TREATMENT OF YOUR PRODUCE. 69 



such birds as 3 t ou kill, on trees near the stands. Perseverance 

 for a time in this will rid you of the annoyance. 



Bees. — Bees are amongst the most dangerous foes of their 

 own kind, being bold and resolute plunderers. It is only weak 

 stocks, however, that suffer, so that union is the obvious cure. 

 Avoid also placing your hives too close together ; and also avoid 

 at any time placing a weak stock near a strong one. 



I have now enumerated the principal foes you have to appre- 

 hend, and you will find if you follow my directions, they will not 

 prove so very formidable, but be much more easily got rid of, or 

 guarded against, than you imagined. On the other hand, if you 

 neglect proper precautions, and suffer the enemy to remain un- 

 molested, you will be equally astonished at the incredible amount 

 of mischief they will do, and the rapidity with which they will 

 do it. 



CHAPTER XII. 



HOW TO TREAT THE PRODUCE OF YOUR HONEY HARVEST. 



In the first place, you must remove your store to some room 

 without a fire-place, for the bees have been known to make use 

 of even that mode of access in order to come at the honey, which 

 they are able to scent from a considerable distance. Close all 

 the doors and windows. You should previously have in the 

 room whatever implements you want — viz., some large glazed 

 earthen vessels, clean, new, horse-hair sieves, a strainer, some 

 clean linen cloths, and abundance of water to wash your hands. 

 Wildman recommends burning cowdung, or rotten hay, at the 

 doors and windows of the room in which you are at work, in 

 order to keep away the bees, and experience has shown that this 

 recommendation should be attended to. 



Your first care should be to examine the combs, and free them 

 from all dirt, grubs, young bees, or other foreign matters — re- 

 membering, of course, to have previously well and thoroughly 

 washed your hands. You then cut the combs horizontally into 

 pieces of an inch wide, and lay them on the sieve over the glazed 

 earthen vessels ; when they have dropped all the honey that they 

 will yield without squeezing, put them in the cloth already men- 

 tioned, and wring it over another crock; this will furni>h the 



