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THE
BEE-MASTER’s COMPANION, |
AND 4
eS. ST SURCAN
Wherein is fet forth the propereft Methods of mana
ging thofe Infects, fo’as they may turn out to the
be.. Advantage. Shewing an effectual Way to pre-
ferve them from Famine, Cold, Robbers, Mice, or
other Enemies: alfo how to make all your Hives e-
qual in Bees, fo as never to have any weak Hive;
with an Account of the Power the working Bees are
imvefted with, of raifing any Fgg in the Hive to be
a Queen, when the Community ftands in Need.of
ne “hes
By JAMES BONNER,
Bee-Mafter, Auchencrow, near Berwick upon Tweed ;
. Author of Practical Warping made Eafy:
lg
Lam come to bring them into a goed land, a land flowe
ing with milk and honey.
. He fpake alfa of beafts, and of fowls, and of creeping
things, and of fifoes. | ANCIENT HISTORY.
:
ant ae en
- * 3 er i :
‘ me
y :
.
/
SEIN TY. alge RR AAR Rae teks SL
Printed by J. Taylor, for the Author; and fold by hints —
and Mr. Nefbitt, Bookfeller, Berwick; and:
~~ Mr, Nealfon, Bookfeller, Haddington.
MDCCLXXXIX.
¥
nif te
tes rahi: ral ony
pate ays vy
eben eens ae he
Tr ©.
ALEXANDER RENTON,
OF LAMBERTON, EG;
~
ss
Fix IS Treatife is mof humbly dedicated as. a Tef:
tinony of Thanks and Gratitude, for bis en
eouraging the Publication of this Work ; and other |
‘Favours received from ims
By bis |
moft humble Servant,
JAMES BONNER,
ie eae
ro) aay)
ia ee
Be cn :
;) eee ay
RL ae
et
> e Ng
PR EF A Ce.
-
T HE writer of the following pages has been’
almoft from. his infancy an admirer of
bees. When a boy at fehool learning to read,
he ufed-to read with delight the promufes made
to the children of J/rael concerning the land
of Canaan; efpecially when it was faid' to be a
geod land, aland flowing withmilk and honey..
When appointed by his father to watcli bis bees:
in {warming time, he efteemed it a happy em-.
‘ployment, and thought he was in a kind of pa:
-radife whe: running among the_bufhes and fee
ing the bees fwarm. When very young he por.
4
\
‘ehafed three hives, and ever finee has hed wv
pretty large ftock,. and taken: particule? deligtit
in ftudying and working about them for near
twenty years paft; im which time he: has. pe-
zafed: all the sarthors: im the Fngli/is langua age he:
could come at, and: tried rauliitudes of expe>:
rimeits upon thera ts
-He is alfo very fenfthj< that tieve: age a creat
many, treatifes on: bees dready, and that: they:
contain a good many weful obletvatie ns and:
dire@ions; but he is elfo tertain that they are:
defective and even erroneous in many peintss.
and that- the culture of bees in’ this country.
has never arrived. to near that degree of per
Bea - feetion:.
vi Tae PR ae eC a
fection they might, in cafe they were properly
underftood and reduced into praétice. Were
we to confider the vaft millions of melliferous —
flowers which perfume the air in the honey fea-
fon, particularly the white clover, which juftly —
bears the major part in many of our pafture
lands; and the mutftard of all kinds which is —
interfperfed among our corn fields, together —
with the vaft quantity of flowers in large hea-
ther.muirs. It may juftly be faid, how large
and good is our pafture, and where are our,
flocks to feed on them. i)
Bees are well worth our care and attention,
for their honey and wax is beneficial to the
health of man. ‘Their wax alfo is now become .
the greateft fupply of light in polite-affembties, ©
_»and thereby is become a confiderable article in’
commerce, Bees when properly managed, bring
_» to their owner yearly a confiderable profit, and
that without either rent or tax, and with little at-
" tendance. - (i
._ The culture of bees, fays one, is a branch of -
rural ceeccnomy, the more valuable as itis with-.
_ in the reach of the poore{t cottager; it requires.
mot plowing, manure, cattle, nor rich meadows.
“The whole that is wanted is an attendance which
anay be given by the meaneft, and that but for
a fhort time, in this refpe&t it is really reaping —
without fowing. : ; “i
Certain it is, if bees were properly managed |
in this country, for every hive we have we might —
eafily havea fcore.” The principle reafon hives ©
are io thin and far between in this land, is the —
want of a proper knowledge.of them; particus —
larly Bee-matters in fetting afide their —
they
‘=
PRE PREP ACR. vi
they often keep fuch hives for them that have
neither a fufficiency of héney nor bees to pre-
ferve them: from cold, robbers, and famine till
June ; and it their hives fall a prey to thefe ene-
mies, as too often they do, they draw a wrong:
inference, and conclude that bees will not thrive:
with them, and the owners immediately confider
if they have fallen out with fome wrinkly browed
old woman, or fufpect they are not.in good blood
with witches and fairies, being loth to impute
their lofs to their want of management; they
cannot endure that aflertion of Cardinal Richlieu,
that imprudent and unfortunate are two words
reprefenting the fame thing: ‘therefore they fay,
that at beft they are but precarious goods, and
often never try them more; whereas the alone
canfe of their ml luck was their own bad ma-
nagement in keeping bad ftalls. Again if a
hive of bees takes any. dis-thriving in winter, _
{pring, or fummer, they can do nothing to make.
her thrive again; but if they -will take the di-
rections in this book, they will fee in page 22,
23, 85, how eafily they may be made to thrive
| again. , ee ! ?
Our feafons being very precarious in this.
te ©
‘country, thereby many of our fwarms in fome
fummers cannot lay up zs much. provifion as
will fupply them till the return of the next fum-
mer; but it feldom happeus that a Bee-mafter
cannot feleét as many good Inves out of his own
apiary as will fupply him for (ails. For ex.
ample, fuppofing in one parifh teere are ten
Bee-matfters, each of whom keeps ¢hrée ftall
thives in September, which are thirty ftalig in all:
the next fummer happens to bea remarkable
bad
_
a ~~
—
m
vii EBHE PRE ACE:
bad one, much cold and rainy weather, fo that
of all the thirty ftalls there will be few fwarms.;
and the whole ten Bee-mafters one with anothet
can only fet ,afide thirty ftalls again, by which
their ftock will be nothing increafed.. However
they probably will have got fome light hives,
which will perhaps recompenfe them for thew
Jabour, and by which sae will {till be no lofers.
as they paid no rert. |
‘The next fummer goes on the other happy
extreme, and is very warm with foft fhowers
- now and then, and the thirty ftalls with their
fwarms in har velt are perhaps inecreafed to about.
feventy, fixty of which are fit for ftalls; but
taking our fummers at.an average, a good ftall
will {warm once, and be good herfelf ftill; and
if you {moke. one of them tor your ufe, fhe ax rill
shave 20 |b. of honey, which is no {mall gain to.
a got with fo little trouble and almoft NO eX-—
ce.
In order to make as much of bect as we can, .
I would advife that in every village there ihould —
be at leaft twenty ftalls, and in every ftead fix,
' and where there js a large didance between vile 4
lages, fix hives may be_fet within a quarter of aii
‘mile from one:another, ay directed in page 73.4 _
. From abl which we say fee how ealily OUF
number of bee hives,imay be mcreafed in this
country. . ; .
» It may.alfo be 5 ferved. that w aie honey bees j
collect fron flovrers, do not injure them; there-
fore it may betaid to be x money made out of no- —
thing. ; j
SH “the dire€tions given in the following pages | '
are properly taken and pragtifed, it is hoped thet j
the
THE PREF ACE 1%
“he increafe of bee hives and honey in this
country will be more extenfive than formerly,
nd that every Briton may be fupplied with the
honey colleéted from the flowers of his own
farm or neighbourhood, which will agree better
with his conflitution, than that which requires
his cafh to bring from foreign countries, fome
of which is {carcely palatable.
_ The author fiot having the advantage of a
grammatical education, hopes the candid reader
will overlook miftakes of that kind, and any
inaccuracies of language. .
THE
THE
|
CONTENTS.
> hl bo galt w | Page
Chap. I. Of the pleafure and profit that at-
-. | tend the keeping of Bees. i
Chap. II, Shewing who may keep Bees,
and the principal flowers Bees feed on. 4
Chap. III. Of honey dews. ~ 6
Chap. IV. The knowledge of Bees, necef- ,
_ fary to a proper management of them. Fo
Chap. V. General obfervations on thena-
ture and properti@sof Bees... r2
Chap. VI. The hiftory of the Queen Bee. 23
Chap. VII. The hiftory of the Drone Bee. 50,
|. Chap. VHI. The hiftory of the Working
Bee : | 64
Chap. IX. Of the fting of a Bee. 67
Chap. &. Of the ‘Apiary. 72
Chap. XI. How to chufe Stalkhives in
_ September. | we
Chap. XII. How to preferve Bee-bives in .
Winter. - 79:
Chap. XII. Of the purgings incident to. _
Bees in winter. eee 7
Chap. XIV. Of candied honey. 103"
_ Chap. XV. The hiftory of anuncautious
“man’s bees. ~ 105
a
CO 8 Pub WaT 8.
x1 ‘
sail eit? sak se
chap. XVI. Of feeding Bees, or the Beee
mafter’s laft fhift. | FIO
shap. X VIL. Of the wars and robberies of
Bees; with directions how to prevent
them from being robbed. — 118
thap. XVUI. An uncommon difafter, |
which fometimes, though rarely, hap-
_ pens Bees. 130
chap. XIX. Dire&ions how to manage “s
Bees in March, April, and May. | a koe
thap. XX. Of the {warming of Bees. 1.56
thap. XXI. How to take honey out of ~ |
hives in fummer without deftroying the _
Bees. . prep | Z 207,
hap. XXII. Arguments againft uniting’ <”
Bees for ftalls. > | As ae
hap. XXIII. Of killing Bees, and fepa-
rating the honey and wax. ~ 218
hap. XXIV. Of Bees’ enemies, and
how to manage them. } 223
ER.
eM Re a a oD ey
Page 51. l. 9. for Drones read Bees. _
Page 73. 1, 11. after Mr. read Stephene
Ditto 1. 27. for twenty read two.
Page 106. in the note, after ftalls read except
the three that were 30 Ib. wt.
Page 155. l. 30. for 100 read 1000.
. Fi «>. ¢ ‘
- es * a
aE oy 2 4a Ny f "hy
' ) cn oS, 3 ad ,? bs
i é y ¢
A f \ ‘ z y ,
v
3EE-MASTER’s COMPANION,
Shi a | AND ‘ae aoe | _
tet: am a lr ay 2 fbi FAD
US ss Ge AR SRA ee oo ace
\P THE PLEASURE AND PROFIT THAT ATTEND
: THE KEEPING OF BEES: mest
~
EES, thofe emblems of virtue, have been
the ftudy and delight of wife men, and
ave employed the ableft pens in many nations,
nd in different ages, . |
We find, in the facred wfftings, the land of
Yanaan fpoken of as a good land; ‘and as a
roof of its being fo, it is faid, it wasa land |
owing with milk and honey. : |
Among the ancients, Ariftomachus. contem-
Jated them for the fpace of fifty-eight years,
nd Philifcus retired into woods, that he might
ave more convenient opportunities of obferve- _
ig them: Ariftotle, Virgil, Pliny, and Xencphon’
rote upon them. Among the moderns, I fhalt
ft only mention Purchas, Royfden, Geddies ©
‘utler, Warder, Bradley, Thorly, Thomas and
) B . Daniel
~
2 Pleafure and Profi of keeping Bees. A
Daniel Wildman, Stephen and William White, and
Keys, all Englifbmen, and -Robert Maxwell, a
Scotchman, allot whom have publifhed treatifes on
them; the moft part of which have appeared
within this century: and they have given many -
direGtions how to manage Bees, according to
the knowledge they had arrived at about them.
But the knowledge of Bees, as well as of other
things, arrives by degrees;.and may be truly -
faid to be yet but ina ftate of infancy, as ap-.
.. pears by the many erroneous points taught by
thofe who have wrote on that fubject: notwith-_
ftanding their boafted knowledge and large pro- _
mifes in their title pages, as'a Complete Guide
for the Management of Bees, &c. they-have all.
been ftrangely mifled in their opinion about the
-generation of Bees, in aflerting that the Queen
lays three different kinds of eggs, wiz. one kind -
to be a Queen Bee, another to be working Bees, —
and a third to be Drones; which is a miftake, .
_ as fhall be made appear in the following fheets.
"We fhall begin with the pleafure and profit’
‘that attend keeping Bees, which are the only”
motives to excite Tational creatures to engage
inany bufinefs. | Vise ke
‘What is pleafanter than to fee a hive of Bees”
in fpring, when the days begin to lengthen,
and froft and fnow, like birds of darknefs, can
_mot bear the fun? Then thefe induftrious crag
tures begin to fly about, and dance and fing, re-
joicing at the return of the feafon: then they!
reform what is amifs in the hive, and as their”
family is increafing, they omit.no opportunity”
of gathering in frefhprovifion for their increafe-
ing young. How delightfome to fee them:hurs
tee “i "tying
“
~
Pleafure and Profit of keeping Bees. 3
rying in their yellow loads, in fummer! In the
honey-feafon, how diligent to lay up provifion
for the returning winter! View them in this
clover-field, and yonder flowery mead, fee how
throng they work, and hear how {weet they fing!
“itis very pleafant to fee a fwarm of Bees flying
in the air, and afterwards forming a young co-
Tony on_a bufh, and Barnes their maiter’s
Stock: and-even in harveft and winter, in fine
days they make a melodious found..
Becs, when properly managed, are very pra-
-fitable, which adds greatly to the pleafure of the
poor,as they are rent and tax free. In good years.
one hive will throw two fwarms, in middling
years one, and in bad years perhaps fome will
{warm none at all; but I fhall juft eftimate by
moderate years, and allow each hive, one with
another, to fwarm only once, which value at fif-
teen fhillings, twenty ftalls will yield their maf
ter fifteen pounds yearly ;—no {mall fum to be
got with fo much pleafure, and little toil: "they
will yield that much, although one or two fhould -
die in. winter. None needothink my eftimate
too high; if their ftalls be good, they will have
that much cne year with another. In fummer,
1787, many a one made thirty, and fome forty —
PRES of one fingle ftall; and laft year 1 fold-
a hive toa neighbour of mine in March, and L
ee him have five hives out of her in Auguft,
and he has KEP E four of them for falls, 3
Baas CRAP
4 Of Pofturage and Bee-Flowers.
/
mh
, -_~ ~~
——-—
ee oe Ps
SHE WING WHO MAY KEEP BEES, AND THE PRIN-
CIPAL FLOWERS BEES FEED ON.
—— +
E ADER, whoever you are, if by the a-
bove chapter you are now inclined to be-
come a Beé-mafter, you will perhaps want to be
informed if fuch as you can: have an opportus
nity to keep Bees, and have pafture for them.
I anfwer, if you have any property of ‘your
own, or can make intereft with any friend
or acquaintance, to fet a hive in; and can onl
{pare fifteen fhillings or fo, to purchafe a hive at
firft, all is anfwered; for by the laws of this
land, all pafture, however good, is common to
every man’s Bees: and Mortimer obferves,
“That there is no fruit nor flower, no wood
* nor foreft, mo hill nor dale, no fruitful nor
* unfruitful foil, but what affords them matter
* to work upon * ;’’ and indeed all parts where-
ever I was, I have feen heavy thriving hives ¢
- Bees in town and country. It is hoped none
will underftand me in fuch a light, as if I'meant ;
all parts were alike good for Bees to thrive in; —
very far from it: for although they will do
well in all ypaltures, and» fly far for food, yet~
they will thrive far better when they are in the
midit of good palture, and fet in a good flance ;
* Art of Hufbandry, p. 191.
.
:
;
.
q
which :
§
q
_. Of Pafturage and Bee-Flowers *
which leads us forward to fhew what is good
-pafture for Bees. |
Experience has taught.us that Bees are very
fond of fallows, goofeberry-bufhes, whins, kail,
‘er corworts of all kinds, turnips, broom, and
plane-tree, all flowering before the middle of
~May: in-Sune comes the garden-muftard,
wild-muftard, runches, and white-clover, all of
them excellent for Bees to work on, and alfo
laft till harveft: in the end of fummer, and be- ~
ginning of harveft, are rag-weed, heath, flax,
hemp, anda great many flowers in late mea-
dow-grounds; but the principal of all thefe
flowers for honey, are the muftard, runches,
wwhite-clover, and heath; off any of which, if a
food hive be near them fourteen fine days,.
the will fill herfelf full of honey and wax.
_..There is a great variety of other flowers
which bees work on, fuch as fnow-drops,
“hazel, crocufes, ofiers, primrofes, violets, dai-
fies, pinks, lilies, poppies, beans, andvall kinds of
fruit-trees, fitches, elders, afh, yellow-gowins of
all kinds, thiftles, dock, alders; in fhort, I know
no flower they will refufe when fhey cannot do’
‘better, but when a choice is denied them, like
the poor among mankind, they chearfully feed
‘on a coarfer diet; but give them their own |
choice, and they will let you know how little
they efteem gaudy trifles, when put in balance
“with things that are folid and good; for they
will fkim over our finelt gardens and beautifullett
flowers; (as below their notice} and dart eagerly:
upon their beloved ‘runches, clover, and heath.
~
Big. sick Oi ALP.
¢
a ae
we
oa Bay Be
OF HONEY DEWS.
is | a
7 HAT the honey dew is, is difputed a-
*; mong the learned. According to the an-
cients,.it was an efllux-of air, a dew which fell
upon. flowers. The moderns fay, it is rather:a
perfpiration of the fineft particles of the fap in
_ plants, which evaporating through the pores,af-
terwards condenfe upon the flowers *.
I fhall give Mr. Key’s account of it in his
own words, which feems to be pretty fair, and
is as follows:
‘© The honey dew is not a Raid depofited by
*« the air on the leaves of plants,-as is generally
re fuppofed ; for then, like other dews or fogs,
86 it would fall on, ofan adhere to, all forts of
¢¢ plants indifcriminately, whereas, it is found
* only on Ak particular plants; and on them
but partial lily, for the young leaves afford.
none. c
“© The oak, maple, fycamiore, hazel, and
S¢-bramble, are, as far as, I can find, the only
_ plants on which it is found. Neither 1s: it ai
| ‘ covered, like other dews, early in the morn+
Te but fome hours after the: fun has. fhone:
. © with its greatelt fplendor, that is about ten:
or eleven o’clock;. and. continues, more or:
| - | “ic OL FeWER
lio Nature Delineated ; pe 190. -
Of Homey Bee
“* fewer hours, in proportion to that fplendor.
“¢ For cloudy dull days are incom ipatible with
s¢ honey dews. . This fubftanceis as tran{parent.
<< and as {weet as honey, and is, in faG, perfe®
Sehanev, attracted through the pores of ‘the
es Sr
« leaves, by a pecuuar Moiee y hat: apauticuacdy
“¢ when’ reflected’ through clouds. “ Sometimes
%“<¢ it is found on the leaves in the form of Httle
‘«¢ drops or globules. But at other times, being
** more diluted by. the greater moifture of
“<< the atmofphere, it covers the leaves, as
“* though they were fpread with a fine fyrup. ’
> eT he time in which thefe honey dews are gé-
“ nerally. found, is from the beginning of june
‘to the middle of July. But it will vary ih
‘proportion as the weather is’ wet lor dry ;
‘¢-which will occafion them to’ be either foonér-
‘or later. The hotte({t and drieft fummers,
¢ produce the largeft and moft- frequent honey
“s* dews. In cold and wet feafons, few or note
'€¢ of them-are to be feen. When the year is ©
backward in its’ fruit, it betokens that ‘the.
*¢ honey dews will be Dees alfo; fometimes, € even :
{9 late as the middle of parvett.
<< Burler has a remarkable obfervation upon:
“this fubject: Honey dews, he fays, were in'the
$year 1617 produced two months: after the u--
< fualtime. ‘There having been along conti-
“© nuance of wet weather, no honey dews ‘were.
“found until the latter end of Auguft; ‘which
“** proved exceedingly hot. | But the quantities -
“were. fmall: and of ‘little fervice. For the
* ftocks when taken, proved light: ‘and- moft.
‘*¢ of the flocks and fwarms that were kept,
“a * died for want, before the. end of winter; ex-
Ps cepting
'
ar
oP
& <
a
ee
és
Of Honey Dews. -
‘cepting. only in the heath countriss ; where
the. heath being then in full flower, afforded
the Bees that plenty of honey. which could
not be obtained from the honey dews.
** Whenever a honey dew is found, the Bees
are fo cxtremely eager to fetch it, that they
quit all other work, that their returns may be
‘ the quicker and more numerous; and left a
gloomy change fhould deprive them of the
precious prize. No harveftfwain, dreading.
| impending {torms, can be more anxious, or
expeditious, in haftening the houfing of his’
crops, than thefe aerial tribes in this their de-
lighttul office ; fo much fo, that thronging in.
too great numbers at the door-way, they joftle
and. tumble each other down. And f{mart-
ing woe to thofe who fhall thoughtlefsly ftand
in their way at this important crifis! Their
joy on thefe occafions, is exprefled in fuch
inceflant and loud notes, as to be heard at a
‘great diftance. By thefe tokens it may be
‘ knowm there isa honey dew, without feeing.
the.trees from which they gather it.
“¢ The Bees. of fuch apiaties as are far diftant’
from thofe plants that produce honey -dews,.
‘cannot collect near, the quantity that thofe:
can that are near. Gardens in. particular,
feldom furnith plants of this fort, aan
“| A very. furprifing fource of honey was ob-
ferved by the Abbé Bofferin France. This:
he tells us, the Bees collected from the excre-
ment of a fmall inic€: called. a: Pueeron, vul-
-garly a loufe, infefting the bark of fome. par--
ticular trees; fuchas ho!m:oak and the lime.
In the middle of fummer. they furnifh the
_ © mo
‘
~
hee Of Honey Dews. 9
*¢ moft of this excrementitious fweet: in the |
** autumn (though that is the time the Bees .
*¢ have moft need of it) but little, and of infe-
“ rior quality to honey gathered from flowers.
“As I was ignorant whether any thing of
*¢ this kind had ever been noticed in England,
“© and as there are both oak and lime trees on
** my premiffes, I have from year to year, very
* attentively obferved them; but could never
“* perceive any fuch appearances as def¢ribed
“by the Abbé; I mutt therefore leave -this
*‘ matter to be afcertained by fome one who
“‘ fhall be more fuccefsfully inquifitive.”
‘” Thave feen Bees carry honey dew from plane- ©
tree, though very rare. An acquaintance of mine _
informed me, that-he has feen'Bees on oak-trees,
working very faft, and ants at the fame time
creeping all over the.tree, and eating the honey-
dew as faft as the Bees; which agrees nearly
with the Abbé Bofier’s account of it in France™.
Some -writers believe, that when’ the liquor
which the Bees collect, bas been for fome-time
in their {tomachs, it comes from thence changed
into true honey; the liquor having been there
properly digefted, and rendered thicker than
when it entered. Others are of opinion, that
the’ Bee makes no alteration in the honey,» but
calleéts* this delicious fyrup jufk as nature pro-
duces it, and firft fills her bag, and then. dif-
charges it into the magazine: which laft is the
truth,.as I know for fact, by my own experi-
ment; for I have often’ taken a Bee’ from the
flower fhe was gathering on, and pulled her
| ee yA he afunder,.
_ ®* Wildman’s account of Bees, p. 80, &c.
10. Knowledge. necefary in managing Bees.
afunder, to fatisfy myfelf on that point, (althou
with the greateft relu€tance) and found th
fineft blab of honey in her bladder, as large ai
a pea, exactly the tafte.of the fineft honey.
and alfo the colour of the honey which tha
flower produced. I have catched. them o
runches and clover, and the honey in. thei
bellies was white honey.; thofe I catched .o
heath, their honey was high-coloured, exact)
the tafte and colour of heather-honey; befides
it is no time in their bellies, for as-feon as the
are loaded, they hurry home, and pour it into
their cells. peg) tlk: Tae eet
"One thing obfervable is, that/ whatever
flower a Bee lights on firft, the always con.
tinues to work upon the fame kind of flowers,
till fheis loaded, although fhe fhould be obliged
to fly over better kinds of flowers, and even to
fome diftance: butas there is no, general rule
without exception, if they cannot do better,
they will make up their load of fome other
shure, ts 4. vag! 1
¥
——
> = ; vk
aes hp CoH tA HRs I .
“THE KNOWLEDGE OF BEES, NECESSARY TIO A
: PROPER MANAGEMENT OF THEM. .
a
, ~
T is necefiary that every one who commences.
Bee-mafter, fhould have fome degree of
knowledge about them; owing to the want of
» which many one lofe their Bees entirely; and
then they will.tell us, it is dot every one Bee
| aes ‘= will
—
_ Knowledge necefary in managing Bees. “11
will thrive with; which in fome fenfe is true, for
they will not thrive with thofe that underftand
them not, neither ‘will take a moderate care a-
bout them ; 3; no more than good corn can be
expected to grow, if the farmer knows not how
to labour his ground, and minds not whether’
his feed be good-or bad.
_ I faid, fome degree of knowledge about them,
‘S it cannot be expected that every one who
may have Bees, can underftand them perfedlly 5,
as none ever will, unlefs by good iniormation,
great ftudy, and long experience. And | have.
often thought that the only method to learn to
manage Bees, is juft the fame way we take to
learn any other thing eafieft, and that is by fee-
ing it done, for example is eafier than precept ;
out as yet that is not the way of learning the
management of them in this land; perhaps it
may be fo in times to come, if ever Bees be
improved in fuch a manner as they might and
ought tobe. ~
Therefore I fhall mention fome of their na-
ture and properties, and point out their difeafes
and’ enemies, and thew how to guard again{t
what is prejudicial to them, and -inftruct to
manage them fo as to turn out to good account;
pein direGtions how to order themin a plain,
afe, and eafy manner, which may be prattifed
by new beginners, and thofe who may, not be
fit to venture-on higher projects. sit |
_ I fhall alfo give divasiaine to thofe who are ar-
rived at fome perfection in the managing of.
them, and fhewthem various methods, which are
highly Pens when performed in a right
mens. only | give this caution by way of
a! preliminarys
, al SR ee ee
12 Nature and-Properties of Béess. —
preliminary, that people muft beware of bein
too rafh in-trying {chemes about them, till the
_underftand, and can. handle: them middling
well, left they make the cure worfle than th
difeafe, and find to their fmart that every onei
not fit to bea Bee-mafter; for I fpeak it by ex
‘perience, that although I fpared no expence t
get myfelf properly informed about thein, yet
hurt many of my hives in my firft attempts i
trying experiments; but now I have arrived,at
that degree of managing them, that I have no
no bad hives at-all; for whenever they take an
dis-thriving whatever, I immediately put the:
to rights, and make them thrive again: th
way I do will be taught in its proper place.
Ge. Ths toh OB Ws
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON’ THE NATURE AND
* PROPERTIES OF BEES, EY
ve) : , ” Ps r
: W i fhall xe Fora iee takes a view of their
~ nature and properties in general: Almoft
every one knows that there are three different
kinds of Bees in every hive, viz. the Queen Bee,
commonly fo called, the working Bee, and the
Drone. Certain it is that Bees were created at
firft along with other creatures, and that from
them all the Bees that ever exifted have fprung, —
(whatever whimfical frolic might enter into Vir-
gil’s head to the contrary, who alledges, by cer-_
tain metheds ufed, they will {pring from the cor-
ruption of other creatures.) ~
-. Bees
; Nature and Properties of Bee! AZ
Bees are-of a hot nature, and heat is the
Wery life of them; when they are in the hive, in
‘company, or flying: about, they are quick and
‘agile, and fit for bufinefs; but in a cold day,
when a Bee is feparated from its fellows, it foon
chills and turns motionlefs, and if not recover-
‘ed with heat ina day or two, real death enfues.
Every hive of Bees is a diftin&t commonwealth,
‘that lives in the tricteft triendthip, and perfect
“peace and harmony among themfelves; for they
work for all, they watch forall, and fight for
all. , ele NY CH SAY,
_. They are not felfifh in their aims, but fludy
the public good. Indeed fometimes there’ will
be fome commotions in a hive of Bees among
themfelves, when there are two contending prin-
cefles for the crown, but this is a rare cafe;
but though they are peaceable among them-
felves, they are profetfed enemies to all other
Bees, and alfo to every other creature.
They ate a warlike, heroic, and valiant peo-
‘ple: whoever they are that dare prelume to
come too near their caftle, to interrupt their bu-
finefs, or difturb their peace; though an dlex-
ander, a Cafar, lion, or bear, allone to them,
they will point their poifonous fpears, and found
an alarm for war, and attack them in a mo-
ment; will neither take nor give quarter, but
conquer or die; and fuppofe they be, knocked
down, they no fooner recover, than they are.at
blows again: one can fcarcely forbear laughing
to fee how thofe little malicious imps, little big -
ger than a fnuff, can have the audacity to attack
our noble fpirits, and daring fons of Mars, and
give them battle, and make them run [creaming
C nr be) 8
14 Nature and Properties of Bees.
off, tearing their hair, and rubbing their eyes,
crying for help in fuch a panic, as they never
dare affront them more.
They are very cleanly, and love to have every
thing neat about them, abhorring all filth and
impurity ; when the cold permits them to quit
their warm parlours and dining-rooms, then
they. fet about reforming every thing that is
amifs, they mend their waxen partitions, bury
their dead, fcour and fweep their ftreets and
Hoors, plaifter their walls in the infide, ftop up
every crevice to prevent the accefs of cold or
vermin, fet centinels at their gates, empty them-
felves in flight. They alfo live upon the finett
food, the pureft ne€tar, as they extract it from
the flowers, hating adulteration or mixture, fa-
tished with the produce of their own induftry.
‘* In painful profitable labours, fure no creature
** can be more conftant and indefatigable, and
** no lefs chearful are they herein, than con-
‘f{tant; they have a naturalinclination hereto,
*‘ and nothing is more odious to them, than
** floth and idlenefs: labour is their very na-
“ture and greateit pleafure; an hungry or a
** thirfty man doth not eat or drink with great-
‘* er delight, than thefe admirable amiable crea-
** tures follow their appointed works and -em-
*¢ ployments: this ‘is their beloved province;
<¢ and now they appear to be in their proper e-
*‘lement. With the greateft fatisfaction and
“admiration, have 1 frequently beheld them
“¢ molt faithfully, and as chearfully, difcharging
¢ their feveral offices, without lofing the leatt
‘¢ opportunity: reftraint at fuch a feafon would
“* make them impatient, and confinement ane
a ; ce e
tal
- ae
Nature and Properties of Bees. ry
“be an intolerable punifhment. It is to thefe
“ their united, moft earneft, and conitant la-
“ bours, their profperity and riches are princi-
‘$ pally owing; the diligent hand maketh rich *.
~ They omit no opportunity of doing good ;
‘they in the day time work by the light and heat
‘of the fun, for when the fun opens the flowers,
vand exhales the fweets, then they are keen and
eager on work, and hurry in and out of their
‘hives, and depofit their honey in the firft empty
‘cell they come at, and to the fields again, and
‘improve their time and opportunity: (they are
‘not like thofe inverters of nature, who pretend
‘tohave full as much wit, who lie in bed when
‘the great candle of nature is fhining around
‘them, and rife precifely when it is half burnt; .
sand after it is done, fet up their awn twinklers, to
the injury of their eyes and health) but when
night, or a cloudy, or rainy day comes, then they '
itran{port the honey they (in their hurry) threw
‘in the warehoufes or kitchen, into the moft in.
acceilible principal rooms, and barrel and feal
‘it up fecure, where it will keep fafe for their ufe
along time; and in the night they build combs,
and gnaw all projecting {traws from the infide
‘of their hive, filling the magazines with honey,
or fealing the cells and young up, killing the .
Drones; &c. :
A Bee-hive is a commonwealth, of which eve- -
ry individual is a fenator, a foldier, and a mecha-
nic. She is governed by laws which every one ap-
jproves of, and yields chearful obedience to; no
C 2 “parliamen-
r The Hiftory of Bees, p. 23.
¢
~
i6. ~° Nature and Propérties of Bees.
parliamentary difeords among them, no inteftine
wars, no arbitrary demands, no extorted obedi-
ence. She is a nation that holds no correfpond-
ence, nor carries on any traffic, with any other.
Every individual in the hive ftudies the com-,
mion good; they know not what it is to have
goor among them, for they keep a common
table, well furnifhed with wholefome food, the.
trpit of their own indufiry, to which all have a-
like free accefs, whe need requires. They are
emperate in diet, no gormandizers or drun-
rds among them (the Drones excepted); de-
cent im apparel, wearing always home-fpun
gowns, and thofe always neat and clean. Every
ene of them is in the top of the fafhion, both as
to colour of apparel, and mode: ‘they are not:
like the gaudy butterflies; neither do they em-
ploy dyefters to colour their clothes; perhaps
they think that a diverfity of colours would
make them unfathionable, and at the fame time
make their clothes neither wear longer, nor fhel-
ter them better. “The morerich they are, the
keener they are on riches;.and the more nume-
rous, the keener on increafing their numbers.
But in cafe their hives turn fo full of Bees and
honey, that they cannot get more room to ftow
honey in, then rather than be idle, they will
rear up a young Queen, and fend off a colony
with her, and fo conflitute another hive; but
after this, the mother-hive and her daughters
will be as bitter enemies to each other, as if
they had never feen other.. hey will receive
none to their dominions to join with them, un- ;
lefs they come in an humble fupplicating man-
ner, proclaiming a truce of peace, as they fur-
round
Nature and Properties of Bees. ae
‘round and enter their gates; and alfo come
without a Queen: fometimes they will receive
them then as fellow-labourers and brethren,
and ever after love and cherifh each cther.
They are true to their word, for if once they
.pafs it as friends, they never break i it again.
Bees have a quick and an extenfive {mell;
by it they will find out any honey, -if within
their reach, or fiowers, though at a great dif-
tance. Some have thought it is by their fmell -
‘they light on a flower, and know a ftranger Bee.
Others have faid that bad fmells are very dif-
agreeable to them, and that they fhould not be
placed near them, elfe they will not thrive, I
never faw much evil done by bad fmells, unlefs
in their hives; they will work among {tinking
gutters, and places where urine is fhed, and ufe
pitch and tar. If one be ftung by a Bee, the
reft immediately fmell ‘the poifon, and come
enraged, and fly and purfue the wounded, and
give’ him fome more of the fame, if his feet be
not fwift =i § to carry him off from their ter=
Titories.
They are very abe of hearing, for you carr
{carcely give their hive the fmalleft touch, but
they will found again all over their hive. ‘And
when a Bee, having loft its way home, with
fome difficulty has gained its door again, it will
make a humming noife for joy; and if any other
be feeking the way about the entry, its hum-
‘ming will call it home. Of all their fenfes
their fight feemeth the weakeft, fays Butler, and
weaker when they come home loaded, than
when they are empty; and when loaded: their
fight is winner when on foot, than when flying.
~ G 3 he
48 - Nature and Properties of Bees.
_ di when they come home loaded, they alight.
fide the door, they will go up and down feeki1
for it, as if they were in the dark; and unl
they hit upon it by chance, they muft fly agai
before they can find it. As many as fall befid
the {tool when it waxeth dark, ten to one the
lie abroad all night: on,this account it is tha
before they fly abroad; they take fuch pains
the door, in rubbing and, wiping their glaze
eyes, that they may the better difcern their wa
torth and back again. ‘
Bees are notall alike as to their nature; fom
are of a gentle aud mild -difpofition, fo as an
thing may be dene with them. I once took
off fix fwarms of fix different hives in one fore-
noon, and did not receive above two {tings in all,
Ce/umela informs ‘us, that the ancients diftin.
guifhed feveral kinds of them: he joins in, opi.
union with Virgil, who approves of thofe which
are fall, oblong, fmooth, bright, and fhining,
of agentle and mild difpofition; ‘* for,’’ cons
tinues he, ** by how much the larger and round.
“er the Bee is, by fo much the worfe -it is ;”
but if it be fierce and cruel, it is the worlt of
ali. The angry difpofition of Bees of a better
character is eafily foftened by the frequent ins
tercourfe of thofe who take care of them, for
they grow more tame when they are often
handled. , | ‘il
The time of the day, and ftate of the atmos
fphere, has a great influence on the temper of
the Bees. The fame Bees will be angry and
holtile in the morning before they work any,
and pacific in the height of the day, and praa«
at night again. Bees which are of the mar)
| | - kin
.
E Nature and Properties of Bees. 1g
kind (for there is a great difference) are com-
monly the belt, and fhould be always chofen, if
a choice can be obtained. They are ealily
‘known, for by turning up a hive, if they are
of the mild kind, there will few or none of
them come running down to the under edges
‘of the combs, but give a little buz with their
‘wings, and never mind you much; as they mean
‘no hurt, they dread none. But thofe of the
‘angry kind, as foon as you turn up thé hive,
‘will come running to the extremity of the
combs, and fly fiercely about your face and —
head, and vent their fpite at you. nt
The ftate of the hive alfo fours or fweetens -
their tempers: the fewer Bees in a hive, the
fiercer they are; and thofe that want a Queen
sare very clfurlith. The more Bees ina hive, if
they have proper room to work, the better; and
16000 Bees in one hive, will gather far more’
honey, than if they were divided into two dif-
ferent hives, with 8000in each; for as the pro-
yerb is, many hands make light work.
The fewer hives of Bees in one place, they
will thrive the better; not fo much becaufe the
will get more food, but becaufe there will be.
fewer robbing Bees to difturb them. However
} good hive of Bees {carcely fufers’ any by
robbers. i
. If ahive of Bees in {pring be well ftored with
honey, and but very few Bees, and rdbbers at.
tack her, and fhe be prefer:!, removed, a mile
or fo, from any other Bees, tlic will foon recover
and thrive well; whereas if fhe (:and among o-
er Bees, they wili toon “kill all her Bees, und
ake off her honev:
Pi
*
Food
Ve
Ls oy
BP by ne)
20 Nature and Properties of Bees.
Feeding Bees is madnefs, and fhould never
be done, in harveft or winter: to fet afide weak
hives in harvelt, is next to throwing money
away; with this difference, that throwing money
away, is only attended with the lofs of it, where-
as weak hives are loft in winter or {pring, after
a deal of trouble and care about then.
Weak hives die of cold, famine, and by rob-
bers ; and if one of a dozen come through with
great care and trouble, they feldom turn out to
any account next year. is
Good ftalls fet afide in September, bid fair
for a great deal of profit and pleafure next year,
and little toil; but in fwarming time, fine warm
weather is beft for Bees, with foft fhowers now
and then: when there isa good crop of corn, it
generally is a good year for Bees.
Bees will fly a mile or two for food, and
fometimes farther ; for | have feen Bees work-
ing on clover, and heath, and runches many
times, and not a Bee-hive with four miles of
them; but the nearer the better, for feta ftrong
hive in the midft of a white-clover field, fhe will
fill herfelf fullin a few days, if the weather is
good. | one,
Early places is beft for Bees, for they breed
the fooner, and fill their hives, and {warms foon,
and commonly work as long as later fituations+
for the weather generally turns cloudy in 4u-
gut; fo they all give over work much about
the fame times ‘the chief breeding months is
' April, May, June, and July: the honey harveft
is little more than Fune and July. Sometimes
they will make honey in May and Augu/t, if
the flowers be throng, and the weather fine.
, Dees
Nature and Properties of Bees. 2 Oe
_ Bees when they begin to build, lay the foun-
dations of their combs at the top of their hive,
and work downward. BAL m :
I juft this very day, being the roth of Novem-
ber, have been feeing one of my hives carry
yellow loads; and J turned her up, and had the
pleafure to fee more than three hundred cells
| fealed up, and young Bees in every one of them;
‘hatching very finely, as if it had-been the month.
of April. As fhe had plenty Bees, and [had
one hive had not fo many by the half, I took
her off her flance, and fet the one that had few
Bees on it, and turned up the ftrong one, and
gave her feveral raps on her fides, and took a
weed and brufhed the Bees off the combs, and
they flew thick to their old ftance, and Yun roar-
‘ing into the weak hive, and fhe received them
lin a friendly manner. -J fet down the firong’
sone, in the weak one’s place, and thut her clefe
up round and round, admitting very little air,
‘to keep her warm for ten days, to hatch out her
ryoung the better; for lL have oft feen‘maggots
go backward in their cells, in cold weather, al-
thouch never mentioned by any writer, nor any
common Bee-mafter that ever faw. Both the
above hives are the better by what I have done
to them, the weak one I am fureiwoald have
died cf cold, having very few Bees, and the o-
ther breeding fo falt, might probably have died
of famine, if they had been in the hands of ma-
ny Bee-mafters; whereas now they are both fafe
from cold and famine. |
I did the fame with other two hives a weck a-
zo, and not oneof them made any fighting. | I
very often reinforce weak hives in this manner,
An beth
32 Nature and Properties of Bees.
both in fummer and winter. The method of |
doing it is fimple, and eafy ; not one of twenty
will fight much. Many hives! did that way laft
year, and though I had thirty ftails laft winter,
J had not one dead; for whenever any one.
turned few in Bees, I reinforced her: and
though it is thought by many, when I fay that
it is their own blame, that their Bees die, that
I arrogate too much to myfelt, when I fay | let
none of mine die; it is not fuch a miraculous
work ‘as they think: all 1 do, is when a hive
turns few of Bees, and thereby is likely to die
of cold, or by robbers, I give her a good nuin-
ber of Bees, and then fhe is as {tout as the beft -
of them, and they who dare touch her will find
themfelvés quite miftaken.
In cafe a hive lofe her Queen, which but
rarely happens, I put cither another Queen to
her, or a royal ee!t, or fome new laid egg, which
of them] can get beft at; ifa Queen can be got, f
put her to the hive firft, the royal cell next, and
anegg is the laft fhift: then if a hive is like to fut
fer by famine, 1 blame myfelf for that, for be-'
ing fo foolifh as to have kept one that had not
enough of food to bring her to Zune, However.
Lam obliged to make the belt of an ill bargain
Ican, and give her honey-comb plenty, which
~bafiles famine. > | . }
What a pity it is to fee thoufands of hives
die in Britain every year by cold, famine, and
_robhers; and many by mice! when by a little
attention, not one in thirty need be fuilered to
die: whereas I believe the fourth part dies-year-.
ly, one year with another, from the above
caufes. — , 3
oon - | Some
a?
..
_ Some tell me, I may as well fay Ican preferve
‘my own life, or the life of a beaft, as fay I can
preferve ahive from dying! The cafe is no way
»parallel—a beaft has only cne life, and when it
ds out, it can by no means be put in again. But
when the one half of the Bees in .a hive dies,
- | Hiftory of the Queen Bee. 2%:
the other half is alive ftill; and add another half —
of Bees to them, they will be’as vigorous and
as young as ever: whereas let them alone with
only their one half of the Bees the cold or age
has left, then they are not able to preferve them-
felves from another cold ftorm, or a flight of
robbers, but fall before them.
