V« BEES. 



drawer, thus prepared with bee food, you must draw out 

 the tin placed over the semilunar aperture, which will open to 

 the bees a way to their food in the drawer beneath. The 

 heat of the hive follows the bees into the feeding- apart- 

 ment, which soon becomes the temperature of their native 

 hive." 



The advantages of this plan are evident — the ventilating- 

 principle being- the key to its manag-ement. The queen-bee 

 will invariably deposit her eggs in the hottest part of the 

 hive. This will be the central box, or '^ pavilion of nature," 

 as it is called, in which the sovereign of the hive resides, and 

 which is suffered to become as hot as the bees choose to 

 render it, as when the heat becomes too unbearable, they 

 can, as has been before mentioned, ventilate their home with 

 perfect success. Here, then, in the centre box, are the brood 

 combs. To the two side-boxes are affixed ventilators which 

 keep them cool, whether the bees approve of it or not, and 

 in consequence, the queen does not choose to deposit her 

 eggs in such a cold atmosphere, where they would run a 

 chance of perishing for want of that heat which the ven- 

 tilators render impracticable. In the side-boxes, therefore, 

 will be found the honey and pure wax uncontaminated by 

 the presence of innumerable grubs, which in the old single 

 straw hive smotheration system, used to be broken up 

 together with the honey combs, and contribute the contents 

 of their semi-liquid persons to the mass of honey collected in 

 the pan below them. The apiarian should always have at 

 least one spare box to substitute in the place of the one 

 taken away. 



The apiarian has by these means the most complete com- 

 mand over his bees. He can force a swarm before its time, 

 or extend it, just as he pleases ; he can fill his boxes with 

 honey or with brood, as he thinks may prove more ad- 

 rnntageous ; and all this without harassing the bees by too 

 officious meddhng. 



Lest, however, the young bee-master should be too san- 

 tj'uine about the success of his collateral sets, it must be 

 mentioned that this system has not always proved so effica- 

 cious as Mr. Nntt found it. These failures have probably 

 arisen from too close an adherence to the letter of the direc- 

 tions, without taking into consideration other causes v;hich 



