BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The quineunx arrangement has been strongly recommended for the hives in an apiary, and it serves admirably. It has been sometimes improperly called the _hexagonal_ system, from the fact that each hive is surrounded by six others, all at equal distances from it and from each other. The system is a very old one, and it would be a pity to introduce a new and inaccurate name for it.
**Rabhet.--**When one part of the edge of a piece of wood is planed lower than the rest, the lower part is called a _rable_ or _rebate_. In Fig. 1, R is the rabbet, and upon this lower portion the arms of the frames rest, so that their upper surface may not project above the walls of the hive; otherwise, the bees would get out here and cause annoyance.
Strange to say, the term rabbet has been "'lately applied to a strip of folded tin, to be used in any hive where the frames are suspended by the top bar." In Fig. 2 the folded tin strip, A, will be seen resting on the rabbet as just defined. It will be seen that the edge of the tin upon which the arm rests is just the reverse of a rabbet, and to call it a rabbet is an absurdity. It should be called a _support_, bearer, or some similar name, but
Figure 1:certainly not a rabbet. Some English writers call it a _runner_, but we prefer the word _support_ in such cases. See _Support._
**Race.--**The term "race," in the sense of _kind_, is used to denote a variety which, by long exposure to peculiar influences and conditions, has lost the tendency to recur to the original type. A _race_ differs from a _breed_ (q. v.), in that it has been produced by natural means; and from a _variety_ in that it has endured longer, and has become more permanent. Our most scientific bee-keepers acknowledge quite a number of distinct races of bees, amongst which may be named the _Black_, _Brown_ or _German_ Bee; the Carnialan; the Caucasian; the Cyprian; the Dalmatian; the Egyptian; the Holyland, Syrian, or Palestine; the Hungarian; the Italian or Ligurian, for a short description of all which, see under these several heads. In the case of some of these--notably the Italians and the Cyprians, the race has been henumed in for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, by a wide extent of sea, or by mountain tops whose snow-clad summits were an effectual barrier to the passage alike of the queens, drones, and swarms of other races.
**Rack.--**_n_. 1. This word was originally used to signify the grating placed above a manager for holding hay; Bailey defines it as "a wooden frame to hold fodder for cattle, or to put bottles in." In bee-keeping the term _honey rack_ is the name of an open framework or crate placed upon the brood frames for the purpose of holding sections or honey-boxes. 2. The term rack is also used in mechanics to signify a straight bar with teeth or projections. Hence it has been applied to a bar having notches and fastened to the bottom of the hive for the purpose of keeping the frames the proper distance apart. Used with very deep frames and when moving stocks.
**Raek.--**_e_. To draw off clear liquid from sediment.
**Ralse** | Both these _erms_ are properly applied to the producing **Rear** | and bringing up of young animals. Webster defines _ruise_ thus: "To cause to grow; to procure to be produced, bred, or propagated." _Rear_ he defines this: "To bring up or to raise to maturity." _Queen-ruising_ and _queen-rearing_ are both proper.
Worcester, and other authorities, give substantially the same definitions. The best etynological authorities agree that the words are originally the same. They may, therefore, be used interchangeably.
**Raw Wax.--**A name given by some old writers to pollen. It is founded on the erroneous idea that bees _collect_ wax.
**Rebate.--**See _Rabblet._
**Rectangle.--**A figure in which _all_ the angles are right angles. It must therefore be four-sided. The sides, however, need not be all equal. The opposite sides must be equal. A rectangle is not necessarily oblong; it may be a square, for every square is a rectangle, though every rectangle is not a square. \(\quad\)
**Re-hive.--**We would suggest the more general use of this word to signify the transposing of frames and bees from one hive to another where the conbs are not cut out, and put in new frames. We need such a word to signify the minor operation of transposing from the more important one of transferring, and the expression, _re-living_, seems to us to meet the case. See _Transfer._
**Render Wax, To.--**To melt and clarify it. This is best done in the Wax Extractor, but may be done in a common pot or kettle. See _Wax._
**Rhomb.--**A four-sided figure whose sides are all equal and the opposite sides parallel to each other, but whose angles are unequal, two of the angles being obtuse and two acute.
