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Title: The Bee Keeper's Guide: containing concise practical directions for the management of bees upon the depriving system
Author: Payne, J. H.
Language: English
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CONTAINING CONCISE PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES UPON
THE DEPRIVING SYSTEM ***
Transcriber Note
Text emphasis denoted as _Italics_.
THE
BEE KEEPER'S GUIDE
CONTAINING
CONCISE PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS
FOR
THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES,
UPON THE
DEPRIVING SYSTEM.
BY J. H. PAYNE,
Author of "The Cottager's Guide."
THIRD EDITION.
LONDON:
T. C. NEWBY, 72, MORTIMER St., CAVENDISH Sq.
1846.
PREFACE
TO THE FIRST EDITION.
-----o-----
Having written the "Cottager's Guide for the Management of his Bees,
upon the Depriving System," which has been printed for gratuitous
distribution among the Cottagers, I am induced, at the particular
request of several Apiarian friends, to enlarge the above little work,
and to give in addition a description of Nutt's newly invented Hive,
and other practical remarks in Bee-knowledge, resulting from nearly
forty years' close observation.
Should this little work be the means of inducing any person to
promote the culture of Bees amongst the Cottagers in his immediate
neighbourhood, upon the Depriving System, I shall be amply repaid for
the trouble it may have occasioned me; and the hope that such will
be the result, must be my apology for adding to the number of books
(perhaps already too numerous) upon this subject.
Reaumur, in a letter to M. de la Bourdonaye, in 1757, says, "The
preservation and also the increase of Bees is an object of such
interest to Britanny, that the peasantry cannot be too much encouraged
to turn their attention to it." Surely this is equally applicable
to our own country at the present time, when the condition of the
labouring poor calls so loudly for relief.
I have little hesitation in saying, that Cottagers who are able to keep
from four to six Hives of Bees, may make from four to eight pounds,
yearly profit, after paying all expenses upon them. I paid last year to
one Cottager seven pounds, fifteen shillings, and to another five pound
and one shilling for Bees and Honey.
The following anecdote has so much the appearance of truth in it, and
is so well suited to my present purpose, that I cannot refrain from
giving it.
A good old French Bishop in paying his annual visit to his Clergy,
was very much afflicted by the representations they made of their
extreme poverty, which, indeed, the appearance of their houses and
families corroborated. Whilst he was deploring the state of things
which had reduced them to this sad condition, he arrived at the house
of a Curate, who, living amongst a poorer set of parishioners than any
he had yet visited, would, he feared, be in still more woful plight
than the others; contrary, however, to his expectations, he found
appearances very much improved, everything about the house wore the
aspect of comfort and plenty. The good Bishop was amazed. "How is this,
my friend?" said he, "you are the first man that I have met with a
cheerful face and a plentiful board. Have you any income independent of
your Cure?"
"Yes, Sir," said the Clergyman, "I have; my family would starve on the
pittance I receive from the poor people that I instruct, come with
me into the garden and I will show you the _Stock_ that yields me an
excellent interest."
On going to the garden he showed the Bishop a large range of Bee-hives.
"There is the Bank," he continued, "from which I draw my annual
dividend.--It never stops payment."
Ever after that memorable visit, when any of his Clergy complained to
the Bishop of poverty, he would say to them, "_Keep Bees! Keep Bees!_"
In the words of an Apiarian friend, I solicit information from every
one who may have it in his power to transmit it to me, and on the other
hand, I profess my perfect readiness to impart whatever knowledge I
may possess in the management of an Apiary, to any person who will
favour me with the application; my aim is general utility, and the
establishment of a national advantage.
PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION.
-----o-----
Since the first appearance of this little Treatise I am most happy in
being able to state that Apiarian Science has in this neighbourhood and
in the adjoining Counties, made very considerable advances, that the
ridiculous notions, and foolish prejudices entertained respecting Bees,
are fast wearing away--that the _Cottagers_ are generally managing them
upon the depriving system, making them a real source of profit and of
comfort, and that a number of influential persons are making themselves
acquainted with the practical management of Bees, upon the simplest and
most profitable methods, for the sole purpose of setting an example,
and for qualifying themselves to give instructions in the management
of them to their poor neighbours. Nor is this spirit of well-directed
benevolence confined to these Counties only, for at Oxford a Society
is just formed to promote an improved and more extensive system of
Bee management among the Cottagers by the diffusion of information on
the subject, and the _loan_ of hives, _not the gift_, their cost to
be repaid from the produce, and also to promote a more extensive and
scientific knowledge concerning the Natural History and cultivation of
Bees among the higher classes. The Society, I find, is flourishing,
a piece of ground has been taken and laid out as an experimental
Bee-garden; there is already a very considerable number of stocks of
Bees placed in it in common straw and experimental hives. Subscribers
pay half-a-guinea a year, and non-Subscribers a shilling each visit.
This is an example worthy of imitation.
I am just favoured with a letter from a Gentleman who has recently
visited the above establishment, giving me a certain and simple method
of Autumnal union of weak stocks which he there witnessed, but it comes
too late to be embodied in this treatise, the whole of that part being
already in the press; still as I consider the union of weak stocks
important, and Gelieu's method which I have given too troublesome for
most persons, I will venture to give it in this place. "The process,"
he says, "is merely _fumigating the Bees_, for which they have invented
a tube, much more simple than Nutt's which they insert into the mouth
of the hive; under the hive is previously pushed either an empty
one reversed, or a shallow' box with a wide rim, this receives the
stupified Bees; cut out the combs and remove all the remaining Bees
from them that none be lost. Now take a little sugared ale and sprinkle
it over them just as they are recovering, place upon them the hive to
which they are to be united; this hive requires no sprinkling nor any
fumigation: the Bees in the latter are soon attracted by the ale, and
go down into the hollow containing the fumigated ones licking them
over; the whole are mixed and go up without the least disturbance. It
is unnecessary to take any trouble about the Queen," he adds, "I was
assured that not a Bee would be lost;" and he further says, "upon my
return home I tested it with entire success on some of my neighbour's
Bees: it was the work of but a few minutes, and not the smallest
danger. I left the hive placed upon the other all night, and the next
morning _every Bee_ had left the bottom one; more perfect quiet I never
saw. I think there were nearly two quarts of Bees fumigated."
Puff-ball is generally recommended being the safest; mild tobacco
answers very well, great caution, however, is required in its use,
or the Bees may be killed. Common fumigating bellows, or even a
tobacco-pipe, may be used for this operation. After this discovery it
will be absurd not to unite weak stocks, or to destroy a single Bee on
taking up an old hive.
I have always considered the keeping of Bees and the advantages arising
from them to be the undoubted privilege of the Cottagers and theirs
alone, other persons may keep a few for amusement, or to endeavour to
learn something of their natural history, but all should in my opinion
be made subservient to the Cottagers' benefit.
The present season has been a most unpropitious one, especially in this
neighbourhood, perhaps the most so that I remember, but I am disposed
to think that this is not a favourable district for the collection of
honey. I have frequently compared the produce of my own apiary with
that of others at a distance, and this year especially, with that of a
friend upon the Essex bank of the Stour, which I assisted in forming
and have frequently visited, the quantity of honey obtained from this
is small, but it is five times as much as that of any one in this
neighbourhood consisting of the same number of stocks.
I cannot close this preface without acknowledging the very flattering
manner in which my little treatise has been mentioned in various
publications, and my thanks to the many correspondents it has obtained
for me. The addition which I have been enabled to make to it, will I
trust be acceptable and useful.
I still solicit information from any one who will give it me, and am
ready to impart it to all those who will ask it.
_Bury Saint Edmund's,
Oct. 11th, 1838._
PREFACE
TO THE THIRD EDITION.
-----o-----
In again revising this little work for the press, I am not at all
disposed to increase its size; for were I to do so, I should very much
take from it as a purely simple and practical treatise. Matter might
easily be added; but were it not of a useful nature, the work would be
rendered thereby less valuable, and the attempted improvement would
turn out a positive injury.
The time which has elapsed since the publication of the last edition
has, year by year, convinced me more fully of the advantages of this
system, and of its adaptation especially to the Cottagers, and indeed
to all those who wish to obtain a large supply of the finest honey at
the least possible expense and trouble, giving at the same time, both
to the amateur and to the naturalist, every facility in watching the
economy of our little favourites.
Although, as I have already said, I am not disposed to increase the
size of this little work, still, however, an Index, and a few practical
hints, which have suggested themselves in the course of the last two or
three years, will be found added to it.
The system, I am happy to say, is spreading far and wide amongst the
Cottagers, not only in this but in many other counties, and the profits
arising from their Bees are becoming a permanent source of comfort to
many of them, as the quantity of fine honeycomb, which they exhibit at
the various horticultural shows throughout the kingdom, fully proves.
The following Report which I have this day (June the 24th) received
from a friend, living at Newmarket, shows what quantity of honey may be
obtained from a hive in a good season, on the Depriving System, when
both room and ventilation are properly supplied. And perhaps it may
also prove an inducement to some persons to "keep bees" who hitherto
have not, as well as a motive to perseverance on the part of those
who already possess them. This gentleman had but two hives. No. 1 was
allowed to swarm, No. 2. was not; No. 1. swarmed on the 29th of May,
and has since very nearly filled two small hives. The swarm has also
filled two small hives, and is now filling a third; a box has within a
few days, been placed between the large hive and the small one, which
in all probability, will be filled, should the weather continue dry and
warm for another week; No. 2. which has not swarmed, has given already
one small hive containing sixteen pounds, and another fourteen pounds
of fine honeycomb, as is now filling _three_ other small hives as fast
as possible.
Since receiving the above communication, I have witnessed the progress
made by a single stock purchased last year by a beginner. His Apiary is
at the extreme west point of this town, within a few paces of the place
where the celebrated Apiarian, Mr. Geo. Hubbard kept his bees, and
who, in 1791, received from the Society of Arts their gold medal, for
his skilful management of them; this gentleman has now three excellent
stocks, and has already taken a box of fine honeycomb of ten pounds, a
small hive of fifteen pounds and two others are filling; and all the
produce of an outlay of ten or twelve shillings less than a year ago,
making, since that time a profit of very nearly seven hundred per cent.
I must not again take leave of my friends and the public, without
expressing myself gratified by the very flattering and kind manner
in which this little treatise has been noticed, both by the public
journals as well as by private friends.
_Bury St. Edmund's,
July 2nd, 1846._
CONTENTS.
Chapter I.
PAGE
Situation of an Apiary and directions for placing the Hives
1
Chapter II.
Directions for Purchasing Bees
10
Chapter III.
Materials of which Hives should be made, and the Improved Cottage
Hive described
15
Chapter IV.
