BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
**And here I shall mention a thought, which firck me lately in a gentleman's garden, and indeed has often firck me in similar situations :-" Here I am surrounded with a variety of fine flowers, and the profect all around me is equally pleafant and delightful! What a variety of Nature's beauties and fweets are here exhibited, and how many thousands of millions of fockets of flowers there are, in the valt number of gardens in this metropolis and its environs!--and yet, the infatuated inhabitants and propriators rather allow the honey contained in thefe beautiful veffels to be wafted, than employ a few of thofe faithfervants, provided by nature, to extract and collect it for them :-Servants, who would chearfully labour, without wages, and find themfelves in food and cloathing during their* 34 _Reasons for encreating the number_ employment, if the proprietor would only provide them a few fsmall lodgings. Will thefe people still rather be at the expence of purchasing honey from me, or others, at a high rate, than rear hives to manufacture it for themselves? Will they continue to fend their money to Dantzick, for honey of a far inferior quality, rather than encourage the produce of it at home!--Why do not the gentry of Edinburgh and the neighbourhood, especially thofe who live in the confines of the city, replenith their gardens and nurstiers with fome hundreds of hives, which they are fo well able to fill?" Similar reflections have often struck my mind, when I have feen extensive fields, abandoning with white clover and. heath, where the flowers, like the fars of heaven, or the fand on the fea fhor, could be numbered -- not by units, tens, hundreds, or thousands, but by _millions_!--Suppofe, for example, I fquare yard of heath or clover to contain _500_ cups of flowers, each one of which contains fome honey, what an immenfe number would be contained in an extent of 6 fquare miles? Some however here may reply, that a field may be overfocked with bees, as well as with sheep or black cattle. I will grant that there is of, Bee-biver in Scotland._ 35 is a pdfibility of this, but I will venture to affirm, that fuch a thing has feldom ever yet happened in Britain*. Or, at leaft, if there is, or ever was, any one place in the ifland overflocked with them, there are twenty other places, which never reared the fourth part of the number that they were able to maintain. Nay, there are many excellent fituations for bees, which perhaps never had 20 flock hives on them, although by nature abundantly provided with excellent pafture for many hundreds.
* There are fome few places, indeed, fuch as white benty ground, where there is f scarcely a heath, clover, muffard, or runch flower to be feen, nor even any furze, broom, or plane trees growing, and which are almoff quite void of all other flowers. Such places are certainly very bad fituations for bees, and they will never thrive on them, or on any similar unproductive grounds. There are again fome other places, which have but a few natural flowers, and where no artificial ones are reared. Such places may perhaps have hardly a sufficient quantity of flowers in eight miles circumference, to feed eight flocks of hives; Where- as, in more favourable fituations, the fame extent of ground could easily produce as many flowers as would feed eight fcare. There are fome other grounds, which are excellent for producing corn, but which perhaps have little clover, muffard, or runches, in their neighbourhood, and neither gardens nor moors with- in reach. Such places are naturally bad fituations for bees; but by rearing fome turnip, muffard, or clover, and fome furze in hedges, or on wafle grounds, they may easily be rendered excelent fituations for thefa uifcal infects.
### 36 Reasons for encreasing the number
dreds. For, as has been often mentioned, when we consider the vaft quantity of flowers, which the earth naturally produces, and which might be fill much more incarefed by art, how prodigoufly great may we estimate the total? This confideration may convince us of the little danger we have of running into the extreme of overfocking our fields with bees.
Some may perhaps alledge, that if there were twenty times more hives in Scotland than there are at prefent, the produce, in a bad fefon, would fill be very trifling : But this is a very chilidifh objection ; for, even in the world of fons, the quantity of honey produced, would, by proper care and attention, fill be twenty times greater than, in fuch a fefon, it is at prefent. For inflance, were there but one hive in all Scotland, in a cold rainy fummer ; even that hive would produce but a very fanil increaefe, perhaps fwarm only once, and that fwarm produce but only one pint of honey ; whereas, if there are 100 hives, granting the weather to be equally bad, the produce muff be at leaf 100 pints of honey. Elimating the number of parifhes in Scotland, capable of raifing bees, to be only 800, which I think is below the truth, the following calculation will give a view ofof Bee-bives in Scotland.
of the immenfe quantity of honey that might be produced, even in ordinary favourable years.
