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?ma|agim; bees,

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il^OFITABLK MANNER TO THEIR OWNER,

' WITff

INFALLIBLE RULES TO PREVENT THEfR
DESTRUCTION V>\ THE MOTH

H Y JOHN M. WEEKS,
Of Salisbury, Vt.

SECOND EDITION.

MIDDLEBURY -,

LAM K. J E W E T T, P R I « T E K

1837.

i

I

*?

ritred according to act of Congress, m the year 1836,
By John M. Weeks,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Vermont

prIfp'^ace

#•

<*

It appears lo tlic wrilur of the following pages, thai a work
f>f this description is much needed in our country.

The cultivation of the bee {Apis MeU\/icn) has been too
loni; iief^lecled in most parts of the United States.

This i;eiieral nej;lect has uiiquestionablv originated from
ihe fact, that the European enemy lo the bees, called the
moth, has tound its way into this country, and has located and
naturalized itsell here; and has made bO much havoc among
the bees, that many districts have entirely abandoned their
cultivation. Many Apiarians, and men of the highest litera-
ry attainments, as well as experience, have nearly exhausted
their patience, in examining the peculiar nature and habits o:'
this insect ; and have tried various experiments to devn^atme
means of preventing its depredations. But, after all (mE?has
been done, the spoiler moves onward with little molestation
and very few of our citizens are willinij lo eiipaoe in the rnt- i
prize of cultivating this most useful and profitable of all inset i
the honey-bee.

The following work is comprised in a set of plain, cofjc'
rules, by which, if strictly adhered to and practised, any pt <
.son, properly situated, may cultivate bees, and avail himseit ot
all the benefits of their labors.

If the Apiarian manages strictly in accordance with the 161-
lowing rules, the author teels confident tUat no colon} will c\
er materially suffer by the moth, or will ever he dcpiroyed b
them.

The author is aware of the numerous treatises Mubiished -
this subject; but they appear to«him, for the most part, to b
the result not so much of experience as of vague ana conjectu-
ral speculation, and not sutficiently embodying what is practi-
cal and useful.

This work is intended as an accompaniment to the Ve-
mont hive, and will be found to be the result ol observation .u.
experience, and it is thought comprises all that is necessary to
make a skilful Apiarian.

THE AUTHOR.

2043566

INDEX

P&Of

Rule I. On the construction of the hivf, - 5

Rule II. On swarming and hiving, - - 1 1

Rule III. On ventilating, ... - 23

Rule IV. On preventing robberies, - - - 24

Rule V. On equalizing colonies, by doubling, trobliug, Uc. 26

Rule VI. On removing honey, - - - - 30
Rule VII. The method of compelling swarms to make
jA extra Q,ueens, and keep them for the use

of their owner, ----- 33
Rule VIII. On supplying swarms with Q,ueenb. when

necessary, 38

Rule IX. On multiplying colonies lo any desirable ex-
tent, without swarming, - - - 42

Rule X. On preventing the depredations of the rnoth. 43

Rule XI. On feeding, 56

Rule XII. On wintering, - . . . . 60

Rule XIII. On transferring bees from one hive to another, 6'-'

XIV. General observations, - - 65

fll A 1% UAL, Si c.

RULE I.

ON THP: construction of a BEE-HIVK.

A bee-hive should be made of sound boards,
free from shakes and cracks ; it should also
be planed smooth, inside and out, made in a
workmanlike manner, and painted on its out-
side.

REMARKS.

That a bee-hive should be made perf(«t,
so as to exclude light and air, is obvious from
the fact, that the bees will finish what tlie
workman has neglected, by plastering up all
such cracks and crevices, or bad joints, as are
left open by the joiner. The substance they
use for this purpose is neither honey nor wax,
but a kind of glue or cement of their own man-
ufacturing, and is used by the bees to fill up
all imperfect joints and exclude all light and
2

n AN EASY METHOD OF

ir. This cement or glue is very congenial
to the growth of the moth in the first stages
()\' its existence.

The moth miller enters the hive, generally,
ii: the night — makes an incision into the glue
< r cement with her sting, and leaves her eggs
deposited in the glue, where it remains secure
iVom the bees ; it being guarded by the tim-
ber on its sides. Thus, while a maggot, {lar-
va) the moth uses the cement for food until it
\rrives so far towards a state of maturity as to
aWe to spin a web, Vv hich is m'ore fully ex-
' cd in remarks on Rule 10.
^._ae size of a hive should be in accordance
\Wui the strictest rules of economy, and adapt-
I to the peculiar nature and economy of the
oney-bee, in order to make them profitable
J their -owner. «

The lower apartment of the hive, where
hey store their food, raise their young bees,
ad perform their ordinary labors, should bold
,D ill .rh as a box thirteen inches and one half
•r fourteen inches square in the clear.
If the tiive is much larger than thd ouj d >.

MANAGING BEES.# % 7

scribed above, with the chamber in propor-
tion, which should hold about two-thirds as
much as the lower apartment, the bees will
iiot be likely to swarm during the season.

Bees in large hives never swarm ; and
those in liives much less than the one alrea-'
dy described, do but little else than raise younj;
bees and lay up a sufficient quantity ol food
to supply them through the coming winter,
and are more liable to be robbed.

AH hives of bees that swarm are liable to
swarm, too much, and reduce their colonies so
low in numbers as to materially injure them,
and is frequently the cause of their destriij-
tion by the moth, which is more particularly
explained in remarks on Rule 2.

The chamber of the hive should be made
•perfectly tight, so as to exclude all liffhtffrom
the drawers.

Drawers should be small like i\u. :^, iv^i ill
purposes except such as are used for multi-
plying colonies and transferring, whicl' -hvur.
always bo lar<?;e like No. I ,

Hivcr should have elects on their siti

H » AN EASY METHOD OF

as to suspend them in the air some distance
firom the floor of the apiary, the better to se-
cure the bees from destruction by mice, rep-
tiles, and other vermin.

The back side or rear of the lower apart-
ment of the hive should slant forward, so as
to render the same smallest at the bottom, the
better to secure the combs from falling when
cracked by frost or nearly melted in hot
weather.

No timbers or boards should be placed very
near the lower edge of the hive, because it fa-
cilitates the entrance of depredators. That
the back side should slant forward, is obvious
from the fact, that bees generally rest one
edge of their combs on that side, and build
towards the front in such a manner as to en-
ter upon the same sheet where they intend to*
deposit their stores, when they first enter the
hive, without being compelled to take any un-
necessary steps.

The bottom of the hive should slant down-
ward from rear to front,, so as to afford the
greatest facility to the bees to clear thei? ten-

MANAGING BEES. 11

ement of all offensive substances, and let the
water, which is occasioned by the breath and
vapor of the bees, run off in cold water. It
also aids the bees very much in preventing the
entrance of robbers.

The bottom board should be suspended by
staples and hooks near each corner of the
hive, in such a manner as to afford a free en-
trance and et{ress to the bees on all its sides,
which will better enable them to keep their
tenement clear of the moths.

There should be a button attached to the
lower edge of the rear of the hive, so as to en-
able the apiarian to govern the bottom board
in such a manner as to give all the air they
need, or close the hive at pleasure.

The hive should have two sticks placed at
equal distances, extending from front to rear,
resting on the rear, with a screw driven through
the front into the end of the stick, which holds.
it fast in its place, and a ventilator near the
top of the lower apartment of the hive, to let
pff the vapor which frequently causes the
death of the bees in the winter by freezing.

10 AN EASY EETHOD OF

The door to the chamber should be made
to fit in the rabitlngs of the same against the
jambs. In such a manner as to exclude the
light from the windows of the drawers, and al-
so to prevent the entrance of the little ants.
It should also be hung by butts, or fastened
by a bar, running vertically across the centre
of the door, and confined by staples at each
end. There should be three sheet-iron shdes,
one of which should be nearly as wide as the
chamber, and one or two inches longer than
the length of the chamber. The other two
should be the same length of the first, and
half its width only.

