THE FARMER'S MANUAL. 189 



new abode discovered if possible, and the Bees must 

 be hived again, and confined in the hive two or three 

 days, with some feeding, until the queen begins to lay 

 her eggs, then the swarm rnay bo considered as se- 

 cured. Dubost in his works on Bees asserts, that he 

 has seen a collection of Bees enter an empty hive in 

 the morning, and before night of the same day, a 

 strange swarm from some foreign Apiary, enter the 

 same hive and take possession, and that the same 

 facts have been noticed by other Apiarians. One 

 of the greatest errors of the cotager in the manage- 

 ment of his Bees, is in giving his swarm old and de- 

 cayed hives ; these hives are generally infested with 

 those insects which are the enemies of the Bees, and 

 ruin their swarms* It seldom happens that the first 

 flight of a swarm is to any great distance, but it ge- 

 nerally alights upon some neighbouring tree, or bush. 

 Every exertion should then be made to hive it, for it 

 will not tarry more than two or three hours, especial- 

 ly under a hot sun ; and when it is hived, it should be 

 covered with a sheet, or table-cloth, to shield it from 

 the heat of the sun. The best mode of hiving your 

 Bees is, either to cut off the bough on which they 

 hang, and place it under the hive, either in your 

 Apiary, or upon a table near to it, or place the hive 

 under the bough when taken off, and shake off the 

 Bees into the hive. Many persons perform this ope- 

 ration, without any safe-guard to their persons, but 

 I would recommend some covering, that will guard 

 the head, and particularly the face and eyes, the 

 hands and legs ; that for the head, may be of canvass 

 placed over the hat, which will extend it from the 

 face beyond the reach of the stings of the Bees, and 

 it must extend down so low, as to tie around the 

 body, and be closed upon the back, so as to exclude 

 the entrance of the Bees. This covering will give 

 confidence, which is one of the requisites in handling 

 Bees. Bees should never be breathed upon at the 

 entrance of the hive, this irritates them. If they arc 



