BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
" It has very much the appearance of the original " Woodbury super, having wooden framework with " glass panels ; it is 13 inches square and 4 inches " deep, and is fitted with seven bars. Its construction " is a marvel of ingenuity. It is made almost " entirely by means of a circular saw, and every one " of its parts is cut to a mathematical nicety, so that " they fit each other with great precision, and are all " interchangeable with the parts of other supers of the " kind. It is composed of two square frames and four " ingeniously constructed pillars, each of which is a " study in itself; one of the frames is laid upon the " table, with the rabbeted side upwards, and a pillar is " pressed on to each corner; the glass is then slid into " grooves in the pillars, and rabets in the bottom " frame; the top frame is then pressed on to the " pillars, and the super is ready to receive the wax " bars, in fact is practically complete."
This super obtained the prize at the Crystal Palace as the best and cheapest super for general use. They are made and sold by James Lee, of Bagshot, at \(5s.\)\(6d.\) per pair; and hold, when filled, twenty pounds of honey each. The advantage gained by supers being made to take to pieces is that the honeycomb may be easily cut out for use. Those who make their lives can make their supers, and Mr. C. N. Abbott has given the following simple instructions how to do so:--
Fig. 27. Fig. 28.
" Take two pieces of thin board of the size and " shape determined on, and cut saw grooves half way " through about a quarter of an inch from each of " their respective sides. Fit plates of glass in one of " them, which we will call the bottom, so as to touch " at the points of intersection of the saw grooves, and " bind the whole of them together with a strip of " gummed paper round the outside of the top edges. " The glass should not be more than about \(\pm\) or " \(4
rac{1}{2}\) inches deep, but some boxes should be made of " much narrower dimensions, so as to be available as " ekes when the larger sizes are filled. The edges of " the glass plates should be rendered air-tight by strips " of gummed paper fixed over them, giving the super, " as shown in the engraving, the appearance of being " supported by columns at each of its angles. All " supers should be supplied with bottom boards of their " own, to be removed with the super ; they need only " be made of the thinnest material. Admission from " the hive should be given by two narrow slits, " corresponding to similar slits in the crown board ; " these are preferable to a central hole, through which " the Queen is apt to stray and spoil the contents of the " super by breeding therein. Whatever super is used, " care must be taken to furnish the interior with clean " decoy comb or wax sheets (to be afterwards described); " also to well wrap up the super with some warm " material, such as felt, flannel, &c., as the Bees will " mostly reject a cold unfurnished apartment."
Supers may be made of any size. A very strong stock in a favourable season will fill one holding 80 or 100 pounds, and it exhibits the skill of the Becmaster to supply the maximum size that the Bees will fill with scaled comb, as a half-filled super looks very bad.
In 1863 that veter Bee-master, Mr. George Fox, of Kingsbridge, Devonshire, obtained from two hives glass supers of pure honeycomb, weighing respectively \(109
rac{1}{a}\) and \(112\) pounds net. These supers were made to fit over the body hive telescopic fashion, and as the Bees built downwards, so the boxes were raised, in order that the combs might be further lengthened. The same year Mr. Fox also got an octagon box containing ninety-three pounds of fine white comb from a swarm which came of so late as June 28th.
It is questionable if our Scotch neighbours, who work with the Stewarton hives, are not the wisest; they being content to obtain a number of small full boxes rather than attempt one large one, which will very likely prove a failure as to completeness. The Scotch Apianians pack their full supers for travelling in the following manner: Clean sheets of paper are laid on the combs, and gently pushed down between each, the two edges lapping, so as to cover the edge of the combs. Then the space between the combs is firmly packed with clean soft paper cuttings, taking care to bruise no cells, and over the whole another sheet of paper laid; by this means more than thirty supers travelled 400 miles to the Crystal Palace Show without any damage whatever.
## 7 A manual of Bee-keeping.
beenath, next the hole near the edges of the left hand circle, allowing two and then three Bees to sit at our sweets, and as the plate turns, hole after hole comes into position until the maximum is reached, when the stop at \(e\) ar ordinary ash shovel without the sifting holes. The bottle having been filled, the shovel (concave side down) is placed on the mouth, and the whole inverted and stood on the feeding stage; when there the shovel may be withdrawn, leaving the syrup at the disposal of the Bees. If it be desired to remove the bottle again before it is empty, all we have to do is to slide the shovel under it and invert as before. If made strong enough, this little instrument will also be found useful as a scraper to clean floor boards, supers, &c.
QUECEN CAGES.
