Chapter II: Part 2

Of all other kinds of food (where honey in the combs cannot be had) barley-sugar is the best, and not only the best and the cheapest, but the safest and by far the least trouble; for when liquid food is used it is carried down by the Bees immediately upon its being supplied and stored in the combs, and the proprietor has no means of knowing at what time the store is exhausted, and a fresh supply required; but it is not so with barley-sugar, for whilst a morsel remains, which may easily be seen, it is certain the Bees will not die of want. The best method of supplying it is at the top of the hives or boxes. My plan is to tie a dozen sticks of it together, and after opening the hive at top, to place the barley-sugar over the opening, and to cover it with a garden-pan or flower-pot; and just before it is all consumed, give a fresh supply in a similar way. Persons generally are apt to imagine that as soon as a few blossoms make their appearance in the spring their Bees will not want any attention, which is a very great mistake, as many a young apiarian has discovered both to his cost and disappointment; for during the months of March and April greater care is required in feeding than at any other time, for the population is then rapidly increasing, and in a wet and cloudy season no supplies whatever can be obtained but by artificial means.

To Make Barley-sugar.--Put two pounds of loaf sugar into a saucepan with half a pint of water, and two spoonfuls of the best vinegar; put it on a gentle fire, let it boil till the syrup becomes so thick that the handle of a spoon being dipped into it, and then plunged into cold water, the syrup upon the handle is found to be quite crisp; when this is the case it is sufficiently boiled. Having an earthen dish or marble slab in readiness, well buttered, pour the syrup upon it, and, when sufficiently cool to handle, clip it with scissors into strips the size desired. The process of boiling takes about twenty minutes.

Feeding Bottles.--The very best mode of administering liquid food is by means of an inverted bottle, the mouth of which should be tied over with a bit of coarse leno or cap-net. It is a mistake to use muslin for this purpose, or, in fact, any material the meshes of which are less than a sixteenth of an inch wide. With common hives the bottle-neck may be inserted in the central aperture, which usually exists (if not, one should be made with a sharp penknife), in the top, and refilled as often as may be necessary. With flat-topped hives the bottle should be supported by its neck being fitted into a perforated block of wood about five inches in diameter, and it will be found convenient to interpose a piece of perforated zinc to prevent the Bees escaping when the bottle is refilled. A four or six-ounce medicine phial is a good size for spring-feeding, whilst a common pickle-bottle leaves nothing to be desired when a copious supply is required in autumn.

A feeding-bottle should be filled by the food being poured into it from a jug, and if the neck be narrow it may, after the mouth is tied over, be quickly inverted over the aperture in the top of the hive, so that what food escapes may run into the hive and down among the Bees. If, on the other hand, the mouth be wide, as in the case of a pickle-bottle, it should be first inverted over the jug and steadily conveyed to the hive in a reversed position When a bottle is properly managed no food runs down into the hive after it has been placed upon it, but all remains perfectly suspended whilst it is being gradually removed by the Bees, which find no difficulty in emptying a full-sized pickle-bottle every night.

_a_, Circular hole through which the Bees ascend; _b_, The feeding-pan containing the food, which is put in at the side spout, _c_, and upon which the float rises and falls.]

Feeding-pans.--Having been frequently applied to for the plan of a feeding-pan best adapted for my Improved Cottage Hive, I am induced to answer the very many applicants by giving a description of the one I have been using for the last two or three years. It is made of stout zinc, circular, 8 inches in diameter, 2-1/2 inches deep, having a circular hole of 2-1/2 inches in the middle of the bottom, with a rim round it standing up 2 inches; a float of wood, very thin and perforated with holes, is made to fit inside, but sufficiently easy to rise and fall with the liquid in the pan; the holes in this float must first be made with a gimlet, and then burnt with an iron, or they will fill up after having been in use a little time; the whole is covered by a lid with an inside rim, the lid having a piece of glass in the centre of 2-1/2 or 3 inches in diameter. When first using this feeding-pan, I found much inconvenience in being obliged to remove the lid every time that a fresh supply of food was required. To obviate this difficulty, I had a half circle 3 inches in diameter, attached to its sides, with a lid or cover, and communicating with the interior of the feeding-pan by a hole cut in the side, and covered with a piece of perforated zinc, so that by looking through the glass in the lid I can see when a fresh supply of food is required; and I have then only to raise the lid of this additional side-piece, and pour in the food, which passes readily through the perforated zinc, and raises the wooden float upon its surface. Four very small tacks should be driven into the under side of the float, at equal distances from each other, to prevent its going quite to the bottom of the pan; and it is also necessary for the rim in the centre of the pan to be roughed with a file, or to be lined with perforated zinc, to enable the Bees to ascend more easily than they would otherwise do if it was left quite smooth.

The float should be less than an eighth of an inch in thickness, and is better to be made of mahogany.

