TAKING HONEY. 171 



stupifying quality of the puff balls, which how- 

 ever, he says, is in a great measure lost if the 

 balls be kept more than a year. The operation 

 may be afterwards finished in the usual way. 



Where straw hives are used, or where boxes 

 are surmounted by them, a very simple method of 

 taking the honey, without destroying the bees, 

 was adopted by J. F. M. DOVASTON, ESQ. a Salo- 

 pian gentleman. I will suppose that he took off 

 the hive with a middle board and divider under- 

 neath it ; he then inverted it upon a kettle of hot 

 water, fitted to receive the hive without any part 

 sinking into the water ; the whole being surmounted 

 by an empty box, and the divider withdrawn : in 

 ten minutes the heat so annoyed the bees, that 

 they were heard marching, mag no cum fremitu, 

 into the empty hive. In a few minutes, when all 

 was quiet, the divider bejng introduced again, the 

 hive was replaced by the box containing the bees. 

 Mr. D. found that on this plan not a single bee 

 remained among the combs. I see no good reason 

 why a similar practice should not be adopted with 

 boxes or Moreton-hives ; in this case the water in 

 the kettle should be heated gradually by a chaff- 

 ing-dish, and the box or hive should have a per- 

 forated divider under it, like that for uniting 

 stocks : the empty box had better communicate 

 with the open air, lest the heat of the steam 

 i 2 



