  207  (note)  ;  splendid 
discoveries  of,  formerly  ridiculed,  211. 

Humble-bee  robbed  by  honey-bees,  262. 

Huncer  impairs  fertility  of  queen-bee, 
223  (n..te  1). 

Hunt,  Rev.  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. 

Impregnation,  of  queen-bees,  34-43  ;  re- 
tarded, eftlct  of,  36  ;  remarkable  law 
of,  in  aphides,  42;  takes  place  in  the 
air,  50,  320  ;  act  of.  fatal  Ui  drone,  185, 
126  (note)  ;  t^hrimpliu's  experiment 
illustrative  of,  127. 

Italian  honey-bees,  41  ;  singular  result 
of  crossing  with  commou  drones,  41, 
324  (note  2)  ;  used  to  show  a  division 
of  labor  among  bees,  194;  account  of 
318-32S  ;  described  by  Aristotle  and 
Virgil,  318  ;  Mr.  Wagner's  letter  on 
318  ;  their  modern  introduction  to  no- 
tice, 318  ;  value  of,  in  the  study  of  the 
])hysiology  of  the  honey-bee,  319; 
cells  of,  the  same  size  as  those  of  the 


INDEX. 


401 


common  bee,  320  ;  Dzierzon's  experi- 
ments with,  320  ;  frequent  disturbances 
abate  nothing  from  the   industry  of, 

321  (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 
now  means  of  studying  the  habits  of 
bees,  322  ;  the  purity  of,  can  be  pre- 
served, o22  ;  character  of,  as  tested  by 
Berlepsch,  324 ;  number  of  queens 
obtained  in  one  season,  from  one 
queen,  324 ;  remarkable  fact  in  rela- 
tion to  hybrids,  324  (note)  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  by  Buscb,  3-J4  ;  Kadlkoffer's 
account  of,  325  ;  how  to  introduce  an 
Italian  queen  to  a  stock  of  common 
bees,  325  ;  advantages  of  author's  non- 
swarmer  in  preserving  the  Italian  bee 
pure,  326  ;  how  to  produce  abundance 
of  drones  of,  327  ;  precaution  suggest- 
ed when  non-swarmer  cannot  be  used, 
327  ;  queens  of,  safely  moved  in  mov. 
comb  hive,  327  ;  introduction  of,  into 
this  country,  important,  328  ;  arrange- 
ments to  that  end,  328  (note). 

Itinerating  colonies,  305  (note  2). 

Ignorance,  the  occasion  of  the  invention 
of  costly  and  useless  hives,  209  (and 
note). 

Increase  of  colonies,  rapid,  impractica- 
ble, by  natural  swarming,  147  ;  or  by 
dividing  hives,  149  ;  rapid,  cautious 
against,  175-178  ;  rapid,  incompatible 
with  large  yield  of  surplus  honey,  176  ; 
a  tenfold,  possible,  in  mov.  comb  hive, 
178;  sure,  not  rapid,  to  be  aimed  at, 
179  ;  forming  one  new  from  two  old 
colonies  best,  and  how  effected,  180; 
rapid,  requires  liberal  feeding,  184. 

Inexperienced  persons  should  not  begin 
bee-keeping  on  a  large  scale,  282. 

Indian  name  for  honey-bee,  236. 

Industry  t<iught  by  the  bee,  59. 

Intemperate  men  compared  to  infatuated 
bees,  278. 

Intercommunication  of  bees  in  hives,  im- 
iwrtant,  103,  S36,  337  (and  note),  339 
(and  note). 

Irving,  Washington,  his  account  of  the 
abundance  of  bees  at  the  West,  236 
(note). 


Jansha,  on  impregnation  of  queen,  36. 
Japanese,    veneration     for    birds,    253 

(note) . 
Jarring,  disliked  by  bees,  96, 170,  309. 
Jelly,    royal,    the    food    of     immature 

queen,  63  ;  a  secretion  of  the  bees,  64  ; 

analysis  of,  64 ,  effect  of,  in  developing 

larvae,  64,  191  ;  pollen  necessary  for 

its  production,  197. 
Johnson,  M.   T.,  the  first  .American  ob- 


server of  the  fact  that  queenless  stock* 
are  soon  destroyed  by  the  moth,  24* 
(note). 


Kaden,  ilr.,  on  over-stocking,  301. 

Killing  bees  for  honey,  an  invention  of 

^  the  dark  ages,  239  (note);  more  hu 
mane  than  to  starve  them,  238  ;  no> 
necessary,  239. 

Kindness  of  bees  at  home,  a  lesson  for 
man,  312. 

King-bird,  eats  bees,  252. 

Kirby  and  Spence  on  ants  and  aphides 
285. 

Kirtland,Dr.  J.  P.,  his  letter  on  the  in- 
troduction of  the  bee  moth,  240  ;  on 
benefits  of  transferring  stocks  into 
mov.  comb  hive,  284. 

Knight  on  honey-dews,  286. 

Kleine,  Rev.  Mr.,  on  making  bees  rear 
queens  in  selected  cells,  191  ;  his 
method  of  preventing  robberies  among 
bees,  265  (note);  on  feeding  bees,  273; 
on  over-stocking,  301  ;  on  accustoming 
the  human  system  to  the  poison  of 
bees,  316  (note). 


Larvfe  of  honey-bee,  development  of,  44 
(PL  Xm.,  Figs.  40,  41,  42);  royal,  64  ; 
perish  without  ventilation,  89  ;  of  bee- 
motb,  see  bee  moth.  Larvae  of;  of 
honey  bee,  disease  of,  259. 

Leidy,  Dr.  Joseph,  his  dissection  of  fertile 
and  drone-laying  queens,  34,  39,  213 
(note);  of  a  queen  just  impregnated, 
126  (note). 

Light,  bees  will  work  when  exposed  to, 
16,  205,  332;  its  sudden  admission, 
effect  of,  on  bees,  168,  169;  of  day, 
needed  for  operations  about  the  hive, 
167. 

Ligurian,  or  Italian,  bee,  318  (note). 

Linden,  or  bass-wood  tree,  yields  much 
honey,  293  (and  note). 

Liriodendron,  yielils  much  honey,  292. 

Locust,  valuable  for  bees,  293. 

Lombard,  his  interesting  anecdote  of 
swarming,  308. 

Longfellow,  H.  W.,  his  Indian  warrior's 
description  of  the  bee,  236. 

Loss  of  queen,  213-227  ;  frequent,  though 
the  queen  is  usually  the  last  to  perish 
in  any  casualty, 213  ;  when  by  old  age, 
bees  prepare  for  her  successor,  213  ; 
occurs  oftenest  when  queen  leaves 
hive  for  impregnation,  213,  214  ;  how 
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  ;  effert  of,  on  .<!t<x:ks,  217  ;  some- 


402 


INDEX. 


times  not  discovered  by  bees  tor  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 
common  cause  of  destruction  of  stocks 
by  bee-moth,  219. 
Lunenburg,  number  of  colonies  of  bees 
in,  302  ;  bees  of,  more  than  pay  all  the 
taxes,  302. 


