ADVICE TO THE YOUNG APIARIAN. 259 



pulousness of the hive, and the purchaser may then 

 confidently look forward to the possession of the 

 usual swarms. 



If, on the other hand, the examination take 

 place in the autumn, the previous massacre of the 

 drones must be ascertained ; the omission of this 

 act, on the part of the bees, is a certain sign of 

 some radical defect, most probably on the part of 

 the queen, and the prospect of the bees surviving the 

 winter becomes thereby highly problematical. If 

 the bees appear irascible and bold in their attacks 

 on their enemies, particularly the wasp, it is a good 

 sign of their condition ; if on their return from the 

 fields their bodies appear cylindrical, it is a certain 

 proof that the bees are busy in the collection of 

 honey, and consequently a good estimate may be 

 formed of the interior richness of the hive. In re- 

 gard to the exterior of the hive, on no account 

 select one which is old and decayed, as such hives 

 are always infested with vermin. No prudent Apia- 

 rian will ever put a swarm into an old hive, and in this 

 respect it must be admitted, that in a great degree 

 the most culpable carelessness exists, on the part of 

 the cottagers, who, perhaps, from a principle of 

 false economy, put their swarms into old and rotten 

 hives, rather than be at the expence of purchasing 

 new ones. A new hive to every swarm ought to be 

 the leading principle of every keeper of bees, and it 

 is to the want of due attention to this point, that 

 so many failures occur in the management of an 

 apiary. 



f ' The examination of the interior of the hive is at- 

 tended with greater difficulty to the young Apiarian, 



