LOCATION OV HIVES. Ill 



ing its head toward the hive, it recedes in circles, 

 backward, at first describing a circle so small as to 

 be scarcely perceptible, but enlarging as the dis- 

 tance from the hive is increased. They thus take 

 into view all objects surrounding the hive, so that 

 they are able to return to their own hives without 

 difficulty. After one or two excursions begun in 

 this manner, the bee leaves the hive in a direct line 

 for the fields, without taking any further precaution 

 whatever, and returns by its knowledge of the ob- 

 jects in the vicinity of the hives, without difficulty. 



Notwithstanding there might be a hundred hives 

 standing in a line, with only a few inches space be- 

 tween each, and all of the same color and appear- 

 ance, if left to itself no bee would enter the hive of 

 its neighbor, although there might be hundreds 

 of thousands of the busy workers from all the hives, 

 flying promiscuously about in the air. Each bee 

 knows its own hive perfectly, and if from any»acci- 

 dent it enters its neighbor's house, immediate death 

 is usually the result ; or possibly it may escape, 

 after being roughly handled, and made to under- 

 stand that it is trespassing on forbidden ground. 



Some bee keepers, with little knowledge of their 

 occupation, often remove a hive of bees several rods, 

 in the working season. The result is, all the bees 

 that had marked the location (and all the old bees 

 had done this) are lost. They would continue to 

 leave the hive' in a direct line, after its removal, not 

 taking the precaution to mark the location, as the}- 

 were unaware of the change, and when they were 

 ready to return they would return to the former place 



