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 BEE-KEEPER'S MANUAL 
 
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 1 
 
 
THE . // / X^ 
 
 BEE-KEEPER'S MANUAL, 
 
 PEACTICAL HINTS 
 
 0>" THK 
 
 MANAGEIVIENT AND COMPLETE PRESEUVATION 
 
 or 
 
 THE HONEY-BEE; 
 
 WITH 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST APPROVED HIVES. 
 
 AKD OTHEK APPURTEXAXCES OF THE APIARY. 
 BT 
 
 HENEY TAYLOE. 
 
 SIXTH EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW 
 MDCCCLX. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 Twelve years have elapsed since the 
 origmal publication of the Bee-keeper's 
 Manual. Eor the fourth time the author 
 is called upon to revise his little book, and 
 he still thinks that the leading ol)ject in 
 offering it to public notice will best be 
 explained in the words with which it was 
 first introduced. '" The existence of the 
 following pages had its origin, some time ago, 
 in the request of a friend, that the author 
 would give him a brief practical compendium 
 of the management of Bees, on the humane or 
 depriving system. Similar applications came 
 from other quarters. The subject is one 
 which has of late acquired increased interest; 
 but the hints following would perhaps never 
 have been prepared for the press, had not the 
 hours of a protracted confinement by illness 
 required some diversity of occupation and 
 
Vlll PREFACE TO 
 
 amusement. On reviewing his experience as 
 an amateur bee-keeper, the author was led to 
 believe that the result of it, added to a concise 
 view^ of such particulars as are usually spread 
 over a large surface in works of this nature, 
 and arranged according to the progressive 
 order of the seasons, might be useful to others, 
 seeking like himself occasional relaxation from 
 weightier matters in w^atching over and pro- 
 tecting these interesting and valuable insects. 
 Step by step this or that defect of construction 
 in his Hives had been remedied, and such con- 
 veniences added as necessity or the spirit of 
 improvement from time to time had suggested. 
 These are briefly described in the following 
 little work. If it have the good fortune, though 
 in a small degree, to smooth the path (usually 
 a rough and uncertain one) of the apiarian 
 novice, — of removing ignorance and prejudice, 
 or of obviating any portion of the difficulties 
 with which a more general cultivation of bees 
 has to contend, — why may not the contribution 
 of this mite be considered a humble addition 
 to the store of useeul knowledge?" 
 
 In its present renewed form, the author has 
 been induced partially to extend his first design 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION. IX 
 
 (originally much restricted in its scope), by 
 entering somewhat more at large into the sub- 
 ject of Bee management, and the general details 
 of practice. Although not professing to offer 
 his remarks to any particular class of readers, 
 he is, nevertheless, inclined to think thev will 
 frequently be found, in an especial degree, 
 applicable to the position of the amateur 
 Apiarian. For the peculiar use of cottage bee- 
 keepers, tracts and scraps innumerable have 
 been issued, — probably with very uncertain 
 effect. In short, there is little room for doubt 
 that these can be more effectually benefited by 
 example and verbal advice, than by any kind 
 of printed instructions. Be this as it may, 
 putting out of the question the long train of 
 contingencies incident to locality, season, &c., 
 much must often be left to individual judgment 
 and careful observation ; and no writer can be 
 expected to meet every supposable case of diffi- 
 culty in dealing with insects confessedly often 
 so intractable as bees. The author, therefore, 
 must be considered as merely laying down a 
 scheme of general recommendations ; aiming 
 much less at novelty than at plain practical 
 utilitv ; not hesitatin2: occasionahv to borrow 
 
X PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 the language of other unexceptionable autho- 
 rities where it clearly expressed his convictions, 
 or coincided with the results of his own expe- 
 rience ; but carefully abstaining from any inter- 
 ference with the dogmatists and hyper-critics 
 in the settlement of the affairs of their peculiar 
 vocation. 
 
 If some of the details relative to the con- 
 struction of hives or their appurtenances appear 
 to be tedious to the general reader, it must be 
 borne in mind that these are chiefly addressed 
 to the mechanic, who will not be found to 
 object that his particular department has re- 
 ceived the aid of a careful attention to matters 
 of description and direction. 
 
 On the whole, the author is induced to hope 
 that the improved arrangement, additional in- 
 formation, and variety of illustration now in- 
 troduced, will render superfluous any apology 
 for a small unavoidable increase in the size o' 
 the book. 
 
 April, 1850. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 In once more revising the following pages 
 for republication, the author has still kept in 
 view the purpose in which they originated, as 
 referred to in a former preface, and which is 
 again prefixed. He trusts that the intervening 
 period has not been unprofitably occupied in 
 the task of continued investigation and experi- 
 ment relative to the general economy of the 
 Bee; in the introduction either of original 
 invention or improvement as regards the me- 
 chanical-requirements of the Apiary: and in 
 maturing the many useful suggestions derived 
 in the course of a pretty w^idely extended cor- 
 respondence. The incorporation of matter thus 
 arising must be the apology, if such is needed, 
 for the omission or abridgment, here and there, 
 of some that a later experience had superseded 
 or modified. From these causes the rewriting 
 of many portions of the work became a neces- 
 
Xll PREFACE TO FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 sity, together with the introd action of much 
 new illustration, — on the whole resulting in a 
 slightly enlarged volume. Under the circum- 
 stances of accumulated materials, condensation 
 was often found more difficult of accomplish- 
 ment than expansion, had this been thought 
 desirable ; but brevity throughout has been 
 the aim, so far as seemed consistent with clear 
 explanation and obvious utility. A work on 
 the Honey-Bee, thus restricted in its object and 
 scope almost entirely to details of a practical 
 bearing, may not entitle it to much literary or 
 scientific consideration, but — without reference 
 to the claims involved in a large circulation — 
 theauthor will never regret the time and thought 
 bestowed, where the leading aim was the wel- 
 fare and preservation of one of the most curious 
 of God's creatures ; and the dissemination of 
 knowledge in relation to a pursuit in rural 
 life, of more general interest, probably, than 
 many kindred ones of higher pretensions. 
 
 August, 1855. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 A CONTINUED, or rather an increasing sale 
 of the Bee-keeper's Manual has, for the sixth 
 time, rendered a reprint necessary ; confirming 
 the belief that a work, first appearing as the 
 amusement of an idle hour, has, in its more re- 
 cent extended form, not been unappreciated, as 
 supplying a medium between the costly trea- 
 tises of elaborate investigators and compilers 
 and the class of mere tracts on Bee manage- 
 ment, that have, with more or less of pretension, 
 abounded of late years. These are sometimes 
 directed to detached points or portions only in 
 the wide and diversified field of controversy 
 opened in relation to the Honey-Bee, or con- 
 fined by space to the usual desultory scraps of 
 information for the guidance of the inex- 
 perienced tyro, or supposed cottager ; commu- 
 nicating just enough to prove the necessity of 
 advancing a step further, by consulting works 
 
XIV PREFACE TO SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 that take a wider and more systematic view of 
 the subject in its details. The prefaces to the 
 two last editions of the book are again placed 
 before the reader, as showing that, in its suc- 
 cessive stages, the author's purpose has been 
 the condensation of a large amount of useful 
 apiarian knowledge, assisted by an unusual 
 variety of illustration. The present repub- 
 lication professedly follows in the path of its 
 predecessors ; such additional matter or re- 
 mark being occasionally introduced as space 
 permitted, and the onward progress of improve- 
 ment appeared to demand. 
 
 May, 1860. 
 
What well appointed Commonwealths ! where each 
 Adds to the Stock of happiness for all ; 
 Wisdom's own forums ! where professors teach 
 Eloquent lessons in their vaulted hall : 
 Galleries of art, and schools of industry ! 
 Stores of rich fragrance ! Orchestras of song ! 
 What marvellous seats of hidden alchymy ! 
 How oft, when wandering far and erring long, 
 Man might learn Truth and Virtue from the Bee ! 
 
 BOWRING. 
 
THE 
 BEE-KEEPER'S MANUAL 
 
 The Hive or domestic Honey Bee of this 
 country is classed entomologically Apis mellifica, 
 order Hyinenoptera, as ha\ang four wings.* The 
 limits to which a Bee-keeper^s Manual of practice 
 is necessarily confined, permits only the remark 
 
 * Although in the following pages the Apis mellifica alone is 
 referred to, it may be well here to state that attention has re- 
 cently been directed, not only in our own country, but in a still 
 higher degree in Germany, France, and even in the United States 
 of America, to the introduction of the Ligurian Bee, or Apis Li- 
 gustica of Italy, the race most probably that was known to Aristotle 
 and Virgil, and, perhaps, to the ancient Greeks. The combs of 
 this species of bee closely resemble those of the common kind, but 
 its outward characteristics exhibit a marked difference ; the first 
 rings of the abdomen being of a reddish colour, instead of dark 
 brown. A fertile Ligurian queen is readily accepted in an 
 English stock hive, from which a common queen has been ab- 
 stracted, and in due time young Italians are distinguishable, gra- 
 dually displacing the original inhabitants. Report speaks favor- 
 ably of the superiority of the strangers over our own bee, as more 
 hardy, more laborious, less irascible, and as swarming earlier. 
 
 1 
 
 D. H. HILL LIBRARY 
 North Carolina State College 
 
2 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 that these extraordinary insects are^ as to origin 
 and history^ lost in the mists of a remote antiquity. 
 We know, however^ that they^ their habits and 
 productions^ are alluded to in Scripture^ and 
 attracted marked attention and admiration in the 
 early eastern communities, where doubtless was 
 familiar their characteristic Oriental name, 
 Deburah, — '' she that speaketh/^ Subsequently, 
 the bee has spread itself, or been carried, in spite 
 of clime and temperature, over a large portion of 
 the old continents ; following in the wake of 
 civilized man wherever he has placed his foot in 
 the primeval forests of the new world ; and later 
 on, in our own time, has been received as a friend 
 and benefactor in the boundless regions of 
 Australasia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. 
 From the time of Aristotle down to our own day_, 
 treatises on Bees have ever been popular, and the 
 curious naturalist has no difiiculty in collecting a 
 library relative to a subject apparently inexhaust- 
 ible. But space allows us to notice neither 
 the crude speculations to be met with in ancient 
 literature, the unprofitable disputations too often 
 prevailing among modern Bee-annalists, nor the 
 endless catalogue of hives, possible and impossible, 
 of every period, by which the novice is bewildered. 
 Our present purpose is restricted to a utilitarian 
 view of the subject of apiarian knowledge, where 
 science, invention, and the most competent testi- 
 mony, have combined to place it in our own day. 
 
THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 To those who may be unacquainted with the 
 leading characteristic of the Honey Bee, it is 
 necessary to premise that in every family, when 
 fully constituted, its members are of three kinds 
 of individuals ; viz., 
 
 A Queen J or Mother Bee, 
 
 The Common, or Working 
 Bees : 
 
 And (daring a part of the 
 year) the Male, or Drone 
 Bees. 
 
 Thus associated, they severally perform their 
 allotted functions in great harmony, labouring 
 for the general good, combining in self-defence, 
 recognising one another, but permitting the 
 intrusion of no stranger within the hive. 
 
THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 THE QUEEN OR MOTHER BEE 
 
 Is darker on the back, longer, and more taper 
 towards the end of her body than the common 
 bees ; has longer legs but shorter wings, and is 
 of a tawny or yellowish-brown colour underneath. 
 She is supreme in the hive, admitting no rival or 
 equal ; and is armed with a sting, somewhat more 
 curved in form than that of the common bees, 
 which, however, she rarely uses. Where she 
 goes the other bees follow ; and so indispensable 
 is her presence to the existence of the common- 
 wealth, that where she is not none will long 
 remain. She is the mother of the entire com- 
 munity, her office being to lay the eggs from 
 which all proceed, whether future queens, drones, 
 or workers. Separate her from the family, and 
 she instinctivel}'^ resents the injury, refuses food, 
 pines, and dies. Without a Queen, or a prospect 
 of one, the labour of the hive is suspended, and 
 a gradual dispersion or emigration of the commu- 
 nity ensues. 
 
 Those who have examined the appearance of a 
 bee-hive, after it has been filled with combs 
 during a year, will recollect seeing suspended 
 here and there, certain small inverted cup- shaped 
 forms. These are the partially destroyed remains 
 of what were designed for the birthplaces of 
 young queens, and so-called royal cells or cradles. 
 
THE QUEEN OR MOTHER BEE. 5 
 
 They are mucli larger tlian the common hexagonal 
 cells in which the working bees are bred ; 
 varying also in their composition, the material of 
 which appears to be a mixture of wax or propolis, 
 and the farina of flowers. Soon after the foun- 
 dation of one of them has been laid, an egg is 
 deposited in it, the -work of completion of the 
 cradle being carried on as required by the in- 
 creasing growth of its occupant. ^ATien finished 
 and closed up, it presents in form the appearance 
 of an oblong spheroid, about an inch long, usually 
 appended like a stalactite perpendicularly to the 
 edge of a comb, the small end or mouth being 
 downwards, a position most favorable to economy 
 
 of space in the hive. In number the royal cells 
 vary from four or five to a dozen, and sometimes 
 
6 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 more. They are not peopled till after the usual 
 great spring laying of eggs for the production of 
 working bees^ preparatory to swarming ; and also 
 those to produce drone bees. The existence of 
 the latter, or in some stage towards existence, is 
 an invariable preliminary to the construction of 
 royal cells, the reason for which will hereafter 
 appear. The affectionate attachment evinced by 
 the nurse-bees towards the royal larvae is marvel- 
 lous, the quantity of food given is profuse, and 
 they arrive severally at maturity on or about the 
 sixteenth day from the laying of each egg ; these 
 having usually an interval between them of but a 
 few days. Of the young females or princesses, 
 as they are often called, and the mode of disposing 
 of supernumerary ones, we shall speak more at 
 large when we come to treat of swarming. The 
 duration of life in a Queen bee, under ordinary 
 circumstances, is, by a wise provision for the per- 
 petuation of the species, much more prolonged 
 than is the case with the common bees, and some 
 observers have imagined that it may in some 
 instances have reached to nearly five years. So 
 far as my knowledge extends, the oldest queen 
 bee of which we have an authentic record, existed, 
 in the apiary of Mr. Robert Golding,* during 
 the space of three years and eleven months. She 
 died in April or May, showing little sign of 
 
 * See the * Shilling Bee-book/ by Robert Golding. 
 
THE QUEEN OR MOTHER BEE. 7 
 
 decrepitude, judging by her fertility, for previously 
 she had filled the hive with an abundance of 
 brood of every kind. I am, however, inclined to 
 believe that a Queen is oftener changed than we 
 are always aware of, for in nothing in Nature is 
 there displayed a more careful attention to the 
 due preservation of a family of bees than in the 
 provision made for supplying the casual vacancies 
 arising not merely from the natural demise of the 
 sovereign, but from other causes, especially those 
 involving deficient powers or absolute sterility. I 
 should, therefore, discountenance any attempt at 
 direct interference by the forcible removal of a 
 queen, after a prescribed period, as has sometimes 
 been advocated. If, however, it should happen 
 that such removal is absolutely necessary, the 
 bees will accept a successor as soon as they have 
 discovered their loss, which is often not till after 
 the lapse of several hours. If all is right the 
 previous agitation will cease. 
 
 And this leads us on to a curious, if not unique 
 fact in relation to the natural history of the 
 Honey bee, which though probably not unknown 
 to the ancients, was rediscovered and promulgated 
 by Schirach, a member of an apiarian society, 
 formed in the middle of the last century at Little 
 Bautzen, in Upper Lusatia. In contradistinction 
 to the usual way in which a young Queen is 
 created, preparatory to the swarming season, by 
 what is denominated the tiatural process, the 
 
8 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 details we are about to give show that the same 
 thing may be effected by another mode, or, as it 
 is said, artificiallij . Whether these terms, as 
 opposed to each other, are rightly applied or not, 
 they at least mark a difference ; and being thus 
 practically understood, we shall follow the example 
 of other authors in using them. The fact itself, 
 startling as at first it seemed, has been so clearly 
 authenticated, that any lurking scepticism has 
 disappeared ; and, indeed, the principle is now so 
 wtII understood and carried into general use by 
 the scientific Apiculturist that, in a popular 
 treatise on the Honey bee, our object would be 
 imperfectly accomplished without entering into a 
 few particulars in connection with it. And first, 
 we have the assurance that the prevalent opinion 
 as to any supposed original or generated difference 
 between common eggs and those laid for the 
 especial production of Queen bees, is founded in 
 error; an altered and accelerated mode as to the 
 development of the ^^^ being all that is needed 
 for the maturation of a perfect female. That we 
 may understand the method of procedure on the 
 part of the bees, we have to suppose that a hive 
 has been deprived of its Queen (no matter whether 
 by death or design) at that particular period 
 when eggs and larvae are each present in the cells 
 of the combs : such larvae being not more than 
 two or three days old, for this is essential. Could 
 we at such a juncture witness the proceedings of 
 
THE QUEEN OR MOTHER BEK. 9 
 
 the family, a spectacle ^voiilcl be presented of much 
 domestic distress and confusion when it had been 
 discovered that the hive was queenless. Soon, 
 however, the scene changes to the quietude of 
 hope, for the foundation of a queen^s cell (and as 
 a provision against possible failure, often of three 
 or four) is commenced by the bees, usually within 
 twenty-four hours. They select a common grub 
 or larva^ and enlarge the cell it occupies, by 
 sacrificing the three contiguous ones, surrounding 
 it with a cylindrical enclosure ; the new cradle of 
 royalty presenting in this stage the appearance of 
 an acorn cup. The embryo Princess, for such 
 she has now become, is amply supplied with a 
 nurture, supposed to differ from that given to the 
 common larvee (a point questioned by some 
 naturalists) ; her habitation in the meanwhile 
 receiving elongation to suit her growth. About 
 the fifth day the worm assumes the nymph state, 
 the cell being now worked into its usual pear- 
 shaped figure ; the bees quitting it as soon as the 
 lower end is finally closed. About the four- 
 teenih day a perfectly developed female comes 
 forth, in no respect differing from a Queen bred 
 in the natural way. Fecundation and the laying 
 of eggs usually follow in a few days, the economy 
 of the hive then resuming its wonted course. 
 
 The Queen bee rarely leaves home, or is to be 
 seen, except in hives constructed purposely with 
 a view to observation. In such a one I have 
 
10 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 frequently watched the proceedings, as she has 
 leisurely traversed the combs, the bees clearing a 
 passage on her approach, their heads turned to- 
 wards her, and, by repeatedly touching her with 
 their antennae, showing a marked attachment, a 
 favour she is occasionally seen to return. Indeed, 
 in some well-authenticated instances, affection 
 has been continued even after her death. The 
 great object of her existence being the perpetua- 
 tion of the species, her majesty «eems intent on 
 nothing more, during these royal progresses, than 
 peeping into the cells as she passes them, ever 
 and anon selecting one, within which she inserts 
 her abdomen, and deposits at the bottom an egg. 
 These are about the size of those produced by a 
 butterfly, but more elongated, and of a bluish- 
 white colour. So prolific are some Queens that 
 I have sometimes witnessed an extraordinary waste 
 of eggs when, as the combs have become in great 
 part filled with brood or honey, she finds a diffi- 
 culty in meeting with a sufficiency of unoccupied 
 cells. In such an emergency, impelled by 
 necessity, the eggs are dropped at random, and 
 carried off or devoured by the bees. No doubt 
 an early and productive season tends often to this 
 result, and marks the necessity of a timely tem- 
 porary addition to the storing room of the family. 
 The great laying takes place in April and May, 
 when the number of eggs has been variously 
 estimated by naturalists at 200 to 600 in a day, 
 
THE COMMON OR WORKING BEES. 11 
 
 amounting to an aggregate of 50_,000 to 80,000 
 in the year. " This sounds like a great number/^ 
 remarks Dr. Bevan,* "but it is much exceeded 
 by some other insects. ^^ Indeed, a T\-ider calcu- 
 lation has been made, in his valuable remarks on 
 bees, by the Kev. Dr. W. Dunbar,t ^\ho thinks 
 that some Queens (for they are not all equally 
 prolific) produce 100,000 eggs yearly. When we 
 take into account the enormous demand for the 
 supply of swarms, the constant deaths in the 
 course of nature, and the thousands of lives al- 
 ways sacrificed by casualties of various kinds, at 
 home and abroad, I am inclined to lean to the 
 higher estimate. No doubt as the cold weather 
 advances there is a considerable falling off in the 
 number of eggs, but the interval is very short in 
 which the queen, in a flourishing hive, discon- 
 tinues laying more or less. " Indeed,^^ observes 
 Mr. Golding, " it appears that at any time when 
 the temperature is not too low for the bees to 
 appropriate the food that is given to them, the 
 Queen will deposit eggs.^' 
 
 THE COMMON OR WORKING BEES 
 
 Are the least in size, and in point of numbers in 
 
 * See ' The Honey-Bee, its Natural History, Physiology, and 
 Management.' By Edward Bevan, M.D. 
 t See the ' Naturalist's Library,' vol. xxxiv. 
 
12 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 a family are variously calculated at twelve to 
 thirty thousand, according to the bulk of the 
 swarm ; though under certain circumstances they 
 are sometimes much more numerous. As regards 
 sex, we have seen in the preceding section that 
 there is no reason to doubt they are females, only 
 that the reproductive organs and ovaries are not 
 as fully developed as they are in the case of a 
 perfect Queen ; and this has led to the erroneous 
 use of the term neuters, as sometimes applied to the 
 common bees. If any doubt should remain as 
 to their sex, it is removed by the knowledge 
 that, in some rare instances, they have been able 
 to produce eggs. Like the Queen, each has the 
 power of stinging. The use of the sting, how- 
 ever, usually involves a > loss of life, for, being 
 barbed like an arrow, the bee has rarely the power 
 of withdrawing it. 
 
 The eggs for workers are deposited in the 
 common cells in the centre of the hive, being the 
 part first selected for that purpose, the Queen 
 usually laying them equally on each side of a 
 comb, and nearly back to back. In four or five 
 days' time, they are hatched, when a small worm 
 is presented, remaining in the larva or grub state 
 four to six days more, during which period it is 
 assiduously fed by the nurse-bees. The larvae 
 then assume the nymph or pupa form, and spin 
 themselves a film or cocoon, the nurses imme- 
 diately after sealing them up with a substance 
 
THE COMMOxN OR WORKING BEES. 13 
 
 whicli Huber* calls wax. It is, however, a mix- 
 ture of wax and pollen, being thicker, more 
 highly coloured, more porous, and less tenacious, 
 probably to aflPurd air, and facilitate the escape 
 of the imprisoned tenant. This takes place about 
 the twenty-first day from the laying of the egg, 
 unless the process has been somewhat retarded 
 by cold weather. The attentive observer may at 
 this time, in a suitable hive, witness the struggles 
 and scrambling into the world, generally by its 
 own exertions, of the now perfect imago, the little 
 grey new-born shaking, brushing, and smoothing 
 itself, preparatory to entering upon the duties of 
 life, and in a day or two, or sooner, it is busily 
 occupied in the fields. f 
 
 Though we have, as I conceive, no actual proof 
 that the occupation of individual bees is at all 
 times unchangeably directed to one point (as 
 some naturalists have imagined), observation 
 
 * See ' Observations on the Natural History of Bees/ by Francis 
 Huber; English edition, London, 1841. An invaluable work to the 
 scientific apiculturist. 
 
 t As soon as the young bee comes forth, the others partially 
 clear the cell, and it again receives an egg ; this being often re- 
 peated four or five times in the season. Afterwards the cells become 
 the receptacles for honey or farina; but they are found in time to 
 become contracted or thickened by this rapid succession of tenants, 
 and the consequent deposits of exuviae, excrement, &c. It has 
 been asserted by Huber and other naturalists, that young bees, bred 
 in old contracted cells, are proportionately smaller in size. Such 
 combs should be removed from the hive. 
 
14 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 shows that the division of labour is one of their 
 leading characteristics. Some are engaged in 
 secreting and elaborating wax for the construc- 
 tion of combs in the hive ; others in warming the 
 eggs ; in feeding the larvae, as also their queen ; 
 in ventilating and cleansing the hive ; in guarding 
 and giving notice of attacks or annoyance from 
 without ; and the rest in searching the fields and 
 woods for the purpose of collecting honey and 
 farina, for present and future store. 
 
 The longevity of the working bees has often 
 furnished matter for dispute, and erroneous ideas 
 have been engendered where a family has been 
 seen for a series of years to continue in a populous 
 and thriving condition. But during this period 
 the Queen (or more than one in succession) has 
 been incessantly occupied in laying eggs innume- 
 rable, to supply by new births the place of the 
 countless thousands of bees that periodically dis- 
 appear. Their dwelling has remained, but suc- 
 cessive generations of tenants have kept its works 
 in repair, giving way in time to fresh occupants. 
 It is shown clearly by Dr. Bevan and other good 
 authorities, both by argument and actual experi- 
 ment, that six to eight months is the limit of 
 their duration ; for, notwithstanding the immense 
 annual increase, the numbers in a hive dwindle 
 down gradually, owing to the chills of autumn 
 and towards the end of the year, to a compara- 
 tively few. There is no doubt, therefore, that 
 
THE DRONE OR MALE BEES. 15 
 
 every bee existing after Christmas was bred 
 during the latter part of the summer or autumn ; 
 and this is a sufficient answer to those who some- 
 times inquire what is to become of the accumu- 
 lated masses of bees, in hives managed on the 
 depriving system, where neither swarming nor 
 destruction takes place. 
 
 We might here allude to a prevalent error as 
 to any inherent difference, local or otherwise, in 
 the characteristics of the domestic Honey bee. 
 AYhen we hear it said, that some are '' better 
 workers" than others, all that ought to be under- 
 stood is, that the family has the advantage of 
 being under favorable circumstances as to locality 
 or season ; with a fertile Queen, and an abundant 
 population, for without these essentials, every 
 operation goes on sluggishly, and prosperity be- 
 comes hopeless. 
 
 THE DRONE OR MALE BEES 
 
 Are computed in the early part of the summer at 
 one to two thousand, and upwards, in a stock 
 hive j but the numbers are irregular, for a weak 
 stock will often have an undue proportion. They 
 possess no sting ; are larger, darker, and more 
 hairy than ih^ common bees ; easily distinguish- 
 able by their heavy motion on the wing, and by 
 their louder humming or droning. 
 
 After her great spring laying of common eggs 
 
16 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 has far advanced, and as an invariable preliminary 
 to the construction of royal cells, the Queen pro- 
 ceeds to deposit eggs intended for the production 
 of drones or males, though often without discon- 
 tinuing those for workers. The drone eggs are 
 laid in cells larger in diameter, and stronger than 
 the others, and usually placed towards the outer 
 extremities of the hive.* A longer period is 
 necessary for the development of a male than a 
 female, and the drones pass through their various 
 stages in about twenty-four to twenty-six days, 
 being seldom seen till about the beginning of 
 May (though occasionally earlier), and then only 
 in warm weather, in the middle of the day. 
 These are the produce of the first-laid eggs ; for 
 a second smaller laying of drone eggs commonly 
 takes place about two months later, though the 
 males are rarely found after August, unless under 
 certain contingencies. 
 
 The drones take no part in the collection of 
 
 * A curious question for the naturalist arises as to the instinct 
 which directs a Queen bee invariably to deposit the proper eggs 
 in the proper cells. The most accurate microscopic observation 
 cannot detect any difference between the egg of a worker, that of 
 a drone, or of a Queen, all proceeding indiscriminately from the 
 same ovaries and oviduct. Ingenious theories have been advanced 
 as to the possibility of what some call impaftnated and unim- 
 pregnated eggs being laid at the option cnPthe Mother bee. 
 Ruber's opinion, " that nature does not allow the Queen the 
 choice of the eggs she is to lay," only adds to the difficulty of 
 arriving at any satisfactory conclusion. 
 
THE DRONE OR MALE BEES. 17 
 
 stores, nor in any operation or process of the 
 hive, for which they have proverbially suffered 
 much ignorant and absurd reproach, since Nature 
 has denied them the necessary means, and in 
 their creation has allotted them a distinct office. 
 Indeed, their flights from the hive are only occa- 
 sional short ones, and they rarely alight during 
 such excursions. They are of the male sex, their 
 presence in a hive being only required at that 
 particular period when the young queens are 
 arriving at maturity ; for of all the theories that 
 have been entertained as to the functions of the 
 drones, that of Huber is undoubtedly the true 
 one, — impregn ation . 
 
 " Naturalists,^^ says Huber, '' have been ex- 
 tremely embarrassed to account for the number 
 of males in most hives, and which seem only a 
 burden on the community, since they appear to 
 fulfil no function. But we now begin to discern 
 the object of nature in multiplying them to such 
 an extent. As fecundation cannot be accomplished 
 within the hive, and as the queen is obliged to 
 traverse the expanse of the atmosphere, it is 
 requisite that the males should be numerous, that 
 she may have the chance of meeting some one of 
 them. Were^nly two or three in each hive, 
 there would b(Sttle probability of their departure 
 at the same instant with the Queen, or that they 
 would meet in their excursions ; and most of the 
 females might thus remain sterile/^ 
 
18 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 Were any doubt to remain on the subject, 
 perhaps the annual destruction of the drones by 
 the workers throws the most satisfactory light on 
 the design of their creation. This process varies 
 in point of time^ according to circumstances. 
 Deprive a hive forcibly of its Queen, and, accord- 
 ing to Bonner and Huber, no expulsion of drones 
 takes place. '^ In such cases/' says the latter, 
 " they are tolerated and fed, and many are seen 
 even in the middle of January." They are re- 
 tained under the inspiration of hope, for a con- 
 tingency might arise to require their presence. 
 Where a necessity for swarming has been in any 
 way superseded, there are either no royal cells 
 constructed, or the young queens meet with pre- 
 mature destruction. Then frequently commences 
 an early expulsion of the drones^ thus rendered 
 purposeless : they become mere consumers, an 
 incumbrance in the hive, and as such the com- 
 mon bees instinctively wage fierce war upon them, 
 ending in total annihilation : nor are even the 
 male larvse allowed to remain in their cells. This 
 expulsive process often commences, under such 
 circumstances, in the middle, or at any rate to- 
 wards the end of May, as I have repeatedly wit- 
 nessed, and not unfrequently is again resorted to 
 later on in the season. On the other hand, in 
 the case of swarming hives it does not take place 
 till July, or even later, according to season and 
 locality, when all the royal brood is disposed of. 
 
THE DRONE OR MALE BEES. 19 
 
 The circumstances difrer in the two cases ; and 
 the bees in this^ as in other parts of their prac- 
 tice, are sufficiently utilitarians to modify their 
 proceedings accordantly. In the one instance, 
 the office of the males is rendered void, and in 
 the other it is indispensable to the young queens. 
 Such of these as go forth with swarms become 
 fertilized in two or three days after (though 
 sometimes it is later than this), followed by the 
 laying of eggs in about a similar distance of time. 
 Thenceforth they remain fruitful, if not ever after 
 (as is the case with some other insects), at all 
 events for a year, for young bees are produced, 
 without the subsequent presence of a single male 
 in the family, till the following spring. The 
 destruction of the drones, therefore, be it sooner 
 or later, may be considered an indication that the 
 hive contains no queen brood, and, consequently, 
 that no swarming is to be expected. 
 
 Conflicting opinions have been formed as to 
 the desirableness of assisting the working bees in 
 the task of expelling the drones — often a pro- 
 tracted process — for although the latter are not 
 armed, like their more numerous opponents, yet 
 their superior size and strength dispose them 
 often to make a stout resistance. If it can be 
 done at once, without undue annoyance to the 
 family, much fighting and valuable time may 
 doubtless be saved by interfering; but no advice 
 can be worse than that of attempting to accom- 
 
20 THE BEE-KEEPEll's MANUAL. 
 
 plisli the work pieccnieal. "VYhen attacked, the 
 drones, to stave off the impending storm^ will 
 congregate together in a remote part of the hive. 
 Observation led me to think they would at such 
 a time be glad to retreat for still greater safety 
 into a separate box, so placed as to be accessible 
 to them. Accordingh^, on the 14th of June, in 
 one of my collateral stock hives, where the 
 drones for a day or two had been hard pushed by 
 the others, I opened a communication on the 
 ground floor into an empty side box. My theory 
 was completely realised, for the poor drones 
 gladly made their way into this, where they re- 
 mained clustered at the top like a swarm, not a 
 single common bee accompanying them, and 
 would probably have been starved. The follow- 
 ing morning I took away the box of drones and 
 destroyed them, counting rather more than 2200, 
 besides some few that had escaped; altogetiicr a 
 greater number than the usual estimate gives to 
 a family. I did not find among them a solitary 
 working bee; nor could I discover in the parent 
 stock hive one remaining drone. The bees 
 peaceably at once recommenced work, and did 
 well; as if glad in this wholesale way to be rid 
 of their late unprofitable inmates. What was 
 the cost of their daily maintenance ? And what 
 proportion to the entire population of the hive 
 did the drones bear? After this apparently 
 large abstraction^ no sensible difference was ob- 
 
SWARMING AND DEPRIVING SYSTEMS. 21 
 
 servable in the cro^vding. In this hive the usual 
 second laying of drone eggs took place, and a 
 good many more drones were expelled at the end 
 of Julj^ I have not been enabled to repeat this 
 experiment, but have no doubt it would always 
 succeed under similar circumstances. 
 
 S\YARMING (or SINGLE HIVINg) AND DEPRIVING 
 
 SI STEMS. 
 
 The multiplication of families or colonies of 
 bees, in the natural manner, is accomplished by 
 the secession of a portion of the inhabitants of a 
 stock hive, which has become over-peopled, with 
 insufficient room for the breeding and storing 
 departments. This act of emigration or swarming 
 is sometimes an affair of expediency only ; and by 
 a timely enlargement and decrease in the tem- 
 perature of the hive it may often be prevented. 
 As soon as warm weather sets in, a common sized, 
 hive becomes crowded and heated to excess; and 
 at length a separation of the family becomes a 
 matter of necessity. In anticipation of this 
 event, royal cells are constructed and tenanted 
 for the rearing of young queens, for without these 
 no swarming occurs. A crowded dwelling there- 
 fore naturally prompts to this preliminary ; whilst 
 ou the contrary, a large hive has the effect of 
 retarding the formation of such cells, and the 
 
22 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 migration of which they are the precursor. In 
 the words of Gelieu,* " in the swarming season 
 the strong hives are almost entirely filled with 
 brood- combs. At that time also honey becomes 
 abundant : and when fine days succeed each 
 other^ the working bees amass an astonishing 
 quantity. But where is it to be stored ? Must 
 they wait till the young bees have left the brood- 
 cellsj by which time the early flowers wall be 
 withered ? What is to be done in this dilemma V 
 Mark the resources of the industrious bees. 
 They search in the neighbourhoodf for a place 
 where they may deposit their honey, until the 
 young shall have left the combs in which they 
 were hatclied. If they fail in this object, they 
 crowd together in the front of their habitation, 
 forming prodigious clusters. It is not uncommon 
 to see them building combs on the outside.^' 
 
 * See ' The Bee-Preserver,' by Jonas de Gelieu, translated from 
 the French ; Edinburgh, 1829. This valuable little work contains 
 the substance of sixty-four years' experience. 
 
 f The word here translated neighbourhood seems, viith some, to 
 have given rise to a misconception as to the meaning intended to 
 be conveyed by it. From the context it is clear Gelieu only meant 
 to imply some place of deposit in proximity to the parent hive, and 
 not anything actually apart from it. He distinctly says, "provided 
 there be an accessible way of communication between them." 
 That bees do, in a degree, leave their usual domicile for the tem- 
 porary storing of honey is evident, when from necessity they 
 construct combs (often in the open air) on the underneath side of 
 their floor; or work in a separate hive or box, placed against the 
 original one. 
 
