1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



371 



bees passing up through them. In the cover of 

 the hive should be formed three grooves, extend- 

 ing from the apertures last mentioned, to with- 

 in about an inch of the back side of the cover, 

 and there intersecting a mortice leading from 

 thence to the back side of the cover. This 

 mortice it will be seen, must be cut in the edge 

 of the board forming the cover, and should be 

 three inches long by half an inch deep; and 

 should be covered on the outside by apiece of fine 

 wire screen, or a piece of niillinet, sufficiently 

 open to admit a free circulation of air through it, 

 but not so open as to admit of flies or other insects 

 to pass in. This mortice and those grooves, in 

 connection with the apertures below, are to serve 

 as a draft through which the heated air in the 

 hive and the perspiration of the bees may es- 

 cape, while at the same time a constant supply of 

 fresh air lrom without is conveyed in through the 

 tubes. 



When a hive of this description is obtained, 

 the bees should be hived into one or more of the 

 small boxes and placed in the hive, or if they are 

 already in a hive of common construction, by 

 turning il bottom side up, and placing one box 

 at a time on the top of it, they can easdy be dri- 

 ven into the boxes and placed in the hive, where 

 they will immediately go to work. Here they 

 will remain perfectly secure, and neither disturb 

 the inmates of the house, or be disturbed by 

 them. 



Some of the benefils to be derived from the 

 management of bees in the manner here recom- 

 mended may be stated as follows, viz: — 1st. By 

 keeping bees in the house, the owner, or bee mas- 

 ter, may exercise absolute control over his proper- 

 ty, and instead of having it wrested from his hands 

 improperly, appropriate it to his own use. 2nd. 

 The bees would be secure from the inclemency of 

 the weather; neither the scorching rays of a 

 summer's sun, or the chilling winter winds, would 

 effect them; they would also be kept both dry and 

 comfortable, and consequently healthy. 3d. They 

 would be secure from destroying insects. The 

 hive should be so perfectly tight within the house, 

 that nothing could molest them: and the tubes be- 

 ing the only entrance from without, it is believed 

 they will be too high arid too much secluded for 

 insects, especially the bee moth, that fell destroy- 

 er of the honey bee, to enter. 4th. They may 

 be carefully examined at all times, to see if an 

 enemy gets among them, and also how they pro- 

 gress in their work. 5th. They will not be sub- 

 ject to losses by swarming, as it is well known 

 that bees will never swarm while they have suffi- 

 cient room for their operations. If, however, 

 they should become too numerous at any time to 

 occupy one hive to advantage, they may be divi- 

 ded in the following manner, viz: prepare ano- 

 ther hive of the same size and construction with 

 the one the bees occupy, place it in the room 

 where it is to stand, then in a stormy day or even- 

 ing, when the bees are all in their hive, take out 

 all the boxes, with all the bees that may be in 

 them, and place them in the new hive, and put 

 the boxes belonging to the new hive into the old 

 one at the same time. This will divide them 

 nearly equal, and if either becomes too numerous 

 again, divide them again in the same manner, (or 

 connect the two hives by a tube, so that the bees 

 can pass from one into the other,) remembering 



always to stop up the tubes of the old hive for 

 one or two days after dividing a swarm, or until 

 the bees in the new hive begin to work well in 

 and out of the tubes of their new habitation; then 

 unstop the tubes and all will work well. 6th. 

 Honey may be taken from them at any time, 

 even in the midst of summer; if the owner wish- 

 es a box of fine white honey, he has but to take 

 a spare box with him, and take out one of the box- 

 es, supplying its place with the spare one; then 

 take the box out of doors and turn it bottom side 

 up, and rap on it until the bees all leave it. The 

 bees will all return to their hive again, while the 

 owner may enjoy in an eminent degree the fruits 

 of their industry. 7th. The owner should be 

 careful to leave honey sufficient in the hive for the 

 use of the bees through the winter, which he may 

 well afford to do, as it is well known that 10 or 12 

 pounds will winter a swarm of common size, even 

 as far north as latitude 42 or 43°. Then in the 

 spring the whole should be taken away, first by 

 clearing the boxes above, and then by cutting the 

 combs from the slats below.* The boxes may 

 be cleared by taking them out of the hive, one at 

 a time, turning it bottom side up and placing an 

 empty box on it, and driving the bees into the 

 empty box, which place in the hive. This may 

 be done in a cool day in the spring without any 

 danger to the one who performs the operation. 

 This is the great desideratum in the art of keep- 

 ing bees, and with hives of this construction you 

 can take from them all the honey they have to 

 spare, and still preserve their valuable lives. 8th. 

 Bees work belter in a hive that is empty, than in 

 one that is full; and by clearing it out wholly once 

 in the year, and partially at other times, they will 

 always have room sufficient for their operations. 

 9ih. Honey is far more delicate and more valua- 

 ble when new than when it has been a long time 

 in the hive; and by this process we may always 

 have new honey. 10th. Bees kept in this man- 

 ner would be much less liable to be robbed by 

 other swarms. Being kept in the house they 

 would be more secluded; other bees would not be 

 so likely to be attracted thither by the smell of 

 honey, and in the course of one or two years, 

 they would become so numerous as to be able to 

 repel any invasion of ordinary swarms. 11th. 

 By keeping the bees in the manner here recom- 

 mended, they can as well be kept in large towns 

 and cities, as in the country, which is not the case 

 when kept in the open air and on or near the 

 ground. 12th. As a matter of profit, it is confi- 

 dently believed that bees kept in this manner, will 

 pay some hundred per cent, more on the capital 

 invested, than any other stock our country will 

 produce; yet instead of producing our own, we 

 import a great quantity of honey every year. 



The only improvement I would suggest on the 

 above plan, is, simply, to lay a small piece of 

 board, say 10 or 12 inches square, in the hive on 

 the bottom, so that if a bee miller gets into the 

 hive she will deposite her eggs under the edges of 

 the board. Then by opening the door and re- 



* If this operation is performed full early, and it 

 should be early before the breeding season commen- 

 ces, otherwise a quantity of eggs or young bees might 

 be destroyed, a little honey should be left in one or 

 more of the boxes, for the use of the bees until the 

 spring flowers open. 