MANNER OF TAKING HONEY.

At noon, upon a clear fine day, pass either a very thin knife or fine wire between the hive and the glass intended to be taken. If this precaution be neglected, a piece of comb is frequently left projecting from the top of the one left, or the bottom of that taken, which will cause much trouble to the operator. Two adapting-boards (see page 8) placed between the hive and the glass will be found very convenient, for the knife or wire will then only have to be passed between them, and the danger of breaking the combs thus be obviated.

To Expel the Bees from the Glass.--The glass must be lifted _very_ gently, kept in the same position, and placed upon three inverted flower-pots, or something of the kind, in a shaded place, about 30 or 40 yards from the hive, and the Bees will make their escape in about ten or fifteen minutes. Gentleness, as I have before said, is very necessary in this, as in all other operations with Bees; indeed, it is the only means of accomplishing the end desired: therefore, remove the glass very gently, and place it about 6 inches above the ground on bricks or flower-pots, as above. Shaking, beating, or burning paper under it, have all a contrary effect than that desired upon the Bees: they are alarmed by this, and will not leave the glass for hours, and, perhaps, days when these means are resorted to. The glass being thus placed, a loud humming noise is first heard, and the Bees are then seen to leave it, and in five or six minutes all, except a few stragglers that may be brushed out with a feather, will have left it: but should the queen be in the glass, which very rarely happens, quite a different appearance presents itself--no noise will be heard, nor a Bee scarcely seen to leave it; but the hive from which it has been taken will, in a very short time, appear in great confusion. Whenever this occurs the glass must be returned immediately, and taken off again the next day. When a glass or box of honey is taken, it must not be left till the Bees are all out of it, for it is very likely to be attacked by robbers, and a great part of it carried away in a short time. Robbers may be known by their endeavouring to enter the glass or box, while the Bees belonging to it, being separated from their queen, fly home immediately upon leaving it. I have frequently found it necessary, in order to prevent robbers from attacking the glass, to remove it from place to place every four or five minutes, or to take the glass into a darkened room, so that a small portion of light is admitted through a hole which communicates with the open air.

STUPIFYING BEES.

By Fumigation.--Much has been said and written upon the subject of fumigation, yet this is a process that I am not at all partial to; and, as far as my experience has gone, it is one which I have never yet had occasion to resort to in a single instance; for even in the most difficult operations I have always found a puff, and that a very little one, of tobacco-smoke to be all-sufficient. As I have said before, gentleness is the best protection; still, if by any little accident the Bees become irritated, a slight puff of tobacco-smoke quiets them at once. One reason for my not being partial to fumigation is, that I could never see the necessity for it; and another reason is, that all the Bees, which I have seen thus treated are sluggish and inactive for some days after the operation, besides many having been killed. Now, this in early spring, or in the midst of the honey-gathering season, is certainly of great consequence, especially when we are told that a prosperous colony of Bees will, in a single day of the latter season, collect from 4 to 6 lbs. of honey.

METHOD OF DRAINING HONEY FROM THE COMBS.

Place a sieve, either of hair or canvas, over an earthen jar, cut the combs containing the honey into small pieces, and put them into a sieve; let them be cut in an horizontal direction. It is better to slice them twice--that is, at the top and bottom, than in the middle. Crushing or pressing should be avoided for, as a portion of brood and Bee-bread generally remains in the comb, pressure would force it through the sieve, and the honey would thereby be much injured, both in colour as well a& flavour. It is very desirable to have two sieves; for in every hive there will be two kinds of honey--the one almost colourless and fine-flavoured, found at the sides of the hive; the other dark and not so good, stored in the centre. These should always be kept separate. The draining process may occupy, perhaps, two days; but the largest quantity, as well as the best quality, will be drained off in three or four hours. The honey should be put into jars immediately, and the jars _filled_ and tied down with bladder; for exposure to the air, even for a few hours, very much deteriorates its flavour. I may here observe, that honey in the combs keeps remarkably well if folded in writing-paper, and sealed up so as to exclude the free entrance of the air, and is placed in a dry warm closet.

PREPARATION OF WAX.

Having drained all the honey from the combs, wash these in clean water; this liquid, by exposure to the sun and air, will make most excellent vinegar; put them in a clean boiler with some soft water; simmer over a clear fire until the combs are melted: pour a quart or so into a canvas bag, wide at the top and tapering downwards into a jelly bag; hold this over a tub of cold water; the boiling liquor will immediately pass away, leaving the liquefied wax and the dross in the bag; have ready a piece of smooth board, of such a length that one end may rest at the bottom of the tub and the other end at its top; upon this inclined plane lay your reeking bag, but not so as to touch the cold water; then, by compressing the bag with any convenient roller, the wax will ooze through and run down the board into the cold water, on the surface of which it will set in thin flakes; empty the dross out of the bag and replenish it with the boiling wax, and proceed as before until all has been pressed. When finished, collect the wax from the surface of the cold water, put it into a clean saucepan with very little water, melt it carefully over a slow fire, skim off the dross as it rises, then pour it into moulds, or shapes, and place them where they will cool slowly. The wax may be rendered still more pure by a second melting and moulding.

