XVI CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



combs to be examined as high as possible — The hive to be 

 rejected if symptoms of the moth appear — Proper seasons 

 for the purchase of hives— A fraud practised by the ven- 

 dors of hives— Criterion of a first and second swarm — 

 Singular instinct of a second swarm— Signs of the health 

 of a hive, and the fecundity of the queen — A hive not to 

 be purchased in the immediate vicinity — The weight the 

 best criterion of the goodness of a hive — Transportation 

 of hives — Directions for the removal of hives — Advantages 

 of the tin entrances — Desci'iption of the construction of 

 the tin entrances— Extraordinary occurrence in an apiary 

 — A battle between twenty-eight hives — Bees to be con- 

 fined in time of snow — Entrances used in France and Ger- 

 many — Inspection of an apiary at Isenburg — The hand- 

 barrow the best vehicle for the removal of hives — A hive 

 not to be carried on the head — Disastrous effects of that 

 mode — The middle of summer a bad time for the removal 

 of hives — The evening the most proper time for the re- 

 moval of a swarm — Method of removal recommended by 

 Lombard (note) — Difference of the price of hives in Eng- 

 land — Superstition of the cottagers relative to the sale of 

 hives — Hives recommended to be purchased in the south- 

 ern counties, and conveyed to London — Rules to be ob- 

 served in lifting a purchased hive 150 



CHAPTER VII. 



ON THE POSITION OF THE APIARY. 



Different position of hives — Little attention paid to aspect 

 in England — Visit to an apiary at East Grinstead — The 

 aspect of the apiary to vary with the climate — The hives 

 to be protected from the winds — Singular anecdote re- 

 specting bees by L'Abbe della Rocca — The hives in an 

 apiary to be placed in a straight line — Height of the hives 

 from the ground — The hives for want of room may be 

 placed chequer-wise — The advantages of the single pedestal 

 — Machine for the protection of hives from robbers — The 

 platform of the pedestal of the hive to be made of well 

 seasoned wood-The warping of the platform tobeprevented 

 — The ascent into the hives by the enemies of the bees to be 

 prevented — Erroneous custom in Sussex — Loss of a whole 

 apiary by bad management — The apiary to be kept re- 

 markably clean — Not to be incommoded by tall herbs and 

 flowers— Protection against the ants — Sheep's skin to be 

 put round the pedestal— The pedestal to be cleaned four 

 times a year — Anecdote of a mouse in a hive — The vicinity 

 of great towns not a proper situation for an apiary — Hive 

 of Mr. Saul having a continual change of aspect — Proximity 



of large rivers injurious to bees 1 g j 



8 



