THE BEE. 141 



passages, or lanes, across their different dwelling-places, wide enough for 

 two bees to pass. 



ADVANTAGES OF KEEPIiVG BEES.— It is strange, that though the ex- 

 pense of establishing stocks of bees, where there is a garden, is so trivial, 

 and the possible gain so great, few people take the trouble of keeping 

 them. Country cottagers too generally neglect to take advantage even 

 of an adjoining common or lonely garden, which specially invite to bee- 

 keeping. Where cottage gardens are very small and crowded, and 

 multitudes of children swarm, it is certainly difficult, if not dangerous, 

 to introduce tens of thousands of bees, with their formidable stings ; but 

 in numberless instances where bee-husbandry is neglected, it might be 

 pursued with some profit. 



No farmer, nor even humble cottager, who has a patch of garden, 

 and lives near commons, heath-covered hills, or woods, should be with- 

 out hives, as the great supply of bees' food is obtained by their own 

 exertions. It is not the rarest and most beautiful flowers which aflFord 

 the best honey, but those which abound in the open fields as well as in 

 the garden ; the flowers of mountain heath, clover, trefoil, beans, 

 vetches, wild thyme, turnips and cabbages, privet, elder, bramble, rue, 

 and, above all, the blossoms of the common furze, are among the best 

 materials for honey. The cost of food is scarcely any thing, and the re- 

 turn may be considered clear gain. 



The trouble of rearing bees, compared with the pleasure or the profit, 

 is nothing. 



MANAGEMENT OF BEES.— To him who is about engaging in bee-keep- 

 ing, the first question of interest is, how to select his stock. As a rule, 

 the spring is the best season to purchase a stock of bees, as they have 

 then passed the casualties of the winter ; and the question of profit, so 

 far as the first year is concerned, is quite clear, if the swarms are judi- 

 ciously chosen. Their value depends upon the health and number of 

 bees, and the time they have occupied the hive. The number in a 

 colony can be judged of with comparative accuracy by raising the hives 

 and examining them, or by the hum produced on giving them slight 

 taps;* and by the weight, as shown either by lifting or weighing. The 

 age of a swarm is told by the color of the comb ; in new swarms the 

 color being white, and varying from that to nearly black, in very old 

 swarms. The brood combs grow thicker with age, and the cells and the 

 bees hatched in them are therefore smaller, and the latter feebler. It is 

 poor economy to purchase a colony more than two years old. 



Transporting Bees. — Let the hive be placed on a cloth, the ends of 

 which must be carefully tied over the top; if it is to be taken to a 

 distance, the hive so tied up may be swung on a pole fastened across a 

 cart from side to side; this prevents the jolting to which it might 

 otherwise be subject, which would disturb the bees, and probably shake 

 down the comb. When arrived at its destination, let the hive be placed 

 on the stand, and if any of the bees have fallen out on the cloth, place 

 them near the entrance, and they will soon find their way in. 



SPRING MANAGEMENT.— As soon as the weather is fine examine your 

 hives by lifting them carefully from; the stand. Clear away all the dead 

 bees and refuse matters which have collected during the winter. Rub 