MEAD.

This treatise would not be complete without a receipt for Mead, the following is the best that I have seen, and is most excellent:--Pour five gallons of boiling water upon 20 lbs. of honey; boil, and remove the scum as it rises; when it ceases to rise, add 1 oz. of hops, and boil for ten minutes afterwards; put the liquor into a tub to cool. When reduced to 75° of Fahrenheit, add a slice of bread toasted and smeared over with a little yeast, let it stand in a warm room and be stirred occasionally; and when it carries a head tun it, filling the cask up from time to time. When the fermentation has nearly finished bung it down, leaving a peg-hole, which may soon be closed; bottle in about a year.

HONEY VINEGAR.

A most excellent Vinegar may also be had from honey:--Put half a pound of honey to a quart of water, boiling hot; mix well, and expose to the greatest heat of the sun without closing the vessel containing it, but sufficiently so to keep out insects. In about six weeks this liquor becomes acid and changes to strong vinegar, and of _excellent_ quality. The broken combs, after being drained, may be put in as much water as will float them, and well washed. The linens also and sieves which have been used for draining honey, may be rinsed in the same water, and with this make the vinegar; first boil and scum it before mixing it with the honey.

REMEDIES FOR THE STING OF A BEE.

1. 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 potassæ_, 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 neutralises it; the pain is instantly removed, and neither swelling nor inflammation follows. 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.

2. The only _positive_ and _immediate_ cure for a Bee-sting that I have ever heard of, and that may be depended on in all cases, is tobacco. This remedy was recommended to me as an infallible cure; yet I had but little faith in it: still I tried it, and, as I supposed, properly, and found little or no benefit from its use. I reported its failure to cure in my own case to my informant, and he stated that I had not applied it thoroughly as I ought to have done; that he was certain that it would be an effectual cure, never having known it to fail in a single instance when correctly applied. The next time I got stung I applied the tobacco as directed, and found it to cure like a charm. The manner of applying it is as follows:--Take ordinary fine-cut smoking or chewing tobacco, and lay a pinch of it in the hollow of your hand, and moisten it and work it over until the juice appears quite dark-coloured; then apply it to the part stung, rubbing in the juice, with the tobacco between your thumb and fingers, as with a sponge. As fast as the tobacco becomes dry, add a little moisture and continue to rub, and press out the juice upon the inflamed spot, during five or ten minutes, and if applied soon after being stung it will cure in 'every case. Before I tried it, I was frequently laid up with swollen eyes and limbs for days. Now it is amusing to get stung.--(_Miner's American Bee-keeper's Manual._)

BEE DRESS.

In the season for going amongst Bees careful apiarians are desirous of having all things ready for use before they are immediately required, and as being well-armed against the stings of their Bees gives confidence and coolness to the inexperienced operator, both of which are so essentially necessary to the successful accomplishment of his object, I will give the plan of a very simple and convenient Bee-dress, which has been kindly handed to me by a friend. It is formed of green leno, and so made as to enclose the head, neck, and shoulders; indeed, it is like a bag, with sleeves to tie at the wrists. The sleeves are made of green glazed cambric. It forms altogether a perfect panoply, and the most timid person with its aid may perform the most difficult operation with the greatest coolness, and without the possibility of being stung.

PURCHASING STOCKS.

March and April are the best two months for purchasing stocks, and May for swarms. It is better to obtain them from such a distance only as they can be conveyed by hand; conveyance by any other means is always attended with danger to the Bees. Swarms require less care in carrying from place to place than stocks. In purchasing stocks the weight alone must not be relied on; a swarm of the preceding year should be selected, and one that contains not less than 12 lbs. of honey. The combs must be looked at, and if they are not of a yellow or straw colour, and if at all approaching to blackness, it is not a swarm of the last year, and must be rejected. The next best time to purchase is May or June, at the time of swarming; but of this hereafter.

THE LIGURIAN OR YELLOW ALP BEE.

The Ligurian Bee is a species indigenous to the south of Europe, and has been cultivated in Italy in the same way as the common honey Bee has been in the northern parts of Europe from time immemorial. It is the Apis Ligustica of the naturalist; and though so well known to exist and to have all the honey-producing properties of our own honey Bee, with some other advantages besides, it seems remarkable that it should have remained so long unknown to the apiarians of this country.

The merit of introducing this species is due to Mr. Woodbury, the eminent Devonshire Bee-keeper, who, having made the necessary preliminary inquiries, placed himself in communication with Mons. H. C. Hermann, of Tamin-by-Chur, in the Canton of Grison, Switzerland; and on the 19th of July, 1859, the Ligurian Bee was introduced to England.

