BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
If the stock be bought within a mile or so of home, it should not be taken at once to its permanent resting place, or the Bees on their next flight will most likely go back to their old quarters, and thus be lost to their purchaser ; if possible, let it be removed at least two miles off, and remain there a week or ten days; after which, it may be brought home in safety. Evening should be chosen for the removal, or otherwise many may be abroad; but whenever it becomes a necessity that Bees should be removed during the day, administer a puff of smoke into the entrance of the hive. After this, those at home will be disinclined to go out, and in the course of half an hour all the Workers will have returned ; the smoking should be repeated if it be found that the Bces are recovering from the sedative before the necessary time has expired. They should be moved or disturbed as little as possible in bad weather, forif they be excited and unable to take wing to relicve themselves within the next day or two, dysentry will very likely be engendered. The value of a stock of Bces depends on their abundance in the neighbourhood, the season of the year, and the strength of the colony. Of course, in the autumn, when the dangers of the winter are all to come, they are not so valuable as in the spring, when they will, probably, soon swarm. Having bought an old stock, we have no option in the kind of hive to be used; whatever they are in must be made the best of, at any rate for a time. A novice could not satisfactorily transfer the Bces and combs while they are full of brood and honey, but if it be particularly wished to locate them in a frame hive, the transfer will become much easier sixteen to twenty-one days after the issue of a swarm; at this time the combs are free, or nearly so, of brood. Supposing the old Queen laid on the day of her departure, her last Worker egg will be hatched in twenty-one days, and the young Queen has not yet or only just began to lay, the combs will, therefore, be light and manageable. The chapter on "Transferring" will give full instructions how this operator may be successfully performed. In settling the locality in the garden where the hives shall be placed, do not trouble about the aspect, it is immaterial, but seek if possible to place them where they may be sheltered from high winds and drifting rain. The shelter of a shrub or tree is very welcome, and they will be more likely to pursue their labours
midsummer sum; but the whole of its grateful warmshould not be dispensed with, some heat being necessary to dry up moisture. Perpetual shade is bad; extremes either way should be avoided. It is not advisable to crowd the stocks together; spread them about the garden singly, then the Bees will not be likely to fight, or the young Queens to get lost on their nuptial excursions. Stands for the hives need not be expensive; an old stool, box, ask, drain pipe, or log of wood answers very well. Should these look unsightly, climbing plants trained over will soon remedy that defect. About 2 feet from the ground will be found a convenient height for manipulations. The hives being disposed of in their permanent quarters, a careful study of the various chapters that follow will teach the two what to do and when to do it. And, if attention be carefully bestowed, before the swarm multiplies itself, or the winter arrives, the novice in Bee-keeping will find himself fully able to cope with any difficulties that may occur.
GUIDE COMBS.
" An inspection of a sheet of comb will show that " the division of the opposite cells is made by a thin " partition wall common to both. Now the substance " of this is said to be only the 1-180th part of an inch, " while the artificial ones are between the 1-30th and " 1-40th of an inch, more than four times the thickness " of the handiwork of the Bees themselves. It would " be in vain to attempt to furnish sheets of wax at all " approaching this delicate fabric ; the impressed sheets " are quite as thin as they can be, to bear the handling " which is requisite for fixing them in frames. We " find, however, that this thickness is no disadvantage ; " the Bees speedily excavate and pare the artificial " sheet so as to suit their own notions of the substance " required, then with admirable economy they use the " surplus thus obtained for the construction of the cells. " After a sheet is partly worked at by the Bees, it is " interesting to hold it up to the light and observe the " beautiful transparency of that part of it contrasted " with the opaqueness of the part not yet laboured " on,"When a sheet or strip of this impressed wax is properly fixed to the bar, it is certain to be the guide and foundation of a straight comb. It is not necessary, although advantageous, that the sheet should be, when fixed, the whole perpendicular height of the comb; given a fair start of 3 or 4 inches, the Bees will continue in the same line to the bottom of the frame. For supers, 2 or 3 inches will be found sufficient, and will dispense with the necessity of fixing natural decoy combs. To these wax sheets the Scotch Apiarians owe the remarkable and beautiful regularity of their show supers in Stewarton boxes.
The best way to fix these sheets in the frame is to cut with a saw the bar half-way through, insert the edge of the wax sheet, and run a thin stream of molten wax down the angle formed by the junction of the sheet and bar. The bar may be wholly cut in two, and the sheet being inserted between the two halves screwed or tacked together again, or it may be cut through with a keyhole saw _nearly_ its whole length, the edge of the sheet passed through and made secure by passing a heated iron over the upper surface of the bar; or fix a strip of wood, half the width of the bar, with brads to the underside, place the wax sheet against this, and tack another strip up close against it, and the artificial comb will then be firmly fixed in the centre of the bar.
