104 BEE-FJRMING. 



stand ; even if it be loosened they are not long in again 

 securing it, perhaps led by some instinctive dread lest 

 their home w^ith its beloved contents should be swept off 

 hj a gale of wind. 



I stated above, propolis is gathered from many sources. 

 Mr. Knight observed his bees tearing away the varnish, 

 composed of wax and turpentine, which he had applied 

 over the trunks of some of his trees where the bark had 

 been lost, and Dr. Evans spent many hours watching 

 them gather the viscid substance found on hollyhock buds. 

 He states they would rest ten minutes on the same bud, 

 £rst moulding the substance with the fore-feet, then trans- 

 ferring it to the hind legs, somewhat after the same 

 manner that pollen is gathered. 



Propolis is never stored in the cells for future use ; it is 

 gathered when most needed by the colony. For example, 

 Reaumur placed a new swarm in a hive made of wood and 

 glass. The glass was carelessly fastened- only with paper 

 and paste. The bees immediately discovered this defect, 

 .and saw the glass was insecure, therefore they indignantly 

 gnawed away the paper and fastened the glass securely 

 with propolis. 



Insects of all kinds seem to abhor turpentine, and look 

 upon it in the same light that we should regard poison ; 

 but bees frequently gather it when mingled with either 

 wax or resin, as in the varnish used by Mr. Knight to 

 his trees. 



HOW TO AVOID THE BRIMSTONE-PIT. 



No apiarian has laboured more effectually for the aboli- 

 tion of the brimstone-pit among cottagers than the late 

 Rev. W. C. Cotton. About the year 1838 he sent out 

 two letters addressed especially to the cottage bee-keepers 

 of England, containing much practical good sense and 



