How to Prepare Bees for the Winter. 97 
be wide enough to admit the largeft bee, but 
no wider, left the mice fhould go into the hive 
through them }.. Each hole fhould fcarce ex- 
ceed a quarter of an inch in heighth and in 
widenefs. This fize muft be exactly attended 
to. The whole hive fhould then be covered all 
over with a large quantity of pob tow, or ftraw, 
which may be fixed to the hive with ropes made 
of ftraw, or hay. A large divot, or turf, fhould 
be laid upon the top of the tow or ftraw, to 
hold it clofe down to the hive, and keep the 
bees dry and warm. Afterwards, fome of the 
N | tow 
+ Mice are moft pernicious enemies to bees; for when they 
get into a hive, they not only eat the honey, but the combs and 
eggs, and even the bees themfelves. Iam perfuaded there are+hun- 
dreds of hives deftroyed every year in Britain by thefe vermin. I 
myfelf, in my younger years, had no fewer than five hives ruined 
in one winter by thefe rapacious invaders : but now, by taking 
care to have the entries to my hives made no larger than will 
juft admit the largeft bee, my hives are proof againft their de- 
predations, and I never lofe either a fingle bee or a particle of 
honey by them. ‘The only chance the mice have, when this pre- 
caution is obferved,. is to gnaw through the hive itfelf, which 
they will fometimes attempt ; but in this they may eafily be de- 
tected and defeated, by taking “off the covering now and then. 
During the cold months, fmall {nails often creep into the hives, — 
and lurk about the infides of them, though not among the combs ;_ 
but I never obferved that they did much hurt. When the hives 
are turned up in winter to difcover their flate, it is eafy to dif 
lodge them, and large fnails gannot get into the hives, when the 
entries are made {mall 