Method of placing the Small Hive, Box, or Glass, upon the Improved
Cottage Hive, by which means fine Honey may be obtained without
destroying the Bees
21
Chapter V.
Proper time for taking away the Box, and how to expel the Bees from
it
30
Chapter VI.
Method to be pursued in case a Swarm should leave the Hive, after
having commenced working in the Box
37
Chapter VII.
Method of uniting Second and Third Swarms
41
Chapter VIII.
Manner of uniting Swarms and Old Stocks in Autumn
(and page 5 of preface)
46
Chapter IX.
Manner of Feeding weak Stocks, and the time most appropriate for
this operation
54
Chapter X.
Food proper for weak Hives
58
Chapter XI.
Enemies of Bees, and means of overcoming them
61
Chapter XII.
Directions for Hiving Swarms: and the proper time for placing
glasses upon them
68
Chapter XIII.
Description of the Knife for cutting out the Combs
76
Chapter XIV.
Remedies, proposed as Cures, for the Stings of Bees
78
Chapter XV.
Means of preventing the Bees from being Stolen especially in the
Country
82
Chapter XVI.
Method of dislodging Bees from Trees or Buildings, and put them
into Hives
85
Chapter XVII.
Description of Nutt's Newly Invented Hive for obtaining the Honey
without destroying the Bees
89
Chapter XVIII.
The Apiarian's Monthly Manual, or Hints for the Management of Bees
for every month in the year upon the Depriving System
96
THE BEE KEEPER'S GUIDE.
CHAPTER I.
_Situation of an Apiary, and directions for placing the Hives._
I have no hesitation in saying, that a South aspect is decidedly
preferable to any other situation for an Apiary. I have tried various
aspects, but the Bees in the South I have always found to be the
healthiest, and to collect the largest quantity of honey. It is very
important that the hives be sheltered from the wind by trees or houses,
and that they are not placed in the vicinity of ponds or large rivers,
for high winds will dash them into the water, where numbers will perish.
It was the opinion of the ancients, that Bees, in windy weather,
carried weights to prevent them from being driven about by it. Virgil
says,
"That with light pebbles, like a balanced boat,
Poised through the air on even pinions float."
Sotherby's Georgics.
This is now ascertained to be erroneous, and is ascribed, by Swammerdam
and Reaumur to preceding observers having mistaken the Mason Bee, for a
Hive Bee; the former builds its nest against a wall, with a composition
of gravel and its own saliva, and when freighted with the former
article, may easily have led a careless observer into the erroneous
opinion alluded to. The Abbe della Rocca appears to have fallen into,
and perpetuated, the same error.
Though large ponds are very injurious, a small stream is beneficial
to them, which if they are not supplied with, water must be given
them, for it is absolutely necessary, and enters, as much as honey and
farina, into the composition with which they nourish the brood. The
plan that I have for many years adopted, is to fill an unglazed earthen
pan, eighteen inches by eight, four inches deep, and square at the
sides, with water, upon the surface of which floats a very thin deal
board perforated with holes, a quarter of an inch in diameter and about
an inch distant from each other; in Spring and Summer, the Bees may be
seen coming in great numbers to drink, or rather to carry water into
their hives, to mix with the farina they collect so abundantly at this
season of the year for food for their young. In my opinion, Dr. Bevan
says very justly, that "the Apiary should be near the residence of the
proprietor, as well for the purpose of rendering the Bees tractable,
and well acquainted with the family, as for affording a good view of
their general proceedings."
I am a decided enemy to Bee houses of all kinds, for they are the
means of causing the ruin of a great number of hives, by affording a
home to their worst enemies, viz.: mice, moths, spiders, earwigs, and
various other insects, thousands die from imprisonment, and many hives
are destroyed by humidity. The method of placing several hives upon the
same bench is also very injurious, it very much facilitates pilfering,
and renders it impossible to operate upon one hive, without disturbing
the others.
The hives should be placed upon separate boards, supported by single
pedestals four or five inches in diameter, firmly placed in the ground,
and standing about fifteen inches from the surface, (see fig. 1. plate
1;) upon the top of this post should be nailed firmly a board nine
inches square, upon which should be placed the board the hive stands
upon, but not nailed, the double boards will be found very convenient
for weighing or removing the hives, without disturbing the Bees.
On no account use clay or mortar as is usually done to secure the hive
to the board, the Bees of themselves will do it more effectually;[1]
clay or mortar tends very much to decay the hives, and to harbour moths
and other insects; each hive should be covered with a large milk-pan,
and be well painted every year, for hives managed upon the Depriving
System, are expected to stand from fifteen to twenty years.
[Footnote 1: This fact, though it has been denied by those who profess
to have had much experience in the management of Bees, is known to
every novice in Apiarian science, for he does not suffer much time to
pass, after having purchased a swarm of Bees, without endeavouring to
ascertain how much honey they have collected, and finds the difficulty
of separating the hive from the board upon which it was placed.]
The hives should be placed about three feet apart from each other, and
in a right line; but should the number be too great to allow of this
arrangement, and render two rows necessary, they must not be less than
fifteen feet asunder, and those in the front row intersecting the line
formed by the hinder one.
The boards on which the hives are placed, should be cleaned about four
times in the year--January, March, April and November, much time and
trouble will be saved the Bees thereby.
Plants which rise in height equal to or exceeding the entrance of the
hives, should not be suffered to grow in their immediate vicinity, and
every facility should be removed by which the enemies of the Bees can
ascend into the hives.
Still, however, a few shrubs or standard roses of four or five feet may
with advantage be placed eight or ten paces in front of the hives, for
the Bees to alight upon in their return home, when heavily laden with
honey and pollen--it saves their falling to the ground from the weight
of their load, which they frequently do, and in unfavourable weather to
rise no more. It was seeing them rest in this manner that gave rise to
the following lines:--
Rest on that Rose's leaf awhile, thou little Busy Bee,
Thou hast winged thy way with thousands, the wand'ring, the free.
Unwearied with thy ceaseless toil in search for future store,
Thou'rt come back to unlade thy sweets, then sally forth for more.
Thou'st been among the flow'rs of gold, their kiss is on thee yet,
And o'er thy richly powdered wings how many hues are met.
That tell of revelling at the founts of nectar's luscious tide,
Of honey-dews that rest upon each petal's glossy side.
Where hast thou been since the bright morn first saw thee on thy way
'Mong scented brier and glittering heath that woo'd thy lingering stay?
Hast thou no voice to tell us of the far-off verdant scenes,
Of the rich limes thou lovs't so well, and of the fresh'ning streams.
Away! away! once more thou'rt up and e'er the leaf be still'd.
To its soft rest from the trembling that thy light form has thrill'd,
Thoul't be again among thy loves, the fragrant, the bright,
All jealous of their hidden sweets, in murmuring delight.
I have always found the advantage of planting, in the vicinity of my
hives, a large quantity of the common kinds of crocus, single blue
hipatica, heleborus niger, and tussilago petasites, all of which flower
very early and are rich in honey and farina: salvia nemorosa, (of Dr.
Smith) which flowers very early in June and lasts all the summer, is
in an extraordinary manner sought after by the Bees, and when room
is not an object, twenty or thirty square yards of it may be grown
with advantage; origanum humile, origanum rubescens, (of Haworth) and
mignonette may also be grown; cultivation beyond this, exclusively
for Bees, I believe answers very little purpose. Cúscuta sinensis is
a great favorite with them; and the pretty little plant anacampseros
populifolium, when in flower, is literally covered by them--honey
itself appears not to possess more attractions for them than this plant.
Doctor Bevan says: "To those who, residing in towns, may consider
it indispensable to the success of an Apiary, that it should be in
the immediate vicinity of good pasturage, and be thereby deterred
from benefiting and amusing themselves by keeping Bees; it may be
satisfactory to learn that the Apiary of the celebrated Bonner was
situated in a garret, in the centre of Glasgow, where it flourished
for several years, and furnished him with the means of making many
interesting and valuable observations which he gave to the world about
thirty years ago."
My own experience also proves the truth of the above statement,
residing myself for four years in the centre of a large town, in a
house without a garden, I kept two stocks of Bees in my study, in
glass, and four or five others in the improved cottage hive upon the
roof of my house, and I am not aware that they have ever done better,
or afforded me a larger quantity of honey, in any other situation.
CHAPTER II.
_Directions for purchasing Bees._
The best time to establish an Apiary is from the middle of February
to the middle of March, the stocks will have passed in safety through
the winter, the combs are then empty of brood, light of honey, and the
removal safe and easy. Stocks should be selected by a competent judge,
as the weight alone cannot be relied on, a swarm of the preceding year
should be selected, and one that contains not less than twelve pounds
of honey; there are few commodities in which a person can be so easily
deceived as in a hive of Bees. I would therefore recommend the young
Apiarian to take the opinion of some experienced person before he makes
his purchase, a hive of the preceding year can only be known by a close
inspection of the combs, which but few persons have courage enough
to engage in; if the hive is not of the preceding year its weight is
no criterion of its value, for an old hive always contains a large
quantity of the pollen or dust of flowers which the Bees carry home on
their legs, especially in the Spring and Autumn, it is an essential
ingredient in the food with which they nourish their young, but good
for nothing else, indeed the Bees will die of hunger upon the combs
that are filled with it;--"Yet," says Gelieu, "they lay up useless
hoards of it, which they go on augmenting every year, and this is the
only point on which they can be accused of a want of that prudence and
foresight so admirable in every other respect."
The Bees appear to be aware of the perishable nature of this
substance, for they never fill a cell entirely with it, but leave room
for a small quantity of honey in each cell containing pollen, before it
is sealed up, by this means the air is most effectually excluded, and
the pollen preserved for a considerable time; should, however, the Bees
be compelled to consume the honey, from those cells containing pollen,
before they can make use of it for their young, it moulds and become
of no value, and causes them great labour to remove it. For, when in
this state, they have no means of displacing it but by eating away the
cells in which it is contained, and conveying it out of their hives in
small pieces, about the size of peas, hard and mouldy. I have seen the
entrance of old hives in the month of April almost filled up with these
pellets of mouldy farina. The process is tedious, takes up much time,
and the ravages made by it upon the combs appear irreparable; still
in a short space of time, if the weather is favourable, the combs are
repaired, as if no injury had befallen them, and filled with honey
or brood. It is a very heavy substance, so that if weight be the only
criterion, farina will be purchased instead of honey, therefore in the
purchase of old stocks it will be necessary they should weigh eight
pounds more than swarms of the preceding year; in the purchase of
swarms less experience is necessary, and by attending to the following
rules, the young Apiarian will not be imposed upon:--
1st. That the swarm be purchased before the 14th of June, the longer
before that time the better.
2ndly. That it does not weigh less than three pound and a half. I have
known some swarms to weigh six pounds, but this is of rare occurrence.