In a pamphlet on the subject by M. Hermann we have the following particulars of this insect:--

"The yellow Italian Alp Bee is a mountain insect; it is found between two mountain chains to the right and left of Lombardy and the Rhætian Alps, comprising the whole territory of Tessins, Vetlin, and South-Graubunden. It thrives up to the height of 4500 feet above the level of the sea, and appears to prefer the northern clime to the warmer, for in the south of Italy it is not found. The farther one goes from the Alps, the less handsome they are found--as for example in Nice, until they are entirely lost in lower Italy in the black species. We must therefore look for the original in Switzerland, and we can call them with as much right _Apis Helvetica_, as the Genoese call them _Apis Ligustica_. Some learned men have called them Ligurian Bees, but that name has neither historical nor geographical claim, and not one Bee-cultivator of the whole district of the Italian Alp Bee knows what kind of insects Ligurian Bees are. The Alps are their native country; therefore they are called Yellow Alp Bees, or Tame House Bees, in contradistinction to the black European Bees, which we might call common forest Bees, and which, on the slightest touch, fly like lightning into your face.

"The Italian yellow Bee differs from the common black Bee in its longer more slender form, and light chrome yellow colour, with light brimstone-coloured wings, and two orange-red bands, each one-sixth of an inch wide. Working Bees as well as drones have this mark. The drones are further distinguished by the bands being scolloped like the spotted water-serpent, and obtain an astonishing size--almost half as large again as the black drones. The queen has the same marks as the working Bees, but much more conspicuous and lighter; she is much larger than the black queen, and easy to be singled out of the swarm, on account of her remarkable bodily size and light colour.

"The Bees are almost transparent when the sun shines on them.

"This race has nothing in common with the black Bees, which can be instantly seen by their ways and manner of building. The cells of the Italian Bee are considerably deeper and broader than those of the black Bees. Fifteen cells of the Italians are as broad as sixteen cells of the black kind."

Their chief merits in contrast with the black Bees are--1, as they naturally inhabit a region of such elevation as 4500 feet, they are less sensitive to cold than the common Bee; 2, their queens are more prolific; 3, they swarm earlier and more frequently; 4, they are much less apt to sting, and not only so, but unless they are intentionally annoyed or irritated they are not inclined to sting; 5, they are more courageous and active in self-defence, and are particularly disposed to plunder the hives of the common kind; but should the latter attack their hives they fight with great fierceness and adroitness.

TO UNITE A LIGURIAN QUEEN TO A COMMON STOCK OR SWARM.

As soon as you have become possessed of a Ligurian queen and her attendants, steps should be taken for removing the common queen from the stock, or swarm, to which the strangers are to be united.

Where _bar hives_ are in use the operation is sufficiently easy, but should not be attempted without the protection afforded by a Bee-dress and a thick pair of wollen gloves. The services of an assistant similarly accoutred will be found very useful, but are not absolutely indispensable.

The middle of a fine day is the best time for the operation, which should be commenced by removing the stock a little either to the right or left of its usual position, which must be occupied by an empty hive, from which the top board and comb-bars have been removed. The top board of the full hive must then be shifted on one side sufficiently to expose a single bar, which may be carefully withdrawn after the attachments of the comb have been severed from the back and front of the hire by a bent knife. Both sides of the comb must be rigidly scrutinised, and any cluster of Bees gently dispersed with a feather, until it becomes evident that the queen is not present, when it may be placed in the empty hive. The same process must be repeated with each successive comb until the queen is discovered and secured, when the Bees may be either allowed to remain in the hive to which they have been transferred, or replaced in their original domicile. Sometimes the queen is not to be found on any of the combs, but may be detected among the stragglers remaining in the hive. In practised hands her discovery may be reckoned on with tolerable certainty during the first removal; but if she succeed in escaping detection the process must be repeated until she is secured.

With _common hives_ or boxes driving is the best method to adopt; and the Bees, having been expelled from their habitation, may be knocked out on a cloth and searched over until the queen is discovered.

Should the Bee-keeper be unable to perform the operation of driving, fumigation may be resorted to and the queen secured whilst the Bees are in a state of insensibility.

Should the queen have been removed, and the Bees restored to their original hive and position in the apiary, measures must now be taken to introduce the Italian sovereign to her future subjects. The first step will be carefully to remove the lid of the small box, replacing it with a slip of perforated zinc without permitting the Bees to escape. The whole must then be inverted over an opening in the top of the hive containing the queenless stock, where it should remain undisturbed till the next day, when the perforated zinc divider may be withdrawn, and the union will be complete. The small box itself need not be removed till the third day, when the Bees will be found to have quitted it.

After the lapse of about thirty days young Ligurians may, probably, be discovered taking their flight.

MULTIPLYING SWARMS OF LIGURIANS.

