42 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 
piece of straw-work from the top of the hive (see p. 
239, Yol. I.), and place upon it the adapting board 
(see p. 305); then put the bell-glass, small hive, or 
box (see p. 305) upon this adapter, and cover the 
whole with a milk-pan to defend them from wet. 
Should a bell-glass be preferred, it must be covered 
with something that will effectually exclude light. 
A cover of straw is, perhaps, the best. It is very 
dsirable to fix a piece of clean comb inside the glass, 
and this may very easily be done by warming tbe 
perforated zinc tube, which is sold with the glasses, 
and then pressing the piece of comb upon it. Should 
the comb reach from the top to the bottom of the 
glass, so much the better; for the bees will then begin 
to work upon it immediately. 
Those persons whose bees are now in common 
straw liives may, if they please, commence with the 
above system at once. Let them, in the middle of a 
hue clear day, with a strong sharp knife, cut out from 
the top of the hive a piece of the straw-work four 
inches in diameter; and then place over the opening 
the adapting board, &c., as directed above. Should 
the combs be a little broken at the top of the hive, it 
matters not. Indeed, it is rather to be wished that 
they should be so ; for the bees, in repairing them, 
are induced to carry then- work upward in the glass 
or box that is given them. This operation may be 
done without any protection whatever by an expe¬ 
rienced person; for, if done at a proper time and well 
managed, not a bee will take wing. All operations, 
except joining swarms, should be performed on a line 
clear day, and between the hours of twelve and two 
o’clock. At that time such operations are done with 
much less annoyance to the bees, as well as with less 
chance of danger to the operator. I generally per¬ 
form all the operations required in this system with¬ 
out the defence even of a pair of gloves; but I would 
not recommend any person to do so until he has had 
many years’ experience in the management ol' bees ; 
for being perfectly defended in every part against 
their stings, gives that coolness and confidence to the 
operator upon which the happy accomplishment of 
his intentions so much depends. Coolness and con¬ 
fidence on the part of the operator are essential quali¬ 
fications ; for anything approaching to hurry irritates 
' bees exceedingly. Indeed, the hand ought never to 
be hastily removed from one position to another. 
“Quietness,” says Dr. Bevan, “is the surest protec¬ 
tion against being stung.” 
Defence. —The best defence that I have found, is 
a mask of wire, similar to a fencing-mask, and a pair 
of very thick worsted gloves. It should be remem¬ 
bered that nothing is either more offensive or more 
irritating to bees than the human breath ; therefore, 
breathing upon them must at all times be most care¬ 
fully avoided. 
Covering for Glasses. —When the bees are be¬ 
ginning to work in a glass, a cold night generally 
obliges them to forsake their newly-made combs, and 
to discontinue their labours, which are seldom re¬ 
sumed till the middle of the next day. To prevent 
this delay, I would recommend the space between 
the glass and its cover to be filled with fine tow or 
wool; the temperature of the glass being thereby 
kept up, and the bees enabled to carry on their 
labours without interruption. Wool is to be pre¬ 
ferred, from its not being so good a conductor of heat 
as tow. 
Enemies. —Continue to destroy queen wasps and 
hornets, and to watch carefully for moths. Should 
the hees of any hive appear inactive about this time, 
or should they not be seen to carry in pellets of 
pollen, whilst others are doing it, and this inaction 
continue for eight or ten days, lose no time in 
examining the hive; and should the moths have 
begun their work of destruction, which may be 
known by seeing their combs joined together by 
their silken webs, cut away the combs affected with 
a sharp knife, and the hive may perhaps be saved. 
Swarms. —Those persons who are anxious to com¬ 
mence bee-keeping by purchasing swarms, must now 
provide themselves with such kinds of hives as they 
are wishing to see them bees placed in, and send 
them to the persons of whom they have agreed 
to purchase, that the bees may be hived into them 
at the time of swarming. Should it be straw hives 
that are chosen, let there be no sticks placed w ithin 
side them for the bees to fasten their combs to, for 
they cause them much trouble in forming the combs, 
and render the extraction of the combs almost im¬ 
possible. Let there be no sugared ale nor honey 
put inside the hive, but let it be as clean and dry 
as possible; and when it is fixed where it is to 
remain, let there be no mortar or clay put round to 
fasten it to the floor-board—the bees themselves will 
do this more effectually. Clay or mortar tends very 
much to decay the hives, by retaining moisture, and 
is a harbour for moths and other insects. On the 
depriving system, a hive may be expected to stand 
for fifteen or even twenty years, if properly managed. 
Purchasers should endeavour to obtain the very 
earliest swarms in May, if there be any, but on no 
account to have them after the 14th or 15th of June; 
and it is very important to observe that whenever a 
swarm is purchased, it must be removed to the place 
in which it is to remain upon the evening of the day 
it swarmed; for should its removal be delayed even 
till the evening of the next day, the combs will in 
all probability be broken, and the stock destroyed. 
Let it be remembered that the prosperity of the hive 
will much (perhaps entirely) depend upon its being 
finally placed upon the evening of the day it swarmed. 
Remedy for the Sting of a Bee. —Persons who 
are much amongst bees must now and then expect 
to meet with a sting, although to myself it very 
rarely happens; never, indeed, but when accidentally 
having laid my hand upon one, or when having 
pressed one beneath the sleeve of my coat. “ The 
sooner the sting is extracted,” says Dr. Bevan, 
“ the less venom is ejected, and, consequently, less 
inflammation induced.” After extracting the sting, 
I apply the least possible quantity of Liquor jwtassce, 
either with a fine camel’s-hair pencil, a sharp pen, 
or even with the point of a needle. The venom of ; 
the bee being an acid, this very powerful alkali neu¬ 
tralizes it, the pain is instantly removed, and neither 
swelling nor inflammation follow. Care must be 
taken not to use too large a quantity, or a scar will 
be the consequence, which will last for some days. 
Remember, the quicker the application the more 
effectual the cure. 
THE BEE. 
BY THE REV. C. A. A. LLOYD. 
(•Continued from p. 242.b 
Discovery of Thomas Nutt. — Nutt discovered 
that if a hive was so contrived that part of it could 
be ventilated at pleasure, the queen would not lay 
her eggs there, and that, consequently, the working 
bees would not deposit there any farina. It some¬ 
times happens that bees build combs on the outside 
of their liives, and fill them with honey. Nutt ob- 
