BEE-KEEPINa. 573 



period. Great care must be exercised in ripening the wood, and seeing that 

 the embryo fruit -buds are formed in the axils of the leaves. Water must be 

 gradually withheld, and a dryish atmosphere maintained for this purpose. 



1811. Pines. — Keep a genial atmosphere of from 70° to 83° among fruiting 

 plants : water them with clear manure-water, and refrain from syringing 

 plants in flower and ripe fruit. Providences, and the black varieties for 

 winter fruiting, would be best in a house by themselves from this time. 

 Maintain a steady bottom-heat of 85° to fruiting plants, and 75° to succession 

 plants. Where hot water is used this is easily managed ; but dung, tan, or 

 leaves, require greater caution. However, pines grow better, I believe, 

 when the bottom-heat is derived from fermenting material than from hot 

 water. All the succession plants should have ah-eady received tlieir final 

 shift for the winter : those planted out in beds, either fruiting or succession 

 plants, must be sparingly watered from this time, as, if the soil becomes too 

 wet, it will dry slowly at this season of the year. Attend to the making of 

 linings ; give as much air as is consistent with the maintenance of a proper 

 temperature: gradually withdraw all shade from this period, and endeavour to 

 secure a firm indurated growth before the approach of winter. D. T. F. 



§ 8.— Bee-Keeping. 



18 1 2. During September it will be necessary to examine the stocks in each 

 hive, with a view to uniting such as are too weak to encounter the winter 

 alone. Weigh all swarms at the end of the season, and ascertain the quantity 

 of honey they have in store ; when they ai-e a third or half too light, in place of 

 feeding them, which costs too much honey, join them into one. "For this pur- 

 pose," says Gelicus, ' ' I leave the heaviest swarm untouched, and in the morning 

 of a fine day in September I commence by blowing a few whiffs of tobacco-smoke 

 with my pipe in at the door of the hive of the lightest swarm ; then turning up 

 the hive, and placing it upon its top on the ground, I give it a little more smoke 

 to prevent the bees becoming irritated, and to force them to retire within the 

 comb<i. I proceed to cut out all the combs in succession, beginning with the 

 smallest, sweeping the bees in with a feather off each piece back into the 

 hive, placing the combs one after another into a large dish, which is kept 

 •carefully covered over with a napkin, to prevent the bees returning to tho 

 <;ombs. The last comb is the most difficult to come at, being completely 

 covered with bees. I detach it, however, in the same way as the othei's, 

 but with greater precaution, sweeping the bees off very gently until there is 

 not one left on it ; an operation which I perform without gloves or any other 

 precaution, armed only with my pipe, and seldom receive a sting even when 

 unassisted. 



1813. " The combs being all removed, theswarm remains destitute of food, 

 jind in this state I replace it on its board, and leave it there till the evening; 

 hy which time the bees will be clustered together like a new swarm. During 

 the whole of the day, which I shall suppose to be fine, they occupy themselves 



