Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-04-17
Mlg9g III AS9N,W;ss1Sl, ;s1l,,, e I, ,,.'.. : :.
. YYondSrs of the .Ree.Hiuei

One of the curious sights in a hive is
tic cluster, which the bees make. Their,
nature.is such that they need a, high, des
gree ofianimal'heat. &sibgle bee would
probably perish fronrcoId, but when thots-g
anas cluster together they can endure the
severity 5f. our. winters. But in, forming
the cluster5they: do NOT lie close together,
likesolitter ofpigy, nor stand side by side
like & flock of sheep. Their mode 'isRtos
lang themselves from the ceiling or Soof of
the hive, or from the branch of a tree. :.
Some hundreds of them take hold :of the,
underside of the roof with their forepfeet
whichrtcrminate in sharp claws, and stretch
themselves at full length, ITlicfr lind legs
hang down 50 taat anothcn SGT OF bees, can
grasp'them with their, fore feet, and others.
still hang to them. !. 3 Bot thesoychains get
linked together, each bee perhaps hanging
from two, and thus festeo1ls are formed,
and the shape of the whole 'massiis that of
sugar loaf with thesinaIf erld6wn. We
had occasion once To turn up side down a
hox containing several hupdred bees; and
as they gradually aceot otSmoddted themselves
to their new position, we found at the bot
tom of the cham a hee, which, %hileeling.'
ing to those above him with its fore-fest,,
held.in his hirfd-fe a, Sing e nail THAT hap
pened to. be loose In tile box, and from tlie
nail still another bee HING 1uFhe latter
dropped OF pretty soon but Tic first hold
onto the nail for half an hour before yleto
ting Iit fall. Phe npniberlof bees I'M such
"a cluster IS sometimes yery large, and the
weight is propoftionally great 50 that the
strength Of those tiny hooks with $hiel, the
feet end off, is more than We should sup
pose. - : A'' s1's SsSs'ii'i3'fe1 ''ti 80
NUMBER OF BEES IN A SWARM. t''g
Thenumbor Of bees = Ii an OF 4tllidafy swarm
may be estimated by the actual weight. 20 -
1t has been found by experiment that a
pound of bees contains about fi2c thousahd
and If ono knows the Weight Of the hive ,in
which he has put a new swarm, nc o!can cas-.
lily calculate the number of bees. \ 1t is de-
sirable that q swarm should have, at least
10000. bees; sometimes there are three
times as many It Is to be, noticed, how
ever, that new swainl, ON going from the
old hive, is heavily loaded With honey, and
if allowance were made for chs, the .es-
timate would be too large. - ss<'t 8 ;'.,o
The observing hive allows us to watch
each beeasitTcturihs rom its fig ghtin search
offood. These tiiatt6me lYitif III road of
pollenon their thighs, ffsstattract our at
tcntioh This pollebis the food Of tlesini.
mature bees, and IS kept stored ea@ay3in
readiness for consumption when needetla--4
Tho si,ariy Is sspfoctlfed ofitfhs bbSfore it is
DeedeGs, And it is essential 10 the Sgcli bel
ing5ofa stock, tiiodg il is7 bitter to our
taste, and n,lkes tie honey with which it, ~
ttiRt for lnlar reet OF for the table, We See
abee coming III, with Is sellsbalaneea load
stiel6h3 out ION either side. lille paDaiefs
ESIhi d doakoy II marches along over The
familiar road nom Che entrance to tic comb,
and ihetead of going up to Che Spare honey
boxes, eFe Che ss sss5 - eSS ;lssc Kept,
makes ats was "a slie ileigh b64lfond of TIE
breeding cells, and looks f3r an Sf1oecapiet.
Spot. assipg by thDse thsb eohBasn sibhey
or brood, IL Bcleets d proper apiaeS, rsns
thrllsting its hind lggs intosthe cell, Il 4aibs
theHe0ne agaipstt ot tbaf pptll ,tl(e entire
load as, brashss sil and then leaving It 20
others 70 pack down the .beesbresd, q stagts
9fgaens afFaRge fer Delivering lis
cargo ef hane q - sssc cse4 4ytlzisf isfrf-yft
The honey ia brous "a e, thle i've in the
abdem4ns and is aaalsIlT collected at the
samo tilaawitl the pollen. y bee hrs,sle
as.hR8hs juice Of II IL AosFe yiikh les. ,fge,
toagAed prahaseia, and i swallcws it. r,eIf
when g0fsei 10 Il food IT sgege cut n. two,
..the honey N sllf se found in the saelss os
the abdomen Or ifthe BED kgefe ALTERED
10 tighten % mi8dowia q aabsan9 liest g the
AfansnAfeney ufthat lrk 9g ~ bedg
wonld chow thet Is was lSasled viii ilsl,ey.
& bse tleairifg "a sbc relleyed 9f its load,
R;gcs an invitation "a The eomnanv to holm