All hives and all their appendages should
he made exactly of a size and shape in the
same apiary. The trouble of equalizing col-
onies is far less than it is to accommodate
hives to swarms. Much perplexity and some-
times serious difficulties occur, where the ap-
iarian uses different sized hives and drawers.
But this part of the subject will be more ful-
V discussed under its proper rule.

MANAGINC; BEES. 1 1

RULE 11.

ON SWARMING* AND HIVING.

The apiarian, or bee-owner, should liave
his hives in readiness, and in tlieir places iu
th(.' a})iary,\vith tlie drawers in their chambers
bottuni up, so as to prevent entrance.

When a swarm comes fortli and has aliii;ht-
ed, cut olf the hmb if convenient — shai<e it
i^ently, so as to disengage the bees, and let
them fall gently on to the table, board, or
ground, (as the case may be,) ])lace the hive
over them before many rise into the air, taking
care at the same time to lay one or more sticks
in such a manner as to raise the hive so as to
give the bees rapid ingress and egress. If the
bees act reluctantly in taking possession of
tiicir new habitation, disturb them by blushing
them with a goose-quill or some other instru-
ment, not harsh, and they will soon enter. In
case it is found necessary to invert the hive
to receive the bees, (which is frequent, from
the manner of their alighting,) then, first se-
cure the drawers down to the floor by inserl-
inir a handkerchief or somethini^ above them :
now invert the hive and shake or brush the
bees into it ; now turn it Li;entlv riirht em\ up

12 AN EA.SY METHOD OF

en the table, or other place, observing the
rule aforesaid.

REMARKS.

Bees swarm from nine o'clock in the morn-
ing to three o'clock in the afternoon on a fair
day, differing in the season according to the
climate. In Vermont they generally swarm
from the middle of May to the fifteenth of Ju-
ly ; in late seasons some later. I have known
them to swarm as early as seven in the morn-
ing and as late as four in the afternoon, i have
also known them to come lorth when it rained
so hard as nearly to defeat them by beating
down many to the ground which were proba-
bly lost from their colony ; and I once had a
swarm come forth on the sixteenth day of
August.

Experience and observation have taught
that the Queen leaves the old stock first, and
her colony rapidly follow. They fly about a
few minutes, apparently in the greatest confu-
sion, until the swarm is principally out of the
hive. They then alight, generally on the limb
of some tree, shrub, or bush, or some other

MANAGING BEES. 13

place convenient for them to cluster in a bunch
not far from the old stock, and make their ar-
rangements for a journey to a new habitation.
Perhaps not one swarm in a thousand knows
where they are gointj until after they have left
the old stock, aligllted, and formed into a com-
pact body or cluster ; and not then until they
have sent off an embassy to search out a place
for their future residence. Now if the bees
are hived immediately after they have alight-
ed, before they send off their embassy to seek
a new tenement, they will never fly away, ad-
mitting they have sufficient room, (for it is
want of room that makes them swarm in the
first place,) and their hive is clear of every
thino; that is offensive to them.

The old custom of washing hives with salt
and water and other substances, to give them
a pleasant effluvia, should be speedily abolish-
ed. Nothing but bees should ever be put in-
to a hive.

When bees die, the hive should be cleared
of its contents, aud scraped out clean, and the
<'iianiber rubbed with cloth wet in clean wa-

14 AN EASY METHOD OE

ler ; then set it in its place in the apiary, and
there let it stand until wanted for use. An
old hive, thus prepared, is as good as a new
one for the reception of a swann. The api-
arian should exarnine before using to see that
the hive is free from spiders and cobwebs.

When bees are not hived immediately after
they have clustered in a body, they should be
removed to the apiary, or several rods from
the place where they alighted, as soon as they
can be hived, to prevent their being found on
the return of the embassy. Since I have thus
practised, I have never lost a swarm by flight.

Experience has taught that it is best to re-
move the new swarm to the place where it is
intended to stand during the season, immedi-
ately after hiving. Fewer bees are lost by a
speedy removal, than when permitted to stand
until evening, because they are creatures o^
habit, and are every moment establishing them-
selves in their location. It also prevents their
being found by the embassy vvhen^hey return.
The longer bees stand in the place where
;hey are hived, the greater will be the num-

MANAGING BEES. 15

ber lost when removed. But more of this
hereafter.

When bees are collected in drawers for the
purpose of equalizini; colonies, by doubling.
&z;c., they should be permitted to stand until
evening before they are united, it being a more
favorable time for them to become acquainted
with each other by degrees ; and the scent ol
the bees in the lower apartment will enter
through the apertures during the night so much
that there is a greater degree of sameness in
the peculiar smell of the two colonies, which
takes oft' their animosity, if they chance to
have any.

No confusion or noise which is uncommon
to the bees should ever be made during their
swarming or hiving. The only efiect of noise,
ringing of bells, he, that I could ever discov-
er, was, to render them more hostile and un-
manageable.

When bees are treated in accordance with
their true nature, they are sometimes hostile,
which originates from two causes : First, some
of them lie out of the hive before swarming.

16 AN EASY METHOD OF

and some of them, in consequence of their
confusion in swarming, are not apprised of the
intention of the Queen to leave the old stock
and seek a new habitation, and they sally forth
with the swarm without fiUing their sacks with
stores, which always makes them more irrita-
ble than when their stomachs are filled with
food.

The Vermont hive possesses advantages in
this respect, as well as others, far superior to
the old box. Instead of lying out before
swarming, as in the old box, they go up into
the drawers, and are constantly employed in
depositing the delicious fruits of their labors :
and being in the hive, where they can hear
and observe all the movements of the Queen,
they go forth well stored with provisions suited
to the peculiar exigency of the case ; which
ordinarily prevents all feelings of hostility.

The second reason why bees are sometimes
irritable, and are disposed to sting when they
swarm, is, the air is forbidding to them, by
being cold or otherwise, so as to impede them
in their determined emigration. In all such

MANAGING BEES. 17

cases, the apiarian should be furnished with a
veil, made of millinet, or some light covering
which may be thrown over his hat, and let
down so low as to cover his face and bosom,
and fixed in such a manner as to prevent their
stinging. He should also put on a pair of thick
woolen gloves or stockings over his hands,
thus managing them without the least danger.

A clean hive is all that is needed for a swarm
of bees, with careful and humane treatment.

A cluster of bees should never be shook or
jarred any more than merely to disengage them
from the lin-ib or place where they are collect-
ed, nor should they fall any great distance,
because their sacks are full when they swarm,
which render them both clumsy and harmless,
and harsh treatment makes them irritable and
unmanageable.

I know of no rule by which the exact day
of their first swarming can be known with cer-
tainty. The apiarian will estimate near the
time by the number of bees in and about the
hive, as it will become very much crowded.

The day of second swarming, and all after

18 AN EASY METHOD OF

that during the same season, may be most cer-
tainly predicted as follows : Listen near the
entrance of the hive in the evening, v If a
swarm is coming forth the next day, the Queen
will be heard giving an alarm at short intervals.
The same alarm may be heard the next
morning. The observer will generally hear
two Queens at a time in the same hive, the
one much louder than the other. The one
making the least noise is yet in her cell, and
in her minority. The sound emitted by the
Queens is peculiar, differing materially from
:hat of any other bee. It consists of a number
of monotonous notes in rapid succession, simi-
lar to those emitted by the mud-wasp v/hen
working her mortar and joining it to her cells,
to raise miss-wasps. If, after all, the weather is
unfavorable to their swarming two or three
lays while in this peculiar stage, they will not
be likely to swarm again the same season.