It is very important to observe, that when a swarm of Bees is purchased
it must be removed to the place in which it is to remain, upon the
evening of the day it swarmed, for should the removal be delayed even
till the next day, the combs will in all probability be broken and the
stock destroyed.
I should recommend the purchaser to send his own hive to the person
of whom he intends to buy a swarm, and to desire him not to put any
sticks across the interior of the hive, as is the usual custom, for
they cause much trouble to the Bees in forming their combs, and render
their extraction almost impossible. The prosperity of the hive will
much (perhaps entirely) depend upon its being finally placed upon the
evening of the day it swarmed.
CHAPTER III.
_Materials of which Hives should be made, and the
Improved Cottage Hive described._
Much has been said with respect to the materials of which Hives should
be made, and experience has long determined, that straw and wood are
the best. Mr. Huish, to whom I am indebted for some useful information
in Apiarian science, says, "Of all the materials which have been
selected for the formation of a Hive, I conceive no one to be more
eligible than straw." Gelieu, to whose experience as an Apiarian I
am disposed to pay the greatest respect, and whose work containing
Practical Directions for the Management and Preservation of Hives,[2]
I would recommend to every keeper of Bees, says, (when speaking of wood
and straw as materials proper for Hives) "experience has shown me, that
it is a matter of indifference which are employed; except as to price,
according as either material may be more or less abundant in different
parts of the country." I have for seventeen years possessed a Nutt's
hive, which is made of wood, (and which I shall have occasion hereafter
to mention,) without being able to discover any difference in the
health and activity of the Bees; but the facility and economy in the
construction of straw hives, must always be a recommendation, as it is
in every article connected with rural economy.
[Footnote 2: The 'Bee Preserver,' by Jonas De Gelieu, recently
translated from the French.]
It has been always my practice to paint my Hives, both wood and straw,
at least once in the year, and I would strongly recommend all persons
to do the same. April I think is the best time, and if done after six
o'clock in the evening, not the least inconvenience will arise either
to the painter or to the Bees.
Having decided upon the materials of which Hives should be made, their
form is next to be considered; for a straw hive, I would recommend the
following size, nine inches deep and twelve in diameter, straight at
the sides and flat at the top,[3] in shape like a half bushel measure,
a hole should be made in the top of four inches, and a piece of straw
large enough to cover it must be fastened on with skewers, (see fig.
3, plate 1,) not to fit in but to cover _over_, the diameter of the
piece of straw being at least two inches more than that of the opening
at the top of the hive, it will be much easier taken off, and the combs
of swarms of a few weeks standing will not be injured by its removal,
which in favourable seasons should always have a glass, or small hive
put upon them, the early ones especially; an entrance of two inches by
one, must be cut in the bottom of the hive, to which I affix a piece
of copper of about six inches by three, having a grove, to admit two
sliding copper plates, one perforated, and the other having a hole
large enough to allow but one Bee to come out at a time, (see fig. 10,
plate 2.)[4] I have found great advantage arising from this little
apparatus.
[Illustration]
[Footnote 3: The Quarterly Review, of December, 1842, page 25, when
speaking of my hive, says, "the only fault, seems to be its flat
top." Now the advantages of a flat top are in my opinion very great;
first, the ease with which the Bees attach their combs to it, when
compared to a dome top; secondly, the facility given to, cutting out
the combs, whenever that operation becomes necessary, and, thirdly,
the convenience which it offers for placing glasses or boxes upon it.
And I am not aware of but one inconvenience, which can possibly arise
from it, which is the sinking of the top, from the heavy weight of the
glasses, or boxes of honey, which year by year it affords, but this,
however, is entirely obviated by the use of the adapter, (fig. 7.) as
recommended, chap. iv., page 21.]
[Footnote 4: Instead of two sliding plates, I would recommend one only
as given by Mr. Taylor, in his "Bee-Keeper's Manual," lately published,
for as they cannot both be used at the same time, the one out of use is
frequently misplaced. Zinc answers the purpose equally with copper, and
is but half its price.]
The finely perforated slider is used to confine the Bees to their hive
when snow lies upon the ground, the reflection of which, when the sun
shines upon it, never fails to induce them to leave their hives, and
falling upon it they perish, for a Bee becomes torpid at a temperature
of 32°. The slider with one hole only, is useful both in Spring and
Autumn, preventing either robbers or wasps from entering the hives,
for three or four Bees will, with the help of this slider, guard the
entrance more effectually than ten times the number without it.
Although I have recommended Bees to be confined in their hives so long
as snow remains upon the ground, it would, however, be very prejudicial
to them if carried on beyond that time, for I never saw Bees healthy
and strong after being shut up through the winter.
Gelieu, says, "Bees have no real disease, dysentery, about which so
much noise has been made, and for which so many remedies have been
prescribed, never attacks the Bees of a well-stocked hive, that is
left open at all seasons, but those only that are too long and too
closely confined. They are always in good health as long as they are at
liberty, when they are warm enough and have plenty of food. All their
pretended diseases are the result of cold, hunger, or the infection
produced by a too close and long confinement during winter."
CHAPTER IV.
_Method of placing the small Hive,[5] Box, or Glass, upon the Improved
Cottage Hive, by which means fine Honey may be obtained, without
destroying the Bees._
[Footnote 5: To avoid repetition, we shall in future use the term,
"Box," to express any receptacle employed to obtain Honey on the
Improved System, whether it be in wood, glass, straw, or any other
material.]
At the end of April, or very early in the month of May, take the
moveable piece of straw, from the top of the Improved Cottage Hive,
(fig. 3,) and place upon it the adapter, (fig. 5,) then put the Box or
small Hive (fig. 7, and 4,) upon this adapter, and cover the whole
with a milk-pan, to defend them from wet. A glass may be used instead
of the small Hive or Box, with equal success, providing it be covered
with something that will effectually exclude light; a cover of straw,
is perhaps preferable to any other.
The boxes which I use, and that I would recommend, are made of inch
deal: nine inches square, and eight inches deep, inside measure: with
a piece of glass six inches by seven and a half, let in on one side
and covered by a shutter to exclude the light. The small hives are in
diameter eight inches, and seven inches deep, with a bit of glass on
one side, some are made with a hole in the top, that they may, when
required be placed between a glass partially filled, and the stock hive.
When the Bees are beginning to work in a glass, a cold night generally
obliges them to forsake their newly made combs, sends them down into
the hive, and compels them to discontinue their labours which are
seldom resumed till the middle of the next day; to prevent this
delay, I would recommend the space between the glass and its cover to
be filled with fine tow or wool, the temperature of the glass being
thereby kept up, and the Bees enabled to carry on their labours without
interruption. The latter is to be preferred, it being not so good a
conductor of heat as the former.
Experience has proved that the milk-pan is the best of all protections
for a hive, provided it be six inches in diameter larger than the hive
itself.
When the Box is filled with honey, and the combs partially sealed, or
when the Bees are seen to cluster at the mouth of the Hive, at nine
or ten o'clock in the morning, let no time be lost in lifting up the
Box, and placing between it and the Stock-hive, another Box with a hole
in the top; the adapter (fig. 5.) will be found very useful in this
operation. It is necessary to use this precaution at all times, but
more especially in a rainy season, as a greater disposition amongst
the Bees to swarm then prevails. "Dry weather makes plenty of honey,
and moist, of swarms."[6] However incorrect this position may at first
sight appear, the attentive observer will quickly become convinced of
its truth.
[Footnote 6: Purchas, on Swarms.]
Since the publication of the First Edition of this little Treatise,
many persons have said to me, "their Bees would swarm, although the
small hive had been placed on as directed above, and sometimes after
they had commenced working in it," the reason for which, in my opinion
is, that the second small hive was not supplied soon enough, for the
like has never in a single instance occurred with my own Bees. I have
not had a swarm these twenty years, from any of the hives worked upon
the Depriving System, occasionally I have compelled a hive to swarm,
to fill up a vacancy in my number, where the Queen has died, or some
other accident destroyed the stock.
The population of a hive increases rapidly in April and May, and
consequently the internal temperature rises in proportion, a very high
temperature causes swarming, (Mr. Nutt says 130°) although the Bees
may have abundance of room--I have frequently seen a glass lamp that
has no opening at the top, placed upon a hive, and the result has been
that the Bees swarmed before they had filled it. If both _room and
ventilation_ are carefully attended to, _swarming may be prevented
altogether_, and that the one may be as completely under the control of
the proprietor as the other, I would recommend Mr. Taylor's Ventilator,
which I believe to be a perfect one, for when properly arranged, it
will reduce the temperature of a hive at the swarming season, from ten
to twenty degrees in a few minutes--I would recommend its insertion in
the top of the small hive, box, or glass, before it is placed upon the
larger one.
"The Ventilator I use," says Mr. Taylor, "(and I have made them of
various forms) consists of double tubes, both resting on a flauch in
the holes prepared for them, the outer tube is of one inch diameter and
six inches long, with six half-inch holes dispersed over it.
[Illustration]
"It is soon fixed down in its place by the Bees, and so must remain,
the inner tube is of perforated zinc, with a[7] tin projecting top
as a handle, and a cap to put on or off this as required. The Bees
will stop up the inner tube where they can get at it, when it may be
turned round a little to present a new surface. When wholly stopped,
it may be withdrawn from its place, and a clean tube substituted. This
may be done without the least danger to the operator, but it should
be inserted carefully, to avoid crushing any Bees that may have crept
within the outer tube, an exit to these is afforded by the hole at the
bottom. The substance with which Bees glue up all crevices and attach
their combs is called Propolis--a resinous exudation from certain
trees, of a fragrant smell, and removable by the aid of hot water.
[Footnote 7: In adopting Mr. Taylor's Ventilator to the small hive, the
inner tube must be made without "the projecting top as a handle," and
the cap made even with the flauch.]
"In order occasionally to know the temperature of any of the boxes, a
thermometer made to fit the ventilator may be inserted in it. This is
chiefly useful as a matter of precaution towards the swarming season.
"Some have thought it necessary to cut holes in the floor-board, or
have placed drawers underneath, to aid the ventilation, but I have
always found the mouth of the hive sufficient for all purposes."
All operations except joining swarms or stocks, should be performed on
a fine day, about noon, they may then be done with much less annoyance
to the Bees, as well as with less chance of danger to the operator.
I have for some years past performed almost all the operations required
in this system without the defence, even of gloves, but I would not
recommend any person to attempt it, until he has had several years'
experience in the management of Bees.
The being perfectly defended in every part against their stings, gives
that coolness and confidence to the operator, upon which the happy
accomplishment of his intentions so much depends. I cannot too strongly
urge, that coolness and confidence on the part of the operator are
essential qualification, for any thing approaching to hurry irritates
them beyond measure; indeed whilst engaged with them the hand ought
never to be hastily removed from one position to another. Dr. Bevan
says, "quietness is the surest protection against being stung."