_
é
7: BEND Sim “Pee 7g
THE HISTORY OF THE QUEEN BEE.
/
; HE Bee called the Queen, fo far as ever
I could obferve, has no fovereignty over
the reft of the Bees. } The form of government
in ahive feems not to be monarchical, but a de-
‘mocracy; nor amI fingular in this opinion;
for both Monfieur Reamur and Mr. Keys are of :
ithe fame mind. As a proof of what ] affert, I ~
have oft feen, when Bees fwarm, the greatelt
jpart of them out of the hive, and lighted
von a buth, before the Queen had left. it;
vand when fhe did, fhe went direétly to. them.
And if you fpread afwarm on a fheet, and place
whether commons or Queen, run direlly to it,
| & and
an empty hive at any corner, the neareft Bees,.
“|
4 Hiftory of the Queen Bee. ee
and all the reft follow. It is true indeed the
common Bee will not fettle in an empty hive
without the Queen; neither will the Queen
‘without the commons. ‘The argument ufed by
Mr. Fhorly of there being but one Queen per-
mitted to live in a hive, which he thinks a-
mounts toa demonftration of their government
being monarchical, has no weight with me; be-
caufe one mother is capable to lay eggs enough
to keep the hive full of Bees, and there is no
need for any more. He advances alfo in fup-
port of his opinion, that the commons of a hive
- exprefs ereat joy at the reftoration of a Queen,
after having loft one: but:it appears to me,
their joy arifes from their receiving a mother,
capable of perpetuating their fpecies in the hive,,
and fo keeping it from coming to ruin; which’
would infallibly foon happen, unlefs fhe had
been reftored, or an egg to breed one, which
is the fame thing: but a hive could not fubfilt
- Jong without a mother, fuppofe fhe had a ma-
iftrate. He fays *, ‘* Without a prefident or
ruler, they will do no manner of work, nei-
“ ther. gather wax nor honey, nor other mates
<¢ vials.” T aufwer, a hive of Bees will work
regularly, if they have even a new laid egg in
‘the hive, to breed a Queen of; which muit be
twenty days before fhe come out of the cell; I
afk who rules and governs them thofe twenty
days? However as it would be of little confe-
quence to alter her name; we fhalk {till give her
the appellation of Queen Bee. © ey
: The
* Page 3%.
>
| Hijtory of the Rucen Bees |, BS.
“The Queen is” eafily diftinguifhed from the
other Bees by the form and colour of her body ;
fhe is longer’and larger than they are, and her
wings are ‘much fhorter than theirs in propor-
‘tion to her body; for the wings of both com-
mons and Panes cover their whole bodies, .
whereas thofe of the Queen fearce reach be-
yond her middle, ending about the third ring
of her belly: her hinder part is by far more ta-
per thai thofe of other Bees: her: belly. and
legs are yellower than the common Bees: and
her upper parts are of a much darker colour
than theirs.. She alfo has a fling, contrary to
the opinion of fome writers,» who may have
been induced to think fhe has none, becaufe
fhe is extremely pacific: one may-handle and
teaze her as much as they pleafe, yet fhe never
draws her fpear for vengeance; nay, I never
‘could provoke her to do it, nor could ever fee
her fting, but when I preffed her. The wife Or-
derer of nature difpofes her to be of a peace.
able temper; for were fhe hoftile in her difpo-
fition, and drew her {ting on every affront, and
left it in her antagonift, it would be of danger.
ous confequence to the hive; as every Bee
that leaves the fting dies foon after; I know
not if they live two days. In her deportment
fhe is folenin, and calm. A young Queen is a
deal lefs than a full grown one, being not
much longer than a common Bee, and is not
fo eafily obferved when fought for. When
three or four days old, fhe is very quick in
her motions, and runs very faft; but when fhe
is pregnant with eggs, fhe is very large, her
body: is heavy, and. when abi Seti fhe drags
Ppa along
26 ie shor "y rs sail Queen ins
along in a very flow manner, and is not fo very
fit for flying. It is neceflary every Bee-mafter
frould know the Queen, as fometimes it may be
of great advantage to hinr: the readieft way to
know lier.is to get a fight of her from fome
acquaintance, if it can be obtained; or fearch
for her among fome fmall {warms of Bees by —
the above defcription.
It has been dijputed by many authors whe-
ther the Queen bees are males or females. The
aricients, with fome of the ioderns, are pofitive —
that they are males, alledging that government
is moft natural by the males; and that the feed -
caft into the cell by them is fperm, and not an
egg. ‘The bulk of the moderns maintain, with
. weightier reafons on their fide, that they are fe.
males.
The matter caft into the cells by the Queen
appears (fay they) to be an egg, and not fperm,
from thefe reafons, viz. its being always of the
fame fize and colour, and covered with a thin
membrane; whereas it cannot be affirmed that
the {perm of man or bealt is always of the fame
quantity, and covered with a membrane. ©
We fhall now confider the Queen as to the —
manner of her birth, and from what fhe pro-
ceeds and in the firtt place, fhe proceeds from_
an egg, as do all the other ‘Bees; but writers —
differas to what kind of egg it is. Almoft-all~
agree in this, that the Queen lays a particular’
kind of eggs appropriated to the production
of other Queens 3 and that without a royal egg
be laid in a royal cell before the departure of -
the old Queen, ({uppofe there fhould be never
fo ead common eggs) the hive would never
_ have
a |. Hiftary of the Qucex Bee. — iy
have a Queen-breed, and: confequently come to
Tuins ‘Lhe author of the Natural Eliftory of
Bees fays, ‘ | have drowned feveral hives, the
© fwarms in which could not be forced out by any’
© means, and after examining all the Bees attei-
* tively, 1 ever found that there was but one fine
* gle mother, and that this was the old one;
“ the eggs or maggots of the young Queen-bees
* having, I fuppofe, been deflroyed by fome ac-
*cident*.? Mr. Xeys on that head fays, * that
“the gentleman might’ have taken a common
“egg, and placed it in a royak cell, and that-a
* young Queen had been afterwards produced,
. t wil not difpute; for there might bea antes
* already in the hive unperceived by him, which
‘1. 'ght lay‘a royal egg int that cell, the working
-* Bees having firlt taken away the common eggs.
-* Let this be as it will, in pra@tice it can be of
‘no confequence or ufe, as he acknowledged
* that a common egg mult be depofited in a
‘royal cell. To do this the Bees muft be
‘drove, and fome combs cut out; in the
* performance of which a real royal egg may be
* deitroyed, ‘and the reft of the young injured :
* the operation itfelf is likewife troublefome f.’
(As a particular knowledge of the Queen is
very neceflary in order to a right management
of Becs, I hope the reader will excufe my pro-
lixity on this fubjeét.) |
I fhall quote Mr. Debraw’s dofrine on this
head, as mentioned in the Univerfal DiGionary,
when “explaining the word Bee; he having
a D 2 fours
a
* Page 32%. + Page 12.
23: Hijtery of the Queen Bee.
found two Queens in a glafs twenty. days after
a finall {waffta was put init. He fays, * I con-
* jectured tha: either two Queens, inflead of one,
*muit have been left among the Bees I had
* placed under that glafs ; or elfe that the.Bees
© could, by fome particular means of their own, -
- € transform a common fubject into a Queen. Ino
‘ order to put this to the telt, 1 repeated the ex-
* periment with fome variation. 1 got four glafs
* hives blown flat, which I thought preferable to
* the bell-fhaped ones I had ufed before, as I
could with thofe better examine what was go-
ing forward. Iltook a large brood-comb from
an old hive, and after having divided it into
ieveral pieces, I put fome of them, contain-
‘ing eggs, worms, and nymphs, with food,
‘* viz. honey, &c. under each of the glaffes 5
- and confined within each a fufficient. number-
.“of common Bees, among which I left fome_
‘€ Drones, but took care that there fhoulu be >
© no Queen. The Bees finding themfelves with-
‘out a Queen, made a ftrange buzzing noile,
‘ which lafted near two days; at the end of
‘ which they fettled, and betook themlelves to _
‘ work: on the fourth day I perceived in each ~
‘hive the beginning of a royal cell, a certam
‘indication that one of the inclofed worms,
© would foon be converted into a Queen. ‘Lhe,
© conftruction of the royal cell being nearly ac-
“ complifhed, I ventured to leave an opening |
‘for the Bees to get out at; and found ‘that ~
« they returned as regularly as they do in com, |
A n“.*
‘mon hives, and fhewed no inclination to de-
“fert their habitation. But, to be brief, at the
* end of twenty days, I obferved four young.
Queens
a.
we - Hitory of the Bison ie. 29
*“ Queen’ s among the new progeny. On relating
* the refult of thefe experiments’ to a member
‘ of this univerfity, well converfant in the na-
“tural hiftory of Bees, he deemed it neceflary,
“that they flould he repeated, in order the
“ better to eftabsifh the truth of a fa&t feemingly
“fo improbable, that the eggs deftined by na-
-“ture’ to produce neutral or common - Bees,
* fhould betransformed into females or Queens.
He ftarted an ebjection, that the Queen Bee
* of a hive, befides the eggs fhe depofits in the
Toyal cells, might alfo have laid royal or te-
‘ male eggs either in the common cells, or in-
* difcriminately throughout the different parts of
the hive. He further fuppofed, that “in the
“pieces of brood-comb, ‘which had been fuc-
© cefsfully employed in the lalt experiments for
‘the produétion of a Queen, it Had conftantly
4 * happened that one or more of thefe royal eges,.
“or rather the worms proceeding from them,,
had been contained. But the force of his ob-
© jection was removed foon after by the fame
*fuccefs having attended a number of other
* experiments, an account of which would take
“up too much room here; and he was at lait
$ brought to admit, that the working Bees are.
“invetted with a power of raifing a common
*fubjeét to the throne, when the community
* ftands in need of a Queen ; and that accord-
“ingly every worm of the hive is capable, under.
* certain circumi{tances, of becoming the thother
‘of a generation: that it owes ii; metamor-
* phofis into a Queen, partly to the extraordi-
‘nary fize of the cell, and: its particular pofitien,
‘in it; but principally to a certain nourifh—
: D3 * mezit
Th
20°. Hiftary of the @uecn Bee. .
* ment appropriated to the occafion, and: care.”
* fully adminiftered to it by the working Bees
* while it is in the worm ftate, by which, and
* poflibly other means as yet unknown, the de-—
*‘ velopement and expanfion of the germ of the
‘ female organs, previoufly exifting in the em-
* bryos, is effected; and thofe differences in its
* form of fize are produced, which afterwards.
* fo. remarkably diftinguifh thé Queen from the
“common working Bees. ind finally, it ap-
_ 55 pears evident, from the experiments made by
Mr. Schirach and myfelf, that the received opi-
nion, the Queen lays a particular kind of eggs,
S appropriated to the production of other Queens,
“as erfoneous. I fhall now beg leave to point
"tic from thefe obfervations, which is that of
out the advantage that may accrue to the pub-
“ forming artificial {warms or new colonies; or,.
‘in other words, of furnifhing the means to
‘ bring on a numerous increafe of thofe ufeful
S infects: an object of fome importance to this
‘ kingdom, as being the only means to prevent —
‘the annual exportation of confiderable fums
* the purchafe of wax, a great quantity of which ©
* is loft every feafon for want of keeping up a-
* fufficient ftock of Bees to colle& it.’
.* The practice of this new art, Mr. Schirach
‘ tells us, has already extended itfelf through —
© Upper Lufatia, the Palatinate, Bohemia, Bavaria; —
* Sikfia, and even in Poland:: in fome of thefe —
* countries it has excited the attention and pa-
* trenage of government, and even the Emprefs |
‘ of Rufia has thought-it of fuch importance,
j 0 ,y ‘ * be»
’
¢
— . a
, i) ; ; : / ‘ i \
\ a
nN ; : ‘
*
* that the has fent a perfon to Kieen-Botzen to
j
1
:
:
f
;
_ Hiftory of the Queen Bee. = 4t
* be inftructed in the general principles, and
* learn all the minutia of this new art.” 4
Long before | had the account of Mr. De-
braw’s experiments, Ihad often takenoff fwarms,
and left no Queens nor royal cells in the mother
hive, and yet they would breed young Queens,
which furprifed me much, how they had got
them, as the received opinion was, they could _
not breed one if the old Queen was taken away
before the hive had a royal ceil: after feeing
his fentiments on that head, 1 thought it toid
very well; and refolving to be certainas to that
point, | made many experiments of my own in ©
{warming time, and they all fucceeded to my
‘wifhes: but in order to. put it beyond. all dif-
pute, I fhall relate one experiment I made with
a hive this fpring, full two months before the
ufual fwarming time. I had a hive that was be- »
ginning to carry well and breed faft, but was
not half full of Bees, and had only one Queen,
but neither Drone nor royal cell; neither of
which could be expeCted at that timé of the .
year, being about the middle of April > I took
out her Queen and the moft part of -her Bees,
and left the old hive with only fome common
Bees, to provide themfelves withia Queen, and —
hatch out the brood in the cellss they did not
difappoint me, for as-foon as the melancholy —
news were known in the hive, that their loving
mother was torn from them, they mourned for
their great lofs for the {pace of two hours; but
a
* Mr. Fobn Debraw’s Phil. Tranf. Vol. LXVIL |
‘Page 15, &c.
a general ©
eal
4
32 Hiftory of the Queen Bee. - ;
a general council being called, the moft experi~
enced fages among them reafoned to this pur-
pofe: © Whereas our mother, and many of our.
* brethren, have been moft cruellyand unexpects
* edly torn from us in fuch an unnatural way, as ©
“has neither left us a young mother, or a preg-—
* nant mother cell, as we have commonly when
‘we fend of a colony by our own deliberate _
» “ countel; had a few of our beloved brethren —
»» “been only taken from us, the lofs would have ©
* been but trifling, as our mother being among
* us, could foon have repaired our lofs again; but —
‘ our beloved mother being gone, never to re=
“turn, and as at prefent we have no pregnant
* mother cell, if we continue a very few days in
_ ‘this mournful inaétive cafe, all our eggs will
* foon turn common Bees, after which, by no
* power of ours we can ever expe&t a mother
* again, and all we who are pati the flower of ©
‘our days will foon die of age, and thofe of our —
‘ beloved brethren will become a’prey to cruek ;
‘ invaders, or being few in- number, will die a
' Ringering death by cold——But though our |
“cale be bad, it is not defperate, as we have _
* athong us new laid eggs, which, we all know, _
_ © by building a mother cell about, and adding -
© proper nourifhment, we can raife a mother Bee |
‘ again. Let us fall heartily to work, and build
* mother ceils about one of thofe eggs which
* you fee at the edve of that comb, in the mid.
‘ dle of our hive, which will be warmeft.’ |
Whether the counsel was given in the fame —
words, or whether fome addition or dimi- .
nution might be made, I will not pofitively fay:
_in general it appeared to be taken by the whole §
: common
ee a
i Sa
3 Hifiory of the Queen Bees. . 33
commonwealth; for“at the end of two hours
after the Queen’s eapture, the Bees fell briikly
‘to work, and wrought fmartly for two days, —
(as their manner is in fuch a cafe) fome form-
ing the royal ‘cell, and fome putting a large
quantity of whitifh and thick liquid ftuff into it,
not unlike cream; and at the end of three days
their royal cell was fairly formed; and the reft
of the Bees fealed up the common Bees’ cells,
-and all were throng at work {.. On the fifth
day I faw the royal cell well enlarged, and a
great deal of the eae white ftuff in it, almoft
as much as a woman’s thimble would hold; and
anda white maggot lying onthe top of it. On
the feventh day the Bees fealed it up *: -on the
feventeenth day there came forth out of the
royal cell a young Queen +, and on the twenty-
fourth day the young Queen laid eggs again,
and on the thirty-firft day they were fealed up,
and on the forty-third day there came out of
| | | ‘the
. + Inftead of idlenefs, confufion, and forrow, (as
mentioned by Thor/ey and Keys int fuch a cafe) cor-
fideration and reformation take place, with the grea‘
‘eft affiduity and Jabour to put all to rights again.
Another proof that they can advile about public mat-
ters without'a Queen to prefide.
* Mr. Keys, who is a keen advocate for royal eggs,
(p- 12.) will in his next edition inform.us where the
Lees got this royal egg, when there was nothing but
common eggs in the hive when the Queen lett it.
4 : - b - °
. > Mr- Daniel Wildman, nephew to.Thomas Wild-
man, is widely miftaken, when he affirms that a royal
Bee is five or tix weeks in hatching. .
* oii
ie
44 ei : Hiftory of the Queen Bee.’ | 4
the cell a new fet of young again §. At the
‘dame time, the middle of 4gri/, I did the fame
--
\
with otHer two hives, and they both fucceeded °
the fame way. I fhail juft mention fhortly, one.
further expefiment:—lI took the Queen and the
moft part of the Pees out of a hive which had
no royal cell nor drone in her; and in nineteen
days the had a Queen, and the twenty-fifth day
fhe laid eggs; and then L took the young Queen
out again, and left the old hive with fome new
laid eggs inher; and eight days atter the had a.
fealed up royal cell again, which I direétly took.
= out
_ $ Uthall infert a paragraph of Mr. Keyr, wherein
~ he thews his ignorance refpeéting both the Queen and.
Drones. Paragraph 12, he fays, “ But this furprife
‘Swill be greatly heightened, by-reflecting upon a fa- :
“culty {till more wonderful, viz. that of appearing
** to be endowed with a power of keeping in her body —
‘eggs that have been impregnated feveral months
before; or (which amounts to the fame) the feed
‘ of the male, capable of vivifying the eggs at the
“time of their exclufion: for though the Drones, |
“who are the males, are feldom fuffered to remain in ~
‘the hive longer than the middle of dugu/?, yet the
* Queen {till continues to lay eggs, aud produce
young, not only in autumn, bet alfo in the next —
“fpring, until March and dpril, in great abundance, —
‘ail by virtue of the autumnal impregnation.” Mr. —
Keys fays, “ Jt is farprifing and wonderful :”: fo it |
would be, were it true: but as he is fo fond of won-—
dering, I fuppofe by this time I have given him fome-
thing to wonder at ; and that is how my young Queen ©
was impregnated by the males (as he calls them), fee=
ing they were all dead feven months before fhe was |
bred, and fhe never faw any till fix weeks after, and —
thofe were produced from her own eggs.
Hi Eifiory of the ae Bee. 1 bee
out of the hive again, and then fhe had neither
Queen nor eggs, but I took a piece of comb with
eggs in it out of another hive, and fixed in her _
again, and fhe immediately built another royal.
cell.
Some drone-pleaders . _may perhaps fay, that
fuppofe there were no drones in the hive when I
took their Queen from it, that there might be
eggs laid-in drone cells, which would come for-
ward to be drones affoon as the young Queen,
and fo impregnate her, and make her fit for
breeding; but the contrary is the faét, for when
the old “Queen. was taken out of the hive there
was not an egg in one drone cell: if there had.
been any fuch thing, I would have feen the
Bees fitting upon the drone cells or comb,
which they did not, as they did on the common
Bees’ cells, and the royal cell: befides I turn-'
ed the hive up every two days, during the whole
forty-three days, in order to fee how long they
were in building the royal cell, and fealing it
up, and how many days it was before an eg8
became a Queen, and how old fhe was before -
fhe laid eggs, and how long they were before
they became common Bees; befides I wanted
to be aflured whether a Queen néeded the a-
gency of the drones in order to become a mo-
ther, and I often turned the Bees over and o-
ver in the hive, with a {mall flick, fearching for
drone cells, and drones, but no fuch thine was
to be feen till fix weeks after this young Queen’s
birth, when fhe laid eggs in drone cells, aie then
the hive had drones; and as the atove experi- |
ment was repeated again and again, it makes
an entire evidence and a certain proof (and I
- _ affirm) .
5 a a ire LA |
: i Lx, .
* im
~ ea
Be Re: £ ‘oe of the isco Bee. :
affirny ) that the common Bers can raife any eng
in the hive to be a Queen, when the’ community
ftands in need of one. ‘The way they do. is]
this, they make choice of a common cell with
anegs in it, and put in fome white ftuff (with
their mouths) a a eieleith di crate *, and be-
. F 3 gia
4
* Mr. Thorley, page gk ays, ** That it is ‘ili
sf peculiar, and very different from that grofs matter
«¢ which is employed in nourifhing the other young,
‘© J cannot but conclude, from what I have found and
‘© taken out of the royal cell, of a very different kind
_ and quality, being of a gummy g elutinous nature, of.
*« a deep red tranfparent, and would rather diffolve
<‘ and melt in the fire, than crumble to powder.” 1
~alfo-have diffeéted a royal cell that had proved abor-
tive, after the Queen had received acusialie: like her.
form, but had gone back again, (for what reafon If.
am not certain) and found that red matter in them
-(mentionéd by Thorley) not unlike fugar- -candy,,as large”
_as a pea, but ofa hard tough-fubftance, which would ;
not break, but tear afunder,. and no way tafted like.
honey. I have conjectured that perhaps this red.
matter, contained in thofe royal cells, which al--
ways proved abortive, might not be proper nourifh=
ment for the young Queen, and the Bees had not >
taken their ufual way in placing it there; for though in”
general they work uniformly, yet not always; for ex-"
ample, take out a common brood-comb, and look |
in it, and you will plainly fee common young maggots
in the form of a femicircle, fome with their middles
uppermoft, others with their middles undermoft, and
fome with their extreme parts under moft, and others |
uppermoft, and fearcely two lying in the fame pow
fition: and look into a. hive and you will fee the combs.
built parallel from the entry, other fome of a femi-
circular form: again fome’ hives build their royal cells”
indi{criminately in the hive, fome in the middle of a:
comb,
~
j
|
;
aes he le. , ‘en
:
‘Hiftary of the Queen Ree. . : ib ag |
gins to build upon the edges of the’ ‘cell, and en-
Jarges it; fo that on the third day vit appears —
fairly on the ourfide of the c. mb in the iorm of
and may now by properly called) a royal, cell.
On the fifth day, the cell being well pea
and a great deal of the faid {luz init, the roya
maggot appears in the form of a femicircle, ©
great at the middie and {mall at every end, not
unlike anew moon, {wimming on the top and
o
in the midft of the faid fiuff in the cell ; and on
the feventh day its fealed up,
During this time ie@pnder avers various changes;
fora day ‘after it is fealed up, being the eighth
day, I have ‘opened the’ cell, and found the
maggot on the top of the white matter, (lo of-
ten mentioned) and have taken it in my hand,
and {hewn it to fome of my acquaintance, and it
would have moved: a little time, although no.
more like a Bee, than a turnip, being a- 1 grols
white maggot. On the feventeenth or eight-
teenth day comes forth a pretty Queen Bee.
Alfo I affirm from the aforefaid experiments,
that the Queen Bee is capable of becoming a
mother without fo muchas feeing a drone; and
that vie dogtrine of all thole (almoft every —
E, ‘| writer)
comb, others on the fides, ends, edges, ge. ‘and in
fome hivesithe drone-combs are in the middle, others
at the edges of the hives; fome hives have only
half a drone-comb, others a- whole one, and other
‘fome two. Wawerer ava conjécture] pafs its; but this
Taffirm, that every royal cell which brings forward
a Queen, (and not one in twenty mives) is filled with
the very fame kind of white and thick matter, | ree
fembling thick. crpant, as atorefaid. ;
\
‘ j 7 ‘ ~
Prreeareneent
4,
+4.
38. Eiifiory of the Queen Been
writer) that affirm the Queen cannot breed
without the agency of the drones or males, as
they call them, isa mere fancy fprung up-in
their over-heated brain. _—s_,
a
|
As to che ufe and employment of the Queen;
in the firft place, fhe is the alone mother in the |
hive, anda hive would foon come to’ruin with.
out her; like’a nation that were all the females
killed or banifhed out of it, although there were
rnoulands of legions of men in it, every one
knows it would foon be without inhabitants: the -
cafe with refpect to a nation of Bees is exaétly
parallel, for if one had a hive full of Bees with-
out a Queen, or an egg to breed one of, a few
* months would put a period to all their lives. The
Queen is capable of laying eggs five or fix days
_ alter her birth, and lays only one kind of eggs,
and not different kinds, as writers have conjec-
tured; and I own that the found of one kind
of eggs being raifed either to be a Queen, or
common, or drone, as the Bees think fit, is
not fo eafily heard by fome ears: but wherein
does it found fofter, in aflerting that the Queen
~
can lay three diiferent kinds of eggs.) I do not ~
pretend to account for itin a philofophical man-
ner, but I fhall only offer my humble opinion
on that fubject. a |
Firft, it is plain to every one that ever faw a _
Queen Bee’s eggs, that as they come from her,
they are the identical bignels and colour, and —
covered with the fame membrane, although laid -
a
mong them, .may rationally proceed from thefe
~ two caufes, viz. the difference of the cells, and
: | : different,
»
.in different cells, as incommon, drone, or royal
~*) gells 3, and that the change that takes place a-_
| Hiftory of the Queen Bee. 39
different kind of nourifhment put in by the
Bees:)and the eggs as depolited by the Queen,
in whatever cell,is neither Queen, common, nor
drone, if I may be allowed the expreflion ; but
if thecommon Bees think proper, when they find
an egg in a.commonscell, they putin fuch nu-
tritive matter as they Know will make it a com-
mon Bee; or if they want it to be a Queen,
they enlarge the. cell, and put in fuch nutritive
matter as they know will nourifh it upto be a
Queen; orif they find an ezg ina drone cell,
they put in fuch matter as will nourifh it for-
ward to bea drone: and fo it wouid feem that
nutritive matter, together with the kind of cell,
fs the thing that determimes the kind of Bee;
after which, adding a proper heat, it appears
in due. time fucha Bee as they intended it te be 5
and in this cafe they have a power above any”
creature I know, and that is to make their eggs
into any kind of Bees they pleafe; their eggs
differ widely from the eggs of any fowl I
know of, becaufe the kind of creature it is to
be, is contained in the egg as foon as laid, and
it needs no nutritive matter to nourih it, nor
could it abforb into the egg ; all that it needs is
a due heat to nourifh it forward. i
_. That the working Bees, and none other, put
in that matter, clearly appedrs from the before-
mentioned experiment, viz. that when there are
new laid eggs in a hive, and neither Queen nor,
drone in it, yet the common Bees can nourifh
up thofe eggs to be either Queens, commons,
or drones, as they fee fit. What kind of mat-
ter this is is not fo eafily known; whether of 4:
generative nature, or a kind of food, is the query:
f. EK 2 ~ if
Ae
’ Nae
40 Hifiory of the Queen Lee. 4
if we fay this matter is of.a generative nature, -
then it muft be fperm, and thofe that pat it in
mult be males, and that thofé males muft have -
three different kinds of {perm-in them, viz. one |
kind to make eggs counrmon Bees, and another
kind to make egos Queens, anda third to make ~
egos drones; and that at all mes every Bee has
thofe three different kinds of -fperm at coms
infind to throw into any cell he pleafes, which is
contrary to the received opinion, which is, that
the male of mankind and beaft have only one
kind of fperm, and not always power to eject
it; befides it is put into the cell by the mouth of |
the Bee, and no {perm comes from that part. ~
There has been much difpute among writers
on. this point. Thorley fays, it is that, Ruff _
which the Bees carry on their legs, mixed with ~
water by the Bees: it does not appear to me;
feeing it has neither the tafte nor colour of that
ftuff. He fays, that itis confefled by all hands,
thatthe Bees do not breed till the flowers: furs.
nifh them with proper food for the young feetus,’
atid ehey are feen to tranfport this matter daily
to their hives.. I-mutt differ from him and all
-hands that coafefs that, for I have often feen the
contrary: for initance, laft Decender 1 had a
hive which had new laid eggs in her, and cells. -
new fealed up, in great numbers, and hatched —
them out young Bees; andit is no new thing, —
for I have feenthe lixe in. the middle of winter, .
and time of a ftorm, a dozen years ago; and I
have feenfome of my hives that I feed in winter —
build new combs, and breed younginthem, and —
yet had carried in neither the faid {tuff nor wa- ~
ter, as there were no flowers for them to work
- ¢ on, Z
_ Hiftory of the Sueen Bee.. 4¥
~ on, and had they gone for water,,they behoved ~
to light on ice, and they would feen how they
got off it again. If the ftuff they carry on their
legs be ufeful for feeding young Bees in the
cells, then thofe bred in winter muift be nourifh-
~ ed with that in the hive, which they gathered in
fummer. — . | eS 2
_ Mr. Debraw fays *, ¢ It is a whitith liquor put
- ©in by the pofterior parts of the males, or little
* drones’ (as he calls them). That there is.a
whitifh liquor put in the cell I grant; but that
it is put in by ftinglefs Bees, or little drones, I
flatly deny; as alfo the affertion that there are’
fuch things in being as little drones, or two:
different kinds of them ; as fhall be fully de-
monftrated when treating of the drones. fepa-
rately. |
The Queen, as granted by all, (D. Wildman
excepted +) lays all the eggs in the hive, as may
be proven by the following evidences ::
I. Hun-
* Univerfal DiGtionary, Word Bie.
+ D: Wildman maintains avery wild whim, one of
his own framing; he hasthe honour to-be the firft venter
of it, and it will certainly contmue his own. He af-
ferts, as quoted by Mr. Keys, fection 17. that “ the
« opinion of the Queén being the genéral. parent of
“the whole ftock is abfolutely without foundation. |
«« He further fays, that th€ common Bees: couple to-
« gether I make no doubt, though privately,. and a-
« part by themfelves: though they never were ob- >
s“ ferved, (I add, never will) yet they certainly apply
* themfelves to tbat bufinefs feeretly, (within the
« hive, or elfe abroad where. there can be no: wit-
E 3 - 4 neffes).!”
9 ) ™ _
“42 be Hifiory ofthe Queen Bee
b Mi tay
I, Hundreds’ have feen her lay eggs in common’
anddrone cells,
I], None ever'faw common Bees or argos! lay
CL RS.
‘ _.
2
Ti, Take a Queen out of a hive, andi ten days |
after take’ out all her’ royal cells, and’ fhe
» wall never have’ another egg in her.
IV. If'a hive want a Queen one month, fhe
will never have an egg more in her, though
fhe have never fo many common Bees; but
‘by giving her a Queen again, fhe will dire@-
ly lay eggs, and the hive breed again. She
lays eggs without the agency of. the drones.
She is very prolific. Swammerdam beheld in
the ovarim of a Queen-bee 5100 eggs at one
time ; -and Reaumur fays, that in 24 hours fhe
lays 200 eggs, and that in the fpace of three
weeks Gdoo. Bees are brought to perfection.
Neither need this be thought incredible, if we
confider that fome cod-fith have had to the num-
ate of 9,344000 <BES in them *. Her prolific-
<-© nels
'
|
« neffes). * This ‘Seatty begot child will have few to
| patronize it; if its father does not ftrangle it foon, it
will die of its own accord: Mr. Keys has lent it fome
lufty blows already, and wher ever it comes it is fure’
-
a
‘
,
“to meet with the like treatment: its fafeft courfe is. ~
to ftay with its father, unlefs it wants its own 1 ruin, b
and his folly expofed.
ai r * nee Delia. p . 130%
Se ee : Po
Sa ee as
Hiftory of the Queen Bee.
_nefs feems to depend.on the ftate of the hive
fhe is in; and I have been apt to think that
the increafe of a hive fearce ever fails on the
Queen’s part; for in the four breeding months),
April, May, Fune, and Fuly, if the weather is.
_ good, all Queens breed furprifingly faft, if they —
have plenty of common Bees to nourifh their
eggs forward; andif you have a hive that by:
reafon of few Bees does not breed faft; if you
add a large quantuty of common Bees to“ her,
fhe will increafe as fatt.as any: yet it cannot
but-be allowed that there muft be fome more |
fruitful than others; though it is feldom a hive —
fuffers by that caufe. It is quite a miftake, as
has been already noticed, that bees breed only
at fuch times as they carry flowers to.feed the
young with; for many hives breed in the midft
of winter; yet it mult be granted that they —
breed far fafter in times when they carry.
_ If Bees had not a power of raifing an egg to:
be a Queen when they ftood in need of one,
how precarious would a hive of Bees be, if we
confider how tender an infect a Queen Bee is;
and how many accidents may beial, her! Le.
fhe fhould, when out taking the air, meet with
any misfortune, fuch as being trod under foot,
or devoured by Bee-eaters (of which there are
many), or chilled with cold, or. by lighting at
another hive, or by any other accident, then
the hive would be direttly ruimed. . + hie
_ Again, if we confider the large quantity of
‘Bees in a hive at harvelt, (fometimes 12c00) and
that hive reduced to 500 in March by cold, old
age, &c. and yet the Queen then, healthy >. in
fuch a cafe, there is 24 dead for one living.
‘ | , How
44 — Hiftory of the Queen Bee. |
How ready would we be to wonder how the
Queen had been preferved! And many times
I have feen a hive in fpring, and not 100 Beesin |
her befides the Queen: and once I faw a hive —
with a Queen and only two Bees in her; and I
fearcely ever fee a hive want a Queen, if fhe. —
gets fair play: the reafon which appears to me
why they are preferved fo well is, becaufe they —
are always in the fafeft part of the hive, being
in the very midft of the Bees, fo that the cold,
robbers, or any other enemy cannot get at them
till all the other Bees be deftrayed.
But it appears ta me that the principal réafon
of their prefervation and continuation is, that
thé hive is feldom without eggs in her through- —
out thejwhole year, though generally they want
them in November and December, yet not always. »
and as they have almolt always eggs by them,
if the Queen dies, then they can repair their lofs —
in twenty-five days; for an egg can be raifed to.
be a Queen to lay eggs in twenty-five days. |
From what has been faid it may be eafily
feen how a hive comes to want a Queen fo fel-
dom.’ And the reafon why fhe ever wants one
at all is, when a Queen dies, and there is no:
royal cell nor new-laid egg to make one of;
then the ruin of that hive is inevitable, unlefs —
the owner lends his heipitg hand. fF have —
thought that if the Queen fhould fall fickly,.
and no eggs in the hive, then the Bees muft be ©
i a very melancholy cafe, as there is nothing |
between them and ruin but the life of a very _
fickly Queen; and if fhe dies in fuch «a critical —
juncture, when they have no eggs, then their
hope is. loft. I fuppoie that is the cafe ihe
ofa, . ara . ~~ thofe”
- - Hiftory of the Queen Bee. AS
thofe hives which ate deferted by their Bees im
“winter, and yet have a deal of honey left in
‘them’; for it is a very rare cafe for Bees to de-
fert a hive when they have a Queen. Some-
times indeed I have had Bees defert their hives
in {prings when their honey was done, although
they had young in their cells; but I never
knew them todo that but one fpring, when I
had five hives that did it, and I often wondered
how it happened, as they ufe commonly to die —
of famine when their honey is done. pi
~The Queens are bred generally in fwarming-
time, as may be feen by turning up.a hive at
that time: there the royal cells prefent them
felves to view upon the edges or fides of the
combs; they are of an oblong and circulat
form when half made, not unlike the lower
part of an acori turned upfide down;. and
when fealed up and finifhed, near an inch long,
and not unlike one’s little finger end, if it want-
ed the nail, to look:at... In fwarming-time there
will foretimes be from one to'fix of thefe royal
cells in a hive, though generally but two or
three. : Sie | |
. Many times in harveft, when top fwarms
are taken, there are royal cells feen in them, |
which Queens had been bred in fince they were
fiwarms; it is probable the old Queens had. come
‘of the mother. hive along with thofe fwarms,
and had turned aged and infirm, and:the young
{warm had provided themfelves with young ones,
as Jong as they had eggs to make them of.
I can account no other way for the fucceffion
of Queens than this—when a Queen turns aged,
ithe Bees confider that if they do not improve
Peek meek their
See
~ 46 Hiftory of the Queen Bee.
their time, and raife one of her eggs to be her
fucceffor, as long as fhe lays them, that fhe may
foon either turn barren or die, and what will
become of them then? therefore they perhaps
~ have fome inftin&, and know about the time
their. mother will die, and that it is now time
for-them to provide for themfelves; but if the
daughter happen to be born before the mother’s
death, I know not how they will do in that
cafe, whether they will have any natural at.
fe&tion to their infirm mother, as knowing fhe
wil nottrouble them long; or whether the will
fhare the fate of the poor drones :—I fear the
“~\ worlt. The fixth Ofober laft, I faw at the en-
try of one of my top {warms a dead mother, all
torn about the wings; I was jealous they had
not given her fair play for her life: the was a
laft year’s Queen, for I brougl:t her off with the
faid fwarm.
I think a Queen lives about fourteen or fif-
teen months; for three or four of my own arti-
ficial fwarms, their Queens died about the-
middle ot September, and they were old Queens
when I {warmed them in Y¥une, I fuppofe they
were a year old when J fwarmed them, and the
Queens that took up houfe with their mother
hive in Yune, 1787: or in other words, in
June, 1737, a new hatched Queen came off.
with a fwarm naturally, and fet up houfe with
them; andin June, 1788, was taken out of her,
hive with a new fwarm again, and continued in
her, and laid eggs till September, 1788; at which
time fhe being old and infirm, the Bees raifed
upone of her eggs to be a Queen, to fucceed
her; after which birth. fhe was fuffered to. 6
i : pe
~
; Hiftory of the Queen Bee: 47
of age, or flain by her own children, as now
_ufelefs, and not for any more public good,
When the Queen lays her eggs, fhe puts for
a moment her head’into the cell where the de-
_figns tolay them; if the finds the cell empty,
and there is not in it either honey, egg, or any
_ embryo; fhe turns herfelf immediately to intro-
or.
duce the pofterior parts of her body into the
fame cell, and finks intoit, till the tsuches the
bottom, and then lays her egg, which is very
fmall, about half a line long or little longer, yet
four times longer than it is big, a little more
pointed at one extremity than the other, and
planted by its leaft extremity on the bafis, —
or the folid angle of the cell. This egg is
formed of a membrane, thin, white, fmooth,
and fullof a whitifh liquor. After the preg-
nant Bee hath laid an egg in one cell, fhe im-
mediately goes to another, and lays in it the
fame manner, and fo on, and will fometimes lay
a good many at a time. The egg continues
three days in the ftate the Queen laid it, the
fourth day the Bees put in with their mouth a
fmall whitith liquor, of a clammy fubftance,
which abforbs into the eeg, and then it changes
its form into that of a fmall worm, divided into
feveral rings, laid on the fame bafis, and twift-
ed round, fo that the two extremities touch
each other. On the fifth day it is advanced inte
a middling large fize, fo as to fill the whole:
breadth of the cell, and is thought to be fed on
the fifth, fixth, and feventh days, at the mouth,
with honey, by the Bees ; during which time it
has not the finalleft refemblance of a Beé,-
having neither head, legs, nor wings. On the
: eighth
_
”
48 _ Hiftory of the Queen Bee.
eighth day it is clofe fealed up in the cell, and
receives neither food nor air, and undergoes
various changes, till on the nineteenth day it
comes out of the cell, a perfect Bee. » It is dif-
puted among the’ ‘earned whether this infe&
dies at the time of its transformation or not. I
will not take it upon me to decide in fuch an
intricate matter, only I know it is alive in its
worm flate; and I never faw but when I opened
acell at any time, I always faw the inclofed
betas to make a flow movement.
Tbe Queen fometimes in the middle of fum-
mer takes an airing, and that but very feldom ;
for though | have jpent many hundred hours a-
mufing myfelf to fee them carry on their de-.
lightful labours, yet I never faw a ‘Queen go
an airing, but four or five times: it is well itis’
fo, for were fhe a gadder abroad, it might
endanger her life, to the great detriment of the
hive. Whether ever fhe airs herfelf in a fine
winter’s day, (when the Bees are fond of it) or
not, I cannot fay, for I never faw ‘her.
The Queen has a great deal of refpec erty
her by her children, and alfo by any. other
Bees that may have been added to the hive;
for Bees will rather die, than leave their Queen ; |
tle reafon is very good, for when with her, -
they may have fome hope of her and them be-
ing put in a way to thrive again; but were
they to leave her, they cannot but foon come f
to ruin.
‘Their love for their Queen aith not fear to.
rife from blood-rekation, but from her ufefule
-nefs among them: did their affe@tion arifefrom.
relationthip, they would never kill any of their
: ! fe oie, :
Hiftory of the Queen Bees AQ
Queens, when they have more than one ina
hive. It further appears by the fame regard
being fhewn to her, when {warms are united,
by thofe Bees which are not her ,relations, as
by thofe which are. Again, if you take a
native Queen from a hive, and put a itranger to
them, they will be very fond of her;: and
fhould you return theirmother to them again,
they would fall on her like as many. lions.
Reaumurfays, they are not attached to the per-
fon, but to the dignity of the Queen, which is
too commonly true with regard to men.
‘There is only one permitted to live in a hive
during the'year, unlefs it be in [warming-time;
when new hatched they will allow them to re-
main tilla fit feafon occurs for them to go off
with a fwarm: but they muft improve their
time when’it offers, for if they be too long in. |
going off, they will lofe their lives for their in-
dolence. Inever faw two Queens hatched out
of one royal cell, 1 mean one after another ;
the eggs always are laid in common cells, and
when they want a Queen they build a royal cell
arqund it, and thereby get a Queen. Latt
fummer I wanted three Queens to put to three
hives that wanted Queens: in order to get them,
I took a Queen from a hive, and put to one of
my Queenlefs hives: the hive that I took the
Queen from, in eight days had five fealed up
royal cells. I took two of the royal cells, and
fixed in the other two Queenlefs hives, and they
‘became Queens to them in due time. A royal
cell I left in herfelf to fupply her with a Queen,
the other two I diffeted in order to fee the pro-
grefs of the maggots in the cells, I have often
ae taken
Bt ye Hi fame of the bao Bee. ‘
taken a Queen from a hive, and they would on-
ly build one royal cell, fometimes two, other
times three, and in the above five cells, ale
though fhe was a very weak hive of Bees, and.
had thofe five maggots in thefe cells turned all
Queens, four of them would been killed,. for
they had not Bees to fend off {warms with one
of them.
AMEE a at Nee "i
THE HISTORY OF THE DRONE BEE.
HE Drones are well known infects by e-
very Bee-mafter that takes the finalleft
notice of Beés, and fcarcely need to be, de-
fcribed. They are both larger and longer than
the common Bees; their head is round, their
eyes full, and their tongue fhort. Their bel-
‘ly differs from the other two, being broader,
and much more obtufe; and they are of a dark-
. er colour than the’ reft. They make a much
greater poife when flying, than the Queen or
common Bee, by which they may eafily be dil
tinguilhed.
As to their fex, ancient writers in renee!
‘philofophers, hiftorians, poets, and phyficians, |
together with feveral modern ones, viz. Butler,
Purehas, Warder, Bradley, Reaumur, Maral-_
di, Debraw, Keys, and others, are ftrong ad-
vocates for the Drones being the male Bees.
Some, as bie feem to give arguments a-—
es oe
. Hiftory of the Drone Bee. “on
gaint it: and Mr. Schirach, and his friend Mr.
