THE APIAET.] 



THE BEE AND THE APIAEY. 



[situation, etc. 



eye 



d at his disposal, and can choose what 

 combs besb suit bis purpose, both as to 

 quantity and quality ; taking care, however, to 

 do 80 only at such periods as will leave the 

 bees time to replenish the vacancy before the 

 termination of the summer season. It is also 

 well adapted for artificial swarming. By 

 separating the hive into two halves, the honey, 

 brood-combs, and bees, will, generally speak- 

 ing, be equally divided; and by supplying 

 each half with four empty frames, we shall 

 have two hives (one half empty), equal in 

 number of bees, of brood, and even of stores. 

 One of the new hives will possess the queen ; 

 and if the operation has been performed at 

 the proper time — that is to say, a week or ten 

 days before the period of natural swarming — 

 the probability is, there will be royal brood 

 coming forward in the other ; at all events, 

 there will be plenty of eggs and larvse of the 

 proper age for forming an artificial queen." 

 For descriptions and diagrams of other hives, 

 we must refer the reader to more extended 

 treatises on this part of our subject, and also 

 to the bee volume of the Naturalisf s Library. 



SITUATION OF THE APIARY. 



The " house of bees" should face the south, 

 with perhaps a slight turn towards the east, 

 and should be protected from the north and 

 prevailing winds. It should not be placed at 

 too great a distance from the dwelling, lest its 

 inhabitants become wary of man ; nor should 

 it be too near, lest they feel themselves dis- 

 turbed by him. Its entrance should be 

 crossed by no paths, nor should the homeward 

 flight of the laden bees be intercepted by 

 bushes or high trees. A quiet, retired spot, 

 in low ground, is better than an elevated 

 situation. Dr. Bevan says — " Excepting in 

 peculiarly sheltered nooks, an apiary w'ould 

 not be well situated near a great river, nor in 

 the neighbourhood of the sea, as, in windy 

 weather, the bees would be in danger of 

 drowning from being blown into the water. 

 . . . . Yet it should not be far from a 

 rivulet or spring : such streams as glide gently 

 over pebbles are the most desirable, as tliese 

 afford a variety of resting-places for the bees 

 to light upon. . . . AVater is most im- 

 portuut to them, particularly in the early part 

 of the season. Let shallow troughs, therefore 

 1002 ' 



never be neglected to be set near the hives, if 

 no natural stream is at hand." In the Isle of 

 Wio"ht, the people have a notion that every 

 bee goes down to the sea to drink twice a 

 day; and they are often seen to imbibe of the 

 farm-yard pool, although clearer water may be 

 near. It is thence supposed that a small 

 piece of rock-salt might be of service to these 

 winged insects, on the same principle that it 

 acts favourably upon the bovine stock of the 

 grazier, 



THE DESTRUCTION OF BEES. 



In order to obtain possession of the hoarded 

 treasures of the bee, it was long deemed neces- 

 sary to destroy it. The following simple 

 method, however, has been adopted, as it ia 

 described by a writer in the latest edition of 

 the Encydopcedia JBritannica : — "Uncover the 

 hole in the upper centre of a flat-lopped straw 

 hive or box, and place a glass vessel over it in 

 such a way that no bee can get either in or 

 out, except by the ordinary opening of the 

 lower hive. The glass hive must be covered 

 with an empty hive, or with a cloth, that too 

 much light may not prevent the bees from 

 working. As soon as they have filled the 

 straw hive or box, they will begin to work up 

 into the glass hive." Mr. Thorley made the 

 addition of a glass window to his hives, that 

 he might witness the progress which his bees 

 made ; and which was of some consequence, 

 particularly if one hive was to be taken away 

 before the season was over for their collect- 

 ing honey ; for when the combs are filled 

 with honey, the cells are sealed up, when the 

 bees forsake them, and live mostly in the hive 

 where their operations are carried on. 



Eor the purpose of uniting swarms, and 

 also for artificial swarming, chloroform has 

 been applied with success. It is also used for 

 the purpose of taking the honey from the 

 hive. A quarter of an ounce, placed in a 

 saucer, covered with a perforated card, or with 

 wire gauze, should be placed on the board of 

 the hive, and all apertures carefully closed. 

 In about half a minute the bees will have 

 fallen completely under its influence; and, on 

 the admission of air, after fifteen or twenty 

 minutes have elapsed, they will be restored to 

 their functions, and the capacity of using 

 their wings. 



