STOCK-HIVES. 173 



now used to destroy valuable lives, will soon lie considered 

 as something whicli belonged to " the dark ages." The 

 way to unite swarms is simple and easy, and will be ex- 

 plained presentl3^ 



But here let me say that hives so well filled with bees 

 in autumn require more food in winter than those not so 

 well fiUed. A Continental writer, "a Swiss clergyman," 

 has broadly stated that two swarms united eat no more 

 honey than each does separately. This wild notion has 

 now a pretty wide and free currency, having been quoted 

 by one writer after another. Some experiments have been 

 made by honest men to test the truth of the statement. 

 The results, as recorded, go in favour of the clergyman's 

 opinion ; but what strikes one is the exceedingly small 

 quantity of honey eaten by the swarms doubled and trebled 

 in the recorded experiments. Neither single, nor double, 

 nor treble swarms eat more than 7 lb. of honey from Sep- 

 tember till March, whereas each of our strong hives con- 

 sumes 15 lb. in the same space of time. Who can ration- 

 ally account for the difference of 7 lb. and 15 lb. if num- 

 bers are not considered? We think the clergyman is 

 wrong in his statements and doctrines as to the food 

 required by bees in winter. It were easy to put bees 

 enough into a hive to consume 7 lb. of honey in a few 

 weeks of autumn. Let bee-keepers remember the words 



of Bums — 



" Twa mouths are waur to fill than ane ; " 



and that 50,000 bees require about as much honey in one 

 hive as they do in two. 



In the autumns of rainy seasons, what should be done, 

 with hives containing but little honey 1 The bees of them 

 should be united to others selected for stock. If there be 

 not more than 5s. or 6s. worth of honey in each hive, it is 

 better to let it remain in the hives and combs, and be care- 