Hattorf, annihilate entirely the ufe of the’
Drones, and advance this fingular opinion;
(lays Debraw_) that the Queen lays eggs which
produce young Bees without any communication.
with the Drones. Singular as their opinion is, -
it appears to be the truth, as I fhall thew from
good arguments: ‘That the hives are replenithed
with Drones at the feafon of the year,-as grant-
ed by all, when no Drones are in. being, nor
have been fo for eight months-before, feems
to bea fufficient argument to any rational crea-
ture, that the Drones are not the males. ~~
But the Drone advocates alledge, that the
Drones fecundate the Queen before their bre. -
thren kill them; and by which fhe remains fe-
ven or eight months with perbaps'12000 impregs
nated eggs inher ovarim: certainly the would
be large all that time. But it would be need-
lefs to {pend time on that fubjeét, feeing I have
formerly fhewn how I have many times had
Queens breed and lay eggs, and thofe eggs
become Bees ; and ye. that Queen was bred fe-
ven months after all the Drones were dead,”
and fix weeks ere any werehatched; whichI think |
is fufficient to filence all the large Drone ad-
vocates. But we have Mr. Debraw creating
little Drones, and alfo giving them power to
live all the year, and to impregnate the Queen at
pleafure. I fhall here. give an account of his
fentiments and experiments on that head, ‘as in-
ferted in the Univerfal Dictionary on the word
Bee ; where, when {peaking of the little Drones,
he fays, ‘ They have notwithftanding efcaped
* the obfervation of Mr. Schirach, and of his
ihe a ae ‘ friend:
s3 Ween .
52°. FHiftory of the Drone Bee.
‘friend Mr. Hatiorf, member of an‘ academ
‘ Lujatia, who, in a memoir he since
the year 1769, annihilates entirely the ufe of
* Drones in a hive; and advances this fingular
‘opinion, that the Queen-bee of a hive lays
* eggs, which produce young ones, without any
* communication with the Drones. For what
* purpofe fhould wife Nature then have furnithed
* the Drones with that large quantity of feminal
* liquor? ‘Yo what ufe fo large an apparatus of
*fecundating organs, fo well defcribed by
‘ Reaumur and Maraldi? But I bez leave to
* remark, that thefe gentlemen feem:' to have
* drawn too hafty conclufions from their experi-
‘ ments, in rejecting the Drones as bearing no
* fhare in the propagation of thofe infetts. Their
* obfervations, that hives are peopled at a time of
“the year when no Drones are in being, are no
‘ ways conclufive; as it is evident, that they had’
* feen none but Drones of alargefize, their filence ©
“on the difference of the fize of them juftifying
‘my remark. But to refume the narrative of my.
‘experiments: I had watched my glafs-hives —
«with indefatigable attention from the moment .
* the Bees, among. which | had taken care to
‘leave a number of Drones, were put into
* them, to the time of the Queen’s:laying her
‘ eggs, which generally happens the fourth or
‘fitth day. 1 obferved the firft or fecond day
‘(always before the third) from the time the
~ © eggs are placedin the cells, that a great num-
_* ber of Bees, faftening themfelves to one an- ~
‘other, hung down in the form of a curtain —
‘from the top to the bottom of the hive, in a
‘ fimilar manner they had done before at the
‘time ©
@
et & J
, te
~
‘time the Queen depofited her eggs; an ope.
‘ ration which (if we may-conjeCture at the in-.
* ftincts of infects) feems contrived to hide what
“is tranfaGting: be that as it will, it anfwered
“the purpofe of informing me that fomething
-
“was going forward. In fact, I prefently after
“perceived feveral Bees, the fize of which,.
“through this thick veil, Gf I may fo exprefs.
© myfelt) could not rightly diftinguifh, infert-
‘ing the pofterior part of their bodies each into:
“a cell, and finking into it, where they con-
“tinued but a little while. After they had re-
“tired, I faw plainly with the naked eye a {mall
* quantity of a whitifh liquor left in the angle of
* the bafis of each cell, containing an egg; it
© was lefs liquid than honey, -and had no fweet- -
“tafte at all, Within a day after, I found this.
‘liquor abforbed into the embryo; which on
‘ the fourth day is converted into a fmall worm,,
* to which the working Bees bring a little ho-
“ney for nourifhment during the firft eight or
‘ten days afterits birth. After that time they
“ ceafe to feed them ; for they fhut up the cells,.
“where thofe embryos continue inclofed for tem
“days more, during which time they undergo:
© various changes too tedious here’to defcribe:.
‘To evince the reality of this obfervation, and.
“to prove that the eggs are fecundated by, the
“males, and that their prefence is neceflary. at
* the time of breeding, I proceeded to the next:
‘experiments. They confifted in leaving in a
“hive the Queen with only the common Bees,,
“ without any Drones, to fee whether the-eggs.
* the laid would be-prolific.. I accordingly. taok:
“afwarm, fhook all the Bees into:a tub of wa~_
i 3 tor
“s
$4 RD « sfory of the Drone Bee.
“ter, and left them in.it till they were quite
‘ fenfelels, which gave me an opportunity to
Lee ‘ diftinguith the Drones without any danger of
* _ being flung. After I had recovered the work-
i is Bees and their Queen from the ftate they
* were in, by fpreading them on brown paper
‘in the fun, I replaced them in a glafs-hive,,
“where they foon began to work as ufual: the
© Queen laid eggs, which I little fufpected to be
“impregnated, as I thought I had feparated all
* the Drones or males; but at the end of twen-
‘ty days (the ufual time of their hatching) I
* found to my furprize fome of the eggs hatch-’
“ed into Bees; others withered away, and fe-
“ veral of them covered with honey. I immedi-
* ately inferred that fome of the males, having
* efcaped my notice, had impregnated only part .
“ of theeggs; but, in order to convince myfelt
* of the truth of my fuppofition, I thought it ne-
* ceflary to take away all the brood-comb that .
* was in the hive, in order to oblige the Bees to |
‘ provide a frefh quantity, being fully deter-—
“mined to watch narrowly their motions after
‘new eggs fhould be depofited in the cells.
‘This was done accordingly, and at laft the
© myftery was unravelled. On the fecond day,
“ after the eggs were placed in the cells, I per-
‘ ceived the fame operation which I have re-
‘ Jatedin a former experiment; | mean the Bees —
“hung down in the form of a curtain, while o-
* thers thruft the pofterior part of theirbody in- —
“to the cell: I then introduced my hand into —
‘ the hive, broke off a piece of the comb con- ©
: * taining two of thofe infects, and kept them for ©
* examination, I found i in neither of them ary
> © tings |
‘Hiftory of the Drone Bee. 55.
‘ fling ; (a-circamftance peculiar to Drones’ on-
‘ly) and upon diflection, by the help of a Dol-
‘ lond’s microfcope, difcovered iz them the four
‘ cylindrical bodies, which contain the glutinous
* liquor of a whitifh colour, obferved by Maral-
_ © diin the large Drones. | Having till then ne-
‘ver obferved any difference in the fize of
€ Drones, | immediately perufed the memoirs on
_ © Bees publifhed by Mefirs. Maraldi and Reau-
_ © mur, and found that they had remarked it fre«
‘quently. The reafon of that difference mutt,
‘1 doubt, be placed amongit. other arcana of ©
‘nature. Ifound myfelf therefore under a ne-
‘ ceflity, in my next experiments, to be more
‘ particular in deftroying the males, even thofe
‘which might be fufpected to be fuch. LIonce .
‘ more immerfed all the fame Bees in water ;-
* and, when they appeared to be in a fenfelefs
‘ ftate, I gently prefled every one of them be-
* tween my fingers, in order to diftinguifh thofe
‘armed with {tings from thofé that had none,’
‘ which laft I might fufpect to be males. Of
* thefe I found fifty-feven, exactly of the fize of -
‘common Bees, yielding a little whitifh liquor .
‘ on being preffed between the fingers. | killed
* every one, and replaced the {warm ina glafs- 7
‘ hive, where they immediately applied again to
‘ the work of making cells; and on the fourth
‘ or fifth day, very early in the morning, I had
‘ the pleafure to fee the Queen-bee depofiting
‘ her eggs in thofe cells, which fhe did by placing
‘ the pofterior part of her body in each of them.
* Tcontinued on the watch moft part of the en-
* fuing days, but could difcover nothing of what
‘lhad feen before. The eggs after the fourth
; : MK day .
no On tat ar Lal ‘al an Lal
olUN
rn of
ta)
¢
- 6
oO
a POF OTR OR Oe Cee
|. Aiftory of the Drone Bees
day, inflead of changing in the manner of
caterpillars, were found in the fame ftate they
were in the frit day, except that fome of them
were covered with honey. But a very fingu-
iar event happened the next day about noon:
all the Bees left their own hive, and were feen’
attempting to get into a neighbouring coni-
mon hive, on the {tool of which I found their
Queen dead, having, no doubt, been flain in
the engagement. ‘The manner in which I ac-
count for this everit is as follows: the great
defire of perpetuating their fpecies, which is
moft obfervable.in thefe infects, and to which
end the concurrence of the males feems fo ab- |
folutely neceflary, made them defert their own
habitation, where no males were left, in ofder
to fix their refidence in a new one, in which,
there being a good ftock of males, they might
the better accomplifh their purpofe.
‘lf this does not yet eftablifh the reader’s
faith of the neceflity of the males bearing a
fhare in the fecundation of the ova, the next
experiment cannot, I prefume, fail to convince
him. I took the brood-comb, which, as I ob-
ferved before, had not been impregnated ; iw
divided it into two parts; one | placed under
a glafs-bell, No. 1. with honey-comb for the:
Bees food; I took care to leave’ a Queen, but
no Drones, among the common Bees I con-.
fined in it. ‘he other piece of brood-comb
I placed under another glafs-bell, No.2. with a
few-Drones, a Queen, and a number of com-
mon Bees proportioned to the fize-of the gtafs 5.
the reft I difpofed of as before. The refult
way that 1 in the glafs No. 1..no impregnation:
“hay ppeneils,
‘
; / |
Hiftory of the Drone Bee. SF
“happened; the eggs remained in the fame ftate
they were in. when puf into the glafs; and,
upon giving the Bees their liberty upon the fe-.
venth day, they all flew away, as was found
to be the’ cafe in the former experiment:
whereas in the glafs No. 2. I faw, the very day
after the Bees had been put under it, the im-
pregnation of the eggs by the Drones in every
cell containing eggs; the Bees did not leave
their hive on receiving their liberty ; and, ‘in
the courfe of twenty days, every egg under-
went all the above-mentioned neceflary
changes, and formed a pretty numerous,
"young colony.’.
What he has here faid concerning thofe little
Drones is a wild fancy, and what is alfo very
unbecoming;, his pretending to have feen fo
many of them brings him in to be very difin-
genuous.
fn HP Aa GC cH 14>
| i 2 ae 2)
I fhall give three arguments againf{t his -ex-
_ periments : ;
ift. Can it be thought that the prying eyes of
multitudes in many generations fhould have
efcaped feeing thofe little drones (they being,
according to his account, vaftly numerous)
thruft their pofterior parts into the cells?
“Yet none ever faw them do it, except him-
felf; while many have feen the Queen do it,
though but a fingle Bee.
ad. It is well known the Queen is very lone
behind the wings, wife naturehaving made her
fo, in order that fhe might thruft her pofterior.
| part
~
58° - Hiftory of the Drone Bee. ~ i
or ferve any end. |
FF
part into the cells, and yet her wings fcarcely .
touch. them, nor receive the leait injury.
If thefe imaginary little Drones had to thruft
their pofterior parts into the cells in the fame |
manner as the Queen, certzinly their wings
would have been made in the fame manner
fhort, and their pofterior parts long and taper,
which is not the cafe. Whereas were a Bee
of any kind (the Queen excepted) to thruft
its hinder part into a common cell, its wings
or coats would come over its head, and be an-
tic like, and injure both them and its body.
Befides I ‘fcarcely think they could get into
the common cells that way at any rate for
want of room. i?
3d. Mr. Debraw grants that without a Queen —
or eggs, Bees will not begin to work, as well-
knowing they cannot propagate their {pecies
without her: and yet he fays, thofe Bees
which wanted little Drones began to work,
and the Queen laid eggs, and all went for-
ward, till they were not impregnated, and
then they gave over work, and deferted the
hive. Certainly thofe fagacious creatures
would have been as fenfible that they.
wanted Drones at the very firft, when they
were put into the hive, and that they could —
not do without them, as they are fenfible when
‘they want a Queen, and that it is needlefs
to begin work without her: and it might
be added, that two different kinds of Drones
in one hive does not appear to be probable,
- But
.. Hiftory of the Drone Bee, — 59
But+l hall narrate fome of my own experi-
‘ments on that head, which will put it, I hope,
beyond difpute: © ; :
_ On Sept. 1{t, [had a hive breeding faft ; I took
‘out all her Bees, (amonz which were only four
Jarge ‘Drones, which I killed) and [ put them
in ahive that had nothing in her but empty
combs: I waited ten days, when, by looking
‘between the combs, I faw her have. new-
fealed up maggots in her cells. I then took all
ther Bees out, and fhook them into a tub full of
water, and recovered them gradually; and when
recovering, I prefled evety one of them, in or-
der to fee if 1 could find any of thofe little
Drones, but» could not find one;. but all and
‘every one of them had ftings: they were in
number 3000. After which I fearched the
hive I took them out of, and cut out all her
combs that had eggs in them, and found they.
hhad new laid eggs, four days old eggs, and
maggots inthem. I then recovered the Queen
and all the Bees, and put in the fame hive again,
which had not an egg in her now, and waited
other twenty days, and faw hér, in. fine days,
working very well, a fure indication fhe was
‘breeding again ; I then turned her up, and cut
out one of her brood-combs, and faw in it new
laid eggs, four days old eggs, and maggots, and .
cen young almoit fit for emerging out of their
cells.
Thevery-fame day I made a further experi-
ment :———I had a hive which I faw had fome
brood-combs in her, but fhe had not hada large
Drone for four weeks before in her: fhe had
notabove five hundred Bees in her, which fa--
: voured
60... ' Hiftory of the Drone Bee. ;
-voured me, becaufe few in number. I .took
the hive into a clofe place in my houfe, in order
‘that not a fingle Bee fhould efcape me; I then
took all her Bees out of her, and mimerfed
_ them in water, and when recovering, I prefled
every one of them, and each Bee had a fting, as
in the former experiment. ,
I think the above experiments may fatisfy any,
judicious perfon, that there is no fuch thing in
being as little Drones, unlefs in Mr. Debraw’s
brain. And if Mr. Debraw, who-can find fifty-
feyen in a ‘imall fwarm of Bees, will fend me
the odd feven, I will fend him one of my beft
hives for them, and he wiil fcarcely think he is
wl paid. I add, I never faw a hive in {pring,
however few Bees in her, but fhe bred fome
if fhe had a Queen, though to be fure few in
proportion to her Bees.
By this time the reader will be very ready,
no doubt, to afk me the ufe of the Drones: I
beg to be excufed on that head, as 1. have not-
the leaft idea of their ufe in a hive: they do
not fecundate the Queen, for fhe can lay and
breed too, though fhe never fee them. ‘Their
heat does not appear to me to be neceflary for
hatching the young, as they are moftly hatched
before any are bred inahive: and when Drones
are in the hive, the weather is fo warm, and fo -
many common Bees in it, that they appear to
shave.rather too much heat, by their lying out
of the hives often.
I have many times had good hives with few
orno Drones in them all the year ; and Keys is
quite wrong, when he faysa top {warm will not
~.do without Drones in her, for I am pofitive i
e
ideas ae | tate Be gt ah te ahh
an es
Hip oft iM ‘Spur ee ea ae :
the contrar y, asin the furnmer, i789 5, I took
off four {warms of mine own in one day, with,
not a fingle Drone in any of them, and they all
threve well; and bred Drenes in themfelves. a-
bout.fopr weeks after.
Although I cannot fay what ufe the Drones
are of to a hive, (unlefs it be to help away
with a great deal of her honey, which they are
‘very good at) yet the beft hires have them
fooneit in the year, they generally appearing in
‘fuch about the latter end of May, and the Bees
put a pericd to their lives about Lanimas, at
which time I give them all the afiiftance 1 can.
The way they kill them is thus—they pull and
bite them with their teeth, and iting them alfo:
Rost of the hive. But their moft effectual way
of, killing hana is their banifhing them from
che honey- combs, upon which the drones betake
-hemfelves to the under edges of the hives in
treat numbers, and to the board the hive
‘tands on; and {cmetimes, though rare, I have
even feen them come to the outfide of the hive,
sand. When they are banifhed thus, they are
ery dull and lifelels: and [ have lifted up a
uve from the board, and there they would have
een fitting clofe cn it, with fcarcely three or
our common Bees among them, and I have
rode to Geqth forty or more at a time.
We may now take a-view of the difadvantages
ittending the old, ahd alfo Mr. Debraw’s, prin-
G -how
ind clyfter there, about the bulk of -a man’s’
a
1 have feen ereat havoc made of them in one —
day, as euAt Om by their lying dead before the.
iples on Bees, were they true; and next fee-
.
a . 7 tr 7
62 _ Hiftory of the Drone Bee. —
how a hive of Bees may be preferved from
' . Ota ; a . :
ccming to ruin, according to my fentiments
on them: |
t we
a ‘ 7 g
ift: The old principles on Bees fay, that with-
out a Queen or royal cell be in a hive, it will
come to ruin.
=
/
ad. Mr. Debraw’s principles fay, that without
little Drones be in a hive, it- wiltcome to
3d. I fay if a hive have only new-laid eggs in
her (which may be eafily got the greateft
part of the year, in cafe fhe have none of her
own) and common Bees, fhe will find herfelf
a Queen, and fo thrive.
According to the old principles it is eafily
feen that, in cafe a hive lofe her Queen, when
there is no royal cell in her, and no Queen can
be got to put to her, (neither of which can be
expected but in Fune and Fuly,) the is entirely
ruined. .
According to the ['renchman’s {fcheme, there
mutt be Drones in a hive at all times of the
year to fecundate the eggs, otherwife the hive
is ufelefs. Suppofing his fentiments to be true,
(which however can by no’ means be admitted,
feeing there is no fuch thing as little Drones)
how perplexed would the owner be to Know
when there were little Drones in his hives!
When he wanted to make an artificial {warm,
he might bring off a Queen and common Bees
with her; but how fhould he come ta know
whether
A MES tag eh Pa E
\ Hiftory of the Drone Bee’ - 63
whether there were any, ora fufficient quantity,
of little Drones among them, as they cannot be
diftinguifhed from the commons but by immer-
fion and_preffure, which would be intolerably
troublefome, and next to killing the Bees, and
not at.all practicable? all that could be done
would be to hope the beft, that there were lit-
tle Drones in her at any time of the year.
I fay, if a. Queen die in a hive, and that
hive have fome new-laid eggs in her, or fome
put to her, in cafe fhe have none of her own,
fhe will nourifh up fome of thefe eggs to be a
Queen to herfelf: and alfo by taking out a
ueen and fome commons out of a hive, (with-
out a fingle Drone, large or finall) and: put-
ting them in an empty hive, will make afwarm, ©
and the old hive will breed herfelf a Queen a-
gain, if fhe have eggs in her.
(The reafon why I have dwelt fo long on
the hiftory of the Queen and Drones is be-
‘caufe I had the old erroneous points held by
writers on Bees to overthrow, and my own
new principles to eftablifh from arguments and
narrations of facts.)
al Me . 4 > ds; R ; . ' *
64 Hiftory of the Working Bec.
J < ’ ‘ 4 > ‘ —7 - j
al Rea eek cai Vela ae ee
THE HISTORY OF THE WORKING BER, 4-
—---—---—
“HE Working Bees are feen by every one
‘* that has them, and fearce need any deo
feription. ‘hey are the leaft of the three, and
thoje that work for the whole hive. A Bee is
a flying infect confitting of three prin-ipal parts, —
wis. the head, which is attached by a kind of
meek to the reft of the body; the middle or’
“breaft; and the belly, which is diftinguifhed
trom the other by an infe&tion in the middle,
‘The head hath two eyes in it, which are im-
‘moveable, of an oblong figure, black, and tranf-
parent: the mouth or jaws, like the mouths of
Some fifhes, open to the right and left, and
ferve initead of hands, to carry out of the hive
whatever offends or encunbers them. hey
have a long tongue or trunk, with which they
duck up the fweets out of the flowers. They
have four wings in all, and it is by them they
fly, and make founds and hunmings to one an--
other, which is thouzht to be their whole organ »
of fpeech : their wings are faltened to their mid-
die part. ‘They have alfo fix legs faftened to
‘the fame part, the two foremo‘t are the fhort-
eft, and with them they can unload themfelves :
the two middlemoft are fomewhat longer; and ©
the two hindmolt are lonzelt of all, and oa the. |
middle jotat of them there is on the outfide
- a little cavity in the fhape of a marrow fpoon: -
; it
”~ eo
Hiftory of the Working Beews = 6 5
it is om this hollow that the Bees collect, by Int-
tle and little, thofe loads they carry home to
their hives. It is obfervable that neither the
Queen nor Drones have this groove. The laft
part of the Bees, which is the betly, is diftin-
guifhed with fix rings in the infide are. two”
parts; the one is a little bladder or refervoir,
in which is colleéted the honey that the Bees
fip in the cups of the flowers, after it hath pafled
through the probofcis, and through the narrow
pipe that traverfes the bead and breaft of the
Bee: this bladder, when it is full, is of the
fize of a fmall pea; it,is tranfparent in fuch a
manner that you can fee through it the colour
of the honey it contains. ‘The other remark-
able part is the fling, which is fituated at the
extremity of the belly of the Bee, and which is
darted out and drawn in with great quicknefs
by means of certain mufctes placed very near
the fting. The length of the fting is about
two lines; it is a ‘Yittle bigger towards its root,
than near its extremity, which terminates in a
point: it hath the confiftence of horn; is hol-
low within in the manner of a tube, wherein
pafles the venomous liquor, which being in-
cluded in a bladder placed in the belly, and at’
a little diftance from the root of the {ting ;° this
difcharges itfelf near the point, and infinuates
itfelf into the wound the very inftant that the —
Bee pierces the fkin. ‘The Bee almoft always
‘leaves the fting in the wound, and it draws af-
ter it the bladder, and fometimes a part of the
entrails of the infeét. | !
- "Phefe Bees are, I may fay, the whole cormmu-
nity, unlefs in the Drone feafon, which is {carce--
G 3 bay
~ 66 — Hiftory of the Working Bee.
ly three months; all the other nine months
there is none other in the hive but one fingle
Queen. ‘They ‘are the. Bees which build the
combs; collect the honey in the fields, and
bring it home, and ftore it up in their waxen
magézines. ‘They nourilh up.the eggs’ to be
commion Bees, Queens, and Drones : they alfo
guard the hive from all enemies of whatever
kind ; carry out all incumbrances that are in
the ty and kill all the drones, &c.
Notwith{tanding all that ever has been wrote
and faid concerning Bees, their fexes cannot
pofitively be afcertained as yet by any man: T
for my part leave it to future enquiries, for it
as yet remains a myftery to me. And as to the,
Drenes, | know not their ule; only this | affirm:
as fact, that the Queen. jays all the eggs, and that
without the agency of the drones; and alfo that
every egg can be raifed up by the commons to be
&% queen, a common, or drone, as the commons
pleafe. I alfo affirm that there is norfuch thing,
as little drones. I am alfo certain that the queen, ~
and commons can perpetuate their fpecies be-
‘tween themfelves ; which is conclufive they two
are male and female, although no writer ever
before afferted it.
It is faid of the fnails, that they are “all her-
maphrodites, and that both the fexes | are con-
tained in each of thei. |
;* is = " 7 a N - “— é
“Of the Sting ofa Bee = 6
Ay
7
I
: be -
£ H A P. IX.
OF THE STING OF A BEE.. ty
a ee ote
ewe ae ee
yin we are now to go forward to handle
: Bees, it becomes us therefore to. guard
ourfelves againit their flings. In the firit place,
Bees feldoni ule their itings, unlefs provoked or
affronted ; therefore you muft beware of giving
them the lealt offence, for they will hazard
their lives rather than let an affront pafs wnre- -
fented: for exafperate them near their-hives,
you may as, well take a lion by the beard, ora
bear by the tcoth, as offer to capitulate with,
them: in fuch a cafe the only thing to be done
1s prefently to fcour off, and fhelter yourfelves.
within doors, and peep out at them, till once
their fury be abated, and the remembrance of
the allront be. obliterated; then you may re-.
new -your acquaintance with them, and if yow
ceme in an humble manner, and walk gently
and fubmifhvely among them, they will ule you
very friendly. In all things you have to do
with Bees, do it ina foft, calm, gentle, and fub-
miilive manner: come not among them ma
rafh hafty manner; neither muft you come
puffing and blowing, nor with bad fmells about
you. Come to them in the fame manner you
would appear before your patron, when you
want a favour at his hand, and not as before a
duellift, unlefs you be armed cap-a-pee.
: 7 When
68 Of the Sting of a Bee.
When Bees are offended at.a perfon, the
chief part they aim at to wound him in is the
face and hands, being the places they know are
moft vulnerable. But in cafe thofe places be ©
covered, and proof again{t them, then they will
furround him all about, in order to fee if they
can fpy any unguarded place in his coverings,
any aperture or crevice about his fhirt, hands,
_ breeches knees, &c. and if they find the leaft
opening in any of them, they will pufh in at it,
and fo leave their fting, and very life, behind!
The hair of the head, beard, or eye-brows,
are all véry offenfive to Bees, any of which if
they accidentally light on, (akhough in good
humour before) they will fting the very in{ftant.
It has been lately affirmed, that a perfon is in:
perfect fafety among myriads of Bees, if he
carefully keep his mouth fhut, and breathe
gently through his noftrils only: and merely
with this precaution, it is faid, the hive may
be turned up, and part of the combs cut out.
Ido alfo believe, it is very good not to blow
one’s breath on them, when they are in the
furious mood; but when combs are to be:
taken out, they mutt firft be frighted'into good.
humour, by rapping all round their hives ; after
which you may blow-as much breath as you’
pleafe on them, they will not in the leaft re-
fent it, but will fuffer you to handle them, or
cut out their combs, as you pleafe: and that is
the alone way to..tame: Bees, viz. to frighten
them; after which they wil not in the lealt
offer to fting,.if you do not prefs them. When
at work in the fields, they never offer to fting,
let you affront them as you pleafe: you iis
| | chafe
-
|
— 2 =
> .
. Of thé Sting of a Bee. 69
chafe them from flower to flower, and yet you
cannot tempt them to ftine, but they will fly»
from ycu, as unworthy of their notices © |
When you have any bufinefs to do about
your Bees, which may provoke them to fting,
and yet mu{t be done, fuch as making them
fwarm, uniting hives, &c. then you muft have”
on your harnefs, and keep it on as long as they
are furious; but whenever they are frighted
and furprifed, by rapping on the hive, they will
be very pacific, and never offer to fling you.
After which, throw. off your fafe-guard, and als
fo your coat, by which you will be more fit for
performing your bufinefs with them. When
I take afwarm of Bees out of a hive, I firft
put on my harnefs, and then invert the old
hive, and put an empty hive above her; then}
rap the old hive all round, which confounds,
frightens, and terrifies them fo, that they turn
quite peaceable, and never offer to fling me
-more: then ] throw off all my armour, and
cout alfo, by which I bave more air and freedom
te finifh my bufinefs with them.
In cafe Bees difturb you much when walking
among them, gently pat them by_your face”
with your hand, and mave flowly away from
them, and thruft your head into a bufh, and
they will leave you in a little. .
Al the harnefs [ ufe is a\piece of thin can-
vals, wove very flack, a yard fquare; this T
put over my head, and drawl. it together a-
bout my neck, I fix it with a exrter. I then
put on a. pair of gloves, caufing a perfon to
tie my coat-fleeves clofe on above them, fo
as not one Bee can get up betwixt my arms and
{leeves.
-
70 Of the Sting of a Beew
fleeves. The canvafs being wove almoft as thin
‘as a fieve, permits me both to fee and breathe.
Indeed it is only fome times I trouble myfelf
with any incumbrances of that nature, for in-
_ ftead of that, I generally flrip myfelf ere I be-
gin, when I judge I have wife and mild Bees to
deal with; and many fwarmis have I taken off,
and not received a fting. |
Mr. Keys fays, there have been too many me-
lancholy inftances of men as well as cattle who.
have been {tung to death by Bees. I never read
nor heard one fingle inftance of any fuch thing,
unlefs of one who was put in a cage, and cover-
ed over with honey, on purpofe for Bees and
wafps to fting him to death. i |
‘The ftings of Bees have very different effects
- on different perfons; for there are fome men to
‘whom the fting of a Bee does not occafion any
pain or inflammation; and they difdain wing any
precaution, even when they are fure of receive-
ing many ftings. Others again are terrified for
Bees, their fting in them caufing an exquifite
pain, and followed by great fwelling. The fting
of Bees has very differeut effects on me at dif-
ferent times; the feldoimer I am f{tung, the more
pain I feel, and fwell the more; if Iam ftung
once in three weeks, I feel fome pain and {well
a little; butif I befung once, twice, or thrice
ina day, I value them not a pin: Ihave received
twenty ftings in a day, and {welled fcarcely any.
The reafon I pretend not to account for, but
leave it. to thofe of more penetration to dil-
COVET.a -
; Qure
Of the Sting of a Bee. . vA |
Cure for the Sting of a Bee.
‘LT HERE have been many remedies pre(cribed
_ (to little purpofe) to cure the wound secetved
\
By a fling. Oil of olives, or any mild oil is
thought by many to be a cure; bruifed parfley
gives eafé, fay fome; the honey taken out of the
Bee that inflicted the wound is thought a good’
cure; the fweet fpirit of vitriol well rubbed in
the wound will prevent pain or fwelling, fays
Mr. Keys. Repeated experiments oft fhew that
the eafe received from any of the above reme-
dies is but feldom, and may rather be Imputed
to an accident than a cure; yet 1 make no doubt
but they may give eafe fometimes.
The {ting and poifon is ejected in a moment,
and pain and {welling take place the fame in-
{tant, when the cure is often far to feek and ill
to find. The moment I receive a fting, I pull
it out, and takes a kail dock, afh, or almoft any
green leaf which is fooneft got, and is always.at
hand, and bruifes ita little, and rubs it in the
wound. Sometimes, if near water, I wafh the
wound, or apply a wet and cold cloth to it, and
have thought it fometimes gave me a little eafe;
but it is not one in a dozen I apply any reme-
dy to at all, for it feldom makes me uneafy, and
1 know a little patience and time compounded
together will make an effectual cure.
CHAP. .
pa , - | SOF the Apiary. - :
‘ 4 , _
OUR AY Br
OF THE APIARY.
:
A® a general rule, fet a hive where fhe will
get as much fun and as little wind as you —
can; and keep all cattle of whatever kind from
her. The farther fhe is from any other hive the
will thrive the better; not becaufe they will im-
poverith the flowers, for this is:fearcely ever.
the cafe, but the farther from other hives the
leis danger front robbers; for in fine weather
when there is no honey in the fields, and many
Bees near other, they will conftantly be trying |
one another’s hives in the robbing way, altho’
{trong hives fuffer little or nothing by robbers, -
yet weak ones conftantly are lofing Bees by
them, as any one may fee, where there is a mul-
tutude of them in one apiary: and this is the chief ~
reafon, and none other, that Bees do not thrive
fo well where there are many in one place,, as”
where there are-few. |
Vherefore I would advife any one that wants
to keep a large quantity of italls, perhaps twenty
or thirty, or as many more as he pleafes, to have
no more {tallsin one apiary than fix; and if he
‘can have that much room, each one of thefe
hives fix yards from any other; that is an excel-
lent method to prevent fcrabbling and fighting.
. Tdo not mean that Bees will not thrive well when
thick fet, for one may have four good itocks all
fi; | within
| Of the Apiary. ae
within twe feet of each other and do véry well:
all 1 mean is, that they will thrive the better by
being far between, but cannot thrive the worfe,
as by the above: Ihave faid fix is to be fet in
oné apiary, and you may have other fix within »
a quarter of a mile of them in the fame manner,
and fo on, you may cover Britain with
them, that thicknefs, if you can, if flowers are
within their reach. I think by this time Mr.
_ Keys will be faying, Where is the food for fuch a
prodigious number? for both Mr, l/i/e and he
fay, a field may be overftocked with Bees, the
fame way it may be overftocked with theep. I
do not deny but there is a poflibility of it, but
it will not be fo by fetting them as thick as I
have directed. yeas
_ In the honey feafon if we confider the vaft
number of flowers the earth produces in fpring
and fummer, and that fcarcely one of them but
Bees gather of. If one pafs by a clover, muf-
tard, or heather field ona fine day in the honey
feafon, the whole air {mells of the fweeteft nec-
tar; the flowers of which are numberlels, and
the-fockets like the {and on the fea-fhore: and
yet every focket has a little honey init. Idare
to fay that one acre of either white clover, muf- ~
tard, or heather, will produce twenty poundof —
honey in one day, befides almoit every tree,
corn field, and all kinds of weeds produce
flowers. _
When the flowers are fapped at their roots,
and a fine fultry feafon, they are continually
_fweetening honey through their pores, A hun-
dred hives which are well ftored with workers,
fet in one village, will get all goéd weights and
H thrive
74 : vg Of the Apiary. ai Hi i
thrive well; whereas in a cold or rainy feafon,
fuppofe thefe was only one hive in the faid
place, fhe will be a poor one, and it is not for
want of flowers that honey is tearce in this
land, but for wart of good feafons and labour-.
cers to bring ithome. Mr. William White Mays,
“J have heard feveral perfons. unacquainted
with the nature of Bees argue, that a place
‘ may be overftocked with Bees, as well as fheep
‘on a pafture; but | will affure my readers it is
“ notio, for I have proved the contrary ; for if
“there were an hundred ftocks in one town,
* (viz. a {tiall village) and it fhould be a honey
w
‘ feafon they would be all good weight; and if |
‘ it fhould be a cool {howery time in the height of
‘the honey feafon, if there were only one {tock
* in that town, they would not be heavy enough
‘to ftand; for Lcan affure you there is plenty
* of honey one day, and none at all another.’ ,
What has been faid here does not contradié
the directions given to fet hives thin, the defign
of that being to keep them from, fighting in
{pring and autumn, for they do not rob in the
fummerfeafon. When they can get honey from
flowers, they will not fieal it, and you may fet
a hundred and fifty in one park, if you pleafe,
of forty acres large; and if you fet each hive fix
yards trom any other, they will find plenty
flowers for themfelves in fummer, fuppofe they
fhould fly two miles for fome of them; only be
fure tofet them as near as you conveniently can,
for the nearer they are them; the more loads. —
will they. bring home in a da
i ‘ a Py Re
fill their ftore-houtes the lconer.
I have
y,, and thereby.
a
Of chufing Stall-hives in Sepimber. 75 ~
L have often thought, had I exaGly my with
where to fet Bees, it would bein a hollow clen,:
with a large wood on one fide, a large garden
on another, a white-clover field before them,
and a large heather muir intermixed with a deal
of whins and broom behind, with fome wild
muftard and runches to fill up the corners.
“| mm,
©. Beta? PA ak
HOW TO CHUSE STALL-HIVES IN SEPTEMBER.
ea ns ee ee ee ee oe
HyAv IN G fixed on the apiary, let us next
fill it with proper inhabitants: and we
muft be very pointed here, as our profit and
pleafure, lofs and vexation, in all our manage-
ment of Bees, generally turn upon this hinge.
‘Therefore you mutt be very attentive in chufing
your ftall-hive ; for if you keep good ftalls you
have done yourfelf a good turn, but if you keep
bad ones, I promife you a great deal of trouble,.
and little fuccels, “o foon a broken Bee-maf-
ter. ‘
You mutt confider, that in September every:
ftall ought to have as much honey in her as will
‘{upply her till next Fune; and as many Bees
as will maintain heat in her, and thereby re-
fift a fevere eold winter, and be fo many-able
foldiers to defend her from inyafions in the
{pring, |
H' 2 | Bs
76° OF chyfing Stall-hives in September.
As Ejntend ro diffuade every one from keep-
ing hives that have not a fuflicient’ quantity of
- honey in thein in harvelt to fupply them till next
‘Yune, 1 fhall fhew the rifks that are run by keep-
ing bad ftalls, and the little profit that attends
them even when they do come through the win-.
ter and dpring, which feldom happens. And in
the firlt place, a bad ftall, fuch-an one as has
not a fufhciency of honey and Bees as will fup-
ply it with both food and heat till Fune, is not
to be trufted; for it is the greateft-prudence, :
in all the management of Bees, to keep always
good ftalls.
A hive that has not honey enough to fupply her
till Yune mult be fed, otherwife the will die of
famine: and if a hive takes four pints to bring
her to Fune, and has only two pints of her own,
then you mult give her other two, by which
ihe will coft you as much honey, and a great _
deal of trouble, and often fet your Bees a fight-
ing, unlefs you be very prudent in your way of
_ giving them their honey. » At any rate, the
' Bees are fure to take a good belly-full in’the ©
firit place; and I am certain that in the belt
method that can be taken to feed Bees, they
will fpend more honey than they do when they»
have it to pickle out of theif own poke-nook: —
not unlike fome of a highempfpecies, that are
very moderate of diet in thefr own homes, but
can make very merry when abroad, and nothing
to pay. 3 e
By feeding in fpring, when the weather ©
is good, and no flowers in the fields, all
the Bees in the neighbourhood will {mell the |
honey, —
Of chufing Stall-hives in September: - TF
_ honey, and very often occafions great fighting 5. ry
and it brings the Bees down from their brood,
and many times perifhes them in the cells.
I own, that by taking great pains, and giving
them it properly, fome of thele inconveniencies:
may be prevented; but often it happens other-
wife. And fhould one feed thenr painfully till
May, and inattentively mils two or three days
when theit honey is done, then they will die at
the. mouth of honey-harveft, and all your honey
and trouble is loft. Again, if you keep a hive
not fufficiently ftored of Bees, they will dwin.
dle away gradually by cold and age it winter,
and probably become a prey to robbers in
fpring : and if fhe fhould come through, it
will be long ere fhe turn throng of Bees, and.
perhaps mifs fwarming next feafon. But to
make fhort work, a bad ttall* runs a rifk to
die of cold, famine, and by robbers, ana if the
efcape thofe dangerous rocks, will bring home-
but a fall freight next year,
‘But a well-chofen {tall feldom but does ioehh
and rewards the owner with “a doyble- tock
next year. She runs no rifk to die cf cold;
having plenty. of Bees; nor to die of famine,
being well ftored with provifions ; neither by
robbers, being filled with wett-trained and
armed foldiers, and bids fair for a well-filled
houfe next years having many workers; zmb
many children next year, having a prolific ang
ther and many. nurfes.
By this time, I hope, the reader will take care
what ftall he keeps, and now wants to be ins .
forged: what hives. are fitteft for ftalls ; »1 thaih
Meg therefore
78. Of chufing Stall-hives in September.
therefore infornt him what will be for his profit ~
and alfo pleafure. | |
If a hive be well ftored with Bees, and 30}b,
weight, and not above. three years old, it is all.
you need ; if a top fwarm, or one year old, {till
the better: but you need not fear, though
they be four or five years old, if they have
thefe two effential parts of a Bee-hive—plenty
of honey and Bees: but beware of the want of
any of thefe two ingredients, left you rue when
you cannot mend it; for if you want any of
thefe two ingredients in your hive, I tremble
to think what will be her fate next fpring if
fhe'have the luck to fee it, for ftern cold, grim
famine, and the mercile{fs robbers will find out
where fhe lives, and fhew her not the fmalleft
pity. But if thofe two trulty brothers, honey
and bees be in her, they will make thefe rogues
run from her like Jamp-lighters. ‘Vhefe two
_ honeft fellows do well together, for they chear.
up.one another, and keep up other’s hearts:
but if one of them defert the houfe in a great
meafure, ~he three rogues will fall on ber again
might aid main, and the difcouraged brother
wilt become a prey to their avarice.
In ordsz to know whether your hive be well
.. ftored of bees, tura her up, and by looking at
“her you will fee if there is plenty of bees among
athe combs: and indeed a hive. that is 30]b.
weight feldom wants bees enough. ‘The way
to weigh it needs fcarcely be directed :—have a
bauk and {eales befide her, and put her, without
her board, in one fcale, and your weights in the -
other, the fame way as any other thing is weigh- —
ed, and you will fee her weight. You need
| | oe OC
‘ ; an Ye py . , 4 rae
| \ Of preferving Bees in Winter. 9
not be afraid of their ftings, if you go gently
about them, efpecially if the day be cold, and.
you take the early morning or evening: but
for my part, I can do it at any time.
Gas 5 hs a ia age 8
HOW TO PRESERVE BEE-HIVES FN WINTER. -
W HEN you have fettled upon your ftalls,.
whatever number, the more of thofe kind.
the better, fet them as I directed formerly, viz.
every one fix yards from another, if you can do
it conveniently; but in cafe you have little
room, and perhaps only three or four ftalls,
you may fet them within four feet of each
other. When yau have fixed on a place where’
a hiye is to ftand, drive three {takes into the
ground till the tops of them be within ten
inches of it, and the foremoft ftake an inch
lower than the other two ; then fet your hive on
them; after-which at fun-fet plaifter the fkirts
of the hive ‘all to the board with plaifter-lime
next take a little piece of hard wood, and cut
two finall holes in the under fide of it, wide
enough ‘to let out and in the largeft bee, but
no more, for’ was it much bigger, the mice
would go in at it: therefore you muft be very —
exact with your entries ;, each hole fhould
{carce €xceed a quarter of an inch high, and
as wide: then fix them to the entry of the
hive with a little lime; and next get a large
. quantity
‘
on*
‘
Oo ROK preferving Bees in Winter.
quantity of pob tow, or ftraw, if you cannot
get tow; and cover your whole hive over with
it, about eight. inches thick: then fix it to the -
hive with [traw ropes, and put a large divet
on the top of the tow or ftraw, which will
hold-it'elofe down to the hive, and keep them
both dry and warm: afterwards row up fome
of the tow or f{traw juft three inches or fo above
the entry, and fix inches at every fide, for the
lefs of the hive is feen,' the dryer and warmer it
will be; and in the very middle of winter, if
you put a bunch of {traw among your ftuckens,,
and fet the hive above all, it will be {till warmer.
This being carefully done when the weather is
dry in September or October, you need fearcely
touch your bees till mid-winter, about which.
time you may lift every hive, and carefully clean,
their boards, with a table-knife, of all the rub-
bifh or dead bees that may have gathered on.
them; at which time you will fee what ftate
your hives are in; and in cafe any of them is -
reduced to a fmall quantity of bees, you may -
ftrengthen her by taking a proper number from
any of your hives that is. plentieft of them: and
if any of your hives be lighter than another, —
take the bees from her; and in all your unites
ing of bees, {trive as much as you: can to unite
thofe that are of the beft natural tempers, for
there is a great odds among them.
