194 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
samples of Merino and SouthDown fleeces. The relative 
difference of serrations can not be conveniently delinea¬ 
ted in a plate; a marked difference, however, will be ob¬ 
served in the construction of the lamelae or serrations.— 
No. 1. A fibre of Merino wool as a transparent object; 
No. 2. The same, as opaque; No. 3. A fibre of South 
Down wool, transparent; No. 4. The same, opaque. 
The pressing- engagements of the writer at this busy 
period of the year, will preclude the pleasure it would 
otherwise aflord him to continue the discussion of this 
interesting subject. L A. Morrell. 
BEES. 
Editor of the Cultivator —I give here a few ques¬ 
tions which if answered through the medium of your 
paper, will be of essential benefit to many in this vici¬ 
nity. 
By what means can the common board bee-hive be 
rendered safe against the bee-moth? 
If the common hive cannot be made safe, what kind of 
hive can? 
What is the best method of making a bee-hive or 
house to prevent bees from swarming? 
I have tried almost every method to keep the worms 
from the common hive, such as raising it on nails, 
sprinkling salt around it, &c. &c. I have also used some 
of the patent-hives, but entirely without success. I have 
heard that when a hive is very large, by keeping the bees 
without swarming, the moth rarely enters it. Is it so? 
Fishkill , May 1, 1844. A. B. C. 
We think it would be difficult, if not impracticable, to 
make the “common board hive proof against the bee- 
moth.” A great many kinds of hives have been con¬ 
structed to guard against the ravages of this destructive 
insect. A few of them have been more or less useful, 
but by far the greater portion have been of no benefit 
whatever. The moth is an insidious enemy, and makes 
his attack on the hive in such a way that it is not easy to 
defeat him, and when he has once obtained a lodgment 
within the hive, it is almost impossible to get him out. 
The “ inclined plane” has been adopted in many cases 
for the bottom of the hive, under the supposition that 
the bees would somehow get the w'orms from their hi¬ 
ding places and drop them on to this board, from which 
they would roll off to the ground. We are satisfied from 
critical observation that the number of worms got out of 
the hive in this way is comparatively trifling. The 
worm works under the protection of a web, which se¬ 
cures it from their fangs of the bees as effectually as if it 
were clad in a coat of mail. If the bees undertake to get 
him out, the feet and fangs soon become clogged with 
the fibres of the web, and they give up their labors in 
despair. When the worms have reached their full size 
and are about to pass into the pupa or chrysalis state, 
they sometimes crawl about considerably, their object 
being, apparently, to find a suitable place in which to 
spin their cocoons and undergo transformation. At this 
time they are fully exposed to the attacks of the bee, 
who sometimes seizes and drags them out of the hive. 
But even then they evince an extraordinary sagacity in 
finding their way back. When thrown by the bee from 
the edge of the hive or the inclined plane, they have 
been frequently observed to be attached to the board by 
a small web, by which they would directly wind them¬ 
selves up again to the hive. They have been seen to do 
this when thrown from the bottom board three success¬ 
ive times, and were then effectually expelled only by the 
bees carrying them off so suddenly and so far as to break 
the web before dropping them. 
Like many other insects of the same tribe, the bee- 
moth lies still during the day, and is only active at twi¬ 
light. Hence, a wire screen thrown over the entrance 
to the hive during the night, or while the moth is busy, 
is a good protection. By a little attention, many of the 
moths may be killed at the time they are hovering round 
the hive in the evening. Some of the worms may also 
be caught at the time when they are seeking places for 
transformation, by placing little troughs, pieces of bark, 
or elder quills, split in two, so as to make a suitable 
shelter for them. The worms will be found under them 
in the morning, and may be killed. 
The best defence against the moth, is to guard as much 
as possible the.entrance to the hive. It is much easier 
to keep an enemy out of a fortress, than it is to expel 
him when he has once gained possession. In this case, 
the bees become tired of a continued opposition to the 
moth, and finding that he has obtained a secure footing, 
leave him almost unmolested. 
The hive should be made of good seasoned stuff, that 
will not warp, and be put together as closely as possible. 
There should be no cracks or crevices, for these are sure 
to afford harbor for the moth. The entrance should be 
no larger than is really necessary to afford space enough 
for the bees to pass. The smaller the entrance, the more 
easily and effectually may it be guarded against intru¬ 
ders. 
H. A. Pitts, of Winthrop, Me., has invented a simple 
contrivance for keeping the moth out of the hive, for 
which he has obtained a patent. It consists of a series 
of false bottoms, or slides, attached to the under part of 
the hive. These slides project out in front of the 
hive, having spaces of a quarter or a third of an inch 
between them. A small drawer is made in the back part 
of the false bottom, or in the rear of the slide, into which 
some honey-comb is placed. The moth is thus induced 
to deposit its eggs there. The drawer and slides may be 
pulled out and the worms destroyed as often as necessary 
without at all incommoding the bees. The contrivance 
costs but a trifle, and may be attached to any hive. 
Where it has had a fair trial, it has been well liked, and 
is a great protection against the moth. It should be ob¬ 
served that the entrance to the hive is screened by a 
thin cleat, cut out on the under side so that the bees can 
pass into the hive, and nailed across over the entrance. 
This prevents the moth from readily discovering the en¬ 
trance to the hive, while the spaces between the slides 
and the drawer, furnish just such a habitation as they desire. 
As to the best kind of a house to keep bees from 
swarming, we remark that there have been many such 
invented—some of them, under the name of “palaces” 
costing from thirty to forty dollars each. We know not 
which is “ best.” For ourselves, we should not be in 
favor of any of them. It is more natural for bees to 
swarm, and they will increase much faster, and make 
more honey in proportion to their number, by being al¬ 
io well to do so, than if prevented from swarming. As 
to these palaces preventing the moth, we have seen none 
that appeared likely to do so—on the contrary, their con¬ 
struction is generally so complicated as to afford the moth 
a very secure harbor, and we have seen many where the 
moth had succeeded in gaining full possession of the hive* 
and had nearly exterminated the bees. 
WHITE DAISY. 
Messrs. Editors —In the summer of 1837, we obser¬ 
ved for the first time in a field of ten acres, about five 
completely covered with the White Daisy; so much so 
that no domestic animal which we raise, would graze 
among them, or even look for grass where the daisies 
grew. They were mowed off that summer, but appa¬ 
rently to no purpose. The next spring, as soon as grass, 
had started, we turned about one hundred and twenty 
wethers and yearling lambs into that field and kept them, 
there as long as there was any thing green to be seen,, 
when they were driven out until the daisies and grass 
had started up, when they were put back, and the daisies 
again eaten off. We continued to change them in and 
out of that field throughout the summer—our object be 
ing to keep the ground where the daisies grew as bare as 
sheep could be made to gnaw it. The end of this is, that 
there has not been a daisy there since. 
We would recommend to those readers of the Cultiva 
tor who are troubled with the daisy, to use their sheep, 
(if they have any,) not only for the comfort of themselves 
and families, but for labor-saving animals also. They 
should be confined to the daisy on its first appearance in 
the spring, and so many of them as to eat all clean in 
two weeks or less, when they may be changed into an¬ 
other field, till such time as the daisy again springs up. 
We have never known or heard of daisies being destroy¬ 
ed in this way before. If you think this worth knowing^ 
please publish it. Frank Farmer. 
