34 



BEE 



BEE 



from a hive that can spare it ; and 

 in this way make up the deficiency 

 of ouc hive from the redundancy 

 of another. 



"Thirdly. A small swarm of 

 bees put into a larger hive than 

 they can fill, appear to be discour- 

 aged, and will not be so industrious, 

 as they would be, were they put 

 into a single box, and then anoth- 

 er added when their situation 

 should require it. 



" Bees put into a larger hive 

 than they can fill in the season will 

 not keep warm in the winter ; and 

 should they fall down when the 

 weather is cold, which is often the 

 case, they would be likely to chill 

 and become inactive, and so be 

 unabie to regain the place they 

 left. The comh not extending to 

 the bottom of the hive would not 

 afford them a conductor to re- 

 ase(M)d ; they would be under the 

 necessity of climbing by the sur- 

 face of the hive. It is a fact that 

 a hive of bees thus situated, gener- 

 ally lose double the number of bees 

 during ihe waiter, that a swarm 

 does, whose comb affords them a 

 conductor to re-ascend when they 

 meet with this misfortune. Be- 

 sides the bees have further to trav- 

 el after entering ihe hive to reach 

 the repository of their treasures, 

 for they carefidly avoid thai con- 

 fusion, which flying would create 

 in the hive. Neither can the bees 

 •work to so good advantage in a 

 large hive, as they can in one that 

 is smaller. I find from several 

 years inspecting them through glass 

 windows, and the hole at the top of 

 the upper box, that they always 

 keep in the hive bees enough to 



cover the surface of their work, in 

 order to keep their wax warm 

 enough to mould it into their sex- 

 angular cells ; besides a number of 

 bees are generally employed as a 

 chain for the others to ascend and 

 descend. In a large hive, the sur- 

 face of their work is more exten- 

 sive than it could be in a small 

 one. The consequence is, more 

 bees must be kept at home, and a 

 less number spared to collect the 

 sweet vegetable juice, or other 

 necessary materials to enrich and 

 adorn their hive. Neither can the 

 bees so effectually defend them- 

 selves against the attacks of law- 

 less invaders, when their residence 

 is so remote from the entrance of 

 their camp. 



"Fourthly. Honey deposited in 

 boxes is not so liable to melt, waste, 

 and destroy the lives of no incon- 

 siderable proportionof the bees, as 

 that which is laid up in large hives. 

 The comb in large hives is sus- 

 pended from the top, and forms a 

 contact by the sides, and does not 

 rest on the bottom, even when the 

 bees have filled the hive as full as 

 they ever do. They leave room 

 to pass under the comb. Long and 

 wide pieces of comb filled with 

 honey, supporting many bees, sus- 

 pended when the weather is warm, 

 laecome tender, separate and fall. 

 The position of the comb being 

 changed, the honey attenuated 

 by heat, the sexangular cells dis- 

 charge the sweet glutinous liquor, 

 and the bees chained in the rich 

 melliferous flood are borne away 

 in death by the materials they col- 

 lected to preserve life. Whereas, 

 honey deposited in boxes seems 