OF preferving Bees in Winter’ 8 t-
a . a
How to take Common Bees * out of a Hive at any ,
fey of the Year, to ftrengthen weak Hives
with.” 1
TU KN her up, and fet an empty hive on her,
mouth to mouth; then rap the under hive all
round with your hands in the manner of beat-_
Ing a drum; rapping on the parts .of the hive
to which the edges of the combs are fixed: for
by rapping on the hive oppofite to the fides of
the gombs, you are ready to toofen them, and
_thereby make thetn incline to one another, and
bruife the Bees between them, and alfo the
young enclofed in the cells; and perhaps the:
. queen may be a fufferer alfo, When the hive
“Is turned up again, in order to fet her om her
board, I have feen the loofe combs fall ott; all
which ‘is a great lofs, and may be prevented by
rapping ina rightmanner. The older a hive is,
the lefs hazard there is of loofening the combs.
The more bees in a hive, the fooner will they_
falla running: the rapping and concuffion of
the hive alarms them, as if an earthquake,
and they run upto the upper hive in fearch of
a more fafe habitation; the firfi few that enter
it think they are fafe, and roar, and thereby
call and invite their brethren to the fame com-
fortable retreat. ‘They will foon run up into
the empty hive > then lift up the edge of the re-
| ) Ceivers ~
* By Common Bees here is meant thofe that have;
no€Juecn among them, though they haye Drones.
{
82 Of preserving Bees in Winter. —
ceiver, which is next your right hand, and —
look diligently to fee if you can fpy the Queen
going up among them; which if you fee, you
muift return her to her own hiveagain. Do it in
this manner—take a fpoon, and put before the
Queen, and caufe her to run into it, along
with fome of her companions: after you have
her in the fpoon, take it, and put to the edge
of the hive fhe came from, and fhe will run in
again. Buyt as foon as. you have got as many |
bees out’ as you want, and have not feen the
Queen go up with them, and yet are not cer-
tain whetber fhe be up among them or nor,
then turn tp the hive that the bees are put in,
and: ftir among them in order to caufe them
to ran much in the hive, by which you will
have an opportunity of feeing her, if fhe be as —
mong them ; but if after all your diligent fearch *
for her, you {till cannot fee her, it may be. pre-
fumed fhe is {till in the mother hive: but you
mutt not be eafily fatisfied on this point, as it
would be of dangerous confequence to the old ~
hive to take her Queen from her; in cafe fhe 7
had no.eggs it would entirely ruin her; there. |
fore fet down the hive with the bees in it, and.
ter tiem ftand, and if they have a Queen, they |
will ftay as quietry in it as any other f{warm, but
if not, they will come running out in a confu-
fion, by which you may be affured they have no 4
Queen, and are only all commons, and are what 7
you wanted, and at this inftant they fhould.be: —
put to the hive you wanted to re-Intorce.
—
How 4
Of preferving Bees in Winter. 83
_
—
eee to put common Bees in a Hive, to frrengthen
her.
HAVING got common Bees In an empty
hive, turn it up, and fet the hive you want
{trengthened on her, mouth to mouth, and they
will foon run up: after which fet the united
hive where the {trong one ftood, and the ftrong
hive where the weak one ftood, or in other
words, change their ftance.
-_
- Another Way of re-inforcing a Hive.
t ;
IN Summer, I have taken common Bees in.
fpoontulls out of the empty hive they had been
put in, and laid them before the hive’s entry I
wanted to put them to, and if they reccived
them peaceably, I continued to fil her with
beés in this manner: but if they fought much,
T returned the common bees to their inothels
hive again, or tried if fome other weak bive
would receive them kindly.
Another
. 84 Of proferving Bees in Winter. Miri
—
A nother Way.
1 HAVE only changed their ftance, fetting
the ftrong one where the weak one ftood, as
you will fee in page 21. ,
All thefe different ways I have had them re-
intorced, and they have given me great fatis- ©
faction; and if done in a prudent manner, not.
one of a dozen will fight {carcely any, though
indeed fometimes fome bees will fight, let us.
do our beft. Even the fame hive will not re-
ceive ftrange bees one day without fighting, that.
“will receive them kindly the next. I have oft
feen a hive, whea uniting, kill a hundred or fo, ©
and afterwards proclaim peace. But in Winter,
I can unite as many as I pleafe, and no fighting ©
at all.
Some may afk, where will.we get all thefe
common bees to ftrengthen weak hives with? _
I anfwer, if you have been a wife man, and %
have chofen good ftalls, you will fcarce ever
need this uniting, as every one will have bees —
enough of her own, and need none of your
alfiftance, but even in the beft chofen ftalls |
fometirnes it will happen that they will be re-
duced in number *, and therefore ought to be -
- | _ ftrength.
a
~
* The reafon fome hives come to have fewer: bees.
in winter than others (although equal with them in
‘Beptember ) is various:—lf a hive in fummer be but
fmall, and the feafon good, the Queen may not have 4
empty |
7 Z Ties >a vy 7, ne eee so
ee . 4
OF Pibnien hee in Winter. ity 86
Alrengthened, and fhould always be done. And |
if you have-a hive that is reduced to. perhaps
2000 bees, and another that has 12,000, by |
taking soco from the {trong hive, and putting
to the weak one, they will have 7000 each, and
having both thriving Queens, ney will. foon
All their hives with beaks,” . -
Lait year, | had a thriving hive, in Yanwary, .
and I took 3000 bees from Rene 6 A heer H's
weak hive with, but fhe foon hatched Gut: miore
bees. In March, l took other 3000 from her; -
in the middle of April, 1 took other 3000; in
May, ltook 6000 from her ; in Fune, | robbed
her of 8000; and in Fuly, l twice took 3000;
all of which I ftrengthened weak hives with.
This Way of doing I call milking hives; for
if a hive thrives, and you do not reduce her to
too {mall a number, but always leave a good
quantity of bees in herfelf, fhe will fpare you
3000 bees *, every fourteen days, from the mid-
dle of April till Lammas ;, but fhe cannot be ex~ —
pected to fill herfelf fo full of honey, as if you
took not her bees from her, and may rather
be called a breeder, than a fat one, as fhe will
breed far more bees than another hive, having
I few
empty cells enough to layin; and th rough fle may
have a large quantity of Bees in September, yet many
of them being well-advanced in age, will die of it ac-
cording to their birth; and not having many bred in
the latter end ef fummer, will have the fewer in win-
ter. Sometimes Bees will be reduced by cold, or by
removing them in, an imprudent manner, and irom
other caules. |
: * A pofitive number is not here. meant, as fome-
times far. more. may be taken, and fometimes lef ne 9:
86 Of preferving Bees in Winter. -
few full cells of honey, the will fill thei with :
young bees. |
- But be fure when you take any bees out of
a hive at any time, always to leave plenty bees
in the mother-hive; for by taking too many
out, you may not leave enough to keep heat in
the hive to hatch out the brood in the combs,
and thereby they will perifh, which will be
a great lofs; therefore beware of deftroying
one hive to mend another.
At all times of the year, whenever you have
a hive reduced in number, be fure to ftrength-
en her with Bees. In winter it muft be done
to preferve the hive from cold; in fpring, to
make them hatch faft, and preferve from rob-
bers; in furamer, to make them hatch faft, and
lay up honey; for few Bees in a hive in fum-
mer will only difappoint the owner: ,whereag
‘many will have honey if it be tobe got. There-
fore in winter you mult take care your hives be
not few in Bees, for fear the cold reduce them-
by little and little, and perifh them at laft. In_
itrong frofts lay a little tow at their entry, to
prevent too much of cold air to getinto the en-
Wy ; but take great care they be not clofe fhut
wp, for as they have lungs, they mult have a
little air to breathe m, but by being clofe fhut
wp, many ahive is fuffocated even in winter:
therefore take this as a caution, and never let
them want air no time of the year; but by ap-
plying tow or gras to their entry, not prefled, it
admits air and prevents cold. A certain’ de-
gree of cold is neceflary for Bees in winter 3.
that which pinches them and benumbs them fo
as to kcep them in thei hives ‘is neceffary, for
) , ! when
:
:
|
Of preferving Bees.in Winter. .. 87
when they get feldom out to exercife them-
-felves, they eat but yery little, though they con-
itant'y eat fome. 1%,
‘The greater exercife Bees have, the more>
- food they eat, as may be eafily obferved; for
as foon as a hive gives over work, about tie
middle of Auguffcommonly, and a large Guan-
tity of Bees: in the hive, and the weather {tll
good, their flying about gives them an appetite,
and their hives turn lighter very faft, till about
the middle of Odober ; after which they come -
feldom out of the hive, and eat but very lirtle
during November, December, Fanuary, and Le-
bruary ; but in Alarc and April they are keen
of rebbing and fearching about for food, and
thereby their appetite is very great, and they - -
eat the remains of their winter {tore falt away.
In the month of September, March, and April,
I believe they eat as much honey as they do in
the five cold una¢tive months. No doubt their _
confumption of honey is as great in the four
principal working months when their exercife is
great; but it is not fo obfervable, becaufe if
much be eat, more is their income.
By the above computation, it is not meant
that this is their exa&t way of fpending, becaufe
it may happen that bad weather may keep them
in their hives in-September, March, and April,
then their confumption will be lefs; and’ good
weather happening in the winter months, may _
give them more exercife, and thereby occafion.
more food: l only mean. that the above is their
“moit common way of fpending, according to
their numbers; for oftei a well chofen ftall at
the beginning of ay will have-five or fix. -—
| fas pound:
it
“88 Of ‘preferving Bees in Winter.
pound of honey in her, and fo much the better;
none fhould be run out in April, or May, by
three or four, pound.. Some writers have faid |
that in ftrong froftsBeées eat none at all, but are
motionlefs; * and if fuch a froft continue for —
* two or three months,’ lays Mr. Stephen White *,
* without intermiflion, you may oblerve through
your glafes that the Bees are all this time
clofely linked together in ctufters betaveen
the combs, if they are not altogetlter without
m ion; yet it is certain they ftir not from
their places while the cold continues, and
therefore eat none at all’ Mr. Keys fays +, ‘It
mult be confidered that Bees are capable of
* refilling cold only to as certaim degree; that
.
ny
a)
ltateis falutary; for thereby becoming mo-
tionlefs, perfpiration and cireulation of the
fluids are ftopped, and the confequent diffipa-
tion prevented. ‘In this ftate any freth fupply
of fultenance is unneceffary +’ That Bees
| eat
~ a
aA a w&
\ : :
* Page to. + Page 2gt.
| t¢ What a pity it is but fuch doctrine was true;
that Bees could feed on cold, what ‘a nice cheap way
of feeding, and of what confequence would it be to
Bee-mafters; it would be only keep them cold, and
“then keep as many hives as you pleafef
-- But alas, motwithftanding the prolific brains of thofe
gentlemen that aifert it, we have no other proof of
it yet, than mere conjecture, and random affirmations,
which ftubborn truth and fact will not admit of as a
‘clear demonftration; nor hath the brighteft genius —
by the deepeft refearches, (as yet) difeovered a me- ~
thod to maintain Bees, on any other thing than food; _
| therefore —
/
which reduces them to a lethargy or torpid '
- Of preferving Bees in Winter. © 8g.
eat none at all for two or three months, as White —
{ays; and they turn motionlefs, perfpiration and
- circulation of the fluids are ftopped, difhpation.
prevented, frefl: fupply of fuftenance is unne-
ceflary, as Keys fays, are miltakes, as may eafily.
be obferved: by any attentive obferver.
aft. If Bees be long confined in their hives in:
winter by froft, perhaps two or three months,.
if the hive be lifted off the board, there will
be feen three or four rows of crumbles. of
wax, not unlike faw-duft, lying juft below.
the Bees, which are the ceilings of the cells.
containing honey, all broke into fimall
crumbles by_the Bees, when they opened
the mouths of them to get atthe honey. Cer-
tainly, if motionlefs, and eat none, no pol butts
ty of fo much ftuff below them.
_2d. When they come out after fach long con-
finement, they will be full of excrement, a
certain fign they have eaten.
3d. And in the middle of fuch long frofts, [
have had Bees lay eggs, neurifh the young,
and feal up the cells they were in. Certain-
ly, with Mr. Keys’ leave, we may affirm they
had perf{piration, circulation of the fluids,.
and even food was neceflary.
4th. Let Mr. Keys drive the Bees out of a
honey hive, and put them among empty
F3 con $
therefore we are juft where we were, and mutt ftill.
follow the old fafhion; and (that is) keep our Bees
warm, and allow them food always,. till we Want their,
death.
= A. : | ‘ Fe ee ee OS yf
‘ AY a ie * are 5 * 5. "g
9° . Of preferving Bees in Winter. :
combs in another hive, and keep them juft |
as coldas thofe in honey hives. befide them, —
and eight or ten days will make him fenfible —
~ whether Bees can live in cold without honey,
4”
.
and let him fee food is not unneceflary even
in cold weather, :
The difference of fituations, difpofitions of
places, qualities of hives, and number of Bees
in a hive, all make’a difference of heat and cold
in hives; yet this we may fafely infer, that the
ereater quantity of Bees in a hive, the lefs danger
they will be in of fuffering by cold. Therefore
a hive fhould be well ftored of Bees in winter,
and the fewer Bees ina hive, fo much the ’
warmer fhould fhe be kept. Mr. Keys fays *,
* But here occurs the grand difficulty, viz. that
‘ of knowing what degree of cold will keep Bees
“*in the beneficial {tate ;———and whilft the’
(plenty ) * Bees in one hive fhall be confuming
=. oe
=
a
ee
‘their provifion,’ (by being warm). * thofe’ ,
_ (few Bees)‘ in another fhall be expiring of cold.’
The difficulty is not fo great as faid, for keep
asmany Bees in a hive as you pleafe in winter,
the will not be over warm, if keep her entry, 0-
pen, neither will fhe confume her honey to any
excels, for fhe will only eat to fatisfy narure
and no more; and no wife man will begrudge *
her that, if he wants her to live. |
As ‘toa hive that has few Bees in her, fhe
ought to be reinforced if Bees can be had; but
if no Bees can. be got to flrengthen her with,
the thould be placed and covered fo as to make
* Page-292\
Of preferving Bees in Winter. Or
’ her fufficiently warm, that you may know the
right medium. I fay be not afraia’of Bees be-.
ing too warm in your apiary, if you give thein. .
. fufficient air; nor need you fear gluttony by.
too much heat; but keep weak hives as warin
as to fee every Bee in motion when you turn
‘them up. . | 4 A f |
In fevere ftorms take care your Bees do aot
fuffer by:cold; turn them up and look into the
hive, and fee if your Bees be all alive betwixt-e-
- -very.comb where they are clofely fitting and
linked together; if they ftir with their wings all
is well, clean their board and fet them down
again, and cover them, and carefully keep them
dry and as warm as you can, to admit air: but if
-‘inftead of being clultered between the combs,
they fall down in numbers on the ftool, and
- fome of the outfide layers between the combs ftir
not, then they are ftarving of cold, and you -
~mu(t bring them into a warm room, and they
will foon recover, and fet them in fome mode-
rate warm place, and keep them there till the
cold remove; and then fet them in their old
{tance again. Do it an hour after fun-fet, and.
_ they will not ftir out of their hive that night ;
for when confined in the hive fome time, per-
haps in a dark place, and they are returned to
light and liberty they are fond of it; and many
would come out and kill themfelves by lighting
on the cold and wet ground: but by ftanding
out all night the cold would pinch them, and
the light coming gradually to them next morn-
ing, would not furprife them fo much, and af.
ter long confinement let them not out at any
rate till a fine day.
~
In
i=
92 OF preferving Bees in Winter.
In fnow, when’ the fun fhines bright, and -
one oe
bees have been long confined before that by —
unactive weather, they are keen to be out, be- |
ing excited by the glaring light, and heat of the
fun: efpecially if the feafon be advanced to Fe.
bruary, they wilk come rufhing out, if allow-
ed, to their own deftruction, and alight on the ~
fnow, the coldnefs of which gradually feizes
them, and they die in multitudes: therefore’
in fuch weather be fure to fuffer none to get
out: prevent them by laying tow before their
entries, and a {tone before it to bear it to them,
but fo as to admit air ; and‘ let every part about.
the hive be carefully viewed, to fee that they.
get out at no’other aperture; for if they did,
the cure would be worfe than the difeafe; by.
their coming out at.any other part, they would
alight on the fnow, but thofe that efcaped the
{now, would fly to their common entry, in’ or-
der to get in again, but would be prevented by
its being fhut, and therefore would foon die
alfo. : |
Many ingenious gentlemen have tried feveral
-methdds to preferve bees in winter: fome ‘have
fhut them up in cold out-houfes from Septem-
ber till April, and fome from the firft of No-
Ne
vember till March. Others put grates before -
_ their entries to admit air, but keep them in their
hives. | .
The hmits of this performance will not ad-
mit to fhew the unfuccefsfulnefs’ of thefe inven-
. tions; fuffice it to obferve in general, that a
long .confinement is not healthy fer them; be-
fides as they eat a little, it is neceflary that they -
fhould get out to void their ordure; for TD have
| often
‘ '
, \ -
Of preferving Bees in Winter. Qz
often feen bees that have been long confined, fo-
full of excrement within, that they {welled to
a great fize, larger than a queen-bee, and. as
foon as they got liberty to get out of their hives,
being unable to fly to void their ordure, they - |
‘would run over at the edge of their board, and =~
creep about till they died in great numbers, and —
fearcely one in twenty ever for any more ue.
But when they get out now and then, in se
winter days, they air themfelves, eafe their bo-_
dies in flight, trail out their dead bees, and re-
turn to their hives again, and take themfelves' a
fong, which isa fign they are happy. Expe-
rience tells me, and I believe, almoft all others,
_that bees thrive beft. by flanding out in the
common method, with liberty to go ont and-in.
to their hives, when they find a call forit They: |
have the fagacity to know when they may ven»:
ture out without hazard; and they will come
-to the door of the hive, and eafe themfelves,
and return again to their companions.
~ Hives fhould be placed on boards, for they
-are warmer in winter and colder in famme:? ;.
befides they fuck up the water that the heat
of the: bees make, (which we call fweating) or
any other wet that may gét in at any time.
Boxes are not near fo warm as ftraw-hives,, —
therefore they f{hould have more covering on.
them by far. .
Moft all writers fay, that a fine winter is dan-
gerous for bees, and far more die than in a cold
one, alledging that their going often out in-,
creafes their appetites, and they fpend their
provifion, and thereby often die of famine;
Nay ped 3 . whereas
i
a
oq" OF preferving Bees in Winter. ‘ *:
whereas being long confined in their bives i
bees. It furprifes me to hear writers affert fuch|
bad weather, they fearcely eat any at all.
Lown that in a fine winter, they eat fom
more food than in a winter that they fcarcel
get ever out by cold or cloudy weather; but it
a fine winter the bees getting often out in fun
ny freth days, it is greatly for their health, an
they die not of cold; befides they fall a hatch
i*z,. and thereby keep their: hives fuller o
miftakes ; for experience, (which is better than
conjectural reafoning) may convince every one
to. the contrary, that far more hives die in cold
winters than in mild ones. I have fundry years
feen, particularly in the winter 1779, which was
a remarkable fine one, that year not a hive of
twenty died, and they fwarmed a month fooner
. than ordinary ; whereas in the winter 1776, be-
_ Ing very cold, there was a great death among
» bee-hives: if a countryman had four ftalls in
his apiary at Jlartinmas, the celd reduced them
to three, or perhaps two, before Merch > and
the few {warms that were the following fum-
mer, were both fmall and late. :
When the froft is: very ftrong fo as to lay
ploughs, and water freezes in houfes, then you
may fet your hive in fome out-houfe, and keep
them there till good weather comes, and then
fet them in their ftqnce again; but if covered
well, and their entries {topped with tow, as di-
rected, they will not be Aap with cold, altho’
ftanding out in your apiary. |
-1 have. feen a hive that had been long con-
_ fined (perhaps ten weeks) by cold, when fine
weather returned, and the bees, came out, very _
. ; great
; : Of Bees’ Purgings in Winter. 9 5 fi
eat numbers of ‘them would Have died ina
ay or two, and the hive would have been
sreatly reduced: I judged that their long con-
anement had made them difeafed. Ce ol
CH A PP. XL
OF TME PURGINGS INCIDENT TO BEES IN
WINTER. .
H EN bees are long confined at any time
of the year, they take a loofenefs, and
surge greatly. Some writers fay, they have
‘his loofenefs only in the fpring, by the feed--
ing greedily on new-blown flowers ; butit is a
miftake; for they have it at all times, if long
zonfined ; tor they are fo cleanly, that they fel-
Jom or, never void their ordure, unlefs when
dying; which may eafily be feen, if they fly
over. or light on {now or linen clothes, it falls
on them in brown fpots. Some give directions
iow to prevent them from taking that loofenefs, ~
and alfo how to cure themr that have it, and that
is by keeping combs in the hives containing
Dee-bread or farina, imputing the difeafe to a-
rife from their eating only pure honey. Thefe -
gentlemen only, difcover their unacquainted.
nefs with bees, for it arifes from-their long
confinement, and from no other reaton, as ap- —
pears by common obfervation: if hives that —
anted bee-bread only. purged, then it might
ve imputed to that caufe, viz. the want of hae
in
de Ae Eee ttl hk
oy ‘ eae":
: Hen 3 “3 tne {o Abhi Fics ¥ tat ;
96 Of Bees’ Purgings in Winter.
‘Kind of food: but hives that have plenty of bee-
bread in them purge as faft as any, which lays
that argument afide. Jf they purged only in
_ fpring, when they feed firft on flowers, it might
- be conjectured-that ‘it arofe from that reafon,
but it is fo far from being the cafe, that they
purge at all times when confined; and inftead
of purging more when they get flowers to feed
on, they give it entirely over before ever flower-
time ‘comes on. If the weather be fine, and
they can get only flown about, an hour or two,
‘the cure is effected, as foon as their bellies are
emptied of the ordure that has encreafed during
their confinement. Iam never better fatisfied
than to fee them rain it away when flying. The
only method to prevent bees from having that
purging is to let them always have their liberty ;
and the fame is the cure when they have it, and
that is to. let them get out to void it. |
- But in: cafe the weather be unfit for their
coming out for a long time, you cannot help it
by any method you can ufe.
-It is certain, when bees are fet in out-houfes
in ftorms, they of neceflity muft ‘continue in 4
the hives, and thereby canuot get out to void
their ordure; but they are in the fame cafe
when ftanding in the apiary in fuch bad wea- |
ther, as they cannot get out; and in both cafes
they are alike as to voidmg their excrement.
Mr. Keys thinks cold foggy air is very perni- |
cious to bees in winter, and aflerts itas the alone |
ocaufe of their exceffive purging, ¢or, fays he*, —
pe , ‘* preferve ©
* Page 302.
Of Bees’ Purgin wes in Winter. 99
* preferve them from this’ (air), * and the froft
* will bite in vain.’
I cannot believe any fuch thing, for this rea-
fon—were cold foggy air to produce this fe-
vere purging in bees, then all hives that ftood
out in fuch air would have this difeafe; where-
as I know for certain that one hive in an apiary
will have it in a fevere manner, and very many
bees will fall down to the board in her, and die
of it; whereas another hive ftanding jut at her
fide, with the fame number of bees in her, and »
partaking of the fame cold foggy air, will be
not in the leaft hurt by it, but in a fine day af-
ter her confinement, will fly about, and eafe
their bodies of it, and fearce any one dies of it
in hers Again, were the faid foggy air the
alone caufe of their fevere purging, all hives
that ftecd in dry rooms would have no fuch
difeafes, whereas it is certain that two hives,
having the fame number of ‘bees in them, and
ftanding i in the fame warm and dry room, the
one will have it feverely, and many of her bees
die of it, -and the other no ways injured by
it.
ee that have that fevere kind of purging
are always keen to get out of the hive to void
it, which appears to me their confinement is
the crufe of. ~
There are two degrees of purging, the one
all Bees have atter confinement, and it hurts
them nothing ; 3 the other only fome hives have,
and it reduces their bees greatly. in fhort, J
have often been fore perplexed to fee fome of
my bees dying coniiantly in their hives of this
fevere kind of purging, while others that food _
“kK. wh
98 Of Bees! Pigg: os in in Wid.
jut befide them, and were as much confined,
yet-had it only in a {mall degree, and were not
in the leaft hurt by it, for as foon as the wea |
ther turned good, they got out and voided it,
and were as lively and healthy as ever. And
indeed in the fame hive fome bees will be dyin;
of it when long confined, and the Sgt part —
of the hive nothing the worfe. But why all
this perplexity, thinks I, about fome bees being
difeafed, while others befide them are healthy ?
is it not apparent to common obfervation, that
the fame is the cafe among mankind ? when a
difeafe is in a land, in fome cities death rides
triumphant, while others fearcely feel the cala-
mity. In fome families, the {mall-pox blalfts
perhaps all the hopeful plants, while others e-
{cape with fearcely a fcar from the awful foe.
Thinks J, no doubt, there are fome bees of a
more delicate and tender conflitution than o-
thers, and thefe become an eafy prey to the con-
_tagion, while others.of a more robuft, {trong,
and healthy body, bid defiance to the difeafe. |
Upon the whole, confinement feems to me to
be the alone caufe of the faid purging, and fly-
ing out in fine days the fpecific cure: but fee-
ing we cannot prevent bad weather from con-
fining them, and thereby bringing the difeafes
on fome hives, neither can we procure good —
weather to remove it. I freely own, I neither
can prevent bees from taking difeafes, nor can I
cure them when difeafed; but I, at the fame time,
_profefs, that I can prevent a great many €vils.
that bee-hives are apt to fall into by imprudent
ymanagement. of them ; and alfo that when ia
, “ bee-
kas of Bees? Purgings in Winter: 99
_bee- hive_ takes a dis- tag I can make her —
thrive again, |
The reader need not be ieee aged Hebauts
he cannot cure his purging bees, for notwith-
{tanding all that has been faid, it is not one of
-a dozen of hives that is much the worfe of it
one year with another ; and of thofe that have.
it let him remove the dead that falls.down on
the board, and if many die, bia vit the hive
with more bees.
Before I leave this, I cannot but Shier that’
I never knew the Queen a fuilerer by a lootetere,
I fuppofe it is becauie of her being always in
the warmeft part of the hive, and in the midft _
of the bees.
It is certain that if a hive be kept in an out-
houfe clofe fhut up (fo as to admit only air, but
not to let a fingle bee out of her) during the five
coldeft months, they will often do very well next
{pring. In fuch a cafe, no doubt, they muift
eafe their bodies in the hives on their boards,
but I belieye fore againft their will, yet they
mult fubmit to necefhty, feeing they can do no
better.
If fome of your hives’ be reduced of bees in
winter, and you with that they had more bees,
and that they would breed fait, then you may
give a ftrong hive 1 lb. of liquid honey, (which
{ call a reviving) by pouring it among the
combs; which when doing, hold the hive a little
to one fide, and by pouring in the thin honey,
it well run into the empty cells: the bees will be
very fond of it, and it will fo revive and roufe -
them, that they ‘will fall a hatching immediate-
ly (having many bees to increafe heat): and’ af--
as - ter.
2 ey
FOO Of Bees * Paget in Winter.
ter twenty days or fo that they are hatched out
of the cells, take a good many common bees
from her, as directed page 81, and re-inforce a
weak hive with them, as directed page 83, &c.
Perhaps the reader may think, better feed the
weak hive, and thereby roufe and revive her,
and make her fall a hatching forward bees for
herfelf, which would prevent the trouble of re-
inforcing. No, that is not fuch a good method,
becaufe few bees in a hive in winter have not
fufficient heat to hatch out young bees with ;
and even in {pring few bees in a hive can fcarce
bring forward any young ior want of heat; in
the middle of fummer itfelf, few bees in a hive
increafe very flowly ; for which reafons, among _
others, | have been fo keen of advifing you to
Keep your hives always well-ftored of Bees.
By the foregoing method I have made my bees
breed falt ia winter, and early in the {pring, when.
they were ho more thinking of breeding, than
of {warming,
In winter, bees may be found On the floor of
the hive, that have died merely of old age, for
as they enter the ftage of life at different periods
of the fpring and fummer, they confequently
_ depart from it alla all the various feafons ot
the year.
When a hive has been long confined by un-
active weather, and a fine day comes in the be-
ginning of February, 1 have carried her to the
warmelt and quiete!t place I could get, gene-
rally fome pléalant green, upon which the fur
fhone, and turned her up About 11 o’clock,-and
fet her down on a pair of fheets, with the pantie
Oppolite to the fun 5 and the fun Mining down
etween
!
Of. Bees" Peargs in Winter. Vor
ee the combs. among the bees, roufed
them fo, that: they would come out of the hive,
end fly about, and play, and air themfelves, and
eafe their, bodies on the fheets and all around,
aad make it all brown fpots, and'I have poured
a little liquid honey among ‘the combs, which
would have cheared their. hearts, and made
theny very happy, and alfo fit for a whiles more
confinement: and they, to reward my genero-
fity,.at night, in the hive, would give me a chear-
fu) fong, and perhaps were concerting meafures
te hatch. “me forward anew progeny. |
‘The reafon 1 fet the crown of the hive on a
pair of fheets is, that the weakly bees might rife
the better trom it. _
After the bees are all got into the hive again,.
they are to be fet in their own ftance, and:
not to be fuffered to get out for other ten days,.
left they fhould fly to the place they were turn-
ed up at, and fome of then: be loft.
‘No doubt, the reader will be ready to fay,.
Setter turn her up at her own ftance, and there-
by prevent the trouble of removing her; andalfo:
iS) bees may get out next goad day without
ny hazard of being Icft at another place. Yes,.
ibe seafoning is very jult, and muft always be
done where they ftand , provided i it be a tolerable
good ftance; but in cafe it be a eold or very
wet ftance, many of the bees would perith by
lighting on the ground around them: . The o-
ther I oft prefer, becaufe I can get almoft any,
_part to fet them in for a fingle day.
. Bees, alter long confinement in winter, per- »
haps eight weeks, ‘forget where they ftood, and. -
mult take as new an obfervation of their ith
eevee Se tom
102 Of Bees’ Purgings:in Winter. ©
tion as if they were perfect ftrangers in ‘that
place; for which reafon, if I want to remove
a hive, I often do it after lone confinement.
Care fhould be taken during winver that no
mice neftle about the coverings of the hives,
and if they do, they fhou'd be ‘diflodged : but
indeed the only hurt fuftained by mice is when
the entry is left fo large, as they can get in at
it, [the redder will reme:nber I gave directions
in page 79, to make their entries fo little as a
moufe could not get in] for I feldom ever fee a
aes gnaw a hole throuvh the HIVE to get in
Tf they lodge in the covering, I fuppote it
is ants heat ; “however it is bk to be fure,
therefore diflodge them, for mice are moft per-
niclous enemies when they get into a hive, >
they deftroy the combs, eat the honey and
‘bees, and often ruin hundreds of hives in
Britain, every winter. I have, in my younger
years, fuffered greatly by thefe invaders: one
winter I loft five hives by mice; but tor many
years fince l have not loft a fingle fhilling by the .
whole fraternity of them, merely by keeping
~ ittle entries. : In the cold months, fnails often
_ creep in at the entries of the hives, and lurk
in when the entry is littie. at
about the infides of them, generally upoh the
hive, but not among the combs: I never faw
them do fearce any hurt. When the hive is
turned up in winter to know her ftate, they
are ee“ly diflodged, and large ones cannot get
or rene At td
sus “Of Candicd ' Honey. “FOZ
C\H.A P,: “XIV.
| OF CANDIED HONEY, _
oo
-
YUNDRY writers affirm candied heney
to be very deftructive to Bees. Mr. Wil-
“Liam White fays, you may as well give them poi-
fon as give them candied honey. Mr. Thomas
Wildman fays *, * a fudden return of céid con-
© geals or candies the honey in the open cells.
‘On the return of warm weather the Bees re-
* turn to the cells they had opened, and finding
* there a fubftance which is too folid to pafs in-
‘€ to their ftomachs, or which they cannot fwal-
‘low, they throw it out of the cells in fearch
* of good honey. The candied’honey falls uy-
*on the ftool or bottom of the hive, and by
~* this means they make their own graves.’ This.
‘is agreat miftake, that candied honey-becomes
the graves of: Bees on their ftocls; for. fuch
‘candied honey as they throw out of their cells
is of a hard fubftance refembling finall hail. but.
-harder, and will break, but not in the leaft te-
Macious, neither does it flick to the Bees as
‘mentioned by him in page 242, where itis faid,
* the Bees could not ftir without dauLing them-
*felyes with it, and by their. endeavouring to
ie A o's
a
| * Page 243s ‘
Say 8 op Candied Hosayn
* red one another of it, they daubed Mid other
“more. ‘Their bodies were befmeared with it,
‘and their wings fo loaded that: they could mot
* fl
‘giant faw. any fuch thing as honey that Bees
throw out of their cells flick to themy they car-
ry it out of their hives with their mouths / and
it is fometimes on or before their entries, like falt
or hail: the ftrongeft hives carry it out, and I.
have feen all bives{s in {pring throw i itout..
The only lofs by candied honey is, it is for
30 more ufe to Bees, for they cannot eat it;
but that it worries or daubs. them, I deny ; 5. Uh:
eafe a comb in a hive be full of candied hone
itis all loft, for the Bees throw it all away, and
no ufe can be got of it, unlefs the owner was to.
take it out dnd melt it on the fire in a pan, and
fqueeze it out and then feed his Bees with it;
but I never do that, bur let them make the beft.
ufe of it they can.
The only way to fuftain no, lofs by candied
honey, is to keep good ftalls that are full of
Bees, which will keep the hive warm, asd co-
yer them well, and make them little entries,
which. is all you can do to prevent its candying,.
- . F f P . Cee ’ a ee °
oe ib, §oFF = "5 > é AT ase hs
eae OH vottic” sAt om a8 ee wa P.
|
4
;
'
ef
*
am
Hiftory of an Uneautious Man’s Bees. 105
mts Gi AD Bee Bias) XV:
THE HISTORY OF AN UNCAUTIOUS MAN’S BEES.
—eeeeeeeeeeeeeooooeeeee————EEeEEe————————=Z=_EZ__={[{{=x{=<==
7. is generally obferved, and there is too
* much truth in it, tha: Bees thrive belt with
people for two or three years after they get
them at the firft. ‘he way this happens is thus,
when a perfon buys a ftall at the firft, fhe is ge-. °
Nerally a good one, is 30 Ib. wt. has plenty Bees
and honey; then if next Summer be good, fhe
will probably fwarm twice, and then he afks his
neiwibour’s advice, and he advifes him to kill
the fecond fwarm, and keep the fir eed her
and famine. __ ,
The fecond fummer being good, they both
{warm twice again, and the owner thinks he is
a thriving Bee-mafter, (as fo he is.) He again,
with his neighbour’s advice, kills both the cafts
or fecond fwarms, and ftill keeps the two old
hives and their firft-born, which makes four
good ftalls. Again the third year is but a
midd'ing good fummer, often cold and raimy :
however as his ftalls were good, two of them
{warmed once, and the other two twice, in
harveft he again kills both his two fecond
fwarins as ufual, and begins to think now he
dsnowe as much about Bees as any man, and
t | afks
106 Hiftory of an Uncautious Man's Bees,
afks no more his neighbour’s advice how to fet
ifide bis ftalls; and thinks, that as he always
kept thé ‘mothers and their firft fwarms, and
they did weli; therefore he fets afide the fout |
old hives and theiy top fwarms, which make eight:
ftalls *. Now his counting faculty, begins to o-'.
perate, and be aflures Kimfelf of twenty hives’
next year; butalas! how is be perpleaed when
he thinks bis ‘bees increafing fo. faft, his yard:
wil feon not hold them! ready-wit, his bofom
friend, relieves his avijated fpirits, by informing
bim that it:is only to make his garden larger.
Now he is at great pains to get his bees cover-
ed and made fit for winter, and lets them ftand
in hepes of a good increafe next fummer, an:
falls too to.make fixteen empty hives, and as:
many beards to receive his next year’s fwarms.
. fine day about Martinmas caufes the own-
er to take his friend.along with him to fee his
flouriining garden full of bees, where he enter- -
tains him with a lecture’on the profit of thofe
ufeful infeGts ; he goes by two or three of. his
hives, and they are flying fmartly out and in,
which pleafes him weil. » The next he comes to
is not fo brifk, he may ftand before her entry
without being the leaft injured by her flings;
he excules her fazinefs, by informing lis friend
: | schat
a
ther cnough of provifion for the winter; only two of
the old hives and one top fwarm, were’ thirty
‘pound ones, of the reit, none had. honey enough
for winter; other fome were fearce of Bees alfo, and
Motone of them fhould have been kept fer ftalls.
eS SE /
* ‘The fummer being bad, they had not time toga- |
:
%
y vy
atthe fame time: however to fatisfy him that.
fhe is a good hive, he raps on her-fide to let
him hear her found, -but as ill luck would have
it, fhe will not anfwer that fummons: he turns _ |
her up, changes colour, and fays, furprifing! the
has not a‘ Bee in ‘her, but fome honey at* the
top of the hive *. What has happened her? fays
he; tells alkvhis neighbours the: aftonithing
news, turis a little more penfive about the pro-
fit of Bees: however he has ftill feven, he with-
~/they may ftand the winter and {pring ; a cold
ftorm comes on, and laits eight or ten weeks,
after which fine weather again, the Bees go an -
airing, and the good-man comes to fee how
they come on now. Pafling by fome of them,
he is pleated 'to fee how throng they fly abour,
and rain away their ordure from them, as ap-
pears on every thing that is, white. He fees one
at fome diftance, not fo throng ashe could
wifh, runs to her, fears the worft,-raps the
hive, out jumps a monfe at her entry, (which
was rather large) turns her up, dead Bees half
eaten, and a good.many fhorn combs on her
board, a great many Bees fitting very clofe (ra-
ther over) betwixt her combs. ‘he peaceable
Bees never offer to fly at his face, he can view
them as he pleafes, and never receive a fingle
| | fting ;
‘, | . : -
. * She was.an old hive that fwarmed twice, and
was only fourteen lb. wt. and had but few Bees in her,
~~
and fhould not been kept. Her Queen died perhaps c
when there was not an egg in the hive to raife ano-.
ther of, therefore the Bees left it.
\
v
Hiftory of an Uncautious Man’s Bees. 107.
that they do not come out of the hive all alike.
fo refit robbers, which if they had ofeepod them, .
x08 Hifory of a an Unedutious Man's Bees.
fting ;, he concludes. dhe is dead * gives over
making empty hives.
> He has ftill fix, fays,1 with they may- naan
pe in“March four of his hives. carry loads
hard, the other two ts as bu/y, but not carrying
a Yo) fafts a Bee loaded in halt an hour its a good
deal ats them, however the entries have full as
many Bees about them,.and rather, to the ra-
~ ther, and far more dead ones, and many gal-
jant! foldier crawling about in his wounds ‘bé-
fore the gates of the hives. ‘The owner, thinks
fome man’s Bees are for robbing mine, but thew.
had better ftay at home, days he, for my Bees
kill them faft. In aday or two after, at night,
the good-man goes to hear how his Bees found ;
the tour carriers pleafe him well by giving him
a good fong, the other two are not fo loud; he
claps their fides to make them fpeak better
out; they turn fulky on him, and obitinately
refuse to anfwer, he grips at them to feel their
weight, but by pulling. them up too haftily, he
almoit falls b: ackward, by their coming too
quickly from the board; when repavesaie he is
ftartled again to fee other two of his hives full of:
nothing but deaf combs which the robbers had
left ¢: he throws them from him as ufelefs, and
* She had far too few Bees in her to ftand a cold
winter, befides fhe was only an 18 pound one, and ~
had the rogue Cold fpared her, Mr. Robber and Fa-
mine would afked where the lived, the filthy Moufe
the —
afed his tithe, which the kind owner obliged him :
with, by keeping open to him a large door, which af-
fifted him and Cold greatly to rum the hive.
$eTh efe two hives had few Bees, and were not able
“they
|
:
Hiftory of an Uneautious Man's Bees. 109
the fall breaks all their combs +. When come
to himfelf again, he fays, I have ftill four yet,
‘and am richer than when I began: the four
carry brifkly all Apri/, and he thinks ail danger
is pafk now ; but alas! eight days milty weather
in May keep his Bees all clofe prifoners in their
hives: a fine day returns again, and three of his
Bee-hives fall to work heartily, as if they meant
to hurry home all the honey in the neighbouring
flowers, before another rainy day comes; the
other is not fo careful, fhe appears as if fhe did
not value a good day much; not a Bee to be
feen about her gates, except here and there one
fomething like dead. The owner begins to
quake again, fays it is not poflible fhe can be
dead after carrying fo much, is afraid to lift her...
from her board, nui{t do it, fhe is miotionlefs,.
and the board covered with dead bees, and her
combs full of dead young §. O foolifh man!
why did not you afk your honeft neighbour’s
advice, who would advifed you to kill all
the -
they would have had a good luck if they had miffed
Mr. Famine too in Apri or May ; they fhould by no
means been kept for ftalls'in harveft, having neither
enough of Bees nor honey. :
+ Had the frighted man not been fo quick in his
mature, and preferved thofe two hives; and them .
‘that died formerly, they would been very profitable
to put fwarms in next fummer.
-¢ Chis one was a 24 pound one, and had the
nifled that blaft would have done very well; or had
‘he good man given her 4 Ib. of honey-combs in —
April, he might have faved a hive which would pro-
ably have made him other 30 Ib. to it.
‘Jlo |. Of Feeding Beess
the five hives that was light and fcant ‘of bees, -
which at harveft, one with another, was worth
fifty fhillings, but now is fcarcely worth eight .
altogether ; befides all the vext hearts you have
got with them: be fure never to do the like a-
gain if you be wife, rather kill all your light
hives, and purchafe heavy ones with their cath,
fuppofe it fhould take the price of two of your
weak hives to purchafe a {trong one; you will
have more profit, and fewer to laugh at you in —
the end. Would people keep never any but
thirty pound ones, their bees would thrive as
well all along as at the firft. I have sven the
above hiftory to deter others from taking the
fame fteps, which this imprudent man did, —
o Hea Pp. Sev 3
OF FEEDING BEES, OR THE BEE-MASTER’S LAST
SHIFT.
