BEE MANUAL. 325 



BEE-KEEPERS' AXIOMS. 



Mr. Langstroth, in his invaluable work so often alluded to in 

 these pages, has given the following axioms as "a few of the 

 first principles in bee-keeping," which ought to be as familiar 

 to the apiarian " as the letters of his alphabet." They are so 

 true, that they are still, and must continue to be, as important 

 to all bee-keepers, whether novices or experts, as they were 

 when first penned. I have already given each a prominent 

 position at the close of some of the preceding chapters, in 

 order the better to impress them on the mind of the reader : — 



1. Bees gorged with honey never volunteer an attack. 



2. Bees may always be made peacable by inducing them to accept 

 of liquid sweets. 



3. Bees, when frightened by smoke or by drumming on their hives, 

 fill themselves with honey, and lose all disposition to sting, unless they 

 are hurt. 



4. Bees dislike any quick movements about their hives, especially 

 any quick movement which jars their combs. 



5. Bees dislike the offensive odour of sweaty animals, and will not 

 endure impure air from human lungs. 



6. The bee-keeper will ordinarily derive all his profits from stocks 

 strong and healthy in early spring. 



7. In districts where forage is abundant only for a short 

 period, the largest yield of honey will be secured by a very moderate 

 increase of stocks. 



8. A moderate increase of colonies in any one season will, in the long 

 run, prove the easiest, safest, and cheapest mode of managing bees. 



9. Queenless colonies, unless supplied with a queen, will inevitably 

 dwindle away, or be destroyed by the bee moth, or by robber bees. 



10. The formation of new colonies should ordinarily be confined to 

 the season when bees are accumulating, honey ; and if this, or any other 

 operation, must be performed when forage is scarce, the greatest 

 precautions should be used to prevent robbing. 



The essence of all profitable bee-keeping is contained in Oettl's 

 golden rule — Keep your stocks strong. If you cannot succeed in doing 

 this, the more money you invest in bees the heavier will be your losses ; 

 while if your stocks are strong, you will show that you are a bee-master 

 as well as a bee-keeper, and may safely calculate on a generous return 

 from your industrious subjects. 



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INIS. 



