24 
chapman’s handy-book. 
is black; see that the bees are lively, not quiet and 
languid, and paying no attention to you when examining 
the°hive. Now then, after making your selection, you 
wish to move your bees some distance, therefore, when 
your hive is stocked, tie it up securely in a cloth, that same 
evening, and carry it to the place where it is to stand. It 
must on no account be moved again except to a considerable 
distance. The situation of the hives ought never to be 
changed, but I have seen people shift about their hives 
very inconsiderately; the change of place invariably 
weakens them, as the bees will return to their old resi¬ 
dence, the environs of which are so familiar to them. A 
hive should remain as fixed to the spot as the ancient oaks, 
in the hollows of which they delight to establish them¬ 
selves, where they have their young, their companions, 
their beloved queen, and all their treasures. When the 
young bees take wing for the first time, they do it with 
great precaution, turning round and round, and fluttering 
about the entrance, to examine the hive well before taking 
flight. They do the same in returning, so that they may 
be easily distinguished, conducting’ themselves nearly after 
the same manner as the workers of a newly hived swarm. 
When they have made a few hundred excursions, they 
set off without examining the locality, and, returning in 
full flight, will know their own hive in the midst of a 
hundred others. But if you change its place you perplex 
them, much the same as you would be, if, during your 
absence, some one lifted your house, and placed it a mile 
off. The poor bees return loaded, and seeking in vain for 
their habitation, either fall down and perish with fatigue, 
or throw themselves into the neighbouring hives, when 
they are speedily put to death. 
When hives are transported to a considerable distance, 
there is no fear that the bees will return. But this incon¬ 
venience would be sure to take place, and many of the 
working bees would perish, if they were removed only a 
few hundred paces from the spot they have been accus¬ 
tomed to. The hive may not perish, but it will be greatly 
weakened. In my opinion, if the situation is to be changed 
at all, they should be removed at least a mile and a half. 
