•24 AN EASY METHOD OF 



RULE IV. 



ON PREVENTING ROBBERIES. 



At the moment it is observed, that robbers 

 are within, or about the hive, raise the bot- 

 tom board so near the edge of the hive as to 

 prevent the ingress or egress of the bees, and 

 stop the mouth or common entrance and ven- 

 tilator. At the same time take care that a 

 small space on all sides of the hive be left 

 open, so as to afibrd them all the air they 

 need. Open the mouth only at evening, and 

 close early in the morning, before the robbers 

 renew their attack. 



REMARKS. 



Bees have a peculiar propensity to rob each 

 other, and every precaution necessary to pre- 

 vent it, should be exercised by the cultivator. 

 Families in the same apiary are more likely to 

 engage in this unlawful enterprize than any 

 others, probably because they are located so 

 near each other, and are more likely to learn 

 their comparative strength. I never could dis- 

 cover any intimacy between colonies of the 

 same apiary, except when they stood on the 