Bees, on losing or being deprived of their Queen, will not with any certainty accept a stranger without some precaution; on the contrary, will often slay her forthwith; but it is found in practice that if a Queen be confined some twenty-four or more hours amongst the Workers the regicidal tendency abates, and the love and reverence succeed to hatred, if the Queen be in a fertile condition. An infertile Quecn is not readily accepted, instinct seemingly acquainting the Bees that she is useless. The prudent Bec-master, therefore, never introduces a new Ligurian, or other Queen, without temporarily confining her. In strengthening stocks by the addition of other Bees, it is also advisable to secure the reigning Queen for a day or two as a precautionary measure against the malice of the strangers. For this purpose cages of various patterns are used.
The most simple form is that of a coarse wire gauze cup, with a \(
rac{1}{4}\)-inch tin margin soldered on, as Fig. 31. The Queen, with or without a few of her own Workers, is placed therein, a card slipped underneath to keep her there, and then transferred to the comb where it is desired to fix it.
The card being now withdrawn, the cage is gently pressed down with a screwing motion into the comb as far as the bottom of the cell, there to remain the necessary time. It is advisable, if practieable, to tie it there, as the Bees, in their anxiety to get at the new Queen, will sometimes undermine and hoist it up, when the Queen may get out too soon, perhaps meeting an executioner. In fixing this cage, select a comb near the centre of the hive where there is some honey, so that her majesty may have food at hand. This is not absolutely essential, and in straw skeps the cage may be fixed on the bung at the top, care being taken that there is sufficient space beneath when replaced for the Bees to crowd about it.
Mr. W. Carr has invented a very simple and perfect Queen cage that any mere novice can make in a few minutes. He thus describes it : "It is made of per-" forated zinc, and measures 1.1 " inches long, 1 inch wide, and "1 inch deep. One side of the " cage has an opening (A) 1 inch " long and 3-8ths of an inch wide, " and this is covered with a flat door (B) sliding over " it on the inside, with a piece of wire (C) about 12 " inches long fastened to the top of the door to draw it " up ; D is the open side of the cage to be pressed into " the comb. The cage is intended to be lowered down " from an opening at the top of the hive into the centre " of the brood-nest; and after the Queen has been con-" fined the necessary time, the wire is to be genlty " pulled, which will open the door, allowing the Queen " to walk out without disturbance. The cage may be " removed a day or two afterwards. Many Bee-keepers " discountanance the use of zinc on the ground that " it is injurious to the Bees. I question, however, if " this objection be well founded with ordinary care in " cleaning."
The cage invented by the well known Aparian, " A Renfrewshire Bee-keeper," which obtained the prize at the Crystal Palace Show, is thus described by him in the _British Bee Journal_:--" It is formed from wire " net, 2 inches deep by 11\({}^{\circ}_{\pm}\) " wide, and 3-8ths in thick-" ness, the top of the same " material, and projecting " 1-8th part all round as a " flange, to prevent slip-" ping too far between the " combs. The door of wire " forms the bottom of the " cage, and is opened and * "corner in front, and wrought through the top. In "some there is a circular hole on top with moveable "cover, for introducing the Queen to the cage. But to "any, saving the merest nervous novice, the space be-" tween the wires at bottom is amply sufficient for the "admittance of the royal person. Some are circular " for bung-holes in common straw skeps ; but I give " the preference to those of the flat form, as they fit the " exact space between the combs of any hive. Some, for " appearance sake, are constructed of copper wire net; " and some, to prevent the rusting of the iron wire, are "japanned ; but they could be made of galvanized " wire.
"_Advantages._--From its thickness it fits the unvarying width of space between the combs of all hives " alike. The flange portion on top, resting on the " frames or bars, prevents it slipping into the hive. In " hives possessing slides it is only necessary to divide a " central one, drawing the outer portion sufficiently to " receive the cage. The Queen is to be admitted to " the cage through the aperture between the central " wires at bottom, while the operator holds it inverted, " with the door open, in his left hand, the forefinger " and thumb of which cuts off her retreat sideways ; " she is then shut in, and the cage suspended in the " hive. On the lapse of the requisite time (third day) " the Queen is liberated by simply pressing the top of " the wire downwards, which throws the door open, " converting it into a gangway, by which she walks " forth to meet the attendants who have been feeding " her, and are familiar with her presence; they form her " body-guard, and the risk of encasement is reduced to " the minimum. With all cages stuck into the combs," the Queen can only be set free after the hive has " been opened up, and the Workers, being newly and " thoroughly disturbed, are in their most irritable " mood. Should the pipe cover cage set in a bung-" hole be employed, it is requisite to draw it out and " invert it, the attendants elinging to the bottom of the " eage are transferred to the outside of the hive, and " the Queen is forced to stem the upward stream of " stranger Bees trying to force their exit. This eage " permits the Queen to be liberated without the smallest " disturbance to the hive generally. Unlike cages of " zinc, the material of this gives forth no poisonous or " deleterious exudations. The simplicity of its arrangement and the inexpensiveness of the material of " which it is made, recommend its adoption by Apia-" rians generally."