Mahan,  P.  J.,  on  causing  bees  to  adhere 
to  new  locations,  163  (note)  ;  mterest- 
ing  observations  of,  219  (note)  ;  his 
discovery  that  drones  leave  their 
hives  with  honey  and  return  without 
any,  224  ;  on  the  odor  of  the  queen, 
226  (note  2). 

Maple-tree  a  source  of  honey,  292. 

Maraldi,  anecdote  from,  of  bees  and  a 
snail,  78. 

Materials  for  hives.  331. 

Meal,  a  substitute  for  pollen,  84,  219. 

Medicine,  poison  of  bee,  used  for,  315 
(note). 

Mice,  ravages  of,  and  protection  against, 
252. 

Miller,  see  Bee-moth. 

Mills,  John,  on  marking  hires  with  dif- 
ferent colors,  216  (note). 

Mixing  of  bees,  of  different  colonies,  203  ; 
precautions  concerning,  203. 

Months  of  the  year,  direction  for  treating 
bees  in,  362-369. 

Moonlight,  bees  sometimes  gather  honev 
by,  73  (note). 

More,  i^i^  J.,  on  the  sovereign  virtues  of 
honey,  287  (note). 

Moth,  see  Bee-moth. 

Moth,  death-head,  240  (note). 

Moth,  large  honey-eating,  from  Ohio,  241 
(note) . 

Mothers,  unkind  treatment  of,  reproved 
by  bees,  312. 

Mothor-st<x;k,  in  forced  swarming,  easily 
supplied  with  fertile  queen,  182;  ex 
posed  to  perish  without  a  prompt  sup- 
ply of  queen,  and  by  over  swarming, 
if  left  to  supply  itself,  182  ;  also  to  be 
robbed,  182  ;  advantage  of  supplying 
with  fertile  queen,  183. 

Moth-proof  hives  a  delusion,  228,  238, 
247. 

Moths,  honey-eating,  ravages  of,  240 
(and  note). 

Motions,  in  operating  on  hives  should  be 
deliberate,  170. 

Movable-comb  hive,  invention  of  13-23  ; 
superiority  to  Dzierzon's,  16,  18  ;  ena- 
bles each  bee-keeper  to  observe  for 


himself,  23,  164;  admits  of  easy  re- 
moval of  old  comb,  60  ;  bees  in  it 
easily  supplied  with  empty  comb,  71  ; 
its  facilities  for  ventilation,  94,  276 
(note  1)  ;  size  of,  adjustable  to  the 
wants  of  colony,  96,  3'j9  ;  facilities  of, 
for  securing  surplus  honey,  100,  289, 
329 ;  advantages  of,  for  preventing 
after-swarming,  124,  140  ;  enables  one 
person  to  superintend  various  colo- 
nies, 102,  226  ;  not  easily  blown  down, 
103 ;  may  be  made  secure  against 
mice, 103, 252,  and  thieves,  104  ;  dura- 
bility of,  104  ;  cheapness  and  simplic- 
ity of,  105  ;  some  desirables  it  does 
not  possess,  105  ;  invention  of,  result 
of  experience,  105  ;  perfection  dis- 
claimed for,  105  ;  merits  of,  submitted 
to  experienced  bee-keepers,  108;  de- 
sertion of,  by  swarms,  easily  prevent- 
ed, 115  ;  by  use  of,  can  employ  all 
good  worker  comb,  130 ;  furnishes 
storage-room  for  non-swaiming  bets, 
139 ;  importance  of,  in  supplying  ex- 
tra queens,  14),  188  ;  easily  cleared  of 
the  bee-moth,  246 ;  best  for  non- 
swarming  plan,  153  ;  enables  the  api- 
arian to  learn  the  laws  regulating  the 
internal  economy  of  bees,  164  ;  ena- 
bles artificial  swarming  to  be  quickly 
performed,  164;  advantages  of  mov. 
able  top  of.  168  ;  affords  facilities  for 
supply  of  fertile  queens  to  mother 
stocks,  in  forced  swarming,  1S2, 192  ; 
danger  of  being  stung,  diminished  by 
use  of,  209  ;  the  greatest  obstacle  to 
its  speedy  introduction,  209  ;  the  au- 
thor sanguine  of  its  extensive  use  by 
skilful  bee-keepers,  211  ;  should  be 
thoroughly  examined  in  Spring,  221  ; 
durable  and  cheap,  if  properly  taken 
care  of,  221  ;  advantages  of,  readily 
perceived  by  intelligent  bee-keepers, 
226  :  adaptation  of,  to  protect  stocks 
from  the  moth,  249  ;  enables  the  apia- 
rian to  know  the  amount  of  honey 
stocks  contain,  275  (note)  ;  how  pre- 
pared for  transporting  bees,  i81  ;  to 
transfer  into,  from  common  hive,  283  ; 
designed  to  economize  the  labor  of 
bees,  305  ;  experiments  concerning  the 
size  of,  330  (note  3)  ;  suggestions  as  to 
making,  332  ;  ol  serving,  332  ;  how  to 
get  honey  in  centre  of,  for  Winter,  336; 
how  to  make  Winter  passages  in  combs 
of,  337  (and  note  1)  ;  how  to  ventilate, 
in  Winter,  338  ;  bills  of  stock,  for  mak- 
ing, 371. 

Movable  entrance  blocks,  see  Blocks, 
entrance  regulating. 

Movable  bottom-boards,  dangerous,  281. 

Movable  stands  for  hives,  279. 

Moving  stf>cks,  281. 

Munn,  W.  A.,  his  "bar  and  frame 
hive,"  209  (uote). 

Musk,  used  to  stop  robbing,  266  (note). 


INDEX. 


403 


Karcotics,  in  managing  bees,  worse  than 
useless,  111. 