**QUETING BESS.**
"With sprinkled water first the city choke,
And then pursue the citizens with smoke."--Vinoz.
When performing any operations on Bees, either depriving them of their stores, making artificial swarms, or transferring from one hive to another, as well as the thousand and one things that an experimentalist finds himself called upon to do, it becomes very desirable to subdue the Bee's anger, or so to manage that they shall never become irate; and many schemes have been proposed for this purpose, but they have nearly all resolved themselves into one grand solatium "Smoke." Chloroform and burning fungus used to be the means practised, but it was found that although they recovered from the insensibility produced, the health of the Bees suffered--so now "Smoke " has taken their place. The Americans for this purpose use a roll of cotton rags, an inch or more in diameter, and rolled just tightly enough to burn, and not blaze. At times a little tobacco is sprinkled between the rags, and rolled up with them. We in England have pinned our faith more on tobacco alone, and with those who are smokers nothing is easier than to light up in a long clay pipe, give a good deep draw, and while the smoke pours out freely, apply the small end of the pipe to the hive's entrance; but with ladics, and with those to whom the pipe is an abomination (as it is with me), some other means must be adopted ; and it will be sufficient if I describe two little appliances which are in general favour. The first is the invention of Mr. F. Cheshire, for which he obtained a prize at the Crystal Palace, for its simplicity and utility.
It is formed of a simple briar root tobacco pipe, costing about \(6d\)., which is partly filled with tobacco or rags. A lighted fusee is dropped into the bowl, over which a piece of India-rubber tube, one end of which is plugged up, is placed as shown in the engraving (Fig. 38), when by alternately pressing and releasing the tube in the hand, smoke will be driven out of the small end of the pipe, and may be directed where desired. The other instrument was invented by the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, either as a simple " Quieter," or fumigator to insensibility ; for the first purpose, the nozzle is removed and the tobacco placed within it, then being replaced, the working of the bellows will eject the smoke where directed. For the latter purpose (seldom, in my opinion, desirable) the tube is first fixed into a wooden delivery pipe; the puff-ball torn in small pieces is
then crowded into the tube. A lighted vesuvian thrust into it, the wooden mouth-piece inserted, and the instrument is ready for use. When commencing operations on a stock of Bees, a puff of smoke will be found a wonderful quieter--it should be sent into the hive's entrance or under the crown board, and the Bees then left quiet for a few minutes--the effect is extreme alarm, and in all such cases the Bees rush to their honey stores, and fill their honey bags against contingencies. Once filled they are harmless, although of course _all_ the Bees do not get into that state. Oftimes when operating on Bees it will be found advantageous to sprinkle them more or less with syrup; this should be poured from a fine rose watering-can (if in cold weather it should be warmed); the Bees then become so busy cleaning themselves and their companions that they have no time to think of stinging.
Queen Bees are imported from Italy in little deal boxes about 5 inches square, a Queen accompanied by about a hundred Workers; and on lifting the cover a remarkable proof is afforded of how much our irritable little friends may be subdued. Open the box, there they are, a fluttering, buzzing little swarm, each Beoarmed with a sting and two pairs of wings, but showing not the slightest inclination to use either, as harmless as so many flies. Hold the box in hand, they buzz and seem to boil over the edges, running about the hands ; and having apparently ascertained all about it, back they go to attend their liege sovereign without any attempt to investigate further, or revenge the indignities they have lately suffered. This state of subjection is the whole secret of driving ; it may be summed up in one word, " terror." Only thoroughly alarm the Bees and they become tractable and harmless.
When manipulating much with the Bees, the Apiarian soon discovers certain stocks that are much more peaceful than others ; these may be noted as show stocks to one's friend, who will often become quite bold after seeing the way in which the Bees are handled. Half-breeds, the cross between Ligurians and English Bees, have the reputation of being very irritable, and I think it is well founded, for I had a stock of such last year who were certainly the most ricious little raseals that ever I met with. When Bees mean mischief, they emit a certain note which I call their angry buzz ; this is soon learned by their owner, who can often avoid being stung by regarding the warning.
## Chapter 10 A manual of Bee-keeping.
A manual of BEE-KEEPING. 11T
NATURAL SWARMING.
"Ten thousand pinions, guided by Thy hand,
Wander, unwaeried, through the blue abys,
They own Thy power--accomplish Thy command,
All gay with life, all eloquent with bliss!"--Dezhazin.
The issue of a swarm of Bees in the bright and merry months of spring, is one of the most beautiful and delightful sights and sounds to be met with in the country side; everybody within view or hearing is attracted by the tumultuous assemblage, and if in a district where old customs are still rifle, "tang-tang-tang" is heard on every side as the cottagers turn out with key and shovel to " ring the Bees." It is a popular idea that unless this is done the swarm will be likely to fly to a far distance, and perhaps be lost. I need hardly say the " ringing " has no effect whatever on the Bees, but the pleasant reminiscences connected therewith make it always a welcome sound to hear.