Presuming that the Ligurian queens are in bar hives, and that they prove themselves fairly prolific mothers, let a number of similar bar hives be provided, and into each of these, from time to time, during the course of the summer, let there be carefully transferred from the Ligurian stock a bar with comb attached, containing eggs and young Bees in every stage of progress.

It would be well that every full-grown Bee should be previously swept off this comb back into the old hive, so as to prevent all danger of fighting between them and the Bees of the other stocks to which the comb is to be given. Then, in the middle of a warm and sunny day, when the Bees are chiefly abroad, let this comb, carefully fixed in an empty bar hive, be put in the place of any strong stock of common Bees that may be available for the purpose. This stock may be removed to some distance; but it would be well first so to disturb it as to cause a good many more of the Bees to leave it than might happen to be foraging in the fields; and, moreover to stop up its entrance till the evening. The ether Bees would soon take possession of the empty bar hive, and in three weeks' time replace their missing English queen with a young artificially-reared Ligurian queen, whose progeny would, in due course of time, become the sole possessors of the hive. The English stocks chosen for this purpose must be in the same, or in a very closely-adjoining apiary, otherwise the absence of Ligurian drones at the proper season would prove fatal to the success of this plan of increase.

One Ligurian stock losing one bar only, from time to time, might in this manner become the parent of a dozen stocks at least in the same season; and the earliest of the young swarms (say those formed in May), might also, in a warm spring, be made productive of two or three swarms in the same manner, without becoming too much weakened. Indeed, two bars may be taken every week out of the Ligurian stock during the months of May, June, and July; and these swarms, artificially formed, in the manner above detailed, may be worked during at least a whole month, from the middle of June to the middle of July.

One good Ligurian stock should be left pretty much to itself, so as to encourage the propagation of drones. Still, even this stock might be made to yield a few bars without in the least rendering the development of drones; but no bars should be taken out till a fair number have been seen abroad. Perhaps the best plan would be to make a swarm out of this hive in the same artificial manner, so soon as many drones are hatched. For drones which join swarms are generally (perhaps always) allowed to remain alive till late in the season, whereas the earliest-hatched drones are frequently destroyed in cold springs in their own hives.

BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR.

JANUARY.

Little attention will be required during this month of cold and frost, except upon a mild day, should such occur, of cleaning the floor-boards with a dry brush, and looking well to the ventilation of boxes of all kinds; for however trifling these matters may appear to those who are inexperienced in Bee-management, the well-doing of many stocks during the coming reason will, in a great measure, depend upon their being carefully attended to; and the interior of the hives being clean and free from damp at this time is quite as important as their having a supply of food in store, for even with the latter, if the former be neglected, the hives frequently perish.

Food.--When the hives are very weak--that is, having only Two or three pounds of honey in store, I would recommend a Lew pounds of syrup being given--viz., one pound of loaf sugar, a quarter of a pint of water, and a quarter of a pound of honey, simmered together over a slow fire until the sugar is melted, and when cold given to the Bees, and at the top of the hive if possible; but where they have a little richer store, barley-sugar may be given instead of syrup.

Shade.--Many persons have advocated the sun's rays in winter not falling upon the hives. Mr. Taylor says:--"Where The hives stand singly, I have always seen the advantages of fixing before each a wooden screen, nailed to a post sunk in the ground, and large enough to throw the whole front into shade. This does not interfere with the coming-forth of the Bees at a proper temperature, and it supersedes the necessity of shutting Them up when snow is on the ground. The screen should be fixed a foot or two in advance, and so as to intercept the sun's rays, which will be chiefly in winter towards the west side."

Ventilation.--Where boxes are used ventilation cannot be too much insisted upon, and a frequent examination of the floor-boards; and where dampness and mouldiness are observed, they should be exchanged for clean and dry ones.

Enemies and Snow.--The titmouse must be sharply looked after and destroyed as winter approaches, either by trapping, shooting, or bird-lime. Mice are also very apt to take up their winter abode inside the hives, where the single pedestal is not used; hence the necessity of a frequent examination of the hives.

See that the entrances of the hives are narrowed, and that during the time snow remains upon the ground they are wholly closed, so that not a single Bee can escape, for the sun shining upon the snow never fails to bring the Bees out of their hives, and settling upon the snow, they are immediately chilled, and die; but, upon the disappearance of the snow, not an hour must be lost in unstopping the entrances, and giving the Bees full liberty. This is very important, for, after a confinement of ten or twelve days, which may sometimes be found necessary, full liberty must be given them, upon the melting of the snow, by unstopping the hives; and not only unstopping, but seeing that the entrances are clear, and not filled up with dead Bees, which, after a long confinement, will very frequently happen. Many a good stock has perished for want of this precaution.

