BEES. 



storms, and early frosts, the whole colony con- 

 sisted, originally, of thirty-two hundred bees, 

 which, in eight weeks, or thereabouts, collect- 

 ed the wax, constructed the cells, and made 

 over one hundred pounds of honey, in a gar- 

 den on Pemberton's Hill, nearly in the centre 

 of Boston ! It should be remarked, that a bee 

 answering the general description of the queen, 

 as it relates to external appearance, was found 

 in a cluster of dead ones. Not a drone was 

 discovered, nor a young bee in any stage of 

 ini'ancy." 



It is probable that bees can preserve their 

 vitality in ordinary hives exposed to the most 

 intense cold, so long as they remain in the torpid 

 condition in which they are prepared for the 

 worst. But when roused from this condition 

 by the occurrence of a premature warm spell, 

 they are then rendered sensitive to the effects 

 of cold, and when this comes upon them sud- 

 denly and with severity, they perish under it. 

 The great object therefore appears to be, to 

 place the swarms during winter in some dry 

 situation where they may be kept at a cool and 

 equable temperature. A good dry and cool 

 cellar must answer all the purposes admira- 

 bly, and from such a situation it is easy to 

 remove them occasionally, in good mild wea- 

 ther, and give them an airing. 



LiHhton, who adopts the views of Howison 

 and HuNh, says that the (it-*f maferiul and form 

 for hives is a straw thimble, or flower-pot, 

 placed in an inverted position. Hives made 

 of straw, as now in use, have a great advan- 

 tage over those made of wood and other mate- 

 nal>, from the effectual defence they afford 

 against the extremes of heat in summer and 

 cold in winter. A full-sized straw hive will 

 hold three pecks ; a small-sized, from one and 

 a half to two pecks. (Encyc. of Agric.) 



The feeding <>f bets is generally deferred till 

 winter or spring; but this is a most erroneous 

 practice: hives should be examined in the 

 course of the month of September, or about 

 the time of killing the drones; and if a large 

 hive does not weigh th'irty pounds, it will be 

 necessary to allow it half a pound of honey, 

 or the same quantity of soft sugar made into 

 syrup, for every pound that is deficient of that 

 weight; and in like proportion to smaller hives. 

 This work must not be delayed, that time may 

 be given for the bees to make the deposit in 

 their empty cells before they are rendered tor- 

 pid by the cold. Sugar simply dissolved in 

 water (which is a common practice), and su- 

 gar boiled in water into a syrup, form com- 

 pounds very differently suited for the winter 

 store of bees. When the former is wanted for 

 their immediate nourishment, as in spring, it 

 will answer equally as a syrup ; but if to be 

 laid up as a store, the heat of the hive quickly 

 evaporating the water, leaves the sugar in dry 

 crystals, not to be acted upon by the trunks 

 of the bees. Hives may be killed with hunger 

 while some pounds' weight of sugar remain 

 in this state in their cells. The boiling of su- 

 gar into syrup forms a closer combination with 

 the water, by which it is prevented from flying 

 off, and a consistence resembling that of honey 

 retained. Howison has had frequent experi- 

 ence of hives, not containing a pound of honey, 



BEES. 



preserved in perfect health through the winter 

 with sugar so prepared, when given in proper 

 time and in sufficient quantity. 



In the article from Loudon, from which we 

 are now quoting, it is recommended to protect 

 hives from cold, by covering them with straw 

 or rushes, about the end of September, or 

 later, according to the climate and season. 

 This perhaps only applies to board hives, as 

 those made of thick rye-straw or rushes will 

 do without additional covering. Well protect- 

 ed hives always prosper better the following 

 season than such as have not been covered. 

 In October, the aperture at which the bees 

 enter should generally be narrowed, so that 

 only one bee may pass at a time. Indeed, as 

 a very small portion of air is necessary for 

 bees in their torpid state, it were better during 

 severe frosts to be entirely shut up, as num- 

 bers of them are often lost from being enticed 

 to quit the hive by the sunshine of a winter 

 day. It will, however, be proper at times to 

 remove, by a crooked wire or similar instru- 

 ment, the dead bees and other filth, which the 

 living at this season are unable to perform of 

 themselves. To hives whose stock of honey 

 was sufficient for their maintenance, or those 

 to which a proper quantity of sugar had been 

 given for that purpose, no further attention 

 will be necessary until the breeding season 

 arrives. This, in warm situations, generally 

 takes place about the beginning of May ; and 

 in cold, about a month after. The young bees, 

 for a short time previous to their leaving their 

 cells, and some after, require being fed with 

 the same regularity that young birds are by 

 their parents ; and if the store in the hive be 

 exhausted, and the weather such as not to ad- 

 mit of the working bees going abroad to col- 

 lect food in sufficient quantity for themselves 

 and their brood, the powerful principle of 

 affection for their young compels them to part 

 with what is not enough for their support, at 

 the expense of their own lives. To prevent 

 such accidents, it is advisable, if during the 

 breeding season it rain for two successive 

 days, to feed all the bees indiscriminately, as 

 it would be difficult to ascertain those only 

 which require it. 



The swarming of bees generally commences 

 in June, in some seasons earlier, and in cold 

 climates or seasons later. The first swarming 

 is so long preceded by the appearance of 

 drones, and hanging out of working bees, that 

 if the time of their leaving the hive is not ob- 

 served, it must be owing to want of care. The 

 signs of the second are, however, more equi- 

 vocal, the most certain being that of the qneen, 

 a day or two before swarming, at intervals of 

 a few minutes, giving out a sound a good deal 

 resembling that of a cricket. It frequently 

 happens that the swarm will leave the old 

 hive, and return again several times, which i 

 always owing to the queen not having accom- 

 panied them, or from having dropped on the 

 ground, being too young to fly to a disi ice. 

 Gooseberry, currant, or other low bushes, 

 should be planted at a short distance from the 

 hives, for the bees to swarm upon, otherwise 

 they are apt to fly away; by attending to this, 

 Howison has not lost a swarm by straying fci 



163 