Two reasons, and two only, can be assigned
why bees ever swarm. The first is, want of
room, and the second, to avoid the battle of
the Queens. It is indeed true that there are

EANAGING BEES. 19

exceptions. Perhaps one in a hundred swaiins
may come forth before' their hive is filled with
comb ; but from nearly forty years experience
in their cultivation, I never saw an instance of
it, where the hive was not full of bees at their
first swarming. When bees go from the old
stock to the tree without alighting, it is when
they lie out of the hive before swarming, and
the embassy are sent forth before the swarm
leaves the old stock. , When the first swarm
comes forth, eggs, young brood, or both, are
left in the combs, but no Queen ; for the old
Queen always goes forth with the swarm, and
leaves the old stock entirely destitute. Not
a single Queen, in any stage of minority^
left in the hive. The bees very soon find
themselves destitute of the means of propaga-
ting their species, (for the Queen is the only
female in the hive,) and immediately set them-
selves to work in constructing stveral ruyil
cells, (probably to be more sure of success.)
take a grub (larva) from the cell of a common
worker, plaoe jt in the new-made royal ceW,
i'sed it on royal jelly, and in a few days they

20 AN EASr METHOD OF

have a Queen. Now as the eggs are laid in about
three litters per week, the bees, to be still more
sure of succeeding intheirenterprize, take mag-
gots, differing in age, so that if more than one
Queen is hatched, one will be older than the
others. This fact accounts for hearing more
than one Queen at the same time, because one
comes out a perfect fly, while the other is a
nymph, or little younger, and has not yet made
her escape from the cell where she was raised ;
and yet both answer the alarm of the other,
the youngest more feebly than the elder.

Bees will never swarm but once the same
season unless they make more than one Queen,
immediately after the departure of the first
swarm ; and not then, if the bees permit the
oldest Queen to come in contact with the cell
where the young ones are growing. Queens
entertain the most deadly animosity towards
each other, and will commence an attack up-
on each other the first moment opportunity
offers. The old Queen will even tear all the
cradles or cells to pieces where young ones are
growing, and destroy all the chrysalis Queens
in the hive.

MANAGING BEES. 21

ll'tlic weather becomes unfavorable to swarm-
ing, the next day after the alarm of the Queen
is heard, and continues so for several days, the
oldest Queen may come in contact with the
others, or gain access to their cells ; in either
case the life of one of them is destroyed by the
other, and the colony will not be likely to send
forth another swarm the same season. If the
old Queen succeeds in taking the life of the
younger, or vice vcr^, the remaining nymphs
will be likely to share the same fate of their
martyred sisters, by the hand of the reigning
Queen, who considers all others in the same
hive as her competitors.

Second swarms would be as large ancrtlu-
merous as any others, if it was not the fact that
they come forth to avoid the battle of the
Queens. Bees are very tenacious to preserve
the lives of their sovereigns, particularly those
of their own raising ; and when they find they
have more than one in the hive, they will
guard each so strong as to prevent, if possibh^,
their coming within reach of each other. 'They
bein'T thus strongly guarded to prevent the

2*2 AN EASY METHOD OF

fight, is unquestionably the cause of their giv-
ing the alarm, as describe'd m the foregoing
article. The knowledge of the existence of
another Queen in the same hive inspires them
with tlie greatest uneasiness and rage ; and
W'hen the oldest one finds herself defeated in
gaining access to her competitor, she sallies
forth with as many as see fit to follow her,
and seeks a new habitation.

Bees will not swarm but once in a season,
if the second one does not come forth within
seventeen days from the departure of the first,
unless they swarm for want of room, in which
case no Queen will be heard before swarming.

The drawers should be turned over, so as
to let the bees into them as soon as they have
built their combs nearly to the bottom of the
hive. If the swarm is so large that the lower
apartment will not hold all of them, they should
be let into one or both of the drawers, at the
time of hiving ; otherwise they may go off for
want of room. Bees should be let into the
drawers in the spring as soon as blossoms are
seen.

MANAGING BEES. '23

RULE III.

ON VENTILATING THE HIVL.

Graduate tho bottom board and ventilator
at pleasure, by means of the button or other-
wise, so as to give them more or less air, as
the circumstances may require.

REMARK S.

Bees require more air in order to enable
them to endure the heat of summer and the
severity of winter, than at any other time.
If they are kept out in the cold, they need as
much air in the winter as in the heat of sum-
mer. It is in a mild temperature only, that
it is safe to keep them from the pure air. If
placed below frost in a dry sand-bank, they
seem to need scarcely more than is contained
m their hive at the time they are buried, du-
ring the whole winter. If kept in a clean,
dry cellar, the mouth so contracted as to keep
out mice, gives them enough. But if they
they are kept in the apiary, there should be a
slow current of air constantly pressing in at the
bottom and off at the top thro' the ventilator.

•24 AN EASY METHOD OF

RULE IV.

ON PREVENTING ROBBERIES.

At the moment it is observed, that robbers
are within, or about the hive, raise the bot-
tom board so near the edge of the hive as to
prevent the ingress or egress of the bees, and
stop the mouth or common entrance and ven-
tilator. At the same time take care that a
small space on all sides of the hive be left
open, so as to afibrd them all the air they
need. Open the mouth only at evening, and
close early in the morning, before the robbers
renew their attack.

REMARKS.

Bees have a peculiar propensity to rob each
other, and every precaution necessary to pre-
vent it, should be exercised by the cultivator.
Families in the same apiary are more likely to
engage in this unlawful enterprize than any
others, probably because they are located so
near each other, and are more likely to learn
their comparative strength. I never could dis-
cover any intimacy between colonies of the
same apiary, except when they stood on the

MANAGING BEES. 25

same bench ; and then, all the social inter-
coui-se seems to subsist between the nearest
neighbors only.

Bees are not likely to engage in warllire and
rob each other, except in the spring and fall,
and at other times in the season, when food is
not easily obtained from blossoms.

Bees do not often engage in robbery in the
spring, unless it is in such hives as have had
their combs broken by frost or otherwise, so
as to cause the honey to drip down upon the
bottom board. Much care should be exerci-
sed by the apiarian to see that rdl such hives
are properly ventilated, and at the same time
closed in such a manner as to prevent the en-
trance of robbers in the day-time, until they
have mended the breach, so as to stop "the
honey from running.

Clear water should be given them every
day, so long as they are kept in confinement.

1 have known many good stocks to be lost
n the spring, by being robbed ; and all for
want of care. Bees rob each other when they
can find but little else to do ; they will rob at

26 AN EASY METHOD OF

any time when frost has destroyed the flow-
ers, or the weather is so cold as to prevent
their collecting honey from them . Cold, chil-
ly weather prevents the flowers from yielding
honey without frost, as was the case in the
summer of 1835, in many places.

Bees need but little air at any time when
they rob, and yet more is necessary for them
when confined by compulsory means, than
otherwise. When deprived of their liberty,
they soon become restless, and use their best
efforts to make their way out of the hive ; —
hence the importance of leaving a small space
all around the bottom, to admit air and to
prevent their melting down.

RULE V.

ON EaUALIZlNG COLONIES.

Hive one swarm in the lower apartment of
the hive ; collect another swarm in a drawer,
and insert the same in the chamber of the
hive containing the first. Then, if the swarms
are small, collect another small swarm in an-
other drawer, and insert the same in the cham-

MANAGING BEES. Xt

ber of the hive containing the first, by the side
of the second. In case all the bees from ei-
ther of the drawers, amalgamate and go below
with the first swarm, and leave the drawer
empty, then it may be removed, and another
small swarm added in the same manner.

REMARKS.

It is of prime importance to every bee cul-
tivator, that all his colonies be made as nearly
equal in numbers and strength, as possible.
Every experienced bee-master must be aware
that small swarms are of but little profit to
their owner. Generally, in a few days after
they are hived, they are gone ; — no one can
trace their steps : some suppose they have
fled to the woods — others, that they were rob-
bed : but after all, no one is able to give any
satisfactory account of them. Some pieces of
comb only are left, and perhaps myriads of
worms and millers finish off the whole. Then
the moth is supposed to be their destroyer,
but the true history of the case is generally
this : The bees become discouraged, or dis-
heartened, for want of numbers to constitute
their colony, abandon their tenement, and

23 AN EASY METHOD OF

join with ther nearest neighbors, leaving their
combs to the merciless depredations of the
moth. They are sometimes robbed by their
adjoining hives, and then the moths finish or
destroy what is left.

