150 



SIXTH CHAPTER. 



ON THE PURCHASE OF HIVES, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 

 AN APIARY. 



GENERAL ADVICE TO PURCHASERS — DRAWBACK ATTENDING THE PUR- 

 CHASE OF A HIVE — THE BEE A GREA1 COWARD — EXAMINATION OF THE 

 INTERIOR OF A HIVE — COOLNESS AND FORTITUDE REQUISITE FOR THE 

 PROPER MANAGEMENT OF BEES— EXAMINATION OF THE EXTERIOR — 

 SIGNS OF A DECAYED HIVE — THE SAME TO BE REJECTED — GENERAL 

 NEGLIGENCE OF THE COTTAGERS — INTERNAL SIGNS OF AN OLD HIVE — 



THE NUMBER OF QUEEN CELLS, THE CRITERION OF AN OLD HIVE 



TWENTY-SEVEN QUEEN CELLS, ACCORDING TO HUBER, IN ONE HIVE 



AVERAGE NUMBER OF QUEEN CELLS, ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT API- 

 ARIANS — TWO QUEENS IN A SWARM (NOTE) — THE COMBS TO BE EXAMINED 

 AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE — TO BE REJECTED IF SYMPTOMS OF THE MOTH 

 APPEAR — PROPER SEASONS FOR THE PURCHASE OF HIVES — A FRAUD 

 PRACTISED BY THE VENDERS OF HIVES— CRITERION OF A FIRST AND 

 SECOND SWARM — SINGULAR INSTINCT OF A SECOND SWARM — SIGNS OP 

 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 — DESCRIPTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TIN 

 ENTRANCES — EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE IN AN APIARY — A BATTLE 

 BETWEEN TWENTY-EIGHT HIVES — BEES TO BE CONFINED IN TIME OF 

 SNOW — ENTRANCES USED IN FRANCE AND GERMANY — 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 A MOST PROPER 

 TIME FOR THE REMOVAL OF A SWARM — METHOD OF REMOVAL RECOM- 

 MENDED BY LOMBARD (NOTE) — DIFFERENCE OF THE PRICE OF HIVES 

 IN ENGLAND — SUPERSTITION OF THE COTTAGERS RELATIVE TO THE 

 SALE OF HIVES — HIVES RECOMMENDED TO BE PURCHASED IN THE 

 SOUTHERN COUNTIES, AND CONVEYED TO LONDON — RULES TO BE OB- 

 SERVED IN REMOVING A PURCHASED HIVE. 



There is, perhaps, no article of trade in which a purchaser 

 can be so soon deceived as in a hive of bees ; and it is only 

 the experienced apiarian who can detect the particular defects 

 of his intended purchase. We would, therefore, always advise 

 the novice in bees never to rely upon his own judgment in 

 the purchase of a hive, but, if possible, to call in the assistance 



