258 EVERY MAN HIS OWN FARRIER 



of treacle : to be inserted into the hives, by means of 

 small troughs, at night, and removed the next morning 

 early. Should a hive be very poor and weak, it is 

 better to feed in larger quantities each time. 



To manage honey. 



To judge of the best honey, it should bo of a bright 

 pale colour, thick, and a little aromatic. To obtain it 

 from the combs in its pure state, it must be left to run 

 from them without pressing. The colour shows 

 whether it is fine or inferior. If wanted to press some 

 in the comb, choose the fairest and such as have not 

 been broken ; wrap each comb in white paper, such as 

 lines the blue cover of loaf sugar. Set it edgeways 

 as it stood in the hive, and it may be preserved many 

 months. The combs meant to be drained, must be 

 cut in slices. Lay them on a hair-search, supported 

 by a rack over the jar, in which the honey is to re- 

 main : for the less it is stirred after draining, it keeps 

 the better. Fill the jar to the brim, as a little scum 

 must be taken off when it has settled. A bladder well 

 washed in lukewarm water, ought to be laid over the 

 double fold of white paper with which it is covered. 



To take the honey without destroying the bees. 



The following easy method of taking the honey 

 without destroying the bees, is generally practiced in 

 France. In the dusk of the evening, when the bees 

 are quietly lodged, approach the hive, and turn it 

 gently over. Having steadily placed it in a small pit, " 

 previously dug to receive it, with its bottom upwards, 

 cover it with a clean new hive, which has been pro- 

 perly prepared, with a few sticks across the inside of 