Natural  swarming  and  hiving  of  swarms, 
109-142  ;  guards  against  extinction  of 
bees,  109  ;  not  unnatural.  111  ;  time 
of,  111  ;  seldom  occurs  in  northern 
climates,  when  hives  are  not  well  fill- 
ed with  comb,  111  (note)  ;  signs  of, 
111 ;  only  in  fair  weather,  112  ;  time 
of  day  of,  112  ;  preparation  of  bees 
for,  112  ;  queen  often  lost  in,  113  ;  ring- 
ing of  bells  and  tanging,  useless,  113  ; 
how  to  stop  a  fugitive  swarm,  114 ; 
after,  ventilation  should  be  regulated, 
124 ;  hiving  should  be  done  in  shade, 
or  hive  be  covered,  130  ;  should  be 
promptly  attended  to  after  swarm 
settles,  132  ;  process  of,  133  ;  basket 
for,  133  ;  sheet  for,  133  ;  how  arrang- 
ed, 133  ;  how  to  expedite,  if  bees  are 
dilatory,  133,  134;  must  be  repeated 
if  queen  not  secured  134  ;  small  limbs 
cut  with  pruning  shears  in,  134  ;  when 
swarm  out  of  reach,  how  to  secure, 
134  ;  when  in  difficult  places,  or  two 
swarms  cluster  together,  135  ;  how  to 
secure  queen,  136  ;  old-fashioned  way, 
objectionable,  136  ;  more  than  one 
swarm  in  a  hive,  137  ;  to  prevent 
swarms  uniting  while  hiving,  138 ; 
swarms,  as  soon  as  hived,  should  be 
removed  to  their  stands,  138  ;  an  ex- 
pedient, if  no  hive  be  ready,  139  ;  sug- 
gestions for  making  more  profitable, 
139-142  ;  excessive,  prevented  by  use 
of  mov.  comb  hive,  140  ;  affords  no  fa- 
cilities for  strengthening  late  and  fee- 
ble stocks,  140  ;  obji.'ctions  to,  139-147  ; 
uncertainty  of,  147  ;  why  some  stocks 
refuse  to  gwarm,  147. 

•'New  England  Farmer,"  extract  from, 
describing  a  combat  of  queens,  205. 

Night-work,  on  bees,  hazardous,  167. 

Non-swarmer,  author's,  prevents  swarm- 
ing, 174  ;  excludes  drones,  228  ;  facili- 
ties it  otfers  to  preserve  pure  the  Ital- 
ian bee,  826  ;  wood-cut  of,  PI.  II., 
Fig.  5. 

Non-swarming  colonies,  may  lose  their 
queens,  or  queens  become  unfertile,  in 
common  hive,  153  ;  queens  may  be 
supplied  to,  in  mov.  comb  hive,  153. 

Non-swarming  hive,  advocated  by  many, 
154  ;  objections  to,  153  ;  mov.  comb 
hive  best  for,  153. 

Nuclei,  what  they  are,  and  how  to  form 
them,  189;  to  obt;iin  adhering  bees 
for,  192  (and  note)  ;  must  not  be  allf)w- 
ed  to  get  too  much  reduced,  197  ;  al- 
ways furnish  plenty  of  queens,  219. 

Nutt,  his  list  of  boo  Oowers,  298. 

jTymph.  bee,  see  Tupa. 


0. 


Objections  to  natural  swarming,  143-147. 

Observing-hive,  mov.  comb,  332-S34  ; 
Hon.  S.  Brown's  experiment  with,2(J5  ; 
its  facilities  for  observing  the  internal 
operations  of  the  bees,  332  ;  for  winter- 
ing, 332  (note)  ;  those  with  sin^rle 
frames  recommended,  333  ;  ada.nied 
for  the  parlor,  333  ;  how  to  stock  with 
bees,  333 ;  source  of  pleasure  and  in 
struction,  333  ;  may  be  kept  in  cities, 
333. 

Odor,  of  Queens,  226,  266  ;  of  drones,  226 
(note  1)  ;  of  workers,  203. 

Odors,  unpleasant,  offensive  to  bees,  313  ; 
used  to  prevent  robberies,  265  (note)  ; 
excite  bees  to  anger,  313. 

Oettl,  remarks  of,  on  over-stocking,  303  ; 
his  golden  rule  in  bee-keeping,  303 ; 
his  statistics  of  bee  culture,  303. 

Old  age,  signs  of  in  bees,  53. 

Oliver,  H.  K.,  observations  of,  on  bee- 
moth,  251. 

Onions,  blossoms  of,  yield  much  honey, 
293. 

Ovaries  of  queen-bee,  35,  (PI.  XMII.);  of 
workers,  are  undeveloped,  29,  54. 

Over-stocking,  299-307  ;  no  danger  of, 
299 ;  Wagner's  letter  on,  300 ;  Oettl 
and  Braun's  st;xtistics  on,  303. 

Ovum,  what  necessary  to  impregnate 
it,  41. 


Paint,  smell  of  fresh,  detested  by  bees, 
129  ;  if  fresh  be  used,  it  should  contain 
no  white  lead,  and  be  made  to  dry 
quickly,  129;  recipe  for,  [(referable  to 
oil  paint,  129  ;  color  of,  for  hives,  368. 

Pasturage  for  bees,  292  ;  effect  of,  on  re- 
moval of  colonies,  157  ;  liouey-3'ielding 
trees  and  plant.s,  292-2.  9  ;  gard.-us  too 
limited  for,  297;  catalogue  of  bee 
plants.  298  ;  range  of,  306. 

Patent  hives,  deceptions  in  vending,  61 
(note),  lOo,  146  (note^  ;  have  greatly 
multiplied  the  bee-motli,237;  and  done 
more  harm  than  good,  237,  241. 

Peach-tree,  yields  honey,  292. 

Pear-tree  yields  honey,  292. 

Peppermint,  use  of  in  uniting  colonies, 
203. 

Perfection,  folly  of  claiming  for  hives,  106. 

Perfumes,  disagreeable  to  bees,  313 
(nolo). 

Perseverance  of  bees,  worthy  of  imita- 
tion by  man,  197. 

Persons  attacked  by  bees,  directions  for, 
312,  314. 

Peters,  Randolph,  interesting  experiment 
of,  219  (note). 

Pillivge  of  hives,  secret,  cause  and  remedy 
of.  266. 


404 


INDEX. 


Piping  of  queens,  an  indication  of  after- 
swarming,  121. 

Plantain,  a  remedy  for  bee-stings,  315. 

Plum-tree,  a  source  of  honey,  292. 

Poison  of  bees,  smell  of,  strong  and  irri- 
tating to  bees,  314  ;  effect  of,  on  the 
eye,  314  (note)  ;  remedies  for,  314- 
317  ;  effect  of,  when  taken  into  the 
mouth,  315  ;  cold  water  the  best  rem- 
edy for,  315;  a  homoeopathic  remedy, 
315  (note)  ;  the  human  system  can  be 
inured  to,  316  (note). 

Poisonous  honey,  and  how  to  remove  its 
injurious  qualities,  2S7. 

