35G 



F A 11 Al E li S ' REGISTER. 



The magorois have foii^h, jointed, white pkins, 

 and hani ovhI Mirk hpsub. Thry crawl htit slowly 

 ai)d rarely vo.ntnrn (i-om undfr ihe [)rotociion of 

 their wehs; thouiih they olten piis>, like nioIeK, 

 through the renire of a el'.eet of comb 10 or 15 

 inches in hrendih, rniikiiiL; a partial wehover each 

 cell in the route. Though the here cannot, I 

 helieve, penetrate the hides of the magirots-, either 

 ^vilh iheir teeih or their ptiofTs-, piill ihev can fiiihi 

 ihem and carry them i;ui of the hives ; and this; 

 they will do, when the hive is ihril'iy and in <Tood 

 spirit. [ have olien seen a nriniTLrol sirajghien 

 himself and crawl off, apparemly unhurt, after 

 having been fought by several bees lor- many 

 minutes; and I have seen the moths run over the 

 lipps and escape out of sight by the time the bees 

 had faced about ready to give them battle. 



Altera brief existence the mag<;ot gathers his 

 wib close around him, becomes inactive, and gra- 

 dually assumes a liarner black shell, which it bursts 

 and is again a fly in about twenty days. 



I have been somewhat pariiculnr, thinking it 

 important to know the habits and chara(-ter of the 

 insects, in order to know how to destroy them. I 

 have tried in vain to disgust and drive them from 

 the hive, by the use of turpentine, worm-w-ood, 

 penny-royal, &c. F have tried confinioff the hive 

 (■lose to the stand, and plasterinir up all the crevices 

 with quick lime, and I think the plan with tubes 

 for entrance (which ! first saw suggested in an 

 eastern paper) mi<rh.l succeed, did it not require a 

 nicety of material and a precision of construction, 

 which are not within the reach of ordinary bee- 

 masters. Afier losing two valuable hives bv 

 relying upon the closeness of the boxes, f abandon- 

 ed the plan, and have since tried elevating them 

 tipon blocks with betiersnccess. The zeal of your 

 esteemed correspondent, J. J. V., lor his plan, has 

 led him into an error of which a close look into 

 a thriliy and spirited hive will convince him. lie 

 xvill see the comb surrounded and covered with 

 such dense clusters of bees, as no fly could pene- 

 trate: and any moth would conclude that it was 

 far easier, (saying nothing of danger) to lay its 

 eogs in the lower and unguarded corners of the 

 hive than in the more distinct nnil frequented parts. 

 .All my stands have been more or less infested this 

 year, and two which were but partly raised from 

 the stand have been entirely destroyed ; and, li^om 

 <iaily observation, I am satisfied that the moths 

 invariably, al first, deposit their eirjzs in the lower 

 parts of the hive, and chiefly, where it sits upon 

 the stand ; whence the webs are gradually ex- 

 tended until they reach tite comb. The bees then 

 soon relax their industry, lose their spirit, and 

 commence local their honey, in which other bees 

 imite, and which may be known by unusual quan- 

 tities of excrement about the hive. The moths and 

 the maggots are emboldened to greater intrusions; 

 they boldly enter the inmost recesses of the hive, 

 and soon the work of devastation is disgusting and 

 complete. The bees, not having spirit to resent 

 ihe intrusion, and not being able to prevent it, lan- 

 guish, die, or desert the stand. 



In a future number, if you wish, I will giveyoti 

 an account of the plan I have practised during the 

 present season, and which I think most susceptible 

 of general practice and success. • * # * 



According to promise, 1 will pursue this subject, 

 with some apprehension lest your editorial note 

 pnay have induced the belief that I was about to 



divulge Pome mysterious and sovereign epecific, 

 for the destruction of these hateful insects. So 

 linr from it, the plan, which I at present pursue, is 

 exceedingly simple, and susceptible of universal 

 a|)plicatii)n ; and may not have been practised by 

 me alone, or by me first. Cut as 1 tried many 

 unsuccessful experiments, and lost many valuable 

 bee stands, before I adopted this plan, ami as it has 

 been quite saiislactory thus far, am! it is not ge- 

 nerally practised, I cannot refuse to communicate 

 it, according to your request. 



A shed should be built with three sides closed 

 tight, and with the other side open to the east, 

 high enoUL'h, under the eve, to admit two bee- 

 benches, one above Ihe other, and broad enough 

 to walkl'reely behind the stands, with a door in one 

 end of the shed lor persons to enter it. The boxes 

 should be arranged upon these benches with iheir 

 entrances outward, so that the bees will be imder 

 no temptation or inducement to come behind them. 



The boxes should be 20 inches square in the 

 clear, made of thick seasoned plank well put lo- 

 (Teiher, with tirrht joints. The bottom of the box, 

 which sits tipon the bench, should be bevelled, 

 fi-nm the outside, to a sharp edge. Cross sticks 

 should be put in the box, and notches made for 

 the bees to enter, in the usual manner: and larire 

 holes should be bored in the lop of Ihe box, to be 

 covered with a cap twelve inches square, bevel- 

 led as above, after tlie box shall be well filled. 

 When ihe bees begin to work in the spring, Ihe- 

 boxes must ail be raised upon the blocks put under 

 the corners, high enough to permit the bees to 

 pass freely under them, but n"t high enough to 

 admit mice. The blocks mu«t be high enough for 

 the box to sit upon them without rocking or siip- 

 piuL"". A light, slim wooden paddle should be 

 made, with a handle about eighteen inches in 

 length, and with a short, thin, elastic blade, imd 

 should be kept always in the bee house. With 

 this instrument in hand, the bee master must walk 

 behind the benches, and tilt the boxes over from 

 him, look into them and search for, and destroy 

 with the paddle, any Mies or mangois which may 

 be lound. The house being open ordy in Ihe li'onl, 

 and the bees being accustomed to (ly out only on 

 that side, this operation may he performed with 

 security and at leisure. Indeed it will be a pleas- 

 ant plac(\ which may be resorted lo at any time 

 day or night; and the bee manager, whether 

 male or female, so liir from finding it an unpleas- 

 ant or perilous laslc, will find it an agreeable and 

 prohlable amusement, and will be so much inter- 

 ested with the bees as to visit them loo often for 

 the moths lo make much progress belore they are 

 discovered and destroyed. 



if j'ou wish to take some honey, a cap may be 

 removed at any time, an empty one put on the 

 box, and you may retreat through the side door, 

 without the least inconvenience to yourself or in- 

 terruption lo Ihe other bees. 



The blocks not only serve lo prevent a lodging 

 place for the maggots, but also prevent the beea 

 from being mashed when the box is set down, 

 after being inspected. Nails have been recom- 

 mended instead of blocks, but the difficulty of in- 

 serting and removing them renders them objec- 

 tionable. 



There is no cfTectual virtue in Ihe nails, or in 

 liie blocks, or in ihe manner or material for mak- 

 ing ihe boxes ; or in drugs or liquids to drive the 



