Alfred Neighbor

“ The population of a hive is very small during the winter, in comparison with the vast numbers gathering produce in the summer,—produce which they themselves live to enjoy but for a short period. So that not only, as of old, may lessons of industry be learned from bees, but they also teach self-denial to mankind, since they labour for the community rather than for themselves. ”

“ When a bee-keeper has become skilful in his calling, he may be desirous to encourage the breeding of queens, or rather of preventing their destruction. He will seek to use the propagating instincts of the worker bees as a set off against that innate hatred of rivalry which prompts the reigning queen to kill the tender royal brood. ”

“ There are many persons now in this noisy city pent, who frequently remember the days of childhood when, among pastures of clover or amidst flowery heath and woodlands, they listened to the cheerful hum of bees. ”

“ Swarms have a great affinity for each other when they are adrift in the air; but, of course, when the union has been effected, the rival queens have to do battle for supremacy. A more ingenious device than any of the above, is by means of a mirror to flash a reflection of the sun's rays amongst a swarm, which bewilders the bees, and checks their flight. It is manifestly often desirable to use some of these endeavours to induce early settlement, and to prevent, if possible, the bees from clustering in high trees or under the eaves of houses, where it may be difficult to hive them. ”

“ On the day of emigration the weather must be fine, warm, and clear, with but little wind stirring; for the old queen, like a prudent matron, will not venture out unless the day is in every way favorable. Whilst her majesty hesitates, either for the reasons we have mentioned, or because the internal arrangements are not sufficiently matured, the bees will often fly about or hang in clusters at the entrance of the hive for two or three days and nights together, all labour meanwhile being suspended. ”

“ Another formidable enemy of bees are the moths. These insects are creatures of the night, as the bees of the day, and they make their way into the hives under cover of darkness, in spite of the bee-sentinels. They deposit their eggs in any crevices in or near the hive that they can find. There the warmth of the hive or of the sheltered situation, causes the eggs speedily to hatch, and then the maggots soon work their way to the comb and larvæ food, which they greedily devour, thereby often bringing about the gradual but certain destruction of the whole community of bees. ”

“ The drones, which are mostly hatched in the early spring, seldom live more than three or four months, even if they should escape the sting of the executioner, to which they generally fall victims. The worker-bee, it is now a well-ascertained fact, lives from six to eight months, in no case exceeding the latter; so that we may reckon that the bees hatched in April and May expire about the end of the year, and it is those of the autumn who carry on the duties of the hive until the spring and summer, that being the time when the greatest number of eggs are laid. ”

“ The bee-master should endeavour to prevent his labourers from swarming more than once; his policy is rather to encourage the industrious gathering of honey by keeping a good supply of "supers" on the hives. Sometimes, however, he may err in putting on the supers too early or unduly late, and the bees will then swarm a second time, instead of making use of the store-rooms thus provided. In such a case, the clever apiarian, having spread the swarm on the ground, will select the queen, and cause the bees to go back to the hive from whence they came. ”

“ The principle of the depriving system is so much the same with all our hives, that a good deal of repetition is necessary in describing in detail the management of each separate variety. The object aimed at with the Cottager's Hive, as indeed with all our hives, is to provide a compartment for the bees to live in with their queen, she being the mother of all. It is intended, by inducing the queen to remain in her original apartment, that all breeding should be there performed, as well as the storing of bee-bread and honey for the winter sustenance of the bees. ”

“ Doubtless, the full control which the bars and frames afford over the inmost - 114 - recesses of the hives, is a great temptation to the bee-keeper; but, if he yields too readily to it, he will imperil his chance of profit, and deprive himself of that continuous source of interest, which a judicious apiarian always enjoys.
Many persons who are well informed on most subjects, are extraordinarily ignorant of the natural history of bees, and the economy of the bee-hive. ”