The best defence is a mask of wire, very similar to, but much finer
than a fencing mask, with a rim of tin made to fit the head, to which
a silk handkerchief is attached, a pair of thick worsted gloves, and
stockings or gaiters of the same material; stout leather gloves are as
good protection as those of worsted, but leather, from the closeness of
its texture, will not allow the Bees to withdraw their stings from it
and the consequence is, that many perish.
It is recommended to persons during their operations on Bees, to
carefully avoid breathing upon them, as nothing is more offensive,
or more irritating to them than the human breath; this however, is
partially obviated by closing the mouth, and suffering the breath to
pass gently through the noise, by which a full current is not allowed
to fall upon them.
CHAPTER V.
_Proper time for taking away the Box and how to
expel the Bees from it._
When the Box is filled with honey and the combs all sealed up, (which
will generally be done about the middle of June) it may be taken off,
or it may remain till the one placed beneath it is also sealed up,
which in all probability will be completed by the first week in August.
Upon the very strong and populous hives, it is necessary in some
seasons to place even a third, which must be removed with great
caution, for at this time of the year every stock should contain at
least twenty pounds of honey; should, however, the stock have that
quantity, it may be safely removed and placed upon a weaker one, for
the combs not being all sealed, the honey therefore is not saleable.
The Box taken off, must be lifted very gently at noon, upon a fine day,
and carried forty or fifty yards from the hive; place it upon a board
or table, raising it a little that room may be given to the Bees to
make their escape, which they will do in a very short time.
Much difficulty appears to have arisen with some persons in getting
the Bees to leave the Box when taken off, but in this as in all other
operations with Bees, gentleness is very important, indeed it is the
only means of accomplishing the end desired, and as I have before said,
"the Box must be lifted _very gently_," and placed about six inches
from the ground, or table, upon bricks, flower pots, or something of
the kind. Shaking, beating, or burning paper under it, as is sometimes
done, have all a contrary effect upon the Bees, they are alarmed by it,
and will not leave the box perhaps for days, when these means have been
resorted to.
The box being thus placed, a loud humming noise is first heard, and
the Bees are then seen to leave it within five or six minutes, (all
except a few stragglers) but should the Queen be in the Box, (which
very rarely happens) quite a different appearance presents itself, no
noise will be heard, or a Bee scarcely seen to leave it, but the hive
from which it has been taken will in a very short time appear in great
confusion. Whenever this occurs, the Box must be returned immediately,
and taken off again the next day.
When a hive or glass of honey is taken, it ought not to be left till
the Bees are all out of it, for it is very likely to be attacked by
robbers, thus a great part of it will be carried away in a short time,
and what is left rendered unfit for sale, on account of the cells
being opened, from which the honey will drain out, upon the position of
the hive being changed.
Robbers may be known by their desire to enter the hive or glass, the
Bees belonging to it, being separated from their Queen, fly home
immediately upon leaving it.
In taking off a box of honey it will be found convenient to pass a very
thin knife, or fine wire between the hives or boxes intended to be
separated; if that precaution be not taken, a piece of comb frequently
projects from the top of the one left, or the bottom of that taken,
which causes much trouble to the operator: two adapters (fig. 5.)
placed between the boxes will be found very convenient, for the knife
or wire will only have to be passed between them, and the danger of
breaking the combs will be obviated--they should be made of mahogany,
for it will allow of being worked very thin, without the risk of
warping; they are three eights of an inch thick, twelve inches square,
with a circular hole in the middle four inches in diameter.
To expel the bees from the box or hive when taken off, Gelieu says,
"Take a hive or box of the same size, place it over the full one that
is turned upside down, bind them round with a napkin, to intercept all
passage to the bees, and force them to ascend into the empty box, by
tapping gently on the full one. They soon go up into the empty box, and
when they are all housed, replace them on the parent hive, whence they
were withdrawn; and if the season is favourable and the honey abundant,
they soon set to work again."
Honey taken by this method is acknowledged to be very superior in
quality to that obtained by the usual barbarous and unprofitable
manner of burning the Bees, which arises from the combs in which it is
deposited being new and perfectly white, the early period at which it
is collected, and from its being unmixed with honey gathered later in
the season as well as from the Queen very rarely ascending through the
opening at the top of the improved cottage hive, that neither brood nor
farina are found amongst it.
This honey sells readily at two shillings a pound, whilst that obtained
by burning the Bees, is scarcely saleable at eightpence.
It is usual to obtain from every good stock twenty or perhaps thirty
pounds of honey annually. I once obtained forty-five pounds, leaving
the stock rich in honey.
It is frequently asked what becomes of the Bees managed on this system,
if they are never suffered to swarm nor are destroyed;--the hives will
never contain them? To which I would reply, that it is well known
to those who are conversant in the care of Bees, that their numbers
decrease greatly in Autumn, not only by the destruction of the drones,
but also by the unavoidable deaths of many of the working Bees, owing
to the thousand accidents they meet with in the fields, and to age;[8]
a much less space therefore is wanted for them in the winter than was
necessary in the summer.
[Footnote 8: Mr. Purchas, in his "Theatre of Political Flying Insects,"
published in 1657--says, "it is manifest that the Honey Bees are
but yearly creatures," and when giving the sentiments of Aristotle,
Pliny, Columella, Cardanus, and others, he says, "the truth is,
notwithstanding these men's opinion, that Bees live but a year and a
quarter at most, for those Bees that are seen in May, lusty, full,
brown, smooth, well winged, will, by the end of July following,
begin to wither, become less_e_, look gr_a_y, and have their wings
t_o_ttered, and tom, and be_e_ all dead before the end of August."]
CHAPTER VI.
_Method to be pursued in case a Swarm should leave the
Hive, after having commenced working in the Box._
This is a circumstance of very rare occurrence, and more especially
when the directions given in the former chapter are strictly complied
with; however, should it happen, let the swarm be hived in the usual
manner into the improved Cottage Hive, (see fig. 3.) as directed in
Chapter XII, when the Bees are settled, take off the moveable piece of
straw from the top of the hive, and place upon it the box partially
filled with honey and Bees; cover the old hive with the piece of straw
belonging to it, and the milk-pan, as no further profit (except the
cast or second swarm) will be obtained till the next season; should the
proprietor be unwilling to increase his number of stocks, the swarm may
be returned immediately to its parent hive; the process is very simple,
and I have always found it succeed--as soon as the swarm is settled,
turn the hive bottom upwards, and if the Queen Bee does not make her
appearance in a few seconds, dash the Bees out upon a cloth, or upon
a gravel walk,[9] and with a wine glass she may be easily captured,
upon this being accomplished, the Bees will immediately return to their
parent hive, and resume their labours; she may also very easily be
taking during the departure of a swarm, for she appears to leave the
hive reluctantly and may be seen running backwards and forwards upon
the alighting-board before she takes wing.
[Footnote 9: The method of performing this operation, consists in
lifting the hive gently about a foot, and with a smart and sudden jar
returning it to the ground, so that the Bees be completely dislodged
from the hive, and left upon the cloth, the hive may now be removed to
a short distance, and as the Bees are attempting to return to their
former habitation, the Queen may be easily captured.]
A second swarm generally leaves the hive about nine days after the
first, but the time may be exactly ascertained by standing quietly
beside the hive after sunset, when the Queen may be distinctly heard
"to tun' in hir treble voic',"[10] which is a certain indication that a
second swarm will leave the hive. Should two or three Queens be heard
one after the other, it will be on the following day, if the weather
be not _very_ unfavourable, (for the second and third swarms appear to
have less regard as to the weather than the first.) Should the Queens
continue to pipe after the departure of the second swarm, a third will
certainly follow in a few days, but if one or two Queens be found dead
beneath the hive on the next morning, no more swarms can be expected.
[Footnote 10: Butler's Feminin Monarchi, Edit. 1634.]
That the old Queen accompanies the first swarm is established beyond
a doubt; that many Queens are bred in a hive, a number sometimes
exceeding thirty in one year, is also ascertained; and that the Bees
have the power of producing a Queen from an egg deposited in the combs
of the working Bees, by treating it in a different manner to those that
are to become workers, has also been satisfactorily proved, all that
has been said beyond this, regarding their natural history, must, I
believe be considered principally conjecture.
"It is, however," says a modern Author, "not the least interesting part
of the study of the Bee, that this apparently insignificant insect, has
hitherto baffled all the research and ingenuity of man, to discover the
manner of its propagation; analogy presents no guide to the solution
of this secret, and the result of every anatomical experiment has
tended rather to mystify the subject, than to conduct us to the road
to truth," and Purchas, who I have before quoted, says, "God humbles
us with ignorance in many things, not only divine but natural, and in
common use, in the nature of Bees how blind are we, notwithstanding all
our observations and labour, in the production and continuance of the
Queen Bee, in the generation of other Bees, and generally in the forms
of all things."
CHAPTER VII.
_Method of uniting second and third Swarms._
Second and third Swarms, or Casts and Colts, are seldom or ever able to
collect a sufficient quantity of honey, to support themselves through
the winter, and can only be preserved by much care and expense, and
most of them die after all without bringing any profit. It is much
better therefore to unite them in the following manner:--when two
_Casts_ or _Colts_ come off upon the same day, hive them separately,
and leave them till an hour and half after sunset, then spread a cloth
upon the ground, upon which by a smart and sudden movement, shake
all the Bees out of one of the hives, and immediately take the other
and place it gently over the Bees that are heaped together upon the
cloth, and they will instantly ascend into it, and join those, which
not having been disturbed, are quiet in their new abode; next morning
before sunrise, remove this newly united hive to the place in which it
is to remain; this doubled population will work with double success,
and in the most perfect harmony, and generally become a strong stock,
from which much profit may be derived.
Two Casts or weak Swarms may be joined in the same manner, although
one of them may have swarmed some days or even weeks later than the
other, taking care however, not to make the first one enter the second,
but the second the first, a third, and a fourth parcel of Bees may be
joined to them at different times, till the stock becomes strong.
It is almost impossible sufficiently to impress upon the mind of every
person who keeps Bees, the necessity of having his stocks all strong,
for weak stocks are very troublesome, very expensive, and seldom, if
ever, afford any profit.
Mr. Taylor say, "the stronger the colony at the outset the better
the Bees will work, and the more prosperous it will become. I never
knew a weak one do well long, and a little extra expense, and trouble
at first, are amply rewarded by succeeding years of prosperity and
ultimate profit;" and again, "thus strength in one year begets it in
succeeding ones, and this principle ought to be borne in mind by those
who imagine that the deficient population of one season will be made up
in the next, and that the loss of Bees in the winter is of secondary
consequence, forgetting how influential is their warmth to the earlier
and increased productive powers of the Queen, and how important it
is in the opening spring to be able to spare from the home duties of
the hive a number of collectors, to add to the stores, which would
otherwise not keep pace with the cravings of the rising generation."
