No. 12. 



Jones' Multiplying and Equalising Bee-hive. 



369 



Jones' Multiplying and Equalising Bee- 

 Hive. 



To the Editors of the Cabinet. — In- 

 creased attention has, within a tew years, 

 been given to the raising of bees — by some 

 as a source of pleasure and amusement, and 

 by others as one of profit; and among them 

 all, there has existed a variety of opinions 

 in relation to the manner of treatment that 

 would be the most successful, and as a natu- 

 ral result, many different kinds of hives have 

 been constructed, some of which seem to 

 have the recommendation of a correct the- 

 ory. 



In the construction of a bee-hive, the ob- 

 jects which seem to the writer most desira- 

 ble to be gained, are simplicity and economy 

 of construction, in such a manner as to save 

 the time, trouble, and labour, of watching 

 and hiving bees; afford the best protection 

 against the intrusion of the moth or miller; 

 save the increase of the bees; keep the 

 swarms equal; make them most secure 

 against robbing; change the comb before it 

 gets to be so old as to injure the health of 

 the bees; save all the labour of the bees 

 during the working season — which is but 

 short — and have an opportunity to take 

 away at pleasure, a portion of the best ho 

 ney, without any injury whatever to the 

 swarm. 



Jones' "Multiplying and Equalising Bee- 

 hive," enjoys a pre-eminence over all others 

 — from its construction — to accomplish the 

 above-named objects. It is simple, and may 

 be made either plain or ornamental. It has 

 two equal parts, which when joined, make 

 the whole size of the hive 21. inches, from 

 the top to the bottom ; 19 inches in brendth, 

 and 10-£ in depth. It divides perpendicu- 

 larly in the middle, and the bottom of 

 each part, may be so graduated as to make 

 the aperture for entrance large or small, 

 as necessity may require, and in the upper 

 part, about six inches perpendicular, are par- 

 titioned off, so as to make room lor the boxes 

 or drawers, in which the bees deposit the 

 best honey, which may be taken out when 

 they are full, and others supplied. Its ad- 

 vantages and the manner of treatment, I 

 cannot now give in detail, and therefore 

 must be brief. 



When a fulness occurs, or the bees show 

 indications of swarming, the hive is to be 

 taken in the evening, when the bees are all 

 at home, and divided, and an empty half 

 added to each full half, when the bees will 

 immediately commence working to till the 

 empty half; and you have, in fact, accom- 

 plished all that was necessary in swarming, 

 as you have two swarms which are nearly 



equal in size, and with comparatively a very 

 small amount of labour. The increase is 

 made sure, and the swarms equalised, and 

 they will be much more profitable to the 

 owner than when they swarm, and are hived 

 in the old fashioned way. It affords greater 

 protection against the moth than any other 

 kind of hive, and lor this reason, when a 

 swarm leaves the old hive, they always take 

 more than half the quantity of bees, and 

 frequently swarm again in three to ten days, 

 when the quantity of bees in the hive be- 

 comes still further reduced, and the comb 

 unprotected; then the miller enters and de- 

 posits its egffs, which soon hatch into moths, 

 and destroy the swarm, and no construction of 

 a hive can prevent their entering: the only 

 protection is to have the comb well covered 

 with bees — all apiarians agree that a strong 

 swarm is not liable to danger from the in- 

 trusion of the moth — which Jones' hive ef- 

 fectually secures — as the same bees and the 

 same quantity, occupy the same comb alter 

 division that they did before, so that no part 

 is left uncovered. The bottom may be closed 

 during the robbing season, so as to leave the 

 aperture so small that but two or three bees 

 can pass in and out at a time; which aper- 

 ture they can easily protect. By the proce s 

 of division, one portion of the comb is al- 

 ways new, and when one part gets to be 

 three years old, take the hive as late as the 

 20th of July, divide as for swarming, and 

 add an empty half to the new part, lay the 

 half containing the old comb near by, and 

 rap on it until the bees leave and return to 

 the hive, which they will readily do, if the 

 comb be old. 



It not unfrequently occurs that swarms in 

 the old fashioned hives, hang upon the out- 

 side of the hive some days before swarming, 

 and sometimes they hang out for weeks, and 

 sometimes for the whole season, without 

 swarming. By the division of Jones' hive, 

 a vacancy is made, and they immediately 

 commence work to fill it, and thus save the 

 labour during the best part of the season, 

 which is so frequently lost. The boxes or 

 drawers at the top, are made so as to hold 

 about eight pounds of honey, and may be 

 removed when they are full, or sooner if 

 desirable. Y. 



To propagate a choice kind of potatoe 

 from a single bulb, it is but to plant it in a 

 moderate hot-bed, and strip oft' the shoots as 

 they appear, placing each in a single pot 

 for a season, and then plant the whole 

 abroad ; more than sixty large plants pro- 

 ducing a full crop, have been thus raised 

 from a single bulb, in one season. 