**Rhombid.--**A four-sided figure whose opposite sides and angles are equal, but which is neither equilateral nor equin-angular. The difference between a rhomb and a rhomboid will be readily seen on examination of the figures.
**Ripe Honey.--**Honey that has been evaporated either in the hive or otherwise, so as to keep without souring. When fully ripe it is capped or sealed (q. v.)
**Roh.--**When one colony takes the honey of another it is sad to rob it.
**Royal Cell.--See Queen Cell.**
**Royal Jelly.--See Jelly.**
**Sandarach.--An old name for pollen or bee-bread.**_Improper_**.**
**Scout.--It is a general belief that bees, when about to swarm, send out seouts to find a suitable location for the future live. This is doubled by some, but the meaning of the word is as we give it.**
**Sel.--To close a cell by means of a cap of wax, or of wax and pollen; an operation performed by the bees.**
**Scaled Brood.--When the larvae reach a certain stage of development, the cells in which they have been raised are senel by the bees. The brood remains in this sealed condition until it emerges as a fully developed bee, and during this period is called "sealed brood."**
**Scaled Honey.--As soon as honey is fully ripe the bees cap or seal up the cells in which it is contained. It is then called sealed honey.**
**Section** \(ackslash\) A small frame, elosed on **Section** Box \(ackslash\) top, bottom and ends, in which the bees are made to store honey. The one-round section is \(4^{1}_{4}\,x\,4^{1}_{4}\) inches. The two-round section (or so-called Prize Section) is \(5^{1}_{4}\,x\,6^{1}_{4}\). The thickness or width varies from \(1^{1}_{2}\) inches to \(2\) inches.**
**Separator.--A piece of wood or metal placed between the sections for the purpose of preventing the queen from entering them and laying eggs; and also for the purpose of preventing the bees from building the comb beyond the sides of the section.**
**Septum.** A division. Generally applied to the vertical division between the two series of cells in the comb--that is the bottoms of the cells.**
**Sheet.--A cloth covering for the frames in a live. While a _quilt_ is generally made of two thicknesses of cloth with some porous material between them, a _sheet_ is properly but one thickness. The sheet is used chiefly for the purpose of preventing the bees from passing above the frames; the more clunsy quilt is used for preventing the escape of heat from the brood cluster. See _Frame Cover, Quilt_ and _Mat._
**Sholtz Candy.--See _Candy_.**
**Side Bar.--A name given by some English writers to the end-bars of the frames. The term "side" bar is decidedly incorrect.**
**Side Boxes.--Honev boxes placed at the sides of the frames of comb, or at the sides of the live, in distinction from those boxes which are placed on the top of the hive. The term is notoften applied to sections or boxes hung at the sides of the frames in the brood cluster, but it is difficult to draw the line.
**.Skeep** This word literally means a basket. In some coun-**Skip** tries the bees are lived in baskets lined with straw. The term, as used in bee-keeping, applies properly to the old-fashioned straw live and similar contrivances, and not to box or similar hives.
**Small Hive.--**A term applied by some English writers to the cap or super.
**Snooke.--**Since the bee-keeper has occasion to use this term frequently, it is well to get at its true meaning, so that we may use the words _snoke_ (v); _snoke_ (n), _fame_, fumigate, etc., in their proper senses. The definition given by Webster, and followed by the Imperial Dictionary, is so thoroughly wrong that it cannot be defended either for scientific reasons, or upon the ground of good usage. His definition is: "The exhalation, visible vapor or substance that escapes or is expelled from a burning body." To this he adds: "Applied especially to the volatile matter expelled from vegetable matter, or wood, coal, peat, and the like, the matter expelled from metallic substances being more generally called fune, or fumes."
"Vapor" he defines: "Any substance in the gaseous or aeriform state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid."
Now, the essential peculiarity of smoke is, that it consists not of gases or vapors alone, but of gases or vapors, or both, loaded with finely divided solid matter. In the case of ordinary smoke used by'bee-keepers, it consists of the gaseous products of combustion (carbonie acid, carbonic oxide, etc.) and the vapors of water, pyroligneous acid, etc., loaded with finely divided carbon and the partially condensed vapors of imperfect combustion. Snoke, therefore, is simply the gaseous products of combustion loaded with finely divided solid matter. The smoke of a soft-coal furnace is black; that of a magnesium lamp is white. The definition given by Worcester agrees with these obvious facts, and is correct.