Second swarms are generally about half as
large as the first, and third swarms half as
large as second ones.

Now if second swarms are doubled, so as to
make them equal in number with the first, the
owner avails himself of the advantage of a
strong colony, which will not be likely to be-
come disheartened for w^ant of numbers, nor
overcome by robbers from stronger colonies.

It is far less trouble, and less expense, for
the bee-owner lo equalize his colonies, than to
prepare hives and drawers of difi?erent sizes
to fit colonies.

When colonies and hives are made as near
alike as possible, many evils are avoided, and
many advantages realized : every hive will fit
a place in the apiary — every drawer a hive,
and every bottom board and slide may in any
i^ase be used without mistakes.

MANAGING BEKS. -^9

Swarms may be doubled at any time before
ihey become so located as to resume their
former hostility, which will not be discovered
in less than three or four days. Bees are pro-
vided with a reservoir, or sack, to carry their
provision in ; and when they swarm, they go
loaded with provision suited to their emergen-
cy, which takes off all their hostility towards
each other ; and until these sacks are emptied,
they are not easily vexed, and as they are
compelled to build combs before they can
empty them, their contents are retained seve-
ral days. I have doubled, at a fortnight's in-
terval in swarming, with entire success. The
operation should be performed within two or
three days — at the farthest four days. The
sooner it is done, the less hazardous is the ex-
periment.

As a general rule, second swarms only
should be doubled. Third and fourth swarms
should always have their Queen taken from
them, and the bees returned to the parent
stock, according to Ffule 10.

30 AN EASY METHOD OF

RULE VI.

ON REMOVING HONEY.

Insert a slide under the drawer, so far as to
cut off all communication between the lower
apartm.ent and the drawer. Insert another
slide between the first slide and the drawer.
Now draw out the box containing the honey,
with the slide that is next to it. Set the
drawer on its window end, a little distance
from the apiary, and remove the slide. Now
supply the place of the drawer, thus removed,
with an empty one, and draw the first insert-
ed slide.

a E M ARKS.

Care must be exercised in performing this
operation. The apertures through the floor
into the chamber must be kept closed by the
slides during the process, so as to keep the
bees from rushing up into the chamber when
the box is drawn out. The operator must
likewise see that the entrances into tlie draw-
er are kept covered with the slide, in such a
manner as to prevent the escape of any of the
be€s, unless he is willing to be stung bv them.

MANAGING BEES. 31

If the bees are permitted to enter the cham-
ber in very warm weather, they will be likely
to hold the occupancy of it, and build comb
there, which will change the hive into one no
better than an old-fashioned box.

I have succeeded best in removing honey
by the following method, to wit : — Shut the
window-blinds so as to darken one of the rooms
in the dwelling-house — raise up one casement
of a window — then carry the drawer and place
the same on a table, or stand, by the v/indow,
on its light or glass end, with the aperture?
towards the light. Now remove the slide, and
step immediately back into the dark part of
the room. The bees will soon learn their true
condition, and will gradually leave the draw-
er, and return home to the parent stock ; thus
leaving the drawer and its contents for their
owner ; not however until they have sucked
every drop of running honey, if there should
chance to be any, which is not often the case,
if their work is finished.

There are two cases in which the bees
manifest some reluctance in leaving the draw-

32 AN EASY METHOD OF

er. The first is, when the combs are in an
unfinished state — some of the cells not sealed
over. The bees manifest a great desire to re-
main there, probably to make their stores more
secure from robbers, by affixing caps to the
uncovered cells, to prevent the effluvia of run-
ning honey, which is always the greatest
temptation to robbers.

Bees manifest the greatest reluctance in
leaving the drawer, when young brood are.
removed in it, which never occurs, except
in such drawers as have been used for feed-
ing in the winter or early in the spring. When
the Queen has deposited eggs in all the emp-
ty cells below, she sometimes enters the draw-
ers; and if empty cells are found, she depos-
its eggs there also. In either case, it is bet-
ter to return the drawer, which will be made
perfect by them in a few days.

Special care is necessary in storing drawers
of honey, when removed from the care and
protection of the bees, in order to preserve
the honey from insects, which are great lovers

MANAGING BEES. 33

of itj particularly the ant. A chest, made
perfectly tight, is a good store-house.

If the honey in the drawers is to be preser-
ved for winter use, it should be kept in a room
so warm as not to freeze. Frost cracks the
combs, and the honey will drip as soon as warm
weather commences. Drawers should be
packed with their apertures up, for keeping or
carrying to market. All apiarians who would
make the most profit from their bees, should
remove the honey as soon as the drawers are
filled, and supply their places with empty ones.
The bees will commence their labors in an
empty box that has been filled, sooner than
unv others.

RULE VH.

J liJ. METHOD OF COxMPELLlNG bWAK.MS TO

MAKE AND KEEP EXTRA CiUEENS, FOR

THEIR APIARIAN, OK OWNER.

Take a drawer containing bees and brood
comb, and place the same in the chamber of
an empty hive ; taking care to stop the en-
trance of the hive, and give them clean water,
daily, three or four days. Then unstop the

34 AN EASY METHOD OF

mouth of the hive, and give them liberty. The
operator must observe Rule 6 in using the slides

REMARKS.

The prosperity of every colony depends en-
tirely on the condition of the Queen, when the
season is favorable to them.

Every bee-master should understand their
nature in this respect, so as to enable him to
be in readiness to supply them with another
Queen when they chance to become destitute.

The discovery of the fact, that bees have
power to change the nature of the grub (lar-
va) of a worker to that of a Queen, is attribu-
ted to Bonner. But neither Bonner nor the
indefatigable Huber, nor any other writer, to
my knowledge, has gone so far in the illustra-
tion of this discovery as to render it practica-
ble and easy for common people to avail them-
selves of its benefits.

The Vermont hive is the only one, to my
knowledge, in which bees can be compelled
to make and keep extra Queens for the use
of their owner, without extreme difficulty, as

MANAGING BEES. 35

well as danger, by stings, in attempting the
experiment.

The idea of raising her royal highness, and
elevating and establishing her upon the throne
of a colony, may, by some, be deemed alto-
gether visionary and futile ; but I will assure
the reader, that it is easier done than can be
described. I have both raised them, and sup-
plied destitute swarms repeatedly.

When the drawer containing bees and brood
comb is removed, the bees soon find them-
selves destitute of a female, and immediately
set themselves to work in constructing one or
more royal cells. When completed, which is
commonly within fortv-eight hours, they re-
move a grub (Jarva)JF9m the worker's cell,
place the same in the new-made Queen's cell,
feed it on that kind of food which is designed
only for Queens, and in from eight to sixteen
days they have a perfect Queen.

As soon as the bees have safely deposited
the grub in the new-made reyal cell, the bees
may have their liberty. Their attachment
to their young brood, and their fidelity to their

36 AN EASY METHOD OF

Queen, in any stage of its minority, is such,
that they will never leave nor forsake them,
and will continue all their ordinary labors,
with as much regularity as if they had a per-
fect Queen.

In making Queens in small boxes or draw-
ers, the owner will not be troubled by their
swarming the same season they are made.
There are so few bees in the drawer, they are
unable to guard the nymph Queens, if there
are any, from being destroyed by the oldest,
or the one which escapes from her cell first.

In examining the drawer, in which I raised
an extra Queen, I found not only the Queen,
but two royal cells, one of which was in per-
fect shape ; the other. was mutilated, probably
by the Queen which came out first. Now when
there are so few bees to guard the nymphs, it
y-ould not be very difficult for the oldest Queen
to gain access to the cells, and destroy all thfe
minor Queens in the drawer.