Pollen,  or  bee-bread,  80-87  ;  found  in 
stomachs  of  wax-makers,  80  ;  may  aid 
in  secretion  of  wax,  80  ;  whence  ob- 
tained, 80  ;  food  of  immature  bees,  as 
shown  by  Huber's  experiments,  80  ; 
author's,  to  the  same  effect,  81  ;  Gun- 
delach's  opinion  of,  81 ;  useful  in  se- 
cretion of  wax,  82  ;  bees  prefer  fresh 
to  old, 82  ;  in  mov.  comb  hives, excess 
of,  in  old  stocks,  can  be  given  to  others, 

82  ;  how  gathered  and  stored  by  bees, 

83  ;  bees  gathering,  aid  in  impregnating 
plants,  83  ;  bees  collect,  only  from  one 
kind  of  flower  at  a  time,  83  ;  wheat  and 
rye  meal  a  substitute  for,  84  ;  neces- 
sary for  the  production  of  wax  and  jelly, 
197  ;  the  gathering  of,  by  bees,  indi- 
cates a  fertile  queen  in  the  hive,  219 
(and  not«). 

Pollen-basket,  on  leg  of  bee,  56. 

Poppv,  white,  a  remedy  for  bee-stings, 
315". 

Posel,  discovery  of,  on  use  of  sperma- 
theca,  36  (note). 

Proboscis  of  a  worker.  56  ;  wood-cuts  of. 
Plates  Xm.,  XVI.,  Figs.  63,  51. 

Profits  of  bee-keepiug.  Dzierzon's  expe- 
rience in.  21  ;  SydserS's  calculation  of, 
146  (note)  ;  dependent  on  strong  stocks, 
176  ;  difficulty  of  estimating,  306 
(note)  ;  safe  estimate  of,  306. 

Propolis,  76-80 ;  whence  obtained,  76  ; 
curious  sources  of,  in  Mexico,  77  ;  its 
uses,  77  ;  bee-moth  lays  her  eggs  in, 
78  ;  curious  anecdotes,  illustrating  its 
uses,  78. 

Prussia,  bee-keeping  encouraged  by  gov- 
ernment of,  320  (note). 

Pupa,  or  bee-nymph,  45  ;  heat  required 
for  its  development,  46. 

Punk,  smoke  of,  subdues  bees,  27, 154. 


Queen-bee,  wood-cut  of  (natural  and 
magnified  size),  I'l.  XII.,  Figs.  31,  32  ; 
wooil-cut  of  ovaries  and  spermathcca 
of,  35,  PI.  XVm.  ;  description  of,  30  ; 
the  mother  of  the  whole  colony,  30; 
affectionate  treatment  of,  by  the  either 
bees,  31  ;  effect  of  her  loss  on  the 
colony,  31  ;  her  fertility,  32;  how  her 


eggs  are  fecundated,  34-41;  Hnber 
discovers  impregnation  of,  to  take 
place  out  of  hive,  34;  dissection  of,  by 
Dr.  Leidy,  34,  126  (note),  213  (note); 
effect  of  retarded  impregnation  on, 
36  ;  she  determines  the  sex  of  the  egg, 
38  ;  Dr.  Leidy 's  dissection  of  a  drone- 
laying,  38,  126  (note),  213  (note)  ;  at- 
tempt of  bees  to  rear,  from  a  drone- 
egg,  39  ;  account  of  a  drone  laying, 
afterwards  laying  worker  eggs,  40 ; 
a  drone  laying,  with  shrivelled  wings, 
40;  Italian,  impregnated  by  common 
drones,  produce  Italian  drones,  while 
the  females  are  a  cross,  41,  324  (note 
2;;  becomes  incapable  of  impregna- 
tion, 42  ;  process  of  laying,  43  ;  devel- 
opment of,  in  pupa  state,  46;  enmity 
of,  to  each  other,  46, 120, 205-207 ;  can 
regulate  development  of  eggs  in  her 
ovaries,  47;  disposition  by,  of  super- 
numerary eggs,  48;  fertility  of,  de- 
creases with  age,  49,  223  ;  longevity 
of,  49,58;  when  superannuated,  laj-s 
only  drone-eggs,  49;  why  impreg- 
nated m  the  air,  53;  office  of,  no  sine- 
cure, 58  ;  Italian,  use  of,  to  show  how 
long  workers  hve,  59  ;  manner  of  rear- 
ing,  62  ;  larvae  of,  effects  of  royal  jelly 
on,  63;  process  of  rearing  in  special 
emergency,  66 ;  development  of,  an 
argument  against  infidelity,  68  ;  old, 
leads  first  swarm,  111  ;  often  lost  in 
swarming,  112  ;  loss  of,  in  swarming, 
causes  bees  to  return  to  parent  stock, 
113  ;  how  to  prevent,  from  deserting 
new  hive,  115  ;  influence  of,  in  causing 
bees  to  cluster,  117  ;  prevented  by 
bees  from  killing  inmates  of  royal 
cells,  121  ;  piping  of,  121  ;  several 
sometimes  accompany  after-swarms, 
122  ;  emerges  from  her  cell  mature, 
122  ;  young  more  active  on  wing  than 
old,  123  ;  young  often  Teluctant  to 
leave  hive,  123 ;  young,  does  not 
leave  for  impregnation  till  established 
as  sole  head,  51, 125  ;  her  precautions 
to  regain  her  hive,  125  ;  never  molest- 
ed by  drones  in  hive,  127  (note)  ; 
begins  laying  two  days  after  impreg- 
nation, 128  ;  lays  mostly  worker-eggs 
the  first  year,  12S;  never  stings,  ex- 
cept in  combat  with  other  queens, 
136,204;  alacrity  of,  in  entering  hive 
for  new  swarm,  136  ;  young,  oftvn  lost 
after  swarming,  141  ;  her  loss  easily 
remedied  by  mov.  comb  hive,  141  ; 
unfertile,  difficult  to  remove  in  com- 
mon hives,  141  ;  when  immature,  bees 
do  not  build  worker-comb,  149  ;  sel- 
dom enters  sidc-apiirtmonts,  152 ; 
signs  indicating  her  presence  or  ab- 
sence in  forced  swarms,  158  ;  supply 
of  sealed,  for  forced  swarming,  how  to 
secure,  IfiO  ;  how  to  cut  sealed  ones 
from  comb,  166;  fertile,  deprived  of 


INDEX. 


