THE APIARY. Ill 



with a chamber for honey boxes does very well, or 

 when made with a cap ; fasten it on tight, and leave 

 the holes open ; the bees will withdraw from the 

 comb into any vacant space, whether above or below, 

 or at the side. They seem to suspect the danger of 

 their combs melting and breaking down. 



I owe much of my success in shipping bees to 

 California (through the hot latitudes of the Isthmus), 

 to giving them a vacant chamber where they could 

 withdraw from their combs when danger threatened 

 them. They should always be shaded from the sun, 

 and have a free circulation of air around them. 



In extreme cold weather the combs are brittle; 

 but the greatest difficulty is, the bees get excited, 

 and filling their sacs with honey, they worry and fret 

 to get at liberty until they become unhealthy. If 

 moved far, and should the cold continue for several 

 days after they are landed in their new home, so as 

 to be unable to fly out, they become greatly distended 

 with faeces, and perish. When they can be put in a 

 warm room until a change of weather occurs and 

 then set them out, there is less danger in this direc- 

 tion ; but in mild weather they can be opened out 

 on their arrival, when they will fly out, and void 

 their filth and clean out any offensive matter, when 

 all is right again. 