It is a remarkable fact, that two weak stocks joined, will collect
double the quantity of honey, and consume much less than two of the
same age and strength, kept separately. Stocks must be joined after
sunset, upon the day that one of them has swarmed, or before sunrise
the next morning, and the doubled stock must be placed upon the stand
it previously occupied. Great care must be taken not to shake the hive,
nor must it be turned up, the combs being new, and tender, will easily
break, and the stock by that means be destroyed.
CHAPTER VIII.
_Manner of uniting Swarms and old stocks in Autumn._
For this very useful information, I am indebted to that excellent
Apiarian, Gelieu; I have tried it upon some of my own stocks, as well
as upon those of my friends, and have found it in every instance fully
to answer my expectations. Persons possessing these instructions should
not allow a weak stock to remain through the winter.
The operation is performed very easily and without danger: I have
frequently accomplished it without any protection whatever, and I will
give the method in the words of Gelieu--"When the swarms have not been
able to lay up a sufficient provision during the fine weather, I weigh
them at the end of the season, and knowing the weight of each empty
hive, I can tell exactly the quantity of honey they have in store. If
they are three, four, five or six pounds too light, I preserve them
and feed them in the manner I am about to detail. When the swarms
have only about one-third or one half of the quantity of honey which
would suffice to feed them, I might keep them alive by giving them
as much more as they require. I have frequently done so, but I have
already remarked that this plan costs too much honey, and gives too
much trouble: and, therefore, I generally join them into one. For this
purpose, I leave the heaviest swarm untouched, and, in the morning of
a fine day in September, or the beginning of October, I commence by
blowing a few whiffs of tobacco-smoke with my pipe in at the door of
the hive of the lightest swarm, to disperse the sentinels; then turning
up the hive, and placing it on its top on the ground, I give it a
little more smoke, to prevent the Bees from becoming irritated, and to
force them to retire within the combs--I proceed to cut out all the
combs in succession, beginning with the smallest, sweeping the Bees
with a feather off each piece back into the hive; and then I place the
combs, one after another, into a large dish beside me, keeping it, at
the same time, carefully covered over with a napkin, or small table
cloth, to prevent the Bees returning to their combs, or the smell of
the honey attracting others that may be flying about. The last comb is
the most difficult to come at, being completely covered over with Bees.
I detach it, however, in the same way as the others, but with greater
precaution, sweeping the Bees off very gently with the feather, until
there is not one left on it. This operation, I perform without gloves,
or any other protection, armed only with my pipe; and for ten times
that I treat them after this fashion, I seldom receive one sting, even
when I act unassisted.
"The combs being all removed, the swarm remains as completely destitute
of food as it was on the day of its emigration, and I replace it on
its board in the same spot it occupied when full, and leave it till
the evening, by which time the Bees will be clustered together like a
new swarm. During the whole of the day, which I shall suppose to be
fine, they occupy themselves with great earnestness cleansing their
house, and making such a noise in removing the little fragments of wax
that have fallen on the board, that any one who did not know it had
been emptied, would take it for the best and strongest of the hives.
Before night, when they are all quiet, I throw a few whiffs of smoke
in at the door of the hive which I mean my deprived swarm to enter,
and which should be its next neighbour on the right hand or the left;
then, turning it up, and resting it on the ground, I sprinkle it all
over with honey, especially between the combs where I perceive the
greatest number of Bees: five or six table spoonfuls generally suffice;
at other times three or four times as many are required. If too little
were given, the new comers might not be well received; there might be
some fighting; and by giving too much, we run the risk of drowning
them.--One should cease the sprinkling when the Bees begin to climb
up above the combs, and shelter themselves on the sides of the hive,
this done, I replace the hive on its board, which should jut out about
seven or eight inches, raising the hive up in the front with two little
bits of stick, so as to leave a division of an inch between it and the
board, to give free access to the Bees. I also spread a table cloth
upon the ground before it, raising and fixing one end of it on the
board, by means of two bits of stick, that are placed as a temporary
support to the hive. I then take the hive that was deprived of its
combs in the morning, and with one shake, throw the Bees out of it upon
the table-cloth, which they instantly begin to ascend; while, by the
help of a long wooden spoon, I guide them to the door of the one that
is placed for their reception. A few spoonfuls of the Bees raised and
laid down at the door of the hive will set the example, they enter at
once, and the others follow quickly, flapping their wings, and sipping
with delight the drops of honey that come in their way, or officiously
licking and cleaning those first inhabitants that have received the
sprinkling, and with whom they mingle and live henceforth on good
terms; one division of the new comers always cluster on the front of
the hive, which they enter during the night without disturbance, much
pleased to join their companions.
"Next morning, early, it is necessary to take away the table-cloth,
and the bits of stick, that were placed to raise up the hive, and
facilitate the entrance of the Bees, and for some days the door should
be left open as wide as possible. The hive should also be moved a
little to the right or left, that it may stand precisely in the centre
of the place they both occupied before the union.
"I have frequently united three swarms in the same manner, and with
the same success, taking care only to empty in the morning those on
each side, and to make the Bees enter the middle one in the evening,
after it has been sprinkled with honey. In this case I do not remove
the one that unites the three swarms."
I have adhered strictly to these directions except in "raising and
fixing the table-cloth to the board,"--making the Bees ascend, I have
always found to be a slow process, but placing the hive they are to
join over them when heaped upon the cloth, is much quicker and equally
successful.
Old stocks that are rendered weak by swarming, or by having too much
honey taken from them, may be united in the same manner, with this
difference only, that double the quantity of honey should be used in
sprinkling.
If a stock of Bees, containing fifteen or twenty pounds of honey in
September, be carefully managed during the winter, which consists in
narrowing the entrance to exclude robbers, carefully covering the hive
with a milk-pan, and raising it from the board every month or six weeks
to clean it, no doubt can be entertained to its affording a good box of
honey.
CHAPTER IX.
_Manner of feeding weak Stocks, and the time
most appropriate for this operation._
Autumn and Spring are the most proper seasons for supplying weak stocks
with food. Bees ought never to be fed during the winter, as food given
at that time, not only causes disease, but induces them to go out of
their hives, when many of them perish from cold.
Food should be administered only at night, and the sooner after sunset
the better; the vessel in which it is given ought to be carefully
removed by sunrise the next morning, or robbers will be attracted to
the hive by the smell of the honey and far more injury be sustained
from them, than the benefit arising to the Bees, from the food given.
In feeding, therefore, it will be necessary to observe the greatest
neatness. In Autumn, Bees should be fed copiously, those hives
containing less than fifteen pounds of honey must be made up to that
weight by feeding; the most effectual method I have been able to devise
is to excavate a board of four or five inches in thickness, so as to
allow a soup plate, or pewter dish to fit into it without rising above
its level; this dish may be filled with honey, and covered with pieces
of paper to prevent the Bees from being drowned, it may then be placed
under the hive at sunset, and a napkin tied round the bottom of it,
to prevent any of the Bees from making their escape; in this manner
three or four pounds of honey may be given at one time, so that twice
feeding, it is supposed will be sufficient for any hive, for if more
than this quantity is wanted, the stock must be joined to another as
directed in Chapter VIII. Should the honey be very thick, a small
quantity of warm water may be added to it, in the proportion of half a
pint to three pounds of honey, observing to mix them well together.
If the honey be much candied it may be placed over a fire for a few
minutes till it becomes liquid--another plan of feeding is to prepare
a rim of straw, or a wooden hoop, the exact size of the hive, and four
inches deep, within which place the dish of honey, and put the hive
over it, making the union secure with a napkin.
In the Spring, Bees should be fed sparingly, three or four ounces of
honey twice in the week, will be found amply sufficient; the easiest
method of giving these small quantities is by a vessel of tin, upon
the same principle as a bird's fountain, holding about a pound or a
pound and half; (see fig. 9.) the projecting trough or mouth, must be
put in at the entrance of the hive, it is one inch and three quarters
wide, and three inches and a half long, covered with a perforated tin:
this vessel being filled with honey, has only to be placed in the hive
at night, and removed in the morning, the feeder itself effectually
stopping up the entrance of the hive.
Some persons feed their Bees at the top of the hive, but it is much too
tedious and sparing a way, in my opinion for Autumn feeding, in the
Spring it does very well. This feeder is of wood with a cover of glass,
it has a hole through its centre, corresponding with one at the top of
the hive, which enables the Bees to pass into it, and take the honey--I
believe it was invented by Wildman.
CHAPTER X.
_Food proper for weak Hives._
I am decidedly of opinion that Bees fed in the Autumn should have
honey, in preference to any other kind of food. Mr. Huish recommends
"eight pounds of honey, six pounds of water, a bottle of white wine,
and a pound of sugar, boiled and skimmed, to be bottled for use,"
he adds, "the most advisable method is not to make more than is
immediately wanted, because there is some danger of its fermenting."
Now if the Bees are allowed to store a quantity of this, or any other
similar kind of food in their hives, will it not in all probability
ferment _there_ also? this is my reason for recommending honey
only--indeed I have never seen Bees so healthy as those fed on the
simple mixture of honey and water. In Spring, other kinds of food may
answer very well, as a small portion only is given at a time, and
very little of it deposited in the combs. A very good Spring food may
be made with honey and sweet wort, or with raw sugar and sweet wort,
boiled and skimmed.
The proportions would be, one pound of sugar, or half a pound of honey,
to two pints of strong wort.
For feeding weak stocks many things have been prescribed, but nothing
is so proper and natural as honey, I dislike feeding altogether, except
a little in the beginning of the year, through the lateness of the
Spring some hives (otherwise sufficiently supplied) may require it.
Early swarms may also require a little honey when the weather proves
unfavourable for their collecting it the four or five first days
succeeding their being hived, but in both these cases a very small
quantity will be found sufficient. Autumn feeding very rarely answers
the purpose of the proprietor. Uniting the weak stocks at that season,
as directed in Chapter VIII. will be found much more advantageous.
CHAPTER XI.
_Enemies of Bees, and means of overcoming them._
Gelieu says--"that nothing is more prejudicial to Bees than ignorant
attention; their most formidable enemies are, perhaps, their
possessors, who busy themselves to torment them, and weaken and kill
them by too much care. In Winter, they hurt them by shutting them up,
and in Spring, the giving them a little honey is not always attended
to, neither is the guarding them from moths, which, at that time, make
the greatest havoc, nor is the narrowing of the entrances to prevent
them being robbed. Some people suffocate them in Autumn, that they may
possess themselves of their provisions; and others take out the best
of the honey, and often too much of it, and so expose them to die of
hunger.
