174 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



oil board his son's vessel in a boat ; and he actually 

 did so. 



Thus ■\ve see that this instrument, as a prophet of 

 the weather, is of great consequence to the sailor, 

 and carries the records of life and death in its prog- 

 nostics. Life may be secured to him by the knowl- 

 edge which it gives ; for even an hour's warning of 

 the approach of a storm, gives him time to lower his 

 sails, and render as secure as possible the few frail 

 planks which alone separate him from eternity. 



This is certainly the highest use of the barometer, 

 but its other uses are by no means unimportant. 

 The mcrcurj' falls when it is carried from any lower 

 to any higher spot, and the degree of falling tells 

 exactly how much air has been left below. Thus, if 

 thirty inches high on the barometer mark the whole 

 pressure at the surface of the ocean, and if the in- 

 strument be found, when carried to another place, to 

 Stand at only twenty inches, it proves that one third 

 of the atmosphere exists below the level of the new 

 situation. 



In carrying a barometer from the level of the 

 Thames to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral, in Lon- 

 don, the mercury falls about half an inch, marking 

 an ascent of about five hundred and six feet. On 

 Mont lilanc it falls to half the entire barometric 

 height, marking an elevation of fifteen thousand ; 

 and in De Luc's famous balloon ascent, it fell to be- 

 low twelve inches, indicating an elevation of twenty- 

 one thousand feet — the greatest to which man has 

 ever ascended from the surface of his earthly habi- 

 tation. — The Lotas. 



ROBBERIES AMONG BEES. 



Bees being robbed are like being destroyed by 

 worms — a kind of secondary matter. Nine cases in 

 ten, the colony is too small to keep sufficient guard. 

 Spring \i the only time a man ought to complain of 

 his hives being robbed. An apiarian that allows his 

 hives to be robbed in the fall, is not fit to have 

 charge of them. Business, indolence, or ignorance, 

 is the cause. As soon as the flowers fail, if each 

 hive were exami.ied, and all removed except such as 

 contained plenty of inhabitants, they would defend 

 themselves against all intruders ; but weak colonics 

 are often left at the mercy of strong ones, that have 

 no conscientious scruples about taking the last mor- 

 sel ; like some men — the habit of plundering once 

 established, they sometimes attack those that arc 

 stronger than thonrselves, become weakened in con- 

 sequence, and fall a prey, in turn, to others. Care is 

 necessary at any time through the summer, when 

 honej' is scarce ; but spring is the most important 

 time. It is then we wish them to form steady, in- 

 dustrious habits. Prevention is better than cure, 

 and evil propensities should be checked in the begin- 

 ning. At this season, we often have some weak 

 colonies — it is our duty to know which these are ; 

 by turning the hive bottom upwards, on a cool morn- 

 ing, we can easily see the number of bees. If we 

 find any much reduced, th:y must be looked to 

 often, especially the first warm days, and assisted, if 

 necessary. Perhaps there is nothing about the 

 apiary more difficult to determine, than when bees 

 are robbing — nothing is more likely than to bo de- 

 ceived. It is generally supposed, when a number of 

 bees are out.^ido fighting, that they are also robbing, 

 and are often injured by measures laken to prevent 

 it. A show of resistance indicates a strong colony, 

 while weak ones make none, (at least, outside.) To 

 detect the robbers immediately, the closest observa- 

 tion is necessary. Each of these, when leaving the 

 hive, instead of flying in a direct line to its home, 

 will turn its head towards the hive, apparently to 

 mai-k the spot, and kno^V where to return for another 



load. Bees, when they first come out in the spring, 

 seem to mark their own hive in the same way ; 

 swarms, when first hived, do the same ; also, the 

 young bees, the first time they leave home. These 

 may be seen about the middle, or a little after, of 

 each fair day, for about an hour, thicker than at any 

 other time. An unusual number of bees hovering 

 around a hive generally indicates foul play, espe- 

 cially if weak ; but it is not conclusive. The young 

 bees may be mistaken for robbers. This is the chief 

 difficulty. Their motions are alike ; a little differ- 

 ence in size and color — the young bees a shade 

 lighter. The abdomen of the robbers, when filled 

 with honey, is a little larger. If the apiarian has 

 observed close enough to detect this difference, he 

 can without trouble decide ; if not, he can kill some 

 suspicious looking ones, coming out — if filled with 

 honey, they are robbers ; or sprinkle some flour on 

 them, and have some one to watch by other hives ; 

 or, what is less trouble, but will take longer before 

 they are checked, if they should be robbing, visit 

 them again, after the young bees have had time to 

 get back — if the bustle continues, or has increased, 

 it is time to interfere. Close up the hive, leaving 

 passage for only one bee to pass at a time, (it should 

 be done as soon as Ave find they are weak ;) this 

 will allow all that belong to the hive to get in, and 

 others to get out, and materially retard the robbers. 

 Unless it should be cool, they will work until dark, 

 which they would do whether checked or not. 

 This, by the way, should be another means of de- 

 ciding the point : visit the hives every warm evening 



— if any are at work when honest laborers should be 

 home, they need attention. As for remedies, I have 

 tried several. The best, and least trouble, is to re- 

 move the weak hive to the cellar, or some cool, dark 

 place, for a few days. They will then, probably, 

 attack the next nearest one ; the eirtrance of this 

 should be closed, allowing just room for the bees at 

 work to pass. If strong, no danger need be appre- 

 hended ; they may fight and kiU some — perhaps a 

 little chastisement is necessary, to remind thehi of 

 their duty. After three or four warm days, they 

 generally give it up, when the removed hive can be 

 returned to the same stand, and room allowed for 

 only one bee to pass out at a time. Changing the 

 stand, after the bees have marked the location, will 

 often ruin them, unless to a distance of over a mile. 

 If cojivenient to move them that distance, there 

 would be no danger from a second attack, and would 

 lose no time in the house. 



Yours, 



M. QUINBY. 

 CoxsACKiE, Greene Co., N. Y. 



— Fhiladelphia Dollar Neiospuper. 



Remarks by the Editor New Exgland Farmer. 



In the northern part of New England, where the 

 warm weather comes on suddenly, and bees can pro- 

 cure food soon after it is warm enough to go abroad, 

 robbing is not common in spring. But in the fall, 

 and in a dry time, the latter part of summer, rob- 

 beries are common in all parts of the country. We 

 have known cases in midsummer, Avhen it was ex- 

 tremely dry, of late swarms being entirely destitute 

 of honey, and of early or old swarms, which had a 

 good stock of honey, consuming it as fast as in the 

 wintrv season. Of course robberies will take place 

 at that time under such circumstances. 



It is true that strong swarms are seldom robbed ; 

 yet this evil is liable to befall powerful swarms. We 

 have known cases in which strong swarms, so far as 

 numbers were concerned, have been robbed, and all 



