358 



SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER. 



COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF DEPRIVATION AND SUFFOCA- 

 TION. 



DISCUSSION OF THE QUESTION OP DEPRIVATION AND SUFFOCATION — THE 

 PROCESS OF DEPRIVATION APPARENTLY OF A FORMIDABLE NATURE — 

 BEES EASILY TAMED BY SMOKE — HIVES TO BE WEIGHED PREVIOUSLY' TO 

 DEPRIVATION — THE WEIGHT NOT ALWAYS THE CRITERION OF THE QUAN- 

 TITY OF HONEY'' — COMPARATIVE WEIGHT OF CELLS FILLED WITH BEE 

 BREAD AND WITH HONEY — WEIGHT OF HONEY TO BE TAKEN FROM A 

 HIVE IN SUMMER OR WINTER — THE PROCESS OF DEPRIVATION ALWAYS 



TO BE PERFORMED IN THE EVENING METHOD OF DEPRIVATION — THE 



STICKS PLACED IN A HIVE THE CHIEF OBSTACLE TO DEPRIVATION — THEIR 

 OMISSION STRONGLY RECOMMENDED — PRECAUTIONS TO BE USED IN 

 RETURNING THE HIVE TO THE PEDESTAL — METHOD OF DEPRIVATION 

 WITHOUT SMOKE — ITS DANGER AND TEDIOUSNESS — DEPRIVATION IN THE 

 HUISH HIVE — INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESTORING THE BEES TO THE HIVE — 

 DEPRIVATION BY PLACING SMALL HIVES OVER THE LARGE ONES — TWO 

 SEASONS OF DEPRIVATION — SPRING DEPRIVATION RECOMMENDED — SUP- 

 POSED TO PREVENT THE BEES FROM SWARMING — ERROR OF THAT SUP- 

 POSITION — A HIVE NOT TO BE DEPRIVED ON BOTH SIDES — METHOD OF 

 DEPRIVATION ACCORDING TO VARRO AND COLUMELLA — SUFFOCATION 

 GENERALLY ADOPTED IN THIS COUNTRY' — SUFFOCATION STRONGLY ADVO- 

 CATED BY' M. LA GRENEE — EXPOSITION OF HIS SYSTEM — CALCULATION 

 OF THE PRODUCE OBTAINED BY SUFFOCATION AND DEPRIVATION — QUAN- 

 TITY' OF HONEY OBTAINED BY DEPRIVATION (NOTE) — DEPRIVATION PRE- 

 FERABLE TO SUFFOCATION. 



There is no species of stock which produces so great a 

 profit with so small an outlay as bees, and the question then 

 arises, in what manner can that profit be rendered the 

 greatest, whether by depriving the hives of their superfluous 

 store, or suffocating them at the end of the season ? This 

 question has been discussed by almost every apiarian, par- 

 ticularly the French ; and whilst each system has met with 

 its enthusiastic advocates, the one supported by humanity, 

 the other by prejudices and antiquated customs, we find 

 that the question stands nearly as it was at the commence- 

 ment, in an undetermined and unsettled state. We have 

 met with many bee masters, who, on the score of humanity, 



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