32 



BEE 



BEE 



I first fumigate them, and they are 

 immediately transformed into 

 peaceful subjects, and my recep- 

 tion is friendly. But to return to 

 the process of collecting their 

 tribute. 



" I have already observed that 

 the bees are confined in the hive. 

 Supposing the hive to consist of 

 three boxes, and I wish to avail 

 myself of the honey in the middle 

 box. I approach them with four 

 sheets of tin, on sliders made of a 

 board one eighth of an inch thick, 

 twelve inches wide, and eighteen 

 inches long — made sharp at one 

 end, and the other secured by a 

 narrow piece of board to prevent 

 its warping and as a handle to the 

 slide. I raise the upper box in front 

 a little, and insert one of the slides, 

 which cuts off all communication 

 between the two upper boxes ; 

 then insert another slide directly 

 under the first. This being done, 

 take the top box off, lifting it by 

 the upper slide, which will prevent 

 the bees escaping out of the top 

 box, and the other slide remaining 

 on the top of the second will con- 

 fine them in the other boxes. I 

 then insert two more slides between 

 the two remaining boxes, in the 

 same manner, and the hive is pre- 

 pared to be separated into three 

 parts. I then raise the middle box 

 by lifting it by the slide immediate- 

 ly under it, carry it a little dis- 

 tance from the others, place it on a 

 little carriage made with four low 

 wheels, or trundles, simply con- 

 necting the two axles by the two 

 side pieces, of such dimensions as 

 to receive the box and confine it, 

 when the carriage is in motion. 



Then put the two remaining boxea 

 together, insert an empty one in 

 the middle or on the top ; remove 

 the slides, let the boxes come in 

 contact ; open the doors and give 

 them their liberty. Remove the 

 slides from the box on the carriage, 

 stand at a distance and draw it by 

 a cord ; and the gentle motion will 

 not break the comb, but will cause 

 the bees to come out and return to 

 the hive, for the}' will not long 

 pursue the box that is continually 

 receding from them. In this way, 

 I have taken a box of honey in the 

 middle of the day without injury, 

 when the bees are the most ac- 

 tive, and most susceptible of re- 

 sentment. The process of remov- 

 ing the top or bottom box, requires 

 but two slides, and is much more 

 simple, and does not render it ne- 

 cessary to cut off the communica- 

 tion between the two remaining 

 boxes. 



" In putting in the slides, the 

 boxes must not be raised so high 

 as to have the bees escape ; and 

 in selecting a box, if the one that 

 contains the monarch of the king- 

 dom be taken, the bees will not so 

 willingly relinquish their habita- 

 tion, unless she take her departure 

 from it. They will appear to be un- 

 willing to leave her without some 

 attendants. Experience has con- 

 vinced me of this. I removed a 

 box last July, from the hive which 

 was filled with the choicest honey ; 

 but on removing the honey from 

 the box, I found at one corner of 

 it about forty or fifty bees collected 

 ed together, and they appeared 

 unwilling to separate, yet as harm- 

 less as though they possessed no 