SWARMING AND DEPRIVING SYSTEMS. 23 
 
 In general, lioney-gathering is altogether sus- 
 pended, necessarily, under the circumstances we 
 have stated; and, after a long course of inaction, 
 in the very best part of the season, swarming 
 follows. Indeed there always appears to be a 
 connexion between swarming and idleness, in- 
 duced by a succession of interregnums in the 
 government, causing a suspension of breeding, 
 when little or no store of any kind is collected. 
 The proprietor must therefore make his election 
 as to his course. If the multiplication of stocks 
 is his object, his bees may thus be impelled to 
 throw off swarms, but he must abandon the pro- 
 spect of a large harvest of honey under such cir- 
 cumstances. This method of bee management 
 is usually called single hiving, and is that com- 
 monly followed by cottagers, as on the whole the 
 least expensive. On the general subject of 
 swarming we shall enter more at large under the 
 head of " Spring Management.^' 
 
 Depriving system.- — Opposed to the mode of 
 management in which swarming is systematically 
 encouraged, is that whereby, under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, it may be often prevented, and much 
 valuable time, in the most productive part of the 
 year, be rendered available for the purposes of 
 adding to the wealth of the family. Let us ob- 
 serve the natural instinct of these little animals, 
 and at the proper season provide them with such 
 an occasional addition of storing-room as will 
 
24 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 enable them uninterruptedly to go on constructing 
 fresh combs, to be filled with honey, unmixed 
 with brood or other substances. This temporary 
 receptacle, though in communication with the 
 stock hive, can at pleasure, in. the way which will 
 hereafter be described, be detached from it, with- 
 out injury to the bees ; these returning to tlieir 
 original habitation, in which the mother bee 
 (although she may occasionally perambulate every 
 part of her dominion,) ought exclusively to carry 
 on the work of breeding. The honey obtained 
 by this act of Dep7'ivatio7i is always supposed to 
 be in excess of what is required for the wants of 
 the family, and almost invariably pure in quality. 
 Various have been the contrivances for effecting 
 the separation of the storing and breeding de- 
 partments in a hive. The bees, when pressed for 
 room, will extend their operations almost in any 
 direction, whether the accommodation is given 
 above (which is termed storifying), at the bottom 
 {nadiring), or collaterally. Equally indifferent 
 are they to the material of the temporary recep- 
 tacle. A second hive, box, or glass, placed over 
 the stock, is termed a duplet, or more commonly a 
 super ; by which general name, as we proceed, 
 any kind of storing vessel so placed will be desig- 
 nated. A productive season sometimes admits of 
 a second super (usually introduced between the 
 first and the stock), called in such case a triplet. 
 An empty box or hive, pushed beneath a full one, 
 
DEPRIVING SYSTEM. 25 
 
 is denominated a Nadir, — a mode of practice not 
 always advisable except in the case of swarms of 
 the same year, or towards the latter end of very- 
 abundant seasons. A still smaller addition to a 
 common hive consists merely of a few bands of 
 straw, on which it is raised temporarily, and this 
 constitutes an eke. When either this or a nadir 
 is used, and to facilitate its subsequent removal, 
 a board ought to be placed between the stock - 
 hive and the nadir, to prevent the combs from 
 being worked down into it. The board may 
 cither be pierced Avith good-sized holes, through- 
 out, or it may be cut into the form of parallel 
 bars, as a grate, with about half an inch of space 
 between them. The entrance to the stock-hive 
 must be stopped, and one made at the bottom of 
 the eke or nadir. We shall hereafter describe a 
 modification of the Nadir principle, which, by 
 way of distinction, I have called Nethering. 
 
 In contrasting, as we have done, the Swarming 
 and Depriving systems, it should not be under- 
 stood that either of them can invariably be advan- 
 tageously carried out exclusively. An occasional 
 change of system is desirable. In all large 
 apiaries there is always a necessity for renew^als 
 both of Stocks and of Hives, by swarming ; and 
 it is seldom profitable, more especially as respects 
 a common straw hive, to continue to work it on 
 the depriATing plan beyond a few seasons conse- 
 cutively. Moreover, the cost of a new hive will 
 
26 THE bee-keepkr's manual. 
 
 be well repaid by an entire occasional renovation 
 of the colony, stimulated thus to increased exer- 
 tion, and with the advantage probably of a 
 changed Queen. 
 
 The preference given to either of the two 
 schemes of Bee management we have just de- 
 tailed, must direct the proprietor in the choice of 
 his hives, and we shall proceed to describe such 
 of them as have found most favour among modern 
 practitioners ; premising that in using the term 
 Hive, we intend its general acceptation, no matter 
 of what material it is made. Neither is it our 
 object unduly to magnify the advantages of 
 wooden hives at the expense of those of straw : 
 prejudice exists on both sides the question. They 
 are each valuable according to circumstances, and 
 their intended uses. Moreover, he only deceives 
 himself and others who imagines he has discovered 
 a system or a hive by which to command an 
 abundance, or an improved quality of Honey, at 
 pleasure. A favorable season may croAvn with 
 success some cherished theory or mechanical 
 device, to be followed in the next by disappoint- 
 ment ; for he has little studied the natural 
 habits of bees, who believes they can be made at 
 will to conform, under all circumstances, to any 
 settled scheme of practice we may devise for 
 them. The attempt has led to the Babel of 
 contrarieties too frequently exhibited amongst 
 apiarian professors, to the confusion of the 
 
COMMON STRAW HIVES. 27 
 
 novice j each deprecating everytliing except tlie 
 mode of procedure he has found appLcable to his 
 own case or district, and with which of course he 
 is most familiar. In the words of Mr. Gokling, 
 " Let my readers repel the quackery which would 
 have them believe that it was the kind of hive 
 which commanded the honeyed store. No ; that 
 will be ruled by the productiveness of the season 
 and the locality.^^ Having taken the Honey bee 
 under our especial protection, we are bound to 
 provide for its due preservation from the effects 
 of climate, &c., and perhaps, in addition to the 
 ordinary attentions, the most that can be done 
 with permanent advantage is to furnish our in- 
 telligent little workmen with a dwelliug, con- 
 venient in its form and arrangement for the 
 intended purposes ; bearing in mind, as a general 
 rule, that these are best consulted by an attention 
 to simplicity in its details. 
 
 COMMON STllAW (OK SINGLE) HIVES. 
 
 In their wild state, bees have most usually 
 found a secure residence in the decayed trunks of 
 the thick forest trees. Where they are domes- 
 ticated, the kinds and shapes, as well as the ma- 
 terials of bee- hives, vary according to climate and 
 locality, or the purse of the proprietor. Those 
 used in many parts of this country are made of 
 
2s THE BKE-KEEPEll'S MANUAL. 
 
 straw, of a bell-shape^ and being intended for 
 single hiving, are usually without any means of 
 enlargement. At the end of the second or third 
 year, they are too often placed over the pit of 
 destruction ; and thus, with a little impure honey, 
 flavoured with brimstone, the scene closes. Is it 
 surprising that an unpleasant association is thus 
 connected with the use of such hives ? Happily 
 for the cause of humanity, experience has decided 
 that this consequence is not inevitable ; and I 
 trust I shall hereafter point out the method by 
 which it may be avoided, and make it appear to 
 1)e the interest of the proprietor never to kill his 
 bees, let the hive be of what kind it may. 
 
 Common hives are best made of unthreshed 
 rye, or good wheat straw. They would be much 
 iuiproved by a greater attention to shape, being 
 usually too high in proportion to the width. 
 It may be well, in this connexion, to introduce 
 the observation of Gelieu. '' One of my chief 
 objects,^' says he, "has been to ascertain what 
 shape of hive is the most profitable ; and with 
 tliis view I have tried all the different kinds, and 
 have invariably remarked that bees thrive better 
 in low hives than in high ones ; that in general 
 those which are broad and flat amass more honey, 
 thrive better, and give out stronger and earlier 
 swarms than those which are high. A hive 
 thrives only in proportion to the success or per- 
 fection of its brood- comb in the spring. It is, 
 
COMaiON STRAW HIVES. 29 
 
 therefore, of great importance to keep up the 
 necessary degree of heat for the hatching of tlie 
 brood. If, at that time, the bees are lodged 
 in high and roomy hives, they Tvill crowd to- 
 gether in vain, and the heat ascending is lost 
 in the empty space above. This never happens 
 in low flat hives, where it is more easily con- 
 centrated/^ 
 
 To prevent the combs from falling, sticks arc 
 commonly put across, or along the inside of 
 a hive, as a support to them. But these props 
 are an annoyance to the Bees, presenting dif- 
 ficulty in subsequently extracting the combs, 
 and are never required in a hive made with a 
 proper regard to proportion; in other words, where 
 the combs are not too large to bear their own 
 weight, when fully loaded. As regards the area 
 of hives, much difference of opinion prevails, and 
 a certain degree of latitude must be left for cir- 
 cumstances connected with locality, &c. Credit 
 has been taken by some apiculturists, and doubt- 
 less with reason, for much reducing the unwieldy 
 hives of our ancestors. On an average, perhaps, 
 a preference may be given, as regards a common 
 bell-formed straw hive, to one made about four- 
 teen inches wide, and not more than eight inches 
 high at the centre of the crown, both inside mea- 
 sure. There will be less of room wasted in a 
 hive thus formed, inasmuch as the combs are 
 stored down to the bottom cells, which is rarely 
 
30 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 the case in a high and narrow one. A low 
 wooden hoop is often used^ worked at the 
 bottom of the hive ; or, as Dr. Bevan says, " the 
 lower round of straw may be begun upon a wooden 
 hoop, the bottom of which has been planed 
 smooth ; it should be perforated through its whole 
 course, and the perforations made in an obliqne 
 direction, so distant from each other as to cause 
 all the stitches of the hive to range in a uniform 
 manner.^' The hoop gives greater stability to 
 the hive, preserves the lower edge from decay, 
 and affords facility in moving it. 
 
 The custom of plastering round the bottom 
 edge of a hive with mortar or clay is better 
 omitted. Its own increasing weight Avill settle 
 it down to its board : at all events no cement is 
 equal to that used by the bees themselves; any 
 other only serves to accelerate the decay of the 
 hive, besides presenting an impediment on occa- 
 sional removal for cleaning or inspection. 
 
 STRAW DEPRIVING HIVES. 
 
 A reference to the preceding section will show 
 the reasons for giving a preference to rather 
 shallow common straw hives over high ones, and 
 the same arguments hold good where they are 
 intended to be managed on the system usually 
 termed of Deprivation ; except that then the hive 
 
STRAW DEPRIVING HIVES. 31 
 
 need be scarcely so large as in the case of single 
 liiviug. But to give facilities for the placing of 
 a second hive, or super^ over the original stock- 
 hive, the latter ought to be made 
 flat on the top, viz., cylindrical 
 and straight in form. This shape 
 found an advocate in the late Mr. 
 Payne,* one of the most expe- 
 rienced instructors of Cotta2:e 
 Bee-keepers, ttIio saw reasons for altering the 
 dimensions of his hives from twelve inches wide 
 to fourteen, and seven, or sometimes eight, 
 inches in height (both inside measure), and which 
 I have adopted as preferable. In the centre of 
 the crown of the hive is a three or four inch 
 hole. The latter, when not in use, is stopped 
 by a piece of worked straw, like a mat, as seen 
 in the preceding illustration ; and this may be 
 fastened down by pins or a slight weight. At 
 the proper time for placing a super, the straw 
 mat cover can be removed, and its place supplied 
 by what is termed an adapter, which is usually a 
 piece of board the same diameter as the top of 
 the hive, having a corresponding hole through its 
 centre ; thus in fact adapting it as the floor-board 
 to a super. It will often be better, instead of 
 one thick adapter, to have two very thin ones, of 
 equal form and size, placed together. In such 
 
 * See the ' Bee-Keeper's Guide/ by J. H. Payne, 
 
32 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 case, raaliogany or some hard wood should be 
 used, to prevent warping. On the removal of a 
 full super, this double adapter will be found 
 useful, as any impediment can be removed by 
 passing between the two boards a knife, or some 
 fine wire. Or a piece of tin, zinc, or thin wood 
 may be inserted to entirely stop the communi- 
 cation, if desired, at^an}?^ time. 
 
 A straw super is best made of the same flat 
 and cylindrical form as the stock-hive just de- 
 scribed. The size may vary in diameter according 
 to season and locality, from ten to twelve inches, 
 or even the full width of the stock-hive, and 
 three to six inches in inside height. In good 
 years two or more of such supers may sometimes 
 be filled in succession, the appearance of the hive 
 determining its expediency. Should the stock- 
 hive become hot and crowded before the first cap 
 is entirely filled, a second smaller one (or triplet,) 
 may be added. In such cases, the first super is 
 always to remain the upper one, for it would be 
 useless to put the triplet anywhere except be- 
 tween the two now in use, and it must have a 
 two-inch hole in its crown as a passage upwards 
 for the bees. In moving the first super, the 
 upper half of the double adapter can be lifted 
 with it, first introducing between them a piece of 
 zinc or tin, to stop the communication with the 
 stock-hive. In order to give the straw supers a 
 better footing when placed one upon another. 
 
STRAW DEPRIVING HIVES, 
 
 33 
 
 some persons prefer an extra cord or rim of 
 straw to be worked round the 
 outer bottom and top band. 
 Or, if tbey are made plain, a 
 thin hoop may be slipped round 
 at the point of junction, em- 
 bracing them both. A few 
 holes are made in the hoop, 
 for the reception of small 
 pointed iron pins (easily re- 
 movable), passing through 
 and into the straw, and thus keeping it in its 
 place. Those who choose may have the 
 supers made without crowns, which gives 
 facilities for fitting them up to serve any 
 required purpose. This is done by means of 
 loose wooden crown-boards : they may be pre- 
 vented from warping by being made of two 
 circular smooth boards glued together, the grain 
 of the wood crossing. These boards are of dif- 
 ferent diameters ; the smaller circle falls within 
 the inner diameter of the cap ; the other should 
 be made an inch or more larger, to rest upon the 
 upper edge of it. A reference to the engraving 
 in the next page will illustrate our meaning. A 
 small weight for a day or two will adjust the 
 crown to its place ; but any little apertures should 
 in some way be stopped, for the escape of too 
 much warmth must not be permitted. Mr. 
 Golding does this by an effectual method : ^' Any 
 
34 
 
 THE BEE-KKEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 little misfit/^ says he^ " througli which the bees 
 
 may get out^ is best 
 stopped with a bit of tea 
 lead, a store of which 
 should be kept for such 
 purposes/' On removing 
 a full cap, the combs can 
 be separated from its 
 sides with a knife or 
 spatula, when there will 
 be no difficulty in lifting 
 up the crown-board with 
 the combs suspended from 
 it, in an unbroken state ; 
 and this often enhances 
 their value. 
 
 Whether with or with- 
 out the protection of a 
 bee-house, the supers 
 ought to be covered. 
 For this object an ex- 
 terior hive or straw cy- 
 linder may be used, 
 similar in form and dia- 
 meter to the stock-hive, 
 and of any required 
 height. The zinc shade 
 and its cover, which will be more particularly des- 
 cribed (under the head of hive-covers), suitably 
 completes a protection of this kind. At present 
 
STRAW DEPRIVING HIVES, 
 
 35 
 
 a reference to the preceding illustrations Avill 
 suffice. The upper engraving shows a straw super 
 with its moveable crown-board^ ai\d the method 
 of placing it over a stock-hive ; whilst the lower 
 one represents the appearance of the whole when 
 put together^ with zinc shades and a cover. 
 
 We have as yet supposed the stock-hive to be 
 constructed in the usual way^ with a flat straw 
 crown ; but many persons are induced to prefer 
 wood ; in which case the hive may be made in 
 the mode pointed out for the caps, open at both 
 ends alike. The same kind of moveable crown- 
 board will in that case be suitable; 
 made, as already detailed, of two 
 circular pieces of wood of dif- 
 ferent diameters, together about 
 three fourths of an inch in thick- 
 ness. A little of some kind of 
 luteing can, if needed, be used in 
 adjusting the crown-board to its 
 hive; or the tea lead we have just spoken of 
 may often serve. 
 
 There is another mode of fit- 
 ting a wood crown. This may 
 be of the same size as the out- 
 side diameter of the hive, a thin 
 hoop being screwed around its 
 edge, with an inch additional; 
 the whole fitting over as a cap. A few small 
 pointed ii'on pins may pass through the lower 
 
36 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 edge of the hoop horizontally into the straw, 
 thus sufficiently holding it ; at the same time 
 that its subsequent removal is easy. Instead 
 of a hoop, I have used a strip of zinc, screw- 
 ed round, and pinned, as just mentioned, 
 which fits closer than wood, and when all is 
 painted of one colour, has a 
 . Jss-^.^ neat appearance. Even without 
 any kind of hoop, the wood top 
 may be fixed by means of 
 moveable pointed pins going 
 through it, and down into 
 the upper edge of the hive. Amateurs often 
 prefer the crown-board cut with three holes, 
 triangularly in position, to a single central 
 one; as convenience is thus given for working 
 
 three small glasses, or a 
 large-sized one, as shown 
 by the circles delineated in 
 our illustration. The holes 
 may be one and a quarter 
 inch in diameter at the larger 
 end, tapering two inches 
 down to a point. Three 
 zinc slides or dividers, as 
 they are called, move in 
 grooves, cut two inches wide from the edge 
 of the crown-board, over the holes. The 
 supers should be placed each on a separate 
 adapter ; and on removal, the slide is passed 
 
HIVE-COVERS. 37 
 
 underneath tlie adapter, the whole being then 
 lifted ofif together. 
 
 Various opinions have prevailed as to the 
 expediency of painting the exterior of straw hives, 
 some believing that absorption of vapour best 
 takes place where it is omitted. My own idea 
 is that, for exposed hives, an annual coat of paint 
 is desirable, and nothing looks better for the pur- 
 pose than a natural straw colour. We may resort 
 to the words of Gelieu, who says, "it is com- 
 monly supposed that bees thrive best in straw 
 hives, because the straw absorbs the moisture, 
 and the combs are less liable to mould. For my 
 part I can perceive no difference. The bees are 
 careful enough to varnish over the interior of the 
 straw hives with a coating of wax, or rather pro- 
 polis, to prevent the settlement of the moths ; 
 and in the old hives this varnish is so thick that 
 no moisture can penetrate between the cords of 
 straw. Wooden hives will also absorb moisture 
 to a certain extent ; and experience has shown 
 me that it is a matter of indifference which are 
 employed, except as to the price.^^ 
 
 HIVE-COVERS. 
 
 Whatever difference of opinion there may be 
 as to the expediency of the practice of placing 
 straw hives in the open air, independently of a 
 
38 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 house or shed^ the custom prevails to so great an 
 extent^ that our object would be incomplete were 
 we not to point out some of the modes resorted 
 to for protecting them in such cases. Of the 
 commoner kinds of coverings many are sufficiently 
 unsightly; some being of straw thatch (or hackles), 
 others of earthenware, in various ugly forms, and 
 often objectionable and injurious to the hive, from 
 their weight. In the apiary of a friend I have 
 seen a dome-formed straw cover to a stock-hive, 
 constructed with a projection all round of about 
 three inches. On the underneath side are 
 - attached three or four 
 
 bands in a circle, fitting 
 over the outer diameter of 
 the hive. The appearance 
 of this cover is appropriate ; 
 but unless carefully painted, 
 wet will eventually find ad- 
 mittance. It may, however, 
 be rendered water-proof by 
 means of some kind of 
 cement. I have sometimes 
 used for this purpose a 
 mixture of paint with fine 
 sawdust, pounded into the consistence of paste, 
 and afterwards painted and varnished. 
 
 A cover of the same form can be manu- 
 factured in zinc, more or less convex, or some- 
 times nearly flat, its edges being turned down 
 
HIVE-COYERS. 39 
 
 over stiff wire. A descending rim of not less 
 than two inches deep is attached to the un- 
 derneath side, encircling the upper edge of the 
 hive. There ought to be perforations imme- 
 diately under the projection 
 of the rim, and a space left _^^, ,_ ^-^i-^^ _ 
 between the cover and the MIkilBipiiMr 
 crown of the hive, for the 
 passage of air ; or a small worked mat, of straw 
 bands, may be interposed to prevent any ill effect 
 from a hot sun. 
 
 A modification of the last-described zinc cover 
 I have used satisfactorily for the protecting of 
 flat straw depriving hives, requiring more than one 
 story in height. Immediately upon the stock 
 hive is introduced what, for want of a more dis- 
 tinctive term, I call a shade, encircling the upper 
 edge, as just detailed, with the same kind of 
 descending rim and air-holes. It is made of 
 moderately thick sheet zinc, cut of such exterior 
 diameter as to leave a projection round the outer 
 edge of the hive of three to four inches, and 
 turned a little downwards over stout wire, to 
 throw off wet. lu the centre of the shade is a 
 circular opening, which, if required, may be of the 
 same diameter as the interior of the stock hive, 
 and round it is a raised rim, standing up not less 
 than half an inch. Within this central opening 
 it is intended to place the super, of whatever 
 kind it may be. A reference to what has been 
 
40 
 
 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 _a 
 
 said at page 34^ and the 
 illustrations there given, 
 as well as those now an- 
 nexed, will show the con- 
 struction of the shade ; 
 also the mode of covering 
 the super by means of 
 a second straw hive 
 (made with or without a 
 crown), standing upon 
 the shade, the upright 
 rim of which keeps it 
 in its place. On the 
 top of this upper hive 
 a second shade, made 
 like the first, may be 
 placed. The completion 
 of the whole is a slightly 
 convex zinc cap, of about 
 two inches in height, 
 fitting securely over the central opening, like the 
 top of a canister or pot. There is a projecting 
 lateral rim to the cap, underneath which air-holes 
 are made, similar to those under the projection 
 of the shade. In winter, and at any time when 
 a super hive is not required, the cap is placed 
 over the shade immediately surmounting the 
 stock hive, reducing the edifice to one story. 
 When feeding is needed by the bees, a pan may 
 be introduced for the purpose within the central 
 
niVE-COVERS. 
 
 41 
 
 opening, and covered over by the zinc top. In 
 reply to those who are dubious as to the ex- 
 pediency of using metal coverings, it may 
 be remarked that 
 no inconvenience 
 arises in the present 
 case, as neither 
 the shade nor its 
 cover come in con- 
 tact immediately 
 with the crown of 
 the hive. 
 
 If a straw cover 
 to a super is pre- 
 ferred, it can stand 
 over the rim of the 
 shade, as seen in 
 the illustration an- 
 nexed. 
 
 An effectual protection 
 to a round hive may 
 be made by means of an 
 outer case, in fact merely W!;^i^ 
 a straw cylinder, with 
 open ends. It must in t-Q;^::- 
 diameter be large enough i^^^t^r- 
 to drop loosely over the 
 hive, and rest on the •C^-l^T^' 
 floor-board. The height ^"'^^ 
 ought to be sufficient to ^-^^-"^'^^y 
 
42 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MA:NUAL. 
 
 include any supers that may be required. Sur- 
 mounting the whole, either one of the zinc 
 covers, shown at page 39, of an enlarged size, 
 can be used; or the shade and its top, as seen at 
 page 40. 
 
 FLOOR OR HIVE-BOARDS. 
 
 The floor on which a hive is placed should be 
 of wood, and not of any material too retentive 
 either of heat or cold, as stone, slate, &c. In 
 summer, the melting of the combs often results, 
 and in winter, numerous lives are lost from chill. 
 Every hive, of whatever kind, should stand upon 
 its own separate board, so as to give facility for 
 lifting, cleaning, or weighing the whole together 
 at any time, without disturbance to the bees. 
 
 The entrance into a hive is generally cut out 
 of its bottom edge. This has a tendency to cause 
 decay in that part, particularly 
 if of straw; besides that, a hole 
 so made affords but indifferent 
 protection from driving wet or 
 a scorching sun, and gives im- 
 perfect facility for the escape 
 of moisture from the hive. It 
 is a better plan to sink the 
 passage out of the thickness 
 of the floor-board, till it reaches the inside of the 
 hive. There are several ways of doing this, but a 
 
FLOOR OR HIVE-BOARDS. 43 
 
 simple one is the following : Let the board be of 
 thick, seasoned wood, and to prevent warping, 
 screw two strong cross-bars to the underneath side, 
 seven or eight inches apart. In size the floor- 
 board ought to be a little larger than the exterior 
 of the hive, from whence it should be chamfered 
 down every way, to three eighths of an inch at the 
 edge. From the latter, the entrance must be cut 
 or grooved out, straight and level till it enters 
 the inside of the hive, when it may slope up- 
 wards. This groove may be about four inches 
 wide, and three eighths of an inch deep where 
 the hive crosses it ; for it is better in all instances 
 that the requisite space at the door should be 
 given laterally, rather than in height. This 
 is not only more convenient to the bees, but 
 shuts out from admission into the hive such 
 guests as the snail or the mouse. In a board 
 thus construsted, a convenient mode of occasion- 
 ally contracting the entrance-w^ay is by means of 
 small wooden blocks, of different widths, so formed 
 that the lower half can be pushed within the 
 hive^s mouth. The board just described, and its 
 blocks, are shown in the engraving beneath. 
 
 L.J' 
 
44 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 Another kind of hive-board, suitable for some 
 description of boxes, is made by cutting a rabbet 
 of any required width, and three- eighths of an 
 inch deep, on all its sides, leaving the raised part 
 of the board the size of the outside of the box, 
 with an additional half inch beyond this, every 
 way. The passage into the hive is to be cut from 
 the edge of the rabbet, and on the same level, for 
 about two inches ; after which it must slope up- 
 wards. It may be four to five inches wide, and 
 its sides should bevel a little outwards. This 
 gives facilities for the introduction of moveable 
 blocks or mouth-pieces, for the convenience of 
 contracting or altogether stopping up the en- 
 trance, as may be required. The blocks are an 
 inch wide, and must all be of one size, and of the 
 same length and bevel as the entrance- way. In 
 height they should be three quarters of an inch 
 
 
 in front ; cut down behind, half the width to 
 three eighths of an inch. Thus made, the lowest 
 half inch of the block is inserted within the 
 mouth of the hive, and the other half projects on 
 
FLOOR OR lUVE-BOARDS. 
 
 45 
 
 the outside. To suit all cases and seasons, blocks 
 so formed may be cut on the lower part, from 
 front to back, with any required passage-way 
 through them at pleasure. The preceding en- 
 graving exhibits one of these boards, with a front 
 and back view of four blocks thus varied; the third 
 one being fitted with perforated zinc. 
 
 An entirely covered entrance, for those who 
 desire it, is afforded by a double board, in which 
 the passage is cut through the floor, altogether 
 within the hive ; and it may be thus made : 
 
 Take a piece of inch seasoned wood, an inch 
 or two broader and longer than the hive. Smooth 
 both sides, and imderneath it 
 cut a groove four or five inches 
 wide, and four inches back 
 from the edge. The part next 
 the edo^e should be there hoi- 
 lowed out three eighths of an 
 inch deep, increasing to double 
 this at the other end, where it 
 enters the hive. An opening 
 through from the upper side 
 must be made, to meet the underneath hollow, 
 giving a gradual slope down into it. A piece 
 of three-quarter inch, board, seven to nine inches 
 wide, must then be screwed underneath, the 
 grain crossing the other; the door way for the 
 bees being of course between the two. The lower 
 board should be a little the longest, the 
 
46 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPKR'S MANUAL. 
 
 extra lengtli 
 
 being 
 
 intended to form a small 
 
 alighting board in front. 
 
 All the boards in the preceding illustrations 
 are shown square as to form ; but any of them 
 may at pleasure be made round. 
 
 HIVE-STANDS, OR PEDESTALS. 
 
 Hives standing singly, in the open air, must 
 be so placed as that there is no risk of their being 
 overthrown by the wind or other casualty, and 
 various kinds of supports have been devised. 
 "Whatever is preferred, it ought to afford facilities 
 
 for allowing the lifting up of 
 the hive on its board at plea- 
 sure. A single pedestal or 
 post is sometimes used, cut 
 flat at the top to six or seven 
 inches square. It may stand 
 out of the ground fifteen or 
 sixteen inches, and be firmly 
 fixed, to avoid shaking, which 
 alarms the bees. Sometimes 
 a higher elevation than this 
 is given, but it is not expe- 
 dient to subject the hives unnecessarily to the 
 action of the wind, any more than it is to place 
 them so near the ground as to cause the bees 
 to be affected by damp exhalations. . On the 
 
HIVE-STANDS, OR PEDESTALS. 47 
 
 under side of the centre of the hive-board fix 
 four bars of wood (or three will do)_, of about two 
 inches square, so as to form a cap or socket, 
 fitting over the top of the pedestal. The board 
 may be there secured by the insertion, diagonally, 
 of one or two pins, through the sides of the cap 
 and into the .post. This plan may be varied by 
 means of the two pieces or arms, let edgewise 
 flush into the top of a post, crossing it diagonally : 
 on this the hive-board may rest, or be secui'ed by 
 a button or two. 
 
 Or, on the top of a pedestal, four or five inches 
 in diameter, a piece of board, of about nine inches 
 square, may be fixed as a table. Upon this place 
 the hive-board, of which the ci'oss bars, appended 
 to its underneath side, are so adjusted in point of 
 distance apart, as to come on each side of the 
 table, being there secured by a pin or turn-button. 
 
 This last-described stand may be improved, at 
 a little further cost. Nail 
 upon the pedestal a piece of ^^^^^ 
 strong board, eight or nine 
 inches wide, and three inches 
 longer than the outside 
 width of the hive-board. 
 Underneath the table thus 
 
 i 
 
 formed, a couple of strets or 
 angle-pieces must be fixed, to render the whole 
 firm. The under-side bars of the hive-board are 
 adjusted to fall on each side the table, as before 
 
48 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 detailed. The extra three inches of the latter 
 must be thrown to the front, where it is designed 
 to form a projecting alighting platform for the 
 bees. This part is occupied by a piece of wood 
 nailed to it, and chamfered to meet the hive- 
 board, to which it forms a stay. 
 
 Another support to an out- door hive is made 
 by means of four props, driven upright into the 
 
 ground, and cut off 
 level, at about sixteen 
 
 inches higrh. 
 
 The 
 
 hive-board must have 
 two cross bars screwed 
 to its under side, from 
 front to back, just 
 coming within the 
 uprights : to make it 
 still more steady, four 
 small blocks can be 
 appended near the 
 corners, between the 
 cross bars and the edge of the board, to hold the 
 latter in the opposite direction, as seen by the 
 dotted lines in our illustration. 
 
 The same remark applies to the hive-stands 
 just described as was made in the last section, 
 viz., they can be adapted equally well to round 
 as to square hive-boards. It may be well also 
 to observe that, instead of sinking a pedestal into 
 the earth, where decay soon ensues, it can be 
 
HIVE-RANGE. 
 
 49 
 
 fixed upon strong cross pieces or feet, these being 
 fastened to the ground by pins passing down- 
 wards through them. 
 
 Where there are a number of hives, instead of 
 a separate stand for each, they may be placed 
 more economically, and perhaps safely, on what I 
 term a hive-range, of any required length. The 
 range consists simply of a couple of rails, about 
 an inch thick, and four inches in depth, nailed 
 to the top outer edge of a series of posts, fixed 
 firmly in or on the ground, about eighteen inches 
 high. The space between the rails may be about 
 twelve inches, measured within-side. The most 
 suitable hive-board for a range is that shown at 
 
 page 43. The cross bars on its underneath side 
 must be so cut in point of length, as to fall within 
 the two rails, where they are held ; whilst what 
 remains of the width of the board lodges upon 
 them, with a convenient projection before and 
 behind. Nor does it matter whether the hive- 
 
 4 
 
50 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 boards are made square or round. A range of 
 this kind occupies very little space^ and presents 
 few facilities for the incursions of insects or other 
 annoy ers of bees. The hives ought to have a good 
 
 interval betvi^een each ; but it is an advantage that 
 on tliis plan they can be moved, by sliding the 
 boards to the right or left, if circumstances call 
 
WOODEN BOX HIVES. 51 
 
 for it. A range oa the same principle might 
 readily be made ornamentally, in part or wholly 
 of iron, standing on feet, moveable anywhere, and 
 setting vermin at defiance. 
 
 To the intelligent reader it is unnecessary 
 again to repeat, that bee-stocks ought always to 
 be raised sufficiently from the ground to protect 
 them, not only from the baneful effects of damp, 
 but from the incursions of vermin, &c. But 
 inattention on this point is sometimes met with 
 so gross, that we cannot forbear giving place to 
 the preceding engraving, from a drawing made on 
 the spot in Dorsetshire, illustrating the treatment 
 to which the poor bees may be sometimes sub- 
 jected by indifference or deplorable ignorance. 
 
 WOODEN BOX HIVES. 
 
 As far as we have proceeded, our attention has 
 been directed principally to Straw hives. Those, 
 however, of Wood have in modern times come 
 pretty generally into use, when cost is not an 
 object, as being more durable, less liable to har- 
 bour vermin, and better adapted, from their 
 square form, for a convenient arrangement of the 
 combs, besides admitting of glass windows. 
 
 As regards the plainer kind of boxes, either 
 intended for use on the swarming system, or on 
 that where deprivation is practised, I adhere to 
 
53 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 the opinion expressed as to straw hives, and prefer 
 those constructed broad and shallow to such as 
 are high and narrow. They may be made of the 
 lighter and more porous kinds of deal, some pre- 
 ferring red cedar ; but whichever is made use of, 
 it should be thoroughly seasoned, and well put 
 together ; observing that the grain of the wood 
 always runs in the horizontal direction, when its 
 tendency to expansion or contraction is rendered 
 of no importance. Conflicting opinions prevail as 
 to the best size for bee-boxes ; but, like almost 
 everything else where these insects are concerned, 
 something must be left dependent on circum- 
 stances and locality, as well as the intended mode 
 of working them. A fair average size for a plain 
 box is eleven and a half inches square, by eight 
 inches deep, withinside ; or, perhaps better, 
 twelve by seven or seven and a half inches, 
 clear ; the thickness of wood throughout being 
 not less than an inch, or, if exposed, more than 
 this. The cover of the box should have a small 
 projection on all sides, for better appearance, and 
 to afford convenience for lifting. On the top a 
 two- or three-inch hole may be cut in the centre, 
 for the purposes of supering, of feeding, or venti- 
 lation. Instead, however, of one central hole, 
 some persons like to have three smaller ones, cut 
 triangularly ; affording convenience for the use of 
 a single large, or three small glasses. It is best 
 to leave the roof of the box, withinside, unplaned, 
 
WOODEN BOX HIVES. 
 
 53 
 
 as tlie bees have sometimes a difficulty in making 
 the first combs adhere to too smooth a surface. 
 A Avindow may be placed at the back, and 
 another at one side, about four inches high, and 
 six wide. The glass should be thick, and secured 
 by putty ; but it must not fit too tightly, or it is 
 apt to crack from the swelliug of the wood. 
 There are various ways of covering the windows, 
 but the best is, perhaps, by a sliding shutter of 
 zinc. Round the window there must be a pro- 
 jecting moulding, mitred at the corners. On one 
 side the piece of moulding is moveable, and to 
 the back of this is screwed a plate of sheet zinc. 
 This passes into a rabbet to receive it, cut, on the 
 remaining three sides, at the back of the lower 
 edge of the moulding. T\"here uniformity of ap- 
 pearance is studied, blank windows may be made 
 opposite to the real ones.* No entrance-way 
 should be cut in the box, as this more properly 
 belongs to the floor-board. 
 
 * As regards windows, they are always useful to inspect a hive, 
 but should, as a rule, be kept darkened. At the same time there 
 
54 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 A reference to the engravino^ will show a box 
 thus made, with its sliding shutter. It ought to 
 be painted a sufficient time before use, or the 
 smell is offensive to the bees; indeed, I have 
 known a swarm forsake a box in consequence. 
 I may observe, however, that some persons prefer 
 boxes, when in a house, to be unpainted. They 
 are always best placed under some kind of cover, 
 as protection from wet and a hot sun is necessary 
 to prevent warping and splitting, and not unfre- 
 quently the melting of the combs. Some German 
 bee-keepers have recommended box-hives made 
 long from back to front, and narrow from side to 
 side. 
 
 WOODEN BAR BOXES. 
 
 An undoubted improvement on the box de- 
 scribed in the last section, consists in the addition 
 of separate moveable bars of wood, crossing the 
 
 is no doubt that bees will -work exposed to the light, when the 
 option of darkness is not allowed them. A friend put a swarm 
 into a unicomb hive, made without shutters on each side, and ex- 
 posed to the full glare of light at a window, which I frequently in- 
 spected. The bees filled the hive in a short time, paying appa- 
 rently no attention to the eyes often observing their operations. 
 It is to be remarked, however, that whether bees are in light 
 'or darkness, the one or the other must be continuous, as alterna- 
 tions disturb and alarm them. We shall hereafter give a design 
 for an experimental Light Hive. 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 55 
 
 top of the hive, iu parallel lines, to which the 
 combs are to be attached. By this means any 
 comb, on removal of the cover, can be separately 
 extracted, adhering to its own particular bar. The 
 bar -system, as we may call it, has had many ad- 
 vocates, but to none are we more indebted than 
 to Dr. Bevan and Mr. Golding, for reducing to 
 fixed rules what had previously been undefined 
 and uncertain. The latter, however, appears to 
 have a preference for straw hives, and has given 
 instructions for adapting bars to them. We 
 shall hereafter describe a hive of this kind, but 
 varying in some respects from Mr. Golding's. 
 With Dr. Bevan, many prefer boxes ; and a square 
 form is better than any other, as in these every 
 bar has the advantage of being alike, fitting any- 
 where, either in the same or another box. At 
 all events, '' whatever the construction of the 
 hive/^ says Mr. Golding, '^ without some such 
 facility as bars, whereby every comb can be made 
 indiddually available, there is something wanted, 
 something wrong. ^^ With no claim, therefore, to 
 the invention of any new principle, the boxes 1 
 have constructed are modifications of those that 
 preceded them ; the object in view being to render 
 these, at a small extra cost, more manageable to 
 the amateur. In short, I know of no hive more 
 completely under control. 
 