"I therefore place, in the foremost rank of their enemies, those of
their possessors, who, by their own ignorance and inexperience, hinder
them from prospering and multiplying." To all this I am sorry to say
that I can bear testimony.
Amongst the enemies of Bees are enumerated, ants, moths, birds,
poultry, mice, wasps, and spiders. Ants, perhaps, are their least
dangerous enemies, for though they cannot sting them, they carry them
to a distance.
Ants may be destroyed by pouring boiling water into their nests, and
the operation will be greatly assisted by making holes into them with a
sharp stick, so as to allow the water to flow readily to the bottom of
them. Mr. Huish says, "to preserve my Bees from these vermin, I always
fasten a piece of sheep's skin, with its wool on round the bottom
of the pedestal;" it has been said, that these insects dislike both
garlick and shalots, and they will not harbour in the ground in which
these vegetables are grown.
Moths[11] are by far their most formidable and dangerous enemies,
great numbers of hives are destroyed by them every year, it therefore
requires the utmost vigilance on the part of the Bee-keeper to defend
his favourites from these most powerful assailants. It is in the
caterpillar state that they commit their ravages, and it is truly
astonishing to observe the rapidity with which they destroy a hive,
when they get established in it. It must be observed that hives managed
upon the Depriving System, that are expected to stand for ten, fifteen
or even _twenty years_ are much more subject to the incursions of
moths, than those which are destroyed every year.
[Footnote 11: Entomology designates two species of wax moths: the
greater is the most common _gallerea cerreana_, and the smaller
_gallerea alvearia_.]
The best method of preventing their increase is the frequent cleansing
of the hive floors, for the female generally deposits her eggs between
the hive and the board on which it stands, or in the dust that
accumulates at the bottom. Upon removing the hive the moths may be seen
in the _larva_ state upon the floor, and are easily destroyed. "Moths
and spiders," says Dr. Bevan, "should be watched and destroyed, in an
evening, as at that time the former are hovering about, and the latter
laying their snares." He also recommends a frequent cleaning of the
hive floors.--Huish says, "the butterfly of the moth that redoubtable
enemy of the Bee, appears in April, and continues until October.
Destroy them as much as possible; frighten not away the bats which fly
about the hives, as they devour a great number of them." He says also,
"I would alway advise an Apiarian to fix his attention particularly on
a hive, the Bees of which appear to be in inaction, whilst the Bees of
other hives are in activity. If this inaction continue for ten days,
or a fortnight, not a moment then should be lost in examining the hive,
and the ravages of the moth will soon present themselves."
Amongst birds, that little marauder the blue titmouse (_parus major
of Linneus_) stands the foremost as their enemy, for, says Purchas,
"she will eat ten or twelve Bees at a time, and by and by be ready for
more; she feeds her young ones also with them. She eats not the whole
Bee, but divides it in the middle, pulls out the bag_g_e of honey,
l_i_tting drop the skinny outside; in the spring she watches for them
in the willow and sallow trees, and takes them when they are at their
work." Destroy their nests in breeding time, and shoot them in winter.
Lapoutre, a French Naturalist, assures us, "that he saw under a tree in
which there was a tom-tit's nest, a surprising quantity of the scaly
parts of Bees, which this bird had dropped from its nest." Sparrows and
swallows have both an ill name, but I could never observe any great
hurt done by either of them. Poultry will occasionally destroy Bees,
for I once recollect seeing a hen and her brood pay dearly for their
freedom with a hive, the chickens were all stung to death, and the hen
escaped only with her life.
From mice, the surest safeguard is the single pedestal (see fig. 1, 2
and 3.).
The destruction of Queen Wasps in the Spring, and wasps nests in the
Summer, will prove the best security against these formidable enemies:
Queen Wasps are seen in April and May, and are very easily captured,
every one which is then destroyed, would probably have been the founder
of a nest, which may be computed at 30,000, at least.
In Autumn, it is very common for Bees to rob and plunder each other's
hives; the best remedy for this evil, as well as to guard against
wasps, is to contract the entrances; to effect this object, I would
recommend a copper guard to be attached to each hive; (see fig. 10, and
page 18,) the wooden one of Espenasse, as well as Huish's tin guard, I
have found very inconvenient, which induced me to construct the one
referred to. It is made of thin copper, and stitched to the hive with
copper wire, it has two sliders, one pierced with a number of small
holes, and the other having one only, but large enough to allow the
passage of one Bee through it. The advantages of this, above all other
guards, arises from its not projecting beyond the hive, the alighting
board not being encumbered by it, and the angles formed by Huish's with
the hive, so annoying to the Bees, being avoided.
"In a word," says Purchas, "if you desire to have your Bees thrive, and
prosper, keep them well from winds and wet, heat and cold, _destroy
their enemies_, and let them enjoy a sufficiency of food gotten by
their own industry; and if there be a want in some, timely supply them,
and doubt not, if by God's blessing on your endeavours, the increase
and prosperity of your Bees."
CHAPTER XII.
_Directions for Hiving Swarms._
Bees managed upon the Depriving System, rarely swarm, and are seldom
found clustering at the mouth of the hive, for every bright hour during
the honey season they seem to turn to profit, when, however, Clustering
or Swarming takes place, it generally arises from the Box not having
been put on sufficiently early in the season, or for the want of a
second Box; if a swarm should from these causes be compelled to leave
the hive, let it be put into a new improved Cottage Hive, (see fig.
3.) in the usual manner.
I have always adopted the plan of placing my swarms where they are to
remain, within ten or fifteen minutes after the time of their being
hived, and in this practice Gelieu agrees with me, for he says, "most
people who have Bees allow their Swarms to remain till the evening in
the place where they have alighted, and do not move them to the Apiary
till after sunset, this method has many inconveniences.
"As soon as a swarm has congregated in the new hive, and seems to be
at ease in it, the most industrious amongst the Bees fly off to the
fields, but with a great many precautions. They descend the front of
the hive, and turn to every side to examine it thoroughly, then take
flight, and make some circles in the air in order to reconnoitre their
new abode, they do the same in returning. If the Swarm has taken flight
in the morning, the same Bees make several excursions during the day,
and each time with less precaution, as becoming familiarized with
their dwelling, they are less afraid of mistaking it, and thus, next
morning, supposing themselves in the same place, they take wing without
having observed where they have spent the night, and surprised at their
return not to find the hive in the same place, they fly about all day
in search of it, until they perish with fatigue and despair. Thus many
hundreds of the most industrious labourers are lost, and this may be
entirely avoided, if the Swarms be removed as soon as the Bees are
perceived coming out--this sign alone is sufficient.
"Sometimes I do not even wait till all the Bees clustered in front
or on the sides of the Hive, are reunited to their companions in the
interior, as they are never long in being so; and this plan has always
fully succeeded with me."
Experience has long since proved, that the custom of beating
warming-pans and the like, at the time a swarm leaves the hive is
perfectly useless, as well as the ridiculous practice of dressing the
Hive, as it is called, by drenching it with beer, honey, fennel, &c.;
the former is considered by persons of observation, actually to prevent
the Bees from alighting so soon as they would otherwise do; and the
latter frequently to compel them to leave the hive. The best method is
to watch the Swarm in silence, and after it has once collected, to lose
no time in hiving it into a _new_, _clean_, and _dry_ Hive. Much time
and trouble may be spared the Bees, if the loose straw be removed from
the interior of the hive, the best method of effecting which, is to
singe them with a wax taper, and afterwards to remove them with a hard
brush.
I have for many years past discontinued the use of sticks across the
interior of my hives, for they cause much unnecessary trouble to the
Bees in the construction of their combs; every facility should be given
to a fresh swarm in their labors, for they have much to do, as Dr.
Aikin has very beautifully said for them in the
SONG OF THE BEES.
We watch for the light of the morn to break,
And colour the grey eastern sky
With its blended hues of saffron and lake,
Then we say to each other, "Awake, Awake!
For our winter's honey is all to make,
And our bread for a long supply."
Then off we hie to the hill and the dell,
To the field, the wild wood and bower;
In the columbine's horn we love to dwell,
To dip in the lily with snow-white bell.
To search the balm in its odorous cell,
The thyme and the rosemary flower.
We seek for the bloom of the eglantine,
The lime, painted thistle, and brier.
And follow the course of the wandering vine,
Whether it trail on the earth supine,
Or round the aspiring tree-top twine,
And reach for a stage still higher.
As each for the good of the whole is bent,
And stores up its treasures for all,
We hope for an evening with heart's content.
For the winter of life without lament
That summer is gone, with its hours mis-spent,
And the harvest is past recall.
And not only do sticks across the hive cause much unnecessary trouble
to the Bees in the construction of their combs, but render their
extraction almost impossible; for in this System it becomes necessary,
after a Hive has stood seven or eight years, to cut out part of its
combs, which by that time will have become very black, very thick, and
the cells, from the number of Bees hatched in them, (every one leaving
a deposit) much contracted. The times best suited for this operation
will be March and September; if performed in March, two leaves of comb
may be taken, if in September, one only; it is a very simple process,
and easily accomplished with the aid of a little tobacco smoke, and a
knife (fig. 6.) which I will hereafter describe.
Gelieu says, in 1814, "I have several Stocks from twelve to twenty
years old that are as prosperous as the young ones, and one stock
_twenty-five years old_."
I cannot say so much as this, but I do not in the least doubt the
truth of it; fifteen years is the longest time that I have kept a
stock, and the reason of my losing it at the expiration of that period
was from the decay of the Hive, it being badly made and not painted;
its annual profit was never less than forty, and some years, fifty
shillings.
I would recommend every person who keeps Bees, to have a few
well-painted new hives always by him, that each hive be weighed, and
its weight upon a ticket of lead fastened to it, the board also upon
which the hive stands should be weighed.
Every swarm that is hived in May, or before the middle of June, in a
moderate season will afford a glass of honey, of from six to twelve
pounds, besides their winter's store; and in very good seasons, I have
frequently taken twenty-five and sometimes thirty pounds, leaving the
hive very rich. The most proper time for putting the glass or box
upon the swarm will be from the eighteenth to the twenty-first day
after their being hived, and should it be quickly filled and more room
required, lift up the glass as directed at page 23.
CHAPTER XIII.
_Description of a knife for cutting
out the combs. (fig, 6,)_
This knife, which is so simple in its construction, and so easily
used, deserves to be made generally known. Gelieu, to whom Apiarians
are much indebted, tells us, that in Switzerland it is commonly used,
and that the combs from hives of any shape or materials are extracted
without any difficulty. It is formed of a slip of steel (see fig. 6.)
two feet long, by an eighth of an inch thick, the handle is twenty
inches long, by half an inch broad, the turn-down blade of two inches
in length, is spear pointed, sharp on the edges, and bent so as to form
an angle of 90 degrees with the handle; the other blade is two inches
long, by one and half broad, and sharpened all round; the broad blade
cuts and separates the combs from the sides of the hive, and the spear
point, which is also sharp on each side, admits, from its direction and
narrowness, of being introduced between the combs to loosen them from
the top of the hive.
