Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/885

 HON

filling thefe firft, the reft are filled as they follow in order of place.

The firft ftomach of the bee has all the neceflary motions of contraction and diftention, for the throwing out its contents. This is eafily feen in the directing a bee whofe ftomach is filled with Honey ; and it is eafy to conceive, that the confe- quence of the contractions muft be the forcing the Honey out. Id. ibid.

The method of the bee's difgorging itfelf in the common cells cannot be feen, becaufe of the opakenefs of their fides ; but there are cells in the glafs hives, in which the whole operation is eafily feen. It is no uncommon thing to have the extreme cells of a comb reach to the glafs, and many of them, in this cafe, joining the glafs, have only four fides of wax, the glafs fupplying the other two ; in thefe cells it is very pleafant to fee the whole operation. The bee, who comes loaded to the cell, thrufts its head very deep into it, and difgorges the Honey from its ftomach in a very little time, and fecmingly with very little trouble, by the mouth. But as the quantity of Honey, collected by one bee, is very fmall in proportion to the fize of the cell, this cannot be filled but by a great number of repeated operations of the fame kind. As thefe cannot be performed by the fame bee, in any convenient time, and as all the labour of thefe creatures is carried on in common, the firft bee is no fooner gone, than another comes, and fo on till the whole cell is filled. In the procefs of this work, it is very eafy to obferve, that what appears to be the laft quantity of Honey difgorged into the cell, is always of a different appearance from the reft. The whole quantity be- fides is of one colour and confiftence ; and this is of the nature of a cream, which is always much thicker than the reft of the honey, and feems very ufeful in the ceconomy of the work, ferving at once to keep the Honey moift, and to pre- vent its running out by any accident. Reaumur, Hift. Inf. vol. 10. p. 89.

Tho* this cream or cruft appears to be the laft voided quan- tity, it is not fo in reality ; for it feems to have been gather- ing together from the firft ; and every frefh quantity of Honey is added under, not upon its furface. To this purpofe it is always obferved, that the bee which comes loaded to the ceil, does not at once difcharge its Honey into it, but, entering into the cell as deep as may be, it puts forward the anterior pair of legs, and with them pierces a hole through the cruft or cream. While this hole is kept open by the feet, the bee difgorges the Honey in large drops from the mouth ; thefe falling into the hole made by the feet, mix with the mafs be- low; and the bee, before it flies off, new models the cruft, and clofesup the hole it had before made; and this is regularly done by every bee that contributes to the rcneral ftore of the cell. Id. ibid.

Every bee that returns to the hive loaded with Honey does not, however, go to a cell to depofit it, but they often flop and get rid of it by the way. The labour of the hive being carried on in common, the bee, who has been abroad in fearch of Honey, inftead of going to any cell, often makes her way to the places where others are at work, in erecting the combs, or upon any other neceflary fervice ; there fhe puts forth her head, and, forcing the Honey to her mouth, calls them about her to feed upon it, that they may not be obliged to leave their work on account of hunger. They feed on her ftore by putting their trunk into her mouth, exactly as they do into the bottoms of the flowers ; and often the loaded bee in this manner feeds fingle and ftraggling ones which fhe meets with in her way, tired with the labour of their laft employ- ment.

The feveral cells of the combs in every hive are differently filled with Honey, and to different purpofes ; fome is laid up for their immediate confumption, on occafions of bad wea- ther, and the like accidents ; and fome is more carefully pre- ferved, and is deftined for the fupport of the fwarm in the winter.

It often happens that, in the Honey feafon, there are very rainy or very ftormy and cold days, in which the bees cannot go out in fearch of food ; the whole fwarm, on thefe occa- fions, feed on the Honey in the cells, deftined for immediate life; and even in good weather, thofe bees which flay at home to work, and are not fupplied by thofe which have been abroad, have recourfe to thefe cells for their food. The cells of Honey, deftined for this neceflary ufe, are eafily diftinguifhed from thofe which are to be the fupply when the feafon of gathering Honey is over, and when the whole fwarm muft neceflarily fubfift on the hoards of their former excur- fions. The cells meant for immediate ufe are always open at the top, whereas thofe intended for the winter's provifion are all covered and clofed down at the top with a thick and ftrong lid, and may be compared to fo many glades of fweetmeats, hermetically fealed, the faftening being of the fame matter with the fubftance of the pot. Reaumur, Hift. Inft. v. 10. p. 94.