On the other hand, the term _fumes_, does not apply especially to mineral matter, as Webster states. We speak (and properly too) of "the fumes of whiskey," and the word "funigation," as applied to the exposure of bees to the vapors arising from the slow coubunst of puff-ball, has long been an accepted term. The word "funes" applies to purely vaporous exhalations, whether vegetable or mineral, and, although originally meaning the same thing as _snoke_, it has now come to have a slightly different meaning, so that we very properly make a distinction between the _fumes_ of tobacco and the _snoke_ of tobacco.
Since sulphur, when burned, gives off only fumes, it is proper to speak of fumigating bees with sulphur; in that case, we should not speak of smoking them. In the case of puff-ball,the active agent seems to be a volatile narcotic, and in this case too, the term "'fumigate" is proper, even although the fumes may be accompanied with smoke.
**Smoke.--\(v\).** To direct a blast of smoke on bees for the purpose of subduing or controlling them.
**Smoker.--An implement consisting of a small furnace in which rotten wood, rags, or similar materials are burned. The smoke from this slow combustion is blown on the bees by means of a pair of bellows which is generally attached.
**Smyrnian Bee.--A race of bees found in Western Asia.** Said to be quite distinct and very excellent.
**Spacing Board.--\(\Lambda\)** board with grooves into which the end-bars or bottom-bars of the frames slide and are held firmly at the right distances apart. They are used when hives with movable frames are transported from place to place.
**Spat.--Unsealed brood.** This word is properly applied to the young of the oyster and similar shell-fish. It is not a desirable substitute for the word _brood_.
**Species.--To give a good definition of _species_, is a problem that has taxed the powers of the ablest scientists. Fortunately, for our purpose, all questions of origin, etc., may be safely disregarded, and our task is, therefore, so much the easier.
Bufton defines a species as "a constant succession of individuals, similar to and capable of reproducing each other." Cuvier's definition is: "A succession of individuals which reproduces and perpetuates itself." In both cases, the power to produce fertile offspring is a prominent feature of the definition. The main question of course is: How far may a series of individuals depart from the main type and still belong to the species?
The fertility of the progeny has frequently been proposed as a test of difference in species; but, even with such an apparently simple and crucial test, it is not always easy to decide. Some kinds interbreed with much more facility than others, even when their apparent differences are much greater. Thus, it has been found that wild and tame genes, when bred together, produce a veritable rule which is ninfertile, while the dog and the jackal, which are apparently much less nearly related, breed together freely, and the progeny is fertile.
So far as bees are concerned, it is believed by the best authorities that all the kinds at present under domestication are mere varieties of one species. Even difference of habit to the extent of using wax for propolis, as is the character of the Egyptian bee--_Apis fuseita_--does not indicate a difference of species, for it is on record that the common honey bee has done the same thing when \( ext{propoli}\) could not be had, so that before coming to a decision, it would be at least necessary to determine whether or not the Egyptian bee has easy access to propolis.
For a list of species see _Apis;_ the principal races are named under the head _Bee_, and the extent of the variation which exists among them under the heads _Breeding_, _Strain_, _Variety_.
**Spent Queen.--**A queen whose productive energies have been exhausted.
**Spermatozoa.--**Planal _Spermatozoa.--_An essential peculiarity of the spermatic fluid of all animals, consists in the presence of elongated bodies which have active motion, even for some time after they have quitted the living organism. From this they have been regarded by many as animaleules, but this is an error. They are, undoubtedly, true products of the formative action of the organs in which they are found, and cannot be ranked in the same category with Animaleules proper. In all the higher animals, impregnation takes place from the union of one or more spermatozoa with the ovum of the female, and in most cases connection between the male and female is necessary for each birth. In the birds, however--notably the turkey--one impregnation lasts for several eggs, and in some of the insect families--notably the ants and bees--one impregnation lasts perhaps, for a lifetime. In these cases the males produce a large quantity of very concentrated semen which is received by the female in a small sac and kept there till wanted. See _Spermatheca_.
