50 THE HIVE AND THE HONEY-BEE. 



I may observe with reference to the collateral hives that no in- 

 structions of mine are necessary further than those already given 

 when describing the mechanism of Mr. Nutt's boxes. You who 

 possess these admirable contrivances will have little or no trouble 

 — a child could manage them, and long ere this (August) you 

 have already begun to gather your delicious harvest. You have, 

 of course, had more than one bell-glass full, and possibly a box 

 of pure honey removed in May. You have certainly obtained, 

 at least, one box in June ; but I should rather imagine that you 

 have, during that month, obtained both the side boxes full of ho- 

 ney. You must now, however, act with caution, and recollect 

 that wet, damp weather is unfavorable to the operations of *he 

 bees ; they cannot go abroad to collect their treasure, and you 

 must avoid trespassing too much upon theii' stores in such wea- 

 ther. 



The old mode of obtaining the honey was, by the suffocation 

 ' of the inmates of the hive. I fear I need scarcely tell the ma- 

 jority of my bee-keeping readei-s, but sincerely hope I am wrong, 

 that this used to be effected by digging a hole in the ground, 

 placing therein a bundle of matches, or scraps of tow dipped in 

 sulphur, igniting these, and setting the hive, covered with a thick 

 cloth over it, in the latter part of the evening. The fumes of 

 the sulphur soon caused death, and the honey was removed af- 

 terwards at pleasure. Whatever others may think or write, I 

 must assert as my own opinion that this is a most barbarous prac- 

 tice ; and it is as silly as it is cruel. You, if you act thus, ef- 

 fectually prevent the fulfillment of what should be your chief 

 object, viz., the increase of your stock, you also impregnate your 

 honey with filthy vapors, and seriously injure its quality by the 

 dead bodies, which you thus cause to be intermingled with the 

 combs. 



Mr. Huish recommended dried rags, or leaves, to be employed 

 instead of sulphur, the smoke from these only producing partial 

 stupefactions from which the bees subsequently recovered, when 

 the surviving stock was united to some other weak hive in the 

 apiary. 



It is a long time indeed since Wildman, White, and others, 

 showed that the "honey could be taken, even from a common 

 straw hive, without injury to the inmates. Without, however, 

 wearying my readers with an investigation of the several ap- 

 proved methods of doing this, I shall briefly direct them as to 