405 


wings  to  prevent  swarming,  173  ;  may 
be    contined    to    prevent    swarming, 

174  ;  unfertile,  should  not  be  confined, 

175  ;  fertile,  easily  supplied  to  desti- 
tute mother  stocks,  182 ;  young,  in 
after-swarms,  lay  few  drone-eggs,  184 
(note)  ;  to  raise,  for  artificial-swarm- 
ing, 188  ;  when  to  be  given  to  newly- 
forced  swarms,  189  ;  to  induce  bees  to 
raise,  on  what  part  of  the  comb  you 
please,  191  ;  her  value,  192  (note)  ; 
can  she  be  developed  from  any 
worker-larvae  ?  192  (note  2)  ;  made  to 
supply  several  stocks  with  eggs,  193  ; 
will  lay  eggs  while  under  inspection, 
196  (note);  caution  needed  in  giving, 
to  strange  slocks,  200  ;  stranger,  how 
to  induce  stocks  to  receive,  201  ;  pro- 
tected by  queen-cage,  201 ;  care  to  be 
used  in  catching,  202  ;  never  stings, 
but  sometimes  bites,  202,  204  ;  may 
be  lost  if  allowed  to  fly,  202  ;  her  great 
appetite,  202  ;  her  life  indispensable  to 
the  safety  of  the  colony,  204  ;  loss  of, 
see  "Loss  of  Queen;"  young,  dangers 

'  besetting,  213  ;  should  be  given  to 
queenless  stocks  in  Spring,  221  ;  when 
unimpregnated,  colony  should  be 
watched,  222  ;  when  unimpregnated, 
hides,  222  ;  wings  of,  may  be  clipped 
for  artificial  swarming,  222  ;  how  to 
mark  the  age  of,  223;  fertility  of,  dimin- 
ished by  hunger  and  cold,  223  (note 
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, 
306  (note);  lUilian,  how  to  propagate, 
326;  after  being  chilled,  lay  only  drone- 
eggs,  327. 

Queen  Bees,  why,  when  two  fight,  both 
are  not  killed,  206  ;  combat  of,  as  wit- 
nessed in  one  of  author's  observing 
hives,  205 

Queen-cage,  use  and  construction  of,  201, 
325. 

Queen  cells,  see  Royal  cells. 

Queenless  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). 

Quiuby,  M.,  author  of  a  very  valuable 
work  on  bee-keeping,  249  (note)  ;  on 
the  ravages  of  the  larva;  of  bee-moth, 
249  (note)  ;  on  shape  of  mov.  comb 
hives,  330  (note  3);  on  wintering  bees, 
348  ;  on  equalizing  colonics  when  re- 
moved   from  Winter    repository,  361 


(note  2);  on  making  bees  work  iu  a 
double  tier  cif  surplus  honey-boxes, 
365  (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  verv  abundant  in  hill  towns  of 
New  England,  296. 

Reaumur,  his  account  of  a  snail  covered 
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,  314-317. 

Riem,  the  first  to  notice  fertile  workers. 
55. 

Ringing  bells,  in  swarming  time,  useless, 
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,  265  ;  begets  a  disrelish 
for  honest  pursuits,  262,  264  (and 
note)  ;  movable  entrance  blocks  pro- 
tect bees  against,  264  ;  infatuation  pro- 
duced by,  on  bees,  264:  caution  needed 
in  checking,  when  a  hive  is  vigorously 
attacked,  265  ;  how  to  stop  bees  en- 
gaged in,  265  ;  secret,  its  remedy,  266. 

Royal  cells,  described,  62  ;  wood -cuts  of 
Plates  Xin. ,  XIV. ,  and  XV.;  atlentioil 
paid  to,  by  workers,  62  ;  why  they 
open  downwards,  63  ;  number  of.  in  a 
hive,  63  ;  how  supplied  with  eggs,  63  ; 
description  of,  66  ;  when  built.  111  ; 
queen  prevented  from  destroying,  121 ; 
remains  of,  indicate  number  of  queens 
hatched,  121  ;  may  be  removed  in 
mov.  comb  hives,  to  prevent  after 
swarming,  124  ;  how  to  decide  whether 
inmate  of  has  been  hatched  or  killed, 
121  ;  how  to  cut  out  of  combs,  16«  ; 
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  secooj  day 
after  removal  of  queen,  223. 

Royal  jelly,  see  Jelly,  royal. 

Rye-meal,  sec  meal. 


Sagacity  of  bees,  47,  4S. 


406 


INDEX. 


Salt,  fondness  of  bees  for,  272. 

Scent,  see  smell  and  odor. 

Schirach,  on  artificial  rearing  of  queens, 
148. 

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,  137. 

Secret  recipe  for  keeping  stocks  strong, 
sham  vendor  of,  238. 

Scholtz,  Mr.,  on  wintering  bees  in  clamps, 
S48-S60. 

Sex  of  bees,  determined  by  queen,  38. 

Shakspeare's  description  of  the  Hive, 
268. 

Shrimplin,  experiment  of,  showing  im- 
pregnation to  take  place  in  the  air, 
127. 

Sick  persons,  the  care  of,  beneficial  to 
man,  313. 

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  (not  2). 

Sight  of  bees,  acute,  for  distant  objects, 
117. 

Signs  of  swarming,  111  ;  of  queenless 
colonies,  219, 224;  of  presence  of  motlis 
in  hive,  242. 

Size  of  hives,  329-332. 

Smell,  of  hives,  in  gathering  season,  177 
(note);  strange  bees  distinguished  by, 
203  ;  the  same,  to  be  given  in  uniting 
colonies,  203  ;  sense  of,  in  bees,  acute, 
313  :  of  their  own  poison,  irritates  bees, 
314. 

Smoke,  importance  of,  in  subduing  bees, 
27. 154  ;  its  use  in  forced  swarming, 
165, 168, 169  ;  its  use  of,  very  ancient, 
210  ;  drives  clustered  bees  inside  of 
hive,  281  ;  useful  in  removing  surplus 
honey, 289. 

Smothering  bees,  cautions  for  prevent- 
ing, 281. 

Snails,  sometimes  covered  by  bees  with 
propolis,  78. 

Snow,  bees  perish  on,  when  carrying  out 
their  dead,  98 ;  sometimes  fatal  to 
bees,  338  (note  1);  often  harmless  to 
bees,  361  (note  1). 

Solidago,  see  Golden  Rod. 

Sontag,  F. ,  on  meal  as  a  substitute  for 
pollen,  84. 

Spare  honey,  see  Honey,  surplus. 

Spermatheca,  of  the  queen  bee,  wood- 
cut aud  description  of,  35  ;  PI.  XVIU., 
Fig.  55  ;  dissection  of,  34,  126  (uote), 
213  (note). 
Spermatozoa,  found  in  spermatheca  of 
queen-bee,  34,  126  (note). 

Sphinx  Atropos,  see  Moth,  Death-head. 


Spinola,  described  the  Italian  bee,  S18 
(note). 

Spring,  importance  of  sun-heat  in,  to 
hives.  101  ;  feeble  stocks,  in,  unprofit- 
able, 177  ;  examination  of  bees,  in,  im- 
portant, 221  ;  colonies  should  be  fed, 
in,  267,  268. 

Sprinkling  bees,  should  not  be  done  to 
excess,  170  ;  cools  their  robbing  fren 
zy,  203.  '' 

Starving  of  bees,  often  happens  when 
there  is  honey  in  the  hive,  336,  342. 