 I may premise that the boxes (as illustrated in 
 a former edition), following those described by 
 
THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 Dr. Bevan_, were adapted for the reception of 
 seven bars. Subsequent experience has shown 
 that these may be advantageously increased to 
 
 eight in number, extend- 
 ing the square of the hive, 
 but diminishing itsheight. 
 In thickness the wood 
 ought not to be less than 
 
 a full inch. The dimen- 
 sions withinside are 
 thirteen and a quarter 
 inches square ; the height 
 being seven inches, in- 
 clusive of the bars. As 
 regards windows, there 
 may be one at the back 
 and at the side,fourinches 
 high by seven or eight 
 inches long; with sliding 
 shutters, like those de- 
 scribed in the preceding 
 section. The glass ought 
 to be so fixed as to 
 leave as little recess as 
 possible withinside the 
 box, otherwise the ex- 
 traction of the combs is 
 impeded. Indeed, it is better to have the panes 
 introduced flush, and cemented from the inner 
 side into a fine rabbet. The best kind of cement 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 
 
 57 
 
 for this purpose is a mixture of pcwdered chalk 
 and glue. The bars must be one and an eighth 
 inch Tvide, and half an inch thick ; being best 
 implaned on the under side, to enable the combs 
 to adhere to them. Recesses of a full eighth of 
 an inch are cut from the upper inner edge of the 
 box, to receive the ends of the bars, into which 
 thev should fall easily, rane^ed from front to back. 
 It is essential to follow the rules laid down by 
 Dr. Bevan, who says, "if the distances of the 
 bars from each other be nicely adjusted, there 
 will be interspaces between them of about half an 
 inch. The precise width of the bars should be 
 attended to, and also their distances from each 
 other, as any deviation in this respect would 
 throw the combs wrong. It is better to be some- 
 what ivithin the rule than to exceed it by ever so 
 little, for the tendency is generally to make the 
 combs approximate. This has induced me to 
 vary a little the relative distances of the bars, the 
 three (four) centre ones being placed only seven 
 sixteenths of an inch from each 
 other, whilst the rest gradually 
 recede from that distance.^'' For 
 the purpose of ensuring the need- 
 ful uniformity and correctness 
 of workmanship requisite in all 
 points, I constructed a pattern 
 gauge, as seen in the annexed 
 engraving. It is made of sheet metal, brass being 
 
 
 mi 
 
 LiLLLLlJOJ 
 
58 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPEliS MANUAL. 
 
 the best^ of the same dimensions as the inte- 
 rior square of the boxes, exclusive of the end 
 projections. These latter denote the exact 
 interspaces between the bars ; so that if the gauge 
 is placed upon the inner edge of the box, the 
 position of the recesses into which the bars are 
 intended to fall may be indicated at each end. 
 Moreover_, the gauge gives a correct pattern for 
 making the bars, as also the position of the holes 
 through the crown and centre boards. 
 
 It may be well here to allude to what some have 
 thought to be an improvement in the construction 
 of the bars, the object being to render the combs 
 more accessible, and the usual cutting, to detach 
 them from the sides of the hive, avoided. A 
 
 reference to the accompany- 
 ing engraving will exhibit 
 a bar with a frame sus- 
 pended beneath it, but so 
 made as not to touch either 
 the sides or bottom of the 
 hive, and within which the 
 combs are, or ought to be, wrought. Doubt- 
 less, advantages may arise from the facilities thus 
 given for removal, provided these are not coun- 
 terbalanced by the evil of greater complication, 
 and the inconvenience arising from the possible 
 attachment by the bees of the frame itself to the 
 sides of the hive, and so setting them fast. More- 
 over, as such frames curtail space in the hive, 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 
 
 59 
 
 allowance is neces- 
 sary in its external 
 dimensions. 
 
 A cover or crown 
 boards three quar- 
 ters of an inch thick^ 
 clamped at the ends^ 
 and projecting all 
 round nearly half 
 an inch, is fixed 
 down, flush with the 
 bars, with two or 
 three long screws. 
 To prevent rusting, 
 these may be of 
 brass. 
 
 Some objection 
 has been raised 
 against screws, as 
 being occasionally 
 troublesome to re- 
 move. The engrav- 
 ings annexed (drawn 
 half size) show an- 
 other mode of at- 
 taching the crown 
 board by means of 
 brass rings, elon- 
 gated like the link 
 of a chain, and held 
 
60 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 loosely at the bottom by the head of a screw, 
 inserted at the side of the box. An aperture is 
 cut in the projection of the crown board, through 
 which the link passes to the top, into a recess 
 made to receive it, and where it is fixed by a 
 moveable lateral pin, leaving a flush surface. On 
 removing the pin the link drops down upon the 
 screw head, and the crown board becomes released. 
 Instead of a ring, a similarly formed link can be 
 cut from a piece of sheet metal. 
 
 It is not always that amateurs are possessed 
 of the nerve requisite to perform, periodically, 
 the operation of changing the cover immediately 
 over a populous stock. The construction of my 
 bar-hive renders this unnecessary. Through the 
 cover are three openings, cut as a passage upward 
 for the bees into a super. For convenience, two 
 of these are placed within three inches of the 
 front of the box (measuring inside), to the centre 
 of the holes, which are one inch and a quarter in 
 diameter at the outer end, lengthening towards 
 the centre to three inches ; there diminished to a 
 point, and leaving two intermediate inches be- 
 tween them. I have found it well in this part to 
 give an increased facility to the bees in passing 
 over the bars, which otherwise too much intercept 
 the passage. To accomplish this, let the crown 
 board be turned bottom upwards, grooving out 
 the central portion coming immediately under- 
 neath and between the two holes, for the space 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 61 
 
 of six or seven inches loiig:^ one and a half inch 
 wide^ and three eighths of an inch deep. The 
 third hole is made an inch and a half from the 
 back of the cover (measured inside) ; of the same 
 size and form as the others^ but an inch shorter. 
 This Avill be useful in workiug glasses and in 
 feeding. The elongated form given to the holes 
 is best adapted to prevent killing or maiming the 
 bees in introducing the dividing slides. The 
 latter are plates of stout zinc or copper, tAvo 
 inches wide, sliding -within a recess or groove, 
 cut their o\vn thickness, across the top of the 
 crown board, over the holes. The slides ai'e long 
 enough to meet in the centre, their outer ends 
 being a little turned up for convenience. If the 
 last inch is perforated with small holes, the slide 
 becomes a ventilator, by drawing it out a little. 
 
 This hive may be used either for single or 
 double hiding, or with any kind of super ; but 
 to render it complete for all purposes, there ought 
 to be three boxes, forming a set, as seen in the 
 engi'avings at p. 56, in which the stock box is 
 the bottom one. In many seasons and localities, 
 however, the thii'd box might not be called for. 
 For convenience of description, the numbers 
 1, 2, and 3, are used in reference to the stock 
 box, the first super, and the centre box ; all 
 to be of equal size as to the square. IS'o. 2 
 should be fitted with bars and windows, like the 
 first ; but in height it may be one inch, or some- 
 
62 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 times two, lower. Moreover, there must be no 
 holes through its crown board, for whether two 
 or three boxes are in use, No. 2 is always the 
 upper one. A great convenience is given by the 
 introduction of a loose centre board, placed on the 
 top of the stock box, and of the same dimensions ; 
 being in fact an adapter to the super, which can 
 be lifted upon it, on removal. It is of half- inch 
 wood, clamped, having openings cut through, 
 corresponding in form and position with those of 
 the stock box, but without any recess. The slides 
 move beneath the centre board, opening or shut- 
 ting off the communication from box to box, as 
 required. No. 3 box differs from the others in 
 being still shallower, and having no moveable 
 bars. Moreover, the central portion of its cover 
 is cut through into the semblance of a grating, 
 as shown in the illustration, with six bars, nine 
 inches long, of an inch and an eighth in width, 
 and with interspaces of half an inch. In certain 
 very productive seasons, and when the super No. 2 
 is filled. No. 3 may be introduced behaeen the two 
 others; not removing the upper box till the bees 
 have commenced working in No. 3. A temporary 
 close cover must then be placed over the grated 
 one of the latter. Many experienced apiarians, 
 howevei", object to using more than one super 
 hive, preferring to give any further room that 
 may be required, at the bottom of the stock. The 
 box No. 3 is equally well adapted for either 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 63 
 
 « 
 
 alternative; for it may go as a nadir, beneath the 
 stock hive_, taking its place on the hive-board, in 
 ■which latter is the entrance for the bees_, no other 
 being permitted. 
 
 A hive-board suitable is either like the one 
 shown at p. 43, or that at p. 44 ; the boxes 
 being placed upon it, -^ith the bars ranging from 
 front to back. Some persons are inclined, in- 
 stead of one central entrance to the stock box, 
 to prefer two smaller ones, placed respectively at 
 the outer extremities of the front_, of course cut 
 from the floor board ; and it is probable that this 
 departure from the general practice may not be 
 Avithout its occasional advantage, in vrinter espe- 
 cially, in a broad, shallow hive. 
 
 These boxes, like all wooden hives, should 
 be placed in a house of some kind, if possible; 
 but instances occur where such a convenience is 
 not available. To meet these^ I will describe a 
 substitute, which gives effectual protection, though 
 it would still be better standing under a shed. 
 A recurrence to the engraving in the next page 
 will show that our plan comprises an outer casing, 
 in two compartments, and surmounted by a top 
 cover or roof. They may be of half-inch wood, 
 large enough in the square to drop loosely over 
 the boxes, the lower compartment resting upon 
 the rabbet of the hive-board, which may be made 
 as shown at page 44, and wide enough to leave, 
 on three sides, an outside margin of an inch. On 
 
64 
 
 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 the front side a rather 
 more extended margin 
 may be expedient. The 
 height of the lower 
 compartment, measuring 
 from the rabbet of the 
 floor board, reaches to 
 the top of the stock box, 
 except just as much as 
 will allow the slides to 
 pass over its edge. A 
 good- sized elliptical open- 
 ing faces the mouth of 
 the hive ; or increased to 
 two, where there is a se- 
 cond entrance. The other 
 compartment of the case 
 sliould be high enough 
 to inclose within it the 
 two upper boxes. To its 
 outer bottom edge, a 
 band or fillet, about two 
 inches wide, and nearly 
 half an inch thick, is 
 appended, half its width. 
 The other half- width is 
 intended to overlap the 
 outer upper edge of the 
 lower case, when placed 
 one upon the other; and 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 65 
 
 this part should be chamfered, so as to go on and 
 off easily. For appearance' sake, another band 
 is appended to the upper case, near its top ; unless 
 any other exterior architectural embellishment is 
 preferred. A reference to the engraving will 
 show the whole design is completed by a hipped 
 roof or cover. Under the four projecting edges 
 of the latter is a suspended cornice, about two 
 inches deep, on its outer sides. When in its 
 place, about three quarters of an inch of the 
 cornice ought to overhang, dropping loosely over 
 the upper outer edge of the case (a little cham- 
 fered) ; to regulate this, recessed at the four angles, 
 within the cover, are attached cross corner blocks. 
 For the purpose of ventilating the roof, long 
 lateral openings are cut out on the four sides, 
 from the upper part of the cornice, under the 
 projecting edges of the roof. The total projection 
 of this may be two inches, or a little more. The 
 cover ought to fit equally well upon either com- 
 partment of the case ; for in winter the edifice 
 can be reduced to one story only. 
 
 The stand for the whole is simply an open 
 frame, of the same outside dimensions as the cases; 
 with inch- thick rails, four inches deep, framed at 
 the corners to four posts or legs. These may be 
 two inches square, and eighteen inches high ; 
 either sunk into the ground, or placed upon 
 it, by means of cross-pieces, pinned or pegged 
 down. The hive-board drops loosely down into 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 the frame^ and rests upon the rails, showing a pro- 
 jection all round of an inch ; the cross bars on 
 
 its underneatli side re- 
 taining it steadily. 
 
 In a former edition, 
 this kind of hive, M'hen 
 thus fitted up with an 
 outer covering, obtained 
 the name of the double 
 bar-hive, by way of dis- 
 tinction from another 
 mode of constructing it^ 
 which will now be de- 
 tailed. 
 Whatever may be said about the inexpediency 
 of placing wooden hives in exposure to the 
 weather, the one we are now proceeding to de- 
 scribe was intended to meet the wishes of some 
 bee- proprietors, who objected to the small degree 
 of trouble, involved in using any kind of outer 
 casing; obtaining from this circumstance the 
 appellation of the single bar-hive. 
 
 The three boxes, forming the set, differ but 
 little from those last described ; tbe interior di- 
 mensions, bars, windows, crown boards, &c., being 
 similar; but the centre board is omitted, and the 
 thickness of the wood must be increased to not 
 less than one and a quarter inch. A rabbet of a 
 quarter of an inch is cut round all the crown- 
 boardsj to receive a super box^ or the roof cover ; 
 
WOODEN BAR BOXES. 
 
 67 
 
 the better to retain it in its place. The outside 
 projection should be extended to not less than an 
 inch and a half; 
 this part being 
 chamfered to throw 
 off wet. The plan of 
 the roof cover will 
 be seen on reference 
 to our illustration. 
 The square append- 
 ed within it is in 
 interior diameter 
 the same as the 
 boxes^ to fit over 
 any of them^ rest- 
 ing upon it suffi- 
 ciently to allow the 
 projecting parts of 
 the crown-board to 
 be seen as a cor- 
 nice. Beyond this_, 
 there is a further 
 projection of the 
 roof of an inch, provision for ventilation being 
 made by a double set of openings, cut as shown 
 in our engraving. For better security in winter, 
 loose wooden blocks, to the stock-box, mav be 
 made to fill the space intervening between the 
 glass windows and the sliding shutters. The 
 hive-board may be that shown either at p. 43, or 
 
68 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 44, -of the same dimensions as that of the crown 
 boards, and chamfered off. The stand to receive 
 it is like the one described and shown at p. 66, 
 the square of its frame being the same as that of 
 the exterior of the boxes. Our engraving exhibits 
 a simple method of adding a useful kind of porch 
 to the entrance of the stock-box, bv means of a 
 
 strip of zinc or other 
 material, of the width 
 of the front projection 
 of the floor board. It 
 can be bent into the 
 form of an elliptical 
 arch, the two lower 
 extremities being held 
 by going down within 
 ■„„^^^„,,^. ..^^ the sunken part of 
 the board, wlnlst the 
 upper part derives sup- 
 port by being pressed 
 back beneath the win- 
 dow moulding. 
 
 Those who study 
 economy may, instead 
 of the entire set of 
 boxes just described, 
 retain the stock-box only, with a cover to receive 
 any kind of super, as shown above. The cover 
 will do if made of half-inch wood, nine inches 
 high to the square of the roof; the outside dimen- 
 
WOODEN BOX-HIVES. 69 
 
 sions being the same as in tlie stock-box. A 
 slanting projecting roof forms a part of the cover. 
 Under its projecting edges openings for ventilation 
 can be cut. The cover is retained in its place by 
 a rabbet cut round the top of the stock-box, and 
 preventing the admission of yvet. 
 
 The object of the bars we have said is to fur- 
 nish parallel foundations on which the combs are 
 to be worked, for without an observance of this 
 regularity, subsequent extraction becomes impos- 
 sible ; showing the necessity for a proper beginning. 
 To induce the bees to preserve a straight direc- 
 tion, it has usually been found expedient to ap- 
 pend what are termed guide-combs to three or 
 four of the centre bars of the stock-box, pre- 
 viously to hiving a swarm into it ; and for the 
 purpose some pieces of clean worker-comb ought 
 to be kept in reserve. In giving the needful 
 directions for fixing the guides, we cannot do 
 better than use the words of Mr. Golding, who 
 says, " this is easily efi'ected by heating a com- 
 mon flat-iron, slightly warming the bars with it, 
 then melting a little bees'-wax upon it. The comb 
 is now drawn quickly across the heated iron, and 
 held down upon the centre of the bar, to which 
 it firmly adheres, if properly managed. These 
 pieces of guide-comb need not be more than two 
 or three inches in diameter. Care should be 
 taken that the pitch or inclination of the cells is 
 upwards from the centre of each comb.^^ Or it 
 
70 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 may do equally well, if the edge of the comb is 
 dipped in melted wax. 
 
 In the absence of guide-combs another mode of 
 proceeding has been sometimes successfully re- 
 sorted to. Take a flat piece of tin or- zinc (or 
 stiff paper might do)_, of the length and width of 
 one of the bars : cut out the central portion to 
 the extent of half an inch in width. Lay the 
 pattern thus prepared upon the bar, and wdth a 
 brush smear, in a straight line, some melted 
 bees^-wax along the central half-inch opening, and 
 so proceed with four or five other bars. The bees 
 will usually commence w^orking first upon the 
 waxed part of the bar, and this tecds to uniformity 
 subsequently. Nothing can be more beautiful 
 than a box of honey-combs thus regularly worked ; 
 nor is it possible in any other way to have them 
 so perfect and unbroken, when detached. Indeed, 
 the convenience of moveable bars can only be 
 appreciated by those accustomed to their use. 
 Their advantage is apparent when it has become 
 expedient to remove old combs from stock-hives. 
 They may be made available in cases w^here one 
 box has more and another less of sufficient store 
 of honey : in such event, or as a substitute for 
 feeding, a loaded bar or two can be transferred 
 from the one to the other ; or from a super to a 
 stock-box. For the object of making artificial 
 swarms great facility is given, more especially 
 when a comb contains a royal cell. A brood- 
 
WOODEN BOX-HIVi:S. 71 
 
 comb may in like manner be taken and inserted 
 in a weak stock, to strengthen the population ; or 
 for the purpose of rearing a Queen artificially, in 
 a hive wanting one. So also, in the swarming 
 season, supernumerary royal cells may be cut out : 
 likewise, a superabmidance of drone-combs can be 
 removed, and the bees wall fill the vacancies with 
 common ones. 
 
 We shall, under the head of Autumnal man- 
 agementy give general directions for the removal 
 or deprivation of full super boxes ; but it may be 
 well here to describe the method to be pursued 
 where it is necessary to operate on a stock-hive. 
 In such a case, a piece of board is useful, of the 
 same width and thickness as the top, or crown- 
 board. In the middle of the day, unscrew the 
 latter, sliding it sideways ; the extra board cover- 
 ing over the vacancy as you proceed. In this 
 way, only as much space as is wanted to get at 
 any given bar need be exposed. '' A few puffs of 
 smoke/^ says Mr. Golding, '^ may now be blown 
 down the sides of the comb to be taken out, 
 which will intimidate the bees, and drive them 
 away. A double-edged knife-blade, an inch and 
 a half long, and three eighths of an inch wide, 
 turned at right angles from the end of an iron 
 rod of about a foot in length, is now passed 
 down the edges of the comb, to detach them from 
 the hive. After this is done, the comb may be 
 easily lifted ; such bees as still adhere to it being 
 
72 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 swept down into the hive as the bar is lifted 
 upwards. Such operations as these are much 
 less formidable than many persons believe. The 
 fact is, the bees, when once intimidated by the 
 smoke, may be done almost anything with. Quiet- 
 ness and a little tact are all that is required. 
 When combs are taken out, they may be either 
 detached from the bars at once, and the bars 
 returned, or spare bars may be kept on hand 
 wherewith to replace such as have been ex- 
 tracted.^' 
 
 BAR GLASS-HIVE. 
 
 Before we leave the subject of box-hives, it 
 may be interesting to give a description of one 
 
 recently constructed 
 by me for experi- 
 mental purposes, as 
 referred to in the 
 note at page 53, and 
 here illustrated. It 
 may not improperly 
 be termed a Light, or Observatory Hive, in dis- 
 tinction from the usual mode of rendering the 
 dwelling as dark as possible. The hive itself 
 resembles the bar-boxes just described, as to its- 
 interior dimensions, bars, crown-board, &c. ; but 
 differs inasmuch as it is made simply as a frarae^, 
 
STRAW BAR-HIVE. 73 
 
 filled in on the four sides witli thick glass, flush 
 with the inside surface of the wood. For the 
 purpose of preventing the bees from attaching 
 the combs to the glass^ thin npright strips of 
 wood^ rather more than half an inch wide, are 
 tacked under the centre of each bar, at both 
 ends, extending from top to bottom inside of the 
 hive. Or some might prefer to use frame-bars, 
 like the one described and illustrated at page 58 ; 
 but guides or waxed bars must be used, to ensure 
 the regularity of the combs, and prevent an ob- 
 struction to the sio^ht. The hive ouorht to be 
 placed in a house, and in winter should be care- 
 fully covered ; an outer case or box going over 
 aU. 
 
 STRAW BAR-HIVE. 
 
 We have already alluded to 
 hives of straw, fitted with bars. 
 The one now about to be de- 
 scribed differs from those com- 
 monly used, in several respects, 
 as will be seen on reference to 
 the annexed illustration. 
 
 In form, my hive is an open 
 cylinder, 14 inches in inside 
 diameter, and 7 inches in height, to the upper 
 side of the bars, which are eight in number; 
 
74> 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 similar in size, and interspaced 
 like those in the square bar- 
 hive, described at page 56. For 
 the purpose of supporting the 
 bars, a well-seasoned hoop is in- 
 troduced within, and on a level with, the upper 
 edge of the hive — nearly two inches in depth, 
 and a quarter inch thick ; its interior diameter 
 being the same as that of the hive. The two 
 upper straw bands of the latter are reduced in 
 size, sufficiently to form a recess equal to the 
 thickness of the hoop, — the outside of the hive 
 remaining flush. The hoop is there retained by 
 a few small brad-nails, driven through it and into 
 the straw; and thus no impediment is offered on 
 extracting the combs. A difficulty presented itself 
 in attaching the bars to the edge of the hoop, to 
 overcome which I constructed a pattern-gauge, 
 dififering in form from that seen at page 57. 
 
 Our illustration will show 
 that the outer edges of the 
 gauge are divided, so as, when 
 laid flat upon the hoop, to 
 give the precise position of 
 the indentations for the re- 
 ception of the ends of the 
 bars : moreover, these may 
 severally be correctly fashioned by following the 
 form shown upon the gauge. The adjustment of 
 the bars should be done previously to attaching 
 
CIRCULAU WOODEN HIVES. 
 
 To 
 
 the hoop to the hive, not allo^ving them to fit too 
 
 tight. The cover is a flat piece of worked straw, 
 
 which ought to lie dose upon the bars. I have 
 
 found no better method of securing the cover in 
 
 its place than by the use of a few pointed iron pins, 
 
 going dow^n through it and into the upper edge of 
 
 the hive. For convenience of working supers, a 
 
 three-inch hole is left in the 
 
 centre of the cover; stopped, 
 
 when not in use, by a small 
 
 piece of worked straw, pinned 
 
 down. Some persons might 
 
 prefer a wooden top, which may 
 
 be perforated either with one 
 
 hole or three. It should rest 
 
 upon the bars, and can be held 
 
 in its place by pins, in the way 
 
 we have just mentioned, and 
 
 which at any time are removeable ; or a hoop may 
 
 be attached to the edge of the crown-board, as 
 
 described and shown at page 35. 
 
 CIRCULAR WOODEN HIVES. 
 
 I have sometimes turned my attention to 
 cylinders of wood, as offering great advantages in 
 constructing a hive ; not only in attaching bars, 
 but also the desirable convenience of windows. 
 The facilities for procuring them made with the 
 
76 
 
 THE BEE-KEEP KR^S MANUAL. 
 
 requisite correctness of fornix however^ depends 
 on circumstances not always 
 at command ; the process of 
 construction being the same of 
 steaming, rolling, and shaping, 
 employed by the manufac- 
 turers of our common wooden 
 corn measures, &c. The cost 
 of the W'Ood cylinders alone are 
 not much more than the straw 
 ones, and being made of oak 
 or ash, they are very durable. 
 Softer and more porous wood 
 would doubtless be preferable, but a diffi- 
 culty attends the use of such. In size, the 
 dimensions before recommended are adhered to ; 
 viz., 14 inches clear, by seven inches in height, 
 for hives with or without bars ; the thickness 
 being about half an inch. A reference to our 
 illustration, and to the accom- 
 panying pattern gauge, will 
 show the mode of cutting and 
 adjusting the bars ; these rest- 
 ing rather loosely in rabbets, 
 cut the width of the bar, half 
 through the thickness of the 
 hive. The crown-board may 
 be made and cut in the way 
 already described, and can be fixed by means 
 of a few small screws ; or, if preferred, in the 
 
 KAM 
 
CIRCULAR WOODEN HIVES. 
 
 method detailed aud illustrated at page 59. 
 When the hive is not fitted ^vith bars, it is an 
 advantage partially to sink the crown-board within 
 the diameter of the cylinder, which ensures a 
 more perfect joint. At the back is a window of 
 bent glass, protected by a sliding zinc shutter, 
 moving in a frame of rabbeted moulding ; all 
 following the curved form of the wood. A suit- 
 able staining and varnishing gives to the whole 
 a neat appearance. Two of the hives may be 
 placed one upon the other, for 
 supering ; an adapter or centre 
 board going between them : or 
 smaller wooden round hives, 
 of any size, with thin tops, can 
 he used for the same purpose ; 
 and these misrht be made bv 
 a common cooper. 
 
 These hives are of too re- 
 cent introduction to warrant saying more than 
 that, to adapt them to the object in view, it is 
 essential that they be placed in a house or cover, 
 as from the density of the wood they are not 
 calculated to bear exposure to the sun and 
 weather. In winter attention should be given to 
 close covering them. I may add that, in using a 
 thinner cylinder, I have tried the experiment of 
 coating the outside with an envelope of gutta 
 percha^ giving the advantage of improved appear- 
 ance, and doubtless of utility, but at a consider- 
 able increase of cost. 
 
78 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 COLLATERAL SYSTEM. 
 
 Various modes of working hives collaterally, 
 or side by side, have been devised, but a very 
 simple one has been practised with success by a 
 correspondent, which as adapted by me may with 
 propriety be termed a doubling -board. It is 
 formed of a plain board not less than an inch 
 thick. It must be of sufficient width to take a 
 broad shallow hive, and long enough to contain 
 two of these, with six or eight inches to spare. 
 A stock-hive is in the first instance placed over 
 the centre circular mark, within which is the 
 
 double outlet for the bees. When more space 
 is required, it must be moved over one of the side 
 circles, and a second hive placed over the other. 
 
COLLATERAL SYSTEM. 79 
 
 The double outlet forms a communication witliin 
 the floor-board from hive to hive. The part 
 hollowed out foi; this purpose is five inches wide^ 
 six inches long, and half an inch high inside, a 
 sloping way being cut on the two further sides 
 doAVD into it. Two covered passages lead from 
 this, terminating at one point on the alighting- 
 board. The bees, having been accustomed to 
 both these passages, will commonly take to the 
 second hive, and commence working therein, 
 particularly if smeared with honey. In order to 
 show the position of the parts hollowed out, these 
 are slightly shaded in the engraving. They are 
 cut from the bottom side of the board, in the way 
 described at page 45. A second piece of wood, 
 nine or ten inches wide, must be screwed to the 
 under side, to enclose the openings. This ought 
 to reach back nearly the width of the upper 
 board ; at the same time projecting far enough 
 in front to form the alighting-place. Another 
 cross piece may be screwed to the under side, at 
 each end. 
 
 AYhen it is required to take away one of the 
 hives, the communication below must be cut oflP 
 between them. This is done by means of a 
 divider of strong tin, copper, or iron, pushed in 
 from behind, in a groove cut edgewise in the 
 bottom side of the main board, and resting on 
 the under one. The dotted line in the engraving 
 shows the position of the divider, which must in 
 
80 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 depth be the same as the passage between the 
 two hives, so as, wlien in its place, to stop it en- 
 tirely across the centre. 
 
 Another phm of working hives side by side is 
 shown below, two boards being required. 
 
 They are made on the double plan, as de- 
 scribed at page 45 ; alike in size and thickness, 
 with the entrance passages cut out from beneath. 
 There must, however, be two entrances to the 
 board intended for the second hive — one in 
 front, and the other at the side, with doorways 
 not less than six inches wide. A wedge or two 
 of wood will contract them as needed. When 
 room is required, the first board with its hive 
 must be moved so far sideways that the second 
 one can precisely occupy its place. At the same 
 time it must be turned half round, so that its 
 mouth and that on the side of the new hive meet 
 and fit close together. The bees will pass into 
 the other hive on going out : on returning it will 
 be the same, for the alighting-board (which ought 
 to be a fixture) will remain as usual. On re- 
 
WHITE S COLLATERAL HIVE. 
 
 81 
 
 moving a filll hive, the other must be restored to 
 its original position. 
 
 WHITE S COLLATEUAL HIVE. 
 
 As regards collateral bee-boxes, we owe our 
 original acquaintance with them principally to 
 White, nearly a century ago.* His plan requires 
 two boxes, placed side by side, with means of 
 communication, open or stopped at pleasure. 
 These hives do not appear to have been very 
 extensively used; perhaps a good deal owing to 
 the imperfect way in which they were made. 
 For my own use, I endeavoured to improve upon 
 the original design, of which the engraving , fol- 
 lowing will give an idea. The boxes and their 
 boards are shown a little separated ; the passages 
 
 * See ' Collateral Bee-boxes ; or a new, easy, and advantageous 
 method of -managing Bees.' By Stephen White, Holton, Suffolk. 
 London, three editions, 1756, 1763, and 1764. 
 
 6 
 
82 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 from one to the other being made along the top 
 and bottom of each box. These openings can 
 be closed by the introduction horizontally of slides 
 of thick tin or copper^ of an inch and a quarter 
 wide, inserted from behind ; let into the boxes 
 
 their own thickriess, and 
 there loosely kept by cases 
 or strips of tin, cut to cor- 
 respond -with the openings. 
 The tins may be about two 
 and a half inches wide. 
 Their form, and that of the slides, is here shown. 
 
 nutt's collaterai, hive. 
 
 The modes we have hitherto noticed as appli- 
 cable to hives worked side by side suppose two 
 to be employed; but Nutt, a few years ago, 
 introduced three boxes, as forming a set ; and 
 these hives had their day, where cost and space 
 were not objects.^ 
 
 The three l)oxes are placed together collaterally, 
 with an entrance from the centre box to the side 
 ones, each way, through what may be termed a 
 grating ; which communication can either be 
 open, or cut off by means of a divider, made of 
 sheet tin, pushed between. The centre box Nutt 
 named the Pavilion, into which the bees must be 
 hived, and not afterwards disturbed. As more 
 
 * See ' Humanity to Honey Bees.' By Thomas Nutt. 
 
>;utt's collateral hive. 83 
 
 space is required by tlie bees, it is given by 
 withdrawing the divider. They then take 
 possession of one or both of the side boxes, which 
 when filled can be removed. There are holes on 
 the top of the side boxes for the reception of 
 ventilators. In the construction of these hives 
 the theory of Nutt supposes that a warmer tem- 
 perature is required in the seat of breeding from 
 that in which comb -buildino" and the storino- of 
 honey ought to take place, than which no greater 
 fallacy is possible, as during the formation of a 
 comb the bees cluster round it in masses, to gene- 
 rate the highest degree of warmth. By the 
 agency of ventilation in his side boxes, these are 
 injuriously rendered cooler than the centre one ; 
 a thermometer inserted within the ventilator 
 determining the relative degrees of heat.* 
 
 * Another point ou which Nutt laid much stress maybe men- 
 tioned, viz., the supposed advantage to the bees in working on one 
 level, without the necessity of climbing, as in storified hives. I 
 long thought this was indisputable. Further consideration led me 
 more minutely to examine the habits of the bee in this respect, 
 and I became convinced that nature had given it equal facilities 
 for moving in every direction. A scientific correspondent thus 
 writes on this subject : " I once propounded the quejtioii to a very 
 eminent mathematician, and his reply was, that, if any, the differ- 
 ence was too minute to admit of calculation between the horizontal 
 and the perpendicular movement ; it was, in the language of the 
 present day, infinitessimal." Although few of Nutt's positions 
 have been found to stand the test of practice, it ought not to be 
 said that his crude speculations and rash assertions have been alto- 
 gether without useful results, as they undoubtedly led to farther 
 investigation, and several modern improvements had thus their 
 origin. 
 
84 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 
 -^ T ' .yyA!^'^..'^,^M^,i',,/,'„ .'yy^Atr ,/m. 
 
 '■.,„.■;„,,„,. y-mmm^- 
 
 n 
 
 ilrfti^mig,f%w^? 
 
 
 < ,/ ^,y,^y.yyy.-yy,„yy>myy^yy,y7>^ 
 
 
 -- — t^ 
 
NUTT S COLLATERAL HIVE. 
 
 85 
 
 Although at one time I inclined to the principle 
 propounded by Nutt, yet in the working of his 
 hives^ I found several disadvantages in their details. 
 I therefore^ for my own convenience, altered in 
 part the form, and mode of communication 
 between the boxes, as shown in Whitens hive ; in 
 the absence of a bee-house, completing the fabric 
 by the addition of an outer cover and weather- 
 boarded roof. The details of this hive have so 
 frequently been repeated in former editions, that 
 a reference to the preceding engravings will now 
 suffice to give a general idea of the ground and 
 separated plan, and elevation. 
 
 The ventilators I con- 
 structed for my Nutt's hive, 
 after trying various forms, 
 consist of double tin or zinc 
 tubes, both resting on aflanch 
 or rim, in the holes prepared 
 for them on the top of the box, 
 usually near the back. The 
 outer tube is of one inch 
 diameter, and six inches long, 
 with six half- inch holes dis- 
 persed over it. It is soon 
 fixed down in its place by the 
 bees, and so must remain. The inner tube is of 
 perforated zinc, with a 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 
 
86 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 can get at it, when it may be turned round a 
 little to present a new surface. When wholly- 
 stopped, it can be withdrawn from its place, and 
 a clean tube substituted. A small thermometer 
 fits within the inner tube. The scientific apiarian, 
 with experimental objects in view, will often find 
 this kind of apparatus, which is applicable to any 
 plain box-hive, of use. 
 
 There is nothing to prevent the adoption, in 
 this hive, of an entrance from beneath the floor- 
 board, in the way described at page 45. In this 
 case, the portico and its adjuncts are superseded; 
 as seen below, in an improved elevation. 
 
87 
 
 NADIR HIVE. 
 
 Bees not Tinfrequently take advantage of a hole 
 or crack in the floor of their domicile to commence 
 building combs underneath it^ a position possessing 
 some advantages. Deriving a hint from them- 
 selves, I contrived what, from this peculiarity, 
 I used to term by way of distinction a Nadir 
 Hive, the store box being placed underneath the 
 stock, coming out 
 at the back, as a 
 drawer. The details 
 of construction of 
 the Nadir Hive have 
 appeared several 
 times in our former 
 editions, but by 
 way of illustrating 
 the principle and 
 methods of its appli- 
 cation, the engrav- 
 ings annexed will 
 not be without their 
 utility. In practice 
 I found no indispo- 
 sition on the part of 
 the bees to enter and 
 work in the store 
 drawer, into which Elevation. 
 
88 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 they have access through the floor-hoard ahove, 
 and which is in part made like that shown at 
 page 78. It will he seen that the entire design 
 supposes an out- door hive, with a hipped cover. 
 The stock-box is enclosed by four panels, moving 
 up and down in grooves or rabbets, cut in the 
 corner pilasters, the latter being attached to the 
 box. 
 
 Separated Plan. 
 
NADIR HIVE. 
 
 89 
 
 Floor-board. 
 
 — - .Us^ 
 
 Nadir drawer and 
 loose cover. 
 
 This mode of applying the Nadir, or rather 
 Nether principle, must not be confounded 
 with the usual plan of disturbing the stock-hive 
 for the purpose of placing an empty one beneath 
 it, with a new entrance in the latter for the bees. 
 Under such circumstances the Queen will com- 
 monly descend and breed in the nadir, which is 
 converted into the stock, occasioning much sub- 
 sequent inconvenience. I have not found such 
 to be the case where the stock, and the entrance 
 into it, is not interfered with; and am inclined 
 to believe that this adaptation of bottom-hiving 
 is worthy of much more attention than it has re- 
 ceived ; to say nothing of its simplicity, safety in 
 management, and obvious convenience to the 
 bees. I will therefore proceed to show in what 
 way it may be made applicable, generally, to the 
 purposes of an apiary. 
 
90 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 We have just pointed out that the mode we 
 are now discussing differs from the Nadir prin- 
 ciple, and by way of distinction, the term Nether 
 will be used, not only to mark the difference, but 
 as presenting a contrast to the opposite word 
 Super. 
 
 We are to suppose that the shelf on which the 
 hives are ranged in a bee-house is perforated 
 under the centre of each, from back to front, 
 with an opening through, three inches long, and 
 about three quarter inch wide. The hive-board 
 must be a separate loose one ; and it ought to 
 lie flat on the shelf, with a perforation similar to 
 the other, the holes in each coming together : to 
 ensure this the shelf can be marked. By moving 
 the hive-board (which is best square) a little side- 
 ways of this mark, the position of the two holes 
 is altered, and the communication downwards 
 becomes stopped ; always doing this cautiously, to 
 avoid injuring the bees. Or, the same object is 
 perhaps better attained by means of a narrow 
 zinc or tin slide, inserted from behind, between 
 the two boards, moving in a groove ploughed its 
 own thickness out of the shelf. A reference to 
 our last engraving sufficiently exhibits a box, or 
 rather drawer (of suitable size), which, when in 
 its place, moves close on the underneath side of 
 the bee- house shelf, by means of blocks and 
 runners ; draAving out at the back by a handle. 
 It may have a window and shutter, but no en- 
 
NETHER HIVE. 91 
 
 trance for the bees, except downwards tlirongli 
 the cover, in which is an aperture, corresponding 
 in size and position with those in the boards 
 above it. It will be seen that the cover of the 
 drawer is a moveable one, of half inch board, 
 fitting down flush into it, and resting at the four 
 corners upon wire supports, or small blocks, 
 placed the thickness of the cover, across the 
 angles. The edges of the cover (except at the 
 corners) are cut away just enough to admit of 
 passing a knife-blade down, to separate the combs 
 from the sides, when the whole may be lifted up, 
 with the combs attached. The honey thus ob- 
 tained is of the purest kind, and I have known a 
 large quantity made available with the least pos- 
 sible disturbance to the bees, on removal. The 
 drawer may be sometimes further made useful 
 for the purpose of feeding, a trough being placed 
 in it, close up to the opening in the cover. A 
 small opening or perforation, at or near the bot- 
 tom of the drawer, will give ventilation should it 
 be needed. 
 