Jn a bad feafon for the collecting of Honey, the combs in all hives are found very abundant in the occaiional cells, molt of which are emptied by the bees ; but in the plentiful fcafons, when there has been great ftore of food to be had abroad, it

HON

is common to find the whole combs compofed of full cell s » doled up at the top, for winter's ftores. The manner in which the bees make the lid or cover of the cells, is this : They form a circle, or ring of wax, juft within the verge of the eel! ; to this they add another fuch ring, and then another within that; by this means the aperture is ren- dered (mailer and (mailer, and, by a continuance of the fame workmanfhip, is finally clofed, the lid or cover being finifhed, and being thus compofed of a vaft number of con- centric circles.

The ufe of this covering is not to preferve the Honey from running out of the cell, for its own thicknefs, and adherence to the iides of the cell, together with the cruft or cream with which it is covered at top, would prevent that ; but it is by this means preferved from a fet of idle and gluttonous bees, which eat up more than thofe which work, but are too lazy to work through the cover, to come at what is contained in thefe cells.

It has alio another ufe, which is the preferving the enclofed Honey in its proper confiftence ; for it would, if left open, foon lofe its natural thicknefs ; and it has been often ob- ferved, that the bees will not eat their honey, when any way altered in this refpect.

The product of the labours of the bee, as well in Honey as in wax, is of very great fervice to the world in general, and of the greateft advantage to the places where bees fucceed beft. The value of Honey is indeed fomewhat lefs at pre- fent than it was in former ages, when the world was not acquainted with fugar ; but though the ufe of that commodity has much taken off from the neceflity of Honey, yet the other article, wax, has grown in value all the while ; and as it has been found of ufe on many occafions, at that time unknown, and as there has been no other fubftance found that will fup- ply its place, it is become much more valuable than it was before.

It is very evident that the whole produce of the labours of thefe infects, both wax and Honey, are matters collected from the flowers of plants ; and as it is alfo evident that there are ten thoufand flowers that die untouch'd in the fields and woods, for one that grows near the places where bees are kept, and is in the way of being ufed to this purpofe. It is an undeniable truth, that there are a thoufand times as many pounds of thefe fubftances annually let go to wafte, as there are worked up, and brought to market. This is fo confidcra- ble an article in the riches of a kingdom, that Mr. Reaumur thought it worthy of a ftrong recommendation to the court of France, to encourage the railing fwarms of bees in all places, that greater quantities of fuch ufeful commodities might be had in their own kingdom, than they have at prefent. And, indeed, as bees are a fort of hufhandry fo eafily raifed, and kept at lo final! a fhare of trouble and expence, it is a won- der that they are not more largely propagated with us, as well as with that nation.

The method propofed, by Mr. Reaumur, of encouraging this branch of hufbandry, is a very good one ; namely, that there fhould be fomething taken off from the taxes to be paid by every farmer, in proportion to every hive of bees he kept above a certain number.

The great article to be attempted, in order to the increafe of thefe little infeits, muft be the avoiding to kill or injure any of them ourfelves, and the preventing their mortality at certain times, when there naturally die great numbers of them. Thefe feafons of mortality are the autumnand winter. One great means of preferving and multiplying the bees, would be the abolifhing that barbarous as well as prejudicial cuflom, in many nations, of deftroying the whole hive of bees, in order to get at the Honey.

The common method in France and England is this : When the farmer finds, by the weight, that a hive is full of combs and honey, he digs a hole in the ground, capable of receiving the bafe of the hive. Then putting into this hole a quantity of linnen rags dipped in melted fulphur ; he fes them on fire, and immediately placing the hive upon them, covers the fides up with earth, that neither the fume nor any of the bees can efcape ; in this manner the bees are all fuffocated. Others ufe turff inftead of fulphur, and others other things ; and they pretend that in England, and other cold countries, there is no way but this of getting any advantage from the hives; and that it is only in Greece and Italy, and fuch other places as are ftored with vaft quantities of flowers all the year round, that they can make any profit of fliaring their produce with them, and leaving them alive.

In juftification of this procedure, they fay that they only de- ftroy, by this means, a fort of old bees which are incapable of either producing more Honey, or being the parents of a new fwarm, and which would eat up in the fucceeding winter the greateft part of what they had ftored up in the lummer. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. v. 10. p. 358.

This laft is indeed the true reafon of the procedure, and they in reality, for the fake of having a few pounds the more of wax and Honey, deftroy a fwarm of bees capable of collect- ing fuch another parcel, and of producing other bees that fhould fupply their places when they periflied naturally.

The