Glasses and Hives.--The provident apiarian will now provide himself with all the glasses and hives, of whatever kind he may fancy, either of wood or straw, that he may be likely to require during the ensuing season; and it is always better to have a few to spare than to have a short supply, for it is not at all an unusual thing for a swarm to fly away whilst sending about to procure a hive; when on the contrary, had there been a good supply, much time and inconvenience would have been saved, as well as the loss of the Bees prevented. Many cottagers make their own hives during the winter evenings, and very praiseworthy it is; the materials to make them cost very little. Straw is easily obtained; brambles, also to sew them with abound everywhere; and the method of making them is very easily acquired. I would recommend a swarm never to be put into an old hive; the old hives will be useful as covers to glasses, and for hiving second and third swarms that are to be joined to others on the evening of the day they swarm. Where wood hives are used a second time, great care must be taken to make them thoroughly clean, and free from the eggs of moths.

FEBRUARY

Very little attention will be required during this month beyond looking to the coverings, and seeing that they be all sound, and that no moisture comes upon the tops of the hives. Towards the end of the month, particular attention must be given at this season in endeavouring to keep the interior of the hives free from damp, which a frequent changing of the floor-boards will tend very much to effect. Indeed, after so long a confinement it becomes necessary, or the health of the stocks will be much endangered.

Feeding.--Food must be liberally supplied; but in so doing much attention must be paid to neatness and cleanliness in its administration, for when syrup is used the greatest care must be given that it be not smeared about the hives and floor-boards, for it will not only cause dampness in the hives, but induce fighting amongst the Bees when they are able to fly abroad.

Let the food be given, if possible at the top of the hive; if at the bottom, not till after sunset, carefully stopping up the entrance of the hive, and removing the vessel in which the food was given before sunrise the next morning; for the appearance of the Aconite and Crocus will not only delight our eyes, and gladden our hearts, but they will also arouse our little favourites to life and activity; and as the supplies of honey from these flowers at this early season will be very small--sufficient only, perhaps, to create a desire for a larger quantity, the feeding-pan, therefore, if allowed to remain at the bottom of a weak hive, will be resorted to by all the Bees of the apiary, causing much fighting and loss of life, and very probably the destruction of the stock in which it had been placed. By feeding at the top, all this may be avoided; not only the trouble of removing the feeding-pan every morning, but the danger and loss certain to arise from fighting.

Stocks.--A careful examination of every stock should be made on a mild day towards the end of the month; and where any doubt exists as to the sufficiency of food in the hive to carry the Bees safely through the spring, a supply should now be given, and I must still recommend barley-sugar (where honey cannot readily be obtained) as the best food that can be given. A good receipt for making it may be found in page 25; but it must always be remembered, that where barley-sugar is used as food, the Bees should never be left, even for a day, without a supply, either at the top or bottom of the hive; the former is always preferable. It should be remembered, also, that it is much better to give food before the stock is absolutely in want of it, than to wait till its store of food is exhausted. There are many reasons for this, well known to every practical apiarian.

Promoting Early Breeding.--Binding the hives neatly over with haybands would be as little trouble and expense as anything. The end of the month will be the proper time for trying this experiment; and I have little doubt but, if carefully attended to, the result will prove to be all that is desired. The entrances to the hives, if large, should be reduced, so as to leave room only sufficient for the easy ingress and egress of the Bees.

Water.--It must not be forgotten to place water in the vicinity of the hives, as directed at page 43.

Enemies.--The chief enemies to guard against at this time are mice and birds; cold; if the floor-boards and hives are dry, affects them but little.

Hives of Comb.--Let the hives of comb in which swarms of the last year have died be carefully preserved for the purpose of putting swarms of the coming season into them. The best method of keeping such hives will be, after having cleared them of the dead Bees, to hang them up in a dry place out of the reach of mice or rats. The advantage which a swarm put into a hive of clean dry comb has over one that is put into an empty hive is very great indeed, and known only to those persons who have experienced it.

Pollen.--By the end of the month our little pets will have begun their labours for another year, in collecting pollen from the Winter Aconites and the early kinds of Crocus, and, if the weather is not very severe, from the Elms also. Some years since I was curious to learn from what a grey or ash-coloured pollen was obtained, which the Bees brought home in rather large quantities very early in the season, at a time when the Aconites only could be seen in flower; but happening to pass beneath some Elm trees on a bright day, to my surprise I heard the hum of Bees, and on looking closely I observed several very busily employed, which induced me to take a branch home, and by comparing under the microscope the pollen, which it shed abundantly on being placed in a warm room, with that brought by the Bees, I found them to be alike, which fully satisfied me in this matter.

Pedestals.--Where the stocks are placed upon pedestals of wood it will be well to look to them, for I have lately heard of some sad disasters arising from the want of this little attention. It is about an inch below the surface of the ground that the mischief takes place, and when once begun, goes on rapidly, except good oak has been used.

MARCH.

