DRAINING HONEY FROM THE COMBS. 205 



weak stock, which being discovered and appropriated by 

 stronger Bees, they soon seek for more plunder in the 

 same locality. The Rev. Mr. Kleine says, robbers may 

 be repelled by imparting to the hive some intensely 

 powerful and unaccustomed odour. He effects this by 

 placing in it in the evening a small portion of musk, 

 and on the following morning the Bees, if they have a 

 healthy Queen, will boldly meet their assailants. These 

 are nonplussed by the unwonted odour ; and if any of 

 them enter the hive and carry off some of the coveted 

 booty, on their return home, having a strange smell, they 

 will be killed by their own household. The best remedy 

 against robbing is, however, to keep all stocks strong. 



DRAINING HONEY FROM THE COMBS, AND HOW 

 TO MAKE USE OF IT. 



Where the honey-comb is pure and white, as is usual 

 with combs built in supers, it is customary to send it to 

 table whole and without bruising; but when the combs 

 come from the main hive, where breeding has been going 

 on, the honey must be drained and stored as clean and 

 pure as possible. Having a mass of such combs before 

 us, it becomes advisable to sort them into qualities, all 

 such as have Bee-bread or larvae being put aside, then 

 slice them transversely through the cells, and put them 

 in a hair sieve or fine linen bag, leave them so two or 

 three days, turning them over occasionally, and nearly all 

 the honey will run out; do not press or crush them, and 

 impurities will be avoided. The strained honey should 

 then be nicely skimmed, and the skimmings put with 

 the strained and waste combs to make metheglin of; or 



