VII.] BEES. 99 



160. IT is not my intention to enter into a history 

 of this insect about which so much has been written, 

 especially by the French naturalists. It is the useful 

 that I shall treat of, and that is done in not many 

 words. The best hives are those made of clean un- 

 blighted rye-straw. Boards are too cold in England. 

 A swarm should always be put into a new hive, and 

 the sticks should be new that are put into the hive for 

 the bees to work on ; for, if the hive be old, it is not 

 so wholesome, and a thousand to one but it contain the 

 embryos of moths and other insects injurious to bees. 

 Over the hive itself there should be a cap of thatch, 

 made also of clean rye straw ; and it should not only 

 be new when first put on the hive ; but a. new one 

 should be made to supply the place of the former one 

 every three or four months ; for when the straw be- 

 gins to get rotten, as it soon does, insects breed in it, 

 its smell is bad, and its effect on the bees is dangerous. 



161. The hive should be placed on a bench, the 

 legs of which mice and rats cannot creep up. Tin 

 round the legs is best. But even this will not keep 

 down ants, which are mortal enemies of bees. To 

 keep these away, if you find them infest the hive, 

 take a green stick and twist it round in the shape of a 

 ring to lay on the ground round the leg of the bench, 

 and at a few inches from it ; and cover this stick with 

 tar. This will keep away the ants. If the ants come 

 from one home, you may easily trace them to it ; and 

 when you have found it, pour boiling- water on it in 

 the night, when all the family are at home. 



This is the only effectual way of destroying ants, 

 which are frequently so troublesome. It would be 

 cruel to cause this destruction, if it were not neces- 

 sary to do it, in order to preserve the honey, and in- 

 deed the bees too. 



162. Besides the hive and its cap, there should be 

 a sort of shed, with top, back, and ends, to give addi- 

 tional protection in winter ; though in summer hives 

 may be kept too hot, and in that case the bees become 



