344 



SCIENCE OF GARDENING. 



Part II. 





^ 



facilitated by having some vacant boards ready 

 to supply the place of the full ones. This oper- 

 ation is very easily and speedily performed ; it 

 has the advantage of not disturbing the middle 

 combs, and I have often deprived these hives of 

 their honey without the loss of a single bee, ex- 

 cepting those few who left their stings in various 

 parts of my dress. Two very considerable ad- 

 vantages arise from the use of this hive : in the 

 first place, there is never any occasion to make 

 an addition to the hive at the bottom, when the 

 bees, by lying out in clusters, declare that they 

 stand in need of room ; for the operation of de- 

 priving them of a part of their combs from the 

 top, will give them the room which they require, 

 and which they will soon replenish with honey. 

 In the common hive it is customary, in this pre- 

 dicament, to place, what is called in Scotland an 



eek, which consists of from four to six bands of the same diameter as the hive ; but, on taking away this eek 

 in the autumn, I have seen the most injurious consequences result to the hive. It is, in general, performed 

 by cutting the combs with a wire between the hive and the eek, and then, whilst one person lifts up the hive 

 another draws the eek away : the hive then rests on the stool. Few persons, however, consider that, as 

 the combs are cut parallel with the bottom of the hive, they will all touch the stool on which it stands, and 

 I have thus known a whole hive perish. The second advantage is, that the whole of the interior of the 

 hive is open to your inspection, and you are thus enabled to examine the devastation of the moth, or to 

 ascertain the presence of any other enemy." (Treatise on Bees, p. 85.) 



1744, Dr. Howison's hive (Jigs. 297. to 299.) for obtaining the honey without killing the bees, " consists of 

 two distinct hexagons (Jigs. 297, 298.) ; one placed above the other. The under is formed of six panes of 

 half-inch deal, each measuring ten inches in width and eight in depth, and covered with a thin board at top. 

 This forms a box that will contain two pecks' measure of corn, and which he considers as sufficient lor 

 the largest swarm. This is intended for the breeding, as well as winter habitation of the bees. The upper is 

 of the same dimensions and form as the under at bottom, but, in order to give it a conical shape, for the 

 more conveniently fixing thereon a coat of straw, the panes at top are only five inches wide, which is also 

 covered by a piece of board. The upper box has a moulding (Jig. 297. a) fixed to its under part, which 

 projects about a quarter of an inch, and so exactly embraces the upper part of the lower box, as to join 

 these two firmly together. In the deal which forms the top of the lower box, are cut four oval holes 

 (fig. 298. c), each one inch wide and two inches long, through which the bees pass into the upper. This 

 communication, when not wanted, is shut by a board which moves on a nail in its centre. The small pane 



297 



298 



299 



of glass (fig.297. b), in the top of the upper box, admits of seeing the progress the bees have made in it, 

 without separating it from the lower one. This pane is covered to exclude light and cold or heat by a small 

 shutter (c). When the swarm is first put into the lower box, the communication is shut with the upj>er, 

 until the bees have completely filled the lower with combs. The communication is then to be opened, 

 when the bees will ascend, and, if the season is favourable and the swarm numerous, they will fill it also, 

 but not until they have completely stocked the lower. By removing the straw covering, and looking 

 through the glass in the upper box, it may be seen what honey has been collected. Should a part or the 

 whole of it be wanted, it will only be necessary carefully to separate the upper from the lower box, and shut 

 the board of communication. The upper box is then to be removed to some distance, and the bees con- 

 tained in it driven off, on which they will immediately join their companions in the lower. So soon as (he 

 honey is taken from the box, it can be replaced, and if early in the season, the communication opened for 

 making more honey, but if late, it must be kept shut umil the hive has swarmed next summer. Both the 

 lower hexagon (fig. 298.) and the upper (Jig. 299.) contain the usual cross horizontal sticks (a, a, a) for nip. 

 porting the combs. If honeycomb early next season is preferred to a swarm, then the communication must 

 be opened about the beginning of June. All the honey procured in this way is remarkable for its purity, 

 none of the cells having been ever polluted by the hatching of young bees. The greatest advantages, how- 

 ever, from this method, are the early and large swarms j the consequence of not killing the bees." (Cale- 

 donian Mc7noirs, vol. ii. p. 133.) 



