THE HONEY-BEE IN NEW ZEALAND- 
1 / 
In the winter a heavier hive may be safely moved to a 
new station, for by that time the combs wiil he more 
firmly fixed, not only to the top of the hive, but also to t 
sides; and as there will be no longer any brood m the 
combs, they will be relieved from this great weight, lint 
as most people choose the summer for their own mov e¬ 
ments, I suppose that bees will generally have to make 
the journey at the same time. And this journey they 
always should make in company with any sett er going to 
a distant station; for the benefit they will do to him is 
very great; but more of this when I come to speak of bee 
^ Some people put cross sticks in all their hives, thinking 
them needful to support the combs. If very securely fixed, 
they may be useful in hives which are to be carried to a 
distance, but in no other cases ought they to be used, as I 
shall presently show;..they are the greatest nuisances 
when you come to take the honey, and are useless a a 
other times. A comb will not break down as long as the 
hive is not moved, and is protected from the direct rays of 
the sun; trust the lees to do their own work securely ; there 
are no lunglers amongst them. . . 
One other hint I will now give touching the removal of 
your bees: when you come to turn a hive up, to lash it 
to its board, to look inside, or to cut out some honey¬ 
comb, first ascertain how the combs run m the lnve; 1 
mean from front to back, or from side to side. _ The 
combs, you know, are all parallel to each other, like a 
number of books hung up to dry on strings, with a 
quarter of an inch between them. When you know which 
way they run, be very careful to turn up the hives so as 
to keep the combs always in their own j planes . xhis may 
be rather too difficult for some of my 1 eader s, but it it- 
of the greatest importance; and as I bought my own 
experience dearly, by making a miserable smash of a fine 
parcel of combs in a hive which I turned up the 
wrong way, I am willing that you should have it 
at a cheaper rate, without making your bees pay 
the penalty of your ig’norance. Vf e will now suppose 
that you have got your bees and have set them to work, 