 With a further view of facilitating the practice 
 of under-hiving, when favorable circumstances 
 allow of it, we will proceed to describe what I 
 have termed a Nether, which may be used as an 
 adjunct to a straw or any other hive, as shown 
 in the illustrations Fig. 1, back and front. It 
 may be of half inch wood, 11 or 11| inches 
 square withinside, and 6 to 7 inches deep, 
 
92 
 
 THE BEEKEEPERS MANUAL. 
 
 as circumstances require (see Fig. 4). It has a 
 window and shutter at the back, but neither a 
 fixed top nor bottom, these being moveable 
 boards, of half inch wood, made to project half 
 
 an inch beyond the 
 Nether box ; except 
 that, as respects the 
 bottom board, the 
 projection is increased 
 at the back, with a 
 view to give facilities 
 on the removal of the 
 Nether. (See Figs. 3 
 and 5.) To receive 
 and inclose the Ne- 
 ther, there is an outer 
 case or cover, also of 
 half inch wood, 13 to 
 13^ inches square 
 withinside, made half 
 an inch higher than 
 the Nether, its top 
 and bottom boards 
 inclusive. The outer 
 case is closed on all 
 sides except the top and back. (See Fig. 2.) Upon 
 it rests the floor-board of the stock hive, which 
 may be of inch wood, showing a projection all 
 round of an inch, except at the front, where an ad- 
 ditional three inches is given, to form the alighting 
 
NETHER HIVE. 
 
 93 
 
 board, this part bevel- 
 ling forwards. A square 
 of half inch wood must 
 be screwed to the 
 under side of the floor- 
 board^ of a size to 
 drop easily within the 
 square of the outer 
 case, and thus retain- 
 ing it in its place. 
 Between the two 
 
 FIC.G.BACK 
 
 pieces of 
 floor-board 
 posed, a 
 ploughed 
 front to 
 
 which the 
 is corn- 
 groove is 
 out, from 
 back, two 
 
 inches wide, to receive 
 a zinc dividing slide, 
 pushing in from be- 
 hind. An opening, 
 about three inches 
 long, is cut through 
 the floor-board, to- 
 wards the front, and 
 
 also through the cover of the Nether, to correspond, 
 so that a passage for the bees can be opened on with- 
 drawing the divider. (See Figs. 6, front and back.) 
 A reversal of this proceeding enables possession 
 or inspection to be had of the Nether box, by 
 withdrawing it (upon its bottom board) from be- 
 
94 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 liind, the stock hive heing entirely undisturbed 
 by the operation. 
 
 It is well here to remark that experience has 
 shown that it is seldom expedient to apply the 
 Nether principle to any but strong and populous 
 stocks^ and especially in only moderately warm 
 weather, as otherwise the bees will prefer to fol- 
 loAv the warmth upwards^ into a super. On their 
 first admission into the Nether, a few bees will 
 often be lost in consequence of- their inability to 
 find the way out, so that, as a precaution, a fre- 
 quent inspection of the window is at such time 
 desirable. A small aperture behind, at the bot- 
 tom or side of the Nether, may be made, as a 
 mode of exit for the prisoners, to be closed at 
 pleasure. 
 
 BEE SHEDS AND HOUSES. 
 
 Under the head of Hive-covers we have shown 
 in what way exposed hives can be protected from 
 the efi'ects of weather ; and where only one or 
 two of them are kept, any of these might suffice. 
 The case, however, is altered when a well-stocked 
 apiary is aimed at, requiring a more complete 
 provision for permanent safety. For this purpose, 
 some proprietors like a covered shed or verandah, 
 in a well- screened spot, partially open in the 
 
BEE SHEDS AND HOUSES. 95 
 
 front only. There should be ample space inside 
 for a passage behind the hives, -which may be 
 ranged far enough from the front to be beyond 
 the reach of wet and too much sun. At page 49, 
 is given a description of a Hive-range well adapted 
 for a position like this. 
 
 The common wooden bee-houses, as usually 
 constructed, open in front, and closed altogether 
 behind, retaining the sun's heat as an oven, are 
 objectionable. These are frequently the recep- 
 tacles of dirt and vermin, and most inconvenient 
 to operate in. It would be an improvement to 
 make them deeper backwards; or with a falling 
 front, moving on hinges, so that the hives can be 
 recessed behind it, away from the influence of 
 weather. At the back should be folding doors, 
 opening from top to bottom, allowing a good 
 access to the hives. For greater convenience, it 
 is best only to have them in a single row, with 
 good head room. But a still more desirable 
 plan is to board up the front of the house entirely, 
 making oblong openings through for a passage 
 to the bees, with an exterior alighting board, a 
 good deal slanted downwards (the bees preferring 
 this to a flat surface). The hives are arranged 
 immediately behind, upon a shelf, the further 
 apart the better, as the bees occasionally mistake 
 their own homes, and fall a sacrifice in conse- 
 quence. This kind of house is capable of re- 
 ceiving some architectural form ; and, with locked 
 
96 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 doors at the hack, gives hetter security than 
 most others against depredation; for hive- stealing 
 is by no means rare, in many localities. 
 
 A spare room in a dwelling or an outhouse 
 may often be fitted up to serve the purpose of an 
 apiary, with great convenience ; but a lower room 
 is to be preferred, as bees placed at a high eleva- 
 tion often fly a long distance before they alight 
 when swarming, or, perhaps, may settle on the 
 top of a tree. A shelf can be fixed along the 
 wall, with perforated passages facing the hives, 
 leading outside. Any space there may be between 
 the mouth of the hive and the wall should be 
 filled up by means of a suitably formed wooden 
 block or covered passage, well hollowed out on 
 the underneath side ; admitting the bees freely 
 
POSITION AND ASPECT. 
 
 9r 
 
 through it into their dwelling, but excluding them 
 from the room it- 
 self, and thus en- 
 suring safety in 
 operating. Even 
 at a common win- 
 dow, I have some- 
 times placed a stock 
 hive on a doubling- 
 board ; the latter 
 fitting within the 
 frame of the win- 
 dow, which is raised, 
 to admit of its being 
 
 projected under the lower edge, so that the bees 
 have no admission except to their domicile. 
 
 POSITION AND ASPECT. 
 
 As regards position, it is of great importance 
 that an apiary should be as free from damp, or 
 the drippings of trees, and as little exposed to the 
 direct influence of the wind as possible, for which 
 end a sheltered nook on a low level is preferable 
 to an elevated one. A dry gravel, or well-mown 
 grass plot, is often to be preferred ; closed in with 
 evergreens, especially the laurel and laurustinus, 
 which are much resorted to by the bees ; but 
 always leaving an approach at the back of the 
 
 7 
 
98 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 hives. Let these not be placed too near water, 
 into which the bees are apt to fall or be blown ; 
 and it is desirable that they should be within 
 sight of some dwelling-house, to prevent losses in 
 swarming time. The absence from noise and of 
 bad smells ought to be studied ; for no sense in 
 bees is so acute as that of scent. Disturbers of 
 any kind, as fowls, dogs, pigs, &c., should be kept 
 at a distance. Experience has shown that where 
 bees are very extensively kept, the apiary is best 
 divided on the same premises, so as not to have 
 the whole crowded together ; often inconvenient, 
 particularly in the season of swarming. Nothing 
 high enough to obstruct the direct flight of the 
 bees should be allowed immediately in front of 
 the hives ; but a few low plants are rather useful 
 as resting-places ; for bees, from fatigue, often fall 
 to the ground just on reaching home, especially 
 in an evening, and numbers in consequence fall a 
 prey to cold, and various enemies. Many lives 
 may be saved by spreading out a cloth or mat in 
 front of a hive, when this is observed. Shrubs 
 or bushes, at no great distance, are convenient in 
 the swarming season for the bees to alight upon ; 
 and often prevent a longer flight, or collecting on 
 high trees, &c. 
 
 As regards aspect for bees, many and con- 
 flicting have been the recommendations relative 
 to it, influenced by locality and climate. So many 
 circumstances have to be taken into account, that 
 
POSITION AND ASPECT. 99 
 
 it is difficult to lay down any rule of universal 
 application, and tliey have been known to prosper 
 in all positions^ from due south to north. We 
 know that it has been sometimes advised to turn 
 the hives from the sun in winter^ and to screen 
 them from its direct rays in summer : this has 
 led to an opinion that a permanent north aspect 
 is the best; and often it is so. Still local consi- 
 derations must have their weight, and we are to 
 look to these as regards shelter from cutting 
 winds; the more necessary where no sun reaches 
 the front of the hives. A north aspect need not 
 necessarily be an exposed one in winter ; nor at 
 other times one wholly uninfluenced by the effects 
 of the sun. We have recommended doors at the 
 back of a bee-house, by opening which at proper 
 times^ in the case of a north frontage, the sun's 
 rays have access from behind, with sufficiently 
 good effect in producing a genial general warmth. 
 In forming a decision as to aspect, we ought to 
 take into account the position of buildings, trees, 
 &c., for we have already observed that the flight 
 of the bees from the hives should be uninter- 
 rupted. Moreover, the kind of house must have 
 its weight in the scale ; for where this is one 
 closed at the front from the immediate influence 
 of the sun, aspect is of less importance. Dr. Bevan 
 placed his hives around the interior of an octagon 
 erection, without perceiving any sensible differ- 
 ence in their well-doing. It may, however, be 
 
100 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 remarked that^ occasionally, in a hive exposed to 
 the earliest rays of the sun, the bees have been 
 prematurely tempted out in the spring months, 
 and fallen victims to the effects of a damp and 
 chilly atmosphere. 
 
 When once fixed, do not move your bees, the 
 mischief of which is self-evident. I cannot enforce 
 this recommendation better than Gelieu has done. 
 " I have seen people,^' says he, " shift about their 
 hives very inconsiderately ; but change of place 
 invariably weakens them, as the bees will return 
 to tlieir old residence, the environs of which are 
 so familiar to them. A hive should remain as 
 fixed to the spot as the ancient oaks, in the hol- 
 lows of which they delight to establish them- 
 selves ; where they have their young, their com- 
 panions, their beloved queen, and all their trea- 
 sures. When the young bees take wing for the 
 first time, they do it with great precaution, turning 
 round and round, and fluttering about the en- 
 trance, to examine the hive well before taking 
 flight. They do the same in returning, so that 
 they may be easily distinguished, conducting 
 themselves nearly after the same manner as the 
 workers of a newly -hived swarm. When they 
 have made a few excursions, they set off without 
 examining the locality ; and returning in full 
 flight will know their own hive in the midst of a 
 hundred others. But if you change its place you 
 perplex them, much the same as you would be if. 
 
BEE TASTURAGE. 101 
 
 during a short absence, some one lifted your 
 house and placed it a mile ofiF. The poor bees 
 return loaded, and, seeking in vain for their habi- 
 tation, either fall down and perish with fatigue, 
 or throw themselves into the neighbouring hives, 
 where they are speedily put to death. When 
 hives are transported to a considerable distance, 
 there is no fear that the bees will return. But 
 this inconvenience would be sure to take place if 
 they were removed only a few hundred paces 
 from the spot they have been accustomed to. The 
 hive may not perish, but it will be greatly weak- 
 ened. In my opinion, if the situation is to be 
 changed at all, they should be taken at least a 
 mile and a half.^^ This removal should only be 
 attempted in winter or early spring, under usual 
 circumstances. It might, however, happen that 
 it was required to move a hive only a very short 
 distance, in the summer time ; when no harm 
 would arise were the change of location made by 
 daily shifting it a few inches. 
 
 BEE PASTURAGE, AND ^•UMBER OF HIVES. 
 
 It is almost needless to say that on the nature 
 and extent of the vegetable productions, following 
 in succession, in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 an apiary, must mainly depend its prosperity. 
 After every care has been bestowed on all points 
 
102 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 of housing and management, it is in vain to ex- 
 pect a large harvest of honey where nature has 
 limited the sources of supply, or restricted them 
 to a particular season of the year. The most 
 highly- cultivated com districts are rarely so 
 favorable to bees as those in which wild commons, 
 woods, and heathy moors prevail ; or where 
 some such farm products as Dutch clover, trefoil, 
 saintfoin, buck- wheat, tares, mustard, colewort, 
 turnip and cabbage blossoms, &c., do not enter 
 largely into the staple of the country. The 
 neighbourhood of certain kinds of willows, and of 
 hazels, in the opening spring, is of great advan- 
 tage to our little collectors in furnishing farina ; 
 as also the blossoms of the furze, broom, bramble, 
 wild thyme, &c. To these we may add the large 
 early stores of honey and farina available from 
 many of the products of our horticultural gardens 
 and orchards, as gooseberries, currants, raspberries, 
 apples, pears, plums, and other fruits. Payne 
 says, '^ 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 hepatica, helleborus niger, and tussilago 
 petasites, all of which flower early, and are rich 
 in honey and farina. Salvia memorosa (of Sir 
 James 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 
 
BEE PASTURAGE. ]03 
 
 yards of it may be grown with advantage. Ori- 
 ganum humile, and origanum rubescens (of 
 Haworth), and mignonette may also be grown. 
 Cuscuta sinensis is a great favorite with them ; 
 and the pretty little plant anacampseros populi- 
 folium^ when in flower^ is literally covered by 
 them. Garden cultivation, beyond this, exclusively 
 for bees, I believe answers very little purpose.^' 
 
 It will follow as a matter of course from what 
 we have said, that the size of an apiary in any 
 district must be mainly determined by circum- 
 stances. In some seasons, so prolific a harvest 
 of blossoms and honey comes all at once, that a 
 large number of hives may abundantly be filled 
 together. The locality must be the chief guide ; 
 and I have known instances where fewer stocks 
 would have yielded a much better return ; for one 
 rich colony is worth more than two or three half- 
 starved ones. 
 
 The distance to which bees will resort durins: 
 the honey harvest has been the subject of con- 
 troversy ; some limiting their flight to one mile, 
 and others extending it to three or four. AYhen 
 pressed for stores, they will doubtless fly a long 
 distance, directed probably by their very acute 
 sense of smell ; but I am inclined to believe, with 
 Dr. Dunbar, that the ordinary range of their ex- 
 cursions is comprised within the radius of a com- 
 paratively small circle. 
 

 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The question has often been put to me, '^ How 
 and at what time can an apiary be best com- 
 menced ?^^ Some remarks in reference to this 
 subject will be found under the heads both of 
 Autumnal and Spring Management, At present 
 the reader is supposed to have been put in 
 possession of a prime swarm, in the season, 
 which is the best method of stocking a new hive 
 of whatever kind, and the earlier the better.* 
 On this head we may with advantage quote the 
 words of Mr. Golding. "Notwithstanding," says 
 he, " all that has been said about tenanting hives 
 by the removal of the bees of other hives into 
 them, there is no plan so safe or certain as 
 peopling them by good early swarms. When 
 these are brought from a distance, it should be 
 
 * All careful bee proprietors will take the precaution to record 
 the weight of the empty hive, and of its floor-board, before stock- 
 ing it ; a matter of subsequent importance in ascertaining the con- 
 tents. A journal, also, recording dates, and the various operations 
 of the hive, as they arise, will be useful in many ways. 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 107 
 
 on the day in which they are hived_, and in a 
 cloth of coarse texture^ which should be tied 
 round near the bottom of the hive, so as to pre- 
 vent the escape of the bees. Tie np the cloth 
 by its corners over the top of the hive; and, if 
 carried by the hand, or properly suspended, a 
 swarm may be removed in this manner for 
 miles. '^ 
 
 All experienced apiculturists know that no 
 colony of bees thrives, or works so well, as one 
 that is populous at the outset. Should any doubt 
 exist on this point, it is often expedient to unite 
 a second smaller swarm to the first, but this can 
 only be attempted within a few days, before many 
 combs are made, or mischief would result. Our 
 recommendation applies with greater force in a 
 late season, or to the case of second swarms, 
 which are rarely strong enough, separately, to 
 collect sufficient winter stores. Of the mode of 
 proceeding in effecting these junctions we shall 
 hereafter speak, when treating of Uniting Swarms, 
 under the section Spring Management, 
 
 The plan originally proposed in the Bee- 
 Keeper^s Manual supposes, as has before been 
 intimated, an arrangement embracing directions 
 for the management of an apiary, '^ according to 
 the order of the seasons.^^ Our legitimate com- 
 mencement, therefore, must practically date from 
 the separate existence of the recently established 
 colony ; noticing, as we proceed, the various sub- 
 
lOS THE BKE-KEEPKll's MANUAL. 
 
 stances stored or used in a hive, and collected 
 more or less abundantly, according to circum- 
 stances and season. 
 
 Should the weather now be fine, operations 
 are commenced with astonishing activity, the bees 
 being at first solely intent on preparing their new 
 dwelling for its intended objects — the rearing of 
 young, and storing supplies for the future re- 
 quirements of the family. If, however, circum- 
 stances are such as to prevent them from quitting 
 the hive for several successive days following 
 swarming, and before provision is accumulated, 
 recourse to feeding becomes expedient, or starva- 
 tion might ensue. Under any circumstances, 
 some apiculturists have advised giving honey, or a 
 syrup of sugar, to a newly-hived colony. It is 
 Avell known that, on leaving the parent stock, the 
 bees carry with them a good deal of honey. 
 There is little doubt that the main object in 
 this provident proceeding is to enable them at 
 once to commence the work of building : this 
 they do almost as soon as they are hived, a piece 
 of comb being frequently made on the same day, 
 which is as quickly appropriated, either as a re- 
 ceptacle of honey or of eggs, if the Queen is 
 already fertile. Where a young Queen has ac- 
 companied the swarm, such is not always the case, 
 and this occasions a delay in laying of several 
 days. 
 
 The entrance of the hive should now (and at 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 109 
 
 all times when tlie bees are at full work) be 
 opened to its whole ex<;ent.* 
 
 TVa.v and Combs. — The material of which the 
 combs are so curiously formed is wax, secreted by 
 
 * To the spectator the view of a recent swarm is animated in the 
 extreme, and prohably suggested the 
 
 SONG OF THE BEES. 
 
 "We watch for the light of the morn to break, 
 
 And colour the gray eastern sky 
 With its blended hues of saffron and lake ; 
 Then 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 lirae, pointed 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 treasure for all, 
 We hope for an evening with hearts content. 
 For the winter of life, without lament 
 That summer is gone, with its hours misspent, 
 
 And the harvest is past recall ! 
 
110 THE BEE-KEEPEll's MANUAL. 
 
 the bees themselves^ and not any substance directly 
 conveyed into tlie hive, as is generally, but erro- 
 neously, supposed. Its component parts are 
 carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. To enable them 
 to form this secretion, the workers must have 
 access to honey or some other saccharine matter ; 
 and this is the first thing sought by a new colony. 
 The quantity required is very great, it being esti- 
 mated that thirteen to twenty pounds are neces- 
 sary to make one pound of wax. The common 
 opinion is, that the substance often seen adhering 
 so abundantly to the legs of bees is wax, and as 
 such is the basis of the combs. Has it never 
 appeared strange to the observer of a new swarm, 
 that at the time when comb-building is proceed- 
 ing more rapidly than at any other period, the 
 bees are loaded with but little of this substance ? 
 On the other hand, is it not equally clear, that 
 in the early spring, when few or no combs are 
 constructed, they carry it into the hive with the 
 utmost avidity ? "To see the wax-pockets in 
 the hive-bee/' observes Kirby and Spence, " you 
 must press the abdomen, so as to cause its disten- 
 sion ; you will then find on each of the four 
 intermediate ventral segments, separated by the 
 carina or elevated central part, two trapeziform 
 whitish pockets, of a soft membranaceous texture ; 
 on these the laminse of wax are formed, in dif- 
 ferent states, more or less perceptible." " When- 
 ever combs are wanted,'^ says Dr. Bevan, "bees 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. Ill 
 
 fill their crops with honey, and, retaining it in 
 them, hang together in a cluster from the top of 
 the hive, and remain apparently in a state of pro- 
 found inactivity about t'sventy-four hours. During 
 this time, the wax is secreted, and may be seen 
 in laminse, under the abdominal scales, whence it 
 is removed by the hind legs of the bee, and trans- 
 ferred to the forelegs; from them it is taken by 
 the jaws, and after being masticated, the fabrica- 
 tion of comb commences. ^^ An extraordinary 
 degree of heat always accompanies comb-building, 
 supplied no doubt by the large quantity of oxygen 
 at that time generated. 
 
 '^ In the height of the honey season,'^ Dr. 
 Dunbar observes, " in one day the bees will con- 
 struct no fewer than 4C00 cells. The whole 
 structure is so delicately thin, that three or four 
 of their sides, placed upon one another, have no 
 more thickness than a leaf of common paper.^^ 
 The best authorities have estimated that about 
 half a pound of wax is yielded to fifteen pounds 
 of honey. 
 
 The form and number of the combs in a hive 
 vary considerably, the bees adapting them ac- 
 cording to the shape of their domicile, so as to fit 
 and fill in every part, and often very irregularly. 
 At first they are beautifully white, but soon, 
 from the heat of the hive, become tinged, and 
 finally turn nearly black. The worker-breeding 
 cells are made the first : they are invariably 
 
112 THE BEE-KEEPEPw's MANUAL. 
 
 hexagonal in form, and of one uniform size and 
 depth ; but those intended only for the storing 
 of honey are often somewhat larger and elongated ; 
 sometimes more so on one side than the other. 
 A small dip or inclination upwards is given to 
 the cells, the better to prevent the honey from 
 running out, assisted, moreover, by a small bar 
 or thickened border of wax, at the entrances. 
 The cells in which the drones are bred are 
 larger in diameter than the common ones, and 
 they are generally placed nearer the outside of 
 the hive, though occasionally joined on to the 
 others. "When this takes place, our little archi- 
 tects have the sagacity to interpose two or three 
 rows of cells of an intermediate size, gradually 
 enlarged to the proper dimensions. In this, as 
 in everything else, the bees adapt their operations 
 according to circumstances ; constructing their 
 combs, either by suspending them from the top 
 of their dwelling, or occasionally by working them 
 from the bottom, upwards. 
 
 Propolis. — To attach the combs firmly in their 
 place, the bees employ a pliable substance of 
 balsamic odour, called propolis, a glutinous exu- 
 dation from certain trees, or their buds, of a 
 grayish colour, which tliey collect immediately on 
 swarming, blending with it a portion of wax. 
 With this material they varnish the lids of the 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 113 
 
 closed honey- cells, glue up all crevices in the 
 hive, and cement it down to the floor. 
 
 Honey. — We have seen that the first want of 
 the swarm is honey, for the purpose of comb- 
 building. This valuable article the bees collect, 
 by means of their proboscis, from the nectaries 
 of certain flowers, from whence it derives a higher 
 or less degree of flavour, together with its colour- 
 ing matter; sometimes nearly transparent, to 
 various shades of brown. They receive it into 
 their first stomach or honey-bag, the greater 
 portion being subsequently regurgitated into the 
 cells, employing for the purpose those of both 
 workers and drones. As these become severally 
 filled, they are coated over or sealed with a thin 
 covering of wax. The honey-cells, when thus 
 closed, are distinguishable from those containing 
 brood, by being whiter in appearance, and often 
 slightly concave. The brood- cells are more 
 coloured, besides being a little convex. In some 
 seasons honey is abundantly collected when in 
 the state of what is termed honey-clew, a viscous 
 substance found adhering to the leaves of par- 
 ticular trees, especially the oak. This only 
 occurs in certain years, for in others it is found 
 very sparingly, or not at all. 
 
 Pollen, or Farina. — The hive will be rapidly 
 filled with combs, and progressively with an 
 
 8 
 
114 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 increased population, for the eggs, as we have 
 seen in page 13, are matured in three weeks. 
 In the mean time, the bees will have commenced 
 a new labour — that of collecting pollen or farina. 
 This is the anther-dust of the stamina of flowers, 
 varying in colour according to the source from 
 whence it is derived ; and it may be remarked 
 that the bees in their collection never mix together 
 the pollen of difierent plants, but in each excursion 
 visit only one species of flower. By a peculiar 
 adaptation, they are enabled to brush this ofi*, and 
 pack it into the spoon-like cavities (or baskets as 
 they have been termed), furnished for this object, 
 on the centre joint of their hind legs ; being 
 often, as has been already pointed out, mistaken 
 for wax. The powder or meal thus conveyed into 
 the hive is by other bees afterwards kneaded up 
 into paste, and stored for use in the worker cells, 
 adjoining those containing brood. To preserve 
 it from the air, a small portion of honey is put 
 on the top of each cell, coated over with wax. 
 Thus prepared, it is a very heavy substance; and 
 this often leads to a false estimate of the value of 
 a hive; for the annual collection of pollen has 
 been variously estimated at thirty to one hundred 
 pounds in a single family. 
 
 Naturalists are, I believe, pretty well agreed 
 that the store of pollen or farina is used (with a 
 mixture of honey and water) chiefly for feeding 
 the larvae ; though a portion of such compound 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 115 
 
 may form, occasionally, the sustenance of the bees 
 themselves. Indeed^ it has been asserted that 
 pollen is often found in the stomach of bees en- 
 gaged in the fabrication of wax. 
 
 Water. — At certain dry periods, but always in 
 the breeding time, bees require a supply of water, 
 which is necessary in preparing the farina and 
 honey for the brood, as well as to enable them to 
 secrete wax. If no pond or brook is within a 
 reasonable distance, a shallow vessel will do, filled 
 frequently to the brim, having a piece of thin 
 perforated wood floating on it and covering the 
 whole surface ; or it may be filled with moss or 
 pebbles, pouring in water to the top, and placing 
 it near the apiary. Precaution is necessary, for 
 the bees easily slip into the water and are drowned. 
 So essential is water, that it has been recom- 
 mended to place a supply, early in the year, within 
 the hive. 
 
 Shade. — It has already been observed that out- 
 door hives ought not to be left exposed to the 
 mid-day and afternoon sun in sultry weather; 
 the heat not only rendering the bees extremely 
 irascible, but subjecting the combs to melting, 
 and especially in wooden boxes, with most disas- 
 trous consequences. In all such cases it is well, 
 therefore, to give the comfort of a mat, or some- 
 thing of the kind, thrown over them. In the 
 
 ^ 
 
116 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 words of Gelieu, " they delight best iu thick 
 forests, because they there fiud a uniform tempe- 
 rature and a propitious shade. It is a mistake to 
 suppose that bees exposed to the sun produce the 
 earliest and strongest swarms : I have often ex- 
 perienced the reverse. Bees like the shade when 
 working_, and the sun only when in the fields." 
 
 Moths, Wasps, Hornets, and other Enemies. — 
 In the warm summer evenings, bees are often 
 much annoyed by the attempted inroads of moths, 
 particularly the small Wax Moth [Tinea Mello- 
 nella), of a whitish gray colour. These are some- 
 times formidable foes, and their appearance at 
 dusk on the alighting-board is the signal for a 
 commotion. It is difficult to eject them if they 
 obtain a footing in a hive, where they will deposit 
 their eggs, spinning their silken webs, and they 
 now and then increase so as to cause its entire 
 destruction. When these vermin have established 
 themselves, there is no remedy but driving the 
 bees into another hive. To prevent the ingress 
 of these troublesome invaders, it is sometimes de- 
 sirable for an hour or two in an evening to close 
 the entrance, by placing before it a screen of 
 gauze, wire-grating, or perforated zinc, to be re- 
 moved at dark.* 
 
 * A difficulty sometimes occurs when it is necessary to confine 
 bees, or drive them into the hive, as the alighting-board is often 
 covered with them in an evening, and the numbers are increased on 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 117 
 
 Poultry^ and some kinds of birds_, are destroyers 
 of bees ; and many_, that from weakness or other 
 causes fall to the ground, become a sacrifice to 
 them. In particular, that little marauder, the 
 Blue Tomtit or Titmouse [Parus major of Lin- 
 naeus), must not be tolerated. In summer he 
 will devour bees, and feed his young with them ; 
 and in winter he will even try to force an entrance 
 into the hive.* Rats and mice must also be 
 guarded against, as well as slugs and snails. 
 
 The nests of wasps ought to be destroyed : 
 from their superiority in strength and activity, 
 they are very annoying, and often destructive, to 
 bees towards the end of summer ; and the nuisance 
 must forthwith be met by contracting the entrance 
 to the hive, when the passage is more readily de- 
 fended, f In this place it may be well to draw 
 
 the least alarm. la this ease take a small watering-pot, and 
 gently sprinkle the board and entrance, when the bees, mistaking 
 this for rain, will retire withinside. 
 
 * In some parts these birds are very numerous ; and poison has 
 been found efficacious, placed at the hive mouth, in little balls of 
 lard, oatmeal, and nux vomica, mixed together. 
 
 t Amongst well-informed apiculturists an apology might seem 
 to be necessary in referring to so bigoted an author as Huish; 
 but Ruber's observations on some of the habits of bees have 
 frequently been the subject of his ignorant ridicule; and par- 
 ticularly where he says that they occasionally erect barricades, for 
 greater security. Mr. Golding has given a confirmation of Ruber's 
 assertion. He says, " At the end of summer, a kind of curtain, 
 apparently a compound of wax and propolis, and about a sixteenth 
 of an inch thick, was erected before the entrance of one of my 
 
118 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 attention to a very simple mode of dealing witli 
 wasps attacking a hive. We shall have occasion 
 hereafter to notice the fondness of bees for 
 barley- sugar : let a piece of this be laid across, 
 or just within, the entrance of the hive, so as 
 greatly to narrow it. This is so attractive to the 
 bees, that they muster at the door in greater force 
 than the wasps durst venture to assail. As fast 
 as the fortification is devoured, it ought to be 
 renewed, and the out-generalled enemy will retire 
 from a hopeless contest. 
 
 Insects of all kinds, as earwigs, spiders, wood- 
 lice, &c., should be cleared away from the hives 
 
 hives ; about two inches and a half in length, and half an inch in 
 height, with the exception of a small aperture at each end." Dr. 
 Bevan, in the * Honey-Bee,' exhibits a drawing of this piece of 
 fortification. My own experience is perfectly conclusive, as the 
 following extract from my journal will show: — "July 31, }842-. 
 Weather fine. Removed a box of honey from a collateral hive. 
 The wasps had been troublesome for some days, and as the en- 
 trance to the centre box was left fully open, the bees had con- 
 tracted it for better defence. A thin wall of what appeared to be 
 propolis was attached from the upper edge of the doorway, ex- 
 tending along its centre, and closing all up but a space of about 
 three quarters of an inch at each end. I never witnessed a more 
 con^incing proof of the sagacity of the bees than this beautiful 
 proceeding." So runs my journal ; to which I may add, that the 
 entrance to the box, so contracted, was five inches in length, and 
 three eighths of an inch high ; or double that of Mr. Golding's. 
 From the hint thus derived from the bees themselves, I con- 
 structed the moveable blocks or mouth-pieces described and shown 
 at page 44. 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 119 
 
 and stands, and ants^ nests destroyed. Cobwebs 
 must not be permitted to remain^ or numerous 
 deaths would ensue to the bees from entanglement 
 in them. In short, we may sum up by a general 
 recommend^itiori of cleanliness, in every way, 
 and the removal of whatever serves as a harbour 
 to dirt and vermin. 
 
 Super -hiving. — Should the weather continue 
 favorable for honey-sratherins^, the colony must 
 be inspected in about three weeks from the time 
 of hiving. Indeed in sultry weather, and where 
 the swarm is a large one, it is often politic to 
 place a glass or small super upon it very soon, as 
 a ventilator, to moderate the temperature, and 
 prevent the clustering of the bees at the mouth 
 of the hive. If the combs are worked pretty 
 nearly down to the floor, and the cells in a good 
 measure filled, no time should be lost in supplying 
 additional working-room; more especially if symp- 
 toms of crowding are apparent, for by this time 
 young bees are coming forth. We may here 
 observe that many experienced bee-keepers object 
 to supering in the case of a new colony, prefer- 
 ring to give the requisite room at the bottom, by 
 means of a Nadir ; which, as the bees carry 
 their stores upwards, often ensures abundance 
 in the stock-hive, the nadir being removed in 
 the autumn. Under the head Depriving System, 
 are some remarks as to the mode of using nadirs ; 
 
120 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 as also under that of Nadir HivCy and Nadiring 
 Stocks. 
 
 Bell-glasses. — As these are commonly formed, 
 nothing can be more objectionable : inqonveniently 
 high and narrow, a few misshapen combs are all 
 that can be packed into the space ; and these are 
 afterwards only to be extracted by a general mash. 
 The same remark applies to all supers, of any 
 material, where breadth of surface enough is not 
 afforded for a large number of bees to cluster and 
 labour at one time. Can it be a matter of wonder, 
 that a chimney -formed vessel should be twice as 
 long in being filled (supposing that the bees do 
 not forsake it) as a broad one, in which a genial 
 warmth is concentrated, and where several combs 
 can be in progress simultaneously ? A reversal 
 of the usual proportions, both in straw and glass 
 supers, is therefore to be recommended. The 
 latter may advantageously be from 
 
 Snine to eleven inches across; the 
 depth being about half the diameter : 
 straight at the sides, and flat on the 
 top. A piece or two of guide-comb, 
 slightly melted, and fixed by its edge to the 
 top of the glass, previously made warm, will serve 
 as an attraction ; or in a large glass, four or eight 
 pieces, radiating from the centre uniformly, will 
 direct the bees in working with a regular design, 
 producing a pleasing effect. A useful adjunct to 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 121 
 
 a glass is a small circular tube of perforated zinc, 
 having a rim round its upper end, by wliicli it is 
 held suspended within a small hole on the top. 
 It should be long enough to reach nearly down 
 to the level of the floor. To the tube, when a 
 little warmed, a narrow piece of guide-comb will 
 adhere, and act as an attraction to the bees : it 
 will be further useful as a central support to the 
 loaded combs. 
 
 Whatever may be said as to the pleasing ap- 
 pearance of glass supers, it is doubtful whether 
 in point of utility and economy they can com- 
 pete with those of straw, made as directed under 
 the head of " Straw Depriving Hives," and which 
 can readily be packed and sent to a distance, if 
 needed : or shallow supers, as wide as the stock- 
 •hive admits, may be cheaply made by means of a 
 wood hoop, three or four inches deep, on which 
 is fixed a thin top, by two or three small screws. 
 These are readily withdrawn, when the top can 
 be lifted up with the combs suspended. Under 
 the head Circular Wooden Hives are some remarks 
 on the subject of wood supers. 
 
 In the use of Glasses it is always well at first 
 to prevent the escape of warmth, especially at 
 night, till the bees are well established in their 
 new work-room ; and the admission of light is 
 best avoided. A little ventilation afterwards, in 
 sultry weather, is desirable ; which may be given 
 by slightly wedging up the lower edge of the 
 
122 THE bee-keeper's mai^ual. 
 
 super. If a double adapter is in use, it is easy 
 to insert a slip or two of tin or zinc between the 
 two boards, so as to keep them a little separated, 
 for the passage of air, when it seems necessary. 
 Sometimes it is even advisable to introduce be- 
 tween the stock and the super a very shallow 
 box, as a moderator of the temperature. I have 
 found, by experiment with the thermometer, that 
 at a temperature between 95 and 100, the combs 
 will soften so much as to be in danger of col- 
 lapsing. 
 
 Triplets and Nadirs. — In good seasons and 
 localities, the first super is sometimes filled in time 
 to admit of the introduction of another (or triplet), 
 on an adapter, observing the rules laid down at 
 page 32. But even where the first super is com-' 
 pletely filled, it is often politic not to remove it 
 for a few days, as its attraction induces the bees 
 to occupy the triplet. On the other hand, if 
 from any cause a super has been left only par- 
 tially filled upon one hive, it may be removed 
 (the bees being first ejected), and placed upon 
 some other for completion. Instead of a separate 
 triplet, an addition may often be made to the first 
 super, especially if of straw, by placing beneath it 
 an eke, consisting merely of two or three bands 
 of the same material ; in fact a hoop. This will 
 save the bees the labour of laying the foundations 
 of fresh combs, as they have but to continue the 
 
SUMMER MANAGEMENT. 123 
 
 old ones downwards. We may here call attention 
 to what has been said at page 62, respecting the 
 use of box, No. 3^ of the bar-hive, and of 
 Nadiring. 
 
