424- Nutt's Collateral Beehive. 



Art. VI. Remarks on Mr. Niitt's Collateral Beehive. By John 

 WiGHTON, Gardener to Lord Stafford, at Cossey Hall, near Nor- 

 wich. 



I3y the contrivance of the collateral beehive, Mr. Nutt pro- 

 fesses to prevent the bees from swarming; but I have had two 

 of these hives at work for several years, and the bees have 

 always swarmed. The hive consists of three boxes united, and 

 placed on a line with each other ; the centre box having a glass 

 placed on the top. The side boxes are separated from the 

 centre one by tin slides, and each is furnished with a tin tube, 

 intended to regulate the ventilation. The bees are placed in the 

 centre box ; and Mr. Nutt supposed that, instead of issuing from 

 the centre in a swarm, the bees would settle in the side boxes. 

 This, however, is not the case; for I have had them swarming, 

 while both the side boxes were open and empty. He was of 

 opinion that heat and want of room were the causes of swarming ; 

 but I have maintained, in a former article in your pages, that 

 the bees will always swarm, if there be more than one queen bee 

 in the hive. 



Mr. Nutt supposed that the queen would not deposit her 

 eggs in the side boxes, if they were kept cool by ventilation. 

 I have before observed that such ventilation is impracticable, 

 because the bees will always seal up the smallest aperture; and, 

 if it could be effected, it would only cause more bees to remain 

 in the boxes, in order to keep up the warmth, instead of being 

 out at work. I have taken off boxes in July, and some of the 

 cells were full of larvae. I have done the same in October, and 

 found the queen bee in them. Mr. Nutt has failed in what he 

 proposed by this kind of hive, as it does not prevent swarming, 

 nor deter the queen from laying eggs in the side boxes. 



Two reasons may have led apiarians to suppose that the 

 queen would not deposit her eggs in the side boxes. One, that 

 the breeding season is often past before any cells are constructed 

 in them ; and the other, that bees make more combs than they 

 require for breeding. The inside ones may be full of larvae, and 

 those outside full of pure honey ; and this is sure to be the case, 

 if the cells have been made before the end of the breeding 

 season. 



I have never had much honey from this collateral hive, as the 

 bees have been always weakened by swarming; and they seldom 

 filled one of the side boxes in a season. Latterly, I have 

 adopted the old plan, when the bees sent out a swarm, and have 

 placed them in the side boxes, so tliat each box formed a hive 

 by itself. By this means, I have secured more honey. In Oc- 

 tober, I destroy the bees in the side boxes, and keep those in 

 the centre one for the next year's swarming. I am no advocate 