Sting,  Sevan's  description  of,  56  ;  PL 
XMI.,  Fig.  53;  microscopic  appear- 
ance of,  57  ;  loss  of,  fatal  to  bees,  57  ; 
loss  of,  in  stinging,  a  benefit  to  man, 
58  ;  of  queen,  65  ;  wood-cut  of  queen's, 

PI.  xvm. 

Sting,  poison  of,  dangerous  to  some,  313  ; 
remedies  for,  314-317  ;  smell  of  poison 
of,  irritating  to  bees,  314  ;  instant  ex- 
traction of,  important,  314  ;  rubbiug 
the  wound  maiie  by,  should  be  avoid- 
ed, 314;  Mr.  Wagner's  remedy  for, 315; 
different  remedies  answer  for  different 
persons,  315  ;  human  system  may  be 
inured  to,  316  (note) ;  amusing  remedy 
for,  316  (note). 

Stinging,  bees  when  gorged,  disinclined 
to,  25,  169,  308  ;  little  risk  of,  unless 
bees  are  irritated,  28, 168, 170  ;  risk  of, 
diminished  by  use  of  mov.  comb  hive, 
209  ;  diseased  bees  inclined  to,  310  ; 
risk  of,  not  increased  by  proximity  to 
the  hive,  211  (uote)  ;  not  to  be  feared 
from  a  bee  away  from  its  hive,  312  ; 
effect  of,  sometimes  dangerous,  312  ; 
Italian  bee  less  inclined  to,  than  com- 
mon bee,  322,  324. 

Stocks,  of  bees  (see  also  colonies  of  bees) , 
enfeebled  by  "  in-and-in  breeding," 
54 ;  strong,  will  rapidly  fill  empty 
comb,  71  ;  often  lose  young  queens 
after  swarming,  141  ;  fewer  in  this 
country  than  there  were  years  ago, 
145  ;  often  refuse  to  swarm,  139, 145  ; 
147  ;  new,  work  better  than  old,  1.t3  ; 
if  weak  in  Spring,  usually  unprofitable, 
and  sometimes  require  to  be  fed,  177  ; 
the  less  disturbed,  the  better  for  sur- 
plus honey,  180  ;  best  mode  for  rapid 
increase  of,  184 ;  doublmg,  trebling, 
&c.,  185  ;  subject  to  great  loss  of  bees 
in  storms,  186  ;  rapid  increase  of,  hope- 
less in  vicinity  of  sugar-huuses,  &c., 

199  ;    hostility   of,  to  strange  queens, 

200  ;  when  united,  the  bees  should  he 
gorged  with  honey,  204  ;  will  adhere  to 
the  hive  when  the  queen  is  lost,  if  sup- 
plied with  brood-comb,  218  ;  queeuless, 
should  be  broken  up,  if  not  supplied 
with  a  queen  or  brood-comb,  218 ; 
Spring-care  of,  221  ;  healthy,  destroy 
the  drones  when  forage  is  scarce,  224  ; 

1      weak,  with  uncovered  comb,  infested 
I      by  moths,  242  ;  suffering  from  hunger 


INDEX. 


407 


are  an  easy  prey  to  the  moth,  246  (aud 
uote). 

Stocks,  union  of,  see  Union  of  colonies. 

Stomach  of  worker,  wood-cut  of,  PI. 
XVII.,  Fig.  54. 

Stoves,  air-tight,  deficient  in  ventilation, 
92;  Franklin,  a  good  kind  of,  92  (note). 

Straw,  use  of,  tor  protecting  hives,  337. 

Stupefaction  of  bees,  by  smoke,  chloro- 
form, and  ether,  210. 

Sturtevant,  E.  T.,  on  wintering  bees,  340. 

Sufibcation  of  bees,  symptoms,  90. 

Sugar,  its  elements   70. 

Sugar-candy,  see  CundJ 

Sugar-water,  use  of  tu  pacify  bees,  26  ; 
154,  168-170  ;  how  to  apply  it,  170  ; 
used  in  mingling  stocks,  203. 

Sulphur,  use  of,  in  killing  eggs  and  worms 
of  bee  moth,  243. 

Sun,  heat  of,  important  to  bees  in  Spring, 
101,  368. 

Superstitions  about  bees,  79. 

Surplus  honey,  see  Honey,  surplus. 

Swallow,  address  of  Grecian  poet,  to  a 
bee-eating,  253. 

Swammerdam,  his  drawing  of  queen's 
ovaries  described, 35  ;  great  merits  of, 
as  an  observer,  65  (note).;  his  drawing 
of  queen's  ovaries,  PI.  XMH.  ;  how 
he  learned  the  internal  economy  of  the 
hive,  and  his  reverence  in  studying 
the  works  of  Nature,  164  (note)  ;  spoke 
of  two  species  of  bee-moth,  228. 

Bwarms.  new,  often  construct  drone- 
comb  to  store  honey,  51  ;  number  of 
bees  in  a  good  one,  54  ;  first  ones  led 
by  old  queens,  111  ;  no  sure  indica- 
tions at  first,  111 ;  will  settle  without 
ringing  of  bells,  &c.,  113;  more  in- 
clined to  elope,  if  bees  are  neglected, 
114 ;  how  to  arrest  a  fugitive,  114  ; 
how  to  prevent,  from  deserting  a  new 
hive,  115  ;  indications  of  intended  de- 
sertion, 115  ;  clustering  of,  before  de- 
parture, of  special  benefit  to  man,  1'6; 
send  out  scouts,  117  ;  sometimes  build 
comb  of  fence-rails,  &c.,  118  ;  how 
parent  hive  is  re-populated,  after  de- 
parture of,  119 ;  composed  of  young 
and  old  bees,  119  ;  none  of  the  bees  of 
new,  return  to  parent  hive,  120  ;  signs 
and  time  of  second,  122;  sometimes 
settle  in  several  clusters,  122  ;  singular 
instance  of  plurality  of  queens  (in 
Me.xico) ,  122  ;  signs  and  time  of  third, 
123;  first,  sometimes  swarms  again, 
128  ;  new,  reluctant,  to  enter  heated 
hives,  ISO;  often  take  possession  of 
deserted  hives  stored  with  comb,  but 
seldom  of  empty  hives,  131  ;  trees  con- 
venient for  clustering  of,  131  ;  can  be 
made  to  alight  on  a  selected  spot,  131  ; 
hiving  of,  should  not  be  delayed,  132  ; 
Bcveral,  clustering  together,  137  ;  may 
bo  separated  by  hiving  in  large  hive,  | 
137  ;    hissing    sound    of   bees     while  j 