When a drawer is removed to an empty
hive, for the purpose of obtaining an extra
Queen, it should be placed some distance?

MANAGING BEES. 37

from the apiary, the better to prevent its be-
in<j^ robbed by other swarms. When it is some
(Hstance from other colonies, they are not so
likely to learn its comparative strength. There
is but little danger however, of its being rob-
bed, until after the bees are out of danger of
losing their Queen, which generally occurs in
the swarming season.

The Queen is sometimes lost, in conse-
quence of the young brood being too far ad-
vanced at the time of the departure of the old
Queen with her swarm. If the grubs had ad-
vanced very near the dormant or^clirysalis
state, before the bees learnt their necessity for
a Queen, and the old Queen neglected to
leave eggs, wliich is sometimes the case, then
it would be impossible for the bees to change
their nature, and the colony would be lost,
unless supplied with another.

38 AN EASY METHOD OF

RULE VIll.

ON SUPPLYING SWARMS, DESTITUTE OF A
aUEEN, WITH ANOTHER.

Take the drawer from the hive, which was
placed there according to Rule 7, and insert
the same into the chamber of the hive to be
supplied ; observing Rule 6 in the use of the
slides.

REMARKS.

Colonies destitute of a Queen may be sup-
plied with another the moment it is found they
have none ; which is known only by their
actions.

Bees, when deprived of their female sove-
reign, cease their labors ; no polen or bee-
bread is seen on their legs ; no ambition seems
to actuate their movements ; no dead bees are
drawn out ; no deformed bees, in the various
st3(;es of their minority, are extracted, and
dragged out of their cells, and dropped down
about the hivs, as is usual among all healthy
and prosperous colonies*

Colonies that have lost their Queen, when
standing on the bench by the side of other

MANAGING BEES. 39

swarms, will run into the adjoining hive with-
out the least resistance. They will commence
their emigration by running in confused plat-
oons of hundreds, from their habitation to the
next adjoining hive. They immediately wheel
about and run home again, and thus continue,
sometimes for several days, in the greatest
confusion, constantly replenishing their neigh-
bor's hive, by enlarging her colony, and, at
the same time, reducing their own, until there
is not a single occupant left ; and remarkable
as it is, they leave every particle of their
stores for their owner or the depredations of
the moth.

Colonies lose their Queens more frequent-
ly during the swarniing season than any other.
In the summer of 1830, I lost three good
stocks of bees in consequence of their losing
their Queens, one of which was lost soon after
the first swarming — the two others not many
days after the second swarming — all of which
manifested similar actions, and ended in the
same results, which will be more particularly

explained in remarks on Rule 10.
4*

40 AN EASY METHOD OF

The Queen is sometimes lost; when she
goes forth with a swarm, in consequence of
being too feeble to fly with her young colo-
ny ; in which case the bees return to their
parent stock in a few minutes. In fact all oc-
currences of this kind originate in the inabili-
ty of the Queen. If she returns to the old
stock, the swarm will come out again the next
day, if the weather is favorable. If the Queen
is too feeble to return, and the apiarian neg-
lects to look her up, and restore her to her
colony again, (which he ought to do,) the
bees will not swarm again until they have made
another, or are supplied, which may be done
immediately by giving them any spare Queen.
I have done it with €htir^ success, and never
failed in the experiment.

The Queen, when lost in swarming, is ea-
sily found, unless the wind is so strong as to
have blown her a considerable distance. A
few bees are always found with her, which
probably serve as her aids, and greatly assist
the apiarian in spying her out. She is fre-
quently found near the ground, on a spire of

MANAGING BEES. 41

grass, the fence, or any place most convenient
for her to alight, when her strength fails her.
1 once had quite a search for her majesty,
without much apparent success. At the same
time there were flying about me a dozen or
more common workers. At last her royal
highness was discovered, concealed from my
observation in a fold of my shirt sleeve. I then
returned her to her colony, which had already
found their way home to the parent stock.

The Queen may be taken in the hand with-
out danger, for she never stings by design, ex-
cept when conflicting with another Queen ;
and yet she has a stinger at least one third
longer, but more feeble than a worker.

The Queen is known by her peculiar shape,
size, and movements. She differs but little in
color from a worker, and has the same number
of lefrs and winf^s. She is much larger than
any of the bees. Her abdomen is very large
and perfectly round, and is shaped more like
the sugar-loaf, which makes her known to the
observer the moment she is seen. Her wings
and proboscis are short. Her movements are

42 AN EASY METHOD OF

Stately and majestic. She is much less in
size after the season for breeding is over. She
is easily selected from among a swarm, at any
season of the year, by any one who has often
seen her.

RULE IX.

ON MULTIPLYING COLONIES TO ANY DESI-
RABLE EXTENT, WITHOUT THEIR
SWARMING.

This large drawer, No. 1, should always
be used for this purpose. Insert slides, as in
Rule 6, and remove the drawer containing
bees and brood-comb ; place the same In the
chamber of an empty hive ; stop the entran-
ces of both the new and old hives, taking care
to give them air, as in Rule 4. Give clean
water daily, three or four days. Now let the
bees, in both hives, have^heir liberty.

REMARKS.

This operation is both practicable and easy,
and is of prime importance to all cultivators,
who wish to avoid the necessity of hiving them
when they swarm ; and yet it will not prevent
swarming; except in that part of the divided

MANAGING BEES. 43

colony which contains the Queen at the time
of their separation. The other part being
compelled to make another Queen, (and they
generally make two or more) will be likely to
swarm to avoid their battle, as explained in
remarks on Rule 2. The hive containing the
old Queen may swarm for want of room ; but,
at any rate, in performing the operation, it has
saved the trouble of hiving one swarm, and
prevented ail danger of their flight to the
woods.

Multiplying colonies by this rule is a per-
fectly safe method of managing them, admit-
ting they are not allowed to swarm themselves
so low as to leave unoccupied combs, which
will be explained in remarks on Rule 10.

RULE X.

ON PREVENTING THK DRPRKDATIONS OF
THE MOTH.

All such Stocks as are infested with the moth,
will manifest it as soon as warm weather com-
mences in the spring, by dropping some of the

44 AN EASY METHOD OF

vvorms upon the bottom board. Let the api-
arian clean off the bottom board every other
morning ; at the same time strew on a spoon-
iull or two of fresh, pulverized salt.

Immediately after a second swarm has
come forth from a hive, the same season, the
old stock should be examined ; and if swarm-
ing has reduced their numbers so low as to
leave unoccupied combs, the apiarian should
take the Queen from the swarm, and let them
return to the old stock. In case they remain
in a cluster, hive them in a drawer, and return
them immediately.

Third and fourth swarms should always
have their Queens taken from them and the
bees returned to the parent stock.

REMARKS.

" This insect (the moth) is a native of Eu-
rope ; but has found its way into this country,
and naturalized itself here." — Thatcher.

This unwelcome visitor has interested the
attention and called forth all the energies of
the most experienced apiarians of our coun-
try, and of many of the greatest naturalists in
the world. Their movements have been ob-
served and scrutinized by the most learned —
their nature has been studied ; various exper-

MANAGING BEES. " 45

iments have been tried to prevent their dep-
redations ; but after al!, the monster in gaudy
hue marches onward, committing the greatest
havoc and devastation, with but little molesta-
tion. I have lost my wliole stock at least four
times since 180S, as I supposed by the moth.
I tried all the experiments recommended in
this and other countries, that came to my
knowledge ; but after all, I could not prevent
their ravages.

In 1830, I constructed a hive (which has
since been patented) which 1 supposed would
afford all the facilities for manas^ins bees in
every manner that their nature would admit
of, and at the same time render their cultiva-
tion most profitable to their owner. By con-
structing windows of glass, on every side of
the hive, nearly the size of its sides, and dark-
ening them by closing doors on the outside of
the windows, which may be opened at pleas-
ure, I have been able to discover many impor-
tant facts, both in relation to the nature and
economy of the bee, and its enemy the moth ;

46 AN EASY METHOD OF

but, probably, much yet remains to be learn-
ed concerning both.