 After the main honey season is over, which is 
 usually as soon as the dry July weather sets in, 
 it is useless, in most localities^ to give any further 
 extension of working room; and, indeed, from the 
 end of this month there is, under common circum- 
 stances, often rather a diminution than an increase 
 of store. 
 
 In proportion to the wealth of the colony is 
 the determination of the bees to defend it ; and 
 their irascibility and vigilance are now greater 
 than heretofore, the strongest stocks showing it 
 the most. The work of the year being pretty 
 well over, all their attention is tui'ned towards 
 home. They become more and more suspicious, 
 and the less they are approached or annoyed the 
 better ; for they are slow to forget or forgive an 
 injury. 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 
 
 Much of what has heen said in the preceding 
 section is equally applicable in practice to the 
 later periods of the summer. The month of 
 August is usually associated with the collection 
 of, harvest. Though this may often hold good as 
 regards honey_, yet the storified or doubled stocks 
 of the spring are commonly ready for deprivation 
 at an earlier period, occasionally in May, and so 
 on throughout July ; the spring-gathered honey 
 being usually to be preferred in point of quality. 
 I know of no better rule as to the fitness of a 
 super, or side hive, for removal, than an observa- 
 tion of the state of the combs and cells, which 
 ought to be completely filled and sealed over, to 
 prevent a loss of honey by running out. In this 
 stage the sooner it is appropriated the better, as 
 a longer continuance only leads to discoloration. 
 As respects a colony of the same year. Dr. Bevan 
 remarks, "as a general rule, no honey should be 
 taken from a colony the first season of its being 
 planted, though there may be an extraordinary 
 season now and then, which may justify a de- 
 parture from this rule :" the produce in such a 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 125 
 
 case is usually denominated virrjbi honey , though 
 that term is often applied indiscriminately to any 
 in combs free from brood. But in any event the 
 stock-hive should be previously examined^ for 
 there is a disposition in bees to carry their stores 
 into a super^ though afterwards they sometimes 
 remove it into the stock-hive. In cases Avhere 
 doubt exists as to a sufficiency of winter store, it 
 is often well to allow them to do this : recollecting: 
 the further advice of Dr. Bevan, that, " it should 
 be an invariable rule never to remove an upper 
 box or hive till an under one be quite full ; nor 
 to diminish the weight of a stock-box below 
 seventeen or eighteen pounds, exclusive of the 
 box itself/^ 
 
 To remove a full Box or Super. — The middle 
 of a sunny day may be recommended as the best 
 time to take away for deprivation a box or glass 
 of honey. The mode usually adopted is at once 
 to remove it from its position to a distance from 
 the stock-hive, and there get rid of the bees. I 
 have often found it well to reverse this proceed- 
 ing. AYhether the box to be taken is a collateral 
 or storified one, let the communication from the 
 parent hive be previously cut off, and without 
 any jarring. Entire quietness is the main re- 
 quisite. Gently lift up the super on one side, 
 inserting under it a small wedge or two, so as 
 just to allow an exit for the bees. The position 
 
126 THK bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 of the queen bee will soon become apparent. If 
 she is not in the super (and she seldom is there 
 after it is filled), the silence that at first pre- 
 vailed will be exchanged for a murmuring hum, 
 attended by a commotion among the bees ; and 
 they shortly after begin to quit the super, with- 
 out attempting auy attack. Should the queen 
 be present, however, a very different scene would 
 ensue, and a hubbub would then commence in 
 the stock-hive ; though the loss of their queen is 
 sometimes not discovered by the bees for a con- 
 siderable time. In such a case, the box must be 
 reinstated in its former position, and the com- 
 munication reopened till some other day. The 
 process might happen to be complicated by the 
 presence of brood, for this the bees leave very 
 reluctantly, and often not at all. In an emer- 
 gency of this kind, it is best to restore matters 
 to their previous state, and let the super remain 
 till the brood is perfected. A little patience is 
 sometimes necessary : but all attempts at ejection 
 of the bees by tapping, smoking, or driving 
 usually do more harm than good. So long as 
 they continue to leave the super, it may remain 
 where it is, for on these occasions young bees 
 are sometimes numerous; and if the super is 
 removed, though only to a short distance, these 
 are in part lost, not having become sufficiently 
 acquainted with the position of their home ; or, 
 if they enter a wrong hive, they pay the penalty 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 127 
 
 with their lives. This freedoai from disturbance 
 has the further good effect of preventing in a 
 great degree the intrusion of robber bees, readily 
 distinsruishable from the others by their hoverins: 
 about the box, instead of flying from it. These 
 are strangers from various quarters, immediately 
 attracted by the scent attending the removal of a 
 full box or glass. Should a few of these plun- 
 derers once obtain a taste or sample of the honey, 
 they speedily convey the good news to their 
 associates, when large reinforcements from every 
 hive in the neighbourhood will be at once on the 
 alert, and quickly leave nothiuo- behind but 
 empty combs. Let the separated super, there- 
 fore, not be left or lost sight of, but if scented out 
 by robbers, be conveyed into some room or out- 
 building to prevent a general battle ; and which 
 might extend itself to all the neigh])ouring hives. 
 The remaininof bees may here be brushed out. 
 escaping by the window or door. Mr. Golding 
 has sometimes found the advantage of using for 
 the purpose a darkened room, with the exception 
 of a very small aperture, to which the bees will 
 fly and make their exit. Others like to remove 
 a super at once to a short distance from the 
 stock-hive, leaving it shut up in perfect darkness, 
 for an hour or two. Its edge is then raised up, 
 when the bees will evacuate it. In the case of 
 a bar-hive super, after most of the bees have 
 left it, it can be placed across a couple of rails 
 
128 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 or sticks^ when the top cover may be unscrewed 
 and detached. It is then readily cleared of 
 bees by brushing them downwards between the 
 bars, with a feather or a twig. 
 
 The same general directions apply when a full 
 glass is to be removed. If it stands on a double 
 adapter, a piece of tin or zinc can be inserted 
 between them, and the upper part then lifted 
 with the glass. Payne, however, says, '' I have 
 found the process much simplified by placing an 
 empty box between the glass and the parent hive, 
 and leavinoj it a few hours. The bees bv that 
 time have quitted the glass, and by this plan 
 robbing is entirely prevented, whilst the bees are 
 less irritated.'-' It might occasionally happen 
 that a piece of comb had been worked upwards, 
 so as to be connected with the underneath hive, 
 and thus causing a difficulty on attempting a 
 separation. There is no better way of meeting 
 such an emergency than by passing a bit of fine 
 wire beneath the lower edge of the super, from 
 side to side, and thus cutting through the ob- 
 struction. It may be well to observe that on 
 removal, the box or glass ought to be kept in its 
 original position, to prevent the honey, which at 
 first is thin and fluid, from running out of the 
 cellsj and especially in hot weather. 
 
 Honey Harvest. — As regards the quantity of 
 honey to be taken from a hive in any one year^ 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 129 
 
 there can, in our uucertain climate, be no 
 general rule, though now and then I have 
 known a very large amount obtained by de- 
 privation. 
 
 Payne says, as the result of his own experience 
 with depriving hives, ^^ It is usual to obtain from 
 every good stock twenty or perhaps thirty pounds 
 of honey annually/^ This would be thought too 
 high an estimate, in many districts; as in my 
 own, near London. It must be remembered 
 that honey thus harvested sells at a higher rate 
 than that procured by suffocating the bees, as in 
 the common single hives ; for then the brimstone 
 not only imparts a disagreeable flavour, but there 
 is no means of preventing the intermixture with 
 the honey more or less of pollen and brood. 
 After deprivation, the sooner the honey is drained 
 from the comb the better, as it soon thickens, 
 particularly if not kept warm. For the purpose 
 of straining it off, a hair sieve is commonly used, 
 within which the combs are inverted ; the waxen 
 seals on both sides being first sliced off. TLe 
 honey will of course run off the sooner if placed 
 before a fire, but exposure to heat is injurious to 
 fine flavour. T^'e may here resort to the advice 
 of Payne, who says, '' the honey should be put 
 into jars, quite filled, and tied down with a 
 bladder; for exposure to the air, even for a few 
 hours, very much deteriorates its flavour. I may 
 observe that honey in the combs keeps remark- 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 ably well, if folded in writing paper, sealed up to 
 exclude the air, and kept dry." 
 
 Comb-knives. — A difficulty sometimes arises in 
 extracting the combs from common hives or 
 boxes. A large spatula will separate them from 
 the sides, but to detach them from the top, an 
 instrument of a different kind is requisite. The 
 one often preferred is simply a bar of steel about 
 fourteen inches in total length, half an inch wide, 
 and an eighth of an inch thick. At one end it 
 is bent at a right angle with the handle, and at 
 the other at an angle of 80° or 90°. The part 
 
 thus turned up is in both cases an inch and a 
 half long, rather less than half an inch wide, and 
 made spear-pointed, or lancet-shaped ; sharp on 
 both sides, to cut either way. The one end is 
 used when the top of the hive is flat ; and the 
 other is adapted to the common dome-formed 
 roof. Another useful instrument is the one 
 employed in detaching the combs from the bar- 
 hives, made as recommended by Mr. Golding, 
 with a double-edge blade, an inch and a half 
 
 uiuimummuuuiHiiHiiHiuinnmmHninunm mmnnmnn 
 
 long, and three eighths of an inch wide ; turned 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 131 
 
 at right angles from the end of a rod, which may 
 be of quarter-inch square iron. For occasional 
 convenience, the other end may be turned the 
 flat way, sharpened at both edges. 
 
 Robbers. — Should an attack upon a hive from 
 strange bees take place, which sometimes occurs 
 at this season (the strong robbing the weak), no 
 time ought to be lost in narrowing the entrance, 
 for if allowed to continue a day or two the ruin 
 of the family might be the consequence. Indeed, 
 it is always well gradually to do this as the 
 working season draws to a close. An assault 
 from robber bees is often a much more formidable 
 evil than one from wasps, although it is said that 
 one of these is a match for three bees. Unless 
 the colony is very weak, they are usually soon 
 expelled, if the methods pointed out at page 117 
 are resorted to. Not so with bees, for if but one 
 or two strangers gain admittance into a hive they 
 will return again and again, always with an acces- 
 sion of force ; and for a day or two it is often 
 necessary entirely to close the entrance against 
 them, opening it only at night. In such case 
 the robber bees will sometimes collect in vast 
 numbers at the mouth of the hive, when a shower 
 from a watering-pot will send them away to dry 
 themselves. The thieves are generally distinguish- 
 able ; and they are often cunning enough to 
 commence their marauding practices early in the 
 
132 THE BEE-REEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 morning and late at night. A supply of honey 
 given on the top^ or even sprinkled among the 
 combs of contending hives^ will often divert the 
 attention of the combatants; or smoke is some- 
 times effectual, puffed into both hives. If fight- 
 ing recommences on the succeeding day, the 
 smoking should be repeated, followed by a feed 
 of honey. Others have found it advantageous to 
 remove for some days a plundered hive to a dis- 
 tance ; or even to make the belligerent hives 
 change places in the apiary; which, as a friend 
 remarked to me, " gives a new turn to their ideas 
 of meum and tuum.^^ A German proprietor, after 
 removing an attacked stock, put in its place a 
 hive filled with wormwood leaves, so distasteful 
 to the robbers that they forsook the spot, when 
 the stock was brought back again. 
 
 Autumnal Feeding. — All labour is now usually 
 suspended for the year, and it remains to see 
 that ample provision is laid up for the coming 
 winter and spring. There ought not to be less 
 than seventeen to twenty pounds of honey in a hive 
 of the same year ; but in the case of an old one, 
 eight or ten pounds more must be allowed in 
 estimating the weight ; for old combs are much 
 heavier than new ones ; besides that they are a 
 good deal filled with stale pollen, and sometimes 
 contain candied honey, of no use to the bees.* 
 
 * In reference to this part of our sii>)ject, it may be useful to 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 133 
 
 In a healthy stock there should be no scarcity of 
 foodj if the season has been tolerable. The worst, 
 however, must be provided for; and if, from any 
 cause, it should be necessary, recourse must be 
 had to supplying the deficiencies of nature. " A 
 stock of bees,^' observes Dr. Bevan, " generally 
 consumes from a pound to a pound and a half of 
 honey per month, betwixt the first of October and 
 the first of March. From this time to the end 
 of May, they will consume double that quantity.^^ 
 The requisite feeding to make up the winter 
 store ought not to be delayed later than the 
 beginning of October, and the weather should be 
 fine. Food must never be placed in the open 
 air, but under a cover ; otherwise the smell 
 would attract wasps or, what is worse, strange 
 bees; in the latter case a battle generally fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 Fee ding -troughs. — ^The feeding of bees, though 
 apparently a simple matter, is often a troublesome 
 process, and without due precaution sometimes 
 
 quote the following estimate, as given by Dr. Dunbar: — '* A com- 
 mon straw bive weighs, when empty, from five to six pounds ; an 
 ordinary swarm about four pounds ; the wax of a full hive of the 
 current year, nearly two pounds ; of the preceding year, at least 
 three pounds ; and the farina in the cells, not less than one pound ; 
 making in all about fifteen pounds. A stock, therefore, to be 
 secure, ought to be double that weight in the gross ; that is, 
 should contain not less than fifteen pounds of honey." — Natura- 
 lists^ Library. 
 
134 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 leads to a good deal of commotion. The common 
 swarming hives present much difficulty, from their 
 construction. Having no opening at the crown, the 
 clumsy and dangerous mode must be resorted to 
 of bottom-feeding, in any way possible ; either by 
 tearing up the hive for every supply of food, or 
 by means of an eke, pushed for the purpose 
 beneath it. An improved hive gives facilities for 
 presenting food on the top, obviating these in- 
 conveniences; and where it may be supplied in any 
 quantity, without disturbance; at the same time 
 that it is inaccessible to all enemies. 
 
 When there is a hole in the centre of the top 
 of the hive, a trongh may be used, made of tin 
 or zinc, seven or eight inches square, and one 
 inch and a quarter deep ; having a circular two- 
 inch hole in the middle of tke bottom, with a 
 
 rim round it, standing up half an inch, through 
 which the bees enter the pan from below. An- 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 135 
 
 other circular rim or partition, as large in dia- 
 meter as the square of the pan will admit, is 
 soldered down within it at the four points where 
 it touches the sides. It must not go down to the 
 bottom, but a space should there be left of nearly 
 an eighth of an inch, as a passage for the food, 
 which is poured in at the four angles. A per- 
 forated thin wooden bottom or float is fitted 
 loosely into the pan, between the circles, remov- 
 ing an objection sometimes made against the 
 chilling effects of metal upon bees. The float 
 should be a little raised by means of two thin 
 strips of wood, appended below, to allow the liquid 
 to flow beneath. A cover is made by a piece of 
 glass, resting on the larger circle, but cut nearly 
 octagonal in form, so as to leave the corners open. 
 The circle on which the glass rests should be an 
 eighth of an inch lower than the outer rim. In 
 making a trough of this kind, it is sometimes cus- 
 tomary to append beneath it a central descending 
 rim or tube, fitting down into the hole on the top of 
 the hive. This is worse than useless, and it is in the 
 way on the removal of the pan ; on which occasion 
 it is expedient to push beneath it a piece of sheet 
 tin or zinc, to stop the communication from 
 below. 
 
 Such a pan is perhaps made more readily 
 without the inner circle ; in which case, all that 
 is needed for pouring in the food is a partition 
 going nearly down to the bottom, so as to cut off 
 
136 
 
 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 a portion at one corner. The glass pane can 
 
 rest on angle-pieces, 
 sunk an eighth of an 
 inch, at three of the 
 corners, and npon the 
 partition at the fourth 
 one, this part being left 
 open. 
 
 A charge is sometimes 
 brought against zinc 
 feeding-pans, as tending to create acidity in the 
 food. There is perhaps some truth in this, 
 where it is suffered to remain too long; together 
 with another cause of mischief, — a very general 
 neglect of cleanliness. Those, however, who 
 prefer wood altogether may have troughs made 
 of that material, either square or round in form, 
 
 as that given in our illus- 
 tration, which is turned 
 from hard wood in a 
 lathe ; a piece being di- 
 vided off on one side by 
 a partition, under which 
 the food passes, beneath 
 a wood float. A pane of 
 glass rests upon a circular 
 rabbet turned out to receive it, leaving uncovered 
 the part beyond the partition. 
 
 For the purpose of feeding the bees in my bar- 
 hive, a zinc or tin trough is provided, of a form 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 
 
 137 
 
 adapted to the position of the openings cut through 
 the crown-board to the stock-box. The extreme 
 length is ten inches and 
 a half, four inches wide^ 
 and an inch and a half 
 deep. At one end is a 
 partition an inch and a 
 quarter wide. going 
 down nearly to the 
 bottom. Into this the 
 honey or other food is 
 poured, running under a wooden perforated floaty 
 and fitted loosely within the bottom. A pane of 
 glass rests on two angle pieces, at one end, and 
 on the cross division at the other, all sunk a 
 quarter of an inch, and covering the pan as far 
 as the partition. The latter is strengthened in 
 the centre by a cross-stay, against which the glass 
 rests. At the bottom is an opening seven inches 
 long and half an inch wide, with a rim around it, 
 about half an inch high. This opening is placed 
 so as to correspond with that commnnicating 
 through the bars beneath. Draw out the slides, 
 and the bees will have access to the pan. This 
 proceeding is of course reversed on its removal. 
 
 Bee Food. — Nothing that can be presented to 
 bees is so acceptable as their natural food — pure 
 honey. At this season, as it is chiefly stored for 
 future consumption, it is best unmixed with water. 
 Fill the pan every evening till the requisite quan- 
 
138 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 tity is given, for it will speedily be emptied. 
 Kefuse honey may be given to the bees in the 
 combs, piled in a pan, a little separated, and 
 covered by a box or hive. The sooner the feeding 
 is ended the better, the bees, if in health, being 
 on these occasions much excited and often iras- 
 cible. Let enough be given when you are about 
 it. Gelieu says, " Let there be no higgling 
 with bees ; better that they have too much than 
 too little/' Recollect that little of your bounty 
 is now eaten, but is conveyed and stored for the 
 day of need ; the bees sometimes extending the 
 combs purposely to receive it, and often of pollen 
 as well ; for it is observable that feeding at any 
 time stimulates them to foraging abroad. Nothing 
 is wasted, and whatever there is to spare will be 
 repaid with interest in the spring. It must also 
 be borne in mind, that what food is likely to be 
 wanted must be supplied noWy for very rarely 
 should any further attempts at feeding be made 
 till the returning spring restores animation to the 
 family. A reference to Spring Feeding will 
 supply information as to. various substitutes for 
 honey. 
 
 Winter Store. — Under the head of Autumnal 
 Feeding we have mentioned the usual estimate as 
 to the requisite supply of honey for the winter. 
 Anomalous as it may seem, it has been remarked, 
 that the quantity apparently required is not 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 139 
 
 dependent on the population of the hive. The 
 number of mouths make little sensible difference, 
 even when two or three stocks have been united. 
 This fact was first noticed by Gelieu, and has 
 been corroborated by other observers. 
 
 ^^In doubling the population/' says Gelieu, "I 
 naturally conceived that we must also double the 
 quantity of food ; for I had always seen that two 
 or three families, living together, used more meat 
 than each would have done singly, however rigid 
 their economy. The more mouths the more meat, 
 thought I ; and, in consequence, I augmented 
 greatly the amount of provision the firet time 
 that I doubled a hive ; but to my astonishment, 
 when I weighed it again in the spring, I found that 
 the united swarm had not consumed more than 
 each would have done singly. I could not believe 
 my eyes, but thought there must be some mistake; 
 nor could I be con\-inced until I had repeated the 
 experiment a hundred times over, an.d had always 
 the same result.^' 
 
 This seeming anomaly, Gelieu and others have 
 attempted to account for on the principle that 
 the increased heat of an augmented population is 
 in some measure a substitute for food ; but this 
 is opposed to all experience, which proves that 
 warmth is a stimulus to consumption. A more 
 satisfactory way of disposing of the question seems 
 to be, in the first place, that the bees in a well- 
 peopled hive feel in a lower degree the evils con- 
 
1.40 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 sequent on frequent changes of temperature occur- 
 ring in winter^ than is observable in a less populous 
 one ; for alternations of cold and warmth have 
 an injurious effect, generally leading to an 
 increased consumption of stores. The next con- 
 sideration is that the j.unction of stocks, alluded 
 to by Gelieu, ensures a larger supply of labourers 
 in the early spring. It is not in the cold weather 
 that much consumption of food takes place, but 
 after the month of February, when the great 
 hatching comes on ; and then not so much by the 
 hees, as by the brood. In a thinly-populated hive, 
 almost the whole family is required within-doors 
 at this time, to warm the eggs and feed the 
 young ; and consequently little is added to the 
 continuallv diminishing stock of honey and farina. 
 Nothing is more common than to see a hive, ap- 
 parently well stored in February, on the point of 
 perishing in the month of April. This is not the 
 case where a large number of bees can be spared 
 to go abroad and bring in fresh supplies, to keep 
 pace with, or even to exceed, the demands of the 
 craving brood. 
 
 Autumnal Unions, Fuming, and Transferring 
 Bees.^ — The subject of autumnal unions of bee 
 
 * It may be well in this place to call attention to the distinction 
 between the system of Transferring Bees, in Autumn, in the way 
 now pointed out, and what lias sometimes been confounded with 
 it ; namely, the practice of Transferring Bees and Combs together, 
 
AUTUMNAL xMANAGEMENT. 141 
 
 stocks is strongly advocated by Gelleu ; and iu 
 this country has not always received the attention 
 it demands. Perhaps this is in part owing to 
 ignorance as to a ready mode of accomplishing 
 the object ; and in some degree from the supposed 
 doubt about maintaining the bees, when collected 
 in a large body, through the winter. The latter 
 difficulty is removed by a reference to what has 
 been said on the subject of winter store, in the 
 last section. I hope I shall be able to show that, 
 by a safe and simple expedient, the bees of two 
 or three weak or worn-out families may be joined 
 together, to form one vigorous stock ; at the same 
 time saving thousands of valuable lives. The late 
 Apiarian Society of Oxford is entitled to credit 
 for the care it bestowed on this branch of bee 
 economy ; and the method of procedure now to 
 be explained was there successfully practised. It 
 should be done about September, and in warm 
 weather. 
 
 The custom of stupefying bees by some nar- 
 cotic substance has long been in practice ; and, 
 observes Dr. Dunbar, " there is no more useful 
 auxiliary in every operation in an apiary than 
 smoke.^^ By subjecting them to the fumes, the 
 bees are rendered insensible and harmless for a 
 time ; but soon recover, with no ill-effects subse- 
 
 from one hive to another. This I never advocated, except in 
 bar-hives, when it is sometimes practicable, provided the combs 
 are built in straight lines. 
 
142 THE BEE-KEKPER*S MANUAL. 
 
 quently. Apparatus more or less complicated 
 has been invented for fuming ; but perhaps the 
 most simple was that used at Oxford^ which is 
 a tin tube,, eighteen inches long, and three 
 quarters of an inch in diameter; readily made 
 by any tin-worker. One end is extended and 
 flattened to adapt it to the entrance of the hive, 
 whilst the other is applied to the mouth of the 
 operator. In the centre of the tube is a box, 
 
 two inches and a half long, and two inches in 
 diameter, to contain the fumigating material ; and 
 to receive which, one end is made to draw out 
 like a telescope. The two ends of the box, where 
 the tubes join it, are stopped withinside by divi- 
 sions of perforated tin. This part must be put 
 together, by rivetting, and without solder, which 
 the heat would melt. An instrument of this form 
 is adapted for most purposes where smoke is 
 needed, it being applicable to fuming a hive at 
 the mouth, or, in some cases, from the top ; for it 
 is, occasionally, more in accordance with the ob- 
 ject in view that the bees should be driven down, 
 rather than upwards. When, therefore, this is 
 proposed, a bend in the tube becomes expedient, 
 which is readily managed by having the farther 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 143 
 
 end made in two pieces to be disconnected at 
 pleasure,, after the plan of a watering-pot. Another 
 end-piece can then be slipped on like a nozle, 
 turned downwards^ to enter the hole through the 
 top of the hive. The instrument just described 
 is of course used in the hand; but another kind 
 is sometimes applicable, made not unlike a pepper- 
 box, upon a foot, which stands on, or in a hole in, 
 the ground, whilst the hive about to be fumed is 
 placed over it. The top lifts off to receive the 
 fungus j and this, as well as the lower end, is 
 pierced with holes. 
 
 The substance hitherto chiefly recommended 
 for the fumigation or stupefying of bees is a kind 
 of fungus, found growing often very large and 
 round, mostly in rich pastures or plantations, in 
 the autumn. It is the Lycoperdon Giganteuniy 
 but variously called, as DeviPs snuff-box, fuzz-ball, 
 or puff-ball. It should be gathered when nearly 
 ripe. Dry it in the sun, or a cool oven, and pre- 
 serve it from damp. It is then a spongy sub- 
 stance, containing brown dust ; and burns with an 
 offensive smell. The difficulty often of procuring 
 this material led me to make trial of another 
 kind of fungus, called Racodium Cellare, or mouse- 
 skin Byssus. It may be found growing in large 
 wine or beer vaults, in immense dark-coloured 
 bunches or festoons, suspended from the roof, 
 often wearing a handsome appearance. In a single 
 such vault, in London, I have seen as much as 
 
144 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 would suffice for a large portion of the bee-keepers 
 in Great Britain ; and I can recommend it (not 
 too freely used) as even more efficacious than the 
 other fungus. It requires no preparation, igniting 
 and smouldering readily, and may be preserved 
 for years. Whatever be the material employed, 
 let the box of the tube be about two-thirds full ; 
 and a few puffs will cause it to send forth smoke 
 abundantly. The hive which it is intended to 
 deprive of its tenants may be lifted gently from 
 its place soon after dusk, and placed over some 
 kind of receptacle. An empty hive, turned bot- 
 tom upwards, might answer with a little manage- 
 ment, but there must be no place of escape for 
 
 the bees. The 
 best thing is abox 
 or bowl, about 
 teninches square 
 within side, and 
 four or five inches 
 deep j with awide 
 flatrira all round. 
 The first intro- 
 duction of the 
 smoke will cause 
 an uproar among 
 the bees, which will speedily be followed by 
 silence, as they fall down from its effect. A 
 minute or two generally suffices for this, assisted 
 by striking the sides and top of the hive. When 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 145 
 
 all is quiet, turn up tlie hive, and you will have 
 received the greater part of its inhabitants in the 
 bowl, in a stupefied state and perfectly subdued. 
 A portion will remain sticking in the combs, 
 which must be cut out one by one, and the bees 
 swept with a feather into the bowl, where a little 
 more smoke will, if needed, keep them quiet in 
 the interim. As respects the Queen, if perceived, 
 she can be taken away, but the bees will com- 
 monly dispose of her in their own way, by the 
 next morninsr. The whole beins: thus collected, 
 they soon begin to show signs of returning anima- 
 tion; and when this is about to take place, sprinkle 
 them pretty freely with a mixture of sugared ale. 
 Next, lift quietly from its stand the hive to which 
 the smoked bees are to be united, placing it over 
 the boAvl, bat leaving no opening except the 
 mouth, for air. The bees from above, attracted 
 by the scent, will go down, and begin licking the 
 sprinkled ones. The whole become intermixed, 
 and ascend together into the hive over tliem, in 
 perfect goodwill. Leave them till the following 
 morning early, when the bowl will generally be 
 found empty. Replace the doubled hive on its 
 original stand, and the work is complete. If it is 
 thought desirable still further to augment its 
 strength, the bees of a secoud hive may be added 
 in the bowl ; or a second union may be made in a 
 night or two afterwards. All that remains is to 
 see that the hive contains honey to last the 
 
 10 
 
146 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 winter; and whatever is wanted to make np 
 about eighteen pounds must be supplied for that 
 purpose, in the way pointed out in a previous 
 section. 
 
 We will now detail another mode of proceeding, 
 at once speedy and efficacious, and attended with 
 no risk to the operator. With the tube of which 
 we have before spoken, in the evening puff some 
 smoke into the mouth of the hive you wish to 
 take, without removing it. Compel as many of 
 the bees to fall down as you can ; then lift the 
 hive, and brush out those remaining; taking 
 away the Queen if you can find her without much 
 trouble. Collect the whole in a heap on the floor- 
 board, and sprinkle them pretty well with sugared 
 ale. You may now, if the numbers are still 
 thought insufficient, add to the first, the smoked 
 bees of a second hive. Next puff some smoke 
 within the stock hive into wliich the bees thus 
 collected are to be transferred, quietly where it 
 stands ; just sufficient to stupify its inhabitants, 
 and produce a uniformity of scent. Turn it bot- 
 tom upwards, floor-board and all, so as to drop no 
 bees ; and place it, if of straw, in a pail, or some 
 similar kind of support. In this position lift off 
 the floor-board, and sprinkle these bees also with 
 a smaller portion of the ale, in the hive where 
 they are. After this is done, before they have 
 recovered, sweep the smoked bees uniformly 
 among the combs of the hive destined to receive 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 347 
 
 them. Clean and scrape its floor-board^ and as 
 soon as symptoms of returning animation begin 
 to appear, replace it, turning the whole again into 
 the right position. All that remains is to restore 
 it at once to its original place or stand. Before 
 the hiye is left, clear away from the entrance 
 any bees that may have fallen down, so that the 
 passage for air is not obstructed. In the ab- 
 sence of a tube like the one described, it is very 
 practicable to make use of a common pipe and 
 tobacco ; but the latter should be of a mild kind, 
 and not too freely used, or many deaths might 
 ensue. 
 
 In selecting the future domicile of the family 
 thus augmented, it will be well to observe that 
 the hive is not one of long standing, in which the 
 combs have become thickened with age. Indeed, 
 a colony of the same year is to be preferred, and 
 more particularly where the Queen is a young one. 
 If, however, it is desired to cut out the old combs 
 from the intended future stock-hive, it can now 
 be done with safety ; first turning on to the board 
 as many of the bees as you can. A supply of 
 honey will invigorate the new community, and the 
 vacancies will be filled up with fresh combs, pro- 
 vided the operation has not been delayed too late 
 in the season. 
 
 It is of great importance here to observe, that 
 after making autumnal unions, in cases where the 
 bees have been expelled from hives possessing 
 
148 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 fresh combs, the latter ought to be left undis- 
 turbed, as so much gain to a spring swarm, 
 "which will gladly accept a house ready furnished : 
 moreover, a vast saving of honey results, for the 
 fabrication of comb, as we have shown at page 
 110, consumes a great deal of this. The same 
 remark npplies to supers partly filled with combs ; 
 but they should be kept clean and dry. It is 
 worthy of remark, that some authorities maintain 
 the opinion that bees will now and then re-work 
 portions of old combs or wax, but it must be free 
 from impurity. 
 
 As far as it can be managed, it is desirable 
 that attention should be paid to the previous 
 position of the hives intended to form unions, for 
 there is always a disposition in bees to return to 
 the spot to which they have been accustomed. 
 Where it is practicable, therefore, it is best to 
 unite adjoining families ; or when the union is to 
 consist of three, unite to a hive in the centre, one 
 on each side. A little foresight at the time of 
 swarming, in the arrangement of the hives, will 
 often facilitate after proceedings. Some have 
 resorted to the plan of confinement of the bees, 
 but this does not always meet the difficulty ; for, 
 on the first opportunity, many of them will 
 return to their old haunts, and seek in vain their 
 former dwelling. 
 
 Fumigation may often be resorted to iu cases 
 where a superabundance of honey exists in a hive 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 143 
 
 at this season; for after tlie introduction of a 
 little smoke the hees -will fall down. It may 
 then be reversed, and a portion of comb cut 
 away in due moderation. Restore the bees to 
 the hive, and replace its board, when the whole 
 may be turned back to its proper position with- 
 out injury. 
 
 Under the head of Common Straw Hives, 
 we have remarked that suffocation with brimstone 
 is the usual mode of obtaining possession of their 
 stores ; the stocks of the second or third year's 
 standing being commonly selected for destruction. 
 If, however, such stocks can be made strong and 
 healthy in the way we have been detailing, good 
 policy would point to the colonies of the present 
 year as those affording the richest harvest of 
 honey, and of the best quality, as being in new 
 combs. These will never be of more value for the 
 market than in the first autumn, provided the 
 proprietor is satisfied as to the state of his older 
 stocks for the next vear's swarmino;. Such of the 
 latter, moreover, as have sent out swarms in the 
 same season will of course possess young Queens. 
 In some districts this principle is carried out in 
 practice, and doubtless with advantage, when a 
 proper discretion is used. Under any circum- 
 stances, it is clear that in gaining possession of 
 the honey, destruction of the bees may be avoided 
 by adopting the fuming and uniting plan, instead 
 of that of suffocation ; for whether the hive be 
 
150 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 new or old, rich or poor, the same principle 
 applies, with no amount of time, trouble, or ex- 
 pense, greater than under the brimstone system. 
 The plea of necessity no longer exists for a wan- 
 ton waste of valuable life ; and to this point the 
 attention of the cottager, in particular, might 
 surely be directed, as one often involving his 
 future profits. Let him know that it is his 
 interest not to kill his bees ; but, when expelled 
 from one hive, to unite them to another, where 
 augmented numbers will require no more than the 
 usual stock of winter food. Inform him that he 
 is acting on a mistaken principle when he imagines 
 that his bees are worn out with age — the com- 
 mon plea for destroying them : that these are 
 short-lived, and periodically renewed, so that the 
 hive alone becomes old : moreover, that a large 
 proportion of the bees at the close of the season 
 are those produced in the later months ; the older 
 ones gradually disappearing in the autumn, to be 
 succeeded by others destined to become the early 
 labourers of the opening new year.* 
 
 Before we leave this part of our subject, a 
 word may be said to those who are disposed 
 to fancy there may be an evil in a super- 
 
 * In a case where a proprietor had been obstinately bent on 
 resorting to the old mode of destruction, the bees were stupefied 
 by a wiser neighbour ; taken home by him, and added to one of his 
 own weak stocks, which turned to good account in the following 
 spring. 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 151 
 
 abundant winter population in a hive. I never 
 observed any permanent inconvenience arising 
 from this ; and no doubt can exist as to the ad- 
 vantage of maintaining a comfortable temperature, 
 the Queen continuing to lay later in the autumn 
 under such stimulant. Moreover, it must not be 
 imagined that all the bees collected together to 
 form a stock, at this time, are destined to survive 
 till the spring. Tlie day of life may, with many 
 of them, be already far spent ; but we have shown 
 in what way their presence, though but temporary 
 in the hive, indirectly contributes to augment 
 the numbers of future spring labourers. Were 
 it not so, there would be nothing to mark the 
 well-known distinction between a populous and a 
 half-tenanted hive. It is certain that, however 
 numerous may be the eggs laid in the spring, a 
 portion only are .of avail in any but a hive so well 
 peopled as to create a favorable temperature 
 for hatching them, and to supply the means neces- 
 sary to their full development. Thus strength in 
 one year begets it in succeeding ones ; and it must 
 be remembered how influential is warmth to the 
 early productive powers of the Queen, without 
 which all goes wrong ; and how important it is 
 in the opening spring to be able to spare from 
 the home duties of the hive a large number of 
 collectors to add to the stores, which would 
 otherwise not keep pace with the cravings of the 
 rising generation. 
 
152 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 Following up the principle thus laid down, I 
 entirely agree with those who carry it out still 
 further, by never destroying, if it can be avoided, 
 the brood often found in quantity in a hive 
 treated in the way we have been advising; for it 
 is obvious that the latest hatched bees are those 
 most likely to be of use in the spring. Where it 
 is practicable, therefore, those combs which con- 
 tain brood should, with as little loss of time as 
 possible, to avoid chill, be arranged in a natural 
 position, in a well-covered super, and placed over 
 a hive requiring to be strengthened. The bees 
 from below will ascend and cluster upon them 
 and, in due time, a valuable accession of numbers 
 will result. A deprived bar-hive offers many faci- 
 lities in such cases, without injuring the combs. 
 
 It may not be misplaced here to remark, that, 
 in the language of apiculturists,. the hives of the 
 year, made vp, as it is termed, for the winter, 
 cow assume the name of stocks. Hitherto they 
 have been denominated swarms or colonies. At 
 this time a good selection of stocks may be made 
 by those about to establish an apiary, to be re- 
 moved at Christmas. In addition to the usual 
 characteristics of vigour, such families are to be 
 preferred as exhibit a certain degree of irascibility, 
 for this is often most observable where there is 
 most to defend. 
 