_Biven._
_Pists of Hung._
_Suppofing, (which is moderate)_
_x' to produce_
\(4\)
_Then i hive in each parifh - $oo produces_
_3,200_
_Suppofing the number in each_
_parifh increafed to 30, - 24,000 will produce_
_96,000_
_But fuppoing, (which is fill_
_very moderate) the number_
_in each parifh increafed to_
_100 - - - 80,000 will produce_
_310,000_
_parifh increafed to 400 - 320,000 will produce_
_1,280,000_
_llu. of meas._
_Befides wax, which at 1lb. each hive, is_
_- - 8c,000_
_But there are many parifhes in Scotland fo very large and extensive, and fo full of rich flowers, that I believe 1000_
_lives erected in each of them, would not contain bees sufficient to extract the one half of the honey contained in their flowers, in favourable weather; and therefore, it would not be estimating the_
_pofible increafe of honey, all over Scotland, too high, to fate it at near 2,000,000 of pints of honey. For example, the parifh in which I_
_was fo richly provided latt year with abundance of fine white clover, wild unufard, and_
_heath flowers, &cc. that 1500 hives of bees, placed properly on it, would not have nearly_
_exhaulted_
**Reason for encreasing the number**
**exhafted its flowers of their honey.** To what an**
**an** **afonifing**
**extent**
**then might the bee-huf**
**bandry be carried? ***
**But left I**
**should**
**be**
**though**
**extravagant, in**
**my**
**calculations and statements of the profits to be made from thefe**
**ufeful animals, and inclined to lead my readers to build**
**_cafles in the air,_
**infead of**
**erecing**
**lives in their gardens, I**
**fall mention a few facts out of many on this**
**which I can vouch, either from my own concern in them, or upon the authority of perfons with whom I am particularly acquainted, and who informed me how much they had made of their bees**
**To a perfon near Greenlaw, I**
**paid for honey and wax, a-**
**bove,**
**-**
**L.4**
**o**
**To another near Dunfe, for**
**ditto, above,**
**II**
**To another, near Hamilton, I**
**paid for**
**_one bive,_
**which was**
**weighed in the Edinburgh**
**Weigh-houfe,**
**4**
**For**
**But it is neceffary to caution the reader here, that, in a very bad.fearon, it perhaps could do little more than produce the fourth part of that quantity; not for want of abundance of flowers with honey in them, but for want of favourable weather for them to go and collect it. See pages 7, 9 and 29.**of Bee-bives in Scotland.
For 40 hives, purchafed from different perfons, fone of them at above 21. Sterling each, I paid - - 70 o o 0 A friend in Mid-Lothian afterted me, he had cleared last feafon, by his bees, no lefs than - - - 12 o o 0 All of thefe perfons had but a very few flock hives at Whitfunday, and yet they made, at an average, above 30s. by each of their hives. But had they increaef the flock, they might eafily have made ten times more than they did.
With regard to the profit arifing from bees, one confideration should not be overlooked, _vis_. that almoft the whole produce, arifing from the fale of both honey and wax, is in a great meafure clear profit ; as bees, and bee-hives are, particularly in Scotland, equally free from rents and taxes ; and the culture of them does not in the leaf injure or impede any other improvement, in any reflect. Nor do they require a confant attendance, as moft other articles of improvement do ; for a proper perfon might eafily overfee, with a little affitance in fwarning time, at leaf 500 bee-hives. And
**4o**. _Reasons for encreasing the number_
as Nature has amply fungplied them with food,
and with powers to provide it for themfelves,
they put their owners to little or no expence
for that article; which cannot be faid of any
other of our forants whatever.*
Thus, by following the above plan, with a
little attention and exertion on the part of our
landed gentlemen, fuch a number of bee-hives
would foon be raifed all over the kingdom,
**Here I have in view Scotland in general, as it has many**
**hundreds of fituations where bees would thrive well, but where**
**not a fingle flower is fown for that purpofe; but even were this**
**plan adopted, of rearing artificial flowers in thofe places, where**
**a fcarcity of natural flowers prevails, during part of the working**
**fefan, in order to fupply that defect, and thus afford the bees**
**abundance of provifion at all times, fill the expence would be**
**fo trifling, that it is fcarcely worth taking notice of; as is already**
**dy hinted, p. 12, 8c. for, flould we plant fomie trees, with a**
**view to affit bees, we have their wood; if we rear turnips, we**
**have their feed; if we fow white clover, we have the beft of pafiture; and if we even allow furze or broom to overfpread**
**wafte grounds, we can be at little lofs, as even thef have alfo their**
**ufes, by fupplying us with hedging, fuel, fhelter for sheep, 8c.**
**I with not to be here underflood, as if I meant to recommend**
**the fowing of large fields purpofely with food for bees, excepting white clover, which provides food for larger animals:**
