336 On the Management of Bees. 



and liberty to follow that mode of living which nature has point- 

 ed out to them. 



Every bee-house should therefore be constructed of sufficient 

 depth, that the hives may be brought forward, or pushed back, 

 as the weather serves. In summer they cannot be brought too 

 far into the light and heat, which rouses them into life, and sti- 

 mulates their industry; nor in winter be too far removed from 

 the external wet and cold. 



Mv two bee-houses are sheltered on every side by hedges, ex- 

 cept towards the south and east. The hedges to the north and 

 north-east are beech, which are kept closely clipped. No trees 

 should be planted in the front, as that keeps off the sun, whose 

 light and vvarn)th are the great stinuilaiits to their working. Six 

 hives are, in my opinion, enough lor each house, and the houses 

 should stand at some distance from each other : the reason is, 

 that when the Ijees swarm, the buzz of those which rise first is 

 apt to induce the other hives to swarrii also, and two good swarms 

 often unite ; but when they do so, they should be put into a hive 

 proportionably large. The bee-house opens by folding doors at 

 the back, by which every hive can be easily got at for any pur- 

 pose required ; the places in the front being made too narrow 

 for a hive to be taken out there : the back may be secured from 

 thieves by locking, or nailing up the doors during the winter: 

 the floors should be made accurately level, for the purpose of 

 feeding the bees, if necessary. 



To the construction of the bee-house it is indispensable that 

 free access should be at all times had to the hives, to take them 

 out when necessary. For this purpose, the doors at the back of the 

 bee-house should open, whether it be to lake them in autumn, 

 to weigh them at that time, to ascertain their ability to support 

 themselves during the winter, to plaster them to the board to ex- 

 clude the cold or wet, or to destroy any vermin that maybe lodged 

 in the house, or under their boards ; all which matters nmst be 

 attended to. Previous to shutting up the bee-houses for the 

 winter, the hives should all be taken out, and the whole interior 

 carefully swept ; when infallibly there will be found a plentiful 

 collection of those insects whom the approach of winter drives 

 into their hiding places, and who seek for shelter in every cranny 

 of the bee- house: snails, earwigs, and spiders are of this de- 

 scription ; and that mice will also seek for shelter in the same 

 place, and in the hive itself, I had this demonstrable proof. 



On leaving the country in October IS09, among others, I left 

 my oldest hive of considerable strength. In the beginning of the 

 spring, I observed but few bees come out to work, and a general 

 torpor seemed to pervade it : on turning it up, having before 

 just lifted it on one or two occasions, I observed one half of the 



hive 



