project too low. This operation is called 

 escarzar. Soon after the new hives are 

 prepared to receive the swarms. 



Swarming is always done artificially, 

 between the 15th of April and the 15th 

 of May. The hives full of bees (those 

 which have bees in front) are always se- 

 lected to be divided. After smoking 

 the colony, the hive is tipped in a 

 slanting position ; an empty hive is 

 placed on the first ; both hives are united 

 by a cloth, on which they are put ; this 

 cloth is pinned with 4 iron pins. All is 

 fixed in such a way that the sun can 

 warm the empty hive. Then a hole near 

 the cover of the hive containing the bees 

 is opened, and smoke is directed in the 

 hive through this aperture ; the hive is 

 stricken with a small stick till the bees 

 run into the empty hive. The opera- 

 tor watches attentively to see the queen 

 passing from one hive to the other. As 

 soon as the queen has entered the new 

 hive, if they think that the swarm is 

 sufficiently numerous, the hives are sep- 

 arated ; the one containing the swarm 

 is shut up with a wooden cloth {manta); 

 the old colony is put in its place, and the 

 swarm is located in another place {po- 

 sada). When, during the passage of the 

 bees they find two queens, they keep one 

 in reserve, and use her in case of need. 



When they are not sure of having a 

 queen in the new colony, they put the 

 hive on a black woolen cloth (mania). 

 After a quarter of an hour, if the queen 

 is there, they find a few eggs on the 

 cloth, that the queen has dropped. If 

 there are no eggs [carochitos), the queen 

 is not in the hive. In such case, they 

 let the bees go to their old hive, and 

 they begin again two or three days after. 



The honey harvest is made about the 

 last of June, in the mountainous region 

 (dehesa), and on the table lands (rands) 

 on the last of August. 



One colony of bees gives 1 lb. of wax 

 worth 1.125 peseta, 8 lbs. honey worth 2 

 pesetas, 1 swarm worth 1.50 pesetas. In 

 the operation of cleansing the hives in 

 March, every hive gives a little wax, 

 worth 0.125 pesetas; gross amount 4.750 

 pesetas. The expenses can be estimated, 

 with the cost of watching and visiting 

 the bees every second week, at 2.750 pe- 

 setas. The net benefit is, therefore, 2 

 pesetas, or about 40 cents per colony. 



The operation of cropping the honey 

 is called castracioyi. The hives full, and 

 which have given a swarm, are castrated. 



To perform the castration, they lift 

 out the tempano of the hive, and send 

 some smoke of rosemary twigs among 

 the combs. The bees are thus driven 

 to the bottom of the hive. Then with 

 two tools {citcharra y citrera) they cut 

 out about one-third of the contents of 



the hive, which', is placed in a bag made 

 of goat skins. Then the tempano is re- 

 placed upon the hive. 



When the honey crop is gathered, the 

 rounds of cork are secured with stones, 

 to prevent the rain from penetrating in- 

 side the hive, the crevices are shut up 

 with earthen mortar, a small gutter is 

 made around to turn away the water, 

 and good soleras are placed under every 

 new colony. 



The other cares consist in visiting the 

 hives from time to time, to see that the 

 goats do not throw down the corks 

 which cover the hives, and if rain can- 

 not run inside of them. 



Guadalupe, Spain, Nov. 12, 1879. 



Do Not Let the Bees Starve. 



Brief directions for early "feeding may 

 be given as follows : Feed only good 

 ripened honey, or syrup made from cof- 

 fee A sugar ; feed just at night by pla- 

 cing the feeder (an inverted Mason fruit 

 jar, the metal top having been punched 

 full of small holes, or a box containing 

 a wooden float) in the top story or body 

 of the hive, so no outside bees can reach 

 it should the feed not be entirely re- 

 moved before the next morning ; aim to 

 give only as much as the colony can re- 

 move in one night, unless the bees do 

 not fly during the day time, in which 

 case, if they continue to carry down the 

 honey, the supply may be kept up. — 

 . Michigan Farmer. 



[Tin cans, such as are ordinarily used in 

 putting up fruit and vegetables for win- 

 ter use, are about as good as anything we 

 know of, and much the cheapest, as they 

 can usually be had for the saving, or for 

 the trouble of gathering up and clean- 

 ing. Fill about three-fourths full with 

 honey or syrup, tie a cloth firmly over 

 the open end, then invert the can on 

 the tops of the frames, and cover all 

 with the blanket to keep warm. We 

 do not advise feeding before the weather 

 is warm enough for the bees to have 

 frequent flights, unless they are quite 

 destitute, when feed should be promptly 

 and generously given. In all cases of 

 feeding, we must be very careful not to 

 incite the bees to robbing, which is one 

 of the greatest disasters that frequently 

 befalls the inexperienced bee-keeper at 

 this season of the year. Should they 

 be disposed to do so, close the entrances 

 of all the hives to a half an inch. — Ed.] 