F E E DING bees I Saag diffuade from, ©
- unlefs you have been fo foolifh as to keep
weak ftalls in harveft, then feeding may be |
fometimes neceflary in fpring; and when new
fwarms are confined in bad weather, it is thrift
to give them a meal, and in cafe you are o-
bliged to feed a hive in harveft for a ftall, when
none of your own will do, by reafon of a bad”
fumméer, nor can you get-any thirty pound ones
to buy, then you will be obliged to feed. 3
If
| Of Feeding Bees. T1k
» If in harveft you have not as many thirty
pound ones of your own as you want of ftalls,
then go through the country, and try to purchafe
as many of thofe kind as you want for {ftalls :
but in cafe the feafon has béen fo very bad_
(which rarely happens) that you neither can
have as many of your own, nor get as many as
you need of good ftalls, then you mult feed in
‘that cafe, and I chearfully give dire@ions to do
it, when you cannot do better, only let feeding |
be your lJaft fhift. Suppofing you to want a
ftall, and have not one 30]b. wt. but has three
or four hives 20 or 24 Ib. wt.; then take one
of the beft of them that is neareft 30 lb. wt. and.
alfo take as many of honey-combs, and put to
her, as will make 30 lb. wt. and fo fit fora
ftall, ‘The way to do it is this, take a board
and fet an eek (as™wide as the hive) on it,
having an entry in the eek ; it fhould be four or
five rows deep; then take honey-combs, and
cut them lorigwife foas to reach from one fideof ©
the eek to the other; if you have any that large,
and as'deep, as when you fet on the light hive,
the under fide of her combs will touch the up-
per edge of the combs in the eek. All the
combs in the eek mutt be placed in the fame or-
der they were in naturally in the hive they “ume
from; I mean the cells that was uppermolt to
be fo ftill, and an inch and half from one comb
to another, and fix them with fticks the beft
way you can, fo as to make them ftand on their
edges. ‘Then at fun-fet lift up the light hive, |
and fet her on the eek, the combs of them to
run in the fame direction as near as can be
‘done, then fhe will be 30 Ib. wt. and a good.
mae L. 2 ftall,..
412 Of Feeding Bees.
‘flail, feeing you could not do better, for the
bees will foon fix comb to comb, and make
them to lift all at once. Very readily they will
carry the honey all up to the upper ftory, after
- which you may take a knife, and cut away all
the combs again if you pleafe, or do it with a
piece pack-thread, by making it pats between the
eek and hive, holding one end in each hand,
and drawing it back and forward, asin the man-
ner of drawing a faw; it will foon cut the
joinings, and then fet down your hive as before.
But fometimes the Bees think the honey is as
well placed in the combs you give them, as
they can place it, at leaft they can put up with
jt in that manner, and will let it ftay there till
they gradually eat it out; but whenever done,
take away the eek, and let them have only
combs of their own building, for were fo ma-
ny empty combs left, it might retard their
{warming next year; butif ‘he hive was ra-
ther httle, you may let them ftay, which was.
_ the reafon I was fo particular in ordering how
they fhould be placed: but a prudent Bee-maG
ter will eafily confider what is moft fit for to be
done in this and many other cafes, which may
happen in the management of bees, which no
wi.%r canforefee. ‘“Vhe reader will be ready to
fay,. this isa fine way of feeding, for it does not
tempt robbers by the fimell of frefh honey, as it
has the fame fmell of other honey-combs in their
-own hives; befides it is done at.once, and-no-
bees are drowned, as too often is the cafe in the
_ plate way of feeding bees; neither is it a cons |
tinued toil, by giving it every day, as Mr. Keys
directs, nor need the bees furfeit themfelves by
ah
A -
— _ Of Feeding Bees. SAY TRS
it, as they have it in\combs, and are fure it is
all their own: but he will be ready to afk, how >
am I to come by thefe combs ? this is no diffi-
culty, for if you kill any hives of your own in’
September, you will get their combs; but if you
kill none, then purchafe them from others that
have them ; and you mu{t feed the fame way in
{fpring, if you have: been fo foolifh as to need
to feed in fpring: and give a top fwarm alfo a_
piece of honey-comb when fhe needs it, wher
fhe is new fwarmed, and that te the far beft way |
of feeding bees, thérefore take this: method
by heney-combs. In this way you may make any
hive a heavy hive at any -time. I would advife .
a bee-mafter to keep always a large quantity of
honey-combs by him ina large jar to fupply a-
ny emergent occafion; all old honey-combs, and: »
all thofe that may be mixed with much bees
bread, and young bees in them in taking time,.
fhould: be given to bees to take the honey out of _
them, as it would be for little ufe otherwife,
and the. bees will make good honey of it. ‘he
way to give them it is this, take a large eek —
made.on purpofe, eight rows deep, and place .
it on aboard, and place the faid old combs in
it, in fuch a manner as the bees will get to all
edges of them, and then fet ona hive Well
ftored of bees and lighteft of honey, and they
will foon. make merry with it, and you may re-
‘move the combs and eek in two, or three days,
and you will find them honeylefs, a
But in cafe you need to feed bees, and ‘have:
no honey-combs to feed them with, then you:
-muift take the next belt. method, and that is to
feed the plate way with liquid honey. |
| 13 Suppofing:
| rey: Aan 2 = Feeding Bec
va ‘paper, and pierce
ie faire: ; fmall holes} hei cover the honey with
an and have a boast uradé on purpofe with a
thelow cyt out in. the middle, f large as to
, (apeaatadta the plate with the’ honey, that wheu the
plate and honey is in it, the upper edges of the
__ plate may flufh with the board, and thereby not
bruife any of the combs of the hive when put
» over it: having your board, ‘plate, and honey
all ready, then at fun fet go to your weak hive,
and fet down your feeding board befide her;
then lift gently the: hive, and place over the
honey, and the bees finding the {mell, will come
down and carry up the honey, and lodge it in
their magazines for further ufe. ‘The next
morning, perhaps, if there were many bees in the
hive, the plate ‘will be honeylefs. And you
may fét the hive on her own board again; but
if fhe had but few bees in her, give her honey
in proportion to her number. Sometimes a
cold night will nct fuifer the bees to carry up
much of the hon: y: in fuch a cafe, next morn-
ing fhut them cloie up, round and round, fo as
—
not a fin ngle bee may get out, and let. ‘them.
ftand fo
or two days, and they will im that .
time have carried up the honey. "When a hive >
is tecding, never let any ftrange Bee into her, :
for -
Of Feeding Bees. pag’
for it would bring multitudes, and make much >
flaughter and mifchief; which makes me ‘to
- pofitive in ordering you to feed with honey-
combs. In cafe you have neither honey-combs
nor honey to feed with, you may give them a
little fugar and water mixed together, and feed
them the fame way you do with the honey in
the plate and board, only they muft have.lefs
at a time, and be conflantly fed; whereas
in feeding with honey in the plate way you
fhould give them as much at a time as will
ferve them twenty days. Great care fhould be |
taken in all your feeding of bees, to give itfa
as to prevent their falling out about it; there-
fore never feed in the day-time, unlefs your
weak hrve be not within half a mile of any o-
ther hive. |
I cannot pafs this fubject without animadvert-
ing a little on Keys directions for feeding bees :
he is at a great deal of pains (page_310) to
prove that ale and fugar-will preferve Bees from
famine :—all true—who denies it? He is for
feeding Bees in {mail kexes, and propoles to
give a hive a full one every twenty-four hours ;
but in cafe they do not eat it out, to give them
lefs next time, that there may be no danger of
their overcharging themfelves. Some ftiekler
may perhaps fay—Secing he fays they eat to—
excefs, why might not a hive which he had
given a kex to,-eat to excels, and thereby return
him his empty kex, which would delude him: ~
ftill, that one full kex was little enough for that’ »
hive, and he would always give them kex after
kex, as long as they eat them out, although it Se
/ might be to their ruin, as he fays, (page 306.) rte
* Bees
i
116 Of Feeding Bees.
* Bees are likefome other creatures of a: more
‘ noble {pecies, who not contented with a tem-
‘ perate enjoyment of abundance, feed to excels,
‘and thereby lay a fure foundation for num-.
‘ berlefs difeafes,* often terminating in an un-
* timely and painful death,’ tree
If Mr. Keys means to give a Bee an exact
meal, and no more, he muft firft afcertain how
much weight or meafure of fugar or honey re-_
frefhes a Bee ata time; and next count the
exact number of the Bees in the hive he intends
to feed; then he muft weigh or meafure as
much food as will feed a fingle Bee, and give
that Bee its livery in fome curious inftrument,
and fo give every one their exact proportion
by themfelyes. Perhaps the aforefa:d ferupu-
lous perfon may flill urge and fay, This would.
be a very troublefome bufinefs. But Mr. Keys
has an anfwer at hand, p. 311. He fays, ‘ So is
‘feeding poultry and pigs ;: let the farmer’s
_¢ wife refrain from it three or four days, and fee
‘ how fat they will be.” If the fcrupulous man
{till will be obftinate, he may fay, that the
Practical Bee-mafter * fays, page 162. when.
criticifing Thomas Wildman, for uniting .two
hives, which may be done at once; never to be
repeated more, ‘ this method requires too much
* © Jeifure and patience to be generally followed.”
And he may alfo pretend that the Practical Bee-
maftér and Mr. Keys are quite different in their
_ doétrines on that head, namely the. Bee-mafter
is fo afraid’ of trouble, that he will not unite a
PAR hive,
a
* Practical Bee-mafter, by Fobn Keys.
2.) -
ca
~
o> 48 “OF Feeding Bees.
“hive, (tho’ greatly profitable) altho’ it is done
at once; whereas Mr. Keys is keen for feeding
Bees daily let it be never fo troublefome.
_ The truth is, give-a hive never fo fmall a
quantity of food to eat at a time, the Bees that
‘get firft atit will havea belly-full, and the moft
part of the hive never touch it. Befides feed-—
ing Bees daily is a daily trouble, and daily brings
robbers to plague the hive and kill fome of her
Bees; whereas giving Bees as many honey-
combs at a time in harveéft, winter, or fpring,
is doing your bufinefs well for once, never to
trouble you more. Mr. Keys has another molt:
curious way of feeding Bees, which he calls
public feeding, and thatis to put honey in a
board full‘of holes, and fet it out in the aplary,
and let your whole Bees at it. This is a new
falhion indeed, but I hope few will follow it,
unlefs they want a general maffacre among their
Bees : for whenever Bees can get honey in any
other thing than flowers, (I mean out of their
own hives) they directly fall out about it, and
much fighting and flaughter enfues. It is true
indeed, I have fometimes fed them that public
way,,but for the moit part to my lofs; and
cannot recommend it as practicable. 3
Directions will be given to know when they
mult be fed, at the different feafons, as we go
through them. 4 | a
But [ am weary of writing on fo difagreeable
a fubject, and hope my wife readers will take
advice, and keep good ftalls in September, and
thereby fcarcely ever need to feek dire<tioris in
this chapter, called, Tae Bex-masrer’s Last.)
| SHIFT. —
117
118 _ Wars and Robberies of Pees. a
Suirt. And TI conclude this chapter with af-
ferting, that he is a wife man who keeps good
ftalls, and thereby needs not to feed his Bees.
»
C. B.A LR. « . VER
OF THE WARS AND ROBBERIES OF BEES}; WITH
DIRECTIONS HOW TO PREVENT THEM FROM
BEING ROBBED.
:
a
—
a
1
+ A LL Bees have a martial fpirit, and ftrive
42 to enrich themfelves at the expence and
ruin of their neighbours ; for when the weather
is good, and no flowers in the fields for the.
Bees to work on, they will venture their lives,
and rob for it; and then the hives that have.
few Bees in them are to be pitied, for not a
hive in their reach is left unaflaulted, and, as
among men, the weakeit goes to the wall; for
{trong hives, when attacked by robbers, give
them,a terrible reception, and fcarcely one that
they get hold of gets off to tell theiy neighbours —
tidings. And the fiege laid againft a {trong
hive is foon raifed, and the hive: nothing the.
worfe, perhaps fcarcely lofes a feore of Bees
when the wars are ended. :
Various reafons have been affigned for their
going’ a robbing one another: the.bulk of
writers impute it, a7
itt. To
/
Rae ; - Wars and Robberies of Beese 119
ift. Toa hive in harveft not having a fufficient
-provifion of honey in herfelf for the winter;
fhe therefore tries to enrich herfelf, to the
' ruin of her neighbour.
ad. Dr. Warder afligns another caufe of their
fighting, which is the neceflity that the Bees
_ are reduced to when their own hive has
_ been plundered at a feafon when it is too
_ late for them to repair the lofs by any induf- _
_ try of their own in the fields.
3d. But their fighting and plundering ought
chiefly to be imputed to their infatiable
and ardent thirft for honey ; for in {pring or
autumn, when the weather is fine, but no
~ honey can be collected from plants, and is to
be found only in the hives of other Bees,
- they will venture their lives to cet ut there.
I believe the poorett are keeneft of robbing:
bet in fuch weather as was mentioned all .
hives go a robbing, whether rich er poor.
4th. Another reafon of their robbing is when
there is a large quantity of Bee-hives in one
_ place; for every hive tries the {trength of all
_ the hives in its neighbourhood, and they all
-go.a robbing who ‘to rob fafteft; whereas
four or fix hives only ftanding in one place,
are foon tri¢d, and they find out one another’s
ftrength, and make no further affaults, which.
was the alone reafon I advifed to fet hives
. thin. 4 |
sth. But
«“
ys ca) ies
”
120 2«©=©|--)6 Wars and Robberies of Bees. a
sth. But one great reafon which provokes
~
Bees to rob is, when hives are fed; for the.
~ robbers fmell the frefh honey, and come for
a fhare of it, and will not take a refufal, tho’
it fhould coft them their lives, as every one
may know that has done it (in an imprudent
manner): the robbers coming .often for a
fhare of the fupplied honey, and finding that
there is honey in the combs, afcend them
alfo,‘and claim an equal right to both,-which
often thakes the cure worfe than the difeafe :
which is a ftrong argument again{t keeping
licht hives for {talls.
If a hive that has not many Bees in her is at-
tacked, fhe fometimes will refift to her power ;
and you will perhaps fee four or fix brace of
warriors before the entry wreftling in a moft fu-
rious manner, twifting each other round and
round, and ftriving for victory: if the robber
can get clear from the native, it is generully
what it. wants; but often one of them is flain
by the other thrufting his fpear into the moft
-vulnerable part of the body; and fometimes
the Bee leaves the fting in the wounded, which
becomes fatal to both. But in cafe the robbers.
find they gain fome advantage over the natives,
then they come in great multitudes, and pour
in their forces at the gates ot the city, and rufh
into the remote{t rooms, and tear open the cells,
and carry off the richeft treafure; and if the
native Queen be {lain in the engagement, it is
thought the Bees join the robbers, and unite
with them, and fc carry off their own fpoil.
The ©
eae a kee NaN etna i ate HAS
: ‘a Wr. ars fd Robberies of Bins c $2
“The robbing time is fooner or later accord.
‘ing as the {pring or autumn is more or lefs fa-
-vourable ; ; but it 1s “eta twice a year in
the {pring and harveit, The molt of writers -
fay, that there is more hit by robbing in 24
tumn thanfpring. [ cansoi tay with refpect to .
thofé who live in very early parts, when the
flowers is foon blown, and foon over; the
flowers coming in foon in fpring, afford the
Bees work, and confequently keeps them peace-
able among their neighbours ; but when they
are foon gone, and the weather {ill good,
provokes them to plunder. ~ But experience
teaches me, that I fuffer far more by robbers
in {pring than autumn, for I never yethada *
fingle hive futter much in autumn by robbers ;
whereas in {pring I have had (in my unexpe-
fienced years) a good many robbed out root
and branch.
he way I account for it is this—in fpring
there are far fewer Bees in a nive, than ing
tumn, and fo are not fo able to defend ‘th
‘property, as they are In autumn, when th De
are far more in numbers. + eae |
Alfo in fpring their honey is rear done, p r
haps quite exhautted, which neceflitates th m aie
to filch about for it wherever they think they
can find it: but in autumn, although they may
not have a fufficiency for winter, they have
prefent fupply, therefore prefent neceflity doth:
not force them to fuch an unlawful thift. bec. Vs
Sometimes many hives will go a robbing an-.
other hive, and then all is contufion ; and‘rave s
and great-flaughter takes place: they will be. :
flying like fo many fiery dragons, ready to ate
M tack
~ O
Ss
+
‘
‘ oe 4 *, S & 4" 3 Viey. “Te Ct Or Ae eS Se Ae oe
_e ‘ ¥ ots 4 we ae Sah s re aren Bia
322°: Wars and Robberies of Bees.
~
tack every one; and whoever dares obftruct
their flight, fhall feel their poifonous. {pears in
a moment. . In fuch an unhappy time-one dare
{carcely go near them, unlels he 1s refolved to
recelve wounds from all quarters. When they
are engaged thus, their found in the air is ea-
fily known. ;
The people's actions will their thoughts declare,
All their hearts tremble, and beat thick for
War ; Y
Hoarfe broken founds, like trumpets harfb a-
larms,
Run thro? the hive, and call them forth to
,
wait aris 5
Allin a hurry Jpread their fhiv’ ring wings,
And fit their claws, and point. their angry
ings ; |
In. croude before the hive they all do light,
And boldly challenge out the foe to fight.
“We fhall firft fhew the figns by which you
may know when a hive 1s attacked and fuffer-
ing by robbers, and then how to preferve her
from them, 5, .
You will perceive Bees going out and in-
to the hive that is receiving the injury, early”
before other Bees are fallen to work, and at_
even, wlien other Bees have given over work-_
ing, they will alfo be doing the fame at the
hive that is committing the robbery, which
you may perceive, if fhe be near you; for |
thefe ~plunderers find this. the beft time for
; < their
a
*
—
a
: yh” ee aD, aw ee J a ~,. bd 4
‘.— Wars and Robberies of Bees. © = 123,
their purpofe, becaufe they meet with the leaft
refiftance. 7 |
;
. The firft time of the year that Bees: get
flown about, and fcarcely any flowers in the
fields, is the time they go moft fiercely a rob- |
bing; but if they meet with {trong hives ready
to engage them in battle-array, the wars are ge-
nerally ended in two or three days. 1 have _
féen them about the middle of March, in fine
weather, rob fo violently for two days, in fo
much that I have thought by their appearance
they were determined to root every hive out
within their reach: but by the weather change-
ing to cold or rainy, or both, kept them in their *
hives for etyht or ten days, by which time the
flowers were fpringing faft, and the weather
changing again, and permitting them to go out,.
they would never have remembered their for-
mer wars, but would have fallen throngly to
work, and therefore robbed. no more that.
fpring. Again, I have feen in early fprings;:
when the flowers were as foon blown as nee
‘
Bees could go out of their hives in fearch of
food, and finding materials to work on among:
the flowers, they would not have robbed any
that feafon a happy circumftance for the
Bee-matter. |
Whenever anyiof the-figns of a hive’s fuffer-
ing by robbers is obferved, an end fhould be
immediately put to their wars; or, which is
better, their robbing fhould be prevented before
P #1 a
a
~
‘the wars begin:. therefore I fhall firft inform —
you how to prevent any hive from becoming a
M. 2. prey,
.
ee
Pie
*
‘Bees are yearly killed by robbers.
Pn ~—
124 Wers and Robberies of Bees. *
prey to robbers, and next thew how to termi. -
nate their wars when engaged in them.
- * ;
It is the want of a fufficient number of
Bees in a hive to defend her that is the alone
cause of her becoming a prey to robbers, as I
have told you already in page 77, that a {trong
hive of Bees never fufleys much- by robbers ;
therefore in the end of Iebruary, or beginning
of March, turn up every one of your hives in
a cold morning, and you will difcern at one
view (by looking down between the combs) the
hives that have plenty of Bees in them from
thofe that ‘have few; and if you fhould have
three hives that are well ftored of Bees, and
ope that has few, then take a thoufand Bees
trom every one of the three. hives, as directed
p, 81, 82. and put to the weak one, as directed
p-. 83, which will make her fit to repel any
daring foe; and the ftrong hives will be little
wortle of the lofs of a thoufand Bees:’ I often
take as many Bees from one fingle {trong hive
as is fufficient to {trengthen.a weak one with,
The reinforced hive being now made up of dif-
ferent Bees, if left ftanding {till in her old
flance, fome few of the new-comers are ready to
fiy to'their mother hive again the next fine day;
therefore to prevent it, | often remove the re-
inforced hive a mile or fo from where dhe ftood,
and lets her fland there for two or three months,
which thins my own apiary of Bees, which is
another prefervative from robbers; -for the
more ‘hives ftanding in one place, the more
9
But
~
7 are ? ad” a Pan aru ie > 4, x river eee
OV CRT Weed a ee a eee
.
‘ a ¥
ow ! =e en le i ee ee
2 ae Ree ae ee eet
_ But in cafe you have a hive that has few
Bees, yet dare not venture to reinforce her,
(and indeed you muft not be too venturefome
till you can handle Bees middling well, left you +
make the cure worfe than the difeafe) then re-
move’ her (weak as fhe is) a. mile ‘from any
other hive, and fhe will do very well, flanding
herfelf alone, and none to difturb her; where-
as if fhe be left in the midft of ten or twenty
_ hives in the fierce robbing time, ten-to one if
fhe continue long a living hive.
[have oft had the greateft fatisfaQion ima-
ginable in removing weak hives out from a-
mong many others in robbing time. I have
feen a weak hive befet day after day with rob-
bers, and refift them to her power, but having
few Bees to fight, and carry on the work, and”
Keep heat in the hive; and fome being killed:
daily in battle, would, inftead of increafinrs;
as they fhould in March or April, rather de-
cline; and if they were not killed quite out, they —
never did much more: good; whereas- when I
have feen a weak hive attacked in that manner,
I‘have directly removed her a mile from any o-
ther Bees, and fhe would have been very happy .
to find, that inftead of war and rage, peace and
harmony was reftored; and the very firft day.
fhe was fet down, fhe would fet about-reform-.
ing whatever was difordered in the hive, by bu-
rying all the dead: that were flain in battle du-
ring the war, and mending every ragged comb
and breach about the hive, and would have be-
‘gun to work, and wrought peaceably and keen-
ly according to their numbers, and come for-—
ward to have been a ftrong hive in Yue, and
aS M 3 {ometimes
~ Wars and Robberies of Bees:. nn
wu
/
=
.
326— Wars and Robbetick of Heat iis
Pa ee Pere ene Vat fae Boalt iba so pe ritvee 2 aes (ante rk
Tometimes fwarmed, which 5 was all won monéy,
for if the had lobad in the midft.of her ene+ |
_mues, fhe would’have either been killed’ out-
right, or worth very little at tharveth. iy 1:4
Lhe molt of writers direct when Bees are
fulfering by robbers, to make their entries fo
little as one or two Bees can. only pals out or.
in at a time, alledging that-the native Bees are
thereby able to defend fo {mall a gate, and
thereby refift the robbers; but if, fay. they,
notwithf{tanding the*reduced entrance, the war
is not ended, then fhut up the entry of the hive
that is receiving the injury, fo as nota Bee may
pafs out or in, and Tet her ftand fo for two or
three days, by which the robbers coming day
by day, and not finding admittance,. they will
give over further attempts, und you may again
open the ports as foon as the coalt is clear of
pirates. For my part, I never faw much ad-_
vantage by thefe methods: the native Bees can-
- not bear confinement long when the weather is
good, and whenever the entries are again open-
ed, generally the robbers renew their attacks.
At belt i itis very troublefome, and feldom gives
much fatisfaction; but reinforcing and remove- -
ing in {pring is an effe€ttal cure, and done at
once. In autumn all hives that are troubled
nuch with robbers, it is a fign they have but -
few Bees; therefore take them immediately for
your ule,, for your right is better than tle rob-
bers is; and | never mean to direct to keep a
fall that has any defect in her, in order to be.
cured, and teach how to cure her. I only mean
‘to shy uct how to mend a hive that has taken
"fone dis-thriving in your hand ata feafon of
the —
RR RE PRAIA iii i ateey pe SAAC NG AEA Vit
ne.” | Wie and Robberies of Bees. . oe
the year when if you kill her, fhe ot be of ©
little value. ©
In {pring all methods. fhould be ie en to
mend weak hives of whatever difeafes they
may be labouring under, as the honey harvelt
is at hand, and they being properly cured, will
requite the owner by their further labours. But
in autumn a weak hive (of whatever kind)
fhould be immediately taken; for the longer.
fhe ftands the worfe will fhe turn, and all mend-_
_ing of weak hives then is doing what you can
to lofe both what honey you give them, and.
alfo-all they have of their own, befides all your
trouble; therefore I give no direftions how to
fave weak hives from robbers in autumn, but —
only this one, and that is, remove their Bees by
death, and their honey into your warehoule 5.
which’ is the alone cure I prefcribe at this fea-
fon of the year. But to return to the fpring,
{trong hives are very feldom attacked,.and when
attacked fuffer little or nothing by robbers; -
which is one {trong reafon, among many others,
for keeping none in September for fialls_ bur
what are fo.
I fhall here quote a revery from the Pradtical
Bee-mafter, where the reader will fee a perfect.
ly new fchemeto preferve Bees from robbers :
* When a ftock is befet day after day,’ fays our.
author *, ‘it is a fign that the robbers have
‘ talted deep of the nectar; in this cafe it will
“be beft to take it, if light, and ‘to drive the
‘ Bees, and unite them to another hive; but if
# | ‘ weighty,
i": Page 087.
» i .
128 ~ Wars and Robberies of Bees. — un
‘ weighty, let it {tand, and kill the robbers: if
* they are not killed all in one day, two or three
“ days may be taken, keeping the Bees ftopped’
‘up all the while; but it will be bet to finifh
“them, if poffible, in one day, left in revenge
* for their difappointment, they fhould fall upon
*fome of your other ftocks:—a good method
* to prevent it is to irritate all your other ftocks,
‘ by thrufting a twig into each of their hives.’
1 hope 1 need fearcely to point out to the
~ molt of my readers the abfurdity of fuch pre-.
pofterous, wild, and extravagant direétions :
every one at firft glance may fee the direful «
confequences of fuch a pernicious practice. If:
Mr, Keys means the deitruction of all robbing:
Bees, his bufinefs may be done at once by
{moaking every hive in his reach, without give-
ing himfelf the trouble of killing and flaugh-
tering day by day; for it is certain that all
Bees go a robbing in good weather, when they
can get no flowers in the fields-to work on:
and if in fuch weather one fhould view his Bees, -
he will fee ftrange Bees robbing at every hive;
and if he were to have fix hives, and appoint
fix men to kill every ftrange Bee that attempt-
ed to go in at their entries, he might kill on as
long as. there were Bees in the neighbourhood ;
and his neighbour taking the fame method, it
_ would be kill who to kill fafteft, and next to
footing Bees out of the land:—for inftance,
were 20 hives in one apiary, every one of them
would try, to rob another; and were yon to
kill the one half of the Bees, the reft would
let’ you fee they did not value you,'but would
rob on ftiil; and fhould you ftill think, I will
eta Rill
ie Sarees ae aes By Oe a
Nee Wats hid 1 Robberies if Bees. 129
kill 16 of the hives to fave the other four, the
-remaining few woud ftill try to rob’each o-
ther.
Mr. William White {peaks to etter purpofe,
when he fays *, ‘ If there are feveral ftocks of
“© Bees ina garden, and one of them goes a rob-
* bing, when the reft hear the conquering found,
‘ they will immediately join the victors with all
* their ftrength and might.’
‘ Sometime ago I went a few miles to vifit a
‘relation, and ftayed a few days. Returning
* home, -before 1 got to my houfe, I perceived
* there was mifchief broke out among my bees,
* and upon going into my garden, | foon per-
‘ ceived the matter, which was as follows :’
‘ One of my neighbours had five ftocks, and
* nine of mine joined with them, and had killed
‘ four flocks out of the five, which I was very
* forry to fee, as I could have prevented: it if I
* had beenat home by ufing proper methods.—
* | was acquainted with a neighbour that had a
‘ftock robbed, and falling in a paffion on the
* aceount, he threatened to kill all the robbers; |
‘ be it as it would; fo he ftopped them quite UD,
(the hive that was receiving the injury) * and
‘made a fire before the hive, by which impro-’
* per method numbers of poor indultrious crea~
* tures perifhed in the flames, which was a bare
* barous action; for he not only killed the rob-
* bers, but alfo a great number of his own bees,
* for he had feveral other ftocks ; but this may
* be imputed to nothing but want of iniguens
* as
-
* Page 79.
ee, ae
~
.
Pe ‘ TS See ht eG Se.
130° 'An Uncommon Difafter, fometimes,
>
of
* as it might have been remedied by a much bet-
* ter method than fo cruel a one, as the putting —
© fuch a number of induftrious ufeful creatures
es Geis mk ry ° .
to a grievous death, for there is not one action
of their lives, but tends to the manifeft benefit
‘of mankind.’ _ :
By keeping very little entries in robbing
time, prevents the robbers from going fo eafily
into the hives, as a {mall force will defend a nar-
row paflage againft the power of a great army.
But I conclude here with again repeating the
grand cure, which is, either reinforce or re-
move the attacked hive, but rather do both to
her (:f you conveniently. can) as foon as you fee
fhe needs; and TE .affure you fatista€tion by thofe.
methods, but cannot promife you fuccefs in amy
other way..
Bs
C..No AGP. pXVIL
. AN UNCOMMON DISASTER, WHICH SOMETIMES,
THOUGH RARELY, HAPPENS BEES.
I SHALL here narratea very ftrange difaf-
ter which happened to four of my hives laft
{pring ; which, for the fingularity of it, I hope:
thereader will excufe me Pn relating here.
In the latter end of March I had four hives
that had but very few Bees in them, and alfo —
ta
very little honey, and confequently could nei-
ther have defended themfelves from robbers nor
ae famines -
°
Po q
ie a
i
¥
&
os he?
t
SEPA See ee gs Ne gee eee LEM SAF ao es
though rarely, happening Bees: ., 131
famine. To putthem in a way of defence from
both, I fupplied every hive with a fufficiency of
honey to bring her to Fuze, and alfo after two
days reinforced her with Bees to defend her
from robbers ; after, in the firft week of April, 1
took the foar hives a mile from my own apiary,
and placed them in a funny quiet place among
whins, which were beginning to bloom, and —
hear fome fallow trees whofe palms were out,
fo that when the weather was fine, they had food
at their door without the trouble of much tra-
vel. At the fame time I fet other four good
hives befide them, which had plenty of both
honey and Bees of their own, and thereby need-
ed none of my afliftance (happy hives are fuch!)
As foon as they were well fet down among the
whins, the weather turned very good, and my.
four mended hives fell brifkly to work, and
wYought throng for twelve days of fine weather.
The other four good hives began to work too,,.
but wrought in a more flow manner; for,
for one loaded bee that went into the good
hives, there went three into the mended
ones; I fuppofed they were in a manner ex-
tremely happy to find their cafe all on a fudden
{o agreeably changed, viz. from poverty to plen- .
ty, from afew bees that could neither keep heat
to hatch with, nor defend from robbers, to a.
mumerous hive which could anfwer both ends,
and alfo being placed among plenty flowers to -
work on, while bright PAebus failed not to com-.
wite them out: they wrought throng for twelve
days as I faid, and I turned every one of them
up to fee how they were breeding, and! was as.
happy uf
i tte > Lee *
plete their happinefs by fhining pleafantly to in-
132 «An Uncommon Difafter, fometines, _
happy as them to fee they were hatching for-
- watd a numerous young breod in the cells5
each hive had more than a thoufand fealed up
cells in her, while the {trong hives had not a-
bove the one ‘half of that number: thus -they
went on in this profperous manner during the
faid good weather ; then the weather fet in very
bad and cold for other eight days, infomuch
that when I[ was carrying one hive, my hands”
turned fo cold that l could not hold her. _
Good and pleafant weather comes round '
again, and my. ftrong hives fel brifkly to-
work; while fcarcely a bee was to be feen at
the entry of any of my mended hives: I was
furprifed at it, as knowing it was neither for
want of bees nor honey; I then turned them _
up, and by looking down between the combs,
I faw plainly that the young were all going back-
ward-in the cells. | waited other eight days, |
‘and none of the bees ever carried any at all,
while ny ilrong ones carried throng. 1 then
turned them up again, and cut out a large piece
of comb with masyots in it, and found every
one of them dead, and going backward in the”
cells: as it was fuch a cafe as-I was per= |
feétly a ftranger to, I could not know the caufe
how it happened; neither did I prefently know
what method to take with them next. I.con-
jectured that every hive having got fo many
bees, and fo much hen added to them 3 at the
fame time placed in the midft of good pafture,
to which the fun added his comfortable prefence,
all which completed their happinefs, and fet
- them a thinking fummer was at hand, and now
-.they fhould: fet to prepare for it, by hatching”
Xi ; forward
though rarely, happening Bees. 133
forward a numerous brood, which they accord-
ingly had done, and had a vaft number in
their cells, confidering the feafon. of the year,”
and the fhort time they had; and alfo their — -
nutaber avas not very great, although they had
a moderate quantity. I alfo conjectured that
as the Queen had been made prolific by the
heat in the hive, to lay great quantities of eggs,
the bees had allo to go off in large, quantities a
foraging among the flowers for treth farina to
feal the maggots up in their cells with; and
when fo many were abroad, the few that re-
mained at home could not keep a fufficient heat
in the hive to nourith up fo large a brood: but
perhaps thought I, the principal reafon was the
unexpected return of fo fevere a cold at this fea.
fon; by which they were not able, by any power
of theirs, to keep a fufficient heat in the hive
(during the cold) to hatch out the young : fur.
ther thought I, if they had confidered that in
fo fevere a cold, (which they had little expected
to meet with after fuch a-noble:profpeé) their
whole ‘bees could not cover be whole brood
with a proper*heat, therefore they would been
wifer to have taken a proper care of the inmoit
bees about the centre of the hive, and thereb
preferved a part inftead cf lofing the whole.
However thinks I, they acted no worfe here than
fea-faring men, «hen in great hazard’of lofing
their fhip, cargo, and lives in a {torm, by being.
over-laden; yet are loth to abandon any-part of
their thip or cargo, expecting (with my bees)
every hour better weather, ard thereby would:
fave the whole. be
»
£94 An Uncommon Difafter, Sometimes,
“You have feen Lhave given the exceflive cold
the whole blame of the above difafter: which
happened to my four hives. I had next to con-
-fider what to make of them, feeing the moft
part of the cells were full of rotten eggs and
perilhed maggots: Iswaited other two weeks to
fee if the bees would defert that part of the hive,
and lay eggs in other empty cells, and thereby
repair their lofs, but they did not, but conti-
nued clofe upon the dead maggots. 1 fuppofe
they did that, becaufe there were fome cells here
and there, with live maggots in them, but very
few; for one live maggot there were forty dead.
I refolved to let them ftand {till in the fame cafe
they were prefently in, in order to fee how the
bees would do further in fuch a deplorable cafe ;
» whether they would abandon the hive entirely,
4, or if they would try to tear out the ftinking
maggots, and I thought that would fave the
combs. I waited till the beginning of Fune,
and the bees turned very few, the old ones
dying of ase, and few or none to fupply them ;
they decreafed very faft from the time of the
difafter to the beginning of ‘¥une, they carried
loads and bred fome, but very little. When I
turned them up in May and ‘Yune, and looked
down between the combs, I was unable to do.
4 forthe flench that the rotten maggots -pro-
duced. 1 then daw plainly that they never were
to turn to’ any account the way they were pre-
-* fently ni; for though they were beginning to_
tear out fome of the confumed maggots, and
lay eggs in their place and increafe a little, the
feafon was going away fait, and confequently
they would be of little value at the end of fum-_
Ae CRE RERS i » omer,
:
aint rarely, happening Beep 1 38
mer, perhaps not have 3 Ib. of honey; whereas I
could make far more of them another, way, fee-
ing they hada queen. . I then, einige aely pra
ceeded and took. all the bees out of one of the
hives, and put in an empty one; I next took
all the bees (which were very numerous) out of
one of the ftrong hives; which I told you. was -
ftanding befide the mended. ones, and put in
another empty-hive alfo. I then fet down both
the hives containing the Bees, in the very {pot
where they ftood when in poifeflion of their own
hives, in order that they might keep their old
ftance: and then I took the hive containing the
ftinking maggots, and with an inftrument made ©
on purpofe, cut out all the pieces of combs, con-
taining the ftinking maggots, among which were
200 young bees coming forward, in fome of
the cells which the bees had cleaned out ; but f
paid no regard to them, but caft them into my
empty-comb barrel,’ that the cells might be made
into wax, the next time I made that commodi-
ty. After that, ltook the numerous bees which ©
lhad taken out of the ftrong hive, and put ir
the hive which I cut the combs out of, and fet
the bees exaétly where they ftood when in pote yc
feflion of their own hive, and they being nume-
rous, foon filled her full of combs again. I ae
then took the heavy hive, which was almoft .\
full of.maggots in the cells, and had allo, I gr
judged, 10 lb. of honey in her: Ithentookthe
tew bees which came out of the ftinking hive,
and put in her, and fet her down in the place
where the few bees ftood before, and covered §
her weil, and gave her a very little entry;inor-
at to keep her warm to hatch out the young,
ee UN ES and.
“
-
=n
>
136 AnUncommon Difafter, fometimes, —
énd in ten days time fhe hatched out a moft nu-
merous brood, and they were both thriving
ives. J did exactly the fame with the other
three flinking hives, and changed their bees
with three of their {trong neighbouring hives,
and they all did well, and gave me fatisfaétion,
which I efteemed an excelent cure for fo defpe-
‘rate acafe. Though I have dwelt long on this
fubjeé&t, 1 beg the kind reader will bear with me
a little longer, till nrake a few remarks which
may happen fometimes (though I hope feldom).
to be ufeful to him in fuch a cafe. Some will
be ready to fay, it this be the confequence of
your fo much ‘recommended reinforcing hives,
you fhall have all the pleafure and profit of it for
me, Fam done with it orever I begin. Have
patience a little, I pray you, and I will try to
make you a ee ce or you fhail fay me {hames:
fully nay.
ft, I told you my hives were very bad ere Tre. »
inforced them, I am fure_not worth two fhil-
lings a piece. }
ad. After I mended them, I would npt have ta-
ken fixteen fhillings a piece for them, and had
they efcaped that unforefeen rock, there was
none other for them to dafh on, for they were
proof againft robbers and famine ; ; certainly »
you: would not advife a farmer to fow no
more feed, becaufe perhaps one year in twen-
ty, his corn was moltly fhaken with the wind;
nor would.you dehort the fea captain never
to fet to fea again, becaufe there was a new |
found out rock, where only one fhip was
_ greatly .
mS
| ; though rarely, happening Beers. = 1.377
_ greatlydamaged on, while hundreds efcaped,
_efpecially as there was now a beacon fet on
PR RRA ie brik Guasave Bee Ve
Had I not reinforced them, I would have
loft them-at any rate, and all I would have loft
had-t loft the whole, would haye been only the’
common Bees I put to her, which would have
been but.a {mall lofs; and even at the laft her
Bees having a Queen, I valued worth five fhil.
lings, fo I was no lofer, only that unhappy cold
prevented me from being a very great profiter.
Befides, were | afraid to meet with fuch an acci-
dent now, I could prevent it from happening,
or mend her to better purpofe after it took place.
To prevent fuch a thing happening to Bees. is
‘to Keep your hives very warm in fpring, and if:
cold weather happens, fhut their entries up, fo.
as to prevent too great admittance of cold : and
if fuch a thing were happening to a hive, as’
foon as known, cut out all her dead maggots,.
and add fome more Bees to her Tineeeres.
and fhe will directly hatch again; and _that-is.
the cure will give you fatisfaction.. hae
Indeed I mean never to. be difcoyraged by’
and at the fame time (when cold weather) to
keep them warm, which. will prevent the like.
difafter. ‘ ‘ |
‘o fundry,of my neighbours Bees laft fpring, |
“which were neither fed nor reinforced) for |
aw one of my neighbours hives which went
Iam certain that the fame difeafe hapnened. |
N 3 well. .
any fuch accident, but on the contgary, to ule.
methods to make them hatch as falt as ever F
° . s a. a
can at all times of the year, efpecially in fpring;
| ’
138 An Uncommon Difafer, fometimes,
well in the beginning of the fpring, but gave
_ over carrying at the fame time mine did, and
did little or no bufinefs all the fummer, and at
Lammas | turned her up, and faw that they had
not got out all her {linking maggots even then.
But I think it is a diftemper which rarely hap-
pens, and when it happens fhould be immedi-
ately cured by cutting out the fpoilt combs, and |
adding more Bees to her: therefore in fpring,
whenever you fee a hive that was a gopd car-
rier (and wants not food) turn to carry almaft
none at all, then directly turn her up, and look
down between the combs, and take a fmall.,
flick, and put in among the thickeft of the
Bees where the fealed up maggots will be, and
with your ftick rub off the head of two or three
of the fealed up cells, and-if frefh whitifh mag-
gots appear, with two brownifh eyes, you may
conclude the brood is coming forward: but if
only a blancht maggot appear, or perhaps the
cell feems to be empty below the covering, then
if you can fee twenty cells in this bad condition,
you may conclude the brood is going back-
ward, and you fhould cure the hive as above
directed. ¥ snk
What I mean by giving the above relation
is, to let my readers. fee that weak hives, when
fed and’ reinforced, breed as faft, if. not fafter,
than good hives, and alfo that fuch difeafes hap- ”
pen Bee-hives, although not reinforced; and
Jikewife to teach them how to prevent the like
from happening their Bees; and alfo how to |
cure that difeafe in a hive when it has it.
It was not the reinforcing and feeding that
killed the maggots, but the cold alone, as is
| certain |
f y
though rarely, happening Bees... 139
‘certain from my neighbours hives having the
fame difeafe, tho’ neither fed nor reinforced ;
vand I have had great numbers of hives rein-
‘forced, and do extraordinary well, and not a
maggot go backward.
I cannot here pafs unobferved what I faw a-
‘mong my Bees this day, being the 27th of Fa- —
nuary.——For feven weeks before this a fevere
ftorm of froft and fnow had. been upon ithe
ground; during which time not a Bee could
go out of their hives :- 1 had a’dozen of hives ~
{tanding in one place, where they were all co-
vered over with {now, (the molt part of the faid
{torm) infomuch that the tops of the hives were
fearcely feen. The ftorm being ended, and
‘this day being a bright fun about 11 o’clock,
I carried the twelve hives to a pleafant quiet
green, where I turned up every hive, and fet
‘her on her crown with her mouth to the fun,
which fhone down between the combs, and
roufed the Bees fo, that iu a few minutes they
flew as thick about as if it had been the middle
Of Fune, and aired themfelves, and. eafed their
‘bodies ; and I with a fmall {tick fearched fome
‘of the hives, to fee if they were breeding any,
vand had the pleafyre to fee in one of them
more than 200 fealed up young in their cells ;
Talfo with my fimall ftick rubbed otf the cover-
‘ings of two or three of the cells containing the
maggots, and faw them tairly formed, and per-
feétly frefh ; and they will in other eight days
time be out of their cells, (a fine young brood)
and I expeét they will continue to hatch on; I
ith them good fpeed; I have fet them dowa,
and coyered them well, and fhall keep them
| | warm,
140 AnUncommon Difafer happening Bees.
warm, and do all 1 can to encourage them to
go on in fuch a thriving and agreeable employ-
ment: I had another hive breeding the fame
way, but had not, fo many Bees in her, and
thereby had fewer maggots... nat
1 hope none ever after will aflert that Bees
cannot breed but when there are flowers in the
fields for. the Bees to gather off to nourifh their
young with; for mine have been breeding fait
in the middle of a fnow-wreath, and yet have
not feen a flower thefe feven weeks, nor dol
expect they will for other five.
