BEES. 



BEES. 



ter taste rendered beer more agreeable to the 

 palate and less injurious to the constitution 

 than ale. It was consequently manufactured 

 in greater quantities, and soon became the 

 common drink of the lower ranks in England. 

 When malt became high priced, in conse- 

 quence of the heavy taxes laid upon it, and the 

 great increase in the price of barley which 

 took place during the war of the French revo- 

 lution, the brewers found out that a greater 

 quantity of wort of a given strength could be 

 prepared from pale malt than from brown 

 malt. The consequence was, that a consider- 

 able proportion of pale malt was substituted 

 for brown malt in the brewing of porter and 

 beer. The wort, of course, was much paler 

 than before, and it wanted that agreeable bitter 

 flavour which characterized porter, and made 

 it so much relished by most palates. At the 

 same time various substitutes were tried to 

 supply the place of the agreeable bitter com- 

 municated to porter by the use of brown malt ; 

 quassia, cocculus indicus, and we believe even 

 opium, were employed in succession ; but none 

 of them was found to answer the purpose suffi- 

 ciently." The use of the articles other than 

 malt, referred to by Dr. Thomson, has been ex- 

 pressly forbidden under heavy penalties by 

 repeated acts of parliament. In England, the 

 classification of the different sorts of beer ac- 

 cording to their strength, originated in the 

 duties laid upon them ; and now that these du- 

 ties have been repealed, ale and beer may be 

 brewed of any degree of strength. 



The duty on beer being repealed in 1830, 

 there are no later accounts of the quantity 

 brewed. 



The number of barrels of strong beer 

 brewed in Scotland in the five years ending 

 1830, was 597,737; table beer, 1,283,490; 

 amount of duty paid thereon, 393,136/. (Par/. 

 Paper, No. 190, Sess. 1830.) 



No account has been kept of the quantity 

 of beer brewed in Ireland since 1809, when it 

 amounted to 960,300 barrels. (Morewood on In- 

 toxicating Liquors, p. 353.) Perhaps it may 

 now amount to from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 bar- 

 rels. Ale or beer exported to foreign parts is 

 allowed a drawback of 5s. the barrel of 36 

 gallons, Imperial measure. The number of 

 barrels of strong beer annually exported is, 

 from England, about 70,000 barrels ; Ireland, 

 15,000, and Scotland, 3,000. (M'CuIloch's Com. 

 Diet.} 



BEES (Sax. beo, Lat. apies). These indus- 

 trious and useful insects are worthy the atten- 

 tion of all classes, and will repay the utmost 

 care that can be taken in their management. 



No farm or cottage garden is complete with- 

 out a row of these busy little colonies, with 

 their warm, neat straw roofs, and their own 

 particular, fragrant bed of thyme, in which 

 they especially delight. Select a sheltered part 

 of the garden, screened by a wall or hedge 

 from the cutting north and easterly winds ; let 

 them enjoy a southern sun, but do not place 

 ttihn facing his early beams, because bees 

 must never be tempted to quit their hive in 

 the heavy morning dew, which clogs their 

 limbs and impedes their flight. Place them, if 

 possible, near a running stream, as they de- 

 160 



light in plenty of water ; but if none is within 

 their easy reach, place pans of fresh water 

 near the hives, in which mix a little common 

 salt ; and. let bits of stick float on the surface, 

 to enable bees to drink safely, instead of slip- 

 ping down the smooth sides of the vessel, and 

 perish. Never place hives in a roofed stand: 

 it heats them, and induces the bees frequently 

 to form combs outside of their hives instead 

 of swarming. Let the space before the hives 

 be perfectly clear of bushes, trees, and every 

 impediment to their movement, that they may 

 wing their way easily to seek for food, and re- 

 turn without annoyance. Bees, returning 

 heavily laden and wearied, are unable to bear 

 up against any object, should they hit them 

 selves and fall. Let their passage to and from 

 their hives be clear ; but trees and bushes in 

 the vicinity of their residence are advisable, 

 as they present convenient spots for swarms 

 to settle which might otherwise go beyond 

 sight or reach. A swarm seldom goes far 

 from home, unless the garden is unprovided 

 with resting-places, to attract the queen, who 

 takes refuge in the nearest shelter. In the 

 month of November remove your hives upon 

 their stools, into a cool, dry, and shady room, 

 outhouse, or cellar, where they will be protect- 

 ed as well from the winter sun as from the 

 frosts. Warm days in winter often tempt bees 

 to quit their cells, and the chilling air numbs 

 and destroys them. Let them remain thus un- 

 til February or March, should the spring be 

 late and cold. Do not be satisfied with stop- 

 ping the mouth of the hive with clay; the bees 

 will soon make their way through it. Remove 

 them. Bees are very subject to a disease in the 

 spring, similar to dysentery. Before you place 

 the hives in their summer quarters, examine 

 the state of the bees by turning up the hive, 

 and noticing the smell proceeding from it. If 

 the bees are healthy, the odour will be that of 

 heated wax ; but if diseased, it will appear 

 like that of putrefaction. In this case, a small 

 quantity of port wine or brandy mixed with 

 their food will restore them. In the early 

 spring feed them, and do the same when the 

 flowers pass away in autumn, until they 

 are taken into the house ; then disturb them 

 no more. The proper food is beer and sugar, 

 in the proportion of one pound to a quart ; boil 

 it five minutes only. In May, bees begin to 

 swarm, if the weather is warm. New and dry 

 hives must be prepared without any doorway ; 

 the entrance must be cut in the stool. This is 

 recommended by " An Oxford Conservative 

 Bee Keeper." 



Sticks across the inside of the hive are use- 

 less, and very inconvenient. Let the hive be 

 well washed with beer and sugar before you 

 shake the bees into it. After swarming, place 

 it upon a cloth with one side raised upon a 

 stone ; shade it with boughs, and let it alone 

 till quite dusk, then remove it to the stool 

 where it is to stand. The " Oxford Bee Keeper" 

 advises food to be given to a swarm after hiv- 

 ing, for three or four days. Large hives are 

 best: they do not consume more food than 

 small ones ; this is a fact, and the same writer 

 mentions it. Smarts and casts are the second 

 and third swarms from a hive : they seldom 