 Driving of Bees, — In the preceding section we 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 153 
 
 have detailed the modes in practice for uniting bees, 
 and for obtaining possession of their honey, by the 
 aid of fumif/ation. Many proprietors, ho\yever, 
 prefer to arrive at the same object by resorting to 
 what is termed Driving ; by which process the 
 inmates of one hive are impelled to abandon it, 
 and enter some other. When skilfully performed, 
 this operation is often successful in attaining the 
 end in view; but it is seldom well to attempt it, 
 except in a pretty full hive. !Mr. Golding has 
 given, in a small compass, general directions as 
 to the mode of procedure in common cases of 
 Driving, and we will, therefore, adopt his words. 
 " Towards dusk, when the family will be all at 
 home, let the hive be raised gently from its floor- 
 board, and supported on wedges about half an 
 inch thick, \yhen the bees shall have quietly 
 ascended from the floor up into the hive, it may 
 be inverted steadily on a small tub or pail. An 
 empty hive, of the same diameter, being at hand, 
 should be quickly set over the one turned up to 
 receive it. A lighted pipe may be ready to give 
 a puff or two if necessary, but the operation can 
 generally be effected without using it. Tie a 
 cloth firmly round the junction of the hives so 
 that the bees cannot escape. Proceed to drum 
 upon the full hive (opposite the sides of the 
 combs, so as not to detach them), with the open 
 hands or a couple of sticks ; the bees will be so 
 alarmed that in a few minutes they will have 
 
154 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 ascended into the hive set over them. A hive 
 full of combs, and well peopled, always drives 
 better than a weak and partly -filled one. The 
 operation should never be attempted excepting in 
 warm weather. If the object be to furnish 
 another hive with the bees, there is nothing to do 
 but to reverse the hive in which they are, and 
 place the other upon it, again tying the cloth 
 round the junction. A few raps upon the peopled 
 hive will cause them to ascend, and early next 
 morning they should be placed upon their usual 
 stand. Those who still adhere to the common 
 cottage hive may, by driving, deprive well-stored 
 families of part of their honey. Having pre- 
 viously weighed the hive, calculate how much 
 may be taken with safety, and cut away the 
 external combs accordingly. The bees may then 
 be returned as directed." Some operators vary 
 the above proceeding, and perhaps diminish the 
 danger, bj^ placing, as the first step, the empty 
 hive at the bottom, and the full one gently upon 
 this. After making the junction complete between 
 them, the two hives are reversed carefully together, 
 so that the unoccupied one comes to the top, and 
 the drumming then proceeds. This should be 
 continued from five to ten minutes, according as 
 circumstances indicate its necessity. 
 
 There are diversified ways of uniting the bees 
 after they have been driven into an empty hive. 
 Dr. Dunbar says, '^turn up the stock- hive which 
 
AUTUMNAL MANAGEMENT. 155 
 
 is to receive the addition to its population : with 
 a bunch of feathers, or a very small watering-pot, 
 drench them with a solution of ale and sugar, or 
 water and sugar, made a little warm. Do the 
 same to the expelled bees : then placing these 
 last over the stock, mouth to mouth, a rap on the 
 top of the hive will driv^e tbem down among the 
 bees and combs of the underneath hive. Place 
 this last on its pedestal, and the operation is com- 
 pleted. The strong flavour of the solution will 
 prevent the bees from distinguishing between 
 friend and stranger.'^ 
 
 Payne advocates the middle of a fine day as 
 the best time for driving ; removing the hive to 
 be operated upon to a shady place, and then in- 
 verting over it an empty hive, as already de- 
 scribed. A little smoke might sometimes be 
 needful. Having ascertained that the bees have 
 gone into the upper hive, Payne continues, 
 "take the latter immediately to the place where 
 the driven hive was taken from, and place it upon 
 the same floor-board. Carry the driven hive 
 fifty or sixty yards away ; the few bees that 
 remain in it, as well as those that are out at 
 work, will return to the other hive, at the ac- 
 customed spot. All is now finished until an 
 hour after sunset (excepting emptying the driven 
 hive of its store), when two sticks may be laid 
 upon the ground, about nine inches apart, oppo- 
 site the stock-hive to which the driven bees are 
 
156 THE BEE-KEEPKH'S MANUAL. 
 
 to be joined ; then with a smart stroke dash out 
 the bees between the sticks ; and instantly, but 
 gently, place the stock-hive over them upon the 
 sticks : leave them for the night, protecting them 
 from the weather, and an hour before sunrise 
 restore the stock-hive to its original position. 
 Here will be an increased population, enabled to 
 stand through the winter much better, and to 
 send out an earlier swarm, than if the union had 
 not been effected." 
 
 The autumnal driving of bees is a common 
 practice when the proprietors reside within a few 
 miles of the moors and heaths, to which the hives 
 are conveyed in time to luxuriate in a second 
 harvest of blossom, now available from the heather. 
 In such districts, it is not unusual to appropriate 
 the whole contents of the driven hive ; the bees 
 being compelled to begin the world again in a 
 new house and locality, like a recent SAvarm. Or, 
 two or three small families may be driven into 
 one. In a good season, a few weeks suffice to 
 enable them to fill their second dwelling with 
 combs, brood, and honey of the very finest quality. 
 On their return home from the moors, some of 
 the hives are again driven, and deprived of a 
 portion of their stores; or united in many in- 
 stances two or three together, to form strong 
 families as stocks ; for the value of population ia 
 too well understood to allow of any unnecessary 
 destruction of life. 
 
WINTER MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The management of bees in the winter season 
 is probably that which is less understood than 
 any other department of the apiary, and various 
 have been the modes urged for ensuring safety 
 through its various dangers. It seems, however, 
 to be pretty generally admitted that it is better 
 to allow the hives to remain in their usual posi- 
 tion throughout the year ; and our care therefore 
 should be directed to ward off the casualties now 
 to be guarded against. Ignorant attention^ ne- 
 vertheless, is sometimes worse even than neglect; 
 and having once made the needful winter arrange- 
 ments, there ought to be as little subsequent 
 disturbance as possible. The great points to be 
 observed are, adequate exterior covering and 
 complete protection from the effects of wind, wet, 
 and sudden changes of weather ; a sufficiency of 
 food to last till the spring ; and preservation 
 from damp in the hive, with its attendant evils. 
 As regards the store of honey, we have already 
 said that this is a matter to be clearly ascer- 
 tained and supplied in autumn. "When, there- 
 fore, as the cold weather sets in, and the bees 
 have collected and clustered together, there must 
 be uo more attempts at feeding. The mouth of 
 
158 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 the hive should gradually be contracted^ as the 
 winter advances, though never entirely closed. 
 After every fall of snow^ let it be cleared away 
 from the hives, and about the stand or house, to 
 prevent the chance of reflection, which always 
 injuriously arouses the bees, and for the better 
 security from moist exhalation on thawing. 
 
 Tfl^nter position. — It is extremely desirable in 
 winter to keep off the influence of the sun from 
 the front of the hives. Some persons recommend 
 moving them from their summer position to a 
 north aspect, or turning them round on their 
 stands. But this shifting of quarters involves 
 the necessity of shutting up the bees close pri- 
 soners till the spring ; for all that casually left 
 the hive would fly back to the original familiar 
 spot, never more to revisit home. I entirely 
 agree with those who assert that bees are never 
 healthy where confinement has been long con- 
 tinued. '' Who shuts up the wild bees in the 
 forests of Lithuania, where they thrive so well ?" 
 asks Gelieu. Surely in this, as in other parts 
 of our practice, we cannot do better than follow 
 the guidance of nature. On a fine day, with the 
 thermometer at or not much below 50° (and these 
 are not of unfrequent occurrence in winter), the 
 bees avail themselves of it, sallying forth in evi- 
 dent delight, with certain advantage to health 
 and cleanliness; for they void nothing in the 
 
WINTER MANAGEMENT. 
 
 159 
 
 liive^ unless compelled by long necessity. This 
 is the point at which disease commences : indeed 
 the retention of their faeces sometimes occasions 
 death. Tlieir impatience of confinement is ex- 
 cessive, and increases as the season advances, so 
 that they will leave the hive at a lower tempera- 
 ture after Christmas than before. But in thus 
 advocating tlie principle of liberty, I am not in- 
 sensible to the evil it may bring with it, if not 
 guarded against. The most disastrous conse- 
 quences follow the flight of bees on a frosty day, 
 when the gleams and deceitful warmth of a win- 
 ter sun reach tlieir domicile, particularly with 
 snow on the ground, the glare of which allures 
 them out to destruction, for they soon fall down 
 to rise no more. The remedy 
 for this is the screening of 
 the hive in some way from 
 its effects ; and it should be 
 done as soon as winter actually 
 sets in. At the same time it 
 is important that no obstruc- 
 tion to the free passage of air 
 is presented, or dysentery 
 among the bees would be the 
 certain consequence. Where 
 the hives stand singly, I have always seen 
 the advantage of fixing before each a wooden 
 screen, nailed to a post, sunk in the ground. 
 
160 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 and large enough to tlirow the whole front into 
 shade. This does not interfere with the coming 
 forth of the bees at a proper temperature; and 
 it supersedes any necessity for shutting them up 
 when snow is on the ground. The screen should 
 he fixed a foot or two in advance, and so as to 
 intercept the sun's rays, which will be chiefly in 
 winter towards the west side. Other plans have 
 been tried for effecting the same object, such as 
 blocks placed at the mouth of the hive ; but these 
 answer no good end, as the rays of light pene- 
 trate underneath and around them. In a bee- 
 house, entirely enclosed at the front, the hives 
 and their boards may sometimes at this season 
 be advantageously shifted a little sideways of the 
 exterior entrance way ; with hollowed blocks (see 
 page 96), shaped in accordance, to intercept the 
 light, but not the air. 
 
 A screen of the kind we have described has 
 the further tendency to promote the security of 
 the bees, where other enemies than wind, frost, 
 snow, or sun might sometimes endanger them» 
 One of these, at this time, is the blue Titmouse, 
 to which we have before alluded. Old Purchas 
 says, " She will eat ten or twelve bees at a time, 
 and by-and-by be ready for more. When she 
 Cometh to the hive and findeth none, she knocketh 
 with her bill at the door, and as soon as the bees 
 come out to inquire the cause, she catcheth first 
 
WINTER MANAGEMENT. 161 
 
 one and then another, until her belly be full.^^ 
 At page 117 we have described a mode of dealing 
 with these marauders. 
 
 Damp in Hives. — Perhaps there is nothing more 
 prejudicial than the moisture often engendered 
 in exposed hives at this time, particularly after 
 frost, and in certain states of the atmosphere. It 
 accumulates on the top and sides, moulding and 
 rendering offensive the combs, and producing 
 disease amongst the bees. For this reason, hives 
 with flat roofs have sometimes been objected to; 
 and perhaps justly, where no provision is made for 
 ventilation. Gelieu obviated the evil by placing 
 caps or small hives (cemented down) over the 
 stocks ; the moisture ascending, evaporated 
 through the opening, '^as by a chimney.^' I 
 have tried different experiments, and have found 
 nothing better than the practice of condensing the 
 vapour of the hive as much as possible, and con- 
 veying it away. At the beginning of winter, over; 
 the hole on the top, a piece of perforated zinc or 
 wood is placed. Upon this let one of the com- 
 mon feeding troughs, already described, be put, 
 from which the glass cover, and, if you please, the 
 perforated bottom, are previously removed ; the 
 hole in the pan being placed over the one below. 
 This may be covered with a bell-glass, standing 
 within the pan. As the exhalation rises from the 
 bees below, it is condensed on the glass, and 
 
 11 
 
n^ 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 received, often in considerable quantity, in the 
 pan. The hole at the top of the glass may be 
 stopped, opening it occasionally on a fine day, to 
 allow the escape of vitiated air. The change of 
 air in a hive, in mild, dry weather, is always con- 
 ducive to healthy till the early spring breeding 
 begins, when caution against chill to the bees is 
 needed. In the absence of a bell-glass, the glass 
 cover to the trough may be kept in its place as a 
 substitute. We have already recommended the 
 
 giving to all hives or 
 boxes a slight inclination 
 forwards, as being useful 
 in conveying away the 
 moisture. 
 
 Where there is no feed- 
 ing pan, a bell-glass may 
 be put within a circular 
 leaden or zinc trough, 
 having the centre open, 
 and placed over the hole below. 
 
 Temperature. — With good protection from cut- 
 ting winds, from wet without, and from damp 
 within, the effects of cold alone, unless of extreme 
 severity, need not be apprehended, for the bees of 
 a strong stock will generate sufficient warmth; 
 and a dry season is often better sustained than a 
 mild, moist one. It is of importance to guard 
 against sudden changes of temperature, often oc- 
 
WINTER MANAGEMENT. 163 
 
 curring in winter; and experienced bee-keepers 
 have recommended covering each hive with a mat, 
 or something of the kind, as a regulator. 
 
 It is certain that less food is consumed at a 
 low than a high temperature, and that the bees 
 are often healthy in proportion. I have known 
 the thermometer down to 32° in a box, with no 
 bad effect to the bees when clustered together ; 
 but they would become torpid if exposed singly to 
 this, or to a much less degree of cold, especially 
 towards the close of winter ; and could then only 
 be recovered by artificial warmth.* The action 
 of very severe frost, moreover, has an injurious 
 effect upon the honey, which becomes candied at 
 the extremities of the combs, and sometimes 
 throughout. It is thenceforth useless as food 
 for the bees.f 
 
 * It is frequently the case in winter that a number of bees may 
 be found, apparently dead, about a hive, particularly after sudden 
 disturbance. The greater part of these are merely paralysed on 
 coming out into a lower temperature, and may be recovered by 
 taking them to the fire. But this should be done v^ith caution ; 
 for, if placed too near, the bees ai"e not so likely permanently to 
 recover, as when the restoration is gradual. The best way is to 
 put the bees into a large basin, spreading over it a piece of muslin 
 to confine them till they are restored to the hive, 
 
 t In two stocks which I had an opportunity of examining, at 
 lh2 end of February, 1838, after a very severe winter, I found cells 
 filled with honey in a granulated state, and perfectly white. This 
 was untouched by the bees, though distressed for food. Notwith- 
 standing the unusual severity of the season, there was brood in 
 various stages of progression. 
 
164 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 A thermometer is not always a criterion of tlie 
 state of the hive at this season, as I have often 
 found; for the temperature varies as the bees 
 recede from it, and they frequently shift their 
 quarters, moving in a mass to preserve the warmth. 
 When congregated immediately about the ther- 
 mometer, I have known it rise as much as 30° on 
 a frosty day ; and an increase of temperature 
 always follows any commotion, from -whatever 
 cause, or partial activity in the dwelling, resulting 
 in an increased consumption of food. 
 
 Dysentery. — Care should be taken to clear 
 away any dead bees at the mouth of the hive, 
 for these give great offence, besides endangering 
 the safety of the family, by preventing the passage 
 of air. "Whilst the bees are in activity', they 
 carefully remove every dead body from the hive ; 
 but in winter this service should be occasionally 
 performed for them. In particular it should be 
 attended to if signs of dysentery appear, which 
 may be known by the dark-coloured evacuations, 
 offensive smell in the hive, and frequent deaths. 
 This malady often attacks the strongest hives, 
 too much closed at the mouth, particularly at the 
 latter part of winter or in early spring, the most 
 critical time for bees ; and no doubt it is attri- 
 butable to unnaturally retained faeces in a damp 
 impure atmosphere, with deficient covering and 
 ventilation. It has been thought that the want 
 
WINTER MANAGEMENT. 165 
 
 of water predisposes the bees to dysentery. As 
 soon as the disease is apparent, no time should 
 be lost in lifting the hive from its board, expel- 
 ling the vitiated air, and scraping and washing 
 away all impurity ; repeating the same process, 
 if requisite, on some fine subsequent day. But 
 the board should be dried before the hive is re- 
 placed on it; or a fresh one may be at once 
 substituted for it, with less loss of time and an- 
 noyance to the bees. I have restored a stock to 
 perfect health by thoroughly cleaning and venti- 
 lating it, after a third of the inhabitants had 
 fallen a sacrifice. All remedies, as they are 
 called, by feeding with various prescriptions, do 
 more harm than good. " Bees,^^ says Gelieu, 
 '^ 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 only those 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 the winter.^^ 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 
 
 Those -who commence an apiary by the pur- 
 chase of established stock-hives, and who did not 
 secure such in the autumn, can, with the opening 
 of February, and for the five or six weeks ensuing, 
 make a selection of those that have the charac- 
 teristics of health and strength, which may gene- 
 rally be ascertained on a fine day, by observing 
 the quantity of farina carried into a hive. " The 
 best time,'' says Payne, '^ to establish an apiary 
 is from the middle of February to the middle of 
 March. The stocks will have passed through 
 the winter, and the removal is safe and easy. 
 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. If the hive is 
 not of the preceding year, its weight is no crite- 
 rion of its value; for an old stock contains a 
 large quantity of pollen/' An examination of 
 the combs, as to discoloration, will often be a 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 167 
 
 useful criterion of age. The selected stocks 
 should be removed to theirnew quarters byhau<l, 
 at dusk, to be uo more disturbed. 
 
 Cleaning or changing Floor-boards, — All who 
 have been accustomed to the care of bees must 
 have perceived the saving of labour to them, in 
 the early spring, in the cleaning of their floor- 
 boards, by scraping away all filth, removing dead 
 bees, refuse wax, &c., and thoroughly drying 
 them. In many cases the best and quickest 
 plan is to change the board, and particularly 
 when it sliows signs of decay, which always leads 
 to mischief. 
 
 Comh-pruning . — In conjunction with an ex- 
 amination of the floor-boai*ds, opportunity can be 
 taken of observing the state of the hives, as 
 respects their combs. Where these are seen to 
 be old, mouldy, mildewed, or infected by moths, 
 they should be cut a^ay ; as also when they 
 have become filled with a mass of stale pollen 
 and useless honey ; at the same time taking care 
 not to disturb any brood there may be. Hives 
 sometimes contain too large a proportion of drone 
 combs, which can now be removed with advantage. 
 Some persons use a little smoke, but at this 
 season it must be resorted to sparingly, as the 
 bees are weak. They will speedily fill up the 
 vacancies thus made, and a stock in this way 
 
168 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 partially renewed may be continued in health 
 several years^ provided the hive itself is in good 
 state. Nevertheless, it may be well to recur to 
 an opinion we have already expressed, that it is 
 often, more to the interest of the proprietor to 
 allow a stock to swarm rather than to persevere 
 for several succeeding seasons in preventing it, 
 in a hive constantly becoming worse for occupa- 
 tion. 
 
 General directions. — As soon as vegetation 
 begins to appear, with genial weather, all 
 obstructions to the free access to the hives must 
 be removed ; and by degrees extended space 
 given at the mouth. The critical time for the 
 bees is now approaching ; for in February brood 
 often rapidly increases, requiring greater attention 
 to a uniform warmth. The tops of the hives, 
 therefore, should be closed in, to prevent currents 
 of cold air, often at this time fatal both to the 
 eggs and larvae, as may be seen by the ejectment 
 of dead grubs. Even much later on in the 
 season the recurrence of cold days will leave 
 certain proofs of mischief; and at such times the 
 mouths of the hives ought again to be contracted 
 and screened ; carefully retaining till all danger 
 is past the outer coverings to the hives. 
 
 The bees will now, in fine weather, go forth in 
 search of pollen, which they bring into the hive 
 in large or apparently in useless quantity, so as 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 169 
 
 sometimes to render it necessary afterwards to 
 remove it, at a great expense of labour. " This/' 
 says Gelieu, " is the only point on which they 
 can he accused of a "svant of that prudeuce and 
 foresight, so admirable in every other respect/' 
 A supply of pollen, together with water, are the 
 first requirements of the spring, both essential to 
 the brood, and the eagerness of the bees to seek 
 them is a certain indication of health and strength 
 in the hive.* At page 102, a list is given of early 
 flowering plants, which it is desirable to have in the 
 immediate vicinity of the hives. At present the 
 
 * It is worthy of attention that a distinguished German apicul- 
 turist has recently introduced a substitute for pollen in the early 
 year, when the bees have no means of procuring it. Observing 
 that his bees frequented a neighbouring mill, he found them en- 
 gaged in conveying from thence a quantity of rye meal. Deriving 
 a hint from this discovery, he placed a trough of the meal in front 
 of his apiary, which was eagerly carried to the hives, the bees pre- 
 ferring it to old pollen ; and this continued till the opening blos- 
 soms supplied the natural article. Some hives consumed as 
 much as two pounds. Subsequent experimentalists, at home, 
 have used the flour of wheat, or other grain, with success. 
 The knowledge that the collection of pollen and the need 
 of water by the bees are simultaneous, led these observers a step 
 further, by giving a supply of both these essentials at the same 
 time. As this assistance has been afforded as early as January, it 
 would seem necessary, in our climate, to place both articles in 
 some accessible part within the hive. In the absence of any better 
 provision, wet sponge or moss has been found to answer ; or old 
 combs will suffice as receptacles either of water or flour. Stocks 
 thus treated are said to be greatly forwarded both in breeding and 
 swarming. 
 
170 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 bees are weak, and incapable of a long flight : 
 the weather, too, is often unfavorable for it. 
 
 An attentive observer will now readily distin- 
 guish the strong, healthy stocks ; but now and 
 then a family may be seen sluggish in its work, 
 though, perhaps, not deficient in numbers. The 
 cause may generally be traced to an unfruitful 
 Queen, to be got rid of as soon as the season is 
 a little more advanced, and a successor can be 
 reared in the way described under the head 
 Queen Bee. Or, it might happen if the Queen 
 dies before the bees have the means of estab- 
 lishing another, when an abandonment of the 
 hive often ensues, though honey may still be 
 plentiful in store. Prudence will at this time 
 point out the expediency of surveying the state 
 of the apiary as to repairs, painting, &c., to be 
 done before the bees have fullv entered into a 
 state of activity. 
 
 Spring -feeding. — It is well now to examine 
 the remaining stock of food, for much will shortly 
 be required for the increasing numbers. If 
 needed, some must be given, though in less 
 quantity than in autumn; and it ought to be 
 placed within the hive, either at the top or bot- 
 tom ; but the time is arrived when every pre- 
 caution should be used to prevent the effects of 
 chill to the brood, by the creation of cold cur- 
 rents. It usually suffices to supply food about 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 171 
 
 three times a week, but the feeding trough must 
 he closely covered^ to keep up the temperature, 
 or the bees will not at first enter into it. AYhen 
 this is the case, some proprietors do not hesitate 
 to invert a hive, and pour a cup of honey amongst 
 the combs: the bees will soon lick one another clean. 
 Or, in lieu of a trough, I have used a tin vessel, 
 holding nearly half a pint, open at each end, 
 made somewhat taper downwards, the lower end 
 fitting into a hole on the top of the hive, of 
 about two inches. This part is somewhat 
 loosely tied over with linen cloth, through 
 which the bees suck the food. It may' be made 
 cylindrical, if preferred, with a flanch to rest upon. 
 At this season it is well to give the food 
 slightly warmed. Many persons recommend 
 feeding even the strong hives, for it is certain the 
 bees are stimulated by the increased temperature 
 to which it gives rise ; and there can be no doubt 
 of the importance of bringing the stocks forward 
 as early as possible. But no feeding, unless 
 from absolute necessity, should be resorted to till 
 a certain degree of animation is visible in the 
 dwelling, otherwise the bees are prematurely put 
 in motion, and numbers perish, unable to reach 
 home. Nor is it of less importance to observe 
 that feeding is not discontinued too soon ; for 
 even after warm days there will be a return of 
 ungenial weather, and a stock might perish where 
 a very little additional food would have saved it. 
 
172 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 But some limit should be put to the quantity as 
 the weather becomes fine and warm ; for I have 
 known evil arise where the cells have been filled 
 by the bees with sugared mixtures^ at the time 
 when the Queen requires them to deposit eggs. 
 We have already alluded to the advantages of a 
 supply of water withinside^ in the very early year, 
 before the bees can go abroad. 
 
 Where honey is abundant, it is of course 
 preferable ; and it is no worse for being slightly 
 made liquid with water. In other cases various 
 kinds of substitutes have been resorted to. I 
 have used' good sound ale, sweetened with sugar 
 and honey, and boiled for a minute or two : the 
 usual proportion is a pint to a pound of refined 
 sugar, adding a fourth part of pure honey, which 
 imparts a flavour the most agreeable to the bees. 
 A tablespoonful of rum still further improves the 
 compound. Mr. Golding recommends a very 
 similar mixture ; to which, however, he adds a 
 teaspoonful of salt and a glass of wine. Payne 
 prescribes lump sugar, in the proportion of 
 three pounds to a pint of water, boiled for two 
 or three minutes, and mixed with a pound of 
 honey. 
 
 The kind of food we have been describing is 
 that which is most commonly used for bees at 
 this season. I have, however, turned my 
 attention, occasionally, to the saving of trouble 
 that arises where food can be given them in a 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 173 
 
 concrete form, to supersede some of the evils 
 attending the common methods of administering 
 liquids at this season. In one of my feeding 
 troughs I have sometimes put some large lumps 
 of refined sugar, dipped previously in water till 
 pretty well saturated, which the bees will appro- 
 priate. Of the various concrete saccharine 
 preparations, however, I have found none entii'cly 
 combining the needful requisites except that in 
 which the crystallizing properties of the sugar 
 had been altogether destroyed. It is well known 
 that this change can be effected by certain 
 methods of boiling. I believe I am correct in 
 stating that the heat required to convert crystal- 
 lizable into uncrystallizable sugar is from 320° to 
 360° of Fahrenheit. If, therefore, to two pounds 
 of loaf sugar half a pint of water is added in a 
 saucepan, it must be boiled up to a temperature 
 not exceeding 360° of heat. This may be pretty 
 well known when the syrup becomes brittle ; 
 ascertainable by suddenly cooling a little on a 
 cold substance, or plate, when it begins to assume 
 a pale yellow colour. The longer it is exposed 
 to heat, up to this point, the more perfect is the 
 change produced ; but about twenty minutes' 
 boiling is usually sufficient. If, instead of water 
 alone, a fifth to a fourtji part of vinegar is mixed 
 with it, the process is expedited ; and when thus 
 made, the bees appear to give it a preference. 
 The whole must be poured out gradually upon a 
 cold dish, or a slab of stone, marble, or slate, 
 
174 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 previously rubbed with a very little fiue oil, or 
 other unctuous matter, to prevent adhesion. In 
 a few minutes it is sufficiently stiffened to allow 
 of being cut, with a pair of scissors, into such, 
 conveniently-formed pieces as are best adapted 
 for insertion into the hive at its mouth. To 
 those who do not object to the trouble of pre- 
 paring this kind of bee-food themselves, the cost 
 may be estimated at that of the sugar, as there 
 does not appear to arise any loss in weight. It 
 will be seen that this pre/paration differs but little 
 from the common confection, familiarly known as 
 barley- sugar. The bees, as lambent insects, have 
 no difficulty, from the deliquescent properties of 
 this concrete, in appropriating it speedily; and 
 in the use of a large quantity I have always 
 found it to be unaccompanied by the usual degree 
 of disturbance, observable when honey is adminis- 
 tered. It may be given at any time of the day ; 
 and an impoverished family might frequently be 
 saved by inserting a few sticks of barley-sugar 
 within a hive, when any other mode of feeding 
 was impracticable. In fact it would appear that 
 no other artificial food is so acceptable to the 
 bees ; and much of it doubtless returns to the 
 proprietor, intermixed with natural honey. By 
 the process we have described, common sugar has 
 now been converted into a substance much 
 resembling in its properties the saccharine matter 
 of certain fruits, as grapes, &c., known as uncrys- 
 tallizable sugar ; probably nearly identical with 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 175 
 
 the honey collected by the bees from the nectaries 
 of flowering plants. After exposure to the 
 action of a moist atmosphere^ the concrete soon 
 assumes a dissolved form ; and so^ thenceforth, 
 remains,, as I have proved by keeping it, in any 
 "Nvay unaltered, for several years ; in short, it 
 becomes a substance very much resembling 
 honey.* 
 
 Enemies and robbeys. — The enemies of bees, 
 already pointed out at p. 116, should now have 
 the attention of the proprietor ; and more espe- 
 cially robber-bees, for these are sometimes trou- 
 blesome at this season, particularly where the 
 hives are placed not sufficiently apart. On this 
 subject we would refer to what has been said at 
 J). 131. Let a vigilant look-out be given for 
 
 * I am not amongst the number of those who (to my appre- 
 hension) go out of their way to maintain that this vegetable 
 secretion undergoes some kind of chemical change bypassing into 
 the stomach of the bees (in reality a mere receiving bag), from 
 whence it is often regurgitated into the cells of the combs in a 
 few minutes, or even seconds, of time. Honey doubtless derives 
 hoth its colour and flavour immediately from the plants supplying 
 it ; the bees not possessing the power of altering either. It even 
 sometimes contains an original poisonous matter. Its subsequent 
 thickened consistency naturally results from the effect of a lowered 
 temperature; acting in a greater or less degree, according to 
 circumstances, season, &c. That the bees have not the abihty to 
 change chemically the contents received into their honey-bags, is 
 shown by an examination of the saccharine mixtures given to them 
 as artificial food ; in which I never could detect any alteration after 
 being stored in the combs. 
 
176 THE bee-keeper\s manual. 
 
 Queen-wasps, now becoming common, and destroy 
 them in any way possible ; remembering that 
 each of these is the parent of a future family. 
 When the wasps are seen to alight, the use of a 
 garden syringe and water is often effectual in 
 disabling them from flying, when they are easily 
 killed. 
 
 Super-hives. — As the season continues to open, 
 young bees will become numerous, timidly peeping 
 out of the hive, and distinguishable by the light- 
 ness of their colour. With genial weather, wealth 
 also rapidly accumulates ; and the strong odour 
 of the hive, and increased activity of its inmates, 
 attest the growing prosperity of the family. At- 
 tention now is requisite to these symptoms of a 
 rising temperature, and, consequently, to the 
 crowding of the hive. If the glass windows be- 
 come sensibly warm, attended with clustering at 
 the mouth, increased building room should at 
 once be given, as detailed at pp. 23 and 119, or 
 under the head of Nadiring stocks ; for a fertile 
 Queen will require a large proportion of the 
 stock-hive for the purpose of depositing eggs. 
 Should a few cold nights ensue, the supers must 
 be kept covered ; and more especially glasses, 
 which the bees will desert unless a warm tempe- 
 rature is fully preserved in them. 
 
 I much doubt the probability of preventing 
 the swarming of bees, where the extra storing 
 room is delayed till royal cells have become 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 177 
 
 tenanted^ or, perhaps, only formed. Mischief 
 has also frequently arisen where the hees have 
 all at once had a large additional space given 
 them of too cold a temperature ; and often ren- 
 dered more unacceptable by undue or ill-timed 
 ventilation, as in using Nutt's hives was often 
 the case. The same cause has sometimes operated 
 to prevent progress of any kind ; and in a colla- 
 teral hive, thus managed, I witnessed the fact 
 that, during five or six successive seasons, there 
 was no more breeding or storing than barely 
 sufficed to keep the unhappy family in existence, 
 the proprietor deriving no benefit whatever. 
 
 Temperature and weather. — With the advance 
 of the season, and a more abundant efflorescence, 
 the buzz of the hive becomes louder and more 
 general, and particularly when the family are all 
 assembled at night. And now the exertions of 
 the bees are called into action for the purpose of 
 promoting ventilation, and expelling the vitiated 
 air. This they accpmplish by means of a rapid 
 and continuous fanning, or vibration of their 
 wings, giving rise collectively to the sound usu- 
 ally termed humming ; and which is readily dis- 
 tinguishable from the sharp, angry note emitted 
 by a bee under the excitement of irritation. 
 Sometimes the heat of the hives impels the in- 
 habitants to seek a cooler temperature by clus- 
 tering on the outside. At such times it is often 
 
 12 
 
178 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 well to aid in moderating the warmth by slightly 
 raising up the bottom edge of the supers with a 
 few strips of wood or lead. At p. 115, we have 
 given some general recommendations relative to 
 the shading of exposed hives, now to be attended 
 to ; as also on the subject of water. 
 
 In most localities, the best part of the honey 
 season will now be approaching; and much con- 
 sequently depends on the state of the weather. 
 In particular, a prevalence of dry easterly winds, 
 acting on vegetation, causes the suspension of 
 almost all operations ; so that the main honey- 
 storing time is often limited to three or four 
 weeks in the season, or frequently even less, in 
 our uncertain climate. The secretion of honey 
 is remarkably promoted by an electric state of 
 the atmosphere. Huber says truly of the bees : 
 " I have remarked that the collection by these 
 creatures is never more abundant, nor their ope- 
 rations in wax more active, than when the wind 
 is from the south, the air moist and warm, and a 
 storm approaching.'^ A certain commencement 
 of the latter is to be looked for when the bees are 
 seen rapidly hurrying home in crowds to the 
 hive. Payne may be cited in this connexion. 
 ^' I am not aware,'' he observes, *' that bees have 
 ever been placed in the list of those animals 
 which are said to foretell the changes of weather, 
 as many of the feathered and insect tribes are; 
 but in my opinion they stand foremost of the 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 179 
 
 weather-'wise. A nice observer, by looking at 
 them in the early morning during the working 
 season, will very soon be able to form an opinion 
 as to what the day will be, and that almost to a 
 certainty 3 for they will sometimes appear slug- 
 gish and inactive, although the morning is very 
 bright, and showing every appearance for a fine 
 day ; but the sun soon becomes clouded, and rain 
 follows. And, again, the morning may be dull 
 and cloudy, aud sometimes rain may be falling ; 
 still the bees will be observed going out in con- 
 siderable numbers ; and as sure as this is seen 
 the day becomes bright and fair/^ 
 
 " Thou wert out betimes, thou busy, busy bee! 
 When abroad I took my early way : 
 Before the cow from her resting-place 
 Had risen up, and left her trace 
 
 On the meadow, with dew so gray, 
 I saw thee, thou busy, busy bee ! 
 
 Thou wert alive, thou busy, busy bee ! 
 
 "When the crowd in their sleep were dead • 
 Thou wert abroad in the freshest hour, 
 \Vhen the sweetest odour comes from the flower ; 
 
 Man will not learn to leave his lifeless bed. 
 And be wise, and copy thee, thou busy, busy bee ! 
 
 Thou wert working late, thou busy, busy bee ! 
 
 After the fall of the cistus flower; 
 I heard thee last as I saw thee first, 
 When the primrose free blossom was ready to burst ; 
 
 In the coolness of the evening hour, 
 I heard thee, thou busy, busy bee 1" 
 
 SOUTHBY. 
 
180 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 Swarming. — The month of May, in fine sea- 
 sons, usually brings with it the period of the 
 greatest interest to the proprietor, as regards the 
 swarming stocks of bees ; on which subject we 
 would refer to p. 21. Drones now begin to 
 make their appearance, darting out of the hive in 
 the middle of warm days, though occasionally 
 in strong stocks they may be seen in April; in 
 which event early swarming may be looked for. 
 The usual limits during which swarming takes 
 place vary in different localities ; but in general 
 they are comprised in the months of May and 
 June; though in extraordinary circumstances a 
 swarm may issue somewhat earlier, or a little 
 later than this. When it is expected, the hive 
 should be watched from ten in the morning till 
 two or three o^ clock, after which time swarming 
 rarely occurs. In particular, the bees ought not 
 to be left for five minutes if a hot sun intervene 
 between showers; for a greater predisposition to 
 swarming then exists than in dry weather; it 
 seldom, however, takes place with an east or 
 north wind. 
 
 It is not always easy to distinguish the appear- 
 ances that precede a first (or prime) swarm, and 
 experienced apiculturists are sometimes deceived. 
 If, however, we had access to the interior of the 
 hive, the usual time would always be found (ac- 
 cidents as to weather not interfering) to be that 
 in which the larvae of the royal cells were about 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 181 
 
 to be transformed into nymplis_, and therein sealed 
 up ; \\z., eight or nine days before the young 
 Queens are matured ; for it is to be remembered 
 that on the occasion of a first swarm it is always 
 the old Queen that accompanies it. The issue 
 of a swarm is frequently to be expected when the 
 bees have remained for some time previously in 
 a state of seeming inertness, followed by an un- 
 usual commotion among the drones ; and more 
 especially if these make their appearance in the 
 morning, hanging out with a cluster of bees ; 
 conjointly with a disinclination to foraging abroad, 
 among the workers. If, in addition, the honey 
 previously stored in a super is observed to dis- 
 appear suddenly, swarming may be anticipated, as 
 the bees load themselves before leaving home. 
 But mere clustering at the mouth of the hive is 
 not invariably the precursor of a swarm ; and 
 the bees frequently continue to congregate in 
 unmeaning idleness on the outside, even though 
 honey may be abundant. " In this case,^^ says 
 Dr. Bevan, '^the cluster may be swept into an 
 empty hive towards dusk, and carried to a short 
 distance from the apiary, when they will gradually 
 return, and generally join the family. ^^ This, 
 however, is often only a temporary expedient ; 
 and the prolonged continuance of a period of in- 
 action frequently denotes the absence, from abor- 
 tion, or other cause, of a young Queen; the old 
 one not choosing to leave the hive without the 
 
183 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 prospect of a successor. Or it may be that tlie 
 hive contains an unfruitful Queen, and a weak 
 population with insufficient warmth, when little 
 of store is collected, and often no drone eggs are 
 produced, these being always the preliminary of 
 royal cells. A continuation of unfavorable 
 weather, moreover, notwithstanding the sealing 
 up of the Queen- cells, will often prevent any 
 issue of a swarm ; for the reigning sovereign will 
 avail herself of this compulsory detention in 
 severally destroying the young princesses as they 
 are matured. An old Queen is permitted by the 
 bees to do this, but it is otherwise with a young 
 one, till a later stage. Neither as to swarming 
 will the state of the thermometer be an invariable 
 guide. I have rarely seen it reach as high as 
 95° within a stock-hive, but I have observed the 
 issue of swarms at a temperature four or five 
 degrees below this ; and in one instance it oc- 
 curred when the thermometer ranged but little 
 above 80°.* 
 
 It is common to imagine that a swarm consists 
 exclusively of the young bees of the season ; but 
 Nature is no such bungler, or what would become 
 
 * Some naturalists, and amongst them Huber, have imagined a 
 much higher degree of heat at the time of swarming ; but in this 
 there must be some error, for 1 have proved that the combs col- 
 lapse and fall at a temperature a little about 100°. I am almost 
 ashamed to say that this experiment cost me the destruction of a 
 fine stock-hive. 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 183 
 
 of the parent stock? Accordingly, we find that 
 bees of all ages, and usually several hundreds of 
 drones, go forth intermingled, to form the new 
 family. It is not always an easy matter to 
 estimate the strength of a swarm. The bulk is 
 not entirely a criterion, as the temperature of the 
 weather causes the bees to cluster together more 
 or less closely. A pint will usually contain about 
 2000. Five thousand bees are estimated to 
 weigh nearly a pound ; but this also varies, for 
 on swarming they are always provident enough 
 to load themselves more or less with honey before 
 their departure. A good swarm, however, ought 
 to weigh about four pounds. Some have reached 
 to six pounds, but this is rare. 
 
