THK AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS' .JOURNAL. 
{*:*. 
VIKGIL, AND THK MANAGEMENT OF 
BKES. 
Classic experts u animously place Virgil 
in the first rank of poets. His Georgies aie 
by far the best of his poems, and the fourth 
Georgic on the ■ Management of 15ees,’ is the 
m st beautiful of them all. It may fairly lay 
claim to the distinction of being the finest poem 
which ever appeared. Unfortunately Virgil is 
usually forced at school on boys who are unable 
to appreciate his beauties, and his name and 
sonorous lines are so often associa ed with im- 
position and tears as to prevent even educated 
men in after-life from taking the Georgies down 
from their library shelves. Of course there are 
exceptions. The author of A Year mth the 
Bit da , who is my neighbout here writes that 
the ability to read and understand Virgil is one 
of the things which make life worth living. He 
has devoted a chapter to Virgil’s birds, and has 
come to the conclusion that the poet was prac- 
tically acquainted with the birds he mentions. 
Whatever may be said about his acquaintance 
with birds, it is difficult to imagine that Virgil’s 
acquaintance with bees was otherwise than on a 
tar with Goldsmith's knowledge of natural 
history in general. 
John Mm, sir ! GoMsmith is about to give us a work on 
natural history ; and although lie can barely distinguish a 
horse from a cow. we shall have a book entertaining as a 
Persian tale.’ 
The fourth Georgic is certainly a very en'er- 
taining book for those who can read and under- 
stand it. To modern bee-keepers it is particu- 
larly interesting, as giving some idea of hive 
management nearly two thousand years ago ; 
and as sugar was unknown, bee-keeping was 
probably a much more important industry than 
it is now. Of course it would be idle to expect 
Virgil to be acquainted with the true history of 
bees, and therefore current delusions regarding 
them, only corrected centuries later ou, may pass 
without comment ; but if Goldsmith could dis- 
tinguish a horse from a cow, Virgil does not 
appear to be able to distinguish a humble bee 
from a hive bee :* and it is difficult to imagine 
that any one who has manipulated bees for a 
single season would say that tall trees are 
suitable to swarm on.t or that a swarm will 
invariably fake possession of a hive duly anointed 
with certain herbs when guided to it by the 
sound of cymbals.} Virgil does not say whether 
bees were burnt in his day, but, as he mentions 
two honey harvests in the year, and -recommend* 
the use of smoke to quiet bees, it would appear 
that some system of depriving the hives of honey 
without destroying the bees was in vogue then. 
Since I set up an apiary, not very long ago, 1 
have read the fourth Georgic with considerable 
assiduity ; and as 1 have amused myself with 
condensing its directions to persons about to 
keep beeB in the century which preceded the 
commencement of tire t hristian era, it may not 
be without interest to produce these directions 
here, in order that during this dull season those 
who have not the opportunity or inclination for 
•See line 43. fSeelineSI. *See line 66.! 
reading the original, may compare them with 
the dirertioi s given in Modern Bte-henimj. 
The received translators of the fourth Georgic. 
so far as 1 have had access to their works, not 
being practical bee-keepers themselves, are apt 
to draw on their own imaginations. 
Drtden. in describing the bees suffering from 
lamine, says : — 
And i rmviD of dead, that never shall return 
To their loved Lives, in .event pomp are borne ; 
The'r friends attend the hearse, the next relation- mourn, 
which is coming it rather too strong, even for 
Virgil. 
Notes on the Management of Bees, taken 
from the Fourth Georgic of Viroil. 
Persons proposing to keep bees should select a 
site where the hives can stand in the vicinity of 
latge trees, for these sene the double purpose of 
affording shade and alighting places for the 
swarms in spring. 
The site also should be sheltered, for high 
wind obstructs the bees when they return laden 
to their hives, and although they not unfre- 
quently carry little stones as ballast to steady 
their flight in tough weather, ye' they are liable 
to be blown into the water, which should always 
be provided for drinking purposes near the 
hives. The besl way to avert ace idem s is to 
place projecting stones in running water, and 
floating will w twigs where the drinking water is 
stagnant, for the bees can scramble on to these 
extempore bridges when they get submerged, 
and dry their wings in the summer sun. 
The apiarist’s numerous creeping and w inge I 
enemies must be kept at a distance. Among in- 
sectivorous birds, the swallow is particularly 
destructive. Give her the chance, and she will 
rear her young ones upon bees. Nor are these 
the only precautions to be taken. On no account 
should yew-trees be permitted near the hives, 
nor evil smelling sw amps and mud ; even a site 
where there is an echo should be avoided. 
The most filling situation to choose for bees is 
the neighbourhood of gardens where the yellow- 
spring flowers abound, where the fir tribe 
flourishes, and where wild thyme, lungwort, and 
numerous oilier plants, afford a banqueting 
ground for i he bees. 
Having selecled a suilable site, file hives will 
be the next care, and these, whether made ot 
cork-bark or briars, must have a narrow entrance 
to guard against extremes of beat and cold. 
The bees Ihemselves will cement all internal 
chinks, but the roaster will do well to plaster the 
outside of his hives with mud and a few leaves. 
In the spring Ihe hive will send out a swarm, 
and then the master must be on the alert, and 
prepare a hive scented with sweet herbs, and be 
must tinkle cymbals, and then instiuclively the 
bees will take possession of their new abode. 
The gieat secret of success is to keep the king 
w-itbin the hive. No race of men are so im- 
pressed with the ' Divine right of kings ‘ ns are 
these bumble insects. So long ns be is present 
all goes well, but without a king utter ruin falls 
upon the hive. 
