m 



FARMEnS' REGISTER— MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



rest. The wliole contents are exposed to view, the 

 queen is easily (bund, and whatever should be re- 

 moved or altered, can be selected with great con- 

 venience. The inventor conceives that the book 

 hive has the property of rendering the bees more 

 tractable ; for on opening any of the divisions, the 

 bees rather testily fear than anger, by retiring 

 into the cells as if to conceal tliemselves. This he 

 ascribes to the effect which tlie sudden introduc- 

 tion of light has on them; for tlicy are less tracta- 

 ble after sunset, and during night, than through 

 the day. The divisions must be separated slowly, 

 and care observed to avoid wounding the bees.]* 



My hive is in two separate parts, (see (ig. 1) the 

 body of the hive, (A) and the li(l or cover (B.) 

 The body of the hive is made of rolls of straw, 

 each from nine to ten lines thick, wound spirally, 

 and fastened at every inch witli a Hat band, inclin- 

 ing from left to right, or from right to left, as best 

 suits the hand of the workman. t The diameter, 

 which is one foot clear on tlie inside, should be 

 uniform in the whole height ; and the height of the 

 hives should vary, that we may have them to suit 

 the size of the swarms, and the more or less ad- 

 vanced state of the season. For this purpose we 

 should have hives of the different heights of 13, 14, 

 and 15 inches. At the top and bottom of the hive 

 there should be an exterior roll (C C) made of 

 straw, to give firmness to the seat of the hive upon 

 the stand, and to serve to fix one hive upon another, 

 when necessary, as we shall mention hereafter. At 

 the top of the hive, even, and on a level with the 

 uppermost roll, there is placed a board (D D) 

 Tiiade of light wood, of an octagonal shape, that 

 there may be openings half an inch wide left be- 

 tween the inside of the hive, and the sides of the 

 octagon. 



In the middle of this board there must be a hole, 

 an inch in diameter, to allow the passage of smoke 

 when it is necessary to smoke the bees. The general 

 appearance may be seen in the jilate fig. 1, which 

 represents the hive with the top in front. Under 

 this board a flat stick passes through the hive, pro- 

 jecting from 15 to 18 lines (E F) beyond its sides ; 

 by this the hive is raised with the two hands, and 

 it serves, besides, to fasten on the lid which has 

 also a projecting stick corresponding with that of 

 the hive, as is seen in the fig. 1. At the bottom 

 of the hive is an aperture two inches wide and six 

 lines high, to allow the bees to pass out and in. 



The two first rolls of the lid, (B) making about 

 two inches, have the same diameter as the hive ; 

 the third roll is drawn in a little, as are the suc- 

 ceeding ones, making it convex in its elevation, 

 which should not exceed four, or at the most six 

 inches. At the top is left an opening of 15 or 18 

 lines in diameter, to receive the handle, (F) one 

 foot long, tapering gradually in its visible height, 

 which is only 10 inches, the rest being confined in 

 the straw of the lid, by a pin 5 or 6 lines thick. 



To keep the handle in its place, and prevent its 

 being driven down by the weight of the outside 



- *The foregoing description of the book hive, has 

 been taken from the Edinburgh Encyclop.-edia, it being 

 considered preferable to the account and figure given by 

 the l^'^ellch author. — [Tr. 



f A French Hne is the twelfth part of an inch, as an 

 inch is the twelfth part of a foot ; but the French foot 

 is rather more than si.x-tcntha of an inch longer than 

 ours. — [Tr. 



covering, (of which we shall speak presently,) 

 anothei- pin is fixed which rests upon the lid, and 

 is at right angles with the former. 



The bottom of the lid, at about 8 lines from the 

 edge, is crossed by a flat projecting stick, the use 

 of which has been already intimated. We have 

 said that the lids should not exceed six inches in 

 height; but it is necessary to have them of differ- 

 ent heights, between 4 and G inches, to suit the 

 swarms and the seasons, as Avas observed when 

 speaking of the hives. Finally, there should be 

 placed in the interior of the hive two sticks, the 

 one about lliree or four inches below the other ; 

 they should be ciossed, that they may the better 

 support the cond)S of honey and wax ; and one end 

 of each should project a little beyond the outside of 

 the hive, tliat they may be pulled out with pincers 

 when we wish to rob the hive. 



All the hives and the bottoms of all the lids ought 

 to have exactly the same diameter, of one foot 

 clear, Avithin, that one hive may, occasionally, be 

 put u})on another, and the lids indifferently upon 

 any of the hives. 



To preserve this invariable diameter, a frame is 

 necessary, Avhich any turner can make by the fol- 

 loAving directions: 



A piece of plank (Avalnutis preferable) of about 

 2 inches thick and 14 inches in diameter, should 

 be turned on the lallie and reduced to the diameter 

 of 13 inches and 8 lines, (fig. 3.) It should then 

 be hoUoAved out an inch deep, leaving at tlie cir- 

 cumference an edge or rim 10 lines Avide, Avhich 

 Avill leave the diameter of the holloAved part just a 

 foot. 



A moulding should then be put both on the in- 

 ner and outer circumference of the rim ;* for Avant 

 of this moulding there must be forty-tAvo equal 

 spaces marked, [on the outer circumference of the 

 frame] Avhich Avill give rather more than an inch 

 betAveen each mark; at the mark dividing each 

 space, a hole should be bored [horizontally through 

 the rim] Avith a small gimblet; and as the stick 

 Avliich Avill be used to make the first round (of 

 straw) upon the frame will be flat, we must pass 

 through each hole a small flat piece of red-hot iron, 

 about 2 or 3 lines Avide. 



On the rim of 10 lines, there must be made 42 

 grooves, 2 lines Avide and of the same depth, at 

 equidistant intervals ; these grooves upon the rim 

 should be made between every tAvo holes. The 

 frame is noAv ready to guide us in beginning the 

 hives as Avill be presently directed. 



The hives should be made of rye straw, as the 

 most flexible, the heads should be cut off Avith a 

 knife, and it should be beaten to render it more 

 supple ; it is never moistened. 



We may make use of any sort of flexible Avood 

 to tie the straAV, — as some species of bramble, 

 split osier, &c. These should be steeped in Avater 

 for twenty four hours before they are used. 



The hive is begun on the rim of the frame, tying 

 but little straAV at first, and increasing it succes- 

 sively at each av rapping of the band until the seventh 

 or eighth, at Avhich it should have attained the full 

 size of the roll. The Avithe or band, ought to enter 

 the holes on the inner circumference of the frame. 



* Nothing farther is said of the form or use of the 

 moulding, and the sentence is continued as above, in 

 the original. The Avords in brackets in this description 

 are added by the translator. 