CHAPTER XIV.
_Remedies proposed, as cures, for the Stings of Bees._
"The sooner the Sting is extracted," says Dr. Bevan, "the less venom
is ejected, and consequently less inflammation induced. To alleviate
the irritation, numberless remedies have been proposed, of the most
opposite kind and uncertain effect; as oil, vinegar, bruised parsley,
burnet, mallow, or the leaves of any succulent vegetable, (renewed as
soon as warm, and probably therefore, operating by cold alone) honey,
indigo dissolved in water, &c., &c., the most effectual remedy appears
to be Aq. Ammon, or Spirits of Hartshorn, nor is this surprising, when
we consider that the venom of the Bee is evidently Acid."
I have known both the pain and inflammation greatly relieved by
Laudanum; but for myself I could never experience the slightest relief
from its application.
Its effects are very different in different persons, for, whilst a
single Sting will sometimes produce alarming symptoms in one person,
another may receive many without being inconvenienced either by pain
or swelling; this I am sorry to observe is not my case, for a single
sting causes me the most acute pain, accompanied by violent swelling
and inflammation, which lasts two or three days; the above remedies
have proved totally ineffectual in affording me the slightest relief,
but I consider myself very fortunate in having lately met with almost
a perfect cure, and it is as immediate as it is effectual; I have much
pleasure in communicating it, for notwithstanding every precaution,
persons, who are much amongst Bees occasionally meet with a sting.
The method I have of late adopted, by which the pain is instantly
removed, and both the swelling and inflammation prevented, is to pull
out the sting as soon as possible, and take a piece of iron and heat
it in the fire, or for want of that, take a live coal, (if of wood the
better, because it lasts longer) and hold it as near to the place as I
can possibly endure it, for five minutes; if from this application a
sensation of heat should be occasioned, a little oil of Turpentine or
Goulard Cerate must be applied.
During the last three years I have used for myself and those about me,
who might chance to meet with a sting, a still more effectual remedy
than the above, and as its application is more simple, it is certainly
to be preferred. It consists in applying the least possible quantity
of _Liquor potassæ_, immediately upon removing the sting, either with
a fine camels' hair pencil, a sharp pen, or even with the point of a
needle. The venom of the Bee being an acid, this very powerful alkali,
consequently neutralises it, the pain is instantly removed, and
neither swelling nor inflammation follow. Should too large a quantity
of this alkali be used, (as from the hurry in which it is usually
sought after frequently happens) the part should be plunged into cold
water, or a scar will be the consequence, which will last for some
days. I have found the quicker the application, the more effectual the
cure.
CHAPTER XV.
_Means of preventing the Bees from being stolen,
especially in the Country._
I entirely disapprove of Houses of every description for Bees, as a
protection against weather, because they tend in various ways most
effectually to destroy the lives of those valuable insects, for, as
before stated, they form a shelter for, and promote the increase of
some of their most determined enemies; but there are other things to
provide against, not only robbers of their own species, but those
who would carry away hives as well as honey, and at the request of a
friend, who has twice been deprived of all his hives by this latter
description of robbers--I am induced to give what in my opinion is the
best kind of house to answer this purpose, and likely to be the least
injurious to the Bees. It may be sufficiently wide to allow of six
hives with a milk-pan upon each, to be placed in a line, which will
occupy about eleven feet, its depth may be about twenty-two inches,
the top and ends weather boarded, the front and back composed of wood
or iron bars, placed so that a small hive or box will not pass between
them, the front ones may be fixed, but those at the back must be made
to remove, and secured by a lock.
At fifteen inches from the ground must be placed two pieces of wood,
about four inches square, well secured by cross pieces at the ends of
the house, and by an upright in the middle, upon these pieces place the
boards on which the hives stand, sufficient height must be given to
allow of two boxes to be placed upon a hive, three feet at least should
be allowed.
Another method of security may be adopted which is equally effective,
and as the inconveniences of a House are avoided, perhaps it is the
most preferable. It is to have a stout iron ring of four inches in
diameter, a little flattened at the sides so as to become oval, worked
in the back of the Hive a little below its centre, when the Hives are
placed in a line upon pedestals of equal height, a chain may be passed
through these rings, and locked at each end.
CHAPTER XVI.
_Method of Dislodging Bees from Trees or Buildings,
and putting them into Hives._
It very rarely happens that Bees in Buildings or in Trees survive the
Winter, cold and humidity usually kill them, but the comb and the
little honey remaining in it induces others to visit their abode in
the Spring, and which in all probability will be followed by a Swarm
from some neighbouring Apiary in May or June, and on this account Bees
are said _always_ to be there, a little observation will prove the
incorrectness of this statement, and I believe the only criterion by
which it can be proved that Bees have _actually existed in such places
through the Winter_, is to see them carrying in pellets of farina upon
their legs in March and the early part of April.
The most proper time for dislodging a Stock, which from having fixed
upon some warm and dry abode, has lived through the Winter, is towards
the end of May, or the beginning of June, but a Swarm ought to be
removed upon the day of its arrival, or as soon afterwards as possible.
The only method that I can recommend at all likely to succeed, and
which I have found to answer the purpose, is to lay the combs quite
bare, and then to cut them out one by one, sweeping the Bees with a
feather, or the back of the knife, from each piece of comb into an
empty hive.
Should the Queen not be observed during this process, it will be
advisable to take a leaf of comb that is filled with eggs or brood,
and fasten it inside the hive intended for the Bees, that they may
be enabled to make a new one, should their original Queen have been
killed or lost during this operation; for it is now proved beyond all
doubt, that they have the power of doing this, provided they have
either eggs or brood in their hive.
The use of a little tobacco smoke throughout this operation will be
necessary, a cigar in the mouth of each operator (for there must be two
persons, if not more, engaged in it) will be found sufficient.
The Queen Bee may easily be distinguished by a common observer, her
wings are very short, not extending beyond one half of her body, which
is much longer, and more pointed than that of the working Bees, her
legs are copper coloured, and her body brown.
The combs being all removed and the Bees swept off them into the hive,
it must now be put upon a board and placed exactly where the Bees
entered before they were disturbed, and, if possible, it should remain
in this situation till Autumn, but its remaining for a week or two is
absolutely necessary; should there be many combs filled with brood,
three or four of them may be placed in the hive, by putting some wooden
pegs at the top of it to keep them at proper distances, and allowing
them to rest upon the hive-board.
This, however, is a tedious operation and very seldom pays for the
trouble it occasions; for stocks thus obtained are generally weak and
require feeding, or to be united to others to keep them alive through
the winter. It is, therefore, more to the advantage of the proprietor,
to cause the combs in trees or building, in which Bees have died, to be
destroyed, and the places effectually stopped up with clay or mortar.
CHAPTER XVII.
_Description of Nutt's newly invented Hive, for
obtaining Honey without destroying the Bees._
This Hive consists of three collateral Boxes, (see fig. 8.) the
centre one fourteen inches, and the side ones ten and a half square
inside measure, depth eleven inches; the middle box has a number of
holes in the top three quarters of an inch in diameter, bored in the
circumference of a circle six inches in diameter, with one in its
centre, over which a glass is placed. The side boxes (_aa_) have each
a hole of four inches square in the centre of the top, into which is
fitted a piece of tin pierced with small holes, and in its centre a
hole of an inch in diameter, wherein is placed a tube of tin of the
same size, reaching nearly to the bottom of the Box, and supported
by a shoulder resting upon the square tin, which is also perforated.
This square tin and cylinder constitute the ventilator, the opening in
the Boxes is covered by a piece of wood, (_bb_) the Boxes have each a
glazed window (_c_). The centre Box communicates with the side ones
by a grating cut in the wood and corresponding with each other, this
communication is cut off when necessary by sliding tins.
The method that I have adopted for protecting this Hive from wet, is
to cover the glass with a common straw hive, upon which a milk-pan is
placed, and each of the side boxes by two pieces of board eleven inches
by fifteen, put together so as to form an angle of ninety degrees,
resembling the roof of a cottage. The whole should be made of inch deal
and well painted, the board upon which the three boxes stand must be
of two-inch deal and of one piece, except the alighting board which is
nailed on; three strong pieces of two inch deal will be necessary on
the under side of the board as braces to prevent its warping.
In this I have differed a little from Mr. Nutt, because I think the
solid board more substantial and less likely to harbour insects, his
being hollow to allow the bees to escape at the time of deprivation,
when the communication between the centre and the side boxes is cut off
by means of the sliding tins, for which I have made provision by having
an entrance at the back of each of the side boxes, to which is attached
a copper slider, (fig. 10.) but without the entrance for a single Bee.
The middle Box must be stocked in the usual way, by hiving a swarm
into it, and if the swarm be not a large one, it will be better to put
two swarms into it as directed in Chapter VIII. It will be necessary
to have both the top and side tins securely fastened to the centre
box at the time of hiving, and till after the union, when they may
be removed, thereby giving the bees the full range of all the boxes
as well as of the glass upon the centre one, nothing further will
be required till the next Summer, except carefully placing the roofs
to defend the boxes from wet. "Perhaps," says Mr. Taylor, "there is
nothing more prejudicial to Bees than the moisture they engender during
the Winter season, particularly after frost, and in certain states of
the atmosphere. It accumulates on the top and sides of the pavilion,
moulding and rendering offensive the combs, and producing disease. For
this reason boxes with flat roofs have been objected to. I have tried
different experiments to obviate this serious evil, and have found
nothing better than the practice of condensing the vapour as much as
possible and conveying it away. This I have done for several years by
means of the bell-glasses.
[Illustration]
"At the beginning of Winter I place over the holes on the top of the
pavilion, pieces of perforated zinc, and on these I set the glasses,
each within a circular leaden or zinc trough, open in the centre. As
the exhalation rises from the warmth below, it is condensed on the
glass, and received, often in considerable quantity, in the troughs. An
imperceptible current of air is thus produced, of great advantage to
the inmates; for ventilation is as much wanted in Winter as in Summer,
and particularly when the population is numerous. The holes at the top
of the glasses may be left open to assist this, for of two evils it is
better to have too much than too little air. Nor, with good protection
from weather, need the effects of cold be apprehended; for the Bees,
(if not weak in numbers) will always of themselves generate sufficient
warmth, and a dry, cold season is better withstood than a mild, moist
one, particularly after a good honey year."
This leaden or zinc trough of Mr. Taylor's exactly resembles in form
the feeder mentioned in page 57.