swarming,  causes  other  stocks  to 
swarm,  137  ;  how  to  prevent  their 
mingUng,  138  ;  should  be  i)laced  where 
intended  to  stand,  as  soon  as  hived, 
138  ;  how  to  proceed  when  hive  is  not 
ready  to  receive,  139  ;  feeble  after- 
swarms  ,  of  httle  value,  140, 141 ;  strong, 
tempted  to  evil  courses,  141  ;  many, 
annually  lost,  143  ;  danger  of  losing,  in 
swarming  season,  144 ;  decrease  of 
in  btes,  after  swarming,  151  (and 
note)  ;  new,  have  greater  energy  than 
old,  153  ;  forced,  154;  will  enter  hives 
without  the  queen,  159  (uote)  ;  when 
forced,  how  to  induce  to  adhere  to 
new  locations,  163  (aud  note)  ;  to 
avoid  risk  of  losing,  in  swarming-time, 
173  ;  too  rapid  multiplication  of,  un- 
profitable, 176;  second,  usually  val- 
ueless, unless  early,  and  season  good  ; 
177  ;  weak,  may  be  strengthened  by 
use  of  mov.  comb  hive,  178  ;  one  new, 
made  from  two  old  ones,  181  (note  3)  ; 
artificial,  rapid  increase  of  with  mov. 
comb  hive,  183 ;  dangers  attending, 
in  large  apiaries  where  the  hives  are 
uniform  in  appearance,  and  near  to- 
gether, 216  ;  how  to  avoid  the  danger, 
217  ;  Washington  Irving's  account  of, 
in  the  West,  236  (note)  ;  new,  need 
more  air  than  old,  281  ;  precautions  in 
moving,  281  ;  a  late  one,  366. 

Swarming,  signs  of.  111  ;  indisposes  bees 
to  return  to  parent  hive,  120  ;  unsea- 
sonable, often  caused  by  famine,  116  ; 
causes  bees  to  mark  the  place  of  their 
new  abode,  120;  incident  in,  in  Mex- 
ico, 123  ;  after,  care  needed  to  pre- 
serve young  brood  in  parent  hive, 
124;  in  tropical  climates,  at  all  sea- 
sons, 128  ;  season  of,  128  ;  inconve- 
niences of,  139-147  ;  artificial,  mode 
of  for  common  hives,  154  ;  best  pre- 
vented by  use  of  authors  hive,  153; 
for  the  season,  can  be  accomplislied 
in  few  days  with  author's  hive,  173; 
time  of  natural,  easily  determined  in 
author's  hive,  173  (note) ;  prevented  by 
clipping  wings  of  queen,  173,  223  ;  pre- 
vented by  contracting  the  entrance 
of  hive,  174  ;  last  plan  not  thoroughly 
tested,  174  (note  3)  ;  frequent,  unpro- 
fitable, 176  ;  best  motle  of  artificial, 
181;  how  to  obUiin  extra  queens  in  na- 
tural, 190  (uote);  interesting  anecdote 
of,  308. 

Swarming,  artificial,  see  Artificial 
Swarming. 

Swarming,  natural,  see  Natural  Swarm- 
ing. 

Swarming  season,  commencement  and 
duration  of.  Ill,  12.S, 

Sweaty  horsi^s,  detested  and  often  killed 
by  bees,  313 

Sydserft"'8  calculation  of  profits  of  bee 
culture,  146  (note). 


408 


INDEX, 


Table,  illustrating  the  increase  of  stocks 
by  artiflcial  swarming,  185;  of  form- 
ing nuclei,  191. 

"Taking  up  bees,"  facilitated  by  mov. 
comb  hive,  209 ;  suggestions  as  to 
time  of,  306  (note). 

Temperature  of  hive,  rises  at  time  of 
swarming,  130. 

Theories  often  fail,  when  put  to  a  prac- 
tical test,  175  (note). 

Thistle,  Canada,  a  good  bee-plant, 
296. 

Thompson,  poetical  extract  from,  upon 
killing  bees,  239  ;  on  bees  in  linden 
trees,  233. 

Thorlev,  John,  first  stupefied  bees  bj' 
puff-ball  smoke,  210. 

Tidd,  M.  M.,  his  experiment  on  a  female 
moth,  230  (note  2) ;  notices  the  differ- 
ence between  tongue  of  the  male  and 
female  moth,  230. 

Time  of  bees,  economized  in  mov.  comb 
hive,  95,  96  ;  importance  of  saving, 
305. 

Timid  persons  may  safely  remove  sur- 
plus honey,  289-291  ;  should  use  bee- 
dress  while  hiving  bees,  132,154;  often 
stung  while  other  persons  seldom  are, 
168  ;  some  should  not  attempt  to  rear 
bees,  209. 

Toad,  eats  bees,  254. 

Tobacco,  should  not  be  used  for  subdu- 
ing bees,  169. 

Top-boxes,  for  surplus  honey,  should  be 
used  with  caution,  330  (note). 

Transferring  bees  from  common  to  mov. 
comb  hive,  282-284  ;  mode  of,  282  ; 
best  time  for,  283  ;  results  of,  284. 

Transportation  of  bees,  easy  in  mov. 
comb  hive,  281. 

Traps  for  moths,  usually  worthless, 
244. 

Trees,  combs  built  on,  by  bees,  118  ; 
apiaries  should  be  near,  131  ;  substi- 
tute for,  131;  limbs  of,  need  not  be  cut, 
in  hiving  bees,  133  ;  shade  of,  agree- 
able to  bees,  2'^0 ;  honey-producing 
292. 

IHilip  (poplar,  or  white  wood) ,  tree  yields 
great  quantities  of  honey,  292. 

U. 

Union  of  colonies,  facilitated  by  giving 

them  the  same  smell,  203  ;  mode  of, 

203,  204  ;  for  wmtering,  336. 
Unbelief  in  revelation  not  prompted  by 

true  philosophy,  52. 
Uncleanly  persons  disagreeable  to  bees, 

313. 

V. 

Varnish,  used  by  bees  in  place  of  propo- 
lis 80.' 


Varro,  his  remark,  that  bees  in  large 
hives  become  dispirited,  208. 

Ventilation,  furnished  to  larvae  by  shape 
of  cells,  75  ;  of  the  hive,  88-94  ;  pro- 
duced by  the  fanning  of  bees,  88 ; 
Huber  on,  88  ;  its  necessity,  89  ;  re- 
marks on,  in  human  dwellings,  91; 
provided  for  and  easily  controlled  in 
mov.  comb  hive,  93,  94 ;  artiflcial, 
must  be  simple  to  be  useful,  93  ; 
should  be  attended  to,  after  swarming, 
124  ;  ample,  should  be  given,  while 
bees  are  storing  honey,  288,  366  ;  how 
to  give,  in  Winter,  338;  upward,  needed 
in  Winter,  338,  340  (note),  241,  360. 