**All that I intend is, that gentlemen, who have great flocks of**
**bees, and plenty of ground, may easily fparce or four acres,**
**out of as many hundreds, for the rearing of turnips, muffard,**
**furze, broom, 8c.**of Bee-bieves in Scotland._**
**that the quantity of honey and wax would be increaReadonsi for encreafing the number, $?c.
stead of paying 1od. or 1s. per. **p**ound for it, as at prefent, it might be fold fo low as 3d. _per_ pound, in which cafe it would prove an excellent fubtitute for butter to the poor. E-ven at the prefent prices, it is already ufed by many perfons mixed with butter.
As to the wax, almost every perfon knows the great ufes made of that article, in medicinal preparations, wax candles, feeling wax, &c. &c. as well as the high effeep in which wax candles and wax tapers, are held by perfons in the higher ranks of life, on account of their clear light and odoriferous **f**in**ell, as well as their freedom from all danger of greafing any thing, as tallow candles do, when a drop falls from them.
How to increase Bee-Hives, &c,
C H A P. VI.
How to increase the NUMBER OF BEE-HIVS IN A FEW
YEARS IN SCOTLAND.
I
PROCED next to flow, in what manner the
number of bee-hives may be fpecially encreafed in Scotland. If a gentleman of property
has a proper ftiuation for bees, and the above
reasoning has inclined him to commence the
cultivation of bees with fpirit, let him apply
to fome perfon tolerably fkilled in that branch
of fcience, and let him purchafe 100 or more
bee-hives, in the month of Auguft, and place
then properly, according to the directions
which fhall be laid down hereafter. Let him
next rear a fuficiency of turnipsin their neighbor
bourhood, that they may blofom next fpring;
and in the month of February, let him
forne muffard feed, and fome furze and brooin
upon dykes, or waftg ground. Gentlemen of
property, who have any ground proper for
planting, fhould by all means plant a number
F a
**44**: _How to increase the number_
of plane trees and fallows. They fof Bee-bives in Scotland._
be sufficient to reply, that the induftrous propriator, having done every thing in his power to
them, he told me, " they belonged to his _neigbbour_, who lived
" a few yards from him."--" Perhaps not," replied I, " for a
" bee will fly far for food in fine weather : and, therefore, thefe
" bees may come from Leith, or fome other place as far difant,
" while your neighbour's bees may fly as far as Leith for their
" loading."
As for the reason why bees will fometines travel a mile or
more for a heavy loading, when they could get the fame quantity and equally good, from the fame fpecies of flowers within a
few yards, I can fcarcely hazard a conjecture; unlefs it be, that
perhaps fome of the old and experienced bees, from a mitiaken
apprehefion, mity fuppofe thofe flowers near their hives to have
been exhaufed, by the moft part of the hive having had confant
accefs to them, and feeding on them; as is laid of the old cattle,
that they commonly feed on the borders of their pafture grounds,
where few of the younger cattle have previoudly fed. But, as a
proof of the fad, let any perfon who has one or two hives, with
abundance of flowers to keep his bees confantly employed, within
zoo yards of their hives, make the experiment, by going to another place, where there are alfo flowers growing 1000 yards difant from his own, or any other perfons bees, and he will find a
great number of bees at work on the difant flowers.
But though fome bees, by being expeditious travellers, fcem to
diffregard diftance, and to be fond of undertaking long journeys
even when loaded, yet, in general, I believe, the greater part
of them are wife enough to collect their loading as near their
hives as pofible. And, therefore, the nearer the flowers are f
uated, the more work will they perform, and the greater quin-
tity of honey will be carried home in a day. For this reason, I
have already advited the hives to be always placed as near as
pofible to plenty of provitions.