In the following Summer, when the Bees are working in the side boxes
and the glass, the ventilation must be particularly attended to, (for
upon this _alone_ depends the success of the hive,) and here I would
especially recommend Mr. Taylor's ventilator as given in page 26; a
small thermometer should be kept in one of the ventilating tubes, and
when it is observed above ninety degrees of Fahrenheit, the covers
(_bb_) must be taken off, and should the temperature of the boxes be
found at, or above a hundred, the perforated copper slides at the back
of the side boxes must be used, for if it reaches to a hundred-and
thirty, a Swarm in all probability will leave the hive, which next to
starvation is most fatal to this mode of treatment. When either of the
side boxes or the glass upon the top of the centre one is filled with
honey and sealed up, introduce the dividing tin; if the glass, remove
it immediately thirty or forty yards, from the hive without changing
its position, leaving room at the bottom for the Bees to escape, which
they will very soon do, but if either of the side boxes are to be
taken away, open the copper slider at the back of the box, and in less
than an hour from the time of the dividing tin being introduced, the
bees will have made their escape and joined the centre box, it may then
be removed, emptied and replaced, or another may be substituted for
it. All operations must be performed upon a fine and bright day. The
entrance to the centre box should be opened to its fullest extent, by
removing both the sliders from the first of April till the first of
September.
CHAPTER XVIII.
_The Apiarian s Monthly Manual, or Hints for the
Management of Bees for every month in the year,
upon the Depriving System._
JANUARY.
Should the cold be intense, no operation whatever should be performed
on the Bees that requires the removal of the hives. If snow be on the
ground keep the perforated sliders (page 18.) closely down that air may
be admitted, but not a Bee allowed to escape until it be thawed; but
immediately upon the disappearance of the snow remove the slider, and
give them full liberty. I have known many stocks lost by not attending
to this precaution, and more especially after a long confinement, do
not suffer the snow to melt either upon the covers or hive-boards, but
brush it off every day as it falls. Attend regularly to the condenser
(page 92) which to boxes with flat roofs is a very necessary and useful
appendage.
FEBRUARY.
Upon a mild day in this month let the floor board of each hive be
cleaned, and a little food administered, should the stock of honey be
very low. See that the coverings be sound, and that no moisture comes
upon the top of the hives. Should it be found that any of the hives
have perished, which will sometimes occur, and from causes which cannot
be exactly ascertained, let them be immediately removed, and the honey
which they contain taken out, and reserved for feeding those that may
require it.
MARCH.
Clean the hive-boards again, and should any of the stocks require
feeding, supply them, attending strictly to the directions given in
Chap. IX. Towards the end of this month place a vessel, containing
water, near the Bees, as directed in page 3. This also will be found
a good time to examine the pedestals upon which the hives stand, for
after remaining for some years in the ground they are subject to decay
at a few inches below its surface, especially if regard was not paid to
the quality of the timber at the time of fixing them.
APRIL.
Clean the hive-boards for the last time, and supply food, if required,
as before directed. The Wax-moth, that redoubtable enemy to Bees,
appears this month; they may be seen frequently at twilight running
upon the outside of the hives: destroy them as much as possible, and,
as Huish says, "frighten not away the Bats that fly about the hives,
for they destroy numbers of them." A full supply of small hives, boxes,
glasses, and adapters should now be provided, old ones cleaned, or new
ones purchased. A few large hives also should be ready, for if from
inattention to giving room and ventilation, a swarm should be compelled
to leave their hive, they will be wanted.
Weak hives are now very subject to an attack from robbers, the best
protection that can be afforded them is the slider, page 18, with
the help of which three or four Bees will guard the entrance more
effectually than many times that number without it.
MAY.
The time will now have arrived for supplying each stock with a small
hive or other receptacle for honey, as directed in Chap. IV. and should
the season be a favourable one, the supply even of a second may be
found necessary before the end of the month. Continue to destroy Queen
wasps and hornets, and to watch carefully for moths. Should the bees
of any hive appear inactive at this time, or should they not be seen
to carry in pellets of farina whilst others are doing it, and this
inaction continue for eight or ten days, lose no time in examining
the hive, and should the moths have begun their work of destruction,
which may be known by seeing the combs joined together by their silken
webs, cut away the combs affected with a sharp knife, and the hive may,
perhaps, be saved.
JUNE.
Strict attention should now be paid to room and ventilation, for,
as has been said in page 24, if both these be carefully observed,
_swarming may be prevented altogether_. Swarms may now be purchased as
directed in Chap. II. About the middle of the month, in good seasons,
small hives and glasses may be taken off, full directions for which may
be found in Chap. V.
At the end of the month look for wasps' nests, and destroy them;--a
very easy and effectual method of doing it is to fill a common squib or
serpent case with a mixture of sulphur and gun-powder, in equal parts,
with a very small quantity of nitre all finely powdered and rammed very
hard into the case, set fire to it by means of touch-paper, and when
in a state of ignition, stick it into the hole of the nest and place
your foot upon it, when it ceases to burn let a person with a spade
turn out the nest; in this manner a great number may be effectually
destroyed in one night. And a more simple method than this, even, has
been recently discovered: It is by putting turpentine in a bottle, and
inserting the neck of the bottle into the hole leading to the nest and
surrounding it with earth; very little turpentine is required, merely
as much as will wet the sides of the bottle; if applied in the dusk of
the evening every wasp will be dead by the following morning. "In no
instance,"--says a Correspondent, in the _Gardeners' Chronicle_,--"have
I known it to fail of the desired effect, except in cases where the
nest was deeper in the ground, or at a greater distance from the mouth
of the hole than I had anticipated; a partial failure may sometimes
occur where there happens to be two entrances to the nest, instead of
one, but a second application the following evening is sure to prove
effectual."
JULY.
Small hives and glasses must now be taken off as they are filled and
sealed up, (and stored in cool places, observing to keep them in the
same position as when standing upon the stocks,) and their places
supplied by empty ones. Go on destroying wasps' nests.
AUGUST.
Continue to take off hives and glasses as they are filled, but supply
no fresh ones, the honey season being now chiefly over.
SEPTEMBER.
Small hives remaining upon the stocks that are only partially filled
with honey may now be taken off, providing the stock will not be too
much impoverished thereby; wherever the chance of this presents itself
leave them on through the winter, or until they are emptied by the
bees; those partially filled hives taken from rich stocks may be given
to weak ones, now, or in the spring as required. Robbers will at this
time be carrying on their depredations, and should a serious attack be
observed the sliders must be used as before directed.
OCTOBER.
Examine the coverings to the hives that they be all sound, and that no
rain be admitted through them; the entrances may now be narrowed; if
Taylor's slider be used (page 18) the side with three openings will be
most proper for this season.
NOVEMBER.
Clean the floor-boards of the hives, and see that they stand firmly on
their pedestals, contract the entrance so that only one bee can come
out at a time, for at this season mice are likely to lodge themselves
in the hives.
DECEMBER.
The same attentions are necessary this month as in the two preceding,
but if the cold should be intense the hives must not be removed.
FINIS.
INDEX.
Page
Apiary, situation of 1
Apiary, to be near the residence of the proprietor 3
Adapter, description of 33
Aspect for an apiary 1
Bee-boxes, size of 22
Bee-glasses, to place 21
Bee-houses, injurious 3
Bee-mask and gloves 29
Bee-sting, to cure 78
Bees, their disposition to swarm in a wet season 24
Bees, to expel from a glass or box 31
Bees, age of 35
Bees, to purchase 10
Bees, torpid at 32° of Fahrenheit 19
Bees, swarm at 130° of Fahrenheit 25
Bees, enemies of 36
Bees, to dislodge from trees 85
Cleaning floor boards 5
Comb-knife, description of 76
Condenser, Taylor's 92
Damp, to guard against 102
Diseases, in Bees, the cause of 20
Duration of a hive 63
Early flowers, a list of 7
Elevation of a hive 4
Enemies of Bees 61
Entrances for hives 18
Feeding, method of 54
Feeding, proper time for 54
Feeder, fountain 56
Feeder, Wildman's 57
Floor-boards, to clean 100
Food proper for Bees 58
Gelieu, his Work on Bees recommended 15
Glass of honey, to take 30
Glass of honey, to expel Bees from 31
Gloves, proper for defence against stings 29
Honey quantity to take from a swarm 74
Hive, flat top, advantages of 17
Hive-guard, described 66
Hive-dressing, remarks on 71
Hive, improved cottage 17
Hive, Nutt's described 87
Hive, small (or Cape) described 22
Hives, manner of placing 5
Hives, materials for making 15
Hives, to paint recommended 16
Human breath offensive to Bees 29
Increase of Bees 35
Interior of a hive to be examined before purchased 11
Instructions for depriving Bees 30
Knife for cutting out combs 76
Man, the principal enemy of Bees 60
Manual, Apiarian's Monthly 96
Method of giving food to Bees 54
Method of uniting swarms and old stocks 46
Method of uniting second and third swarms 42
Method of uniting second and third swarms (preface) 5
Method of placing glasses upon the Improved Cottage Hive 21
Milk-pan, good protection for hives 22
Mortar or clay, injurious to hives 4
Moths' wax, described 63
Operations, noon the best time for 28
Painting hives, benefit of 16
Plants, to cultivate 7
Pollen, useless as food 11
Purchas, quotations from 36, 67
Purchasers of hives, caution to 11
Queen, Bees power to produce a 40
Queen-wasps, to kill in spring 66
Robber-bees, to know 33
Removing Bees 10
Slider, Taylor's described 18
Snow, a great cause of the destruction of Bees 19, 96
Snow, Bees to be confined in their hives so long
as it remains upon the ground 19
Stealing of Bees to prevent 82
Sticks in a hive, injury of 72
Stocks, method of joining 44
Stocks and swarms to unite 46
Stocks, ages of 73
Tomtit, an enemy to Bees 65
Temperature of hives 25
Thermometer useful in swarming time 27
Ventilation and room prevents swarming 25
Ventilator, Taylor's recommended 26
Wasps-nests, easy way of destroying 101
Water, important in the breeding season 3
Water, method of supplying it 3
London: Newby, Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square.
[Illustration: Figures 1-7
Fig.
1 Improved Cottage Hive
2 Improved Cottage Hive with small hive affixed
3 Hive showing the opening on top
4 Small Hive with glass opening
5 Adapter for small Hive or Box
6 Knife for cutting out the comb
7 Box to be used instead of small Hive
]
[Illustration: Figures 8-10]
* * * * *
Transcriber Note
The text constantly refers to illustration figures from "The Cottager's
Guide" by the same author and are included in the Fourth Edition.
Therefore, a copy of the two Illustrations which show Figures 1-10 have
been provided at the end of the volume. To accomodate placement of the
two footnotes and an associated illustration, a split in the paragraph
was made on page 19 after the word "apparatus".
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