7-2 



FARMERS' REGISTER-MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



because, then, the bees havinp^ gone Uirough tlic 

 bad season, will have but little danger to incur. 



They wlio would buy hives in this month sliould 

 ascertain, first, that the bees are of the small kind, 

 and the hives of good weight ; secondly, they should 

 examine the interior of the hives ; if the combs are 

 white or yellow, and have a good odour, they may 

 be safely purchased. . , ■. r.n 



4 As the cold, which now begins to be lelt, 

 makes the bees rise among the combs, to seek a 

 milder temperature, there must be put at the en- 

 trance of each hive a grating, which, without de- 

 privino- the bees of necessary air, may prevent tlie 

 access of their foreign enemies. These gm/(«g.s 

 are little nieces of board pierced with small holes, 

 and having an entrance for the bees, two inches 

 long and four lines high. They are iastened with 

 a luting, and should be kept so all the winter, ex- 

 cept when there is a thaw of snow, during which 

 the bees should be closely confmed, Avithout, how- 

 ever, depriving them of air. ^ ^ , , ,, 



5 Between the 10th and 20th of October, the 

 bees that have been carried out to feeding grounds 

 at the end of July, (No. 40) should be brought 

 back. This may be done in the same way as they 

 were carried, except that there v.ill be now no ne- 

 cessity for travelling by night. , , , ^ ^. 



6. In replacing the hives brought back from the 

 feedino- o-rounds,'those should be marked which are 

 iudi'-etfby their weight to be in a fit state for being 

 robbed. This may be done on any fine clear morn- 

 ing, by taking off the lids that are full, in the 

 manner afterwards described. 



7. The outside coatings should be put in good 

 order to prevent the autumn rains from wetting 

 the hives or lids ; and if the rain has jienetratcd to 

 them before the coverings are repaired, they should 

 be exposed to the sun on the first bright day, that 

 they may be dried. 



Novemher. 



8 When bees are to be removed to any distance, 

 a cloth should be spread upon the ground near the 

 hive; the hive is then to be put upon the cloth, 

 which is drawn up over it and securely tied, so 

 that the bees cannot escape. In this state they arc 

 transported by water, where it is practicable; or 

 they may be carried by land on hand-barrows, or 

 suspended to a stick borne by two men, or they 

 may be carried on the shoulders m a scuttle. 1 liey 

 are carried also in panniers, on asses or horses.— 

 Finally if a number of hives are to be transported 

 to a considerable distance, a large wagon may be 

 employed. The body of this should be filled with 

 trampled straw or coarse litter, which should be 

 moistened to render it less slippery, and prevent 

 the jostling of the hives on the road. 1 he hives 

 should be placed on the straw in their natural po- 

 sition, and confined by small ropes and wisps of 

 straw to prevent the jolts from striking the hives 

 against each other, or against the sides of the 

 wao-on. Additional hives may be attached to the 

 body of the wagon on the outside, so as to be kept 

 steady; the whole should be secured from the rain, 

 and driven with care. On reaching their destina- 

 tion they should be set down in the apiary ; halt 

 an hour afterwards the cloths may be taken off, 

 and if the bees are quiet they may be put upon 

 the stands without luting the hives, but the grat- 

 ings should be attached. The proper time lor 



making these arrangements, is in the cool of the 

 morning. , ■ , ;,. , 



9. In cool weather, when the bees have retired 

 between the combs, the hives are examined to 

 ascertain their condition and weight,— and the 

 stands are cleansed. For this last purpose, at the 

 extremity of each row of hives there is a movea- 

 ble stand on which the first hive is placed; then, 

 with a handful of straw or hay, the first stand is 

 cleansed and the second hive is set upon it, and so 

 on in succession. When the row is finished the 

 hives are restored to their first situations, taking 

 care to mark those that are light, that the bees 

 may be led. 



10. In a broad and shallow vessel, such as a 

 plate, put two or three pounds of sirop, and let it 

 be covered with bits of straw to prevent the wmgs 

 and bodies of the bees from being smeared when 

 taking their food. The vessel should be put within 

 the hi^e, and this sirop with what the bees have 

 still remaining, will be sufficient for their support 

 till the end of February. If the edifices of the 

 bees come down close to the stand, their food 

 should be placed upon the board at the top of the 

 hive and covered with the lid, after taking out the 

 stick which passes through it. , , , 



11. Few insects are as sensible of cold as bees ; 

 if placed singly in a temperate atmosphere, they 

 v/ould all perish ; but when collected in a good hive, 

 they support a great degree of cold : it is even af- 

 firmed that severe winters are better for them, and 

 more profitable to their owners than mild winters. 

 The bees have little activity, and consume but 

 little in cold winters; whereas, in mild ones, 

 they consume a great deal, and the hive, continu- 

 ally fiiU of the vapours which exhale from the mul- 

 titude which occupies it, would become a damp 

 habitation, full of mouldiness, unhealthy and fatal, 

 if the vapours could not escape and fresh supplies 

 of air be introduced. To effect these objects, the 

 hives should be neither closely fitted nor luted to 

 the stands; and they will pass securely through 

 the winter, if well muffled with outside coverings 

 of straw sufficient to shelter both them and their 

 stands from the sun, the rain and the snow ; putj 

 on, however,- in such a manner as to leave the en-* 

 trance of the gratings free, and with a good hoouj 

 as mentioned before, to protect the straw from tli" 

 action of the wind. 



December, January, February. 

 12. In very cold weather the hives should nc 

 be moved nor even touched, because the bees] 

 which would fall upon the stand, being unable tol 

 o-o up again into the combs, would perish. 

 " 13. During great thaws the vapours which have 

 been exhaled, and which continue to rise from the 

 numbers which inhabit the hive, cause so great a, 

 humidity that the water runs down in the interior 

 alon"- the sides of the lids and hives, so that the; 

 inner circumference of the stand is covered by it,: 

 while the centre, where the bees stay, near the 

 e'>-<'s and young, is preserved from this species ot 

 inundation by means of the board at top. If this 

 water should remain for some time on the stands, 

 the ends of the combs would become mouldy and 

 oive the interior of the hive a disagreeable and 

 imhealthy smell. This should be prevented by, 

 cleansing and drying the hives as directed m No. 9., 

 11. When the snow is melting in a clear and 

 tolerably warm day, which commonly happens m 





