APPENDIX. 113 



will only have had one set of young grubs hatohod in them. I have frequently taken honey 

 from such comb, and can speak very favorably of its quality. As soon as the top hive ia 

 full of honey, it may be removed, (often within a month of the swarm's establishment,) and 

 a third hive placed, not otiw, but under the remaining one. In some extraordinary sea- 

 sons, the upper of these may also be taken away, and a fourth placed under the third. In 

 either case, the two boxes or hives last given must be sufFered to stand together through 

 the winter, so that the queen may have both to breed in the following spring and summer. 

 It is evident in this way that the prime swarm would be a large one, (supposing the queen 

 to be in full vigor,) because the queen would have ample space to breed in ; nor would it 

 issue much, if at all, later than the swarms out of ordinary hives. As soon as the prime 

 swarm has issued, "Wildman direots that another hive should be set under the others, and 

 all casting prevented. Should a cast issue, its queen must, (he says,) be searched for and 

 destroyed, when the bees will return home again. This plan, however, may often fail, 

 owing to the successive issue of casts with every young queen who proceeds from her cradle 

 but the last. I have heard of the reissue of casts twenty times in one season from the same 

 hive, daring all which time the bees were in a constant state of agitation, and collected no 

 honey ! The only effectual plan to be pursued, is this, which I have advised in this book, 

 — on the issue of the first cast to turn up the hive, and cut out every royal cradle that 

 can be seen. This done, the queen may be destroyed, (because there is already another 

 queen in the hive,) and the cast returned. 



(E— Page 50.) 



Touching .the fecundity of the queen bee, I am persuaded much error prevails among the 

 majority of bee keepers. Huber's opinion was, that in the prime of the season, (in April 

 and May,) about 12,000 eggs are laid, which is at the rate of something like 200 a day. I 

 have, however, long thought Reaumur's statement far nearer the truth, which gives us 

 about 400 a day as the average. Dr. Bevan observes, that " this variation, (in the accounts 

 of the two naturalists,) may have arisen from variety of climate, season, or other circum- 

 stances." Climate and season, doubtless, do exercise a great influence on the prosperity 

 of bees ; but I cannot think the difference of these so great as to prevail inrf.ny European 

 country to affect the average of the queen's fecundity to so remarkable an extent. I think 

 we must look for a solution of the difficulty to the " other circumstances" at which -Dr. 

 Bevan hints. Might there not have been some disparity in age and vigor between the 

 queens which severally came under the observation of these naturalists? Or would not 

 tile use of small or large hives, as I have suggested before, explain the difference ? May 

 not Reaumur have formed his opinion from the data furnished from observations made 

 with the help of his great pyramidal hive, while Huber's hive was of small size ? May not 

 Shirach, too, (who resided at no very great distance from the confines of old Poland,) have 

 made use of hives similar to the Podolian hive ? And he states his belief, that a single 

 queen will lay from 70,000 to 100,000 eggs in a season. 



Since I penned my former note on the subject of large hives, my attention has been 

 drawn to the remarks of a Mr. Pettigrew, who wrote a series of articles about nine years 

 ago in the "Gardeners' Chronicle." His observations in general appear to me exceed- 

 ingly just. As they bear very much upon the subject of this note, as well as of the for- 

 mer, I may perhaps be pardoned for introducing in this place one or two exeracts from his 

 paper, of Jan. 6th, 1844. <,• 



" No person, (he says,) will ever pretend to say that a queen bee can cease to lay when 

 she likes, or that she has control over the number of her eggs." He then suggests an ex- 