* **How to increase the number**
fupply his own bees with ample provisions, will have the pleafure to fee them feed and thrive upon it; and flould theof of his neighbours occasionally partake, he will not have any reason to regard it, there being no danger of a famine. But to obviate this objection completely, let ten (or more) perfons in a village, or neighbourhood, join together and contribute equally in proportion to the number of their lives, to rear a sufficient quantity of flowers a-mongft them, and upon this amicable plan, the expence of each proprietor will be exactly in proportion to the number of his lives.
Supposing, that there are, in May 1795, twenty flock hives in each parifh in Scotland, the amount in 800 parifhes would be 16,000. Then, fuppofing each of thefe hives to throw one fwarm,which would probably keep through the winter, in September we would have 32000 flock hives. At this period, let every gentleman, who rears bees, keep all his hives, young and old, for flock hives, that are fit for it*: Let
* All flocks, or frifif swarms, and even fome fecond fwarms, will probably anfwer for that purpofe; and all fwarms which are near-ly full of combs, but rather light, fuch as I would not advife to be kept, if they were not fecedily to increcale the flock; by keeping them Let the poor, who are able, do the fame with theirs ;--and let thofe, who are not able to lie out of the produce of their bees, fell them to thofe who are inclined to purchafe them for flock hives. By doing this, they will raife as much honey as if they killed all the bees, and fold the honey and wax\(\uparrow\), and with far lefs trouble.
On thefe principles, by keeping 32,000 flock hives, with proper management, during a tolerable feafon, and always preferring all that will preferve, for the fpace of fever years, the flock would increafe as follows : viz.
them, and feeding carefully with courfe honey, which might be - purchafed from any foreign market, where it could be got at the cheapeful rate. For this purpofe, two or three very light (warms, which are not fit to be kept for flocks feparately, might, by conjoining both bees and honey, form a good flock hive. And all hives, containing honey or combs, whofe bees defer them from whatever caufc, during any feafon of the year, might be kept carefully, to lodge new fwarms next feafon. The method of uniting, feeding, &c. will be decribed in their proper places; and by folowing the directions laid down under thefe heads, our hives would in a short time turn out very numerous.
But should it here be asked, How are we to be fupplied with honey during the time of rearing the flock hives? we may reply, that it may be purchafed from other counties, in order to fupply ourselves, as well as to feed our weak hives,* [15] _How to increase the number_
In the 1. year, Sept. 1795, there would be 32,000
* [1796] 64,000
* [1797] 128,000
* [1798] 256,000
* [1799] 513,000
* [1800] 1,024,000
* [1801] 2,048,000
Thus, within the flort period of fever years, the number of our bee-hives would be increaefed to no lefs than two millions and forty, eight thousand hives. But allowing the forty eight thousand to be difcounted for dead hives, there would full remain two millions of flock hives. Although this number may appear to be large, yet there is no reason to fuppo**f**e**, that the calculation is neither impofible or improbable. But, even dropping the one half of this number, upon the fuppoition of loffes by bad featons, &c. there would fill remain, at the loweft primate, a clear million of flock hives; which, next year might produce four millions of pints of honey, and one million of pounds of wax; and fill keeps the flock entire. With fuch a quantity, indeed, of thefe ueful animals, and valuable commodities, we might reft contented; as fuch a quantity, befides every other advantage, would afford employment to hundreds of old and of Bee-biocs in Scotland._**49**
and poor people to watch them in fwarming time, and to make hives to receive the young colonies.
Another method, by which the number of our flock hives may be more fjeedily increaefed in this country, might eafily be adopted. Should any one opulent propriator, or a company of individuals, incline to have 2000 or 3000 bee-hives, let a commiffion be fent by a proper perfon to Poland or Ruffia, where, in the month of Auguft egreically, they could be purchased at one third part of the price they generally draw here : And I am perfuaded, if the Dantzick hives are made much in the fame form with ours, or in any other form that will admit of carriage, a flip nearly loaded with other goods, which would help to pay her freight, might bring over a great number of them. Perhaps many will think this an extravagant attempt, but I am fo confident of its fuccefs, that if I were poffeffed of 1000!. Sterling in ready cafb, I would fet fail for Dantzick, and rifk 8ocl. of it upon the adventure. On bringing home my cargo of living bees, I would fpread them all over the kingdom : But, before fetting out upon fuch a voyage, I would firth inform myfelf properly about **G** the _ Account of the Queen Bee._
the form of the Dantzick hives, as well as about their prices, and whether they are to be got near the fea-coaft ; as land carriage of bees is equally troublefome, expensive, and dangerous: But I. would not be afraid to rifk 1000 bee-hives on board a flip ; for, I would rather carry them 4000 miles on flip-board, when properly packed, than 100 by land.