“ It is at this time, when hundreds of young bees are daily coming into existence, that the collateral boxes are of the utmost importance—both to the bees domiciled in them, and to their proprietors; for when the brood become perfect bees in a common cottager's hive, a swarm is the necessary consequence. The queen, accompanied by a vast number of her subjects, leaves the colony, and seeks some other place in which to carry on the work nature has assigned her. But as swarming may by proper precaution and attention to this mode of management generally be prevented, it is good practice to do so ”

“ Occasionally, even a skilful apiarian may inadvertently crush a single bee; such a mischance is detected by the community with much more facility than by any "crowner's quest," and their prompt verdict decrees the summary punishment of the offender. There would be much less fear of stings if it were always remembered that bees are never aggressive. "Defence, not defiance," is their motto. ”

“ This, it must be admitted, is a wiser method of settling the affair than it would be to range the whole band under two distinct banners, and so create a civil war, killing and destroying each other for matters with which they individually have little or no concern: for the bees care not which queen it is, as long as they are certain of having one to rule over them and perpetuate the community. ”

“ The social importance of bee keeping as a source of pecuniary profit for small farmers and agricultural labourers, has never been appreciated as it deserves. Yet these persons will not, of themselves, lay aside the bungling and wasteful plan of destroying the bees, or learn without being taught the only proper method, that of deprivation. Their educated neighbours when once interested in bee-keeping, will be the persons to introduce the more profitable system of humane bee-keeping. ”

“ It is important for the safety of the queen-bee that her stay in the air should be as brief as possible: her large size, and the slowness of her flight, render her an easy prey to birds. It is not now thought that the queen always pairs with a drone of the same hive, as Huber seems to have supposed. Once impregnated,—as is the case with most insects,—the queen-bee continues productive during the remainder of her existence. It has, however, been found that though old queens cease to lay worker eggs, they may continue to lay those of drones. ”

“ But the prejudices against bees are quite unnecessary; bees are as tractable as they are intelligent, and it is the purpose of this little book to show that bee-culture is an easy and safe, as well as a deeply interesting, pursuit. Possibly, also, some who do us the favour to read our detailed explanations, will see how the rural clergyman, or the benevolent landlord, who keeps an apiary of his own, may be of signal service to his poorer neighbours in explaining to them the mysteries of bee-keeping. ”

“ The season of 1864 was most productive for the increase of these prime pests of the apiary, and many hives have severely suffered by their depredations. When once wasps in any number have gained an entrance into a hive, the bees can seldom eject them, and the invaders generally remain until they have freely regaled themselves from the luscious store. They not only consume the honey, but cause a good deal of worry to the legitimate inhabitants of the hive, as well as killing the foremost defenders of it. ”

“ Woodbury's hives the bees are all alive and at it, and for those who are disposed to go further into the subject, information is available touching this fashionable, profitable, and domesticated member of the Apiarian family, the Ligurian and Italian Alp-bee. Our old dark-coated delver is threatened with supercession, just as the black rat was driven off by the Norwegian invader, now in possession, and as the old races of cattle are being metamorphosed into the sleek, shapely, beef-bearing, small-boned animals of the present time. ”

“ The industrious labourers are eager to utilize all their strength: they never "combine" except for the benefit of their master, they never "strike" for wages, and they provide their own subsistence. All that the master manufacturer of honey has to do financially, is to make a little outlay for "fixed capital" in the needful "plant" of hives and utensils—no "floating capital" is needed. Then, on the other hand, if we regard honey as an agricultural product, it presents as such a still more striking contrast to the economists' theory of what are the "requisites of production." ”

“ In the middle box the bees are to be first placed;—in it they should first construct their beautiful combs, and under the government of one sovereign—the mother of the hive—carry on their curious work, and display their astonishing architectural ingenuity. ”

“ Being struck with the remarkable facilities afforded by these superior hives for the extraction of any one comb, and, perhaps, fascinated with their easy sway over so highly organized a community, these new-fangled bee-keepers have acquired a habit of perpetually and incautiously meddling with the bees. The inevitable results in such cases are distress to the bees, impoverishment of the stocks, and loss and vexation to the over zealous apiarian. All these things may be avoided, if it be remembered that there are first steps in bee-keeping, as well as in croquet, chemistry, or cricket. ”

