The apiary; or, bees, bee-hives, and bee culture [1865]: Being a familiar account of the habits of bees, and the most improved methods of management, with full directions, adapted for the cottager, farmer, or scientific apiarianNeighbor, Alfred
Science
The apiary; or, bees, bee-hives, and bee culture [1865]: Being a familiar account of the habits of bees, and the most improved methods of management, with full directions, adapted for the cottager, farmer, or scientific apiarian
After having given directions for the working of the hive, it remains
to be told how to obtain possession of the store, and to get rid of
our industrious tenants from the super and end boxes, of which the
super glass will be almost sure to be filled first, having been first
given to them. The operation of taking honey is best performed in the
middle of a fine sunny day. The best mode that we know of is to pass
an ordinary table-knife all round underneath the rim of the glass to
loosen the cement, properly called propolis; then take a piece of
fine wire, or a piece of string will do, and, having hold of the two
ends, draw it under the glass very slowly, so as to allow the bees
to get out of the way. Having brought the string through, the glass
is now separated from the hive; but it is well to leave the glass in
its place for an hour or so, the commotion of the bees will then have
subsided; and another advantage we find is, that the bees suck up the
liquid and seal up the cells broken by the cutting off. You can then
pass underneath the glass two pieces of tin or zinc; the one may be
the proper slide to prevent the inmates of the hive coming out at
the apertures, the other tin keeps all the bees in the glass close
prisoners. After having been so kept a short time, the apiarian must
see whether the bees in the glass manifest symptoms of uneasiness,
because if they do not, it may be concluded that the queen is among
them. In such a case, replace the glass, and recommence the operation
on a future day. It is not often that her majesty is in the depriving
hive or glass; but this circumstance does sometimes happen, and
the removal at such a time must be avoided. When the bees that are
prisoners run about in great confusion and restlessness, the operator
may then conclude that the queen is absent, and that all is right.
The glass may be taken away a little distance off, and placed in a
flower-pot or other receptacle where it will be safe when inverted and
the tin taken away, then the bees will be glad to make their escape
back to their hive. A little tapping at the sides of the glass will
render their tarriance uncomfortable, and the glass may then be taken
into a darkened room or out-house with only a small aperture admitting
light which must be open; the bees, like all insects, make towards
the light and so escape. The bee-master should brush them off with a
feather from the comb as they can be reached; but on no account, if
there are many bees, should the glass be left, because the bees that
are in the glass will gorge themselves to their full and speedily bring
a host of others from the adjacent hives, who, in a very little time,
would leave only the empty combs. It is truly marvellous how soon they
will carry all the store back again, if allowed to do so. An empty
glass should be put on to the hive in place of the full one, as it will
attract the bees up, thereby preventing the too close crowding of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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