34 AN EASY METHOD 



CHAPTER IV. 



ON PREVENTING ROBBERIES. 



At the moment it is observed that robbers are within or 

 about the hive, raise the bottom board so near the edge of 

 the hive as to prevent the ingress or egress of the bees, and 

 stop the mouth or common entrance and ventilator. At the 

 same time, take care that a small space on all sides of the 

 hive be Idlit open, so as to afford them all the air they need. 

 Open the mouth only at evening to let out the robbers, and 

 close all but one or two holes early in the morning, before 

 they renew their attack. [See Appendix.] 



REMARKS. 



Bees have a peculiar propensity to rob each other, and 

 every precaution necessary to prevent it should be exercised 

 by the cultivator. Families in the same apiary are more 

 likely to engage in this unlawful enterprise than any others,' 

 probably because they are located so near each other, and 

 are more likely to learn their comparative strength. We 

 never could discover any intimacy between colonies of the 

 same apiary, except when they stood on the same bench ; 

 and then all the sodif}- intercourse seems to subsist between 

 the nearest neighbors only. 



Bees are not likely to engage in warfare and rob each 



other, except in the spring and fall, and at other seasons 



when food is not easily obtained from blossoms. 



Bees do not often engage >n robbery in hives that are well 

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