THE COTTAGE AND FARM BEE KEEPER. 67 



bee master. If the consumption of honey in the elaboration of wax 

 is anything so considerable as I make it out to be,* it certainly is a 

 most suicidal policy to break up a hive whose comb is still good for 

 breeding purposes, for the sake of five or six, or even ten pounds of 

 inferior honey ! I advise, therefore, that, after the early swarm has 

 been forced out, which may be encouraged to its greatest possible 

 strength by suffering nine tenths of the bees to leave the old hive with 

 it, this latter be suffered to stand over to another year as a winter 

 stock. A prime swarm so formed ought to yield an autumn spoil, in 

 an average good year, of from 30 to 60 lbs. of virgin honey; and 

 if its weight, on issuing from the hive, exceeded six pounds, which it 

 not seldom will do, it may often greatly exceed the largest of these 

 figures, while the old stock may be expected to weigh from 25 to 

 30 lbs. net contents, the Michaelmas, [September 29th] following, at 

 which time a comb or two, (that is, the lower pwrt of those combs,) 

 may be cut away with advantage, to facilitate the renovation of the 

 hive. As to the renewal of comb, it might be effected in a different 

 and, perhaps, still better way. Suppose at the end of three weeks, 

 after the first swarm's issue, (or earlier, as the case may be,) the bees 

 are driven out for a few minutes, part of the combs, (which will now 

 for the most part, if not altogether, be empty of brood,) may be re- 

 moved at once thus early in the season ; this would probably have the 

 effect of stimulating the bees in it to renewed activity, so that there 

 would be no gapt among the combs through the winter, as might be 

 the case otherwise, while probably the weight of honey would not be 

 much less than in the former instance. I have observed that tho 

 existence of unfilled space in their hive not a little warms up the bee's 

 energy, whether it be in spring, summer, or autumn. 



To return to the apiary, it is evident that in a good season the bee 

 master may not only obtain a famous harvest from the autumn plun- 

 der of his spoliation swarms, (especially if they were formed at the 

 right time, and were strong in population) ; but he may also get from 

 them several small hives or glasses full of the purest honeycomb in 

 addition. Even the old stocks will sometimes, though less rarely, 



* See Appendix, Note H. 

 t And yet I am disposed to believe that a vacuum of air in the hive has a tendency to 

 keep tees in good health through the winter ; and it certainly promotes early activity. 