Vice,  effect  of,  on  man,  compared  to  ra- 
vages of  the  moth,  235. 

Virgil,  described  the  ItaUan  bee,  318. 

W. 

Wagner,  Samuel,  letter  of,  on  mov.  comb 
hive,  17-18  ;  theory  of,  on  how  queen 
determines  sex  of  egg,  38  ;  his  account 
of  bees  building  comb  on  a  tree,  118  ; 
on  the  effect  of  soil  on  the  quality 
of  honey-yielding  plants,  294  (note)  ; 
on  the  Swedish  white  clover,  for  bees 
and  stock,  295  ;  letter  of,  on  over- 
stocking, 300  ;  letter  of,  on  the  Italian 
bee,  317  ;  extracts  from,  on  preserving 
the  purity  of  the  Italian  bee,  323 
(notes)  ;  states  a  remarkable  fact  con 
cerning  hybrid  bees,  324  (note  2)  ;  at 
tempt  of;  to  import  Italian  bee,  328 
(note);  translation  of  Scholtz  on  win- 
tering bees,  348-360. 

War,  how  waged  by  different  colonies, 
263. 

Wasps,  fecundation  of,  35  ;  injure  fruit, 
86  ;  should  be  destroyed  in  Spring,  87; 
torpid  in  Winter,  109. 

Water,  necessary  to  be  supplied  for  bees 
confined,  189  (and  note)  ;  the  refusal 
of,  in  Spring,  by  bees,  indicative  of  a 
queenless colony,  219  (and  note);  cold, 
useful  in  chocking  robbery,  265  ;  in- 
dispensable to  bees  when  building 
comb,  or  rearing  brood,  271,  342-346  ; 
bees  need,  in  cold  weather,  342-346; 
advantages  of  giving,  to  bees  in  cold 
Springs,  343 

Wax,  scales  of,  wood-cuts,  PI.  Xni.,Figs. 
37  and  38  ;  secreted  from  honey,  69, 
275  ;  pouches  for,  69  ;  wood-cut  of,  PI. 
XIII.,  Fig.  38;  Huber's  experiments 
on  secretion  of,  69  ;  pollen  may  aid  its 
secretion,  70  ;  its  elements,  71  ;  large 
quantity  of  honey  consumed  in  secre- 
tion of,"71  ;  shavings  of,  used  by  boes, 
to  build  new  comb,  72;  a  bad  con- 
ductor of  heat,  73  ;  pollen  useful  in  its 
secretion,  82, 197  ;  origin  of,  discovered 
bv  Honibostel,  204  (note):  the  food  of 
tlie  larvse  of  the  bee  moth,  233,  247  ; 
how  to  render,  from  comb,  288. 


INDEX, 


409 


Weather,  unpleasant,  delays  of  prevents 
swarming,  112. 

West  India  honey,  as  bee-food,  256 
(note),  270. 

Wetherell,  Dr.  C.  M.,  his  analysis  of 
royal  jelly,  64. 

UTicaton,  Levi,  on  upward  ventilation, 
276  (note  1);  on  wintering  bees,  346 
(note  1). 

White  clover,  see  Clover,  white. 

Wcigel,  Rev.  Mr.,  first  recommended 
candy,  as  bee-feed,  272. 

Wheeler,  George,  on  ancient  bar-hives, 
210  (note). 

Willow,  varieties  of,  abound  in  honey 
and  pollen,  292. 

Wildman,  Thomas,  feats  of,  in  handhng 
bees,  308  ;  states  the  fact  that  fear 
disposes  colonies  to  unite,  203  (note); 
his  approach  to  modern  modes  of 
taming  bees,  204  (note) ;  on  the  queen's 
odor,  226. 

Winds,  bees  should  be  protected  against, 
103, 186,  279. 

Wings  of  queens,  may  be  made  to  mark 
their  age,  223. 

Winter,  wasps  and  hornets,  but  not 
bees,  torpid  in,  109,  335  ;  quantity  of 
honey  needed  by  a  stock  in,  274 ; 
bees  eat  less  in,  when  kept  quiet,  335, 
355,  358 ;  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  injurious  to  bees,  338  (note 
1);  bees  need  water  in,  342-346;  when 
honey  is  candied  in,  bees  need  water, 
342-344  ;  disturbing  bees  in,  injurious, 
347,  355  ;  fewer  bees  die  in,  when 
hives  arc  in  clamps,  than  when  in 
other  special  depositories,  358 ;  tem- 
porary removal  of  colonies  in,  to  a 
warm  room,  341,  362. 

Wintering  bees,  335-361 ;  objections  to,  in 
the  open  air,  335  ;  how  to  get  honey 
for,  in  centre  of  hive,  336  ;  bee  pas- 
sages in  comb  for,  337  (and  note  I), 
^39  (and  note);  in  a  dry  vault  or  cel- 


lar, 348  ;  in  special  repositories,  348- 
360 ;  further  experiments  in,  needed, 
360 ;  requires  caution  in  removing 
them  from  winter  quarters,  361. 

Wives,  a  friendlj'  word  to,  220. 

Wood-cuts,  explanation  of,  11,  371. 

Women,  American,  suffer  from  bad  ven- 
tilation, 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- 
lopcd  ovaries,  29  ;  when  fertile,  their 
progeny  always  drones,  36  ;  Hu!  er's 
theory  concerning  fertile,  37,  55;  some- 
times exalted  to  be  queens,  37  ;  one 
raised  from  a  drone  egg,  by  Dr.  Don- 
hoff,  41  ;  incapable  of  impregnation, 
42  ;  wood-cuts  of,  PI.  XH.,  Figs.  35,  36  ; 
number  of,  in  swarm,  54;  author's 
opinion  respecting  fertile,  55  ;  fertile 
prefer  to  lay  in  drone  cells,  55;  honey- 
bag,  56  ;  representation  of,  PI.  XVU. , 
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.  XVn.,  Fig.  53  ;  loss  of 
sting,  fatal,  57  ;  do  all  the  work  of  the 
hive,  58  ;  their  age,  58  ;  lesson  of  in 
dustry  from,  59 ;  attention  to  royal 
cells,  62  ;  wood-cut  of  abdomen  of,  PL 
XVI.,  Fig.  52  ;  two  kinds  of,  described 
by  Huber,  192  (note  2)  j  differently 
occupied  in  different  periods  of  life, 
194  ;  impulse  of,  to  gather  honey,  un- 
developed in  early  life,  195. 

Worms,  sec  Bee-moth,  larvae  of. 

Wormwood,  use  of,  for  driving  away 
robbing  bees,  265  (note). 

Wurtemberg,  number  of  its  colonies  of 
bees,  304. 


ZoUickoffer,  H.  M.,  his  account  of  b*«e 
building  combs  on  a  tree,  118. 


Date  Due 

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