The moth, when first discovered by the
common observer, is a white worm or mag-
got, with a redish crusted head, and varies in
size according to its livincr. Those which
have full and unmolested access to the con-
tents of a hive, will frequently grow as large
as a turkey-quill, and an inch and a half in
length. Others are scarcely an inch in length
when full grown. They have sixteen short
legs, and taper each way from the centre of
their bodies to their head and exterior or ab-
domen.

The worms, like the silk-worm, wind them-
selves into a cocoon, and pass the dormant
(chrysalis) state of their existence, and in a
few days come out of their silken cases per-
fect winged insects or millers, an^ are soon
ready to deposit their eggs, from which anoth-
er crop will be raised.

The miller, or perfect moth, is of a grayish
color, from three-fourths of an inch to an inch
in length. They usually lie perf.'cily still in

MANAGING BEES. 47

the day lime, with their head downwards, lurk-
ing in and about the apiary. They enter the
hive in the night, and deposit their eggs in
such places as are uncovered, of course un-
guarded by the bees. These eggs hatch in a
short time, varying according to circumstan-
ces, probably from two or three days to four
or five months. At an early stage of their
existence, while yet a small worm, they spin
a web, and construct a silken shroud, or for-
tress, in which they envelope themselves, and
form a sort of path, or gallery, as they pass
onward in their n)arch ; at the same time be-
ing perfectly secure from the bees, in their
silken case, which they widen as they grow
4arger, with an opening in their front only,
near their head, they commit the greatest
havoc and devastation on the eggs,young bees
and all, that come in t^eir way as they pass.

When the moth has arrived to his full state
of maturity, he makes preparation to change
to a miller, by winding into a cocoon, as has
been already explained. The miller is sur-
prisingly quick in all its movements, exceed-

48 AN EASY 3IETH0D OF

ing by far the agility of th6 quickest bee, ei-
ther in flight or on its legs. Hence the enemy
becomes so formidable that the bees are easily
overcome and soon fall a sure prey to him.

Now, in order to remedy the evils of the
moths, and prevent their ravages, and at the
same time aid the bees in their prosperity, and
make them profitable to their owner, I found
it necessary to use a hive differing materially
from the old box, and commenced operations
in the one already referred to, (called the
Vermont hive,) in a course of experiments
which have produced results perfectly satis^
factory. From six years experience in its use,
I have not the least doubt that bees may be
manao-ed to the best advantage, and without
ever being materially injured by the moths.

A bee-hive should be made in a perfect
workmanlike manner, so as to have no open
joints ; the boards should be free from shakes
and cracks, because the bees will make their
tenement perfectly tight, so as to exclude
light and air, by plastering up all such places
as are left open by the workman, with a kind

MANAGING BEES. 49

of mortar, or glue, of their own make, which
is neither honey nor wax, but is very congen-
ial to the growth of worms in the first stages
of their larva state, and being secured from the
bees by the timber, in a short time they are
able to defend themselves by a silken shroud.

Now the miller enters the hive and makes
an incision into the bee-glue, or cement, with
her stinfT, and leaves her e^'^s. These e<i"3
hatch there, and the brood subsist on the glue
until they have arrived so far toward maturity
as to enable them to encase themselves in a
silken shroud ; and then they move onward.

Now unless the bees chance to catch him
by the collar, or nape of his neck, while feed-
ing, and drag him out of his place of conceal-
ment, they will be compelled to cut away the
combs all around his silken path, or gallery,
and drag out the worm and his fortress all to-
gether. At the same time, the bees axe com-
pelled to cut away the combs so far as to de-
stroy many of their young brood in making
room to remove the annoyance. I have known
them to cut away their combs from four to

50 AN EASY METHOD OF

eight or ten inches to remove this silken shroud,
and have known them to cut and drag out
their only remaining Queen before she was
transformed to the perfect fly, which occasion-
ed the entire loss of the whole colony.

Repeated experiments have demonstrated
the fact, that placing bees on the ground, or
high in the air, is no security against the
moths. I have lost some of my best stocks
by placing them on the ground, when those
on the bench were not injured by them. I
have made a groove in the bottom board,
much wider than the thickness of the boards
to the hive, and filled the same with loam : I
then placed the hive on the same, in such a
manner as to prevent any crack or vacancy
for the worms ; and yet in raising the hive
four weeks afterwards, I found them appa-
rently full grown all around the hive in the
dirt. I have found them very plenty in a
tree ninety feet from the ground.

The best method, in common practice, to
prevent the depredations of the moth, is, to
suspend the bottom board so far below the low-

MANAGING BEES. 51

er edge of the hive as to give the bees free
entrance and egress all around the same du-
ring the moth season, or to raise the common
hive, by placing under it little blocks at each
corner, which produces nearly the same ef-
fect. But 1 know of but one rule, which is
an infallible one, to prevent their depredations,
and that is this : keep the combs well guard-
ed by bees. See Rule 10.

Large hives, that never swarm, are never
destroyed by the moth, unless they lose their
Queen, melt down, or meet with some casu-
alty, out of the ordinary course of managing
them. They are not often in the least an-
noyed by them, unless there are bad joints,
cracks, or shakes, so as to afford some lurking
places for the worms. The reason for their
prosperous condjfon is obvious. The stock
of bees are so numerous that their combs are
all kept well guarded during the moth season,
so that no miller can enter and deposit her eggs.

Hives made so small as to swarm, are lia-
ble to reduce their colonies so smaJl as to
leave combs unguarded, especially when they

52 AN EASY METHOD OF

swarm three or four times the same season.
All swarms, after the first, sally forth to avoid
the battle of the Queens ; constantly making
a greater draft, in proportion to the number
left, until the combs are partly exposed, which
dves the miller free access to their edo-es. —
The seeds of rapine and plunder are thus
quickly sown, and soon vegetate, and fortify
themselves by their silken fortress, before the
bees are aware that their frontiers are in-
vaded. While the moths are thus ensjao^ed
in establishing their posts on the frontiers of
the bees, the latter are constantly and indefa-
tigably engaged in providing themselves with
another Queen, to supply the place of the old
one, which has departed with a swarm, and
raising young bees to replenish their reduced
colony. Now as the motl^ have got posses-
sion of the ground on their frontiers, it re-
quires a tremendous effort on the part of the
bees to save their little colony from a com-
plete overthrow.

If late, or second and third swarms are al-
ways returned immediately, according to the

MANAGING BEES. 53

rule, the combs are kept so guarded that the
moths are compelled to keep their distance,
or be stung to death before they can accom-
plish their purposes.

Hives made so large as not to swarm may
lose their Queen, and then they will abandon
their habitation and emigrate into the adjoin-
ing hive, leaving all their stores to their own-
er, which, unless immediately taken care of
the moths will not fail to destroy.

The moths are often complained of wlicn
they are not guilty. Hives are frequently aban-
doned by their occupants, in consequence of
the loss of their Queen, unnoticed by any ob-
server, and before any thing is known of their
fate, the hive is destitute of bees, and filled
with rnoths.

In the sunmier of 1834, one of my neigh-
bors had a very large hive that never swarm-
ed, which lost their Queen ; and in the course
of a few days the bees entirely vacated their
tenement, and emigrated into an adjoining
hive, leaving the whole of their stores, which

amounted to 215 lbs. of honev in the comb.
5

54 AN EASY METHOD OF

No young bees or moths were discovered in
the hive. Instances of this kind frequently
occur, and the true cause is unknown, from
inattention.

The Queen may be superanuated, or may
become diseased in the breeding season, so as
to render ber unfruitful ; or she may die of
old age. In either case, the colony will be
lost, unless supplied with another Queen, as
explained in remarks on Rule 8; for when the
Queen becomes unfruitful by either of the fore-
going causes, the bees are not apprized of the
loss which will in future be sustained by them,
until after the means of repairing the same are
gone beyond their reach. All the grubs may
have passed the various stages of their trans-
formation, or at least advanced so far towards
the perfect insect, that their nature cannot be
changed to a Queen.

