Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/887

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-ftmll bird;, which had been killed, gutted, and dried for that pmpofe ; this was certainly a way of keeping out fome of the c <\d air, but it is fo odd a one, that probably no body fince their time has tried it.

Another method of Reaumur's fucceded better; which was the preferymg the hives in large tubs, with earth or hay. To this purpofe he chofe fome of the weakefl and poorefl hives he eould get, and in the beginning of winter put each of thefe into a large tub, whofe top was taken out for that purpoie ; they were not placed, however, immediately on the bottom of the tub, but a bed of earth or of hay, fix inches deep, was placed at the bottom, and covered with the lid taken oft from the top of the tub. When the hives were thus placed, all the remaining fpace between the fides of the hive and thofe of the veffel, were filled either with earth, or with hay chopped fmall, and both the hay and the earth were put in till they reached the top of the tub, and flood in a heap over the verge.

Several of the country people have the contrivance to cover their hives with {heaves of corn, or other things, during the ■winter; but in this cafe they often die In winter, as they do when taken into a chamber, by too much heat, or too con- fined a ftate. To prevent this, the author contrived to give them a means of communication with the open air even in this ftate, when it mould he neceflary. In order to this he fcaufed a hole to be cut in the fide of each tub, capable of ad- mitting a fquare tube made of four thin pieces of board ; this tube was of two inches in width, and about half an inch in depth ; and it went in and lodged itfelf on the falfe bottom of the tub on which the hive was to ftand, fo as to reach the mouth of the hive, and was of fuch a length as to reach out three or four inches from the fides of the tub. The tube being introduced, and a pan full of Honey placed on the bot- tom, with a paper pricked full of holes lying over the furface of the Honey, fo that the bees might eat it without daubing thcmfelves, the apparatus was ready for receiving the hive ; which was then placed over the pan of Honey, with its mouth anfwering to that of the tube. When the hive was thus placed, the earth or hay was put in, and the tub filled up. Reaumur* & Hift. Inf. vol. 10. p. 384.

The bees remained quiet in thefe habitations during the months of November, December, and January, and in the months of February and March, great numbers of them were feen com- ing out of the veflels at the little tubes, and returning to the lame place loaded in the manner of the common bees in fum- mer. Though the hives appeared very well preferved at this time, yet a fevere feafon coming on in the latter end of March, and continuing till April, the bees of two hives came out no more, and on examination were found to be all dead within ; thefe had died however of mere hunger, for there was not the leaft remains of Honey in the pots. The other hives had had fome Honey in their combs at the time they were put into the tubs; and they had fubfifted on that, and the reft that was given them in the pets, fo that they lived during the whole time, and made a flourifhing fwarm for the fucceeding fummer.

This feems therefore an admirable method of preferving all the hives of bees during the winter, and is to be done with very little trouble and expence. The earth feems to do better than the hay as a covering, but it muft be perfectly dry when put in, and preferved from rain afterwards, by a covering of itraw placed over the top of the tub. The hay feemed how- ever not to be found fault with as a coyering ; for though it was the two hives covered with earth that fucceded in this experiment, yet as the others had pafTed the whole winter in fafety, and only became a facrifice'to famine during fome bad weather in the fpring, there is no room to doubt of their doing as well as the others, if more Honey had been given them. Reaumur, ib.

There arc many circumftances neceflary to the forming of good Homy, fuch as a warm and clear air, a good ftate of health in the bees, and a quantity of aromatic and fweet flow- ers in the neighbourhood of their hives. The Honey taken out of the hives in the beginning of the fummer, is alfo pre- ferable greatly to that gathered in autumn, fmce the firft: is the feafon in which the bees are in their beft vigour, and the plants in their flowering (fate.

Mr. Lemery, in his analyfls of Honey, obferves, that two pound of fine Honey diftilled in balneo maris, afford fix oun- ce:, of clear water of an infipid tafte, and of the fmell of JHsney. This is commonly called the dew of Honey. A larger quantity of phlegm may be procured by continuing the di'tillation, but it becomes foul. This liquor, though infipid to the tafte, yet contains a latent acid, for it reddens the turn- fole ; but it neither ferments with the volatile nor fixed alka- lies. The cucurbit being now placed in a fand-heat, there comfis over four ounces of a yellowifh pellucid water, of an acrid taitc, of a ftrong fmell of Honey, and fomewhat empy- reumauc. This liquor reddens the turnefole colour more than the former. The fire being encreafed, there arife white clouds, which fill the head of the cucurbit and the receiver, and thefe finally condenfe into a third liquor, Which is called the ipirit of Ho?m\ This will be about three Suppl. Vot. I.