 Returning of sivarms. — Cases sometimes occur 
 in which it is thought desirable to compel the 
 return of a swarm to the stock-hive. On this 
 subject we will use the words of Payne. '^ The 
 process,^^ says he, ^^is very simple, and I have 
 always found it succeed. As soon as the swarm 
 is settled in the hive, turn it bottom upwards, 
 and, if the Queen-bee does not make her appear- 
 ance in a few seconds, dash the bees out upon a 
 cloth, or a gravel walk, and with a wine-glass 
 she may be easily captured. Upon this the bees 
 will return to their parent hive. The queen may 
 also very easily be taken during the departure of 
 a swarm ; for she appears to leave the hive reluct- 
 
184 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 antly, nnd may be seen running backwards and 
 forwards upon the alighting-board before she 
 takes wing." I have sometimes found it advan- 
 tageous, instead of a cloth, to place on the ground 
 four or five sheets of large paper. On these the 
 bees have been spread, and the sheets carried in 
 opposite directions, thus enabling a better search 
 to be made for the Queen ; and especially in the 
 case of a second swarm, for then there are fre- 
 quently three or four. Where there is no Queen, 
 the bees will soon be in confusion and fly to their 
 original home ; but in the reverse case, she may 
 be discovered by their congregating in one par- 
 ticular part. Nor is there any danger in thus 
 proceeding; for the bees, being gorged with 
 honey, are not often disposed to attack, with the 
 precaution of not breathing upon them. More- 
 over, any such operation is best done in the 
 shade, as a hot sun makes the bees less tractable 
 at all times. Occasionally it might happen that, on 
 the issuing of a swarm, the Queen, from inability 
 to fly, falls to the ground, when the bees will 
 return to the hive, which is often attended with 
 advantage. 
 
 In judging of the desirableness of compelling 
 the return of a first swarm, we must be guided 
 by circumstances. Should it be a large issue, 
 expediency would dictate the hiving it at once, as 
 a new colony ; for the Queen may reasonably be 
 supposed to be a vigorous one, and a compulsory 
 
SPRIxNG MANAGEMENT. 185 
 
 returning of the bees to tlie parent hive (the 
 result of destroying her) would occasion a loss of 
 valuable time ; a young Queen not yet being in a 
 state to commence laying eggs. On the other 
 hand_, a poor swarm might denote an unfruitful 
 Queen, to be got rid of in the way we have just 
 pointed out. The bees would reissue under a 
 young sovereign, after the usual interval, with a 
 large accession of numbers, the produce of the 
 brood matured in the mean time ; and this might 
 have the further good effect of preventing an 
 after-swarm, which is always desirable. 
 
 It has already been said that on the occasion 
 of a first swarm the old Queen invariably issues 
 with it. It is also a fact that she leaves no actual 
 successor, but that an interregnum usually occurs 
 of eight or nine days ; the royal larva being left 
 short of maturity by this period, unless bad 
 weather has interposed to delay the issuing of the 
 swarm, in which event this interval may be much 
 shortened ; it is also subject to extension under 
 certain contingencies of weather. The first 
 princess that is subsequently liberated from her 
 cell becomes the future mistress of the hive, unless 
 she leaves it with an after-issue ; for the law of 
 primogeniture has been observed to be strictly 
 followed. It is therefore evident that no regal 
 disagreement can occur except in the cases of 
 after- swarms, when a Queen returning to the 
 stock-hive might chance to find a rival, and would 
 have to contest her way to the supremacy. 
 
186 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 After-swarms. — It is' not an nnnsual thing to 
 hear a boast of a number of swarms from a stock 
 hive ; but nothing is proved by this beyond the 
 factj that a thriving community has been weakened 
 (if not destroyed) by too much subdivision. The 
 proprietor, therefore, must not imagine that his 
 care is ended with the return of a swarm to the 
 parent hive. Though one Queen has been removed, 
 several successors are usually at hand, and 
 swarming may occur again and again, so long as 
 more than one is left. The hive must be watched 
 more especially from the eighth to about the 
 twelfth day from the departure of a first swarm, 
 after which another rarely issues ; the probability, 
 or rather the certainty, then being, that the first- 
 liberated young Queen has succeeded in destroying 
 the others — an event always to be desired. But 
 the symptoms which precede a second issue are 
 more unequivocal than those in the previous case. 
 The young princesses are now arriving at maturity, 
 and two or more may be ready to come forth at 
 the same time ; impatiently awaiting the assistance 
 of the bees to liberate them from imprisonment; 
 for, unlike the workers and drones, they are not 
 allowed by their own volition to leave their cells. 
 In this state of confinement they are objects 
 of great solicitude, and are supplied with food 
 through a small orifice in their cocoon, till one 
 of them is set at liberty, which is never till she 
 is able to fly. At this precise period, a singular 
 and plaintive call or croak, proceeding from the 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 187 
 
 young Queens, may be heard, often at a distance 
 of several feet from the hive, and more particu- 
 larly in the evening. These notes are of two 
 kinds, according as the princesses emit them from 
 without or within their cells. For want of a more 
 distinctive term, these sounds have obtained the 
 name of piping. To Huber we are largely in- 
 debted for the knowledge vre possess as regards 
 this peculiarity in the natural history of the bee ; 
 and his observations have since received abundant 
 confirmation, — perhaps from no apiarian more 
 satisfactorily than from Mr. Golding. '' The 
 first note of piping heard,^^ says the latter, " is 
 loAv and plaintive, and is uttered by the princess 
 already at liberty, and I have frequently seen her 
 emit it. She traverses the hive, stopping upon 
 or near the royal cells which still contain brood_, 
 and emits her Jong plaintive note. This, when 
 the other young Queens are sufficiently forward 
 (generally in about two days), is answered by 
 them from within their cells, in a quick, short, 
 hoarse note. After these last have been heard 
 for about two days, the swarm may be expected 
 to come off.'' " These sounds, therefore,^' in the 
 words of Keys, " convey to the apiarian one cer- 
 tain warning, that when heard, he may be assured 
 the first or prime swarm has escaped." But uni- 
 versal as this rule has been considered, it has not 
 been entirely without exception ; for in a stock- 
 hive of Dr. Bevan's, in the remarkable season of 
 
188 THE BEE-KEEPER*S MANUAL. 
 
 1852, swarming had been so long prevented by 
 bad weather, that a young Queen became libe- 
 rated, and escaping into a super, piping was the 
 consequence for two days before the issue of a 
 prime swarm. 
 
 After-swarms are frequently accompanied by 
 more than one young Queen ; often by three or 
 four, and always in the virgin state. "Indeed,^' 
 observes Mr. Golding, " it would appear that all 
 which are ready to quit their cells (one only, be 
 it remembered, being at liberty in the hive, until 
 the moment of swarming) go off with the swarm ; 
 leaving the more forward of the younger princesses 
 to come off with subsequent swarms, or ' fight out' 
 their title to the sovereignty of the parent stock 
 at home.'' 
 
 A third and even a fourth issue sometimes 
 takes place, the intervening periods successively 
 becoming shorter, and more piping being heard. 
 As all the royal cells must have been tenanted 
 before the old Queen departed from the hive, it 
 follows that from sixteen to eighteen days com- 
 prise the limit during which, under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, swarming can occur ; and thenceforth 
 the Queen-bee is mute for the year. Moreover, the 
 worker brood originally left in the hive will now, 
 or in a few days, be matured, leaving the combs 
 less occupied, probably in any way, than at any 
 other period of the year, until the young reigning 
 Queen is in a condition again to stock them with 
 
SPRING MANAGEilENT. 189 
 
 eggs. This state of tlie hive is therefore con- 
 sidered by some as the most favorable for exami- 
 nation and excision of old combs, and other 
 operations usually attended to in the spring. 
 
 I have known piping after a second swarm has 
 departed, where no third issue has followed. The 
 second swarm, however, in this instance, was re- 
 stored to the stock-hive on the same evening, 
 together with one Queen. This is often the best 
 time for making a reunion of after-swarms ; for 
 I have usually found that all the Queens except 
 one are ejected on the day of swarming : she, being 
 stronger than those still in the parent hive, is 
 able to destroy them on her return to it. If a 
 cloth is spread on a table, placed in front of the 
 old hive, at dusk, the bees of the swarm can be 
 jerked out upon it, and guided to its mouth. In 
 two hours after the reunion just mentioned, piping 
 from a Queen at liberty was heard. The next day 
 two young Queens were ejected ; one of them torn 
 from its cell, not having attained its full growth. 
 From the other the sting was protruding, evidently 
 the result of a recent combat. Piping was again 
 heard on the following morning ; and soon after, 
 another princess, doubtless the last, was cast out 
 of the hive, which I took away still alive ; making 
 five in all, since the issue of the first swarm. 
 We may observe that when swarming has taken 
 place more than once, the original utilitarian 
 principle no longer impels the bees to guard the 
 
190 THE bee-keeper's MANUAL. 
 
 royal cells ; the reigning princess being then 
 permitted to tear them open and destroy any 
 prospective rival. • 
 
 No point has been better established, than the 
 fact recorded by Huber, as to the destruction of 
 the supernumerary young Queens by their com- 
 bating together ; the sovereignty remaining with 
 the single survivor. " In order/^ says Huber, 
 "that at no time there may be a plurality of 
 females in a hive, Nature has inspired Queens 
 with an innate inveteracy against one another. 
 They never meet without endeavouring to fight, 
 and accomplish their mutual destruction. If one 
 combatant is older than the rest, she is stronger, 
 and the advantage will be with her. She will de- 
 stroy her rivals successively as produced. Thence, 
 if the old Queen did not leave the hive before the 
 young ones undergo their last metamorphosis, it 
 could produce no more swarms, and the species 
 would perish. ^^ 
 
 It is not clear by what instinct bees are guided 
 as respects after-swarms, or rather as to the con- 
 struction of royal cells ; for, as has been shown, 
 these abound much more in some hives than in 
 others. The repeated issues occasioned by the pre- 
 sence of supernumerary young Queens, although 
 there has previously been a rapid development of 
 brood, not only leaves a hive comparatively de- 
 populated, but the succession of interregnums is 
 mischievous as operating to suspend, not breeding 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 191 
 
 alone, but almost entirely the gathering of honey. 
 A diflferent kind of instinct appears to direct the 
 bees than is observable at the time of the original 
 issue; for the young Queens will depart in weather 
 that would be thought unfavorable for the issuing 
 of an old one. " The reason seems evident/^ 
 observes Mr. Golding ; ^' for when the proper age 
 of the Touns: Princesses has arrived, the swarm 
 must go off, or not at all, as the younger would 
 be destroyed by the eldest." As a natural con- 
 sequence, there is evidently less of foresight as 
 regards the future place of abode. Where so 
 much of prudence and seeming intelligence are 
 discernible in all the proceedings of these won- 
 derful insects, it is hardly to be expected that 
 mere chance should direct on so important an 
 occasion as the change of residence ; although 
 when a swarm suddenly finds itself in a comfortable 
 dwelling, by the act of hiving, it is rarely inclined 
 to relinquish it. A hive containing a few combs, 
 placed in the season near an apiary, is almost 
 certain to receive a colony, which will sometimes 
 fly to it at once, without any previous clustering.* 
 
 * In the garden of a friend stood an untenanted hive, in which 
 were a few empty combs. Some straggling strange bees were 
 observed hovering about and in it, for several successive days ; and, 
 at my suggestion, the hive was left undisturbed. On the day 
 following, a fine swarm of bees suddenly made its appearance, 
 undoubtedly from a distance, and entered the hive. In this in- 
 stance, a few hundreds, or perhaps dozens, of pioneers alone could 
 
192 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 The instances are numerous of prime swarms pro- 
 ceeding a considerable distance to a new domicile, 
 carefully inspected and cleaned beforehand. I 
 was au eye-witness to an example of this, where 
 the bees, taking a dislike to the hive in which 
 they had been housed, soon after quitted it ; and, 
 mounting high in the air, flew in a direct line to 
 the roof of a church nearly a mile distant. But 
 an after-swarm appears to have little or nothing 
 of preparation ; and has been known, in seeming 
 perplexity, to commence comb-building in the 
 bush on which it had alighted. 
 
 Uniting of Sivarms. — It has been shown that it 
 is easy to compel the return of a swarm of bees 
 to the parent hive; but their remaining there 
 depends much upon accidental circumstances. 
 We have seen that several young Queens are 
 often only waiting their time and opportunity to 
 leave their cells and depart from the hive; and 
 till all these are in some way or other disposed of, 
 there can be no progress made in the family. 
 Under such circumstances, many persons think it 
 best to hive all swarms in the usual way, and to 
 strengthen the later ones by joining two or three 
 of them together ; for, separately, these are rarely 
 of any value. In cases where more than one 
 
 have been in the secret as to the locality of the chosen domicile to 
 which they so sagaciously conducted their Queen and a community 
 of perhaps 20,000 bees. 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 193 
 
 after- swarm or subdivided swarm, comes out on 
 the same day, each can often with little difficulty 
 be shaken into the same hive, at the time : or the 
 branches on which such swarms cluster may be 
 cut off, and brought to one hive. Otherwise, a 
 generally certain method of union may be re- 
 sorted to at night. At any time, within a few 
 days after the first swarm has been established, 
 another may be added to it. On the same evening 
 of the issue, in front of the one to which it is to 
 be joined, place a table, over which spread a cloth. 
 By a sudden and smart stroke the bees may be 
 displaced from the second hive, and will fall on 
 the table in a lump. Take the first-hived colony 
 and place it over them, raising it a little at the 
 bottom, when the bees below will ascend and 
 join it, forming one family. In moving this hive, 
 let it be done with caution, for the combs, being 
 at present new and brittle, are otherwise apt to 
 fall down. It is seldom that any quarrel takes 
 place if the business be done properly ; but some 
 persons think that a little smoke previously blown 
 into both the hives, has a tendency to prevent 
 fighting. Early the next morning move the hive 
 back to its former position, when one of the Queens 
 will have been deposed. In thus uniting swarms, 
 the doubled colony should always occupy the 
 first hive. As a general rule, it may be remarked, 
 that the mode the most likely to succeed is that 
 in which the bees are suddenly bleuded together, 
 
 13 
 
194 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 ■without space or opportunity for individual recog- 
 nition or fighting, bee against bee ; but it must 
 be done when the first hive contains but a few 
 combs. 
 
 In this place it may be noticed, that in an 
 apiary where h weak and sluggish old stock is now 
 observed, opportunity can be taken to add to its 
 numbers, by uniting to it an after- swarm, in the 
 mode just pointed out; though some persons 
 would prefer puffing a little smoke to both 
 parties. If either Queen be removed, the 
 strangers will usually be well received, and this 
 accession of numbers is almost certain to lead to 
 a vastly increased action and industry. 
 
 Like most other operations on bees, the mode 
 of uniting swarms admits of variety, according to 
 choice and circumstance ; and some apiarians 
 prefer to drive them, in the way for which general 
 directions have been given at page 152 ; a plan 
 that may be resorted to almost at any time. 
 Another mode of junction can be effected by the 
 aid of a sheet of perforated zinc, inserted between 
 the two hives about to be united. There is little 
 reason to doubt that the members of each colony 
 of bees are distinguishable amongst themselves by 
 a certain peculiarity of odour, which, if assimilated, 
 appears to have the effect of preventing mutual 
 dissention. When the construction, therefore, of 
 the hives admits of their being brought into juxta- 
 position, the perforated zinc allows a free circula- 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 195 
 
 tioii of scent between them, without permitting 
 actual contact of the bees. After leaving matters in 
 this position for two or three days, I have usually 
 found, on withdrawing the zinc divider, that no 
 disturbance has ensued. 
 
 Prevention of After-swarms. — Where the con- 
 struction of the hive admits of it, no doubt the 
 repetition of swarming may be prevented by de- 
 priving it of the royal cells. Under the head 
 Bar-Hives, we have alluded to the facilities given 
 for this object ; and it may be done immediately 
 on the issuing of a swarm, when but a small por- 
 tion of the bees will remain in it. Let the cover 
 be unscrewed, and moved sideways as required, 
 puffing in some smoke on each side the combs, 
 which must be lifted separately, beginning first at 
 one end of the hive, and then the other, so as to 
 work to the centre. Cut out the Queen cells as 
 you proceed, replacing the bar. A quarter of an 
 hour will suffice for the operation. In the mean- 
 while, the swarm may be hived in the usual way, 
 and afterwards permanently returned ; for her 
 majesty has now no alternative ; '^ stay at home," 
 as Mr. Golding says, '' she must. Or," he con- 
 tinues, '' after the first swarm is gone off, subse- 
 quent ones may be prevented in this way : so 
 soon as the long note of piping has been heard, 
 cut away at the royal cells. The young princess. 
 
196 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 already at liberty , will then remain Queen of the 
 stock/' 
 
 Maiden Swarms. — Under peculiar circum- 
 stances of early season and situation, a prime 
 swarm will occasionally send forth another, the 
 original Queen again going with it ; in such in- 
 stances, termed a maiden swarm ; rarely, however, 
 of much value. " In this case," says Dr. Bevan, 
 '^it usually occurs hetween the twenty-eighth and 
 thirtieth day of its establishment. The only in- 
 dication of the approach of such an issue, besides 
 those already enumerated, is the worker-combs, 
 with which first swarms generally store their 
 hives, becoming edged with drone-cells." Indeed, 
 an indispensable condition necessary to a maiden 
 swarm is a Queen, capable of producing drones ; 
 and this rarely happens in the case of a young 
 one. 
 
 General Directions on Bivarming. — An absurd 
 custom is very general of beating a metal pan, or 
 some such sonorous thing, usually called tanging, 
 on the occasion of bee-swarming. The practice, 
 doubtless, originated in the precaution formerly 
 observed of ringing a bell, or giving some signal 
 of the flight of bees, with a view to an identifica- 
 tion of the property in case of its straying to a 
 distance. By degrees the idea became prevalent 
 that the bees themselves were the parties in- 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 197 
 
 terested in the hubbub ; but as regards them it 
 is worse than useless, and frequently prevents 
 their settling so soon as they would do if left 
 quietly to themselves. The drenching or anointing 
 of a hive, intended for a swarm, with any kind of 
 material, is another common practice much better 
 avoided. A dry clean hive is preferable; only, 
 if of straw, cutting off the loose ends. As re- 
 spects the precise mode of housing a swarm, no 
 directions will meet all cases. After rushing in 
 great apparent excitement from the family domi- 
 cile, the bees form a cloud in the air, wheeling 
 about in a thousand directions, and exhibiting a 
 scene of the greatest animation ; then, for the 
 purpose of assembling together, they alight and 
 cluster round the Queen that has accompanied 
 them, usually on a bush or branch of a low tree. 
 The hive must now be put close under the swarm, 
 into which it is easily shaken ; or, according to 
 circumstances, swept with a light brush, which is 
 all the better if made of very fine shavings ; but 
 care should be taken not to crush any bees. The 
 success of the operation depends upon the inclu- 
 sion of the Queen, when the new family will soon 
 collect with her, within the hive, on placing this 
 in its proper position, a little raised on one side, 
 and shaded in some way from the sun. On the 
 occasion of swarming, bees are seldom much in- 
 clined to use their stings, unless irritated by 
 wind. The hiving ought not to be delayed^ espe- 
 
198 THE bee-keeper's 3IANUAL. 
 
 cially with a hot sun, or the bees would soon 
 again take wing, perhaps for a long flight, and be 
 hopelessly lost. A somewhat larger hive may be 
 selected for a full- sized early swarm than for a 
 later one. In case a swarm returns to the 
 parent hive, which sometimes happens, let the 
 latter be watched, for it will soon re-issue, and 
 perhaps on the same day. Occasionally a swarm 
 will divide and settle in two parts, which, if near 
 together, can be shaken into one hive. Otherwise 
 a junction may be made at night, in the way 
 pointed out at page 193. An observance of the 
 advice of Gelieu, and others, is to be recom- 
 mended, not to allow the swarm to remain where 
 it had been hived till the evening, as is custom- 
 ary, but to place it at once, as soon as settled, or 
 within a quarter of an hour, on the spot (if at 
 hand) it is destined to occupy. In sultry weather 
 raise the hive a little to admit air, especially if a 
 large swarm. When first hived, it is curious to 
 observe the caution with which bees mark the 
 site of their new position, making circuits in the 
 air, wider and wider, till they clearly understand 
 the locality. Having done this, they are much 
 perplexed at any subsequent removal of their 
 dwelling; nor do they ever, under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances^ re-enter the original parent-hive. 
 
 We may say a word as to the practice of some 
 proprietors, with a view of giving additional 
 strength to a recent swarm : the stock-hive from 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 199 
 
 whence the issue took place is moved to a little 
 distance, and immediately that the swarm is 
 settled in its new hive, the latter is placed on the 
 site which the other had just left. The outlying 
 bees, on returning home, will of course fly to 
 the original spot, joining and strengthening the 
 new family. The old one must necessarily be 
 weakened in the same proportion, but it will 
 soon be recruited by the maturation of the brood 
 which it is sure to contain. Sometimes this 
 shifting of the stock-hive has been allowed to be 
 permanent ; whilst, in other instances, it has 
 been found more expedient only to do it for two 
 or three hours immediately following the swarm- 
 ing. The hives should, under the latter sup- 
 position, then be made to change places, and no 
 bees would be lost, as one or the other of the 
 two positions would be sought by them. 
 
 It may be well to refer the reader to what has 
 been said at page 108, relative to the occasional 
 necessity that might exist for feeding a newly- 
 hived family of bees. 
 
 Artificial Swarming. — Many apiculturists have 
 practised the making of what have been termed 
 artificial swarms of bees ; — in other words, have 
 compelled them to leave the parent hive sooner 
 than they would have done in their own natural 
 way. What is more common than to see a large 
 bunch of bees hanging in idleness, often for 
 
200 THE bee-keeper's ma?jual. 
 
 weeks, on the outside of a stock -hive, at the best 
 part of the season. Is it not a great gain if we 
 can contrive in some way to set this unprofitable 
 community to work, in a new home ? The ad- 
 vantages of early swarm.s have been already 
 pointed out, and in our uncertain climate the risk 
 is often great, either of losing them altogether, or 
 of their coming too late for the principal season 
 of blossoming. Such considerations have led to 
 the compulsory system, which may, in one form 
 or another, often be successfully resorted to by 
 the practised hand, but otherwise, it is scarcely 
 to be wondered at that failure sometimes ensues. 
 Different operators have succeeded in different 
 ways of proceeding ; and we will briefly point out 
 some of them. The raising of a young Queen 
 from worker larvse has been already described 
 under the head Queen Bee ; and for the pur- 
 pose we have now immediately in view, we will 
 suppose the use of a bar-hive, as the one best 
 adapted ; the time of year being that when it is 
 ascertained to contain eggs and young larvse, both 
 of workers and drones. A comb must be ab- 
 stracted from a full box, and put into an empty 
 one, care being taken that it is not allowed to 
 chill during removal. In describing the subse- 
 quent process, we may adopt the words of Dr. 
 Bevan. " Towards noon of a fine day, or almost 
 at any time, if the bees cluster out much (for 
 there ought to be plenty of them), let a stock- 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 201 
 
 liive be removed to a distance, and a spare hive 
 or box be put in its place, to one bar of wliicli is 
 attached a comb containing worker-eggs, or very 
 young larvae of the same sex (better still if the 
 hive contain also one or two other worker combs) ; 
 the outliers, or the bees that are abroad, or both, 
 will then enter the new habitation, cluster round 
 the brood, construct one or more royal cells, and 
 raise a young sovereign : and thus, if the season 
 be favorable, form a flourishing stock ; whilst the 
 old removed family, with beneficially reduced 
 numbers, will soon be reconciled to their new 
 situation." But we may often proceed a step 
 further, and at once ensure the presence in the 
 new hive of an embryo sovereign, by inspecting a 
 stock about the time of closing up the royal cells, 
 and deprive it of a comb, containing one or more 
 of these, as alluded to under the section Preven- 
 tion of After-swarms, In this way the double 
 advantage will be gained of ensuring greater 
 certainty, and saving valuable time ; for, from the 
 commencement of the process of raising a Queen 
 from the worm, to the period at which young 
 bees may be looked for — her progeny — can 
 scarcely be less than seven weeks. 
 
 Artificial swarm-making is sometimes success- 
 fully accomplished by means of driving the bees ; 
 to the general principles of which process we have 
 directed attention at page 152. A diversity in 
 the objects to be obtained, of course, leads to a 
 
20,2 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 little alteration in the details of the proceedings ; 
 and we have now in view^ not, as before, the 
 creation of a young Queen in the new hive, but 
 forcing the old one into the latter. Dr. Dunbar 
 thus narrates his own method of procedure, and 
 which will usually be found to answer. '^ We 
 carried,^^ says he, ''the full hive into a dark 
 place, turned it up, fixed it in the frame of a 
 chair from which the bottom had been removed, 
 placed an empty hive over it, mouth to mouth, 
 and partially drove it. As soon as we perceived 
 that about half of the bees had ascended into the 
 empty hive (knowing that in these cases the 
 Queen is generally amongst the foremost), we 
 immediately replaced the old hive on its former 
 station, and removed the new one, now containing 
 the Queen, to a little distance. As the former 
 had plenty of eggs and brood, they were at no 
 loss to procure another Queen ; whilst the other, 
 having a Queen, proceeded to work in all respects 
 as a natural swarm.^' To avoid annoyance, and 
 loss of the foraging bees, as they continue to 
 return homewards, during the process of the pre- 
 ceding operation, it is well to set an empty hive 
 (or it may have a few combs) on the site just be- 
 fore occupied by the parent stock. The bees will 
 be in no very placid mood, and this piece of 
 deception has a tendency to divert their attention 
 temporarily, till the re-establishment of their old 
 house restores them to their proper home. 
 
SPRING MANAGKMENT. 203 
 
 Some operators so far depart from the mode of 
 proceeding we have described as to prefer placing 
 the newly driven swarm, possessing the Queen, 
 on the old site. In such case the original stock 
 hive is removed to a little distance, and the en- 
 trance door stopped up, but raising the bottom 
 edge sufficiently to admit a sufficiency of air 
 only, with but little of light or sun. The bees 
 thus confined are left undisturbed during two 
 days, and will probably have spent their time in 
 founding a prospective new monarchy. They 
 may then be safely again trusted abroad, for in 
 their anxiety about the requirements of the pro- 
 visional government, they will no more trouble 
 their old companions. Another variation of plan, 
 recommended by some, is, instead of shutting up 
 either portion of the bees, immediately to convey 
 those driven into the new hive, to a distance of 
 not less than a mile, leaving the original position 
 for the old one.* 
 
 * I may here not inappropriately call attention to a subject 
 touched upon by Mr. Golding. His remarks are borne out by my 
 own observation ; and I believe it would be for mutual benefit 
 were bee-keepers, resident a few miles apart, occasionally to ex- 
 change swarms in the season. I make no apology for introducing 
 a passage from the ' Shilling Bee-Book.' " Though I can give no 
 satisfactory reasons for the fact, yet it certainly is one, that bees 
 brought from a distance very generally thrive better than families 
 long domiciled on the spot. I am borne out in this opinion by 
 the concurrent testimony of my apiarian friends. Whether they ply 
 more vigorously on finding themselves in a strange situation, or 
 
201 THE bek-keeper's manual. 
 
 Dividing Bar-Hive. — So far we are supposed 
 to have proceeded in forcing artificial swarms 
 with hives of the usual kind. But an idea has 
 often been suggested of having boxes so made as 
 to be divisible vertically into equal halves ; and, 
 in this way, to create the basis of two distinct 
 families without swarming. Such hives are 
 alluded to by various authors, and, amongst them, 
 by Dr. Dunbar and Dr. Bevan; but we have hitherto 
 had no guide as to any intelligible details of 
 construction ; and on these depends the possi- 
 bility of proceeding with advantage. My own 
 views on the subject induced me to think that 
 my eight- bar hive, already described, possessed, 
 with a little modification, the required facilities ; 
 and, indeed, I know of no other that could be so 
 adapted. Moreover, as the original dimensions 
 are preserved, the other boxes and all adjuncts 
 remain as detailed at p. 54, so that the hive can 
 be used without reference to the provision made 
 for subdividing it ; this being altogether a super- 
 added advantage. The chief novelty is in the 
 stock -box, which, with its cover, is cut from front 
 to back into two equal parts, but so as not to 
 alter the regular interspacing of the bars, four of 
 
 what can be the reason, I leave others to guess at." An American 
 author observes on this subject, " I am strongly persuaded that the 
 decay of many stocks may be attributed to the fact that the bees 
 have become enfeebled by close breeding. The cultivator should 
 guard against this evil by occasionally changing his stocks." 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 
 
 205 
 
 whicli will of course appertain to each compart- 
 ment. In addition to the usual side-windows, 
 there should be a small one at the back of both 
 the lialf-boxes. The hive-board must also be 
 divided, so as to be lifted up each half indepen- 
 dently of the other. Cross bars are appended on 
 the underneath side of the boards, the ends 
 meeting in the centre. A groove is here notched 
 out from the upper side of the extremities of the 
 cross bars, to receive a moveable tongue, as it may 
 be called, of half-inch wood and an inch wide, 
 inserted Trom behind, and passing through to the 
 front. The tougue 
 connects the half- 
 boards together on 
 one level, and forms 
 a joint below. The 
 entrance for the 
 bees is in the 
 centre, — half being 
 cut out of each 
 board ; though, pro- 
 bably, some per- 
 sons might prefer to 
 have, instead, a 
 smaller one at the 
 two outer extremi- 
 ties. In order to 
 stiffen and serve as 
 a stay or tie at the 
 
206 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 divided ends, I have found the utility of a piece 
 of very strong tinned wire, crossing each half-box, 
 horizontally. All that is needed is to cut the wire 
 into the requisite lengths, turn the ends at a right 
 angle, and drive them flush into the wood; where, 
 as they fall within the space between the two 
 central bars, they are not at all in the way. A 
 reference to the illustration will be found suffici- 
 ently explanatory, the two half-boxes being shown 
 a little separated. When placed together, to 
 form one hive, they are held in position by means 
 of the centre-board, covering the whole top, and 
 secured at the four corners by means of iron pins 
 going down through the centre-board and the 
 projecting edge of the crown-board of the boxes. 
 On the occasion of hiving a swarm, for the purpose 
 of stocking the dividing-hive, a cord or strap 
 must be passed round the whole, and guide-combs 
 should be used ; for successful subsequent sepa- 
 ration of the two halves depends altogether upon 
 the regular working of the combs in straight 
 lines upon the bars. 
 
 It will naturally occur, that to carry out the 
 design of a Dwiding Hive every part must have 
 its duplicate, so that four halves, boards, &c., are 
 necessary ; each made so precisely alike as to fit 
 and be attached to any other half-box. We must 
 suppose the time of year to be arrived (usually in 
 May) when the combs are well filled with brood, 
 both of worker and drone bees. In the middle. 
 
SPRING MANAGEMENT. 207 
 
 or_, as some would prefer, the evening, of a fine 
 day, the two halves of the hive can be separated. 
 To effect this with as little disturbance as possible, 
 two dividers may be used. These are made of 
 strong, well-flattened sheet zinc or tin, the full 
 size of the box, in length ; and deep enough to 
 include the hive-board, besides an inch at the top 
 edge to spare. This latter part should be turned 
 back, as a rim or flanch, at a right angle, as seen 
 in the illustration. Commence by withdrawing 
 the wooden tongue underneath the hive-board, 
 and removing the centre-board ; then, with a thin 
 knife-blade, the half-boxes can be loosened at 
 their point of junction j not allowing the knife to 
 enter beyond the thickness of the wood. This 
 done, gently insert one of the dividing plates 
 horizontally from behind, its whole length ; there 
 being no obstruction, unless the combs are 
 worked across the bars. The other divider is to 
 be pushed in in a similar way, the flanches 
 resting respectively right and left on the upper 
 edge of each half-box. The latter may then be 
 moved apart on their boards in safety. An 
 empty half-box is to be adjusted to each of the 
 full halves, when the dividers may be withdrawn. 
 We have thus two families, which must be moved 
 some distance apart. The Queen will, of course, 
 be in one of them ; and, probably, Queen larvae 
 in the other, or in both halves. A little tapping 
 will serve to show the position of the Queen, as 
 
208 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 the bees will soon become quiet where she is, 
 whilst in the queenless box confusion will con- 
 tinue to prevail. The latter should then be put 
 on the original stand, to receive the foraging bees 
 as they return home ; whilst the presence of the 
 old Queen will secure a sufficiency in the other 
 hive, which may be placed at a little distance. 
 In about twenty-four hours, preparation will 
 have commenced for founding one or more royal 
 cells, if required, in the qneenless half-hive ; and 
 thus a new colony will arise, without swarming.* 
 
 BEE-PROTECTOR. 
 
 It ought to be remarked that, in general, all 
 important operations on bees should be conducted 
 in the middle of the day, that being the time 
 when it is least annoying to them, and the safest 
 to the operator, as a large portion are then 
 engaged abroad. Indeed, the bees are always 
 more suspicious and irascible by night. On their 
 homeward way they are not disposed to attack, 
 any more than they are when at work in the 
 fields. The defence of home is their actuating 
 principle ; and the danger arises from the bees 
 furiously darting out on any supposed enemy, 
 
 * The dividing hive, and some other inventions described in-the 
 ' Bee-Keeper's Manual,' may be seen at Messrs. Neighbour and 
 Sons, 127, High Holborn, and 149, Regent Street, London. 
 
BEE-PROTECTOR. 
 
 209 
 
 from witliin the hive. Make as little bustle and 
 disturbance as possible^ and have at hand an 
 assistant and Tvhatever is likely to be wanted, for 
 a very trifling matter will often mar an operation 
 irretrievably. Let all things be done coolly and 
 quietly, and without hurried motions of any kind, 
 which cause suspicion and irritation. Avoid 
 breathing on the bees ; and, above all, be careful 
 to kill none, for the smell of the wounded body 
 exasperates them exceedingly : in short, the aim 
 should be to do what is needed without the bees 
 being conscious of it. Another precaution may 
 be mentioned, which is, in operating, not to 
 employ any one known to be obnoxious to bees ; 
 for without going the length of saying with some 
 
 that certain individuals are recognised by them, 
 it is well known that, from their nice diserimi- 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 
 
 nation of scent, the persons of others are objects 
 of constant and very marked dislike. 
 
 Security from attack, however, is essential to 
 self-possession, and I know of no covering so 
 effectual as an envelope I devised of a kind of 
 light net, or gauze, sometimes called leno. It 
 should be so made at the top as to go over a hat 
 or cap ; with sleeves, tied at the wrists, and 
 strings at the bottom to draw and fasten round 
 the waist. The sleeves may be made of some 
 
 stronger material. (See 
 preceding page.) The 
 entire upper part of the 
 person is in this way 
 enveloped, as seen in our 
 engraving annexed. The 
 projection of the hat 
 keeps the dress clear of 
 the face, and it is suffi- 
 ciently transparent. A 
 thick pair of gloves, which 
 some think are best made 
 of buck-skin, is all that is further necessary to 
 complete protection. 
 
 REMEDY rOR THE STING OF A BEE. 
 
 If attacked by a bee, the best plan is not to 
 offer resistance^ but to walk away and thrust 
 
REMEDY FOR THE STING OF A BEE. 211 
 
 your head into a neiglibouring shrub or bush, 
 Trhen the enemy will in all probability retire. 
 However, an accidental sting may now and then 
 be received, for w^hich . various remedies have 
 been prescribed. In the first place, the sting 
 should at once be removed, but without rubbing 
 the part. My own experience leads me to 
 recommend, in preference to anything else, the 
 immediate application of liquor potassm to the 
 spot, as a powerful alkali, to neutralize the poison 
 of the sting, which is an acid. It should be used 
 in small quantity, on a point of some kind, as a 
 needle, introduced into the wound. In the 
 absence of this, pure liquid ammonia is said on 
 good authority to succeed, if properly applied. 
 Keep it in a close-stopped, small-necked bottle, 
 which should be turned bottom upwards, and 
 held very tight over the part. Some persons 
 have found relief from an immediate application 
 of cold water. Indeed, any remedy to be effica- 
 cious must be speedily resorted to ; and particu- 
 larly in the warm months, for then the poison is 
 much more active than in winter. 
 
