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 A 1* i A ? I < 334 ) leaft apt to crack of any cement eafily-to-be obtained, ing of the- bees, whereby many of them may be defhouJd be laid all round the circumference of the hive. ftroyed. A firft and ftrong fwarm may indeed be Let the cover be laid upon this, and made faft to the purchafed; and, if leave can be obtained, permitted hive with a packing-needle and pack-thread, fo that to Hand in the fame garden till the autumn; but if leave is not obtained, it may be carried away in the neither cold nor vermin may enter. “ Each hive fhould (land fingle on a piece of deal, or night after it has been hived. other wood, fomewhat larger than the bottom of the “ I fuppofe, that in the (locks purchafed, the bees hive : That part of the (land which is at the mouth of are in hives of the old eonftru&ion. The only directhe hive fhould projedt fome inches, for the bees to reft tion here neceffary is, that the firft fwarm from thefe on when they return from the field. This (land (hould (locks (hould be put into one of my hives ; and that he fupported upon a fingle poft, two and a half feet another of my hives (hould in a few days be put under high; to which it (hould be fcrewed very fecurely, the old flock, in order to prevent its fwarming again. that high winds, or other accidents, may not .blow Bees never fwarm till the hive be too much crouded down both (land and hive. A quantity of foot mixed by the young brood. It is this circumftance that induwith barley-chaff (hould be ftrewed on the ground ces a part of the hive to think of finding a more commoround the poft, which will effedtually prevent ants, dious habitation. With this view they fingle out a queen (lugs, and other vermin, from rifing up to the hive. from among the young, with whom they take wing ; The foot and chaff (hould, from time to time, he ie- and where-ever (he leads, the reft follow. They firft newed as it is blown or walked away; Though, as it begin to fwarm in May, or in the end of April, but earis (heltered by the (land, it remains a confiderable time, lier or later according to the warmth of the feafon. efpecially if care be taken that no weeds rife through They feldom fwarm before ten in the morning, and felit. Weeds, indeed, fhould not be permitted to rife dom later than three in the afternoon. We may know near the hive, for they may give (helter to vermin, when they are about to fwarm, by clufters of them hanging on the outfide of the hive, and by the drones appearwhich may be hurtful ta the bees. “ The (lands for bees (hould be four yards afunder j ing abroad more than ufual: But the moft certain fign is, or, if the apiary will not admit of fo much, as far a- when the bees refrain from flying into the fields, though funder as may be, that the bees of one hive may not the feafoa be inviting. Juft before they take flight, there interfere with thofe of anpther hive, as is fometimes is an uncommon filence in the hive; after this, as foon as the cafe, when the hives are near one another, or on one takes flight, they all follow. Before the fubfequent the fame Hand: For the bees, miftakipg their own fwarmings, there is a great noifc in the hives, which is hives, light fometimes at the wrong door, and a fray fuppofed to be occafioned by a coated whether the young enfues, in which one or more may lofe their lives. or the old queen (hould go out. When the bees of & “ The perfon who intends to eredt an apiary, (hould fwarm fly too high, they are made to defcend lower, by purchafe a proper number of hives at the latter part of throwing handfuls of fand or daft among them, which the year, when they are cheapeft. The hives (hould, they' probably miftake for rain. For the fame purpofo, be full of combs, and well ftored with bees. The it is ufual to beat on a kettle or frying-pan: This pracpurchafer (hould examine the combs, in order to know tice may have taken its rife from obferving that thunder the age of the hives. The combs of that feafon are or any great noifo prompts fuch bees as aie ia the fields white, thofe of the former year are of a darkifti yel- to return home. low; and where the combs are black, the hives (hould "When the bees fettle in fwarming, they colleft themin a heap, and hang to each other by their feet. be rejedted, becaufe old hives are mod liable to ver- felves When they fettle in two feparate divifions, it generally min and other accidents. “ If the number of hives, wanted were not purchaled in proceeds from there being two queens in the fwarm. In-, the autumn, it will be neceffary to remedy this negledt that cafe, each duller of them may be hived feparately; after the feverity of the cold is pad in the fpring. At or one of the queens mull be deftroyed, to prevent the this feafon, bees which are in good condition will get commotions which the bees would raife in order to deinto the fields early in die morning, return loaded, ftroy her. All the motions and fettling of a fwarm are enter boldly, and do not come out of the hive in bad dire&ed by the queen. If (he be weak, and fail to the weather; for when they do, this indicates they are ground, the whole fwarm fall down along with her; if in great want of provifions. They are alert on the (he reft upon a branch of a tree, they accompany her; leaft difturbance, and by the loudnefs of their humming and if the queen be caught into a hive, the fwarm will we judge of their ftrengtb. They preferve their hives inftantly follow her. When a fwarm is too few in numfree from all filth, and are ready to defend it againft ber for a hive, another may be added, provided the queen belonging to it be deftroyed. If that precaution be not every enemy that approaches. “ The fumroer is an improper time for buying bees, taken, a battle will enfue, in which not only one of the becaufe the heat of the weather foftens the wax; and queens is killed, but frequently a great many of the ♦hereby renders the combs liable to break, if they are working bees.not very well fecured. The honey too being then Several methods of taking the wax and honey, withthinner than at other times, is more apt to run out out deftroying the bees, have of late been praftifed. Mr of the cells; which is attended with a double difad- Wildman’s feems both to be the eafieft andfafeft : “ Revantage,, namely, the lofs of the honey, and the daub- “ move, (fays he> the hive from which you would“ taka the