All the twelve hives were a deal better of
the airmg they got this day, for at even they
fang chearfully ; and | make no doubt but it
will encourage thofe that have bred none yet,
to begin now, and thofe that are begun, to go
on: befides, as.they got their bodies eafed, they
are fit tor another month’s confinement, fhould
‘bad weather take place. bey
Some may be ready to fay, feeing all along
you maintain that Bees fhould be properly kept
warm, efpecially in {pring, to prevent too m
cold from perifhing the brood in the cells, and
you alfo as pofitively afferting that Bees will
fometimes hatch young in the middle of win-
ter, even in fevere colds; pleale inform. us
what preferves the brood from perifhing in the
middle of winter, in the greate!t colds, when.a
lefler degree fometimes is fatal to them, in the
fpring? In gnfwer I obferye, that it is a cer-
tain degree of cold within the hive that perifhes
the brood, and not cold without the hive. Be-
fides that, it is the hives that are fulleft of
Bees, and well covered over, with almoft a
; fhut
To manage Bees in March, April, FS May. 141
fhut up entry, that hatch in winter. The
‘Bees never coming out of the hives preferves a
conftant fufficient heat to bring forward the
fies ; and fuppofe they breed in winter, it 1s
but few in proportion to what they do im fpring,
and thofe broods are in the very centre of the
hive, and well furrounded with multitudes of
Bees: but thofe that go backward in fpring
are generally in hives that are not full of
so a and thereby their houfes are colder,
either have they fuch great numbers of Bees,
and at that feafon perhaps too many of the
Bees leave the brood, and go in fearch of. fari-
a to feal them up with in their cells; by all
hich caufes the brood may be colder in fpring,
though not fuch cold weather, than they are
I V dag, in far greater degree of outward
cold, |
’
Gy DAs: Pins; XEX.
JIRECTIQNS HOW TO MANAGE BEES IN MARCH,
Pt _ APRIL, AND MAY
a
HERE is a very great miftake which ge-
nerally prevails in the {pring among many
See-maftets: whenever a-fine day happens in
ring, good hives carry loads faft, and the
ee-mafter thinks they are doing very well, as
they are; but perhaps he has another hive
at is a good weight, and well {tored of honey,
. but
mga | Directions how to manage Bees
but has very few Bees inher, and confequent-
ly her Bets carry very few loads: which when
the owner obferves, he concludes fhe has eat up
all her honey, and thereby is unable to work,
unlefs fhe be prefently fed, (for you are to ob-
ferve, he dares not lift the hive from the board
to fee her ftate) therefore he, with all the fpeed
he can, gives them a large meal of honey, to
prevent them from dying of famine, the imell
of which brings robbers (which are flying
about in fearch of provifion) in vaft numbers
to the hive, and they finding there a ready
well-dreft difh of good wholfome food, every
way fit for their f{tomachs, (and few native Bees
to defend it) they are not too ceremonious a-
bout who provided it, or who fhall pay the
reckoning, but e’en take a good hearty meal,
and go home, and tell their brethren where
they will meet with a well-covered table, and
few to defend it, and then they will go in mul-
tudes, and eat up all that was given to the hive,
and afterwards afcend the combs, and make
equally free with them, and fo rob and fteal on
till the hive be entirely ruined ; ‘which lols pros
ceeded merely from the owners want of =i
ment: as fhe had plenty of honey the neede
no feeding, but as fhe had few Bees fhe fhoul
have been either reinforced or - removed, or,
what is fill better, both: but had he let her a
lone without feeding, fhe would perhaps hav
done very well, as no robbers would have beet
invited to her, they might not have made fo free
In the firlt week of March, ina cold morn
ing, gently turn up all your Bee-hives, ant
carefully clean their boards, at which time yo!
| wi
—
in March, April, and May. 143
ill fee if they need feeding or reinforcing : if
hive then is a good weight, and plenty of
ees in her, fet her down again, and draw a
‘tle line mixed with hair carefully all round
sr fkirts *,and ftill keep on her little entry to
fend her from cold and robbers ; ; then give
ra large new covering of tow or ftraw, in
fe her old one be much deftroyed, the fame
ay you was directed to cover them in page 80,
id fhe will probably need no more of your
fiftance till {warming time. But if fhe have
Ww Bees, reinforce her, as directed page 83;
id it fhe have little honey, perhaps not as
uch as will ferve her till the honey feafon, fhe
ult be fed.
The way to know whether a hive in March
s as much honey as will bring her to the ho-
:y feafon cannot pofitively be fixed : : the alone
ay is, if you poife her betwixt your hands, fhe
II perhaps feel very light. Sometimes a hive
R give-almoft over working, and then the
fe is defperate, for they are. by this time much
tarded in their breeding and working, but if
a hit the nick of time of this. calamity, and
| give
* The reafon I direct to be fo careful to Ripe the
rts and.covers of the hives fo pointedly at this fea-
1 of the year is to keep the Bees as warm as yout
a in order to make them hatch faft, for it isa great
vantage to keep them warm when hatching i in cold
ather, and, in cold days and evenings in {pri ing, the
try fhould be faut up ‘fo as to admit air only in or-
+ to keep them warmer, and caufe them to breed
‘ and preferve the maggots from perifhing in the
$. :
<
~.and no flowers in the neighbourhood, they will
144 Direétions how to manage Bees
give them a hearty meal, they will fall prefent.
ly to work ; therefore although a hive in March
have 3!b. of honey of hér own, yet give her o.
ther 6lb. of honey comb, and fhe will never}
trouble you with feeding her more. 1 fay, any|
hive that you judge will need feeding, give|
her as many honey combs, the way you was|
taught in page 111, as will bring her to Fuse ;
but if you have not honey combs, then give her
liquid honey, as dire&ted in page 114, and ne-
ver give them too little, for fear they fhould run
out, when you are perhaps not judging any fuch
_ thing; but if you give them it liberally, they
are faithful ftewards, and will not wafte it, but
return you your own with ufury: and be fure
to feed Bees before ever their own {tock o
honey be near exhaufted; for if their ftock
be near done, and the honey feafon not near at}
hand, they are difcouraged, and fo breed and
work very flowly ; but when fo bountifully fup-
plied before ever their own {tock be near done,
it makes them hearty, and carry on their work
as brifkly as the ftrongeft hives: but hives that
have plenty of provilfion of their own to ferve)
till ‘une, never give them any food.
In March if you have a dozen of hives in
’ one apiary, and all very good thriving hives,
~ be much troubling one another by trying one}
another’s ftrength in the robbing way, therefore
I would advife you to remove fix of the weakeft
of them to a mile’s diftance from their prefent
{tance, to fome convenient part, as near flowers)
as you can; fuppofe you fhould fet them at the
fouth fide of fome dike, or in a wood, or a-)
F Te Te -mong}
mong whins, or any quiet funny remocie plage :
they being there fet, will not be molefted fo with
robbers. I have ofter: done that way myfelf,
and greatly to my fatisfacion: no doubt, every
one canwot have iuch an c#portunity; befides,
off; therefore every one mult do according toe
‘their fituation. But I have often-had many one
dtanding in the mid{t of muirs, and a.aong
whins, and ina clover field, and cattle going
‘round and round them, and yct never lo!t one
‘by thieves butonce ; and I am certain I never
loft five fhillings by cattle turning them oveg,
‘for I generally fet the boards on the ground,
and if any cattle accidentally pufh them off
their board, as they are not high, they fuffer
b.: little by fuch difturbance. When I am a.
mong my indu(trious fervants, ftanding in fome
their work with fo much fimplicity, alacrity, and
‘chearfulnefs, and finging fo fweetly,’ they aré
fit to make me join the concert, and fing
What's this I hear makes fo melodious found,
Surely Pvé. got on fome enchanted ground ;
Tis Canaan’s infects that I here behold,
Whofe legs do glitter like the ycllow gold. ~
The whins and broom in l:ftre here do fhine,
| Whofe yellow tops regale thefe Socks of mine.
dere filver fireams in flow’ ry valleys glide,
And rows of witlsas dick. the river's fide :
Here lambkins play upon tke funny braes,
And fuecteft neGiar smells on clover lees.
> Here
in March, April, and May. a 143
—
‘many are afraid’ of thieves ftealing’ them clear
quiet and remote place, and fee thenr carry on, .
é/
oe
- ad 4 r |e at
149. DireEions how to manage Bees ;
_ Here are the fieldi- with Nature’s colours dight,’
' Grateful to fell, and pleafant to the frght.
* Retired pleafure foothes.and calms the mind ;
- i noify world oft leaves a fling behind.
Sometimes in. fpring a hive will lofe her
Sm and fo will never do any more ood.
e way to know when a hive wants a Queeq,
and cannot raife one to herfelf, is, her Bees
will immediately ceafe from working as toon as
all the young in the cells are fealed up, and one
wait an hour at her, and f{carce fee a toaded
We 0 into the hive: they confume their’ own
honey faft away, and generally an unufual |
number of bees croud about the entry of the ©
hive; and if fhe has been long without a |
ueen, and: you turn her up and fearch a-_
mong the cells, for to fee maggots in them, ©
there will be none. | |
As foon as yon obferve any of thefe melan-
choly figns, directly cut out from fome of your
other hives that you can come eafieft at, a pigce
of comb three inches fquare, that las egys in
it; then turn up your queenle’s hive, anddet —
her on her crown, and with your left hand
fhed two of the combs a little afunder, then
with your right hand put in the piece coml: be-—
tween them, obferving that the cells be put in
the hive in the fameorder they were in their:
native hive—I mean the cells that were upper-
molt to be fo ftill; then pull out your ‘left —
hand from between your combs, and they will
return to their natural pofture; and to hold)in-
ahe piece comb containing the eggs, then fet ,
“down
tT
-
in March, April, and May. 149
down the hive again, and the bees will be very
happy that they are now put in fuch a ftate as
that they can raife up another queen to thent-
felves, and fo perpetuate their fpecies; and
they will foon. effectually fix the piece comb to
the two combs it was put in between, and fall
immediately to work, and build. a royal cell a-
bout one of the eggs, and thertby raife them-
felves up a young queen, which will be to them
as life from the dead. Sometimes in fuch a cafe,
they will build two or three royal. cells. 1 fup-
pofe the reafon is, that they think if one prove
abortive, another may. hit ; whereas when they
‘build only one, if the maggot go back, they»
will have none to fupp!ly.. .
But if in fpring you happen to haye a hive
that wants both a queen ond new-lgid eggs ia
her, and thereby cannot raile another, and fo is
in a defperate cafe, if fhe have few bees in her,
then take them all out, and put them to fome
‘of your weakeft hives, and keep.the hive with
the combs in it till you have a fmall fwarm,
‘and put them on it, and it will forward them
greatly. :
If in fpring you have a hive that has few
‘bees in her, and alfo little honey,.and you can-
not get bees to reinforce her, nor honey to feed
ithem with, fuppofe you could get the bees; as
fhe has very few bees, little honey or fugar will
ferve her, therefore remove her from all other
bees, and give her a little food once a week,
nd perhaps fhe may come forward to bea good,
live in harveft. , vine
In May, if cold, rainy, cloudy, or mifty wea-
her happens to continue for eight or ten days,
O 2 then.
ras, . ehieas hace to datas Bees
then the bee-mafter fhould look well to his -
flock, and fee that none of his hives be fuffering |
by famine, for at this time their family is great-
ly increafed, and they, have many mouths, and —
thercby eat the remains of their win:er and
foring provifion faft away ; and fometimes even
the very belt of lives will be in danger; there-
fore in fuch weather in Asay or even D Furs give”
every hive a little honey or fugar every day, (in
a {mall kex * thruft in at the entry of the hive,
which the bees will eat up) in order to prevent
all fufpicion, for now. is the mouth’ of honey-
harve(t to them; therefore preferve your la-
bourers, for as foon as the muftard is bloomed —
among the corn, or white clover fhines upon
the lees among the lambkins, an-hour of a fine
day will refrefh them well, and put a period to °
your future feeding.
In fpring. when the flowers are beginning to
open, the bees will vifit them, and carry yellow |
loads from off them; and whenever one loaded
vee is feet co into a hive it is a fign the flow-
ers are begianiny to fpring, and there will ne-
ver bo a fine day during fpring, fummer, and
autumn, but ey will-conftantly carry on their
beloved ©
-”
* A kex is a finall. trough made of the joints of a-
‘ny plant that is pithy or hollow; ore made of elder
will do very wel, and ise: aly got; {: ‘ect thole joints that
are lon; gett, th not above one year’s growth; witha
knife make ita little flat on the under fide to fland on’ ©
‘the board: take the pith’ out of the upper fide, fo”
as to hold. the honey, leaving a little of itvat every
end to prevent the Vqui id trom TuRning out, 3
~- ?
Pe
beloved labour, and work with the gt eateft dili-
peace and chearfulnefs. |
carry any, 1 have only perhaps feen three or
eur loaded bees go in to her, the next day
probably eight or ten, and fo on; they gradual-
ly increafe in numbers of loaded bees as the
flowers increafe in the fields, and the bees turn
numerous in the hives, and about the begin-
ning of May, when the whins and broom, and
many other flowers fhine yellow in the fields,
then a flrong hive of bees is all yellow loaded
ene hive in a very few minutes.
Where the kives are all good they carry
much alike, but they carry in proportion to
their number of Bees: in fome apiaries where
thefe are four hives flanding, one of thein wiil
perhaps have twenty loaded Bees go into her
dn five niinutes, another fifty, a third ning ty,
and the lait 120, all in the f rte foace of time,
But in the height of the lioney-fzafon they car-
ry extremely. jaft, running out and in with the
ed Bees cannot be countéd; whereas before the
honcy feafon, tho’ they work very, Lufy and
conflant, yet not in fach a great hurry.
Were | to purch: wfe a hive ia Atay, and
ecming to aneaplary ina fine day, where there
‘were perhaps four hives, I would cavfe Sour
men to fit down, one at every hive, fer ven
minutes, and each man count how many lozded
Bees went into bis hive durin; r that time, and
O 3 2% ® in,
The firft day in {pring I have feen a bee-hive.
about, her entry, (a very pleafant fight to fee):
and I have counted 100 loaded Bees’ go into
greateft precipitation and hurry, and their loads.
itch upon. her that had the molt nutiber ro.
‘ieee in March, April, and May. 149°
a
850 Diredicns bavie'te shining Bees A
in, provided fhe had fome yan in her, and
were none of the oldef,
- "The village I write from is none of the ear-
lielt, but I have had hives in it have niné of
ten Scotch pints of honey in them in remark-—
able good years; but f efteem her a good hive —
that has four Scotch pints of honey m her.
Bees begin,.to carry fooner or later according
fo the goodnefs of the feafon and fpringing of
the flowers. In 1779, I faw my Bees carry in
the middle of February ; and fomie hives fwarm-_
ed that year in #/ay, and my father had two top
fwarms, that each one of them fwarmed again
. twices ‘Lhe honey was very plenty that year,
it fold at four fhillings the Scofch pint, and fome
at three and fixpence, but ever fince that year
the current price of honey has been about five
and fixpence.
Some years fince J have not feen my Bees_
carry any loads till the middle of April, and
they did not fwarm till the beginning of ‘July.
I cannot pafs over the year 1787 unobferved,
which was a remarkable year for both flowers.
and honey ; the white- clover heads, that year,
where the ground was rich, were like {mall
white rofes ist bignefs. The moft part of top
fwarms {warmed again.
That year I bought a hive (which was Fpini
out, yet had not fwarmed) from a neighbour
of mine, on the firt day of Auguft, and took
all her Bees out, and put them in a hive whofe
Bees died out of it in the fpring, and fo had on
ty empty combs mit: the Bees were very nume-"
rous as they had not fwarmed, and they clean-
ed out the hive in two hours, infomuch that
| sour
FY ns .
a) ’
- in March, April, and May. 151
could have taken up afmall handful of wax »
crumbles off the board, which they had cleaned
off the mouldy combs... ‘Yhe flowers being vaft-
ly‘rich of honey, and bright Phebus playing
his part, favoured them greatly, infomuch that
-on the fixth day after the Bees were put in the ~
hive, I took them all out again, and the hive
was 15 lb. heavier than when I put them in,
fo that they had gathered two pounds and a
‘half of honey every day for fix days running,
which | efteemed a remarkable gathering, which
made me infert it here. As foon as I putin
the Bees in the faid combs, I put a large eek
to her, and they filled it up with new work, the
‘moft being filled with fine fealed up honey ;
and by looking down between the combs, I faw
‘about 100 fealed up maggots, which is a proof
‘that in the. height of fummer the brood comes
falter forward, they being fealed up in fix days,
‘whereas they commonly take feven. .
When a large fwarm of Bees is put in a hive
that has empty combs in her, there being no -
young in the cells, the Bees have plenty empty
barrels to put their liguor in, and have no o-
‘ther thing to do for fome days after they are
firft put in-but only gather honey, as they have
no young to nourifh up, nor combs to make to
hold their honey; therefore their whole bufi-
nels is to collect honey, and they fill their hives
furprifing faft. 1 am certain» that if a large
fwarm be put in a hive with empty combs in
her, fhe will collec more honey the firft week,
than a iwarm of the fame largenefs put inv an ~
mpty, hive will do in two. A fwarm put-cn
pty combs in the height of the honey-{feafon,
where
tg2 Directions how fo manage Bees }
-where they haye plenty cells to put their liquor
in is like fome able fithers who have plenty bar-
rels to ftow their herrings in as foon-as catched ;
wheréas a fwarm put in an empty hive has
both her cells to make, and the. liquor to bring
home, and fill them with, like the poor fithers
that in the time of the drove have their barrels
to provide, and then the herrings to catch to
fil them with; for the honey-feafon is the fame
to Bees, as rhe drove is to the fifher.
If you have any very light hives in harve%,
perhaps not above four or five pounds weight ;
take their bees out of them, and keep them
earefully till next fumiher to receive {warms ;
and alfo all hives that may have died (by your
neglect) i in winter or {pring, by cold, robbers,
~or famine, preferve them fafe and clean from
mice; {piders, &c. and put fwarms on them in
fummer alfo, but too old hives, 1 mean thofe a-
bove four years old, I would not advife to keep
them in‘order to put fwarms on. -In winter
fometimes it happens, (thongh fel!dom, it well
chofen) that the Bees of a hive will entirely de-
fert it, and leave perhaps two or three Scoteh
pints of honey in it, f would not acvile to keep
fuch to receive heme ns, bu: the heavielt combs,
if in one fide of the hive, may be ‘carefully
cut out, (which wil! be uieful for feeding with:
in. March if needfuland the empty ones, or
thofé that are but partly filled wih honey, may
be left.in her in order to receive a [warm next
fummer, and: the Bees will foon, fixe all the,
“combs; and mend all their breaches, * and. fol
v.ake them to their pleafure, Often L havea.
hive that the one half of her combs is perhaps.
i
i
a. ©
zV'y
4a Marth; April; and May, 54
half in her only one. ,
- Perhaps fome readers may think that there
is a va{t deal of trouble in managing Bees, viz.
to feed hungry hives, and to reinforce thofe
that have few Bees, to preferve them from cold,
robbers, mice, and many other enemies, and it
As enough to fear one from commencing Bee-
matter. No doubt there is a good deal of trou-
ble attends bad hives as well as any other thing
‘that is bad; but the whole trouble arifes almoit
allenerly from keeping bad ftalls; for good
ftalls need very little trouble, and atford a deat
-of profit yeariy to their mafter. I have known
fome countrymen that fearce knew any thing of
the nature of Bees, and never fed any, and
fearce gave themfelves any trouble about then,
unlefs to divert themfelves to fee them carry,
(happy men!) and to place a hive over a fwarm,
or make and fell their honey, and give them a
good covering for winter, and yet they would
have made three or four pounds fterling of
their good luck arofe was their always killing all
their bad hives in September, and at the fame time
keeping the prime and beft of hives for ftalls.
Inthe latter end of May or beginning of
Jie, your ftalls being well chofen in Septer-
der, and itill continued good, it may be pre-
fumed they will be turned very numerous of
bees, and throng at labour in good weather, as
be muftard and white clover will be making
he very air to fmell of honey, which will make
fem eager on work during the day, and fin
rT
o
two, three, or four years old, and the other |
knew very little about the wars of Bees, and”
their Bees yearly. The alone caufe from which
for
:
Se eS Sapte Le
‘nity, but improve their time while it lafts, well
knowing that if a change of weather take placé,
+
-
154 Directions how to manage Bees
for joy through the night. Now is the honey-
ieafon, and farewel famine and robbers, fo
when there is honey in the flowers, they wil
never think of robbing ; for I have fometim
poured alittle honey on their boards to fe
what they would make of it, but-they woul
pas by it as below. their notice, and flown ea
getly to the fields: they will omit no opportu-
it will foon lay an arreft cn their labours. As
they increafe in number their entries fhould be
gradually enlarged, and care fhould be taken
that too little an entry retard not their work,
nor rub the loads off their thighs as they go into
tne hive ; but thofe that are no: fo numerous in
sees, their entries fhould be ftill kept little to
keep out the cold from damaging the brood’:
aifo their covers fhould ftill be left on the hives
o Keep out the heat in fummer, as well.as to’
keep it within the -hive in winter; for cold and
reat to excefs are both prejudicial to Bees..
The. entries to ftrong hives in warm weather
fhould be very large, three inches long, and
ene high is little-enough ;. it may. be made that
large by. working in a piece wood in the hive
(when it is made) four inches long,-and one
and a half deep, having a notch cut out of it
three inches long, and one deep, as above, which
may be leflened or enlarged at any time of fum-
mer (according to need) witha linle lime. This
fort of gate which extends in breadth is better
than one that hath the extenfion of it to the’
height; for when the loaden weary bees pitch.
upon the board before it, and running forward
to
in nahin, April, and May. “455
io fo in, if they fall not diretly oppofite to the
door, they are apter to go wrong than right;
and after goise a good way round the hive in
fearch of the entry, :muft return, which is a fa-
tigue, and hinders them in their work; where.
as when it is thus broad they will rarely mifs it.
Large entries in warm weather are very bene-
ficial to bees, it gives them air, and thereby -
makes them carry on their work with more eale
and pleafure; whereas when their entries are
fmall, and a vaft number of bees within, the heat.
‘is very great and fit to ftifle them, and caufes
them many time (efpecially after a fhower has
fent them quickly home and into their hives) to
come running out in multitudes for air, and in-
comniodes them greatly in their work.
You will remember that in page 139, I told
you that I had given twelve of my hives an air-
ing on. the 2 oth of January, and that two of -
them were breeding faft, in the-following page:
I fay all the twelve hives were a deal better of
the airing they got this day, for at even they
fang chearfullv ; "and 1 make no doubt but it
will encourage thofe that have bred none yet,
to begin now: they have not difappoited me,
for this day, being the 1 ath of February, Tturned
Gp one of the twelve, and faw a very large-brood
in the cells, for three of the combs were lined _
dn every fide with fealed tp maggots, and 1
nuded they had about 100 young inclofed in
the cells. I amv of opinion that a good many ,
oes were Taid that day and the following night
hat { gave them the airing;, and if they had not
een roufed that day by the warm fun, pers ips
ey isalet, not had-half fo many young in taeir
cells
Sere «
cm Ee
156 Of the Swarming of Bees. : ;
cells yet; alfo every one of the aired hives are
breeding faft jut now: no donbt good hiwes
that were not aired: then will be breeding tod,
-but I sienene hal not near r fo, falt. ! = ie
TL eA t:
OF THE SWARMING OF BEES-
g a
"
N O Ww we fhall give our. opinion of the diol
or lofs attending the iwarming of Bees,
with directions haw to. further‘it, when it may,
be profitable; and alfo how: to {top it, when it
may be hurtful. You know I have all along
been advifing you to deal. always in ‘good hives,
which will feldum fail to give you fatisfaction,
and far better“have no bees at.all, than have
bad hives. I fill give you the fame advice im
fummer,* therefore -ftrive not to. have man
{warms, but good ones, I-meam rather have one
a m or hive, than three bad ones; but
jn cafe you can have both, many and good, with
all my heart, fo much the better. Many bees
in one hive in fummer is the principal thing you
mutt aim: at, and in cafe you-have fome hives)
that in the bes ‘inning of fuinmer are {till {cant
of bees, you will do well.to reinforce them even
then, as well as in winter or.fpring. . Firfly
there is no certain rule whereby we may know,
“when a fwarm will be profitable and when not
Much dépeads on the goodnels, or badnels of
‘
Of the Swarming of Bees.) => vey
the feafons, and alfo the early or latenefs iof
them, and the good or badnefs ot the-old hives,
and ihe-early or latenefs ot:your firuation, and
the large or {malineis of the fwarms:—Juft as.
thefe combine in favour of, or againft, yout
gees——lo will they thrive or dis-thrive.
Some early years-bees will fwarm very foon,
xerhaps in Avay, then, they are fure to-do well
# the weather be favourable. In general here.
abouts they fwarm about the laft three weeks
of Yune, whichis a very vood time; .and in -
787, 1 made many artificial fwarms the laf
week of Fuly, which did well, and filled their
uves full of work, and flood the -winter, and
sarmed naturally next year: but indeed the
owers were remarkably rich of honey that
ear; aud it Is not one year in ten that {warms
all do any thing worth while fo late.
_ As we cannot aflure ourfelves of a certain’
ule-when fwarms wi!l do well, we muft be
ontent with the moft pvobable}and hope the -
If you have a hive that increafes faft of ‘Bees
ithe latter end of May and beginning of Fune, «
d Drones appear in her; ard as fometime -
efore fome water appeared on her ‘board, ‘a-
eut.or within the entry, (which we call fweat-
ag) of an infipid tafte, occafioned by the in-
reafing heat of the Bees, the water will now
e dried up by the {lil preater heat in thevthive,.
vy the bees turning more and more numerous;
ad the Bees about eleven. o’clock forenoon
ill fy about in a reeling manner; and make a_
otion.and noife about the fore part of the hive:
is maotien proceeds trom numbers of young:
? 4 bees, :
~
;
<<
58 Of the Swarining-6f Béés 3
‘bees, which make their firft appearance out of
the hive, and fly off from the entry, and when
in the air, turn their heads to the hive again,
and fly round and round in a circular manner,
and take a view of their ftance, and all around
them, and then light at the hive again, aud go
in;. by this they are difcerned to be young
bees, as alfo by their colour and fize, they be-
ing ef.a whitith and moufe-colour; whereas
the old ones are black.and fhining: they are
alfo fome leis, tho’ not a great deal, than old
Bees. > hy ga
.Sometimes-before a-hive fwarms,) tho’ they
lie not out in clufters, yet every morning when
they come abroad to work, a great many of
them will ftay about the door upon the board,
and featter themfelves around the entry of the.
hive in a large circle; and many will climb up
the fore part of the hive: this they will proba-
bly do for feveral days before they fwarm.
Likewife- when, they give over in the evening,
you will perhaps fee ten or twelve Bees ftanding
in and about the door of the: hive, with their
pofterior parts outward and bended up, and
their. wings in a continual motion, making a
humming noife. { a
Writers differ widely among themfelves as-
to the reafon which caufes Bees to fwarm: the
moft part agree that a hive never fends off her
firft: fwarm,; before her own hive be full of -
combs and Bees, fo as fhe can work no more |
tor want of room. -Other fome maintain ftre-.
nuoufly that they will {warm when there is plen=
. ty room in the hive for them both to work and
continue in it. Mr. Aeys, inp. 96, maintains,
ee | | - * that
,
OF de Sie warming of Bees, -. °° 1Bg
* that however capacious their hives may be, the
* Bees will certainly fwarm———plenty of room
“ induced mine to {warm We may-turther
‘ notice, that in hollow trees, and under. the
© roofs of houfes, which afc the Bees unli-
© mited room, yet itis well known’ (never by
me) ‘ that even in thefe fituations they always —
‘fend out fwarms,.’———His_doCtrine is perhaps.
full as found in the next paragraph, though it
does not coincide with the preceding, when he
Tays, ‘ On the contrary, when honey is.to be,
‘met with early, and in splenty, and the bees
‘have abundant {pare room, itis a erzat chance
“if they {warm at all’. And in page iis, he
Biss. ‘ If for feveral years together {warms come
* late, and perhaps fome ftocks do not {warm at
€ all, tho’ the feafons be tolerably good, it may-
‘be ‘taken for granted that the hivcs are too
* large, or the ftocks too many; on the contra-
“ry, u the fwatms be too early, and but fcanty
“im number, it indicates the hives to be too.
© fmall.? Page 118 itis faid, ‘ When a ftock’
is not wanted to fwarm it fhould be railed as-
* foon as the bees begin to work brifkly.’ Very
good:—we fhall take it for granted that Mr.
Keys means in the three lalt quotations that
want of room caufes Bees to fwarm, and en-
larging the hives: prevents them. Altho? they
be not juft fo confiftent as one could with with
his former affertion that ‘ plenty of room in-
duced mine to fwarm.? ;
I have fometimes thought his book in gene-
ral is not unlike a heap of uncleaned corn, that
confifted of good grain-mixed with chaff; for
there i is a. deal of good obfervations charley and
g 2 directions: _
{warm the firlt time, when other circum(tance
160 OF the § warming of Bees: |
directions given in it, altho’ (a pity it is!) ther
are fome grofs errors in it, and pernicious d
rections. | Ms
ily opmion upon the matter Is, that want o
room is the principab reafon that determine
Bees to make ready for fwarming, and alfo t
concur ; altho’ it will not hold abfolutely at al
times. vie wey :
* The principal reafon why they farm is th
“want of room; therefore in colonies where
“they are not at all [traitened they feldom ox
“never fwarm except (fays Mr. Rufden) thro
“diftafte, difturbance, or milmanagement.
* And in hives they fwarm not merely fo
“want of room without other concurring cir-
“cumftances, fuch as a king in readinefg, mul-
“titudes of fubjetts, profpect of plenty, together
* with weather which is inviting.’ ,
it appears to-me that a hive of bees, when
they have plenty of room and’ are very nume-
rous, are weil iausfied with their condition, and
love not to make any change as long’ as they
_ have room to build cells to lay eggs and depo-
fite their honey in; this is all they want. But
as foon as every cell in the hive has either
cog or honey in it, and no more room in the
liive'to build cells for thefe parpofes, and plenty
heney iu the Howers, and bees to collect it, and
no roa to hold either of thefe in the hive ©
them the bees fee that they are under a necef-
a pregnant queen to lay multitudes of eggs, but
-
fity either to give over breeding or working, or
: © aie
perhaps for fome time both; or otherwife raife
up a royal cell about one’ of their eggs, which!
Ud)
Of the Swarming of Bees: rer
in due time will come forward to be a queen,
and fo make them capable of fending off a
young colony, as.the weather and other things
affift. ‘Yhen the ro¥al cell is built and coming
forward, and by the 12th day of its age a great
many. more young bees have emerged out of
their cells, and the hive not being able to con-—
‘tain them for heat and want of room, they'cluf-
ter in large quantities about the entry and up-
-on the board or fore part of the hive; and carry
on but very little work, as. there is ftill no
room to flow any more honey. . Phen about
the 14 or 16 days age of the royal cell, the
weather being very favourable for fwarming,
and the community now Knowing that they. _
are doing very little the way they are prefent~
ly in for. want. of room, and as there will be*
2 young queen bred in the hive foon #9 be the
mother of one of the hives, they think it molt
prudent for the old mother to go off with a
fwarm diretily, rather than wait for the birth:
of the young queen, . |
As foon as agreed on, the weather being
good, the old gueen goes off immediately with:
afwarm and leaves a pregnant royal cell, which:
will produce a young queen in. peruaps two or:
three days to fupply thevold hive with. The:
old: queen going off, with the {warm is. capable-
to lay.eggs immediately that very day as foon:
as. there is a piece comb built to depofite them,
in; for |have oft feen the ike in a top fwarm
the fecend day after fie had fiwarmed I have~
feen a. large.piece comb in her, and fonie ho-—
ney in a few of the new-built cells; and alfo |
more than. two. fcore of new-laid eggs in the
B93 _ other:
102, OF the Scearming of Bees: ;
other celis, which.made me: think it was the
old gaeen that came off with the top fwarm ;
for | thought had the young queen in the fecond
day of her age come along with the fwarm, fhe
would not have been capable to lay eges till a
bout three days after, being then five days old,
in which age fhe is capable of becoming a moa
ther.
I have many times feen, in a fecond fwarm,
which L was certain-had a young queen in them,
that not a finglé egg would have been laid for
two or three days after they commenced a
fwarnt;. but L judge a hive feldom {warms till
fhe have a young queen bred in her, and fo.
has two queens, one of which mult go off with»
a {warm the firft favourable opportunity, or 9-
therwife it will coft one of them their life for
their delay; and when bad weather had fet in for
eight or twelve days after a hive was. ripe for
fwarming, 1 have fometimes feen-a dead queen:
thrown. out before the entry of the hive, and
the would not have {warmed or another queen
was bred; the bees'perhaps, in a At of defpair,
thought the weather would never mend, and:
that it was foolith to think of fwarming and ‘di-
viding houfes, for who would go off toa toom
houfe to perilh in it in fuch unfavourable weas
ther; therefore they, out of their too hafty-
drawn conclutfious, gave up with all natural af-
feCtions, and moft barbaroully murdered one
of the queens, (perhaps their own mother, re-
ferying the new-hatcht one for themfelves) and
tore out all the drone-maggots from the cells,
root and branch, and fometimes (aliho’ exceed~
Ing
-
3 Of the Swarming of Bees. . 16% |
ag rare) killed -a good many of their bre- :
But altho’ it is certain that bad weather. con-
inuing very long after a hive is ripe for fwarm-
ng will fometimes, tho’ very rare, difpofe the
ees to kill one of the queens, and thereby
nake them unfit to fwarm when the weather
surns good:;; yet in general they do not do it,
for itis well known that a hive will be fit for
Swarming, and juft beginning to rife in order to
fwarm, but a black. fhowery cloud arifing,. will ,
bprevent them: that day ;: and cold, cloudy, or
dhowery weather continuing for perhaps other
ten or twelve days will keep theny frony doing:
it: and yet alter whenever the weather turas
good, and they get a blithe blink of the lan;
they will. hurry out in great hafte, and {warm.
Small fwarms are fot worth keeping fingle
by themfelves, for they feldom every turn out:
‘to any good account ;. aud a-hive-that: has few
bees in her, if {he fwarm, her fwarm fhould be!
returned to her again, or both her and her
fwarm bees fhould-be enlarged with other two:
hives that are boih full of bees. ep
Strong hives will-lend off. large fwarms,. and-
{till be good theinfelves; therefore they may be
kept feparate, and both do very well, it not too
fate in the féafon ; but fhould the owner chule.
to prevent her from fwarming, he may; as foon
as fhe turns throng of. bees in the latter end ot.
May, give her aneek 3.iuches high, and whea-.
ever fhe fills that, and-turns throng again,. give
her another eek, and fo’on during the fummier,
by which he will prevent her fro fwarming,,
and fhe will, in this way of being always en=
larged
t04 .° OF the Swarming of Bees.
larged as fhe grows throng, and kept in. one.
partment, make a grand colony *, and colk
as much honey (if not more) than fhe and he
fwarms would have done altogether, fuppofe fh
had {warmed once or twice, and each one o
them all been kept feparate in hives by them
felves.. ety
My opinion is, that whenever the ‘cells ar
turned fo full of eggs, maggots, and honey, f
-as the bees foon will have no more rom to
itow their honey in; then the bees build a roy-
al cell about one of the eggs, in order to raif
a queen ; and if the weather be very tempting +,
and honey plenty in: the fields; then about the
14th, 16th, or 18th days age of the cell, the
bees perhaps will fwarm ;. bur if the Weather
be but middling good, then they wait or the:
young queen be born and fit to fly off with the
fwarm ;, and in that cafe ‘1 know not which of
the queens. goes off with the fwaiim,. nor which.
{lays:
* By colonies: I’ mean:a: very large number of bees
in one family, cirher dwelling in different apartments,
with communication to each other, of in. Gne fingle
hive, etd + fae d
+ Extraordinary good weather will tempt Bees-to
fiwarm oftentimes when they are not: perfeally. ripe
for it; for in fixeh weather: they are keen on fwarm- °
ing, and a good many. will: fwarm ia: one fine day,
fome of which,, it is likely, would-not have fwarmed
for eight days to.come, had not the weather provoked».
them te it. Some of: whieh the old queen went off: ‘
with the fwarm, and left a Pregnant royal ecell:in the,
hive, to fupply her with a queen, ees Sa
_
| —.. Of ihe Swarming of Bees. 165" -
‘ftays with the mother-hive, any of them, I fup-
pote, will anfwer any lyive. : las
itis well known, perhaps fome will fay, many
a hive will lie out in great clufters about her en-
‘try, upon the board, and fore part of the hive,
as large as a fwarm, fometimes for ten, twelve,
or fixteen days, arid then fwarnr after,. and
Yometimes not fwwarnr at all that year, and yet
‘the weather extremel’ good, and a. great many
hives keen on fwarming. .
br ‘ ‘ + -
J anfwer, perliaps that hive lias been long of
building a royal cell, and will not {warm till a
princefs be born; but it is feldom that a hive
that hes long our does not fwarm at the laft, if
the weather {till continue to be favourable. But
it may happen that the maggot contained in the
royal cell has turned abortive, or been deftroy-
ed by fome accident, and the bees are preparing
another royal cell, or elfe thinking that the fea-
fon is too far fpent for them to divide now, and
fo have laid the thoughts of {warming entirely
afide ; for were there never fuch a large heap of
‘common bees in a hive, they will not fwarm
without a queen to go along with them, (and
indeed without a queen they cannot conttitute
a {warm) and alfo another or elfe a royal cell to
leave in the mother-hive.
It feems to me that the principal réafon that a
hive of bees lies fo long out oftentimes with
great multitudes of bees about her, and yet
does not [warm, is their not having a young
geen bred as yet, and thereby two, whereby
sone might go off with the fwarm, and anothér
tovremain in the old hives for Lam of opinion,
‘that whenever there are two qu2ens in a hive;
and
=
166 Of the S: warming of Bees.
and multitudes of common bees, and. an. inyi-
ting feafon, that they linger no JeBEEN but i im
anediately go off in a {warm.
Someumes (but very feldom) a hive will
fwarm the firft time when none is expecting it
and very few figns of {warming about her; the
will do it when fhe neither is lying out, nor
very full of bees. In fuch a cafe there has (no
doubt) been a queen bred fooner than their or-
diuary method, and it is no argument azain{t
the general rule, that bees fwarin commonly the
firft time for want of room.
- Very warm weather will caufe hives that.are
not very full of bees to lie out, but whenever
cold weather returns, they will go all into their
hives again, and draw themfelves clofe together
among the combs, and alfo defift from making
anoife. Although a hive be very full of Bees,
and lie out in large quantities a long time in
warm weather; yet the return of cold will make
them all! flinch into their hives again, and the
owner thinks now all hopes of {warming are
loft, whercas, perhaps the next fine day “Gf a
queensis bred) they will hurry out and {warm.
From what has been noticed we may fee,
that the owner cannot be certain of the day in
which his bees are to fwarm, nor whether they
will fwarm at all, becaufe he knows not whe-
ther there is a roy ral cell coming forward at all,
or if coming forward, what time the young
queen will be bred, or even when fit for {warm-
ing, whether the weather will permit them to
a it; therefore whenever a hive in May, Funes
r Yuly (the common fwarming time) Curns.
etn throng of bees, works brifkly, and founds
loud.
—_
aati: & ‘ - ss ¥ iM Be
OF the Swarming of Bees. . 167
fr. - ie ore Be, wa) ots t * * : a cae
foud at hight after they give over work, with
fome drones appearing and flying about in the-
heat of the day; the bees alfo make a reeling .
motion and noife now and then in the heat of
the day before the hive, as formerly obferved ;
then the owner may hope that there is a prég-
lant royal cell coming faft forward, or per-_
aps what is better, a young princefs already in
the hive; if the former is the cafe, the hive will’
not’probably fwarm till the queen be out of the
cell, unlefs the weather be very tempting ; but
f the latter, they will fwarm the firft favourable
»pportunity ; therefore as the owner is uncer-
ain which is the cafe, he alfo cannot pofitively
snow the day when they will fwarm, for which
*eafon he mutt cive them a conftant attendance
wery fine day, from eight o’clock in the morn-
mg till three in the afternoon, when their
rong will be moftly over, till that agreeable
vent takes place, which mo(t every one wearies |
or.
¢: } :.
Of fives to rective Swarms.
4S to the proper houfes or habitatious in’
thich bees work, which we call hives;
ey have been made of different materials and
orms, according‘to the different tafte and in-
entions of men in all ages. Mfclifizs king of.
‘rete is reprefented to have been the firft that
avented and taught the ufe of hives for bees'to |
. colleét .
168 3 Of. ihe Suusanaeal Bees.
: colle honey in; whichis become fo benefici
to the health of man. Hiflory affords fever
inflances of honourable perfons in former age
whe have been fo delighted with thefe excellen
creatures, that feveral ot them caufed hives
horn .to be ere&ed in their gardens, tha
they might with greater cafe and admiratio
behold their works. But in later times hive
have been made of glafs, by which we mai
anore minutely observe their curious works an
operations. Hives alfo have been made “o
wood of different forms and conflructions ; fun
dry ingenious gentlemen have made hives o
both wood and f{traw, to confift of different a
partments, and inhabited only by one DA oe
which are commonly called colonies: all.
which may be done to fatisfy curiofity, Ant
is not of fo great utility as the fimple, cheap
and eafy got, fingle ftraw hive; glals hives fery
to let us Jee how they work, but the light in
commodes them in their work, and they are al
fo too cold in winter, and fo brittle, that the
are eafy hurt, and never will be rendered t
public ufe. Golonies, that as, one family o
bees living in two or three different apartments
{ do not much approve of, for thefe reafons, th
partitions between room aaa room, prevent
gradual heat to overfpread the whole family,
by. which fome of the rooms may pe too cold,
and.in winter the bees will draw all to one a-
partment, by which the reft is intirely empty
-and expofed to cold, and thereby their, heney
may candy and turn ufelefs. The colony me
thod is contrary to their way of doing, for give
eur their own will, then Pry always lodge in
one
i)
\
!
ia Of the Swar “ming apy 1 ee 169
oO = ‘apartment, if it is capacious enough to hold
“them ; befides they lay their eggs and hatch: them
fo rward in the middle parts “of the conibs and
ves. firft, gradually enlarging the brood a-
und the centre of the hive, whereby they get.
am the better furrounded and defended a.
ainft a all hazards and iuconveniencies, aid by
‘the yregter heat there, than more outwardly, .
a
ey get them the fooner and fafer hatched, Tt
$s certain that cells in the middle of fumser are
fen i in the. outmoft combs in the hive, contain.