Bee-keepers are not agreed as to the time necessary to keep Queens confined; some think three days, others are satisfied with one, and I have known six hours sufficient, her majesty walking out in safety after the lapse of that time. In using the wire cage of the Renfrewshire Bee-keeper, it will be perceived that it is not thought necessary to provide the Queen with any food; and I and others have been so sceptical as to doubt that Bees who are anxiously seeking an opportunity to destroy the Queen would yet feed her, but I think it has been conclusively proved that they will usually do so even when most venomously inclined. Failures now and then will occur whatever care be used, and they must not always be attributed to the eage. There are many more Queen eages in use, and, of course, there is no reason why any Bee-keeper should not make modifications to suit his own case or fancy; but the patterns described will illustrate the principal systems in practice. Releasing the Queen in the dark without disturbance has its advantages, but I prefer to watch her majesty's reception by her new subjects as it is often possible to prevent a rejicidal attack, as is described under the head of "Ligurianizing"--there is too much trusting to chance where the door of the prison is simply opened and the prisoner left to her fate ; but where the Bee-keeper is at all timid, of course the cage that may be opened from the outside is preferable. The simple cup and Mr. Carr's cages will occasionally be found useful to cover ripe Queen cells in order that the destruction of the young unhatched Queens may be prevented. When two Queens meet, a duel is certain ; like two gladiateurs, each first takes a good look at her antagonist, then rush to the fight ; they seize each other by legs and mouth making, with curved abdomen, every effort to insert the sting between the rings of the other's body ; they wrestle thus, rolling over and over until one succeeds in giving the deadly stroke. It has been stated that if they get in such a position that both are likely to be stung together, they will separate and commence the fight anew.
"With mighty souls in narrow bodies prest They challenge and encounter, breast to breast, So fixed on fame, unknowing how to fly, And ultimately bent to win or die; That long the dreadful combat they maintain 'Till one prevails (for one alone can reign)."--Yegin.
Last autumn, when exchanging some English Queens for Ligurians, five of the deposed sorvercigns were placed in a box together -- the next morning four of the unfortunate monarchs lay dead, the survivor marching triumphantly over the battle field.
## Appendix A Manual of Bee-Keeping.
### Bee Houses.
Ir has long been a debatable point whether Bees do best congregated in houses or standing singly about the garden, of course, properly protected; the balance of opinion is for the latter course--mainly for two reasons. Firstly, the Bees are not so liable to rob and fight; and a most important point, the young Queens, when returning from their matrimonial excursions, are not so likely to mistake the hive from which they issued--if they do, the penalty is _death_, for the Queen of the invaded hive allows no intruders. If Bee houses or sheds are used, the hives should be far enough apart, at least 3 feet, and the hives should be dissimilar in appearance. For hives made of thin material, like the Stewarton, shelter becomes a necessity, and indeed some Bee-masters obtain very successful results from Bees kept wholly indoors, egress and ingress being given to them by a covered way leading to the open air. I think a sound rainproof open barn or other building must prove a decided advantage, securing warmth and comfort. For three or four hives very pretty little Bee houses may be constructed forming garden ornaments. The frontispiece to this work represents a " Bee Palace," a portion of the apiary of Mr. C. W. Smith, of Totteridge, Herts.
The Honey Extractor or Slinger.
This is a modern invention borrowed from the Germans, improved in America, and still further in England, but for my part I look upon it as yet in embryo as a perfect instrument, being elumsy, too large, and ugly; however, such as it is, it does good service in the manner which I will endeavour to explain. The illustration will give a good idea of the outward form of the machine, so that I will merely say that the central cylindrical vessel made of galvanized iron, 20 inches in diameter, by 24 in height, forms a fixed reservoir, with an outlet closed by a treacle valve near the bottom, intended to let out the honey when extracted. Within the reservoir is a revolving four-sided frame of wire work, wider at the top than the bottom, held in place by a central spindle working in the bottom of the can, and the frame of the top. The turning of the handle gives motion
suffers in her health, and the contingencies of Bec life being many in the busy season, the stock absolutely dwindles, and perhaps dies subsequently, from nothing else than over prosperity. The danger of such a state of things being discovered, the extractor provides an immediate remedy as in the former case. If the emptied combs are placed in the middle of the brood nest, the Queen immediately fills them with eggs at an astonishing rate. Thus also breeding may be at any time encouraged by empty combs placed in the centre of the hive, as will be further explained. I heard a very practical Bee-keeper remark that he deprived his Bees of _all_ their stores, for which he could get 1\(s\). or 1\(s\). 6\(d\). per pound, and returned his labourers for their winter sustenance, sugar syrup, which cost him not more than 3\(d\). per pound ; it answered quite as well, and indeed went further. Our American cousins, from whom we get many valuable Apiarian hints, commonly manage their Bees thus : Two strong stocks are selected, which we will call A and B ; from B all the Bees with their Queen are driven, making a strong new swarm ; the hive, with its combs full of brood in all stages, minus its floor board, is then placed on A, which has previously had its crown board removed, and an adapter substituted. The Bees of A immediately take possession of B, hatch out all brood, while the Queen remaining in the lower hive still keeps breeding, and the immense population thus formed quickly fill the emptied combs of the upper hive with honey, which, as fast as filled, or nearly so, are emptied by the extractor, and returned ; by this means a very large harvest is obtained, which has amounted to as much as 600 pounds from a single hive. Wax is a product made by the Bees from honey, and it is said that it takes twenty pounds or more of honey to make one pound of wax ; therefore every pound of comb saved for the Bees represents at least twenty pounds more honey to be harvested. Now it is quite a mistake to imagine that old combs, that is to say, up to three or four years old, are useless except to melt down. For breeding purposes they are quite as good as new ; and, indeed, when the Bee-keeper handles his combs much, they are better, being tougher. I would quite as soon have my hives flumbed with old combs as new. By the use of the extractor, therefore, we get all the honey and save the combs ; and it will be found where a hive full of clean combs can be given to a swarm, they get a start in life for which they will amply make returns.
