Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/487

 BEE-KEEPING 467 more of them, and put them with the bees where wanted. Or it' there are only two swarms united, a part may be separated and returned to the parent hives, and the rest put into one hive ; or they may all be put into one, and boxes put on immediately. It is some- times desirable to unite small swarms; this may be easily done, if they issue about the same time, by inverting one hive and placing the other over it ; the bees in the lower will ascend. When it is desirable to defer for a short time the issuing of a swarm which the signs indicate to be just at hand, the bees on the outside of the hive should be sprinkled : with water. This is effectual only before the i swarm has started. Sometimes the swarm is- sues and returns several times; if this is owing to the inability of the queen to fly, she should be found if possible, and put with the others ; in the new hive. It has been proved by the movable comb hive that the old queen, if she can fly, always leaves with the first swarm. If the weather should be such as to prevent the new swarms from going out to collect honey for several days immediately after being hived, j it may be necessary to feed them. The general use of box and movable comb hives makes it unnecessary to kill bees to get the honey. In other hives the bees may be stupefied with chloroform, sulphur, or tobacco smoke. The comb when taken should be cut off clean so that the honey may run as little as possible upon the bees. Polish apiarians cut out the old comb annually to lessen the tendency to ' swarming, and thus obtain the largest amount of honey. The old practice of destroying the bees, except those which are intended for wintering, after the hives have been filled and the honey season has passed, still prevails, and La Grenie gives many reasons proving this to be profitable. The time for taking up hives depends somewhat on the season and the bee pasturage. The quantity of honey does not increase generally after Sept. 1. The bees are suffocated by burning sulphur, are buried to prevent resuscitation, and the honey removed. The bees are sometimes deprived of the entire store of comb and honey in the early part of the season, generally after the leaving of the first swarm, and driven into a new hive. When the old hive is infested with moths, or the comb is not good, and it is desirable to winter the bees, this operation may be ex- pedient. It is performed by inverting the hive, and putting the other, into which the ] bees are to be driven, over it, making the j junction close, and tapping with the hand or a stick the sides of the hive ; the bees will pass up to the new hive, which is to be then removed to the stand. Hives are sometimes i attacked and robbed, either because they are too weak or other bees are attracted by broken honeycomb or by food put near the hive. To protect it after the robbery has commenced, the hive should be removed to the cellar, or some cool dark place, and allowed to remain two or three days. It is sometimes sufficient to close the entrance to the hive so as to admit but one bee at a time. It is beneficial to put a similar hive in the place of the one removed, and rub o"n the bottom board wormwood leaves or the oil of wormwood. This is so disagree- able to the bees that they speedily forsake the place. Breaking the comb in the hive of the robbers will generally make them desist. The quantity of honey usually necessary for wintering safely a swarm of bees is 30 pounds ; and it is known that two colonies put into one hive will consume but few more pounds than one swarm, probably because of the increased warmth in the hive. Those that are found in the autumn to be weak in numbers and with a scanty supply of honey should be united with another weak colony to make a new and strong stock. Only the strong swarms are profitable to winter. Feeding should begin in October, so that the honey may be sealed up before cold weather. Brown sugar made into candy by being dissolved in water, clarified and boiled to evaporate the water, is a good food for bees. The sirup should be boiled till it begins to be brittle when cooled. This or common sugar candy may be fed to bees in the hives, under them, or in the boxes. If fed in the liquid state, it may be introduced into the hives in dishes, some contrivance being made to enable the bees to eat it without getting into it. Honey is of course the best food, and mov- able combs may easily be transferred from well supplied to destitute colonies. The ob- ject in feeding bees in spring is to induce early swarming. Feeding should never be at- tempted as a matter of profit. Clover is the principal source of supply for the bees. Fruit tree, basswood, locust, and maple blossoms yield abundantly and of fine quality ; buckwheat furnishes a large quantity, excellent for the winter food of bees, but inferior for the table. The bee moth is the greatest foe the apiarian has to contend with. The best safeguard against this pest is to have the hive well jointed and painted, the entrances not too large, the bees vigorous and numerous, and to examine the hive daily from about May 1 till September or October. In the daytime the moths remain in their hiding places, and may often be found around the hive. They are on the wing in the evening, hovering around the apiary or running over the hives, endeavoring to enter and deposit their eggs. Many may be destroyed by entrapping them in shallow dishes of sweetened water with a little vinegar added. Hollow sticks, small shells, and similar things are often placed on the bottom board, where the worms hatched from the eggs may take refuge and be destroyed. It is necessary to look often under the bottom of the hive, and if one side is raised (as is required for ventilation in warm weather), under the blocks or shells on which it rests. These caterpillars at first are not thicker than a thread, and are of n yellowish white color with a few brownish