> 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



79 



As to tlie liabits and cn'ation of boos, he 

 says : Many have Imulilcd tluMiisclvos as 

 to tlie several kinds ot workint^ l)ees, where- 

 as of worUintj; bees in this jiart of the world 

 there is l)ut one sort, and all l)ees a<;ree, if 

 not in size and eolor, yet certainly in opera- 

 tions, so that our bees and bees in Spain, 

 and other parts of the world make all their 

 combs with hexagonal like forms. Bees in 

 frost are torpid, and the little worm from 

 the i'Sfi after a short life of a week, stirs not 

 and feeds n()t but lie dead and entombed in 

 the cell it was bred, yet in a few days it 

 will revive and appear a tar more noble crea- 

 ture than it was l)efoi-e. The first life of a bee 

 is scarcely worthy to be called life.— I'i7a est 

 non x^iudif!. She is in a narrow cell without 

 power, neither can she hear, but awaiteth 

 to be fed. 



The grub or worm in its first state of life 

 is a rude creature, but when it is shut up to 

 become transnuited then it is for a tiuu^ a 

 fornUess lump, without any beauty, but 

 wait a few days and it will come forth in all 

 its beautv. The younj;; bees as soon as tliey 

 have passed their second birth are winged 

 and stren-Jithened to fly and presently do 

 fall to work and imitate the elder bees. 



In swarming, he says : If a swarm come 

 forth tliey await with im])atience for the 

 (lueen. go with her. encircle and protect her 

 and where she goeth, so will they go. If a 

 swarm be cheeked and stunted with bad 

 weather after it is hived, or late in the year, 

 the bees will be desperate and gather no- 

 thing to ]iurpose, for they are out of hope to 

 get enough for their winter store. Some 

 hives will live two or three years and cast 

 not a swarm, or if tliey do very late then 10 

 to 1 they miscarry aiul die, both the old 

 stock and the swarm too. Now the best 

 way to preserve such a stock is timely to 

 drive it into an empty hive, and the bees 

 being many will provide for themselves, if 

 not they liiay be fed sulliciently against 

 winter, and swarm seasonably another year. 

 When bees are most angry in their swarm- 

 ing, or fighting, cast a little sand or water 

 among them and they are presently quiet. 

 Bees when they go forth in a swarm will 

 sometimes be ]")rovided of a habitation Ite- 

 forehaiid. A hollow tree or an old hive, 

 they will at once purge it of dead bees, rot- 

 ton combs and stinking substances, for bees 

 are neat, sweet and cleanly creatures, 

 abhorring stiidving i>laces. 



J^et a swarm be hived ever so carefully 

 and the hive pre|)areil and shadowed from 

 the sun, yet if the (pu'cn be wanting, there 

 is nothing but discontent and confusion ti!l 

 she be found. Bees that are new driven or 

 go forth in a swarm, even if they be few, 

 will labor more tliligently than other hives 

 that are well provided for. The bee master 

 on all occasions of want will feed his bees 

 but never the drones. Let a sw.arm remain 

 at the place where it was hived for a few 

 ilays and then remove it to a new standing, 

 yet tor 2 or 3 days if they tly a brood will 

 repair with their labors to tiie first i)lace. 

 Bees in violent frosts if they have not a few 

 rays of sunshine liecome diseased from 

 their inability to discharge their foulness, 

 except in the hive. Bees will nf)t continue 

 well without a leader therefore if a union of 

 swarms or castings be nuide the bees will 

 then dethrone all queens but one. 



Many, observing bees Hying into their 

 hives suppose them best rnrnished when 

 they see tliem go home laden on their thighs. 



and think the others idle, whereas the- 

 others archest laden being well freighted 

 with honey, riundering l)e»\s will s))()il 

 and rob tlieir neighbors, but if tlu'y fnui 

 sentenels befoic tlieixiststo quesition and 

 oi)pose them, and if ninnenms •will through 

 treachery work their destniction. 



Bees extract but little honey in July but 

 if a honey dew falls they in a short space- 

 are largely rei)lenished with sweets. Bees, 

 as many other creatures, have wit enough to 

 find out remedies for the cure of their 

 maladies. If they be near tlie sea, delight- 

 fully gather from flowers in salt marshes, it 

 they be remote from the sea tluiy drink 

 Avater from sinks and saw-i)its and extract 

 the nitons saltness therefrom. 



Bees when they are contented give forth a 

 delightful hum hut if acting illegally give 

 forth an uncertain noise like an instrument 

 out of tune. Bees when they have filled 

 themselves with water cannot gather honey 

 till they have vomitetl it up. Bees live like 

 soldiers, in camp and have always night and 

 day their scouts and sentinels t(>" keep watck 

 lest their enemies surprise them. Bee 

 masters tell us that the hives that make the 

 most noise are the best ones, and they are- 

 also over-diligent to kill all the drones (as 

 they will not only pester but prejudice the 

 liive) and will also feed the bees but never 

 the drones. 



A bee sting enters easily and when the 

 bee has flown away the sting works itself 

 deeper, diffusing thereby the venom more 

 strongly. The combs of bees are perpen- 

 dicular from top to bottom of the hive and 

 so they are long, yet have breadth likewise. 



Some cells are filled with bee bread, some 

 with honey, some with brood and others are 

 empty. Mice are hurtful to bees and so are 

 moths but not at all times alike, in the 

 swarms when the bees are lusty and keep 

 constant guard, no hurt will come to them, 

 but when Aveak, or cold weather benumbs 

 them, they can without hazard rob, plunder 

 and destroy them. The enemies of the 

 church are compared to bees. "Fear not 

 their rage they are bees not lions, they buzz 

 and make great noise, they cannot do what 

 they would but work their own destruc- 

 tion " 



The forgoing are but a few extracts from 

 his book. In his preface he advises all cot- 

 tagers to meet ami form societies for discus- 

 sions on the bee. He would be glad to give 

 them instructions on the bee, as they can. 

 be made of great profit. 



Mr. Purchas travelled a great deal as he- 

 sjteaks of bees in Spain were he saw and 

 compared them. A Book Worm. 



P'or the Aincrutan Bee Journal. 



Wintering B333 in, Glass Obsarva- 

 ^t tory Hives. 



i • As many Bee-Keeiiers fail hi keeping their 



I bees alive in glass hives over tlje wLnter I 



j send you an accouiit of my Improved Glass 



j Observatory revqlving biir-frame Hive; the 



I four sides and fop ofwhich are composed of 



layers of glass, and I have kept bees in them 



for a great number of years all through the 



winter, and never lost a stock of bees in one 



of them yet. 



My Observatory Hives are kept in anopeiv 

 latticed arbor and are always exposed, win- 

 ter and summer, to the light and cold, and 