The Queen is much more tenacious of life
than any other bee, and may live to a great
age. But one Queen exists in the same hive
any great length of time. When there are
more than one, the peculiar sound of each, as

MANAGING BEES. 55

explained in rennarks on Rule 2, is heard by
the other, wljich always results in a battle be-
tween them, or the issue of a swarm in the
course of a day or two.

Bees, when placed in a dark room in the
upper part of the house, or some out-house,
are easily cultivated a short time with little
trouble, and are sometimes made profitable to
their owner ; but as they are liable to some
of the same casualties as those kept in swarm-
ing hives, they cannot be as profitable.

Large colonies never increase their stock in
proportion to the swarming colonies. There is
but one female in a large colony, and they can
do but little more in raising young bees than
to keep their stock good by replenishing them
as fast as they die off or are destroyed by the
birds, reptiles and insects, which are great ad-
mirers of them, and sometimes swallow them
by dozens. Now if it requires five swarming
colonies to be equal in number to the one first
described, it is not diflicult to imagine that five
times as many bees may be raised by the
5*

AN EASy METHOD OF

swarming colonies : for one Queen will prob-
ably lay as many eggs as another.

The swarming hives are no more liable to
be destroyed by the moth during the swarm-
ing season, than others, if the hives are kept
well replenished with bees according to Rule
10.

RULE XL

ON FEEDING BEES.

If it is found that a swarm need feeding,
hitch on the feeder, w^ell stored with good
honey, while the weather is warm in October.

The apiarian should use the same precau-
tion in feeding, as directed in Rule 4, to pre-
vent robberies.

REMARKS.

The best time to feed is in the fall, before
cold weather commences. All hives should
be weighed, and the weight marked on the
hive before bees are hived in them. Then,
by weighing a stock as soon as frost has killed
the blossoms in the fall, the apiarian will be
able to form, a just estimate of their nece^si-

MANAGING BEES. O i

ties. When bees are fed in the fall, they will
carry up and deposit their food in such a man-
ner as will be convenient for them in the winter.

If feedini^ is neglected until cold weather the
bees must be removed to a warm room, or dry
cellar, and then they will carry up their food,
generally, no faster than they consume it.

A feeder sliould be made like a box with
five sides closed, leaving a part of the sixth
side open, to admit the bees from their com-
mon entrance with its floot level, when hitch-
ed on the front of the hive. It should be of
sufficient depth to lay in broad comb, filled
with honey. If strained honey without combs
is used for feeding, a float, perforated with ma-
ny holes, should be laid over the whole of the
honey in the box, or feeder, so as to prevent
any of the bees from drowning ; and at the
same time, this float should be so thin as to
enable them to reach the honey. It should be
made so small that it will settle down as fast
as the honey is removed by the bees. As soon
as warm weather commences in the spring,
the feeder may be used. Small drawers can-

58 AN EASY METHOD OF

not be depended on as feeders, except in the
spring and summer, unless they are kept so
warm that the vapor of the bees will not freeze
in them. It would be extremely hazardous for
the bees to enter a frosty drawer. They
will sooner starve than attempt the experiment.
Drawers may be used without danger from
robbers, but when the feeder is used, robbers
must be guarded against as directed in Rule 4.

Care should be exercised, in fall-feeding,
to supply them with good honey, otherwise
the colony may be lost before spring by dis-
ease. Poor honey may be given^them in the
spring, at the time when they can obtain and
provide themselves with medicine, which they
only best understand.

Sugar dissolved, or molasses, may be used
in the spring to some advantage, but ought
not to be substituted for honey, when it can
be obtained.

Bees sometimes die of starvation, with plen-
ty of honey in the hive at the same time. In
cold weather they crowd together in a small
compass in order to keep warm ; and then

MANAGING BEES. 59

their breath and vapor collect in frost, in all
parts of the hive, except in the region they
occupy. Now, unless the weather moderates,
so as to thaw the ice, the bees will be com-
pelled to remain where they are located until
their stores are all consumed that are within
their reach. One winter we had cold weath-
er ninety-four days in succession, during
which time the bees could not move from one
part of the hive to another. 1 examined all
my hives on the eighty-third day, and on the
ninetieth day I found four swarms dead. I
immediately examined for the cause, which
was as already stated. 1 then carried all my
hives into a warm room and thawed them, so
that the bees could move. Some hives that
1 supposed were dead, revived ; some few
swarms I found nearly destitute of stores,
which I carried into the cellar, turned them
bottom up, cut out a few of the combs, so as
to make room to lay in combs filled with hon-
ey, which served as good feeders.

^ AN EASY METHOD OF

RULE XII.

ON WINTERING BEES.

On the near approach of winter, as soon as
the bees have receded from the drawers and
gone below, insert a shde, take out the draw-
ers, and supply their places with empty ones,
bottom up. Suspend the bottom board at
least one eighth of an inch below the lower
edge of the hive, and open the ventilator. —
Clean off the bottom board as often as the
weather changes from cold to warm. Close
no doors upon them, unless they are kept in a
spacious room, and in such a place that the
breath and steam of the bees will not freeze.

REMARKS.

Various methods have been practised by
different individuals. Some have buried them
in the ground, others kept them in the cellar,
chamber, &ic. One course only will be ob-
served in this place.

RULE XIIL

ON TRANSFERRING SWARMS.

This operation should never be effected by
compulsion.

MANAGING BEES.

61

First Method. Insert drawer No. I into
the chamber of the hive, to be transferred as
early as the first of May. If the bees fill the
drawer, they will recede from the lower apart-
ment and winter in the drawer. As early in
the spring as the bees carry in bread plentifully
on their legs, remove the drawer, which will
contain the principal part of the bees, to an emp-
ty hive. IN'ow remove the old hive a few feet
in front, and place the new one containing the
drawer where the old one stood. Now turn
the old hive bottom up. If there are any bees
left in the old hive, they will soon return and
take possession of their new habitation.

Second Method. Take drawer No. 1,
well filled by any hive the same season, insert
the same into the chamber of the hive, to be
transferred in September, (August would be
better.) If the bees need transferring, they
will repair to the drawer and make the same
iheir winter quarters. 1 hen proceed in the
spring as directed in the first method.

R K M A R K s.
This management should excite a deep in-
terest in every cultivator, both in a temporal ji'ted
moral point of view. Temporal, because t^ie
lives of all the bees are preserved ; moral, be-

62 AN EASY METHOD OF

cause we are accountable to God for all our
acts. We are not to be justified in taking the
lives of animals or insects, which are but lent
blessings, unless some benefit to the owner can
be derived from their death, which will out-
weigh the evils resulting from such a sacrifice.
Duty compels me to protest in the strongest
terms and feelings, against the inhuman prac-
tice of taking the lives of the most industrious
and comforting insects to the wants of the hu-
man family by fire and brimstone.

When bees have occupied one tenement
for several years, the combs become thick and
filthy, by being filled up with old bread and
cocoons, made by the young bees when trans-
formed from a larva to the perfect fly.

Bees always wind themselves in their cells,
in a silken cocoon, or shroud, to pass their
torpid and defenceless (chrysalis) state. —
These cocoons are very thin, and are never
removed by the bees. They are always clean-

•mmediately after the escape of the young
oees, axid others are raised in the same cells.
Thus a number of bees are raised, which

MANAGING BEES. 63

leaves an additional cocoon as often as the
transformation of one succeeds thai of another,
which often occurs in the course of the season.
Now in the course of a few years the cells be-
conne so contracted, in consequence of being
thus filled up, that the bees come forth but
mere dwarfs and sometimes cease to swarm.
Combs are rendered useless by being filled up
with old bread, which is never used except
ibr feeding young bees. A greater quantity
of this bread is stored up yearly than is used
by them, and in a few years they have but
little room to perform their ordinary labors. —
Hence the necessity of transferring them, or
the inhuman sentence of death must be passed
upon them, not by being hung by the neck
until they are dead, but by being tortured to
death by fire and brimstone.