**CH A P. VII.**
**ACCOUNT OF THE QUEEN BEE.**
**The Queen; or Mother Bee, is eafily ditinguified from all the other bees in the hive, by the form, fize, and colour of her body. She is confiderably longer, and her wings are much fhorter in proportion to her body, than thofe of the other bees. The wings of both common bees and drones, cover 'their whole bodies, whereas thofe of the Queen fcarce reach beyond the middle, ending about the third ring of her belly. Her hinder part is far
* _Account of the Queen Bee._
* **Drones ;** and affirms that all the working
* **bees are females in diguife ; every one of**
* **whom, in an early flage of her exitence, was**
* **capable of becoming a Queen ; from a know-
* **ledge of which fac, fwarms may artificially**
* **be obtained from the early months of fpring,**
* **and in any fucceeding month, even to No-
* **vember."**
* **His experiments have been very numerous, and obviate every doubt and objection. He performed the operation, upon one and the fame, flock, for at leaf fifty or sixty times, from mere fragments of the combs, &c. &c. This novel and wonderful doctrine excited no final contention, and not a few counter experiments among naturalifts on the Continent, without being decided even by the great Bonnet. He afferts, which is indeed the grand and decifive proof, that " the practice of this art, (of rai-
* **fing artificial Queens,)** has already extended
* **if**elf through Upper Lufatia, the Palatinate,**
* **Bohemia, Bavaria, Silefia, and feveral parts of**
* **Germany, and even of Poland."**
**That a Queen can be raifed from an egg in a common cell, or, in other words, that the felf-fame egg is capable of being reared up to be either a Queen, or a common bee, as the bees**_Account of the Queen Bee. 55_
bees pleafe, appears to'me, from my own experiments, to be paft a doubt; and that a Queen, who never faw a drone, can lay eggs, which will produce bees, is equally certain. Both of thcfe facts will, I flatter myfelf, appear to the curious and learned reader, to be clearly ascertained by the following experiments.
Long before I heard of Mr Schirach's theory, or experiments, I had often taken off fwarms, without leaving any Queens or royal cells in the mother hive; notwithstanding which, they bred young Queens, which fur-prized me greatly how they had obtained them, as the received opinion then was, that they could not breed a Queen bee, if the old Queen was taken away, before a royal cell was erected. But after feeing Schirach's fentiments on this subject, I thought his theory extremely probable, according to what I had obferred among my own bees; and refolving to afcertain the truth of it, I made many experiments of my own, which all succeeded to my wifhes. But, in order to put the matter beyond all doubt, I shall relate an experiment I made with a hive in fpring 1788, two months before the ufual time of fwarming, and which clearly afcertains both the facts at once. The hive was _56 Account of the Queen'Bee._ was beginning to carry well, and to breed faff, but it was not half full of bees. It had only one Queen, but neither Drone nor royal cell; neither of which could be expected at that fefaon of the year, as it was about the middle of April, I took out the Queen, and motif part of the bees, and left the hive with only some common bees, to hatch out the young brood in the cells, and provide themselves with a Queen, but without leaving one single Drone. They did not difappoint me; for as foon as the melancholy intelligenceervadedthe hive, that their loving mother was torn from them, they made a mourning kind of noife for their great lofs, for about two hours : After which, a general council, as it would feen, being called, the moft experienced fages, in the diftreffed republic, may be fuppofed to have advifed their brethren, " That it was in vain to mourn. Jonger for the lofs of their mother and brothers; that although they were gone, and although they had at prefent no royal cell to raife another mother, yet they had fill sufficient resources from nature and their own indiufry; that they had power and means to raife a young monarch to the throne; that they had plenty of new laid eggs, and therefore, they had plenty of new laid eggs, and therefore, they had plenty of new laid eggs.
_57_decount of the Queen Bee._ 57
fore no time was to be left, to raife a Queen bee from one of them; otherwise the egg would all foon produce common bees, and then all hopes of future progeny would cease for ever, and their republic utterly perilh, for want of a prolific mother to preferve and perpetuate the race."