Ang-voung, but it is after all the fimok cells are.
fo “fall that they cannot hold any mere eggs ;
certainly every one in the family will beft Ee
what part to'aét when they are all jn one houfe
together; whereas, when they are obliged to
perform their ofice in two or three diftin@ a~
partments, they are not capable to execute it fo
‘well; allo w hen a Kee comes home loaded and
1 Weary from the fields, they fometimes have to
ftravel up one or two pair of ftajrs till they win
to. the uppermoft ftory to ftow their burden in,
which fatigues them greatly. Coloniés as Yet
have never been, and I think nevér will be, ex.
tended to eeneral- ufe, although it is near two
enturies fince their fick invention, by Jobin.
number of bees, rigs in one fufliciently large
fing!c hive, being ln one apartment, will,
thrive better and vant ect more honey than when,
1] ey are diviled into either two feparate hives,
and 1 thereby become two ditinét families ; oF
Nications between each box, end yet only one
pe Single bex hives well made, will do
Ate Fs very
pat fin two or three dillinét boxes with commu-
Geddy:¥1q. My humble opinion is, that a large. 9
we
=.
170 Of the Swarming of Bees.
very well for bees, and when painted will lait
long time, and are proof againft mice, onl
they are warmer in fummer and colder in win
ter, and thereby are not fo. much brought into}
general ufe as Rraw hives. Were I determined
to take a fwarm in haryeft, I would put her in
‘a box hive, for1 think they make honey fome
fafter.in them than in @ ftraw hive, as it 1s per-
fe@tly fmooth and clean: -at firft the Bues have
nothing to do but begin immediately to buid
their combs in it; whereas in ftraw hives,
efpecially when ill made, they have many times
much work to gnaw and bite off all the ftaring
loofe {traws in the infide of the hive, which con-
fumes‘fome of their time that fhould be -em-
ployed to better purpofe in fucha feafon.
I have feen in fome years when the bees had
{warmed very liberally, that the owners would
have been much put to for want of hives to
hold their fecond fwarms in; there is no great
need for being much difturbed in fuch cafes,
for when you are defigned to kill them in har-
veit, and, all your empty hives filled, you may
put them in a, great many other things which
they will work in, fuch as any kind of box, or
half barrel, or large jar, or pot of any kind, if
large enough; for the Bees are not nice, they
will work in any place in fummer, for you are
to underftand, that althodgh making heney and
honey combs is fo natural to them, infomuch
that they can work at no other manufactory ;
yet the fhop they make them in is not fo, for
they can work in almoft any part,, if room e;
nough, and got too cold cr wet; even darknels
itfelf
¢
Of the Swarming-of Bees. 171
tfelfis no impediment, but rather renders their
habitation more agreeable. | -
In fome things beés are Very prudent, Ae dif.
cover a deal of wifdom and lagacity, witnels -
heir wifdom in building their combs in fuch a
regular form, with a proper diftance between
one comb and another. Some cells appropri-
vated for nourifhing up the young, and others
more capacious for holding their heney, alfo they
know when a blaft or fhower is preparing ; for
fhould a black cloud appear when they are in
the field at their work, they quit their labours
and fly home in the grcatelt hurry and precipi-
tation ; and fhould it be very windy, they car-
ry fmall ftones to balance them in their flight,
ds I have feen in fuch cafes the ftones (f{imaller
than peafe) lying before they eniry which they
had dropt at their arrival. —
And | eft their airy bodies fhould be caft,
Tn reftlefs whirls, the [port of every blaf,
“They carry ftones to poife them in their flight,
As bailar: keeps th’ unfteady veffel Vight.
Virc.
but it muft be confeffed that. though they are
very fagacious, as appears in fome things Ss, yet in.
other fome of their condudt they appear to be
mere dunces and arrant fools; for often ina
and fhines with’a blithe blink for an hour *-r fo,
they will fwarm and light on fome high branch
of a tree, and were they left to their own dif. |
cretion in fuch a cafe, the fun hiding his heads
and afevere fhower of rain and wind it the faite
time happening, ‘would drown and dafh them
Q. 2 ulele!s re
;
“t.
Pe y
#3
fhowery day when the fun gets out his head ve:
|
ching s
-
-
hye of the Swarming of Bees. |
uielefs ; and often they wil begin, towork and
‘build: combs, even hanging Ora branch, or ab
mong the élelts of forne.t iree, or perhaps on fome
chimney. -top, &c. where Chad they their wits as
bout them, they might fee) ih iey “would be CX- |
poled to ae by the next blaft of wind er rain. |
And by the by, here 1 cannot but afk thofe
profound heads, who fometimes tell us very
gravely and wifely, that bees thrive belt without
our care, and need none of our afliftanve ; what
wall become of that hive hanging dadding x inthe
ind and rain, which nature took up. a that
ae titss habitation... But here perhaps _
they will hide their hea ids, and contradié them.
leives, and do every thing in their power, by art,
to lodge them in fome commodious artificial. hia
bitetion: but why all this? does not art make
Hives, and lodge {warms in thenr? does it not
i oie. proj zr {talts, and cover hives to prelerve ©
them from cold amd.rain, robbers, muce, &c.
mn thors, if art did not afhlt nature, 1 doubt
much if we would have a liv ing hive in Britain
twenty ye.rs hence, were we “to leave -all the
hives as they are; fome of the old ones might —
{warm for- a year or two to come, but by fete
tiling onfome i improper place, they perhaps would
be mottly killed in ten days time; but fhould
fome fwarms accidentally or by fearch, find out»
fome more commodious habitation in buildings,
~rock «or hollow trees, the winter with his cold,
{now, rain, and mice, would put a period to
their lives, and the old hives would. foon rot
and die of age. Well, ao art is fo neceflary in
the ne Serpent of bees, let us make. ufe of it,
provide ‘
Of the Swarming of Pees. r7rz:
/provide proper houfes or hives for our approach-
‘ingfwarms. pt Ras
Straw hives are eafieft got, and have been re-.
commended and ufed by almoft every bee-maf-
ter in formerrages i are coldeft in fummer
and warme({t in winter, which is enough to re-.
‘commend them. ,
As to their form, I have feen them’ about: -
London, and they are made very thick and
ftrong of the rolls of ftraw; and fome narrow-
er at the mouth than in the middle, by which
the combs are fupported’ with fewer fticks in
them than when they are as wide at the mouth.
as at the middle. ‘The top of the hive is not of _
a pyramidical form, but betwixt that and a cir-
cular ; fo that the hive is fomething of a globus. |
lar form, and the nearer it is to that, the warm-.
er are the bees. ; |
As to the fize, one that holds five forpets of:
Berwick meafure is a very good one, and.will:
hold a pretty large fwarm ;, but there is no exact
Tule to know what hive will be exaétly. filled by.
a {warm ; much depends upon the following
feafon, if the {warm is early and large, it requires
the larger hive, but if:late, the hive fhould be
fome lefs. If a fwarm be put in.one of thea-.
bove fize; and the bees fill it foon, and waxt | .
more room, it may eafily be enlarged by put-
ting dn eek below it;. but if it be not filled
quite full, it will probably not be weight fora. ~
{tal], in which cafe there will be no lofs, but if
it be not full of combs, and-yet weight enough.
for a ftall, it will do, though. not quite full of:
combs, ©
ar; -» Ahive
7
74, - Of the Swarming of Bees.
A hive when made fhould-have.a piece ef
wood wrought in the undermoft roll, four inch-
es long, with.a notch cut out of it three inches
long and one high, for an entry to the Becs to
go out and in to‘their hive. Wheat or rye
ftraw makes cood hives; and the heads of the
{traw fhould be cut off; the rolls fhould be ve-
ry hard drawn and wrought together by bram-
bles*or fmall willows, {plit down the middle,
“and properly dreft, having the pith taken out.
of them: the hives fhould be made as. fmooth
sas pollible, having no projecting or ftaring
ftraws ; which if not properly cut or finged a-
way, (which fhould always be done when the
hives are rough) would coft the bees a ereat
deal of trouble to gnaw away when they are
firft put into them. After the hives are made,
and if need be, finged gently with a wifp of
{traw, four fmall fticks. fhould be run crofg the
hive, in order both to keep the hive firmer, and
fupport the combs from falling down by their
own weight, and alfo to prevent them from go-
ing out of, their proper place when the hive 7s
any way diiturbed or turned up and rapped on.
The firft flick fhould be put in two rolls above
the entry ; and the fecond two rolls above the
, _firlt, exactly to crofs it in the centre of the hive;:
‘the third fhould be put in two rolls above the
fecond, and alfo to crofs it and the firft exad!
in the centre of the hive; the fourth and laft
ftick fhould be put two rolls above the third,
and fo as to crofs all the other three in the cen-
tre of the hive: by this method of putting in)
the fticks fo as to crofs each other in, the cen-
tre of the hive, whatever way the combs be
a | built
f
Of tbe: Swarming of Bees. 7 ‘
: built, they cannot mils, to be fupported by the
fticks. . The moft people put.in.a middle flick
to ftand perpendicular, in order, fay they,to
{fupport the hive from finking down, under its
own weight ;. I never faw any good it did, but
often ill, ‘for which reafon I never ufe 1t: it can
bear no weight unlefs ttanding ftreight up, and
the under ind on the board 3. and whenever
the hive turns ‘olda and fwavs: to one fide, the
middle ftick is elels as to bearirig weight; be-
fides it bears fome of the combs uext it to shelr
fellows, and thereby difplaces and injures them:
and often I have feen, when a hive was fet down
on its crown in a hurry, t that the weight of the
hive would have ’refted upon the top end of the
middle ftick, and borne it back again into the
hive, which would alfo bave puthed back the
combs that were. fixed to it, and thereby. done
much hurt; for all which reafons never ule a
middle hick,
For every good ft2il you have provide two
hives sas two boards, ‘and fhould. not every’
hive iwarm twice, (as indeed [| would feldom
fulfer fea ofténer than once) yet you can be.
at no lofs to-have {pare hives by you, as they
may be uleful to you when you reinforce a hive,
&c. Your boards fhould be made of weil-fea-
foned-wood, and if you can get a deal-board
about 18 ches wide, and 22 lone, and inch
and half thick, which being well planed, and
made even on both fides, it makes.an excellent
board. When the board is foul, and wants.
to be cleaned, it needs only to be turned upfide
down ; befides, as it has no joining in it, the
drought i in fummier does not make it abit: and
; rive
3176 Of the renee of Bees.
rive fo as one that is made of different boards ; :
but in cafe you cannot conveniently get boards
all of a piece, then take two pieces of boards
of the faine length as above, and nine inches
wide, but only three-fourths of an inch thick,
which when joined will make the fame breadth ;
and take two pieces of board 18 inches long
and 11 broad and 3-4 thick, and nail them on
the other two boards, which will make a very
“good board, altho’ not all of one piece.
=
An old hive: if not rotten or torn, will do-ve-
ry well to put a fwarm in, efpecially one that.
you are determined to fmoke in autumn: if it:
is mufty, holding. it over the fire a Intle will
fweeten it, and the Bees will be fonder of it
than a new one.
In handling. bees at any time, particularly
when driving them, or managing a fwarm,
boldnefs and gentlenefs are both neceflary; e-.
very motion mult be done deliberately and with-
out hurry; the operator may drink a cup of
good ale, and rub fome of it over his face and)
hands: alfo be careful not to bruife any of the
Bees. 3
When a fwarm is flying in the air, or fettling
on a bufh, or fo, they are not apt to fting, but
are very gentle and mild, their minds being en--
tirely engaced in their prefent bufinefs, they.
have no time or inclination to quarrel: but as.
foon as they are fettled on any place, they look
upon it as their caitle, and whoever attempts to /
{torm it in a rude manner, is fure to meet with:
little mercy from the inhabitants.
‘The morning before a hive {warms the Bees:
| oft come out of the hive in large numbers, and’
cluiter
Of the Swarming of Bees. ‘ey
clufterupon the board and fore part of the hive,
and carry on their work very flowly.. Immedi-
vately betore they rife in a fwarm you will fee
muinbers of Bees flying before the hive in the
recling way,,and obferve their increafe and
noile grow greater: thofe about the entry will
peta to. make greater ftir. You. will alfo fee
them thronging | in great hafte, out of it, and
“thus they will continue to do till they are all -
come off, . gay
, Itisa very furprifing Shistod to fee» thorn, com-
ing out of their mother-hive, and deferting her
fo fatt with the greateft hurry and precipitation
imaginable, infomuch that they can {earee clear
the way to one another: a ftranger to the nae
ture of Bees would be ready to conclude that
there was fome dreadful enemy within murder-
ing .every one it could come ‘at, and that the
Bees were flying before it for their life; or elfe
deaving fome difagreeable habitation, in which
there was nothing but poverty and war, and
going to fome plentitul place, where they would
be more happily accommodated : but the reverfe
is exadly the cafe, for they are going of their
own. accord with the greatelt chearfuluefs from
their deareft friends, and alfo from a well-ftored
houfe with plenty provifion in it, to feek their »
fortune in the wide world, where they will have
both their houfe to plenith and fill with provi-
fion, in cafe the fickle weather will paler
them.
It has.been.an ancient cuftom, when a {warm
of Bees ate rifing, to make a tide ling notfe. um -
on a pan, kettle, or the like; the practifers of
which alledge, noife makes them fettle the foon-
3
$76. or the aang of Bees. :
er, and prevents their flying away. A prea
many others look upon it ag an ufelefs cerem
‘ny, and rather prejudicial. { My opinion is tha
noife prevents them from hearing one another’
found, and thereby from underftanding one an
other’s intentions 5 therefore in fome cafes i
may be ufeful, and in others hurtful} when they
are coming regularly off their mother-hive, an
fettling deliberately on any thing near her, it
this cafe noife would be very prejudicial” te
them, therefore it fhould not be made, as i
would prevent them from hearing one another’s
found, and knowing each other’s intentions.
But when they fly long and high in the air, and
feem as if they intended not to, fettle, ‘but to b
upon a march, then give theni a ferenade, and
make all the noife you can upon drums, ket
tles, or whatever you can, not to make them a
compliment upon their departure, but if pofhible
to confound and frighten them, fo as that it
may perhaps either Bifpore. them to fettle, or
return to their mother-hive again. it has been
known that when a {warm of Bees has been fly-
ing away, the difcharging a gun among them
loaded with powder only’ has difpofed them to
light deserted the report, 1 imagine, has
perhaps been taken by them for thunders which
they are always afraid of, and puts a lop to their
mirth and {chemes, and thinking it was to bean
_ immediate rain, it was moit prudent to takéthe
neareft lodgings.
Sometimes (though feldom) a fwarm will fly
@lear away, _ hotwithitanding all the methods you
ean ufe, efpecially in very fine’ calm wea' ‘her
when they have had ny fome days betore
: thes
~
Of the Swarming of Bees. . 179
hey’fwarm, to roam and fly about in fearch of
4 commodious habitation, which if they haye
found, it is not eafy to hinder them from going
‘o it; and indeed fometimes it cannot be done
at. ail.
Algae the weather is very fine before they
fwarm, they oft fend out fcouts and {pies in
fearch of a proper habitation for the fwarin to
go to, and if they, in their fearch, find a-dead
Rive in any deceiver’s yard, or empty place a-—
bout the rooft of a gentleman’s houfe, or a
church, caitle, or trunk of a tree; efpecially if
bees have wrought combs in it the fummer be-
fore, but have died out of it in winter, they will
vefteem it a happy:chance, and fend off a fqua-
dron ot Bees tor three or four days before
they {warm, in order to clean it all out, and
make it fit for the fwarm’s reception the firft fa-
vourable opportunity. At fuch places 1 have
feen a good many Bees going out and in, and
ccleanitig out all dead Bees, broken crumbles of.
wax, or whatever would annoy them: and fome-
times there would be Bees at fuch places from
two or three diferent hives, all laying an equal
claim to the fuppofed habitation; and they
wwould have been fighting and killing other, and
a good many flain;~ and it has been known
one day. :
“Many inftances there have been of g fwarm
of Bees flying in a {treight. lime to a dead hive
ftanding within their reach in a neighbouring
ap.ary; the dead hive having been left ftanding
by the owner either out of iguorance, as not
knowing the was dead; or if ceriain, never
: % - dreading
~
that two {warins have flown to fuch a place in .
’
Wo - Of the Sitarniing of Bees.’
dreading the ‘bad confequence : ‘but. they a
allo fometimes left on purpofe by rogues, in o
der (0 entice their neighbour’s fwarms, whi
‘is the fame as, if not worfe than, ftealing
{warm. p Mel }
Mr.’ Maxwel fays, there is a law againtt fu
fering a dead hive to: ftamd in an Aplary 3).
- there Is, itis a very juft one; but if there
none, there fhould be an att of parliament mac
again{t fuch a pernicious practice. Sever:
. times fuch cafes have been tried in courts of ju
tice; and fome judges have~punifhed fuch-
practice, which was: perfectly right.. But
lately heard of a cafe of that kind which wa
tried in a court, and the judge let the agereflo
go off with impunity, alledging that every ma
bad liberty to keep in his own yard what h
pleafed ; by which he fhewed his ignorance
. for were fuch a practice futlered to prevail
none would ‘be fure of a fwarm of their owt
Bees ; for a dead hive left ftanding in an apia
ry all the fummer, feldom miiles of a {war
coming to it. : ;
‘There has alfo been. much trouble to know
whether the old hive was dead or not-that the
{warm went in to: as to that I know for cer-
tain that a {warm will not fly a mile to a living
hive to ight on her, altho’ they will fly four
and more to light on a dead one.
Indeed I have feen a fwarm>go on to.a
livmg hive, that ftood in the fame apiary,
but this -was’ rather accidental, the Queen
returning home in confufion perhaps might
také anothershive jor herown, and infuch a
cafe there is fomctimes, tho’ not always, a great
aiiee mo . battle,
: "Of the Swarming of 7 eae 18k
vattle, and | many flain, often the Giceir among
he reft: but fonlerinnes I have feen them agree
very well at the firft, and make a good colony,
when properly raifed with a very large eek:
itt other times I have feen when a fw arm had —
tone on another old hive, that they would have
Pemained very peaceably, and the {warn come
OE the next day.
/ When a fwartm flies away with a defign for |
‘ome habitation their fpies had been previoufly
tr, they fly in a ilreight line to it; therefore run
or rice along with them as long as you can, for
“hae ses th ey will dy a llow, fo as you may
Keep compuli y wi them ; but in cale they Ne-
fer mind yeu, but bid you larew el, you'll per-
Taps be leth to return the compliment, but would
ain mest with them again; the bate follow -
hem in the fame line, without turning to any
ide, by which if they bappen to light on any
hing, fuch as a dike, hedge, or buth, you will
save 4 ventare to find them ; but if not, itill go
porward, ard if the-line lead you to any garden
vbere ae are {fanding, tell the owner your
afe, and if he is an honeft man, he will give
‘ou leave to look at his bee- Bives before him
ind wirneiles.. Vhe way to know if your fwarm
$ gone into any of bis dead hives (if he has a-
dead) is, you will perhaps fee fome fmall
Tumbles of wax not unlike faw-duft, lying be-
‘ore the entry and on the board bf the hive,
hich the Bees have cleaned of the conibs; if
‘ou fee that about any hive, you have fome rea-
on to fulpect, and may demand a further fearch,
which if By oes turn up the hive, and-with a
mall fick, fearch among ihe combs for young
: bs a Bees
-
..
1 182 Of the Swarming of Bees.
Bees in the cells, as direéted in p. 138, which
if you find, it is a fign fhe was a livin hive be
fire, therefore claim no right; but if there ar
no fealed msgeots in the hive, then you ma
claim her; which if he refufe to sive you, ther
immediately, as long as the hive has no youn
in the cells, apply to a magiftrate, and lay th
cafe plainly down to him, infifting on that no
ble argument as a proof of the man’s hive being
dead, “feeing fhe had no maggots in her cells,
df the magiftrate do you jultice, you will ce
the hive, ahd the man punifhed for his covet
oufefs in not returning you your lawful proper
ty. But if the is not lighted in the firft aptar
you come at, you may fill eo torward, if you
think there is another apiary in the ftreight linte
and if there is, do as in the former apiary. You
will by keeping the line have alfo a venture t
come on the fwarm by the way, in cafe they ti
red and took a relt on any place; but if fome
gentleman’ s place, church, or any other build
ing be‘in the line, view them attentively as vou
go Y along , enquiring at all you meet with if f they
faw a (warm “of bees flying ; for often know-
ledge is got by being prudently inquifitive, and
none will readily take it ill for you in your hur-
Ty to afk them fuch an ufeful and lawful quet-
tion.
’ Tf they have fettled in any of the buildings
mentioned, directions will be given Low to rake
them out in cafe 16th, ae
When a fwarm of bees: are ata out of
their mother-hive, betore they be all out, itis
very common that fome of them which come
per out ny be beginning to nls upon fome
| things,
>
ing, perhaps fome branch of a tree, or a
Nedue, or gooleberry- ‘buth, of potato: fhaw 3 ‘for
‘there is feareely any thing but they will lighe -
on, they will fettle-on whins, fettles; kail dikes,
trunks of trees, ; and.even on red ta: ve fis they.
‘pay no regard to tie beauty or usliness of the
‘place or fituation where they fe le scitis in vain
fo think to deco ry t hem to deitle in a hive or a+ ~
1
ty place, unlefs you get hold of the qneeh, and
that cannot be done wield they come ot of
their own accord, .
“At appears to nve there
pong the bees who fhall come firilout ct the
her-hive when cage warm, whether qugon
of commons, dr Who takes the lead, asid fines
among Bees as in foine other afleinblies not too
ceremonious, where thofe that are next the door
come firft out, whether queen or commons; and’
when they fettle, they feem to go on the fame
plan—the firft Bees, whether queen or com-
the -foundation of the fwarm, and the reft all
follow, aad build upon it; for proof of which
L have feen the molt of. the common ‘Bees fet.
tling upon a bufh, or ever the queen had left
the mother-hive, arid as foon as the lett ir, the
would imnfediately flown to the increafing
{warm, and jointd it. Again at other times [-
have fee, when there ‘was but’ one queen
came off the mother-hive yet the Bees would
have fettled in two or three diferent clufters,
from one another, in that cafe the queen
could only light at one of them, and which ever
-
-
Of the bghderiiine if hee: We 184 :
is Mo ceriain rule a.
firft upon the place to fetile on: i tuppote itis:
mions, that accidenially light on any plece, lay.
and of different fizes, at fome yards diftan¢e —
R x 4 ont
wen Seles
> toe
184 3 Op 3 the ‘aa phil :
ene it was fhe hit upon, (whether the larwett:
or fmalleft) fhe continued there, and the other!
queenlefs clufters gradually arofe, and joined
her increafing compariy, till Hy were all unie
ted in one entire fwarm.
Some advife, whenever the Een is begin-.
ning: to fettle on any place, and is as large as a
man’s fift, if it can conveniently be done, to
place a hive ir nmediately over ee and they
will go directly up to it. his, I think, is too
precipitate -a ftep, for if the queen be not come
there as yet, it will both difturb the bees, and
perhaps may vetard or perfectly hinder her from
lighting among them; befides when a perfon is”
voineg among fuch a throng, and difturbirtg them
when their minds are fo mach taken’ up upon
their prefent bufinefs and ftate of affairs, they
may perhaps think, What is this bulky animal
doing aniouz us? we want none of his compa-
ny, we can hold uo communion nor carry ona-
ny traflic with him; he -has neither wings to
carry him to the flowers, nora probolcis to cull
their {weets, nor has he proper cavities in-thofe
two long and large hinder legs of his (rather
hike trees than any thing elle) to hold the balls
of farina oD he 43 fuch a heavy lump, and a.
tuonftrous dead weight, ant were he to. creep «
with these igh legs of his upon our waxen edi-
fices, they would fink below hip, and bring im-
mediate deftruction on both us and our build.
ing :—What has brought him here among us ?
We ate goi inty bad companys; tet us relive
from hence, aud feck out a more quiet and res:
uote habitation, where we will eniov, what, we
moft deiire above all things, a retired Un @.. Bee
ON ad ae
fides,
ee Of tbe Scvarmi ing of Beer. Wh iy Ses ‘
fides, when the owner is going among then
while a great many are lighting fo faft as. Vet on
“every thing around the place where they are
fettling, a few of them may: be trod to death,
‘and fuch a thing may happen as the queen may
faffer among the reft; therefore T think it is far
better to let them be’ fairly fettled, and fome-
thing quiet, before you proceed to hive them.
however’as foon ds they are all fairly fettled in
ecluiter, no time fhould be loft, but a hive: -
hideld be immediately placed upon them with
all convenient fpeed, in order to prevent their
rifling again; for it is thought, as fvon as a-
{warm is fixed, they fend forth fptes to fearch
og a more commodious Nabnation, which if
they find, they return. immediately, atid inform’
the whole community, and they rife and fly off
tavits.
» Aud it is‘alfo Known (as for merly noticed):
that a hive fometimes for two or three days be-
fore flic fvarms fends off fpies to fearch out a’
convenient habitation for the fwarm to go to:
when ready, and fuppefing it to be the cafe that
they know where they: are defigned to take up
houf fe befare they. aia yet “when. the ey-come:
off, they generally fetdle on forme part in order ~
that they may-be eathered altogether, and there-- >
by more fit for a remove: but if they find a:
conimodious lodging placed over them in fome.
mifaculous manner they know not how, they:
are often very. ha; ppy to find it; and im inediately
range Reine a: in itand begin to werk > but
if they are intent upon fome previous fought out’
habitation, it taxes fome pains to eon them in
the hive you fupplied them with. If one fwarm.
‘ R 3 is
4,
186. Of the: Svarming of Beesk *
is in. the air flying, and another hivecbe pre=
paring to ries {top her by throwinty a fheet o-
ver the hive, till the other be fairly fettled, after
which remove the cloth from the o.her hive.»
Now as to the hiving of fwarms, here a large
field opens itfelf .o our view, and fuch multi. ’
tudes of different cireumftances will occur when:
bees fwarm, that there cannot be particular di-
reCtions given precifely to anfwer every cafe;
but we fhall give feveral dire@tions how to ma-
nage them when {warming in the moft com-
mon cafes that occur on fuch.occafions, from
which the prudent bee-rafter may learn. how
to manage his bees in almoit every cafe.
CAS EE IR S25: ;
If you have a hive in the beginning of fum-
mer, that by computation you judge fhe has
12000 bees*in her, and allo 10000 maggots in
the cells, and another hive that has only 3000
bees in her, and 1000 maggots in her cells, by
which you have a very ftrong hive and a very
weak one, and perhaps you with they were both
{trong alike, or both equal of Bees; then you
may take goo0 bees from the ftrong hive, as di-
rected, page 81, and reinforce the weak one
with, as directed, page 83; by which every hive
will have 13000 bees and maggots in her, and fo
equal in number, and in eight or ten days aftera
great many of the maggots willbe'turned into fly- -
ing bees, fo that they will be much about thefame
number of loaded bees go into each hive in the
fame fpace of time: or you may exchange tl.
whole bees of both the hives in the following
manner: drive all the-12000.bees out of the
bom aki trong
firong hive into: an. empty hive, as dwedted,
page 81, ther n drive all the 2000 bees out of tha
weak hive in the fame manner, then turn up ts
/BO00 ‘bees with their mouth uppermoft, and the
fame inftant, place the heavy hive containing,
‘the. gooo maggots on her, mouth to mouth, and
they. will foon run up and be very joyful to go
into fo well a plenifhed houfe; thendet her down
a the fame tlance the weak hive ftood. before
‘the exchange, by which the 3090 bees will jut
‘be where they were, and not hashes new ilance
‘to acquaint themfelves with: them give her a
very little entry to preferve heat in her to hatch
sout the maggots: with. Next, place thé we ak r
hive contaiz ting the reco maggots,-: over th
~12000 bees, and aficr the bees are ail.up, fet
her down where the {trong hive flood before,
and they will both thrive well... I have often.
‘to my fatisfaction.
fe Aree eae, Ok Me be
If a fwarm fettle on any thing that can be
brought to the ground, then fpread a theet om
the ground near the place where the {warm is,
and lay two flicks on it, about a foot afunder ;
then bring the fwarm and lay her upon the
fheet betwixt ‘the flicks, and gently cover it:
with a hive *;. the edges of which muft reft up-
+ -On
* Some advife to rub the hive bere it it be placed:
— over a fwarm. with alittle honey. or foeae and ale
--muxed together, or fome ‘tweet ‘herb, in order to allure
43 the
' + Phy ;
Of the, Suarping of Pecw Nay
done this way myfelf, both in {pring and. famines.
=
| Awa accels tO go out and in: to the hive; then
‘bees, and thereby (as has fometimes been the
»
i ae of ies Swarming of ae ae 4
on the Ricks, which will prevent it fro cruth-
ing any of the bees, and alfo will-have both air
cover the hive with a cloth to keep out the tao
great heat of the fun from incommioding the
-cafe)-provoked them to rife and feck out a more
‘cool and comfortable habitation. - If they like
their new houfe they will foon go up into it and
fall heartily to work, unlefs upon trial they alter
their mind, and are to leave it.. Sometimes:
I bave eer them { ftay two or three hours in it,
ad. bevzin to work. a htsle; and yet after rife
and fettle on fome other place, or go to their
ntother hive again; and fometimes (I fuppofe
when they have had a Leyes ha babitation tixed:
on) they will fly. clear off, there fore kee ep a
watchful eye over them till the heat ‘of pie day:
fs-over, When it may te prefumed they will nor
tifc agains As foon as your fwarm is- ay up
in their new houfe, thea place them ow a board.
and carry them cautioufly to. where you detre:
them to ffand, for the fooner they arei® ‘in
their ttante the fooner will they be acquainted’
-with ats) tdeed’a few ltragglers will fly about!
the place where they were firft fzt down on the:
fheet, but they wi! foon. either. find out the:
Seater: or retura to their mother: hive, any of
which will be no lofs. As foon as you Mave fet:
down the. fwartnia its proper ance, let her
| - | 463 ftand:
the heestd ir the: biden the do} ing of which can da hs
no hurt, but I feldom ufe them, as tecing ns bephnanesy 7
if.any good... PS yeis 3 :
Of the Swarming of Bees. - 189 |
Mand. with the cloth on her till night, im order
'to keep off the too great heat of the fun from
incommoding the bees; then at night draw a
Aittle lime mixed with hair all around the {kirts
‘of the hive, (except the entry) which will fix her
‘to the board/and alfo prevent the acce!s of cold
por vermin from going into her; then coyer-
her with three divets or turfs to defend i her from
‘rain or too praca heat till harveit.
Cc. ASB THIRD.
When.a fwarm comes off a hive, and fome
of them return to her’ again, (by any caufe
whatever) and sts by the {warm is too fmall,
then drive fome of the bees out of the ftock, as
directed, page 81, and reinforce the {warm
with bees, as Hinetted, page 83.
-
CASE FOURTH bens
Téa fwarm fettle on the trunk of a-tree, or fide
of a wall, or any thing that cannot be brought
to the ground, if they are within your reach,
take a hive and inyert it, and gently prefs it up-~
wards, fo as to inclofe as many bees in it as you
can, notto bruife them againi{t the tree or wall,
then with your hand abote the bees, gently pull
them down into the hive, and then fet down the
“i ona fheet in the fame, manner as incafe ad;
and-if the quech be in the hive, us probably the
will, the remaining bees and. thole that are fiy-
ing about wil foon gather to hers bucfboukdea
good apy bees return agany to/the ploce,’as’:
fo: metimes they uv Oye though they wan: a queen,
* | sth dash
os the Swarming of 5g: SO
then pull them into another empty hive a- fer-
~ »-merly, and fet them on the theet, juit befide the
other hive, with an open edge next it, and they
will foon run all into the hive that contains the
queen: any that fies about or may lixht again
on thevtree or wall, may be difturbed with a
twig wor weed, and the ‘noife in-the hive- will
foon call them home. | : am
WAS ROP TF Po Be
| A fwarm hanging on a finall branch of a tree
may be cut down or fhaken into a hive or cloth.
ue ot POOR S -E Sor Rs Bog, ay
. Sometimes a fwarm fettles fo high on the
branch of a tree that it is not eafily come at, a
long ladder may be ufed, or one that is a good
clinber may fpeel the tree, and*get as Near it as
his pradgnee will dire&; then fix a {mall rone
around the branch, and next cut it through
with a very fharp knife or-fine faw, and tow it
down toa fheet as in other cafes; but if you.
cannot get it cut down, fhake the bees off the
branch, and it may perhaps difpofe them to
fettle on fome more convenient place, where:
you can get at them,with more eafe. |
SAF
>
DUA TSTE SUE OY Bo Ns ee
Sometimes a fiwarm will divide and fettle on
difterent places, but if they are allowed a little
fime, they which want a queen will gradually
-
‘
ariie and join thofe whe have one; but fhould
they
Fre adh SNE Te Leta red mo Say a
they continue in two different parts, they may
« hived feparately, and if they both ftill cons
nue in their hives, it is a fign each one has 2
queen, and thereby will if permitted makz two
different hives. ‘In this cale if you havetwo old
Thives that have not {fwarmed, but are very full |
af bees, then drive all the bees, out of. theni as
Becdes Mm pa ® 54, nto two empty hives: cach
ais bces ina hive by itlelf, and they will ssake
two large and goad farms: then fet them down,
ach farm where they ftood: before, when in —
doliefion of their own hive; next put the twe
mall fwarms on the ol! falls, and they will be”
very happy to iind fuch an agreeable change of ~
rtune ; and give cach one: of the falls a final
sntry to keep heat in the hive, as in other cates
=,
we
$
of.a fimilar nature. When you take the bees.
put of your old hive, you will fee if any of them _
de
cription given of it in page 45) which if they
Beave, you may keep the queen of ‘one of the
mall Iwarms for any other ufe, and put on the |
common bees: which will foon. hatch. our the.
royal cell, and thereby get a queen to the old!
five; oryou may take out the royal cell and fix.
Pt ina lying-out hive, (the fame way you was di-
etied to fix in a piece comb to breed a queen
tin page 146) which will foon get her aqueen —
wid caule her to fwarm: btt fhould you have: _
10 Qld lying-out ftails to. exchange their bees
vith the two fmall fwarms, then put both the
mall {warms together in one hive, which will
auke a good one; do it in this manner, take
he hive that has the finalle(t fwaem-in it, turn
er up, and caule the bees to falla running in
‘ the
fave a royal cell, (you will know it bythe de.
- ag2 Of the Swarming of Bees: :
the hive, by which you will difcover the quee1
then'cover her, along with-a hundred or fo ¢ ,
her companions, with a drinking glafs, and
and them. will run to the top of it; then Ii
the glafs out of the hive, and placeit ona hand
kerchief, and keep the queen and ber compani.
‘ons in it clofeprifoners. Next take the common
bees in the hive and turn it up, and fet the other
{warm on it mouth to mouth, and they. will
foon unite in the upper hive; or you may with
a fmart ftroke on the hive, fh: tke ‘out the com-
mon. bees on 2 fheet, aid immediately cover
them with thelarger [warm s and they will f con
~~ pun into it *. Ne ext take the queen with her
companions
This is the only way of uniting fwarms, b
Ling away one of the QUeeDs 5 (let Mr. Kegs fa
what ‘he pleafes, page 162) for fhould they b+ put to
gether, having both the queeus, a dreadtul battle of
ten happens until one of the queens is flain; alt hough
I grat that fometimes they will kill one of th
queens, and perhaps not a dozen of common bees;
but there is no need for running the finalleft rifk
when, fhould you have your with, you will be no pro
fiter; befides you fave a queen for further ufe, if
hive fhould need one: therefore when directing to u
nite two fwarms, I always mean the common bees o
one of the fwarms to be put to the other iwarm, a
it ‘is not properly two families joined in one, feein
_they have only.one mother; but the conimon bee
coming to them like orphans without a mother, in an
humble fupplicating manner, feldom but iind: grace
aud are ‘received into favour, and partake of the pri
viieges of the family; whereas when they come Wit
a mother, they want to defend her, and murder all ths
native -beés, and tié natives mean to ny the whole i in
wading Tamilys: uit Se ee ee
>
4
o .
al ®
; 5 )
OF the Swarming of Pees. 193
‘ompanions, and pur-in 2 box with fmali holes
‘nit fufficient to admit air, but not fo large as
‘© permit the bees to efcape. In this box a little
siece honey comb fhould be put to fupply the
dees with focd till you perhaps may have need
of the queen to put on an old’ hi-z, or to any
sther fwarm. In this way you may preferve a
jucen Guiing all {warming time, which may
ometimes Le very. uleful fhould a queen be
wanted. “Vhe box with the prifoners dn it fhould
ce kept in fome mederatery warm place, to keep
be bees fate from cold; fometime: | have kept
i gucen and about ro attendacits with her for
evetal days in a thia kawn handkerchief, tied:
pn the inanner of a purfe, with the bees in the
nidcie of it, by whach*] could: fee the ftate of
hen thircuch it. PERG pas es
-t .
Bias ior a GH TH.
, Ifa bive be not ripe. (thatis not very full of
sees) and vet fwarm, uien both herfelf and
warta will have dew bees in them; then if you
ave tyo old hives that are full of bees, you ma
exchange one of their bees wich the {mall fwarm
secs, and exchanyve thé other flrong old hive’s
ces with the weak hive that fwarmed bees, in
vhe fame manner, you are directed to change
bem in the prececing calet or you.may rein-
force both wie wea's niottier and the fwarm thar .
same from Tier, as dire¢ied, page 83, if you
vali get common bees from forne very ftrony
ives that can tparethem withou- hurting them-
elves:or you may tike all the, bees out of the
Bu bive, wd flcure the queen prifcner, as dix
-9* | rected
194 OF the Secih arming a: Beer: |
reGted in the preceding cafe; then put ail the
old hive’s common bees to the finall {warm
which will make her a good hive; then turn up
_ one of your very ftrong hives, and give her fom >
raps on the fides, and carry her to two or threé
yards diftance; then fet down-the old hive that
is empty of bees, but fall of maggots, where the
{trons one Heatt' which will receive the bees!
of the {trong hive which was in the fields, and
alfo thofe:that flew out of her when turned up,
carried, and rapped on; which will fupply the
ftall with bees, and give hera little entry, and
at night put the prifener queen to her. But
fhould you have no bees to do any of the above
ways, you may take the fwarm’s queen prifoner,
and return the comman bees to their. mother
hive again; for in this cafe one is better than
two. | }
5 Odi We. OP ORME Nabe igeels Bin ths 3 ak
A fwarm, when off, fometimes, though felt
dom, (I fu ppofe by the queen taking the |
hive) will go on to another living 1 hive Randi.‘e e
near her, and then generally a readfed bate |
takes place, and Poenaus the ftranver quéen is
feized on WA an infant by the native bees, and
murdered without a fair trial: in fuch a time J
have ‘feen more than a hundred bees all wrapey
together about the bignefs oF a {man ‘apple a-_
round a gueen in fuch a firm manner, that 4
would had great difficulty to: feparate them from |
her. Some writers fay, they are her enemies
which enconipafs her, each on2 of which’ is”
mad to be Airtt at ber with their fpear. | Aris
probable
ot
wt
a>
o
OF the S Mcconte of Bex ing 95
wtobable i it may be the calc, oy they are. ene-
nies that farround her in order for her death;
out perhaps alfo her friends may encompafs her
© preferve her fron: the rage and fury of her e-
emies. Son actimes | I have feparared them
rom tier, and taken her prifoner ‘without the
pealt Wound, However, if ever you fee at any
ime a buneh of -bees wrapt clofe’ together,
hen you are fure.f-a queen there; then tear
afunder the common bees immediately, a ndmake
Ae queen your priforer; end as foon as the
reat heat and hurry is over, you: may put ie
orifon?r queen to the hive that needs her. at
a as a fwarm goes.on another hive, and they
appear to ficht; then feize the moment dl
nrn up the hive, and if you can get both of the
jueens make them prifeners: 2nd next take ail
the bees out of the old hive, and put them in five
or nk different hives-s then fet down (Ke old
hive onher flance again, and take the hives con-
taining the bees only, and fet them rear the old’
hive the fwarm came off, and thofe bees iat Hy
$ ee Dd
away will probably gO tote cir mother hives:
brit. fhouid home gusn’ iy at them renin PCace=
ably | in one of the hives. they were put in, ce pro-
bably they may, confidering the fright they
heve got, you may. offer one of the queens to.
thera, firft wetting her a little to prevent oi
flying when you put her-to them; and if t
appeat to be fond’of her, and creep about her
in a friendly manner, then you may let her flay
with thems for if they do not kill her at firit:
they never will do it, but live in the greateft -
harmony and love with her ever after: then
you may let her ftand or night, and + peareioatl
196. + OF the Swarming of Bees, ~~”
her with more: bees from the two old hive:
which of either can fpare them beft: but if tne
bees when you offer the queen to the:n, inftead
of receiving her kindly, fhould rua to her in a
rage, and offer to fiing her, you muft immedi-
ately take her from them again, and let them
ftay or night till they are fenfible that they want
a queen; then offer her td them again, and they
will receive her gladly: and as foon asa good
maany of the bees are cone back to the old hive
that you took them all-out of, you may return
her the other queen, firft wetting her wings,
‘and if fhe is the native one of that hive, they
will receive her with joy; but if the is the
_ttranger queen, (for it is not ealy known which
one beionged to the fwarm or hive; if one is:
larger than the other put he: to the old hive,
and the fmaileft to the fwarm) they perhaps may
be more fulky to her, in which cafe take her
from them, and again keep her till night, when
they will be as glad of her return.as you are of.
giving her to them: but if when you take all
the bees out of the old hive, yau only get one.
queen, the other being killed in the fray; or
perhaps had not gone on with the fwarm, or
ome way had efcaped during the battle. Then
if your oid bive that you took the bees out of,
hada royal cell in her, the will do without a
queen, and the fingle queen may itill be put te
tne fwarm; but if fhe had no royal cell; and
you lave no other prifgner queen to fupply ;
then you muft return her to the old hive, and
the hives containing only the bees, may be turn.
ed up and difflurbed now and. then, and they |
will probably fly cach one to their Aative hives.
fi sgt CASE.
*
-
—
ae G ibe Soaring of Bees. i 467
CASE “TENT tt
"Many times a fwarm will come off afd tun
Axia, and goon to her mother hive, and fome-
times will come clear off and fettle on fome.
plece, and.goup toa hive, and vet come all out
of it again, and-go back to their mother hive,
and the; y wil fometimes do that for fundry days
running. Ihave known them do it five or fix
diferent times, and yet fettle in an émpty hive :
and do well at laft:. perhaps: the queen had:
not come along with thein, therefore “i henevee:
a fwarn! comes off; and ‘returns to her mother:
hive again, then directly turn her up and drive’
all her bees (by rapping on her,.as dite@ted in.
page 81)'into two empty hives equally divided,
then fearch diligently for two queens, which if
you find, put one of them among the bees in:
cone of the hives, which will’ make a fwarm 5.
|
Which place where the mother hive. flood, then.
sut the. other queen among the bees in ‘ha O*-
; q!
ther hive, and return théch.to the olds hive, by.”