“ The "new bottle feeder" is a simple and good means of administering food when a stock requires help in that way. Any kind of hive that has an opening at the top may thus be fed; bees can take the food from it without leaving the hive. Another important feature is the cleanliness with which liberal feeding can be accomplished; and few operations require more care than does feeding. If liquid sweet is left hanging about the hive, it tempts robber bees, and when once the bees of an apiary have had a taste, there is no knowing where their depredations will stop ”

“ We have seen the blind shine as poets, and distinguish themselves as philosophers, musicians, and calculators; but it was reserved for Huber to give a lustre to his class in the sciences of observation, and on objects so minute that the most clear-sighted observer can scarcely perceive them. The reading of the works of Reaumur and Bonnet, and the conversation of the latter, directed his curiosity to the history of bees. ”

“ All operations connected with the removal or the hiving of bees should be conducted with calmness and circumspection. Bees, although the busiest of creatures, have great dislike to fussiness in their masters, and become irritable at once if the apiarian lets them see that he is in a hurry. Hence, there is great advantage in having the face and hands covered whilst at work amongst the bees; for when the operator knows he cannot possibly be stung, he can then open his hives, take out the combs, gather in his swarms, or take the honey, with all the deliberation of a philosopher. ”

“ We know that when a natural swarm issues forth it has its impregnated queen, and when located in a new abode commences building worker combs, and leaves the building of the few drone combs to a later period; but if a division of the hive should be made by putting half the combs in one hive and half in another, the hive containing the queenless or embryo queen will busy itself with building only drone comb, thus a number of receptacles for useless bees is provided, which tends to weakness, and eventually to loss of the hive. ”

“ It not unfrequently happens when the queen is prolific, and if it be an early season, that many eggs are wasted for want of unoccupied cells; for in that case the queen leaves them exposed at the bottom of the hive when they are greedily devoured by the bees. The queen-bee, unlike the great majority of her subjects, is a stayer at home; generally speaking, she only quits the hive twice in her life. ”

“ Partly from a desire to revive those old associations, and also from a natural liking for the tendance of living creatures, such persons would be glad to keep bees if they thought it possible to do so in London or its suburbs with any chance of success. We do not wonder that many should doubt even the possibility of bees feeding themselves amidst such an "endless meal of brick;" but we can easily prove that bees, if not placed too near to smoky chimneys, are able to produce honey, both for themselves and for their masters. ”

“ It is of service to keep the glass warm by means of a worsted or baize bag, it prevents the temperature from falling at night when much comb-building is carried on, providing the heat is not allowed to escape. Probably, if all goes on well, in three weeks the glass will be found to be filled with fine white honey-comb. When you find that the comb is well sealed up, it is time to take it off, but if the cells are unfilled and unsealed, let the little labourers complete their work—a little experience will soon enable the bee-keeper to determine this point. ”

“ No occupation falls to the lot of the drones in gathering honey, nor have they the means provided them by nature for assisting in the labours of the hive. The drones are the progenitors of working bees, and nothing more; so far as is known, that is the only purpose of their short existence.
In a well-populated hive the number of drones is computed at from one to two thousand. "Naturalists," says Huber, "have been extremely embarrassed to account for the number of males in most hives, and which seem only a burden to the community, since they appear to fulfil no function. ”

“ We frequently find that the possessor of a stock of bees in a cottager's common straw hive is desirous of removing the whole stock of bees and comb into one of our improved hives, in which the honey may be obtained without the destruction of the bees. We mostly discourage such a transfer, attended as it is with much labour, and requiring a considerable amount of apiarian skill. An old fashioned hive may very readily be rendered a humane one, simply by cutting out with a sharp pointed knife the middle of the top of the hive ”