## Chapter 3 A manual of BEE-KEEPING.
Drone and BEE TRAPS.
These are sometimes of considerable service in an apiary, either to capture undesirable Drones or to clear a super of Bees. Of the former kind the Drone trap made by R. Aston, Newport Salop, has been found very useful, and is thus described by its maker.
The figure represents it fixed to a Woodbury hive, but it is only necessary to alter the shape of the zinc bridge to make it fit the front of a straw skep. The trap is left on as long as is desirable or until filled ; it offers no hindrance to the Worker Bees, and should the Queen stray into it, she would have to stay there until released by her owner. 1 is a sectional view of the drone trap ; 2 is a perforated zinc front with apertures 3-16ths of an inch in diameter, which permits the exit of the Worker Bees only ; 3 is an opening left at back to place before a Bee trap when fixed to a super, so as to catch its Drones ; 4 is a glass tube down which the
Figure 34:Drones march freely into the cage, but cannot find their way back again; 5 is a contrivance through which the Workers can pass as ordinarily, but it has a strip of wood along its centre which darkens the way and renders it less attractive than it otherwise would be to the Drones; 7 is the zinc bridge which may be fitted to hives of a circular shape, yet, when reversed, will be found equally serviceable for plane-fronted hives. The trap is fixed to the hive by the piece of zinc, No. 6, which is screwed to the floor board, and is held up by a support from the ground or by two light strips of wood which are thrust under the floor board and catch two nails or pins in its sides.
There are several other Drone traps in use, but the principle of all is the same, _i.e._, to give the Workers free egress and ingress, but the Drones only the former. Workers can pass through an aperture 3-16ths of an inch in diameter; Drones cannot.
What are generally known as _Bee_ traps, in contradistinction to _Drone_ traps, are intended principally for clearing supers of the Bees when taken off the hive; and a very simple one which answers admirably is "The fire pin Bee Trap," the invention of Mr. F. Cheshire, for which an extra prize was awarded at the Crystal Palace; this has the additional advantage that it is practically costless. On the side of a large box, bore any number of 1-inch holes, stick two pins nearly close together just above, and the same just under each hole, all inelining upwards, as shown in engraving. A fifth pin is then dropped across each hole and the trap is complete. Place in the box the supers from which it is desired to get rid of the Bees and shut down the lid--if the box be well made, the only light entering it will be through the holes of the trap--then tilt up the front of the box facing to the sun so as to cause the perpendicular pins to lie flat on the box, but care must be taken that the heat of the sun shining on the box is not sufficient to soften the honey-combs, which would, in that case, collapse, the Bees from the inside will make for the light, and pushing up the pin, pass out and cannot re-enter. Traps are also made on the same principle having thin plates of talc or horn hung on a wire and made to fall like the perpendicular pin described above, as in Aston's Bee Trap. In lieu of placing the supers in a box, the traps may be fitted on to any aperture in a super, taking care to darken the remainder.
this account not to be despised if they come early in the season.
Bees are usually sold in a straw skep, which will come in very handy, even if, as we should in this age of progression determine, to work with frame hives only ; if this be not the case, and the old straw skep is to be maintained, put the swarm on its stand at once, and leave it to proceed as Nature directs, not forgetting to protect it from the elements, and feed if necessary in bad weather (see " Feeding "). If the swarm is to be transferred to a frame hive, see that the latter be ready, and find your instructions in the chapter on " Swarming."
If it be determined to commence with an old stock, a very good time to purchase is either in February, March or April, thus gaining the advantage of the swarm when it comes. In choosing an old stock, do not buy a weak one at any price ; stand before the hives on a fine mild day and note those from which the Bees are busiest ; buy such a one or none.