Our little favourites, by the appearance of the early spring flowers, and the return of milder weather, are again aroused into life and activity; but it must always be remembered that the most trying time for them is from the middle of February to the end of March; for none but well-stored stocks can bear up against the great inequality betwixt the internal demand and the external supply of this period. The winter, to be sure, has been very cold, which is generally in their favour; for but little, if any, evil is to be apprehended from a cold winter, though much may arise from a mild one; as, during the latter, the stock of honey is often exhausted, from its inducing the Bees to be in action, without affording them any resources beyond their own stores.

Diseases.--This is the month in which dysentery and other disorders make their appearance amongst the Bees; but cleanliness and timely supplies of food are the best remedies, and which are always found to prevent it.

Spring-feeding, however, must be done sparingly; for if the Bees have had a sufficient winter's supply, feeding will only be required on a small scale, and to those that are weak, it being chiefly intended as a stimulant to promote early breeding. A hive that has less than 5 lbs. of honey in it is a weak one.

The importance of feeding is very great; for languor and death, says Dr. Bevan, are less frequently to be ascribed to disease than to the want of timely food.

Hives.--The time has now fully arrived for all careful apiarians to possess themselves of as many hives, glasses, boxes, bee-dresses, &c., as they are likely to require during the coming season; and to those who prefer the use of straw hives I would say (and that most emphatically), Never put a swarm into an old hive. Mr. Huish has said, and with much truth, that old hives are generally so overrun with vermin of an obnoxious character to Bees, that, even should the swarm condescend to remain in them, the ensuing winter will place the hive in such a ruinous state, that the Bees will forsake it in search of a more salubrious domicile, or the contents of the hive will be destroyed by the insects. Boxes that have been already tenanted should be cleaned most carefully, and boiling water from the spout a tea-kettle poured over the joints where the eggs of the wax moth--that redoubted enemy of the Bees--will very probably have been deposited.

Haybands.--I have put in practice, with my own Bees, what I recommended last month--namely, covering some of my hives with haybands. The good, should any be found to arise from it, in promoting early breeding, shall be communicated in due course.

Cleaning Floor-boards.--When performing this operation, should the hives be found to be at all damp or mouldy, take the precaution of raising them a little for a few hours on a dry day.

Snow.--Should we after mild weather have snow, it will be necessary to keep the entrances of the hives stopped whilst it remains upon the ground, or the loss of life will be very great, which, at this season, should be more especially guarded against.

Examination.--Immediately upon the disappearance of snow, every hive should be carefully examined, and clean floor-boards supplied wherever the least dampness is observed.

Bees Gathering Pollen.--Bees may now be seen upon a bright day in the Aconites and early kinds of Crocuses, collecting the little pollen and honey which they afford; and it is but little indeed--only just sufficient to arouse the workers to activity, and the queens to depositing their eggs: therefore, without careful and constant feeding, death by starvation must follow, for I imagine that not one stock in ten has sufficient honey in store to support it through the winter and early spring.

Forsaking Hives.--Where the population is low, and little or no food in store, the Bees are very likely, upon a fine and mild day towards the end of the month, to forsake their hives entirely, and to join themselves to more populous and better-stored communities. This desertion, when it happens towards the end of April, is frequently mistaken for an early swarm. The only means of prevention is to keep them well supplied with food; but even this will not, in all cases, keep them from leaving their hives.

Wasps.--It will be well, during the present and the next month, to be looking for queen wasps, and destroying every one that makes its appearance. A garden syringe is the most useful thing I have ever found to effect their destruction, for if discharged at them, it brings them to the ground, and the foot then finishes the business.

Buying Stocks.--March is a good time for purchasing stocks, for those who are desirous to become Bee-keepers; and there is sufficient encouragement, I think, to induce many persons to engage in it, for their cultivation, if properly managed, is attended with very considerable advantage, much more, indeed, than what is generally supposed, and would not be by any means a contemptible consideration with even those who may fill a superior rank in the rural population of our country.

APRIL.

April may be considered the first month of the apiarian's year, a month of busy preparation for the coming honey season and its many pleasing occupations. A good supply of new straw hives (where they are used) is supposed to be already in hand, with glasses and covers, depriving-hives, adapting-boards, Bee-dresses for the operator and an assistant, and indeed, of everything that will be required during the season.

Feeding.--I must again press upon all persons who have weak stocks the necessity of feeding. The Bees are beginning to bestir themselves when the sun shines warm; and inexperienced Bee-keepers are apt to think that their stocks are now past danger, and so take no more care of them. But the truth is, that the early spring months are the most dangerous of all; many stocks that have stood the winter die in the spring, which a few ounces even of food would prevent. There is nothing to be gathered in the fields till April, and in cold late seasons not muck before even May. Stocks should be watched well in spring, and weak ones fed liberally. As soon as they begin to stir a little food should be given them every other day, or thereabouts, until they refuse to take it, for they will neglect the food given them as soon as they can gather honey.