It is obvious to every cultivator that old
stocks should be transferred. I have repeat-
edly transferred them in the most approved
manner, by means of an apparatus constructed
for that purpose ; but the operation always re-
sulted in the loss of the colony afterwards, or

64 AN EAST METHOD OF

a swarm which would have come from them.
When it is necessary to transfer a swarm,
insert drawer No. 1 into their chamber in the
spring, say the first of May. If they fill the
draw^er, let it remain there ; if they need to be
changed to a new hive, they will recede from
the lower apartment and make the drawer
their winter quarters, which should remain un-
til warm weather has so far advanced as to af-
ford them bread. Then they may be remo-
ved to an empty hive, as directed in the Rule.
Now the drawer contains no bread, and should
remain in the old stock until the bees can pro-
vide themselves with a sufficient quantity of
that article to feed their young bees with ; for
bread is not collected early enough and in suf-
ficient quantities to feed their young as much
as nature requires. If the bees fail in filling
the drawer, one should be used that is filled
by another swarm.

MANAGING BEES. 65

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The reader might have expected many
things demonstrated in this work, which are
omitted hy design.

The structure of the worker is loo well
understood by every owner of bees to need a
particular description. So also of the drone ;
and the Queen has already been sufficiently
described to enable any one to select her out
from among her subjects. If any further de-
scription is desired, the observer can easily
satisfy himself by the use of a microscope. —
Every swarm of bees is composed of three
classes or sorts, to wit : one Queen or female,
drones or males, and neuters or workers. The
Queen is the only female in the hive, and lays
all the eggs from which all the young bees
are raised to replenish their colony. She pos-
sesses no authority over them, other than that
of influence, which is derived from the fact
that she is the mother of all the bees ; and
they, being endowed with knowledge of the
fact that they are wholly dependent on her to
propagate their species, treat her with the
greatest kindness, tenderness and reverence,

66 AN EASY METHOD OF

and manifest at all times the most sincere at-
tachment to her by feeding and guarding her
from all danger.

The government of a hive is nearer repub-
lican than any other, because it is administer-
ed in exact accordance with their nature. It
is their peculiar natural instinct, which prompts
them in all their actions. The Queen has no
more to do with the government ot the hive
than the other bees, unless influence may be
called government. If she finds empty cells
in the hive, during the breeding season, she
will deposit eggs there, because it is her na-
ture ta do so ; and the nature of the workers
prompts them so take care and nurse all the
young larvcR, labor and collect food for their
sustenance, guard and protect their habitations,
and do and perform all things, in due obedi-
ence, not to the commands of the Queen, but
to their own peculiar instinct.

The drone is probably the male bee, not-
withstanding the sexual union has never been
witnessed by any man ; yet so many experi-
ments have been tried, and observations
made, that but little doubt can be entertained
of its truth. That the sexual intercourse
takes place high in the air, is highly proba-
ble from the fact, that other insects of the
fly tribe do copulate in the air, when on the

MANAGING BEES.

6",

wing, as 1 have repeatedly seen. That the
drone is the male bee, is probable from the
fact that the drones are not all killed at once ;
but at least one in each hive is permitted
to live several months after the general mas-
sacre.

1 examined four swarms, whose colonies
were strong and numerous, three months
after the general massacre of the drones, and
in three hives 1 found one drone each ; the
other was probably overlooked, as the bees
were thrown into the fire as fast as they were
examined. But there are many mysterious
things concerning them, and much might be
written to little purpose ; and as it is design-
ed to go no further in illustrations than is ne-
cessary to aid the apiarian in good manage-
ment, many little speculations have been en-
tirely omitted in the work, and the reader is
referred to the writings of Thatcher, Bon-
ner, and Huber, who are the most volumi-
nous and extensive writers on bees within my
knowledge.

Bees are creatures of habit, and the exer-
cise of caution in managing them is required.
A stock of bees should be placed where they
are to stand through the season before they
form habits of location, which will take place
soon after they commence their labors in the

l>8

AN EASY METHOD OF

spring. They learn their home by the ob-
jects surrounding them in the immediate vi-
cinity of the hive. Moving them, (unless
they are carried beyond their knowledge,)
is often fatal to them. The old bees forget
their new location, and on their return, when
collecting stores, they haze about where they
formerly stood, and perish. I have known
some fine stocks ruined by moving them six
feet and from that to a mile and a half. It
is better to mov-e them before swarming than
afterwards. The old bees only will be lost.
As the young ones are constantly hatch-
ing, their habits will be formed at the new
stand, and the combs will not be as like-
ly to become vacated, so as to afford op-
portunity to the moths to occupy any part of
their ground.

Swarms, when first hived, may be moved
at pleasure without loss of bees, admitting
they are all in the hive ; their habits will be
formed in exact proportion to their labors. —
The first bee that empties his sack and goes
forth in search of food, is the one whose hab-
its are first established. I have observed
many bees to cluster near the place where
the hive stood, but a few hours after hiving,
and perish. Now if the swarm had been
placed in the apiary, immediately after they

MANAGING BEES. 69

were hived, the number of bees found there
would have been less.

Bees may be moved at pleasure a^ any
season of the year, if tlicy are carried several
miles, so as to be beyond their knowledge
of country. They may be carried long jour-
neys by travelling nii^d its only, and affording
them opportunity to labor and collect food in
the day time.

The importance of this part of bee-man-
agement is the only apology I can make for
dwelling so long on this point. I have known
many to suffer serious losses in consequence
of moving their bees after they were well set-
tled in their labors. ^

Bees should nevei^e irritated, under any
pretence whatever. They should be treated
with attention and kindness. They should be
kept undisturbed by cattle and all other an-
noyances, so that they may be approached at
any time with safety.

An apiary should be so situated, that swarm-
ing may be observed, and at the same time
where the bees can obtain food easily, and in
the greatest abundance.

It has been a general practice to front bee-
houses either to the east or south. This doc-
trine should be exploded with all other whims.

70 AN EASY METHOD OP

Apiaries should be so situated as to be con-
venient.-to their owner, as much as any other
buildii^ilgs.

I have them front towards all the cardinal
points, but can distinguish no difference in
their prosperity.

Young swarms should be scattered as much
as convenient during tlie summer season, at
least eight feet apart. They should be set in
a frame and so covered as to exclude the sun
and weather from the hive.

It is not surprising that this branch of ru-
ral economy, in consequence of the depreda-
tions of the moth, is so much neglected. —
Notwithstanding, in so^^ parts of our coun-
try, the business of managing bees has been
entirely abandoned for years, I am confident
they may be cultivated in such a manner as
to render them more profitable to their own-
ers, than any branch of agriculture, in pro-
portion to the capital necessary to be invest-
ed in their stock. They are not taxable
property, neither does it require a large land
investment, nor fences ; neither does it re-
quire the owner to labor through the sum-
mer to support them through the winter. —
Care is, indeed, necessary, but a child, or
a superanuated person can perform most of

ihe duties of
must be kept a
cinity of the hiv
removed.

The nianagem
employment, and
best success in cii
towns and country,
amusement, as \v<
They collect hont
kinds of forest tree
ers, orchards, fores^
bute to their wants,
fied with a taste of
nonett cannot be \oM
This plant is easil)^
garden, and is one c
flowers in the world fr
can extract its food.

The Vermont hive
use to much advantag
there are some other i
are far superior to the o
mer of 1834, I receiver
tra honey from my best si
and from my poorest, fifte-
early swarms afforded extra
was sold, amounting to from

ate swarms which
icient quantity of
:gh the following

ng work, perhaps,

instances, too par-

, they will be found

in their application,

ns, such as are inci-

000 002 557

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w

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