‘tormine up the hive with the bees, and aes
the. old ftock on it, they-will foon run uP 5, and *
you may fet the ftock any part you pleafe, but:
keep the fwarm where hér mother hive flood ;
“but in cafe you cannot find two queens, but find.
only one’and a royal cell, then put the queen.
and the half of the commons ina hive which:
vill be a fwarm, and the other half of the come ‘
mons being put on th? old ftock having a royal,
cell in it will do very well, and foon get a queen:
but if when fearching the bees and flock, for.
Meens and ‘royal cells, only. one. queen be.
S23 foun nd,
*
will make thym run up the fooner, and when _
198. Of the S canning. of Bess ‘
found, and. no royal cell, in this cafe a aneene
has- probably fallen on the ground when flying,.
and the bees have loft leer, and fo returned iol
their mother hive avain. ‘Then if you have no
fpare queen or royal cell to aflift here, in this J
cafe you muft put them all on the’ {tall ue:
and - give her a large eek, and the will make a
good: colony.
¢ A-S £ BLE VENT i.
Ifa a fwarnr fettle among the thick wilted |
branches of a hedge fo as fhe cannot be cut —
down, then witha harp knife cutfome branches.
off above the {warn the beft way you can, then ©
place a hive over them,.and caufe one to hold. —
it firm, and with a hammer rattle on.the root. ”
of the thorns which will thake the bees and’ -
caufe them to run up to the hive, alfo now.
and then ftirr the bees with a ftick, all which —
they are moftly up, the hive may be elevated a
Tittle above them, by which the bees will afeend —
the fafter; and as foon as they are moftly. up,
fet down the Hive near by, and with a weed. |
bruth off the remaining bees, and the noife of
thofe in the hive will call then: home. |
ja
CHA SRA Te We LOR ee
a.
Sometimes, efpecially in fecond or. third
fwarms, there will be two or three princefles go j
off with them, and if they fettle allin one clufter ,
and go up in one hive, they will fometimes-—
Te ‘a good: deal before they gst determined
which
Of the Swarming of Bec =. 199)
which princeis fhall be their. Queen, and the
uupernumerary ones flain. As foonvas you fee
i {warm fighting in this manner, you may
Divctsde there are more Queens than-one a-.
mong them; then fearch for Queens, and take
hem all away but one, by which you may
orevent much flaughter, and get a Queen or
‘wo, which you perbaps may have ufe for in
come of your other hives,
CASE THIRTEENTH.
Tf a fwarm go into a hollow tree, as fome:
cimes they will, then with a chiflel and mallet
cut a hole in the tree ag near as can be to the,
upper part of the hollow, then place an empty
hive upon the hole, and Aiea the tree all a-
round with the mallét pretty forcibly, which
noe and difturbance, may make them run out
at the hole into the empty hive, or difpofe hém
to fly to fome branch of a tree, and fettle on it,
where they may be cut down, and lodged in a
hive asin other cafes. and if they were long in
the*tree, the hive after they are lodged in it |
fhould be placed near it to ftand during that
day, to receive the ftragglers. I have taken a
fwarm out of a hollow tree after they were
frizhtened into good humour, when I could
get at them in handfuls and {poonfuls, and put
themin a hive as eafily as if they had been
all goofeberries, and {carce receiveda fting, un-
lefs I had accidentally preiled fome of them a-
gain{t the tree, or thofe that had been at the
fields, upon their return home, would been
greatly enraged when they faw their He Mera
0
295s Of the Sweating of Bees. , i
fo'much altered, they would vented their fotte”
aR ROTO Ry Ha
Eas foe or ee ewe nee
- - «hy '
Ifa hivelies long cut for want of room, (but*
indeed none fhould be fuffered to do fo-above’
eight days) but does not fwarth, it is a fign fhe:
has not a yotmg queen bred yet, as noticed*
in page 165; in. this cafe, if you have a fall’
fwarm to exchange bees fdr bees with, as dire@-
ed ‘in cafe 7th, it will do very well; or you"
tay take a lurge quanuty of her common bees,.
and reinforce 2 weak hive or: fwarny with; or.
if you carr lfave a fpare queen, or royal cell, you”
may take 2 fwarm_ from her, and put the faid™
queen or ¢ell to the oki hive, or you may give.
her a large eek, and fo make a-calgny of her,.
which will be as profitable and pleafant a-way.
as‘any, and-caly done, as you will fee in pege-
163, befides: if fie‘ have a royal cell coming.
forward, fhe will {till fwarm, and therefore:
mufe Se watched although fhe he eeked. “
The way to°make an cek 3: this, cut four
rolls of the under part of an old lifve,. which —
will make one, or make a new eck on purpofe-
of the fame widenels. of the hive you want en- .
Jarged, and cut a door-way in ft the fame fize as
the one in the hive; then place aboard with
the eck-on it at the fide of the Live about the ~
middle of the day or-any other time when the
bees are throngeft at work, (hen cently lift up the:
hive from-her board, and immediately fet it on.
the eek, and: few or no bees will be crufhed
between the hive and eek, as the moft part of:
" | them
— OF the Swarming of Bees. 201
hem will be at work in the fields; befides they
Te not fo quarrelfome at this time of the day
when they are engaced in bufinefs-as they are
t night when all are in the hive and their cuards
et: then fet the hive in her ftance again, and -
tnight diaw.a litile-lime around the joinings
0 fix the eek to. the hive, and keep out vermin
AS ER fe Boe oN oe Be
Before bees {warm the fecond or third time,
hey do not fie out in clufters about the hive of
yoard, but whenever ready, cone rufhing -off
wen in indifferent days; yet we have more
vertain figns of the time they will caft their
fter {warms than when they will do it the firft
ime: nay if the weather be good, we can al-
{t fet the hour they will do it, for if you
ylace your ear to a hive at night, about ten or. -
welve days after her firft {warm came off, you
vill hear a found commonly called tolling, which -
3. made by the young princefs, in order perhaps -
9 warn, or rather befeech her companions to
nake ready for a march along with her. I can-
tot pretend fays one to defcribe this found fully
oO your underitanding, it pronounces as it were
eep, peep, pecp, a dozen or twenty times fuc-
efiively in one breath; then ftops, calls the
une way again, and fo on fomewhat like a hen’s
hicken peeping for its Gam when it has loft
er. s\s many princeffes as there are in a hive,
fere arc fo many different founds; foimetines
have heard their found from all quarters in
ne hive, and as it were aniwering one another;
| . Lome,
d cols : ; ap.
BPS ig Ft: 4,
202 of the eye ‘ming f Bess ’
“fome crying, peep, peeps peep, ina treble jane.
ner, as already faid; and others anfw ering in a-
more hoarfe manner as it were the bafs. When. | .
ever you hear thete founds in a: hive, you mayy
depend Ol .a-fwarir in- a day or. two if the we2-_
ther be good. The irl nieht they are oblerved
they found but low, and. elds: m, and not often”
calt the next day, ‘Gut the fecond, ni ‘ht they
found louder ard oftener, infomuch that xorg
‘will fometimes Lear there ftandi ing two or thre
yards frou: thé hive, and the next dav y5u are:
fare of aiwarm if the weathér anfwer. It is de-
lightful, fays Thorley, to hear thofe peculiar and.
mufical founds . notes being an eight or chord,
which is truly harmonious. ‘Chofe founds ares
», fearce ever heard bifore.a firlt fwarm, | be-’
lieve not one in fixty calls: the reafon I fuppote:
is, they have only one queen bred commonly ee
ge ofl with the firft fw arm; and’as faid in pag
161, they will fometimes fend off the old ink.
withthe firft fwarm or. ever the young queen be!
out of the pregnant royal ccll: whereas before
they fwarn mM a fecond or third fine; fometimes:
they. will have jour ot five queens and royal’
cells in their hive, by which a.queen or royal!
cell may A got to Bee to any hive » that ne ceds
_ ONE
‘AGT SIXTREN T fe
Tf a fwarm co into a hallow of a ealtrt take.
aut fome ftones op pofite to hér, till you can fee
the bees, and then pull them into a hive, or rap
on the wall with a matlet, which may. fright.
en the bees fo as to difpofe them to rife and
fete! y.
OR the Swarming of Bees 203
fettle on fome place where they will be eafier
hived. ° ; Re it hie, eae 3
From what has been Said concerning the above
cafes,. there will be little need for makiné arti-
ficial {warms ; neither am I very fond of giving
direGions how to makeé bees fwarm, unicis in
very particular cafes, in which it may be very
prontable. Lf hives arelying much out tor want
sf room, and ‘thereby {pending fine weathe
and doing litthe work, then they fhould be.
2ither eeked or an artificial {warm taken from
hem, in cafe you have queens or royal .cells to
apply both the old hive and her fwarm with.
—Yhe way to take afwarm froma hive is this,
ft the ftall oif the board, and. place an empty _
uive over the bes that remain on the board,
then catry the ftall fix ar eight yards off, and
urn it up, and drive all the bees, queen and
all out of it, as directed in page 8.5 thes when
ul the ‘bees are out of the {tall you will fee iF
he has any royal cells in her, which if fhe has,
twill iooh come:forward to be ‘a queen te her,
ind you may lit.oif the empty hive, and let down
‘he ftall on her own ftance again, and the coms
non bees will foon.rufh into her ; then fet
dowir the fwarm by her fide, within a foot of
jer, and fometimes fet the fwarm in the {tall’s
tance, and the flail in the dwarin’s ftance,
aking great cayg that. the bees be properly
livided. ‘Chere fhould be twice as “many in
he fwarm as there are in :the ftall, for the uM
tai] having a great Many maggots in the cells,
f§vill foonturn into bees. and thereby increafe.
he number ia her: or as foon as you are cere-
ain that there is a queen in the fwarm (as it can
| , {cares
‘feafon, and the old {tock do weil toa; for 2
Ron Of th: Swarming of + Bete.
{carce mifs, feeing the whpie, bees were drove
-out of the flall)~ by their. beginning to work
then you may carry hez, or rather the ftall, te
the diftance of a mile, and let-her fland duritil
-fummer if convenient; or bring her back ir
eight days, by which you will faye the tronbl
of changing the hives, and they will work with
out any interruption. But fuppofe the old ital
has a royal cell in her, if you havea fpare queel
by you, put her to the ftall at night, in thy
fame Way, as direCted in cafe gth, and: the bee
will receive her kindly, being now fentible the
want one, and are mourning { for her lof. Bu
da. cafe you have neither a {pare queen, nor the
{tall a royalcell-in her, then you muft return al
‘the bees again to the (ha il, and give hier'a larg
eck, and fo make a colony of her, which is as
profitable and as ealy done.
Perhaps the reader .will fay, fuppofing a hive
having in her a vaft multitude of common bees
and only one queen, by taking out the quee
and two thirds of the bees, they will compofe a
fwarm; and the third of the common bees being
left in the flalls will build a royal cell, and
thereby get themfelves a queen: true fo the
would, and it may be done if very foon in the
artificial fwarm is every whit as good as a natu
ral one if they be equaliin number of bees an
_fwarmed both in the fame day ; butif the feafo
abe fargone, perhaps the middle of ¥uly, and the
old hive be'left without either a queen or royal
cell in her; then fhe will have a royal cell to
build, aid it will be twenty-five dave ‘or fhe ca
Baye: a young gucen brought forward and firfor|
_layingy
?
OF ana Star rining if Bees) 20%
Paying eges, and after: that other twenty- five
| days or any of her offspring ‘can be fit: for las
Wbour, . by*which time it is the firft week ‘of
September, and. tii feafon for gathering honéy
Wis cone, and the hive. prows commonly daily
Hehter afc fhe has fwarmed, and alfo théré
will be few bees bred, and the hive thereby
rendered urtfit for kev ping: for a tall,
~ fyoware very keen of having queens bred;
qvou will fée in vase 43, how ] made a hive 1 breed
Hime fome to fupply me withe “Smalbethi niving
Thives commonly fwarm foon the firft time, and
about nine -or ten days afier they ofien found, |
in crder tofwaim again; in which time there
qere four er five: quicens and’ royal cells in her.
At leaft there wah Wee (eve gueens, therefore if
yyou want queens or royal cells you may drive .
ail her ‘bees out,’ and take all her queens ‘or
royal cells frem Ket , but only cne tofupply h ers
elf with ; which is a setter way than to take ‘a
Pqucen from a bive in order to caufe the bees to.
breed ‘more queens. And in no cafe fuffer a
hive fo want a queen, except when’ you take one
froma hive in. ‘etter to canife the hive to. breed
more Nor fome very needial ufe.
Iranay be ufefal ard am sufing to Rado We
weights and-nninber of diterent twarms. © It
Wo has-been Pound, fays Lutler, that a larger
‘ nuiniber whan’ a® or 50,oco will not thrive td
W cether in > ve lave. Swarms often amount to
£30,000; ‘@ large fwarm may weigh eighe
| i pound ‘and eraducliy befsfo' One pecunete con-
*iHequen iat very Podd tone Weights § Rrevor fix
: porndss a nadera oh ene four pounds. “N6
: \ {Wari leis shaw this houlibe Kept, but united
wise T | with
206 0 =—s«OOf'- the Swarming of Bees. © |
© with others.’”. Mr. Wildman fays, 4928 bees’
weigh a pound, and that 200090 bees compote
avery large fwarm. I am of opinion that a_
fwarm that has 15000 bees in her will do very.
stell in a fingle hive, if not too late in the fea-_
fon: but I have had above 30000 in a fwarm:
the more always the better. - |
Moft all authors advife to kill the drones (or
males as they call them) as foon as the top fwarm —
is gone off. Surprifing! how inconfiftent with —
themfelves to teach a man to kill all the fathers
“of his hives in order to make them thrive the
better : what incoherence is here, though J ean-
not agree with them as to their fex, yet I give
the fame advice with refpe& to killing of
drones. As foon therefore as the top fwarm
js gone off a hive, the next fine day abouteleven
o’clock fit down at her fide, and as the drones
come out at the entry of the hive, (in order to_
fly off) lay your fore finger on their back, and
prefs them to the board, and in this way you may —
killa 100 of them ina fhort time. You will
fee another way how to kill them in page 61.
The drones are very great eaters and watters of
honey, being bigger than the common bees_
they take more to fupport them, and perhaps —
they have that inftinct to know their days will |
foon be ended, and that-they have'no need to.
fteward out. the honey for the winter, as they
will not be fuffered to live till that time, as the
common bees will foon-kill them. -1 think,.
fuppofing the drones were allowed to live out all
their days, they would not be long; for they ap-
pear to be more tender infects than bees: yet in”
fome hives that want their queens, the. drones —
fa are
" To take Honey and fave the Bees. 207
-are permitted to live, and they have been feen,
‘though ser rare, in fuch hives after Martinmas. |
e" ,
wh xt
HOW FTO TAKE HONEY OUT OF. HIVES IN SUMs#
\
MEX WITHOUT DESTROYING THE BEES,.
a ee nS Re ER
en
-_
GOOD many dbeshitads t:ave been given
by different ai thors how to take a part of
the honey combs out of rich hives in fummrer,
and thereby the fooner to Sits of their trea-
“fures. Thofe that keep bees in colonies, that is
“one family of them in two or three different box-
es; they take the box that is fulleft of honcy
from them at a time, leaving the other one or
“two Boxes, and perhaps if need be, adding ano-
“ther to them for the bees to work in. And.
‘-thofe that keep them in fingle hives, drive the
bees all out of them, and then cut out as many
of the richeft combs as they think the hive can
fpare; then return the bees to the hive, which
-replenifh it again with combs.
But there is no profit but rather lofs by any
of thefe methods, tor it difturbs and difcourages
the bees greatly ; and in the boxes taken there
is oftentimes young in the cells, which are gene-
rally lof :+ befides it is attended with a deal of
trouble, and if the feafon turns bad after the’
hive is robbed, it hinders the bees from rep!enith-
ing thehive or colony with combs and honey, and
eo thereby
208 La take “Honey and fave the Bétt. —
thereby prevents them from being fit for ftalls.
Nor need the owner think his hives turning rich
ot Lene and numerous of bees will thereby turn
lazy: for the contrary is the cafe, as was formerly
faid m page 16; the more rich a hive is, it is
‘the keener on eer and the more. numerous,
the keener on encreafing their number. ‘There-
-fore be aflured of this, that there is nothing more
profitable and delichtiome, than to have an ex-
eceding great multitude of bees in a capacious
hive carrying on their works ina natural way
with the greatelt h armony and {peed, not unlike
fome {lately oak growing, and: flourifhing: in
its mative foil with the, greateft sass ne:
where the praner’s knife never comes. »‘Fhere-
fore wait patie niy till harvelt, and. you will
come.with the. greateft eafe to the whole lump
‘of fhoney i in the hive, which is.a far better .way.
But fhould you be very keen to tafte a little fine
honey i infummer you fhalkbe gratified. There-
‘fore in the height of the day when the bees: are
throngeft ak work, and thereby fewelt in. the
hive; .pitch upon the heavieft of your, laft year’s
‘iwarms, and carry her to fome dilftance from
her ftance, eight. or, ten yards or fo, and place
an empty hive where fhe ftood,.-to receive.and
amyfe the bees duriag your, Operation: then
turna-up ‘ hive. and. rap her {martly.on the
‘Aides, (firt having your armour on) by. which
»the bees wil! ily thick to the empty hive in their
own flance: then at one view you. will fee the
richelt combs at the fide of the hive,.where there
owill be probably the feweft bees:.then witha
inife cut them out the beft way your pradence
«wall diredt; ; then, turn, up the hive and fer her
on
. Lo take Honey and fave the Bees. 269
‘on a board again, and let her drip three or
four minutes; then fet her on‘ another dry
Board, and remove the empty hive, and place »
rhe flail on her own ftance, and the bees will fly
thick to her again, and foon lick up the {pile
honey. ‘Lhen about an hour or two after place
her on her own board, by which the crumbles
of wax that the bees had brought down to the
either willbe removed. Many others advile to
drive the whole bees out of the hive in order to
rob her the.eafier. ‘Thofe who chufe that way
may d6 it, but I efteem the former way the beft,
as it keeps the queen in the hive, and does not
difturb the young, by loofening ‘the combs.
Which are left in the hive, and 1 can do it and
fcarcely kill a-feore cf common bees ; for the
tapping makes them run to one fide, and’ I
chufe the. other, and it ts done in a few mi-
nutesg but ifthere are a very great deal of bees
in her, the half of them or fo may be drove in-
to. an empty hive. And as foon as ever you fee
‘a rich comb clear of bees feize it. When the
edges of the combs you want are loofened from:
the live, by turning up the hive, the weight of
the comb will make it: fall down into a’ diffs
placed below.
A new fwarm muft not be thus robbed, nor
mutft-fe be laid on her broad-fide or her mouth
uppermolt, for by doing that I have often feen
the fine free young combs both containing ho-
ney andyoung bees, fway all to the under fide
of the hive, and thereby Icofened ; a when fet
‘on their Woard again, they would have fallen
down. on it, and fometimes tota ly ruined the
whole hive.. —
Ea We
»®
ato To take Honey and fave the Bees.
We have accounts from Egypt and Franc é
: aire fome ather countries, that they emoy
_are® faded, to others where they are yet 2
, bloom ; (in order for the bees to collect the
' more hone y)and fometimes they will carry che a
a great “diftance { tor freth flowers to feed on. —
have often done that way with my bees and ha¢
fatisfation, and other times when. the weathe
had changed had all my trouble loft, In fpring}
1 fometimes. place hives among whins, in fum#
mer in the middle of a clover field, and in Aud
gv? 1 fet them in a heather muir. When the
are removed from a poor patture toa goog
one, they are very fond of fo agreeable a chang
and carry very brifk. . Thofe who choofe tore |
move them for better pafture, if the weather b
good, are fure to be profiters; but fhould the
weather turn bad, they only lofe their .troubl@
of removing, and in this cafe I leave every ong
to their own choice; only this I affirm, that th
nearer the pafture they will carry the fafter, ang
removing in {pring as formerly faid, is an exq
cellent prefervative from robbers. When a hiv@
is to be removed, do it in cloudy or cold da rg
when the bees flir not out of their hives, or iq
the evenings: they may be carried on a hand
barrow between two men, two or three hiveg
at a time; or a man may carry.one upon hif
Head. In winter three or four hives may bd
earried on one horfe with kreels, if properly
tied up in fheets, fo as not a bee may: get out]
for if they did, they would fling the horfe and
make -him fall ajumping, which would remoy: |
“the hives more and more off their boards, | an
Bees foould not be united for Stalls. ant
hereby, more bees would get out of the hives, —
nd at the horfe and fting him, ,which would
nrage him fo, that he would jump and kick.
nd rumaway, and readily ruin all your hives.
3eware alfo of carrying hives in carriages,. for
he jolting of them brings down the combs of-
ven, and bruifes both them and the bees; and
f any bees get at the horfes to fting them, ten
»o one but the carriage be overturned;.and all.
‘our hives loft; and perhaps yourfelf and horfes
uffer in the calamity. ; 7 |
In the latter end of fummer or begifining of
tarveft, when the flowers: begin to turn feurce
n the neighbourhood, bees will again fallva
obbing one dnother; and wafps (in fome
slaces) will alfo attack the hives; theretore théir
‘ntry fhould. be reduced to only half. an. ingh
ng, and as high, by which few bees will’ the ’
safier defend it; and-thofe hives that have few
sees in them fhould be immediately killed. .
ip «GEES. Saane 0 XXII.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST UNITING BEES FOR
k STALLS.
we ee
_
-
| HE bulk of authors declare their abhor-
- -renee of killing bees in harveft in order to |
some. at their honey, exclaiming loud!y againft
such an unhuman, barbarous, and cruel practice,
as they are pleafed to call it; afferttag alfo with
| ‘ . lame
/
—
~
a12- Bees foul nat be whined iy Stalls :
proof, that fuch a practice is oppofite ‘to the
owner’s intereft. I thall give you a little o
their ftuff on that head, and let you fee how
they contradia themfelves ; ; and next offer my
reafons for which I ftill jog on in the old
_ fathion of killing bees in order to come at their
honey. ‘The author of the natural hiftory of
bees makes his Clarifa fay, “ Methinks it - is
Sw himfical enough that a man when he eats His
x or flreep, faould imagine he poflefies bim-.
’ « elf of athing to which he had a jaft’ a law-
$ ful: title. . N
Eugen. © The lion may with ea ftal wanes fancy:
‘ himfelf impowered to feed upon men, and the
“* wolf on fheep; but it is my. opinion that nei-
‘ ther the one nor the other could find’any other
original title of their Abe! than force or
‘cunning. But ct us engage no further ina
‘quefion, as this w ould raife up a multitede
* of gainfayers.”-~--- When fpeaking of them
that kell the: bees, he ioe, * The murderers a-.
‘ bove mentioned add, thatbees would devour
* during wanter: ail the honey ftored by them-ain
‘fummer. By. what name would you call a
* peaiaat who would kill tus goat merely that he.
“might come at all the milk contained in the
“bladder of that animal? Sage Sir, I would call.
hima fool- at: leaft, if not: worfes but were-he
to kill the goat for the fielh it would alter the
eafe.——-—VWhen Hugenia is grown a uttle calmer
heddays, “itimuft be con ifeffed that our infects
ewauld-eat the greateit part of fuch honey, and
Sper all, -fince*they hoard it up merely as
* provilion for themfel a POS. | pee!
bt ih | Ahad tibiae
Bees fooulad not be united for Stalls, 2.4
Dear. Sir, feeing they eat the moft part of
teir provifion, if not all, in winter; certainly
take a part of it from them they would die of
mine, which is none of the eafieft deaths; be-
des all the honey they had in their hives’ in
arvelt would be loft too. Mr. Thorley fays,
age 150;,0n thishead, * From the long obfer-
vations of thefe very wonderful creatures, and
their: inimitable excellencies, togetlicr with
their great ufefulnefs to mankind, I am bes
come one of their greateft admirers and a pub-
‘ic advocate for them, moit folemnly proteft-
ngeagain{t all that notorious ingratitude of
cheir cruel owners, who not contented with all
heir treafure, collected with infinite pains and
many perils, devote them to deftruétion with- —
out any diftinction to their.own great lofs.’
* Is no regard due’to thefe creatures of God,
which are fo excellent in themfelves, and fer-
wiceable to men; when the following pages
will make it appear with how little trouble and
ithout any expence the owner may come at
heir riches with fafety to their lives. .Thofe
who fhall hereafter doom them to common
leath, muit be altogether without excufe.?” _
* No new fwarms or ftocks fhould be thus
mited *, except very late ones and catts
bigattie ds ‘ which
* Ifuppofe he means nofwarms or ftocks that have
wnty honey and bees.in them, and fo fit for ftalls,
mild be thus united. . In this he is very right, for
h hives will make good ftalls.as theyrare.}-butef
ar honey only ferve their own bees till next: honey
fon, if put fome thoufands of more bees to them in
welt, they woul! foon be cong with ir, (verhaps
by
214 Bees fhould not be united for Stalls.
* which have not gained a fufficient quantity
‘ honey for their winter ftore; fuch I always
* nite to fave their lives > ) ae
‘ Hives or ftocks which have fwarmed'o
* or twice, confequently reduced in their nu
“bers, are the fitteft to be joined togeth
“which will greatly ftrengthen and impr
© them }.”’ sf
Mr. Thomes Wildizan fays, page 169, ° W
* we to kill the hen for the egy, the cow for
* milk, or the fheep for the fleece it bears, e
* ry one would intantly fee how much we fhor
‘act contrary to our own intereft.’? All tr
Mr. Wildman, but fhould we kill fome of th
€reatures in harvelt which we can {pare mer
for their fleth: (efpecially when we could:
maintain them through winter, and fo ti
‘would die of famine) perhaps you might ta
with us, and think it not fuch imprudent ¢
duct. :
But to come to the point, let it be fuppofe
hive in barveft that has 16000 bees in her,
‘take 20 Ib. of honey ¢ to maintain her till Fu
by March) and confequently die of famine; and
ficeal of being bettered by adding bees to, them, t!
would be ruined. Septragany:
+ The reader will certainly obferve a_great biun
here, if one of thofe weak hives or cafts have no
fufficiency of honey in her own hive to fupply
with in winter, and thereby perhaps die of famine
March ; certainly if add the -bees of another hive
her, the would fooner eat all the loney, and thei
die the fooner of famine. “F, hae le
¢ A hive that is 30 Ib. wt. I compute will have
Ib. of honey in her; the other 10 ]b: I allow for
weight of bees, wax, and hive.
—
Bees foould not be united for Stalls. 215
‘$ plain to every one, that if add other 8 or
90 bees to her, the will eat all’ her honey
ag before the forefaid time ; and confequent-
die of famine. | fi nei
Again. fhould a man have two weak hives that
we each of them 8000 bees, but only to lb.
‘honey in thei; then if put the bees of both
> faid hives in one of them, there would be
‘ooo bees inher, and only 10 Ib. of honey to”
viatain them with, which would only maintain
eo the halt of the time till the honey fedfon.
vcording to this, good flalls (as agreed by all)
ed no uniting; and light bives have not ho-
y enough to {upport their own bees, and far
3 to maintain their neighbours too if added
them. - Linea
Again, a man has twelve good heavy hives,
ery one of which as rhey prefently are, will,
ake an excellent ftail, each having :6006
es in her; a fuflicieat nuinber to eat. all the
mey in ahive that is 30 ib. wt. and he wants
‘take the honey of fix of them for his ufe. ard
keep the other fix for ftalls. 1 would atk
2 I enchman, Thorley, and Wildman, what mutt -
do with the bees of the fix hives determined
be taken, feeing the other fix fet afide for
lls, have’as many bees in themas they are
e to maintain?
iit is well known that after a very bad fum- >
r, a great marly hives are very light, and per-
ps a man has 30 hives, 10 of which are only
for ftalls, which he very wifely. keeps for that
rpofe; the other twenty have very little ho.
y at harveft, and a good number of bees in~
ch of them. Pleafe, gentlemen, what muit he
do
. ceffity to kill all thofe hives in harveft that have
416 Pees ould not be united for Stalls.
do with the bees of the forlorn twenty Lgl
hives ? muft he force them all on the’ 10 ftalls
which would ftarve thein altogether by a linge
ing death, and thereby become a broken ‘bee
mafter; or mutt he end their days in ‘three m
nutes, and preferve the other ro italls for fu
ther ufe? — x
Upon the whole, a hive that © is 40 Ib. wt,
harvelt, with a fufliciency of bees in her, as’on
of fuch a weight commonly has; fhe will make’
ood ftall, aud need no more trouble but to ¢
ver her well, &c. as directed in page 7q@, But
in harvelt one fhould have a hive that is 20}
wt. but very few bees inher, which will very {é
dem be the cafe, he may drive all herown bee
our, as directed in page 8:,-and put a ary
fwarm of bees on her, (which be may take on
of any Jight bive) and fo the will havea is
ficient number.
Or he may reinforce her with bees; as diree
ed in» page 83, but by no means do either"a
long as he can get a hive for a {tall, that is bot
— 30db. wtyand plenty bees ‘of her own) 6
_ As it is impofflible for bees to live when they
are deprived of their food, we are under ane
not a fufficiency to maintain them till sees flowe
- feafon return.
‘The time of killing of: bniven’ is atic
lina and fometimes later, according to the
earlinefs or latenefs of the flowers in the nei
bourhood, or the goodnefs or badnefa of -
weather.’ I have known hives wafte their he
ney < and turn lighter after the firft week of Au
— gufs And other times I have feen them whe
. th:
!
‘Bees foould net be united for Stalls. 217
er was good, and near heather, work keen ©
il the month of Augu/f?, and turn daily heavier.
Cherefore the honey harveft is like the corn one,
ooner_and later, in different years. As-a gene-
al direction, whenever the weather fets. in
loudy or raimry about the middle of Avgiz?, or
whenever your -bees give almoft overwork, for
‘ough. they carry fome at this feafon, their fa-
amily being commonly very large, perhaps for
ne |b. of honcy they gather, (hey may eat two.
therefore at this time, in ibe firft place choofe
ritaiis according to the dire€tjons-given in
hap. 11. for that purpofe, to which | refer you.
henpat a merk on every {tell you have chof
or yourfelf, (ien del or Kilt all the reft whether
lor bud; for the focuer the honev4s.made, ,
je better will it run out, ard there willbe the
ewer beesto moleft your ftalls in the robbing
ay. . . a?
You will remember in paze.152, I advifed
ou.to drive the bees,out of very light hives in
arveft, and keep them in order to put {warms
ipext fummer. Having direied you how to
ioofe your ftall hives, there is mo need to di-
ct whatsto kill, feaiag all tue reilanay be either
or killed,
a
— |
RT ies Re AR
» one end of each of them, into which thru the
218 Killing Bees, eparating the Honey, Sc.
Genk! At Po. “XE
OF KILLING BEES, AND’SEPARATING THE HOQ-.
NEY AND WAX. .
ae
AS to the killing of the-bees of thofe hives
you defign to take, the belt “way is with:
brimftone ; prepare a few rags dipped in ieee |
dibrinvtone, then diz a hole in the ground a
and a hall deep,: fome narrower than the
th of the hive; then take two fmall pieces
- of wood eight inches long, aud make a flit ia
brim{tone matches, then thruft the pieces of woqd |
containing the matches into the’ fide of the
; hole, and kindle the matches with a eandle or
‘coal, then nimbly place the hive over it, and
lay a little earth around the fkirts of the eve to
keep in the imoke for ten of twelve minutes ; in
which time freq-ently bear the hive with your
hand to caufe the bees to fall down. I have’
wrote this with a deal of feeling and rela&ance,
a3,much-as when I fee-a harmlefs theep or aly
other innocent crexture killed for the ufe of
man ; -for during the whole year I fo much’ fyin- ©
pathife with the belle: that even’ when one ft: ngs .
melrabeat off, but never ‘kills a finvle ‘anes |
and fuppote I fee my neiphbour’s bees. robbing
mine, I never dettroy one of them.’ 1 wen
nerally drive the beas cut of ahive'when I de:
fizn
4 =
2 -
Killing Rees, operating the Haney, Ft. 210
ign to take her, a8 in pare 81, and then fmoak
‘Heat after, “My reafen for it is, when a hive is
(moaked, a good many bees lode in the cells
and fides-of the coinbs; and thereby files and
jofes fome of the honey; befides fome of thea
being only half dead oftentimes fling thofe that
’ rEe : mn,
are making the honey. ‘Lhe reader may do él-
“her of which he pleafes. All your uteafils for
he honey having been before prepared, fuch a8
sarge difhes,: jars, feives, knives, arid fpdons;
you are immediately to fall to work while the
aoney is warm, as then it will raa more quick.
‘y out ‘Yo further this intention the hive
hould be brought into.a warm room, then wit
t pair of pinchers grip the end of the flicks in the
oofen them; then pull them all out, and’ with a
inife loofe the edges of the combs from the hive
around, and give the hive a fmart Enocl on
he floor on one of the fides to which che broa.”
ide of the combs is oppotite, whick, will make
‘he combs fall to that fide; then turn the hive
ou could not‘ get fo well at with your knife;
hen keep the hive ftill on its broad ide, and the
sombs will lie all one above anotlier; ‘then take
ways the uppermoit comb off firft, and fhould
ny deed bees beon it blow orbruth them off;
en divide it into. three parts, and lay the empry
ombs firft by themlelves; next, the combs con«
lining eggs or mayeots by themfelves, and then
ay the fine fealed up combs on a dif by them-
aces, firlt oblerving to pair off all the fealed
tive, and pive them a twift round which will’
pnd give tt another knock onthe oppofite fide,
vhich will efe€tually leofen all the combs. which:
tives, ordering anaffflant to cut them into thin.
2, mouths.
“i i.
rt
at a ’
he |
Tae
_them honeylefs.
220 Killing Bess, fcpgarating the Honey, &&c.
mouths of the cells in order that the honey may
run the fooner out, Vhe combs fhould be laid
in this {tate onfeives or fome other contrivance
which will afford the honey a free paflage; it
will run quite clear, and the honey thus obtain-
ed thould be kept by itfelf, as being the pureft
and belt.
Thofe combs which may be partly filled with
young bees, bee-bread.and honey may be given
to hives to take their honey out of them, in the
way directed in page 113, which is the belt ufe
they can be put to, and the bees will foon make
. After the fine combs will run no more, pat
tt em ina pan over a flow fire, conftantly ftirring
“Qbout with your hand till they are more
< warm; then put them ima ftrong can-
e and fqueeze out the honey, which you
vafs by
may keep for feeding your bees or any external
ule.
_ All thofe combs which-the honey was fqueezed
: from may, be fteeped in water and made into
“ mead ; or you may fteep the combs in water for
that purpo‘e after the fineft of the sc Is run
out without {queezing for more.
Now your combs being all honeylefs, are fit
for making wax. The way Ido is very fimple,
} put the combs in a kettle with a fufficient
quantity of water, and make them. boil over a
flow fire for 40 minutes or fo (often ftirring
them about) in which time they are all melted;
then [lay a pair of tongs or fo over a fmall tub.
with fome water in it, and fet. a ftrong made
cullender (which is flat on the under fide with
Fenn holes in it) on the tongs; then with a
ladle
.
-
Killing Bees, feparating the Honey, 8c. 421
ladle I. put the melted combs in the cullender,
and: prefs them down with a piece wood made
on purpofe, flat, on the under fide, which
{queezes out the thin wax into the tub below,
and the drofs remains in theeullender. 1 gene-
rally boil the .drofs again a fecond time, and
{queeze for more wax. Indeed the wax in this
way cannot be got entirely out from the drofs,.
neither can it in any other way that ever I faw
tried or heard of. All that is left among the |
-drofs in my way of feparating it is very infigni.
ficant, and will not pay the charge of any furs.
ther trouble *. | ;
After the wax is cold in the tub! put it again
in the kettle among clean water, and melt.and
pour it .in a bowl wider at the top than bottom,
and fkim off any drofs that may float on ‘the top.
~of it, and let it fand'in fome warm part to cool
flowly, wlitch prevents cracking. ‘then I take.
out the cake of wax, and‘ pair off all the drofs.
in the underfide of it, till there be nothing but
clean wax, and then itis fit for the merchant.
* Thave-tried many other ways in ordér. to fet ‘alt’
the wox oug.of the drofs. More than adozen of years »
ago I a a prefs for that endj fomething like
a candle-maker’s, which they {queeze the tallow with;
but laid it afide. Ihave fqueczed it with bags, bue
they would never ftand the ftrefs long. I have done
fomnething like Mr. Key’ methed, but it did not-fa-
tisty either. © J tte iii |
’ . ee
ad
"
:
.
‘~ contents will refer you... 6s 6
_ ‘warm years, and thofe hives that are near plant-.
© fearcely ever-feen ata hive, except fome chance
«they banifh her from their territories. I know
. wy 3 : St ys Neh
222 How ti. guard againt Bees Lnemicrs |
er ager i Ve bsb aid. Tondelis ai ada ps:
% 1“ “s -
¢ es A z. 3 ] XXIV,.. il 7
OF BEES ENEMIP3, AND HOW is; GUARD A--
GAINST THS My.
ae
7
~~ y
Bra add ay
’ if
fl 2090, War JUG svay
HE three capital enemies to: bees are'cold,
_ rabbers, and famine, to which may be add-
ed themoufe: thefe are enemies that kill many
hundreds of hives in this ifland every. year; (0-
ther enemies hurt them ‘but rarely.) but thefe are
conflant murderers if not guarded againfts) '
You have been directed already. how to pre-
ferve your bees from. all thofe. capital enemies
in different parts of this-book, to which the
* evi iby
4 Watps are enemies to bees, -efpecially ut dry
ings (where they refort-much) are the greatelt
fufferers by them. But where J livey aowafp is
. time a mother 6ne will appear beforeya hive in
- May, and offer.to go in; but her hoarfe voice
and fool’s coat difcover her to the bees, and
-@ot if evera hive in my neighbourhood was ever
~a-thilling thetworfe by. wafps: but four ordix
smiles diftance from this place fundry hives have
been killed by them. : a
Jn fpring deftroy the mother wafps wherever
you fee them, for by killing one of thefe, you
deftroy awhole nef. . Alfo their nefits fhould be
How te guard againjt Bees Enemies, 923
Arona out and as many deftroyed (by burning, ;
fealding, or drowning) as poflible.
If many wafps are feen to attempt any hive
inthe Jatter end. of fummer or beginning of
harveft, the entry fhould be reduced to one half
an inch long, and as high, by which thé bees
will be able to defend is; : ‘anil thofe hives that’
have but few bees in them fhould. be immedi-
ately killed and the hives taken, as in page 211.
But thofe hives you defign for ftalls, if feverely
attacked, (as is feldomthe cafe that {trong hives
fufler) may be removed to fome place not near
plantings, where they may remain till robbing
time (by either walps or bees) is over. Phials
having honey or fugar mrxed with ale in them,
will allure them to it to their own deflruction ;
botin fine days it will uifo allure the bees and
deftroy them, and often by placig phials in a-
piaries it attracts all the watps in. the neighbour-
hood, and brings many that otherwife would
not nye came, intial thakes the cure worfe than
the difeafe. ‘This however:fhouid be catuioutly
aveided, in general they are of little fcrvice.
Another enemy 1s a large moth called the wax
moth, for the mageots proceeding irom it eat
the wax for their fuftenance. ‘Ihe moth is) ¥e-
ry attentive to difeover any part «bout the out-
fide of the fkirts of the hive where the may con-
eniently lay her ERESS but if not fuccefsful as
‘the outfide of the hive, fhe nimbly runs in-
at the entry unnoticed by the bees, and lays
them there, the egg foon becomes a large white:
Yoracious maggot, more than half an inch long,
which {pins over itfelf a covering for defer wes
Thefe maggots tum. very numerous in, fome,
ae hives,
_
224 Hiwte gird aint Bees Briel
hives, and confume the combs,. and difeourage
the poor bees fo. much that they will fometimes
die of famine or defert the hive.
For uy; part. | never fuflercd the fmalleft» ote
by thefe invaders, for | never faw any of thefe
maggots in my hives.except once, and then I
faw only two-of theu.in.one hive; nor did I’e
ver hear..any perfon complain of them in this
neighbourhood. But about 20 miles off this
loace faw a dozen in one hive, and the owner
told me that he once had two hives in one year
which had as many maggots in them as bees,’
which was a very foatiefonse fight, and he burnt:
both the hives root and branch, bees, combs, ho-
ney, hive, and magiots altogether; and in fi
dome thought he did manfully, but I thought
he would bave done wifer had he driven all the.
bees of them into empty hives and made fwarms
of them, or added them to fome other weak.
hives, aad then {moaked the maggots to death,
eta civen his other bee-hives the combs to fuck:
he honey out of, and after made them into
wax, and his empty hive would have ferted
another year, by which he would have fultained
no lofs but the maggots, which he would have
efteemed but very {mall.. ‘The pooreft hives are
foreft molefted with thofe as well as other’ ene-
thies. If you fee ctther in the outhde or with
the. hive any fizns of fech vermm breeding 4
bred, deftroy them. sig.
Several birds aré alfo enemies’ of bees? i
as the fwallow, {parrows Jark, duck, and evea™
hens, I have feen. thenr peckehemmup 5: -but in ge+
ner they hurt them very bitte, «Take aly: vays.
you can to preferve then fr om fuch. ere catures..
ae a Sheen
; "
How to guard againft PeessEnemies.* 205 —
_ Spiders allo deftroy many Bees, by? aeehi
them in their enfnaring nets they kill’ them,’
To preferve your bees defiroy all their hets
which are ‘pread any ipa err the > hive or cO~
ver of it.
Bavivhays are! alten enemi ies, and Regi hays,
they Rdatios at fight to'the hive; and drap out »
bee! afte bees fuckine out ‘their “Vitals?” and
leaving? nothing “bit their fkins as’ fo many
{ealps, emblems of their Butebery. They breed
berween “the fkirts of the hive and the boards ;
in-which place’ fearch for their nefts and deftroy ,
themys = brs .
~Noife’ difturbs bear fomething HO Isreme=
died by ‘being fet in a quiet remote place, bad
weather; as wind, rain, cold, heat, &c. which: is
the hives: being properly covered, &c.-
“Ants fometimes make their neits bevwied ee
hive: and covering, © without molefting or being
molefted*fays Mr. Wildman. ‘1 never was fen-°
fible‘ofithem doing any hurt, but’ 1 have heafd
fome fay that they go into hives i in the night and
fuck out’ the honey, and that they hate feen
hives ruined by them. -Remove the covers in
the latter end of fummer, and deftroy the ants.
“Wood-lice are. alfo deftroyers of bees, and
ey harbour much about old decayed wood,
hich is near them. They fhould be often
efor and deftroyed.
Keep your hives always clean and: neat, re-
hol g from themall filth or impurity that may
at any time gather upon ‘the board, or around
the outfide of the hives.
oe
Tick sg
a
prevented by the fituation of the: aay. and ery.
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