“ All the bars and frames in an apiary ought to be of precisely the same dimensions, so as to fit every hive. This is essential for the strengthening of weak hives. A hive that is weakly may often be advantageously strengthened by having put into it a comb of brood from a populous stock, to which an empty frame from the weak one may be given; no bees must be on the brood-comb—these should be shaken off or gently dislodged with a feather into the hive from which the comb is taken. ”

“ Woodbury and other scientific apiarians so prefer them. They consider that glass windows are unsuited for winter, because then moisture condenses on the glass. There is no doubt that the having a peep hole or two in a hive adds very agreeably to its value for amateur bee-keepers, and to meet the wishes of such, we have had straw hives constructed with windows. It is not every one who would like to lift out the frames as often as is necessary for an inspection of the state of the colony, nor, perhaps, is it advisable to be often thus meddling. ”

“ If the new swarm is intended for transportation to a distance, it is as well for it to be left at the same spot until evening, provided the sun is shaded from it: but if the hive is meant to stand in or near the same garden, it is better to remove it within half an hour to its permanent position, because so eager are newly-swarmed bees for pushing forward the work of furnishing their empty house, that they sally forth at once in search of materials. ”

“ The white clover of the pasture—the wild thyme on the hill—the heather on the moors—the furze and the broom on the sandy waste—offer exhaustless stores for a greater number of bees - 95 - than can ever be located near them. There are also two or three peculiar sources of honey which one would not have suspected, as, for instance the blossoms of the onion plant, of turnips, and in still greater degree, the flower of the mustard plant. In those districts of England where mustard seed is cultivated so extensively, it would be well worth while for the farmers to keep large colonies of bees. ”

“ When a number of hives are thus together, we colour the alighting boards differently, so that bees may have a distinctive mark by which each may know its own home, and not wander into its neighbour's house. Bees readily enough receive a honey laden labourer into a hive; but if the wanderer be poor and empty, he will be promptly repulsed, and may have to forfeit his life for his mistake. ”

“ Neighbour and Son, of Holborn and Regent-street, exhibit, amongst a collection of the most approved bee-hives and apparatus, a glass hive, stocked with a colony of Italian Alp bees; the hive is so constructed as to admit of easily seeing the queen, surrounded by the working bees. Contrary to the long established notion that the bees work only in the dark this hive is completely open to broad daylight. The bees do not manifest the least dislike to the exposure, and they are not discomfited when light is occasionally admitted for inspecting them. ”

“ Care should be exercised in turning the hives over to keep the combs vertical, or they are likely to break from their foundations.
It generally happens that in about fifteen minutes the bees regularly commence the ascent; their exodus will be known by the distinct rushing sound which is always noticed when a colony of bees is on the move. The first thing bees do when disturbed is to till their honey bags, as they invariably do at swarming time, consequently after the first rush into the new hive is over, as in the case of a swarm, the "flitting" bees are not much disposed to take wing. ”

“ Practice makes perfect in bee tending as in other matters, and when a light hand is gained, there is little danger of the apiarian being stung.
If the weather be wet the next day or so after hiving, it will be well to give a little assistance to the new colony in the shape of food, - 75 - for although when a swarm leaves a hive almost every bee composing it fills itself with honey, we have known not a few instances in case of very wet weather, in which the whole swarm has been starved for the want of this little timely help. ”

“ At our own apiary we make no alteration in winter, under the belief that the bees will take care of themselves, and they seldom venture out when the weather is unsuitable.
With hives exposed in the open garden, it is a good practice to wind hay-bands round them in frosty weather, as such a protection enables the bees to resist the cold.
When a thaw occurs, everything, both in and out of doors, has a great deal of dampness about it. The combs of a hive are not exempt from this, so that it is advisable to have slight upward ventilation in winter. ”

“ In the Unicomb Observatory Hive, the young bees may distinctly be seen as they literally fight their way into the world, for the other bees do not take the slightest notice, nor afford them any assistance. We have frequently been amused in watching the eager little new-comer, now obtruding its head, and anon compelled to withdraw into the cell, to escape being trampled on by the apparently unfeeling throng, until at last it has succeeded in making its exit. ”