APPENDIX. 



(A— Page 9.) 



On the subject of the preference of beea for cool places, De Gelieu, the oelebrated Swiss 

 apiarian, writes as follows : — " It is commonly believed that an apiary is not well situated 

 unless it stands in the sun. This is an error ; bees like the shade when working, and like 

 the sun only when in the fields, which then animates and sustains them .... They 

 thrive well in thick forests, and delight in them, because there they find a uniform temper- 

 ature and a propitious shade .... It is a. mistake to suppose that hives, exposed to the 

 sun produce the earliest and the strongest swarms; I have oftener than once experienced 

 the reverse. My earliest swarms have generally come from the best-shaded hives, and 

 which only receive the sun late." This testimony, coming from an apiarian of so much 

 practical acquaintance with bee-keeping, gained during the experience of sixty years, is 

 most valuable. Strange that it should have been so little acted upon, seeing the estimation 

 in which Gelieu's work is justly held among us ; but it requires no little judgment to select 

 a favorable situation, in a northern aspect, for locating bee hives. The place chosen must 

 be snug and sheltered. The hives must be protected from high winds ; and especially from 

 sudden gusts, or continued currents of air. These will often destroy hundreds of bees 

 in a few minutes, especially during squally weather, in March and April. The bees are 

 now anxious to avail themselves of every gleam of sun light ; but if a sudden storm comes 

 on, with wind, they soon get fatigued, and on returning home not a few fall powerless to the 

 ground, never to rise save where the sun shines upon and revives them. Hence, in windy 

 weather, my bees are kept close prisoners till May at least. 



I may mention here, that when looking out last autumn, (1850,) for a suitable place where 

 to bestow two experimental or artificial stocks, belonging to an apiarian friend, we fixed 

 upon a hay-loft window, directly facing the north, which looked down upon a yard 

 well protected by tall trees on every side. One of these hives, composed of two families 

 united, regularly fed on artificial food, and this alone weighed upwards of 20 lbs. of con- 

 tents on the 28th of November — three months after its establishment. The other, consist- 

 ing of but one family of preserved bees, driven from a strong stock, which had swarmed in 

 the spring, weighed half this weight at the same time. Both these hives are now, (March 

 20th,) in the very best health. The second stock was observed to carry pollen as late as the 

 4th of December ; which I make no doubt the other also did. I am not aware, from my 

 own observation of these hives, and the information I have besides obtained respecting 

 them, that they have been less disposed to move than other bees located full in the sun, 

 save only in the latter end of winter, which is decidedly an advantage. Even on dark 

 days, (when the weather was mild,) they came forth with the same alacrity as other bees. 