**Spermatozoid.--**This term was first used in botany to designate the moving filaments contained in the antheridia of cryptogans. It has since been used by Flint and other writers to designate what are usually called _spermatozoid_ (q, v.); the object in using this word probably being to avoid any appearance of sanctioning the idea that spermatozoa are animaleules. But, on the ground that the word _spermatozoid_ has been appropriated by botanists to denote a specific object, we prefer the word _spermatozoon_. Etymologically, the objection named above applies equally to both words, but it seems to us to be of no importance. The plural of _spermatozoid_ is _spermatozoid_, not _spermatozoid_, as some have it.
**Spermatheca.--**A small sac which is attached to the oviduct and receives the spermatic fluid of the drone in the act of copuIation. In virgin queens it is empty, but after impregnation it is well filled. It is supposed, that when the egg, in passing through the oviduct, comes opposite the opening of the duct from the spermatheca, one or two spermatozoa are ejected so as to impregnate it. The spermatheca is quite small--just clearly visible to the naked eye--and yet it has been estimated by Leuckart, that it may contain 25,000,000 spermatozon.
**Spring Bwindling.--**In many colonies the bees die off in spring faster than the young are matured. The colony, consequently, _dwindles_, and sometimes disappears altogether. The cause of this disastrous state of things has been frequently discussed, but no satisfactory conclusion has been reached. In our own practice we have sought to avoid spring dwindling: 1. By economizing to the utmost the natural heat of the bees. This we do by contracting the brood nest as much as possible, and surrounding it with non-conducting material in the shape of cushions and division boards. Also lessen ventilation as much as possible. 2. By supplying good wholesome food--preferably sugar syrup, for the saccharing portion. 3. By taking great care that the queen is never exposed to a low temperature. This can only be accomplished by keeping the whole colony warm. If the whole colony gets chilled, and the heat of the cluster falls, so that the queen gets chilled, it takes her a long time to recover, though she may eventually do so, and again become useful. 4. By having plenty of young but well-matured bees in the fall. Young bees which have not had several good flights are worse than useless.
The great remedy for all troubles, however, is to have strong colonies with plenty of food.
**Square.--**A figure which has all its silles equal, and all its angles right angles. The figure A, B, D, C, is a square. A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square. See _Kiedangle_.
**Stall.--**An old term for a stock (q. v.); more properly, merely the stand. _Olsodele_.
**Stand.--**The base or support upon which the hive stands; also, the location of a colony. The word is used improperly for stock, colony and hive. See _Slock_.
**Stand, Bee.--**This term is sometimes used as synonymous with apiary, but should not be used in this sense.
**Starter.--**A small piece of comb or foundation put into a frame or section to "start" the bees comb-building in the right direction. A section with a "starter" of foundation is shown in the figure.
**Sterile Queen.--**A queen that does not lay. Sometimes queens lay eggs that will not hatch. In this case the queen can scarcely be said to be barren or sterile, though the eggs are properly called _unfertile_.
**Sting.--**The weapon by means of section with starter, which bees defend themselves.
**Stock.--**This term can scarcely be dispensed with, although it does not find a place in some glossaries, and other writers consider it synonymous with _colony_, which it certainly is not. A colony is simply the bees of any stock, whether a new swarm or the inhabitants of a hive that has been established for years. Then we have the _hive_, which certainly does not include a colony, just as a colony does not necessarily include a hive.* A stock, however, includes colony, hive, comb, stores, and all that is necessary for the normal existence of the bees. (Sections, creates, smokers, etc., may be necessary for the bee-keeper, but not for the bees, and consequently cannot be included.)
Footnote *: Dealera and bee-keep:ts speak of sending "colonies" in packing boxes. In such instances they certainly do not include the hives.
**Stock Hive.**--A term sometimes used to denote the hive or apartment in which the brood, etc., exists, as distinguished from the "Super" or honey-gathering apartment.
