660 



F A R M E 11 S ' R 1?: G I S r E R , 



([No. 9 



in a sinojie heap. Iftlicyrige high in the air, it 

 frequently indicates tlieir inclination to take a long 

 fliijiit, which is usually endt-avored to t)e checked 

 by beating pans, ringing bells, and throwing dust 

 or sand among thetn. The ibriner can have lit- 

 tle influence ; it it does operate, it may be by pro- 

 ducing a plight concussion ot" the air, which, 

 alarming the bees in the same way as thunder, 

 may induce them to settle ; but the discharge of a 

 fowling [)iece would have much more edect. 

 Bees are conceived to mistake the dust and sand 

 lor rain, which they greatly dread ; and we olien 

 observe them hasiening to the hive on the ap- 

 proach ol' a shower, or when the sky becomes 

 cloudy. Notwithstanding every effort to retain 

 Ihem, they sometimes rise very high, fly to a dis- 

 tance, and are irrecoverably lost. As they are 

 said to fly in a straight line alter having taken their 

 direction, they must be pursued, as there is no 

 other method of discovering where they alisht. 

 The place of their settling is extremely uncertain. 

 Bonner says they will fly (i)ur miles to "take [)osses- 

 Bion of a dead hive, and affirms, that he has seen 

 a swarm go into a living one that stood in the 

 same apiary. 11" they alight in an accessible 

 place, on the branch of a tree for example, after 

 allowing them to settle completely, it must be 

 gently cut ofl and laid on the ground, and a clean 

 hive supported on two slicks put over it, and the 

 whole covered with a sheet or large table cloth. 

 The bees will soon ascend into the liive, and im- 

 mediately begin working: late in the evening, 

 when all is quiet wiihin, the hive is to be trans- 

 ported to its station in the apiary. Wlien the cul- 

 tivator can, by any device, catch the queen and 

 put her into the hive, all the bees will quickly fol- 

 low. This is more essential to attempt, when the 

 place where the swarm has settled is of difficult 

 access; such as flying to the roof of a house, or 

 the cleft of a tree. Then it is far from easy to dis- 

 lodge the bees, which is, in the majority ol cases, 

 Ihe sole method of recovering them ; as we can 

 hardly sanction the liillowing method recommend- 

 ed by Bonner: "The owner should make as 

 much room as possible to get his hand introduced, 

 so as to pull them out by handluls, and put them 

 into an empty hive." Bees very quickly com- 

 mence working even in the most exposed and un- 

 sheltered situations, unless removed to a hive. 

 The operator should be provided with a dress to 

 protect him from the stings of the bees: the best 

 expedient is to have a close leaiher jacket and 

 trowsers ; tiie head and face covered, and goijgles 

 of gauze to save the eyes. Bees are less disposed 

 to sting during their swarming than at all other 

 limes; and there have been instances of their 

 settling 01! a person's head unattended by inconve- 

 nience. We have an authentic account of this 

 ii"om Thorley. "In the year 1717," he observes, 

 "one of my swarms settled among the close twisied 

 branches ol' a codling tree ; and not to be got into 

 a hive without help, my maid servant, being in the 

 garden, ottered her assistance to hold the hive 

 while 1 dislodged the bees. Having never been 

 acquainted with bees, she put a linen cloth over 

 her head and shoulders, to guard and secure her 

 from their swords. A few of the bees fell into the 

 hive, some upon the ground, but the main body 

 upon the cloth which covered her upper garments. 

 I took the hive out of her liands, wlien she cried 

 out the bees were got under tlie covering, and 



crowding up towards her breast and face, which 

 put her into a trembling posture. When I per- 

 ceived the veil was of no farther service, she gave 

 me leave to remove it : tliis done, a most aflecting 

 spectacle presented itself to the view of all the 

 company, filling me with the deepest distress and 

 concern, as [ thought myself the unhappy instru- 

 ment of drawing her into so imminent hazard of 

 her lilij. Had she enraged them, all resistance 

 had been vain, and nothing less than her lile 

 would have atoned lor the otiisnce. I spared not 

 to use all the arguments I could think of, and using 

 the most aliectionate intreaties ; begging her, with 

 all the earnestness in my power, to stand her 

 ground and keep her present posture ; in order to 

 which I gave her encouragement to hope for a full 

 discharge from her disagreeable companions. 1 

 began to search among them lor the queen, now 

 got in a great body upon her breast, about her 

 neck, and up to her ciiin. I immediately seized 

 her, taking her from among the crowd, with some 

 of the commons in company with her, and put 

 them together into the hive. Here 1 watched her 

 for some time, and, as 1 did not observe that she 

 came out, 1 conceived an expectation of seeing the 

 whole body quickly abandon their settlement ; but 

 instead of thiit, 1 soon observed them gathering 

 closer together, without the least siijnal lor depart- 

 ing. Ujjon this 1 immediately reflected, that ei- 

 ther there must be another sovereign, or that the 

 same was relumed. I directly commenced a se- 

 cond search, and in a short time, with a most 

 agreeable surprise, found a second, or ihe same. 

 She strove by entering liirther into the crowd, to 

 escape me, but I reconducted her with a great 

 number of the populace into the hive. And now 

 the melancholy scene begun to change, to one in- 

 fiiiiiely more agreeable and pleasani. The bees 

 missing their queen, began to dislodge and repair 

 to the hive ; crowding into it in multitudes, and in 

 the greatest hurry imaginal)le ; and in the space 

 of two or three minutes the maid had not one sin- 

 gle bee about her, neither had she so much fis one 

 sting, a small number of which would have quickly 

 stopped her breadth." 



Supposing that the cultivator desires to augment 

 the number of his hives, without awaiting the pe- 

 riod when swarming naturally ensues; or that its 

 operation is checked by the uncertainties of wea- 

 ther, predominant in our climate above all others, 

 he may resort to the expedient of obtaining arii- 

 ficial swarms. Several young queens originate at 

 once in a hive; and the production of two ia 

 sometimes so immediate, that although both can- 

 not survive together, theyco:ne off in the same 

 swarm. As, by M. Shiruch's discovery, bees hav- 

 ing lost the queen can procure ihemsidves anoth- 

 er, providing there be worker's brood in the 

 combs, we can at [deasure rear successive queens 

 simply by removing the fiist. li' a hive is strong 

 enough, iherelcire, it may be divided in two ; one- 

 hall" will reiain the old queen, and the other will 

 not be long of obtaining a young one. Shirach 

 directs, that the appeaance of brood in a hive 

 containing a ([ueen is to be ascertained, which is 

 always about the time that the trees are in blos- 

 som, or a little later in Britain. Three or four 

 pieces of cond), with the brood, are to be cut out 

 of the hive, and placed in a rack-work adapted in 

 another hive in the same position as in that from 

 which they came, and three or four hundred bees 



