THE farmer’s MANCAIi. 
197 
faction that the swarm, in their compact state, rnight 
set all cold at defiance, if they were full-fed. This 
also led him to conclude, that whenever Bees died 
with the cold of winter, their food must be short, and 
their hives old, and bad, so as to admit both frost and 
wet. He also remarks, that heat often destroys the 
swarms, when the hives are exposed to the intense 
i-ays of the sun, and that this evil ought carefully to 
be guarded against. Mr. Huish also remarks, that 
the Tight of the snow, in a clear day, often invites the 
Bees abroad, and a chill causes them to light upon 
the snow, where they all perish ; he directs that the 
hives be closed at such times. Twelve or fourteen 
pounds of honey may be considered sufficient food 
for a common swarm, through the winter ; you may al- 
ways determine the state of your hives with regard to 
food, by weighing them in January or February, (al- 
ways allowing more for the weight of an old hive 
than a new one, on account of an accumulation ofbeeT 
bread, which, by its augmentation in old hives, in- 
creases their weight.) If your quantum of food falls 
short, feed your Bees. 
Butler, in his feminine monarchy, remarks, “ That 
no hope can be entertained of saving a hive through 
the winter, that weighs only 10 or 12 pounds; but 
one of 1 5 pounds may be preserved by feeding, and 
one of 20 pounds will winter safe, and free from all 
fear of famine.” 
CHAP. XVIll. 
On the Life of the Bee, and period of duration of a 
Hive. 
There are two seasons which exhaust the hives of 
their inhabitants ; the spring arid autumn. It may 
be calculated with some certainty, that more than 
one-third of a hive dies in autumn, and nearly the 
same number in the spring. The life of the Bee has 
17 *■ 