212 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In the foregoing pages I have given an outline 
 of my own experience in the general management 
 of beeSj freely availing myself of such further 
 information, derived from the most trustworthy 
 sources, as seemed most likely to interest and 
 instruct the reader. My aim, however, has been 
 restricted primarily to matters of Si practical bear- 
 ing, passing over the obsolete speculations of by- 
 gone periods, and relying on the superior intelli- 
 gence of a later day. Those who wish to enter 
 more fully into the natural history and physiology 
 of the bee may consult a variety of w orks, at the 
 head of which it is usual to place that of Huber ; 
 followed by 'the later comprehensive and highly 
 satisfactory one, ^ The Honey Bee,^ of the late Dr. 
 Bevan; both publications to which we have often 
 had occasion to refer. That portion of the 
 subject relating to the structure and arrange- 
 ment of their combs and cells is treated of at 
 considerable length by Lord Brougham, in his 
 ' Dissertations on Subjects of Science connected 
 with Natural Theology.* Perhaps the accurate 
 observations and elaborate mathematical demon- 
 strations of the noble author have left little more 
 
CONCLUSION. 213 
 
 to be desired in the particular department to 
 ^vliich he has devoted the energies of his powerful 
 mind. With his summary of the progress of 
 apiarian knowledge, we may not inappropriately 
 close the ^Bee-keeper^s Manual/ 
 
 "The attention/^ says Lord Brougham,* 
 ^' which has been paid at various times to the 
 structure and habits of the bee is one of the 
 most remarkable circumstances in the history of 
 science. The ancients studied it with unusual 
 minuteness, although being, generally speaking, 
 indifferent observers of fact, they made but little 
 progress in discovering the singular economy of 
 this insect. Of the observations of Aristomachus, 
 who spent sixty years, it is said, in studying the 
 subject, we know nothing ; nor of those which 
 were made by Philissus, who passed his life in 
 the woods, for the purpose of examining this 
 insect's habits ; but Pliny informs us that both 
 of them wrote works upon it. Aristotle's three 
 chapters on bees and waspst contain little more 
 than the ordinary observations, mixed up with an 
 unusual portion of vulgar and even gross errors. 
 How much he attended to the subject is, how- 
 ever, manifest from the extent of the first of 
 these chapters, which is of great length. Some 
 mathematical writers, particularly Pappus, studied 
 the form of the cells, and established one or two 
 
 * Vol. i, pp. 333-36. 
 t Hist, An., lib. ix, cap. 40, 41, 42. 
 
214 THE bee-keeper's manual. 
 
 of the fuudamental propositions respecting the 
 economy of labour and wax resulting from the 
 plan of the structure. The application of modern 
 naturalists to the inquiry is to be dated from 
 the beginning of the eighteenth century, when 
 Maraldi examined it with his accustomed care; 
 and Reaumur afterwards, as Ve have seen, carried 
 his investigations much farther. The interest 
 of the subject seemed to increase with the pro- 
 gress made in their inquiries ; and about the 
 year 1765 a society was formed at Little Bautzen 
 in Upper Lusatia, whose sole object was the 
 study of bees. It was formed under the patronage 
 of the Elector of Saxony. The celebrated Schirach 
 was one of its original members ; and soon after 
 its establishment he made his famous discovery 
 of the power which the bees have to supply the 
 loss of their Queen, by forming a large cell out of 
 three common ones, and feeding the grub of a 
 worker upon royal jelly ; a discovery so startling 
 to naturalists, that Bonnet, in 1769, earnestly 
 urged the society not to lower its credit by 
 countenancing such a wild error, which he re- 
 garded as repugnant to all we know of the habits 
 of insects ; admitting, however, that he should 
 not be so incredulous of any observations tending 
 to prove the propagation of the race of the Queen- 
 bee, without any co-operation of a male,^ a notion 
 
 * ffiuvres, X, 100, 104. 
 
CONCLUSION. 215 
 
 since shown by Huber to be wbolly chimerical. 
 In 1771 a second institution, "with the same 
 limited object, was founded at Lauter, under the 
 Elector Palantine's patronage^ and of this lliem, 
 scarcely less known in this branch of science 
 than Schirach, was a member. 
 
 ^' The greatest progress, however, was after- 
 wards made by Huber, whose discoveries, especially 
 of the Queen-bee's mode of impregnation, the 
 slaughter of the drones or males, and the mode 
 of working, have justly gained him a very high 
 place among naturalists. Nor are his discoveries 
 of the secretion of wax from saccharine matter, 
 the nature of propolis, and the preparation of wax, 
 for building, to be reckoned less important. To 
 these truths the way had been led by John 
 Hunter, whose vigorous and original genius never 
 was directed to the cultivation of any subject 
 without reaping a harvest of discovery/' 
 
 In conclusion, whatever may be the degree of 
 ignorance or doubt in which on certain points 
 respecting the Honey-bee we are still involved 
 (and these are probably not often practically im- 
 portant), there are few but may receive instruction 
 and example from these wonderful little creatures, 
 in the. duties of persevering industry, prudence, 
 economy, and peaceful subordination ; whilst all 
 may be taught, by their perfect organization and 
 faultless adaptation of means to an end, a lesson 
 
216 
 
 THE BEE-KEEPER^S MANUAL. 
 
 of humility; and, finally^ by the contemplation 
 of their beautiful works, ** to look from Nature 
 up to Nature's God/^ 
 

 INJDEX^ /IZ— 
 
 Adapter, 31. 
 
 After-swarms, 1S6, 18S, 190, 195. 
 Ancient bee observers, 213. 
 Apiarian authors, 212. 
 societies, 21 Ir. 
 Apiary, managemeut in summer, 106. 
 autumn, 124. 
 winter, 157. 
 spring, 166. 
 Apiary, plan of, 91, 95. 
 
 position and aspect, 97. 
 repairs of, 170. 
 size of, 103. 
 
 to commence, 106, 152, 166. 
 Apis Ligustica, 1 . 
 
 Mellifica, 1. 
 Artificial food, 172. 
 
 swarming, 199, 204, 206. 
 Aspect, 97. 
 
 Authors on Bees, 212. 
 Autumnal management, 124. 
 feeding, 132. 
 unions, 140. 
 
 Bar hive, 54, 
 
 advantages of, 55, 69, 195. 
 
 dividing, 204. 
 
 double, 66. 
 
 glass or observatory, 72. 
 
 single, 66. 
 
 straw, 73. 
 
 wooden box, 54. 
 Bar system, 54. 
 Bars, size of, 57, 58. 
 
218 INDEX. 
 
 Bee, Queen, or mother, 3, 4, 170, 181, 184, 186, 
 190, 214. 
 
 common or working, 3, 11. 
 
 drone or male, 3, 15, 16, 180. 
 
 authors, 212. 
 
 boxes, size of, 52. 
 
 duration of life, 14, 151. 
 
 eggs, 6, 10, 12, 16. 
 
 flowers, 102. 
 
 food, 137, 172. 
 
 ligurian, 1. 
 
 pasturage, and number of hives, 101, 156. 
 
 protector, 208. 
 
 sex of, 12, 17. 
 
 sheds and houses, 94. 
 
 sting, 4, 12, 210. 
 Bees, confinement of, 148, 158. 
 
 destruction of, 28, 149. 
 
 driving of, 152, 201. 
 
 enemies of, 116, 175. 
 
 fighting, 131. 
 
 flight of, 103. 
 
 fortification of, 117. 
 
 fuming of, 140. 
 
 humming of, 177. 
 
 increase of, 10. 
 
 longevity of, 14, 150. 
 
 number of, 11. 
 
 removal of, 100, 107, 167, 198. 
 
 to hive, 196. 
 
 to unite, 140, 192. 
 
 various occupations of, 13. 
 
 weather-wise, 178. 
 
 working, 11. 
 Bell-glasses, 120. 
 Blocks, 43, 44, 96, 160. 
 Box hive, 51. 
 Brood, 12, 126, 151, 168. 
 
 Cells, common, 13, 111. 
 drone, 15, 112. 
 royal, 4, 180, 182, 187, 195, 200, 201, 208. 
 
INDEX. 219 
 
 Cement, 38. 
 
 Circular wooden Iiives, 75. 
 
 Cleaning or changing hive-boards, 1G5, 1G7. 
 
 Cocoons, 12. 
 
 Collateral system, 24, 78. 
 
 hive, White's, 81. 
 Kutt's, 82. 
 Colony of bees, 106, 152. 
 Comb-knives, 130. 
 
 prunins:, 147, 167, 189. 
 Combs, 5, 29, 109, 147. 
 and wax, 109. 
 
 and cells, construction of, 109. 
 Common, or working bees, 3, 11. 
 
 straw hives, 27. 
 Condensing trough, 161. 
 Confinement of bees, 148, 158. 
 Covers to hives, 37. 
 Crown-boards, 35. 
 
 Damp, 157. 
 
 Deprivation, 23, 125, 148. 
 
 Depriving hives, 30, 51. 
 
 system, 21, 23. 
 Destroying of bees, 28, 149. 
 Directions on swarming, 196. 
 Disease, 159. 
 Dividers, 36. 
 Dividing bar-hive, 204. 
 Doubling-board, 78. 
 Driving, 152. 201. 
 Drone, or male bee, 3, 15, ISO, 181, 183. 
 
 cells, 16, 112. 
 Drones, destroying of, IS, 19. 
 
 expulsion of, 18. 
 
 number of, 20. 
 
 office of, 17. 
 Duplet, 24. 
 Dysentery, 159. 
 
 Eggs, 8, 9, 10, 16, 151. 
 Eke, 25, 122. 
 
220 INDEX. 
 
 Enemies of bees, 116, 175. 
 Evaporation, 161. 
 
 Earina, or pollen, 113, 168. 
 substitute for, 169, 
 Feeding in autumn, 132, 137. 
 
 in spring, 170. 
 
 swarms, 108, 199. 
 Feeding troughs, 133. 
 Flight of bees, 103. 
 Floor- or hive-boards, 43. 
 
 to clean or change, 165, 167 
 Food, artificial, 172. 
 Fortification, 117. 
 Frame-bar, 58. 
 Fumigation, 110, 146. 
 Fuming bees, 140, 148. 
 
 material, 143. 
 
 tube, 142. 
 Fungus, 143. 
 
 Gauge, 57, 74, 76.^ 
 
 General directions in operations on bees, 209. 
 
 on swarming, 196. 
 Glasses, 120. 
 
 to remove, 128. 
 Glass or light-hive, 72. 
 Guide-combs, 69, 120, 206. 
 
 Hive, bar, 54, 
 
 dividing, 204. 
 
 double, 66. 
 
 observatory, 72. 
 
 single, 66. 
 
 straw, 73, 
 
 wooden, 54. 
 boards, 42. 
 circular wooden, 75. 
 common straw, 27. 
 covers, 37. 
 nadir, 25, 87. 
 nether, 91. 
 
INDEX. 22\ 
 
 Hive, Nutt's collateral, 82. 
 protector, 41. 
 range, 49. 
 shade, 39. 
 
 stands or pedestals, 46. 
 White's collateral, 81. 
 Hives, collateral, 81. 
 
 number of, 101. 
 shape of, 28. 
 size of, 29, 31. 
 super, 24, 119, 176. 
 wooden box, 51. 
 Hiving, 196. 
 
 Honey, 113, 128, 175, 178. 
 comb, 5, 109. 
 dew, 113. 
 harvest, 128,149. 
 season, 178. 
 store of, 132, 138. 
 to strain, 129. 
 virgin, 124. 
 Hornets, 116. 
 Humming, 177. 
 
 Imago, 13. 
 
 Impregnation, 17, 19. 
 Increase of bees, 10. 
 Italian bee, 1. 
 
 Journal, 106. 
 
 Knives, 71, 130. 
 
 Larvae, 12. 
 
 Light in hives, 53, 72. 
 
 or observatory hive, 72. 
 Ligurian bee, 1. 
 Longevity of bees, 14, 150. 
 
 Maiden swarms, 196. 
 
 Male bee, 3, 15, 180, 181, 183. 
 
222 INDEX. 
 
 Management in summer, 106, 
 
 autumn, 124. 
 
 winter, 157. 
 
 spring, 106. 
 Moisture in hives, 161. 
 
 Moths, wasps, hornets, and other enemies, 116. 
 Moving of bees, 100, 106, 1 66, 203. 
 
 Nadir, 25, 62, 87, 119, 122. 
 
 drawer, 89. 
 Nadir-hive, 87. 
 
 Nadiring, 25, 87, 89, 119, 122. 
 Nether-hive, 91. 
 Number of hives, 101. 
 Nutt's collateral hive, 82. 
 Nymph, or Pupa, 12. 
 
 Observatory, or light hive, 72. 
 Odour of bees, 194. 
 Office of drones, 17. 
 
 Painting, 37, 54. 
 Pasturage, 101, 156. 
 Pattern gauge, 57, 74, 76. 
 Pedestals, or stands for hives, 46. 
 Piping, 186. _ 
 Pollen, or farina, 113, 168. 
 substitute for, 169. 
 Population, 107, 139, 150. 
 Position and aspect, 97, 158. 
 Prevention of after-swarms, 195. 
 Princesses, 6, 185, 186, 192. 
 Propolis, 112. 
 Protectors, 208. 
 Pruning combs, 147, 167, 189. 
 
 aueen, or mother bee, 3, 4, 170, 181, 183, 184, 190. 
 cells, 4, 5, 180, 182, 185, 187, 195, 201, 208. 
 Queens, combats of, 186, 190. 
 
 duration of life, 6. 
 
 fertility of, 10. 
 
 impregnation of, 17. 
 
 piping of, 186. 
 
INDEX. 223 
 
 Queens, reared artificially, 7, 208, 214. 
 uufruitl'ul, 170, 
 
 Range for Lives, 49. 
 
 Remedy for the sting of a bee, 210. 
 
 Removal of bees, 106, 167, 203. 
 
 Removal of a box or super-hive, 125. 
 
 Removing of swarms, 106, 198, 203. 
 
 Returning of swarms, 183, 186. 
 
 Robber bees, 127, 131. 
 
 Robbers, 134, 175. 
 
 Royal cells, or cradles, 4, 5, 176, ISO, 186, 195, 200. 
 
 Screen in winter, 159. 
 Sex, 12. 
 
 Shade, 115, 178. 
 Single hiving, 21. 
 Snow, to clear, 158. 
 Song of the bees, 109. 
 Spring feeding, 170. 
 
 flowers, 102, 169. 
 
 management, 166. 
 Stands for hives, 46. 
 Sting, 4, 12, 210. 
 Stocks, 152, 166. 
 
 to strengthen, 194. 
 Store of honey, 128,132, 137. 
 Storifying, 24. 
 Straw bar-hive, 73. 
 
 common hives, 27, 28. 
 depriving hives, 30. 
 Straw hives, painting of, 37. 
 Strength of a colony, 107, 192. 
 Stupefying bees, 140, 143. 
 Suffocation, 28, 149. 
 Summary of apiarian knowledge, 213. 
 Summer management, 106. 
 Super-hivinir, 119. 
 Supers, 24,^31, 34, 119, 125, IIQ. 
 
 to remove, 125, 128. 
 
 Swarming, 21, ISO, 182, 191, 196. 
 
 artificial, 199. 
 
224 INDEX. 
 
 Swarms, 180, 1S6. 
 
 maiden, 196. 
 
 removing of, 106, 198, 203. 
 
 to feed, lOS, 199. 
 
 to return, 183, 184,189, 195. 
 
 to strengthen, 107, 198. 
 
 to unite, 192. 
 
 weight of, 183. 
 
 Tanging bees, on swarming, 196. 
 
 Temperature, 13, 83, 119, 122, 139, 151, 15 8, 16S, 
 
 170, 177, 182. 
 Temperature and weather, 177. 
 Thermometer, 83, 163, 182. 
 Titmouse, 117, 160. 
 Top-feeding, 133, 170. 
 Transferring bees, 140. 
 Triplets, 24, 32, 122. 
 Triplets and Nadirs, 122. 
 Trough, feeding, 133. 
 Tube for fuming, 142. 
 
 Uniting bees, 107, 140, 192. 
 Uniting swarms, 107, 189, 192. 
 
 Ventilation, 83, 119, 121, 161, 177. 
 Ventilators, 85. 
 Virgin honey, 124. 
 
 Wasps, &c., 116,117,175. 
 Water, 115, 169, 178. 
 Wax and combs, 109. 
 Wax moth, 116. 
 White's collateral hive, 81. 
 Winter management, 157. 
 
 position, 158. 
 
 screens, 159. 
 
 store, 132, 138. 
 Wooden bar- boxes, 54. 
 
 circular hives, 75. 
 
 hives, 51. 
 Worker cells, 13, 111. 
 
 Printed by J. E. Adlard, Bailholomew Close, London. 
 
■OMAN'S FRIENDSHIP.^, 
 
 ■•%:!'^'^- OP vs^tX'^'vi'^ 
 
 
 Tcaj). Si'o, Illustrated, ^yrice os., tfiV/i a Memoir of the 
 Author, 
 
 HOME I]SrrLL Ej^CE; 
 
 A TALE FOE ilOTHEES A^'D DAUGHTEES. 
 
 By GRACE AGUILAK. 
 
 *' Grace A guilar wrote and spoke as one inspired; she condensed 
 and spiritualized, and all her thoughts and feelings were steeped in 
 the essence of celestial love and truth. To those who really kuew 
 Grace Aguilar, all eulogium falls short of her deserts, and she has 
 left a blank in her particular walk of literature, which we never ex- 
 pect to see filled up." — PiLgHmages to English Shrines, by 3Irs. Hall. 
 
 " A clever and interesting tale, corresponding well to its name, 
 illustrating the silsnt, constant influence of a wise aud affectionate 
 parent over characters the most diverse." — Christlm Lady's Magazine. 
 
 " This interesting volume unquestionably contains many valuable 
 hints on domestic education, much powerful writing, and a moral of 
 vast importance.'" — Englishwoman's Magazine. 
 
 "It is very pleasant, after reading a book, to speak of it in terms 
 of high commendation. The tale before us is an admirable one. and 
 is executed with taste and ability. The language is beautiful and 
 appropriate ; the analysis of chai-acter is skilful and varied. The 
 woi'k ought to be in the hands of all who are interested in the proper 
 training of the youthful mind." — Palladium. 
 
 "In reviewing this work, we hardly know what words in the 
 English language are strong enough to express the admiration we 
 have felt in its perusal."— fiifcts Chrmiicle. 
 
 "The object and end of the writmgs of Grace Aguilar were to im- 
 prove the heart, and to lead her readers to the consideration of higher 
 motives and objects than this world can ever afford." — BdVs Weekly 
 Metsenger. 
 
 " • Home Influence' will not be forgotten by any who hare perused 
 it."— Critic. 
 
 " A well-known and valuable tale." — Genth'.nan's Magazine. 
 
 " A work which possesses an extraordinary amount of influence to 
 elevate the mind aud educate the heart, by showing that rectitude 
 and virtue conduce no less to material prosperity, and worldly com- 
 fort and happiness, than to the satisfaction of the conscience, the 
 approval of the good, and the hope and certainty of bliss hereafter." 
 Herts County Press. 
 
 London : GP.OOMBSIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Bow. 
 
GRACE AGUILAR'S WORKS. 
 
 II. 
 THE SEQUEL TO HOME INFLUENCE. 
 
 Fcap. 8t;o, xoith a Portrait of the Author and other Illustra' 
 
 tions, price 65., 
 
 THE 
 
 MOTHEE'S EECOMPENSE; 
 
 A SEQUEL TO 
 
 " Home Influence, a Tale for Mothers and Daughters." 
 
 By GRACE AGUILAR. 
 
 " Grace Apuilar belonged to the school of which Maria Edgeworth 
 •was the foundress. The design of the book is carried out forcibly 
 and constantly. 'The Home Intluences' exercised in earlier years 
 being shown in active germination." — Atlas. 
 
 "The writings of Grace Aguilar have a charm inseparable from 
 productions in which feeling is combined with intellect ; they go 
 directly to the heart. ' Home Influence,' the deservedly popular story 
 to which this is a Sequel, admirably teaches the lesson implied in its 
 name. In tlie present tale we have the same freshness, earnestness, 
 and zeal — the same spirit of devotion, and love of virtue— the same 
 enthusiasm and sincere religion which characterised that earlier 
 work. We behold the mother now blessed in the love of good and 
 affectionate offspring, who, parents themselves, are, after her exam- 
 ple, training their children in the way of rectitude and piety." — Morn- 
 ing Chronicle. 
 
 " This beautiful story was completed when the authoress was little 
 above the age of nineteen, yet it has the sober sense of middle age. 
 There is no age nor sex that will not profit by its perusal, and it will 
 afford as much pleasure as profit to the reader." — Critic. 
 
 " The same kindly spirit, the same warm charity and fervour of de- 
 votion which breathes in every line of that admirable book, ' Home 
 Influence,' will be found adorning and inspiring 'The Mother's 
 Recompense.' "—Morning Advertiser. 
 
 " The good which she (Grace Aguilar) has effected is acknowledged 
 on all hands, and it cannot be doubted but that the appearance of 
 this volume will increase the usefulness of one who may yet be said 
 to be still speaking to the heart and to the affections of human 
 nature." — Bell's Messenger, 
 
 " It will be found an intei'esting supplement, not only to the book 
 to which it specially relates, but to all the writer's other works." — 
 Gentleman's Magazine. 
 
 *' • The Mother's Recompense' forms a fitting close to its prede- 
 cessor, ' Home Influence.' The results of maternal care are fully de- 
 Teloped, its rich rewards are set forth, and its lesson and its moral 
 ai*e powerfully enforced." — Morning Post. 
 
 "We heartily commend this volume ; a better or more useful 
 present to a youthful friend or -a young wife could not well be se- 
 lected." — Herts County Press. 
 
 London : GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row. 
 
GRACE AGUILAR'S WORKS, 
 m. 
 
 Fcap. 8yo, Illustrated^ pnce 5^., 
 
 WOMAN'S rEIENDSIIIP; 
 
 A STOET OF DOMESTIC LIFE. 
 
 By GKACE AGUILAK. 
 
 " To show us how divine a thinj 
 A womaa may be made." — Wordsworth. 
 
 "This story illustrates, with feeling and power, that beneficial in- 
 fluence which women exercise, in their own quiet way, over charac- 
 ters and events in our every-day life." — Britannia. 
 
 " The book is one of more than ordinary interest in various ways, 
 and presents an admirable conception of tlie depths and sincerity of 
 female friendship, as exhibited in England by Englishwomen." — 
 ]Fe€kly Chronicle. 
 
 *' We began to read the volume late in the evening ; and although 
 it consists of about 400 pages, our eyes could not close in sleep until 
 we had read the whole. This excellent book should tind a place on 
 every drawing-room table — nay, in every library in the kingdom." — 
 Bucks Chronicle. 
 
 " We congratulate Miss Aguilar on the spirit, motive, and compo- 
 sition of this story. Her aims are eminently mora), and her cause 
 comes recommended by the most beautiful associations. These, 
 connected with the skill here evinced in their development, ensure 
 the success of her l.nli'iurs." — Illustrated Netvs. 
 
 " As a writer of remarkable grace and delicacy, she devoted herself 
 to the inculcation of the virtues, more especially those uhich are the 
 peculiar charm of women." — Critic. 
 
 " It is abook for all classes of readers; and we have no hesitation 
 in saying, that it only requires to be generally known to become ex- 
 ceedingly popular. In our estimation, it has far more attractions 
 than Miss Hurney's celebrated, but over-estimated, novel of ' Ce- 
 cilia.' " — Herts County Fress. 
 
 "This very interesting and agreeable tale has remained longer 
 without notice on our part than we could have desired ; but we 
 would now endeavour to make amends for the delay, by assuring 
 our readers th;it it is a most ably-written publication, full of the 
 nicest points of information and utility that could have been by any 
 possibility constructed; and, as a proof of its value, it may sutiice to 
 say, thatit has been taken trom our table again and again by several 
 individuals, from the recommendation of those who bad already 
 perused it, and so prevented our giving an earlier attention to its 
 manifold claims fur favourable criticism. It is peculiarly adapted 
 for the young, and wherever it goes will be received with gratifi- 
 cation, and command very extensive approbation."— .BeW's ii'eekly 
 Messenger. 
 
 " This is a handsome volume ; just such a book as we would expect 
 to find among the volumes composing a lady's library. Its interior 
 corresponds with its exterior; it is a most fascinating tale, full of 
 noble and just sentiments." — Palladium,. 
 
 London: GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row. 
 
GRACE AGUILAR'S WORKS. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Fcap. 8t?o, Illustrated, ;price 5*., 
 
 THE YALE OF CEDAES; 
 
 OB, 
 
 A STOEX OF SPAIN IN THE riPTEENTH CENTUET. 
 Ey GEACE AGDILAE. 
 
 •' The authoress of this most fascinating volume has selected 
 for her field one of the most remarkable eras in modern history— the 
 reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella. The tale turns on the extraor- 
 diirary extent to \vhich concealed Judaism had gained footing at that 
 period in Spain. It is marked by much power of description, and by 
 a Avoman's delicacy of touch, and it will add to its writer's well- 
 earned reputation." — Eclectic Review. 
 
 •' The scene of this interesting tale is laid during the reign of Fer- 
 dinand and Isabella. The Yale of Cedars is the retreat of a Jewish 
 family, compelled by persecution to perform their religious rites with 
 the utmost secrecy. On the singular position of this fated race in 
 the most Catholic land of Europe, the interest ( f the tale mainly 
 depends; whilst a few glimpses of the horrors of the terrible In- 
 quisition are afforded the reader, and heighten the interest of the 
 narrative." — Sharpe' s Magazine. 
 
 "Anything which proceeds from the pen of the authoress of this 
 volume is sure to command attention and appreciation. There is so 
 much of delicacy and refinement about her style, and such a faithful 
 delineation of nature in all she attempts, that she has taken her 
 place amongst the highest class of modern writers of fiction. We 
 consider this to be one of Miss Aguilar's best efforts. "—.Beii's Weekly 
 Messenger. 
 
 " "We heartily commend the work to our readers as one exhibiting, 
 notmerely talent, but genius, and a degree of earnestness, fidelity to 
 nature, and artistic grace rarely found."— Iferts County Fress. 
 
 "The ' Yale of Cedars' Is indeed one of the most touching and in- 
 teresting str.ries that have ever issued from the press. There is a 
 life-like reality about it, which is not often observed in works of this 
 nature ; while we read it we felt as if we were witnesses of the various 
 scenes it depicts." — Bucks Chronicle. 
 
 " It is a tale of deep and pure devotion, very touchingly narrated." 
 — Atlas. 
 
 " The authoress has already received our commendation ; her 
 present work is calculated to sustain her reputation." — lUustrated 
 News. 
 
 " It is indeed a historical romance of a high class. Seeing how 
 steady and yet rapid was her improvement— how rich the promise of 
 her genius— it is impossible to close this notice of her last and best 
 work, without lamenting that the authoress was so untimely snatched 
 from a world she appeared destined, as certainly she was singularly 
 qualified, to adorn and to improve." — Critic. 
 
 London.- GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Eow. 
 
GRACE AGUILAR'S WORKS. 
 T. 
 
 Fcap. 8ro, lUv.stnded wlfJt Frontispiece and Tlf/nel(e, 
 lirice 65., 
 
 THE DAYS or ERUCE; 
 
 91 Storn from ^cottisi^ 33istori). 
 
 [ By GRACE AGUILAR. 
 
 " We have liad an opportunity of observiri;» the interest it awakens 
 in different classes of readers, and in no instance has it failed to rivet 
 attention, and to induce a high estimate of the author's powers. Miss 
 Aguilar was evidently well read in the times of Bruce. It is lung 
 since we met with a work which combines so happily the best qualities 
 of historical fiction." — Eclectic Review. 
 
 " The life of the hero of Bannockburn has furnished matter for 
 innumerable tales in prose and verse, but we have met with no records 
 of that famous era so instructive as 'The Days of Bruce.' " — Britannia. 
 
 "'The Days of Bruce' was written when, in the vigour of intellec- 
 tual strength, Grace Aguilar was planning many things, and all for 
 good ; it was we know her especial favourite : it is full of deep in- 
 terest." — Mrs. S. C. Hall, in Sharpens Magazine. 
 
 " It is a volume which may be considered as solid history, but is 
 nevertheless entertaining as the most charming novel ever produced 
 by genius. Sir Walter Scotts name as an author would not have 
 been disgraced by it had it appeared on the title-page instead of 
 Grace Aguilar." — Bucks Chronicle. 
 
 "This deeply interesting romance— a composition of great elo- 
 quence, written with practised polish and enthusiastic energy. We 
 are not surprised at the elegance, the warmth, and the pathos with 
 which Grace Aguilar paints love passages ; but we are astonished at 
 the fire and accuracy with which she depicts scenes of daring and of 
 death." — Obsei-ver. 
 
 " The tale is well told, the interest warmly sustained throughout, 
 and the delineation of female character is marked by a delicate sense 
 of moral beauty. It is a work that may be confided to the hands of 
 a daughter by her parent."— Caitrt Joxirnal. 
 
 " Every one who knows the works of this lamented author, must 
 observe that she rises with her subjects. In ' The Days of Bruce' she 
 has thrown herself into the rugged life of the fourteenth century, and 
 has depicted the semi-civilization of the period in a manner that is 
 quite marvellous in a young woman. Grace Aguilar always excelled 
 in her delineation of female characters, while the skill she evinces in 
 the illustration of the historical personages, and her individualization 
 of the imaginary ones, might at once entitle her to a birthplace 
 among historical novelists." — Ladies' Companion. 
 
 " Her pen was ever devoted to the cause of virtue ; and her various 
 publications, exhibiting the beauties and enforcing the practice of 
 the 'tender charities' of domestic life, have, we doubt not, rccom- 
 mended themselves to the hearts of numbers of her countrywomen. 
 The work before us differs from the formerpublicationsof its author, 
 inasmuch as it is in fact an historical romance, for this species ot 
 •writing the high feeling of Grace Aguilar peculiarly fitted her; many 
 of the scenes are very highly wrought; and while it will fix m the 
 reader's mind a truthful idea of the history and style of manners of 
 •TheDavs of Bruce,' it will also impress upon him a strong sense 
 of the ability and noble cast of thought which distinguished its la- 
 mented author." — Englishwoman's Magazine. 
 
 London; GEOOMBEIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Eow. 
 
GRACE AGUILAR'S WORKS. 
 
 " We look upon * The Days of Bruce' as an elegantly-written and 
 interesting romance, and place it by the side of Miss Porter's Scot- 
 tish Chiefs." — Oentleman's Magazine. 
 
 " A very pleasing and successful attempt to combine ideal deline- 
 ation of character with the records of history. Very beautiful and 
 very true are the portraits of the female mind and heart which Grace 
 Aguilar knew how to draw. This i^ the chief charm of all her 
 writings, and in 'The Days of Bruce' the reader will have the plea- 
 sure of viewing this skilful portraiture in the characters of Isoline 
 and Agnes, and Isabella of Buchan." - Literary Gazette. 
 
 " What a fertile mind was that of Grace Aguilar ! What an early 
 development of reflection, of feeling, of taste, of power of invention, 
 of true and earnest eloquence ! ' The Days of Bruce' is a composition 
 of her early youth, but full of beauty. Grace Aguilar knew the 
 female heart better than any writer of our day, and in every fiction 
 from her pen we trace the same masterly analysis and development 
 of the motives and feelings of woman's nature. ' The Days of Bruce' 
 possesses also the attractions of an exti-emely interesting story, that 
 absorbs the attention, and never suffers it to flag till the last page is 
 closed, and then the reader will lay down the volume with regret." — 
 Critic. 
 
 VI. 
 Fcap. 8vOj Illustrated loith Frontispiece, price 5*., 
 
 HOIVIESCE^JES El HEART STUDIES. 
 
 By aKACE AGUILAK. 
 
 The Peeez Family. 
 
 The Stone-cuttee's Boy of Possagno. 
 
 Amete and Yafeh. 
 
 The Fugitive. 
 
 The Edict; a Tale op 1492. 
 
 The Escape; a Tale oe 1755. 
 
 Ked Rose Villa. 
 
 GoNZALVo's Daughtee. 
 
 The Authoeess. 
 
 Helon. 
 
 Lucy. 
 
 The Spieit's Enteeaty. 
 
 Idalie. 
 
 Lady Geesham's Fete. 
 
 The Geoup of Sculptuee. 
 
 The Spieit of Night. 
 
 The Recollections of a Ramblee. 
 
 Cast thy Beead upon the Watees. 
 
 The Teiumph of Love. 
 
 London : GEOOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row. 
 
GRACE AGUILAR'S WORKS. 
 
 TII. 
 Second JEdition, in Two Tohimes, Foolscap 8ro, price 10*., 
 
 THE WOMEN OF ISRAEL ; 
 
 Or, Characters and Sketches from the Iloly Scriptures, illustrative 
 
 of the past History, present Duties, and future Destiny of 
 
 Hebrew Females, as based on the Word of God. 
 
 By G-BACE AGUILAE. 
 ^Principal Contents of x\)t OHotfe. 
 
 FlKST PeKIOD— V/lVES OF THE PaTUIAECHS. 
 
 Eve. I Rebekah. 
 
 Sarah. | Leah and Rachel. 
 
 Second Pebiod— The Exodcs and the Law. 
 Egyptian Captivity, and Joehebed. 
 The Exodus — .Mothers of Israel. 
 Laws for Wives in Israel. 
 Laws for Widows and Daughters in Israel. 
 Maid Servants in Israel, and other Laws. 
 
 THIBD PeKIOD— BETWEEiJ THE DeHVEUY OF THE LAW AND THE 
 MONAKCHT. 
 
 Wife of Manoah. 
 
 Naomi. 
 
 Hannah. 
 
 Rispah. 
 
 Prophet's Widow. 
 The Sliunaraite. 
 Little Israelitish Maid. 
 
 Miriam. 
 
 Tabernacle Workers— Caleb's 
 Deborah. [Daughter. 
 
 FouBTH Pebiod— The Monabcht. 
 Michal. 
 Abigail. 
 
 Wise Woman of Tekoah. 
 Woman of Abel. 
 
 Iluldah. 
 
 Fifth Pebiod— Babylonian Captivitt. 
 
 The Captivity. 
 
 Review of Book of Ezra. 
 
 Suggestions as to the Identity of the Ahasuerus of Scripture. 
 
 Esther. 
 
 Review of Events narrated in Ezra and Nehemiah. 
 Sixth Pebiod — Continuance of ti;e Second Temple. 
 
 Review of Jewish History, from the Return from Babylon to the 
 Appeal of Hyrcanus and Aristobulus toPompey. 
 
 Jewish History from the Appeal to Pompey to the Death of 
 Herod. 
 
 Jewish History from the Death of Herod to the War. 
 
 The Martyr Mother. 
 
 Alexandra. 
 
 Mariamne. 
 
 Salome. 
 Helena. 
 Berenice. 
 
 Seventh Pebiod— Women of Isbael in the Pbesent as in- 
 fluenced BY the Past. 
 
 The War and Di.sper.^sion, 
 Thoughts on the Talmud. 
 Talmudic Ordinances Jc Tales 
 
 Effects of Dispersion and Per- 
 
 secution. 
 General Remarks. 
 
 "A work that is sufficient of itself to create and crown a reputa- 
 tion." — FUgriraages to English Shrines, by Mrs. •^. C. HaJl. 
 
 London : GHOOMBKIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Bow. 
 
GRACE AGUILAK'S WORKS. 
 
 -•- 
 
 KEW EDITIONS, ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 ]. 
 
 HOME liNFiri'NCE. 
 
 A TALE Ki»R' MOTltKUS AND DAUCIITEUS. 
 Fcap. 8to, lUu^lrated, Trico 5#. 
 
 It. 
 
 Tin: MOTHER'S RECOMPENSE. 
 
 A SEQUEL TO "UOME LVFLUEXCE." 
 Fcap. 8ro, Illu«tratc<l| Price C«. 
 
 III. 
 
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 A S T O li Y OF p ' ^' ' - ' " 1. 1 F E. 
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 IV. 
 
 THE YALE OF CEDARS. 
 
 A ST(»ICY OF .SPALV IN THE 15tii CEXTL'KY. 
 Fcrp. Sro, IIiuitiutcO| Prico (is, 
 
 v. 
 
 THE J)AYS OF DUUCE. 
 
 A STOIIY FROM SCOTTISH II I STOP. Y. 
 
 F«.a^. Svo, ir.uilfat< J. I'lii c Ci. 
 
 VI. 
 
 HOME SCENES AND HEART STCDIES. 
 
 TALES. 
 
 Fc»p. Svo, IIltutrat'><], Price -S/. 
 
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 Tuu \uU.f fcap. bvo, Price 10*. 
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