Method of Feeding.--The best manner of giving food to Bees in a common straw hive is to put it into a dinner-plate, cover it with a piece of writing paper thickly perforated, and place it under the hive; but should there not be sufficient room for the plate without touching the combs, the hive may be raised upon a wooden hoop, the exact size of the hive, and about 2 inches deep, or upon a piece cut from the bottom of an old straw hive. The food must be given after sunset, and the plate removed by sunrise the next morning. The entrance must be stopped while the food remains in the hive; a piece of soft paper answers remarkably well for this purpose.

Water.--This must be supplied to the Bees immediately, for it is in the spring that they have the greatest occasion for it. The plan that I have adopted is to have a trough of wood, or stone, 18 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 6 inches deep, sunk in the ground in the immediate vicinity of the apiary, with a piece of thin wood, thickly perforated with small holes, made to fit loosely into it. This perforated wood, when the trough is filled with water, will float upon its surface, and save the Bees from drowning--a mode of death causing the loss of numbers should they, for want of this little accommodation, be obliged to go to an open cistern or pool.

Hives.--It is now quite time to have a supply of hives for the coming season, where new ones are required; and where old ones are to be used, to have them well cleaned. It is also a good time to paint those hives that are occupied--it will greatly improve their appearance, as well as tend to preserve them. A well-made hive, painted before the Bees are put into it, and once every other year afterwards, will last uninjured for upwards, of twenty years; indeed, I have one at the present time that has stood even much longer. They may be painted after six o'clock in the evening without danger to the operator or inconvenience to the Bees; of course, stopping the mouth of the hive for the time. I find stone or straw colour to be the best, as absorbing less heat than green or any dark colour. Perhaps, on this account, white would be best, but the strong reflected light from it is very objectionable.

Floor-boards.--It will be well to give the floor-boards a final cleaning for the season, and the middle of a bright day will be the best time for doing it; and, at the same time, any pieces of comb that during the winter may have fallen from the top of the hives, and are fastened by the Bees to the bottom of the combs that are in their proper places, should be removed.

Cutting out Old Combs.--This is also the best time to remove a leaf or two of comb from old hives, perhaps the two outermost ones, but not any more. The box hives are admirably adapted for this operation; still, with a proper knife (the one figured in page 57), it may easily be effected in the straw hive.

Putting on Glasses, &c.--It is very probable that at the end of the month some of the most populous hives may require supering, as it is termed, but I would advise its not being done too soon; indeed, not till the Bees have shown evident signs of want of room, for it is exceedingly desirable that the stock should be in such a state as to ascend into the super immediately upon its being placed upon the stock hive.

Guide-combs.--I would recommend guide-combs being fixed in glasses of every kind that are to be placed either on hives or boxes. The Bees are induced thereby to commence working in them sooner than they otherwise would do; and it must always be remembered, that simply putting on a glass, a box, or a small hive, will not prevent swarming, except the Bees commence working in it, which a small piece of comb fixed at the top induces them to do more readily. Upon each of the side-bars, nearest the centre one, a small piece of comb should be fixed. This is easily effected by heating a common flat-iron, slightly warming the bars with it, then melting a little Bees-wax upon it. The comb is now drawn quickly across the heated iron, and held down upon the bar, to which it firmly adheres, if properly managed. These pieces of guide-comb need not be more than 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Care should be taken that the pitch, or inclination of the cells, is upwards from the centre of each comb. Drone-celled combs for this purpose are to be avoided, as well as those with elongated cells. Glasses will be provided, and guide-combs fixed in them also.

Pollen.--This is not a busy month for the apiarian only, but for his Bees as well in bringing in pollen. Mr. Golding tells us that the neighbourhood of Willows is of great advantage to the Bees in early spring. Should a few fine days accompany their flowering, many hives will be enabled to ward off the impending famine which but too often then threatens. He says that from the 20th to the 30th of March, in 1830, the weather was so favourable as to enable the Bees to make an extraordinary collection. Single hives in some days gained in weight upwards of 3 lbs. each, and worked in wax where room was given as vigorously as at midsummer. The spring of 1841 was a very similar one; and he says that his hives on the 16th of March of that year gained from 2 to 3 lbs. each during the day.

The whole tribe of Crowsfoot are now making their appearance, all of which are eagerly sought after by the Bees, but more especially the Pilewort (_Ranunculus ficaria_), which affords them such an abundance of pollen during the months of March and April, and which abounds in meadows, pastures, and hedge-banks. Seeing an abundance of it carried into a hive is a sure proof that the stock is in a healthy and thriving state; but let it Be remembered that pollen has nothing whatever to do with supplying the Bees with food, for they will die from starvation with the combs filled with pollen, for it is only in the larvæ or grub state that they eat it: therefore, if the stocks have not a store of honey, go on to give barley-sugar.