Swarms do not usually issue until May or June, rarely in April. Early swarms are always desirable if the weather be fine and warm, but if it be succeeded by cold or wet, then the early swarm becomes a misfortune; in the first place, the Bees have neither combs nor food, and being unable to go out foraging, must necessarily perish, unless fed regularly. The Mother hive also, lately so crowded, misses the comfortable warmth generated by its departed population and the Nurses with difficulty keep the temperature sufficiently high to mature the brood, so that in this contingency it will be seen it is more desirable for the swarm to issue later, when the weather can with more certainty be depended on.
Swarming is an act of necessity, not choice, and is a provision of Nature to relieve an over populated colony. It is in fact an emigration on a large scale.
The chief indication that swarming is about to take place is the gathering of the Bees at the entrance of the hive, where they cling to each other and hang under the board in a cluster, often as large as a pottle measure. This clustering is evidently the natural instinct of the Bees, which leads them to gather together in the same manner as when they are making comb within the hive, and indeed they will sometimes start a new comb under the floor board. The hive being quite full, the Bees will often thus " hang out " for two or three weeks, though something is apparently yet wanting to give them the final impulse to start. Clustering does not always take place before the issue of a swarm, so that other signs must also be watched for. If on one day the Drones are busy, and the Bees all activity and bustle, while on the following day few Bees are at work, and only a little restlessness observable, then we may probably expect a swarm at no very distant date; but there are no infallible signs by which the Aparian can predict an immediate issue, more especially if it be a first.
The issue of after swarms may often be foretold by a shrill piping sound, to be heard in the interior of the hive, one or two days previously, the cause of which I will presently explain.
In the case of a colony who will persist in repeatedly swarming, or if the Bee-keeper fears a swarm will issue and be lost, this may be prevented by clipping the Queens wings; she may probably come out after this, but will be found not far away, as she, of course, would fall to the ground, her journey afterwards being limited to the distance she can crawl. This plan was known to Virgil, who says:--
"The task is easy: but to clip the wings
Of their high-living arbitrary Kings."
The ancients styled the Queen--the King.
At the time of the old Queen's departure, the royal cells are generally arriving at maturity; in about a week one of them hatches, and the natural impulse of the new born Princess is to destroy all her unhatched sisters; but if the hive be in that prosperous condition that another exodus is desirable, the Workers prevent this sororicide by setting a guard over the unhatched Queens; and when the reigning Queen approaches them she is driven unceremoniously back; she resents this interference by a quick succession of shrill angry sounds, not unlike the rapid utterance of _peep, peep, peep, peep_, which is accepted by the imprisoned young r 2Qucens as a kind of challenge, and answered by them from the interior of their cells. This is called piping, and when heard is a sure sign of another swarm. The young Queens are all mature at the latest sixteen days from the issue of the first swarm ; and Langstroth says, if during this period these notes are not heard, it is an infallible indication that the first hatched Queen has no rivals, and that swarming is over for the season in that stock.
The second swarm usually issues on the second or third day after the piping is heard, though when the weather is unfavourable it may sometimes delay coming out until the fifth day. When using frame hives the issue of second and later swarms may always be prevented by destroying the Queen cells. Too frequent swarming is very injurious, as it leaves the original colony very weak, and the swarms are in the same condition ; in fact, it divides a thriving stock into a number of weak ones, which, collectively, will not be so productive as one strong colony; therefore, unless under exceptional circumstances, after swarms should be discouraged. From a stock which swarms more than once no surplus honey can be expected, the largest returns of honey being from the hives which have not swarmed at all.
Should two or three swarms issue together or within a few hours, and the owner be not anxious to increase his stocks, these may be profitably amalgamated; three swarms put together will gather more honey than if kept separate. The best way to unite them is to hive them in separate skeps, then place the hive intended for their permanent anode on a sheet, and proceed as I have described for stocking a frame hive, when the other swarm or swarms may be shot down in front. It is advisable to well sprinkle each swarm with syrup, scented with peppermint, before uniting them; fighting will, by this precaution, not be likely to occur. If the Aparian has no preference for either Queen, their majestic may be allowed to determine the right of sovereign themselves; but if it be desired that a particular Queen should be the survivor, the others must be sought for and removed; this may be done by searching for the Queen when on the cloth, each lot separately, and not allowing the Workers to mingle until they be found. A Queen is very easily missed, and a tyro will, perhaps, find this a troublesome and difficult work.
