THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



47 



exposing tlicm too much in the middle of the 

 day to \hv sun. The bcc-house shouhl not in 

 cool wcatiicr, make the temperature! around the 

 hives mncii higlicr than the bees will encounter 

 at a distance. The simple movable covers just 

 mentioned, which arc easily adjusted as the 

 season demands, with hives made of boards of 

 suflleient thickness, well painted to prevent 

 warping, will generallj' jirove an ample protec- 

 tion, except in very cold winters. 



New swarms generally appear during the 

 months of June and July; but sometimes as 

 ci\v]y as IVfay, or as late as August. The swarms 

 are usually liived when the brush or whatever 

 they alight on can be removed, by shaking them 

 off in front of the hive, which should be a little 

 raised on one side to facilitate the passage of 

 the bees. When they collect where they can- 

 not be shaken off, and the hive cannot be jilaced 

 near, they may be brushed quickly into a 

 gauze sack or any vessel in which they can be 

 kept and carried to the hive. It is generally 

 irritating to the bees, and unnecessary if not 

 useless, to endeavor to make the swarms collect 

 and settle by a din of horns, tin pans, and bells. 

 They will sometimes collect on a pole with a 

 lew branches, some broom corn, or dry mullein 

 tops, or similar things fastened to the end and 

 held in the air. They may sometimes be arrest- 

 ed when going off, by throwing jets of water 

 or line earth or sand among them. Various 

 means are used on such occasions to disconcert 

 them, and with about equal success. It is very 

 seldom that a swarm starts for its chosen desti- 

 nation without previously alighting. If two or 

 more swarms issue at the same time and unite, 

 they may be separated, if desired, by shaking 

 them from the branch between two or more 

 hives placed near together. Should the queens 

 enter the same hive, the bees must be shaken 

 out between empty.hivcs as before, and this ope- 

 ration repeated till the queens enter separate 

 hives, or the bee-keeper is able to catch one or 

 more of them and put them with the bees where 

 wanted. Or, if there are only two swarms 

 united, a part may be separated and returned 

 to the parent hives, and the rest put in one 

 liive ; or they may be all put in one and boxes 

 put on immediately. It is sometimes desirable 

 to unite small swarms. This may be easily 

 done if they issue about the same time, by in- 

 verting one hive and placing the other over it ; 

 the bees in the lower will ascend and join those 

 in the upper. When for any reason it is wished 

 to defer lor a short time the issue of a swarm 

 Avliich the signs indicate to be just at hand, the 

 bees on the outside of the hive should be sprink- 

 led with water. This is effectual, but only 

 before the swarm has started. Sometimes the 

 swarm issues and returns several times. If 

 this is owing to the inability of the queen to fly, 

 she should be found if possible, and put with 

 the others in the new hive. If the weather be 

 such as to prevent the new swarms from going 

 out to collect honey, several days immedrately 

 after being hived, it may be necessary to feed 

 them. 



Many bee-keepers have discarded the prac- 

 tice of killing the bees to get the honey ; the 

 surplus, after enough has been stored in the 



hive for winter, being taken away by means of 

 boxes, or, if these arc not used, cut from the 

 hives, llie bees being driven back and i)artially 

 stupefied by smoke. The comb is to be cut otf 

 clean so that the honey may run as little a8 

 possible U])on the bees. The boxes should be 

 put on a little before the hive is full. Polish 

 apiarians cut out the old comb annually to les- 

 sen the tendency to swarming, and thus obtain 

 tbc largest amount of honey. The old practice 

 of destroying tlie bees, except those intended 

 for wintering, after the hives are filled and the 

 honey season has passed, still prevails exten- 

 sivelj^ — though it should be discouraged and 

 discontinued. The time for taking up hives 

 depends somewhat on the season and the bee- 

 pasturage. The quantity of honey does not 

 generally increase after the first of September. 

 The bees are sometimes deprived of the entire 

 store of comb and honey, in the early part of 

 the season, generally about twenty days after 

 the first swarm has left, by driving them out 

 and giving them a new hiVe. When the old 

 hive is infested with moths, or the comb is 

 not good, and it is desirable to winter the bees, 

 this operation may be expedient. It is per- 

 formed by inverting the hive and putting the 

 other into which the bees are to be driven over 

 it, making the junctions close, and tapping 

 with the hand or a stick on the sides of the 

 hive. The bees will then pass up to the new 

 hive, which is then removed to the apiary and 

 placed where the hive from which the bees 

 were expelled previously stood. 



Hives are sometimes attacked and robbed, 

 either because they are queeuless, or are weak, 

 or other bees are attracted by broken combs, 

 or by food put near them. It is useless to 

 attempt to save a queenless colony after it is 

 seriously attacked and the assailants are numer- 

 ous ; but a weak colony that has a fertile queen 

 should be removed to a cellar, or some cool, 

 dark place, and kept there two or three days. 

 It is sometimes sufficient to close the entrance 

 so as to admit but one bee at a time. It is 

 beneficial to put a similar though empty hive 

 in the place of the one removed, and rub the 

 bottom board inside with wormwood leaves or 

 the oil of wormwood. The odor of this is so 

 disagreeable to the bees, that the robbers speed- 

 ily forsake the place. I3reaking the combs in 

 the hive of the robbers, or strewing a handful 

 of saw dust in it, will generally make them de- 

 sist, by giving them employment at home. 



The quantity of honey usuallj^ necessary for 

 wintering safely a swarm of bees is thirty 

 pounds. Those that are found in autumn to 

 be weak in numbers, and with a scanty supply 

 of honey, should be taken up. Only the strong 

 stocks are profitable to winter. Brown sugar 

 made into candy bj' being dissolved in water, 

 clarified and boiled to evaporate the water, is 

 the best food for bees. The sj-rup should be 

 boiled till it begins to be brittle when cooled, . 

 This or common sugar candy may be fed to ] 

 bees, in the hives, under them, or in the boxes. ■ 

 If fed in the liquid state, it may be introduced 

 into the hives in dishes, with some clean cut 

 straw strewn over it, to enable the bees to eat it 

 without getting into it. Where feeding is likely 