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ounces in quantity, and of a red colour and empyreumatic hm-ll, yet with an agreeable flavour, and of an acrid and burning tafte. This is a ftronger acid than either of the for- mer, and ferments with an alkali.

The fire being again encreafed, more clouds arife, and in fine there is a fourth liquor produced j this is in quantity about two ounces, of an orange colour, and of an acid tafte, bur, lefs acrid than the third liquor, as it contains more oil, which fattens and fweetens it. Like the former it ferments with alkalies, and reddens the colour of turnfole. When the dif- tillation is thus finifhed, there will remain in the cucurbit fifteen ounces and an half of a light fpuney black coal. Mem. Acad. Par. 1706.

This is to be then put into a retort for a frefh diffillation ; and a ftrong fire under this veffel will raife from it feven ounces of a reddifh brown liquor, which ftains the fingers to an orange colour, of a burnt fmell, yet with fomething agree- able in it, and of an acid and very acrid pungent tafte. Be- fides this, there comes over two drams of a thick black oil, looking like tar ; this alfo was of an acrid tafte, which was owing to fome of the falts of the Honey being blended with it. There is much more oil contained in the Honey, but it does not come over feparate, but blended with the other liquors ; and after they have flood fome days, precipitates it- felf from them, and is found flicking to the fides and bottom of the veffel. The matter remaining in the retort is about feven ounces of a black coal, of a light fpungy texture, and of a tafte almoft infipid, and only feeming to contain a little fait. We fee by this procefs, that thirty-two ounces of Honey yield twenty-four ounces and two drams of liquor, that being the difference in weight between the Honey when put in, and the laft caput mortuum. Twenty-two ounces and fix drams are the quantity here preferved of the feveral liquors, the reft having efcaped through the junftures of the veflels, as will always be the cafe in fuch diftillations. Id. ibid. The caput mortuum of this and of feveral other diftillations of Honey, the whole making three pound and a half, were put into an unglazed earthen pot, and calcined over the fire for ten hours ; this readily took fire like common charcoal, and burnt till it loft ten ounces in weight, but without falling into allies. The remaining coal had then a more faline tafte than before. Any acid liquor poured upon this, fermented as with the common alkalies ; and when thrown into water to make a lixivium, it bubbled in the manner of quicklime thrown into water ; and in the common way of making the lixivial falts, this yielded a dram and a half of an acrid alka- line one. It is remarkable that the calcined caput mortuum of Honey contains, like other vegetable afhes, true particles of iron, which adhere to a knife touched with a magnet.

Honey Buzzard, the Enghfh name of the buteo apivorus. See the article Apivorus.

Honey ofrofes. See the article Mel rofarum.

Honey-Cow* [Cycl.]— The conftruflion of the Honeycomb feems one of the mod furprifing parts of the works of mfefls, and the materials of which it is compofed, which though evidently collected from flowers of plants, yet do not, that we know of, exift in them in that form, has given great caufe of fpe- culation to the curious. The regular ftructure of the comb is alfo equally wonderful. When the feveral cells in it are ex- amined, it fhould feem that the niceft rules of geometry had been confulted for its compofition, and all the advantages that could be wifhed or defired in a thing of that kind, are evi- dently found in it. Reaumur's Hift. Inf. vol. 9. p. 410. The bees in the ftrufiure of this receptacle of their honey, feem to have refolved a geometrical problem far from an eafy one, and indeed clog'd with fo many conditions, that it might have puzzled able proficients in that fcience. This may be exprefled in thefe words : A quantity of wax being given, to form it into a number of angular and equal cells, of a deter- minate capacity, but the greateft that can be made with that quantity of wax, and at the fame time, that thefe cells fhall be fo difpofed as to take up as little room as poflible in the hive. In order to this laft condition, it is neceflary that the cells touch one another, in fuch a manner, that there be no angular fpace, nor cavity between them. The bees have effeaed all this by making the cells all hexangular, or tubes of fix equal fides : Triangular, quadrangular, and fome other figures for the cells might have been indeed fo difpo- fed between one another, as to leave no fpace ; but then an equal number of them could not be made with the fame quantity of wax. The body of the bee being rounded, ic will alfo be received into a hexangular cell, without leaving fuch large fpaces as it mtift if received into a triangular or fquare one.

The method of making two fets of cells in each comb, is alfo admirably contrived to fave the expence of wax j fince had they been made fingle, every comb muft have had its peculiar bafe, and every fet of cells their bottom of wax ; whereas one bottom now ferves to two cells, and there is but one plate of wax in the center of a double comb. There is however this farther difficulty attending it, that the feveral cells are not fo many hexagonal tubes with flat and broad bafes, or tubes of an equal breadth all the way ; but they are truly pointed at the J 3 N bottom,