The Bee-keeper is often sadly disappointed after all his trouble in living the swarm, to find in a day or two the Bees will not accept their quarters. Something is wrong about the hive which we cannot always define, and the swarm issues again ; in this case it is advisable at the next hiving to use another hive, for if you put them into the same as before, they probably will again desert it. If two swarms cluster together, they may advantageously be kept together, but if it be wished to separate them, the following plan may be pursued : Having lived the doubled swarm, drench them well with syrup from the rose of a watering can ; then, having placed two other hives on a large sheet, shake down the Bees midway between them, and with a feather direct a stream of Bees towards the mouth of each ; probably a Queen will go each way, but keep a sharp look out, and if you can capture both Queens, the process becomes simple. Give one to each hive, and with your feather arrange the stream of Bees so that they shall be about equally divided ; if one Queen only be captured, and the Bees are found quietly entering one of the hives, the other Queen is doubtless there ; but if the Bees are disinclined to take possession of either domicule, then the Queen is still, probably, on the cloth, and the search must be continued.
Should second or third swarms issue when they are not wanted, they may be returned in the evening by shaking them out on a sheet before the entrance of the hive from which they issued, they will immediately run in.
The increase of colonies by natural swarming requires the least amount of knowledge or skill, and will, with those Bee-keepers who have not acquired some degree of scientific apiarian skill, be for long the only method allowed. Langstroth cites the following objections to natural swarming, which are, without doubt, well founded : "First. A serious objection to reliance on "natural swarming is the vexatious fact that swarming "lives are so constructed that although Bees often " refuse to swarm at all, they cannot furnish to their " crowded occupants sufficicntaecommodation for storing " honey. Under such circumstances, hordes of useless " consumers will often (for months) blacken the outside " of the hives to the great loss of their disappointed " owners. Second. Another objection to natural " swarming arises from the disheartening fact that " Bees are liable to swarm so often, as to destroy the " value of both parent stock, and its after swarms. " Experienced Bee-keepers obviato this difficulty by " making one good colony out of two second swarms, " returning to the parent stock all after the second, and " even that if the season be far advanced. In frame " hives, second swarming may be prevented by re-moving all the Queen cells but one, after the first " swarm has left; by removing all but two, provision " may be made for the issue of second swarms, if " thought desirable, and yet all further swarming be " prevented. After swarms, in many instances, have " to be returned again and again before one Queen is " allowed by the Bees to destroy the others. In this " way a large portion of the gathering season is often " wasted, as Bees seem unwilling to work with their " wonted energy, so long as the pretentis of several " rival Queens remain unsettled. Third. Another very " serious objection to natural swarming as practised " with common hives is, that it furnishes no facilities* "for making vigorous stocks of late and small swarms. "The time and money devoted to feeding small colonies "are usually wasted, as the larger portion of them "never survive the winter, and most of those that do "are so enfeebled, as to be of little value. The more "of such stocks a man has, the poorer he will be, for "their weakness constantly tempts his strong stocks to "plunder them."
the old hive may be examined, and if it still contains enough young Bees to cover the brood, nothing remains to be done but to place it on a new stand, at some distance from the old one. The population will quickly be increased by hatching out, and if no Queen cells are in existence, the Bees will immediately start some, and a Queen will be hatched in from ten to sixteen days, according to the age of the larva or egg that has been converted from a Worker to a Queen. If the Apiarian can obtain a sealed Queen cell, or better still, a fertile Queen, supply the hive with it at once, taking proper precautions against the destruction of it by the Bees. This will materially reduce the time during which the breeding ceases. If it be found _after the swarm is driven_ that the stock hive is bare of Bees, which, unless the Queen is known to have gone with the swarm, is advisable should be the case, then, by some means, the combs must be again populated. This may be done in various ways. The swarm may be sent away a distance of at least a mile and a half, and the old stock be replaced on its former stand; the Bees which return home from the fields will then be found sufficient to carry on the work of the hive. After a few days the swarm may, after sunset, be brought back, when they will have forgotten their old locality. Another way is to place the denuded hive on the stand of some other strong stock in the apiary, removing that one a few yards away; the returning Bees, although probably very much surprised at the new order of things in their home, will not hesitate to make the best of their misfortune and proceed to hatch the brood and raise a Queen. In the swarming season the combs of a strong stock contain such an immense number of young Bees, in all stages of development, that the hive soon becomes as populous as before. Once let the Bee-keeper master the art of driving and he will no longer allow his Workers to hang out idle, or risk the loss of a swarm by waiting the pleasure of his Bees.
Where artificial swarming is carried on on a large scale, Langstroth has devised an ingenious plan to repopulate denuded colonies :--
"Let the Aparian obtain a forced swarm from some " Bee-keeper a mile or two off. Bring it home and " confine the Bees, allowing plenty of ventilation, until " late in the afternoon or early next morning, then let " him force four or five swarms, placing them at once " on the stands of the parent stocks, and these latter " where it is intended they shall permanently remain.