AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
155 
rassed if we saw every object multiplied a 
thousand times ; but we do not see objects 
double because we have two eyes, and prob¬ 
ably the bee also sees everything singly. It 
ts supposed that many eyes are given it that 
it. ittay see on every side at once, and with¬ 
out turning its head. 
We find also two black horns, called an¬ 
tenna, a fifth of an inch long, standing out in 
front of the head. These move in every di¬ 
rection, and are.supposed to be organs of feel¬ 
ing. The loss of them would occasion 
great inconvenience to the insect, and bring 
its usefulness to a speedy end. They are 
undoubtedly of special service within the 
hive, where, in complete darkness, work 
must go on with perfect regularity. We 
notice, too, that bees meeting each other, 
cross their antennae, which is their way of 
shaking hands. 
The bee belongs to a class of insects that 
have a trunk or proboscis , quite as servicea¬ 
ble if it is not as large as that of an ele¬ 
phant. We see it to the best advantage 
when the bee is taking up food ; for at other 
times it is usually carefully folded up out of 
sight under the head. When it is fully 
opened, we can distinguish five separate 
branches, shining as if they were made of 
horn. The middle and longest of these is 
the real trunk, and the others are its 
sheath. It is flexible as India-rubber, and 
when dipped into honey it collects a small 
amount, which is easily transferred to the 
mouth. It is said not to be a tube through 
which liquids can be drawn, but to resemble 
a tongue for lapping up food. 
Beside this trunk, the bee has a regular 
mouth and jaws, not moving up and down 
like ours, but sideways. With this it is en¬ 
abled to do all the nibbling needful ; it can 
trim down its combs, it can bite away parts 
of flowers to get more easy access to the 
cups of honey, and it can even gnaw through 
paper and cloth. Its tools are humble, but 
efficient. 
There are also two small black feelers, 
called palpi, one on each side of the mouth, 
shorter than the antennae, which are too 
small to attract notice, and the object of 
which we cannot state with confidence. 
So much for the head of the bee ; but its 
other parts are also worthy of study. The 
thorax, or middle portion of the body, is cov¬ 
ered with hairs, and to it are attached two 
pairs of wings and six legs. The wings of 
each pair are of unequal size, but so closely 
united as to move together. We stop to ad¬ 
mire their delicate texture, the penciling 
of the frame-work, their smoothness, gloss 
and transparency. 
Then the legs are curious, especially the 
hind pair; the middle joints of these are 
flattened out so as to form a kind of basket, 
and the bee we are examining has actually 
got a load of meal, kneaded up into balls 
and well balanced on either side, and re¬ 
minding us of going to mill on horseback 
with a bag of corn. 
This meal is the pollen of flowers, which 
serves as meat for the young brood ; and 
which, when deposited in the hive, is known 
as bee-bread. When a bee alights on a 
flower he collects the honey secreted there, 
this meal sticks to its jacket; and the bee, 
being neat in its habits and economical 
withal, brushes it away carefully and packs 
it down in its baskets, and so goes home 
with a double load, of honey and bee-bread. 
At the end of each leg we find a double 
hook, by which the bee can suspend itself 
and hang any length of time without exer¬ 
tion. 
The abdomen is composed of a number of 
rings, which play into each other like the 
parts of a spy-glass. It is on the sides of it 
that the breathing holes are placed, but the 
chief point of interest, if not of attraction, is 
the sting at the end. The bee we are ex¬ 
amining has very kindly consented to thrust 
out its sting for our inspection; and a mi¬ 
nute drop of its poison rests on the very tip 
of it. We smell it; it has a peculiar odor; 
we taste it: once is enough, and we will not 
keep it long on the tongue, lest head-ache 
should follow ; for this poison, unlike that 
of the rattle-snake, cannot be swallowed 
with impunity. The sting has a barbed 
point, and when thrust into the flesh is not 
easily withdrawn, and the poison ejected 
through it needs but little time to produce 
large and painful swellings. This is the 
protection that the bee has against its ene¬ 
mies. 
We have not come yet to the wonders in 
the bee hive, but this bee came from a hive, 
and there are thousands more like it there. 
They go where we cannot go, but we shall 
try to make them disclose some of the mys¬ 
teries of their temple, and give us the sign 
and pass-word of the fraternity. 
ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
I would advise a little caution in making “ arti¬ 
ficial's warms,” as recommended on page 130 of 
the Agriculturist, June number. It is, that a 
“ new queen will be speedily provided” by the 
old stock, after forcing out the swarm, &c. I 
have a little experience in this matter, resulting 
quite differently* and that is, the old stock will 
utterly refuse to do any such thing, nine times in 
ten ! The only chance of success is during the 
swarming season, while something of the swarm¬ 
ing fever is present. If done later than this, it is 
necessary to provide another queen for the old 
stock, after taking out the swarm. When not 
done at the proper season, and no swarms issue, 
the advantages are generally on the side of let¬ 
ting them remain. Put on boxes, the surplus 
honey and a strong stock are worth more than 
two weak colonics poorly supplied with honey, as is 
usual in such cases. M. Quinby. 
* See rem arks on this subject, in the “ Mysteries of Bee¬ 
keeping Explained,” pages 253-4-5. 
Remarks. —Our experience differs from 
our correspondent’s; and referring to the 
facts mentioned in his volume, we see no 
reason to withdraw our advice to make 
artificial colonies about the time of natural 
swarming. Mr. Q. waited till the swarming 
season was past; then, disappointed because 
his bees had not colonized, he forced some 
swarms, which did tolerably well. In the 
original stocks also, from which the swarms 
were driven, the bees seemed to be indus¬ 
trious for a time, and brought in pollen, but 
after some weeks had passed, he found 
them destitute of eggs and brood. He does 
not tell us there were no remnants of queen 
cells ; and so we are at liberty to believe 
that queens w T ere reared, and were lost after 
leaving the hive to meet the drones, in the 
manner he describes on a previous page. It 
may have been so late in the season that no 
drones were to be found. This opinion is 
confirmed by his remark in subsequent ex¬ 
periments, that in such circumstances “ they 
were very sure to rear queens ,” which, how¬ 
ever, “ from some cause were lost after they 
were matured.” But this accident also hap¬ 
pens after natural swarming; and certainly, 
the use of sealed queen-cells in the manner 
recommended by Mr. Q. will not ensure one 
against the same thing in forced swarms. 
THE CHEDDAR CHEESE. 
This particular manufacture of cheese, which 
has acquired a considerable notoriety for supe¬ 
rior excellence, is made in the following manner : 
As soon as the morning milking is over, the 
milk is mixed with that of the previous evening, 
and the whole is warmed to 80° by heating a 
small portion of the night’s milk. As soon as it 
is of the exact temperature, which is ascertained 
by the thermometer and not by guess, pure, well- 
flavored rennet is added in the usual manner, and 
the whole allowed to stand one hour for coagula¬ 
tion. Next gently break the curd and take off a 
small quantity of whey, to be heated in a tin ves¬ 
sel placed in water. 
Break the curd carefully and minutely, and add 
as much of the heated whey as will raise the 
temperature to 80°, leaving it another hour, when 
a few pailfuls of the whey are heated so as to 
raise the whole mass to 100°. Previous to pour¬ 
ing on this latter, the curd is broken as carefully 
as before, and the whole is actively stirred to mix 
it regularly, and not allow any portion to become 
over-heated. Alter standing half an hour, remove 
the whey by dipping out the greater part of it 
from the top, and drawing off the balance from 
the spigot at the bottom. 
When most of the whey is thus drawn off, cut 
the curd from the sides of the tub and heap it in 
the middle, where it should remain an hour 
longer. The curd is next cut in large slices, and 
turned over in the centre of the tub as before, 
leaving it to drain for half an hour. After this 
interval, it will be ripe for pressure, but must 
first be cooled to 65° by breaking with the hand 
and placing on a cooler. Having reached the 
proper temperature, put if in one or more vats 
(molds), and subject it to a moderate pressure for 
fifteen or twenty minutes. 
The next process consists in taking the curd 
from the vat and passing it through the curd- 
mill to break it finely, when it is salted and made 
into a cheese. A pound of good salt is sufficient 
for fifty pounds of curd. 
The cheese is now carefully put into the press, 
where it remains till next morning, when it is re¬ 
versed in the vat, and another cheese-cloth is put 
on it. The morning following, a fine cotton 
cloth is used, to give it a smooth surface, and it 
is again reversed in the vat, and pressed twenty- 
four hours, after which, it is laid upon the shelf. 
When the cheeses are taken from the press, 
they are each placed in a piece of canvas to pre¬ 
serve their shape. At first, they should be turned 
daily, but as they become firmer, they require it 
less frequently. A temperature of 55« to 65° is 
regarded as the best for ripening Cheddar cheese 