**Stopped.**--Capped (applied to cells containing honey).
**Stop-wax.**--Propolis.
**Storify.**--To range hives over or under each other.
**Strain.**--This word, though characterized by Webster as obsolete and rare, is one of the most useful, expressive, and legitimate words that we have, and this is shown by the extraordinary difficulty of finding a synonym for it. When we speak of a _strain_ of bees we mean a _series_ of carefully selected individuals which have not been erected into a breed, but, nevertheless, show certain peculiarities which distinguish them from bees bred promiscuously. The word finds its proper place in the following sequence:
\[ ext{Genus--Species--}egin{cases} ext{\, Variety}\ ext{\, Race}\ ext{\, Breed}\end{cases} ext{--Strain.}\]
Amongst stock breeders the word is in common use, and amongst certain very distinct breeds we have _strains_ which are noted for certain peculiarities, although these peculiarities do not constitute a sufficient difference to make a new breed. Thus, we have certain strains of particular breeds of cattle, which strains are noted for large quantities of milk, while other strains of the same breed are noted for their butter-giving qualities. And so, too, with bees; of the same race we may have different strains--some noted for gentleness, some for great working power, some as being good nurses, some as wintering well, some as combining several good features.
**Strained Honey.**--This term would properly apply to filtered or clarified honey, but it is generally used to denote honey that has been obtained from the combs by squeezing. It frequently contains the juices of young bees, bee-bread, etc., etc.
**Sngar.**--Sugar being the main constituent of honey and the chief food of the bee, possesses special interest for the bee keeper. Under the heads _Cauchy, Glucose_ and _Honey,_ the reader will find interesting and useful information in regard to the subject. The different kinds of sugar which enter into the composition of honey are named under the head _Honey,_ and possess much interest to the scientific inquirer; but, with the exception of cane sugar, which is used so largely for feeding bees, and glucose (natural and artificial), it would at present be difficult to turn this knowledge to practical account. The reader who is curious on the subject will find a very complete resume of our knowledge in regard to it in the "Dictionary of Chemistry," by Watts. A few of the chief facts in regard to cane sugar may be of value here.
The term, "' sugar," is generally applied to the product obtained from the cane and the beet, and from the fact that it was first largely obtained from the cane, it is now generally known as _cane sugar._ It is found not only in the sugar cane and the beet root, but in the maple and in numerous other plants. The juices of many grasses* contain it, and cases have been recorded where bees have obtained much food from the stubble of wheat, corn, and other plants of that kind. The nectar of the flowers of the eactus contains eane sugar only. Cane sugar is also found in varying proportions in the nectar of most other plants.
Cane sugar dissolves in one-third of its weight of cold water, and in all proportions of boiling water. It has a sweetening power of 100; grapes sugar having 60. It melts at 320\({}^{o}\) Fahl., and on cooling forruns the transparent substance known as barley sugar. When heated to 400\({}^{o}\) to 410\({}^{o}\) it loses water and becomes brown; it is then no longer capable of crystallization, and is called _cavamel._ Indeed, cane sugar is so susceptible of change by heat, that if a colorless solution of it be exposed for some time to the temperature of boiling water, it becomes brown and partially uncrystallizable. Acids also effect this change. Tartarie acid added to a solution of sugar and boiled, prevents the formation of crystals, and no crystals can be obtained even after the acid has been thoroughly neutralized by chalk or carbonate of lime.
Cane sugar is (with bee-keepers) a favorite winter food for bees. Experience has shown that it answers admirably, and its composition shows that it is entirely combustible, leaving no ashes or residue, whether it be burned in the organism of the bee or the furnace of the chemist. It has a greater heat-giving power, weight for weight, than other forms of sugar. But since pure sugar contains no muscle-forming material, it may be doubted if it alone will sustain a colony of bees which may be compelled to exert themselves either for the purpose of gathering food, or for that peculiar activity which they show when exposed to great cold.
As bee-keepers may have occasion to calculate the weights and
**bulks of given quantities of syrup, we give a few figures. The quantity of sugar dissolved is 100 parts; the amount of water by weight is given in the first column, and the specific gravity of the resulting syrup in the second column.**
**Parts of Water.**
**Spec. Gravity.**