Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1866-04-25
W7steries of the Beehive.

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Mysteries of the Beehive.
The celebrated Rev. DR.. Cumming, o
England, recently delivered lecture ii
Liverpool on Bees, Beehives, and Bee
Masters, from. which we take The follow
ing extract, as reported in an Englisl
paper,:S- -
fh. lecturer commenced hy exp'ainir.
why he. had chosen this subject, and how
he had acquired his information. lie
was in the habit, with his wife and chill
dren, of going down to q cottage in Kent
i'll the summer months, and, as had beei
wisely said, the. bow must not be always
bent, he had sought ont, amusement; IL
hours that he could spare from those du
ties which devolved upon him as minis.
ter, that he had found that amusement in
studying the hive, and the result of tlla'
study was the observations which he
would lay before them. At his cottage
he had nearly dozen hives, some OF
them had glass windows, and some had
not Frequently during the day he sat
by these hives, listened to the music OF
the inhabitants, and watched their habits,
and. jotted down SUCH observations as oc
Cured to him. The lecturer proceeded
to describe the inhabitants of the hive:
There were not three different kinds OF
bees, but three species Of bees, in the
same hive-the queen bee, the working
bee, and the drone bee, There was a
division Of labor among tie working bees.
There we're the bees that collected the
honey, bees that collected bee-bread for
the nourishment of the young brood,
bees appointed to shape the cells, others
to guard the hive, and lastly, bees to ven
tilate the hive. 1t was curious fact that
the honey bee did not 60 from flower to
flower, but selected one flower, upon
which it settled, and labored at that single
flower.
He could tske any of his bees in his
hand without any fear of their stinging
. him; but if a stranger went near, the
guards at once suspected him and imme.
diately flew at him. The sentinels re.
lieved each other at intervals, mounting
guard three or four times. If hive
were watched, it would be found tha,
those who were appointed as ventilators
came to the mouth of the hive four or
FIVE at time, and using their wings as
fans kept up current of air, so that the
other workers labored in moderate tenn
perature. 1t was curious fact, and well
worthy of notice, that if bee master, in
order to ventilate the hive, made hole
in the top, the bees Immediately closed
it up. From this, it would seem that the
bees knew that fresh air was essential tt
healthy life, but the draught was PERM
cious.
In describing the queen bee, and the
great Difference and attention paid it by
the other bees, the reverend doctor sale
that he had observed that the bees were
very fond of ST. ong drink, and especially
of rum sweetened with sugar. On one
occasion he found the bees in one of hi:
hives declining. and he gave them some
rum to revive them. In stead, however
of using it as 8 medicine, they drank ,te
excess for, on looking into the hive sub
sequentIy, he found The ladies in waiting
instead of behaving themselves in their
usual decorous manner, .tumbling abou
and the queen herself very tottcring. l.,
fact, they had got so drunk that though il
was in November, they thought ii wa.
swarming time, and rushed out of thu
hive, but the frosty air soon sent thor
back to their hive and to their sobe
senses
OF the drones or male bees, there wer,
from 1900 to 1000 in hive. 1t Nigh
be asked what was the use of 1000 dron
bees in q hive, since the queen only Sc
lec.cd one as her husband, and if th
husband died, never married another, bn
remained q widow. We'll this was puz
zling question. He had made a discove
ry, whichled him to adopt theory whicl
he must acknowledge had been opposed
by certain able apiarians. Daring tn,
breeding time, whcn the bees were devel
oping in the cells appointed for the pur
pose, the temperature was never less thar
so to 90 degrees. During TIE cool o
the morning, until twelve ut noon, III,
drones remained in the hive. At twelv,
they went out for an hour or so, and thel
returned to the hive, remaining until tn,
evening. He noticed that the. time O
their absence was just when the wa
the hottest, and the drones being fat, h,
believed that they remained in the hiv,
tn keep up the heat. The drones wer,
drunken, lazy fellows. As soon as thu
queen has selected her husband, the othel
males began to sip the honey, neveridoint
any thing to keep up the stores of The
hive. The other bees must have learned
somewhere- the@ ma,siro, that if any mar
will not work neither shall he. eat, for a.
soon as they begin TO fill the hive with
honey, they garroted the drones and
threw thes1 out'of the hive. ~
The lecturer then pointed ,oas the. foljy
aud wickeduess Of those who.usine the
common-straw hives, lburnts tiie7beees,fs
get the honey There: we're thFea diffsr
ent Kinds Of hives By which this mish, midi,
be avoidtd--the .storying, ,:aheicollatera]
and the nadit hives. BY these methods
the bee master Saved, his bees and Sob51.
tanned honey ip greater quantity and pu.
rer in quality..fIe thought that any ehe
living in the country ,mightanlake ss to
SlO year BY kesping beeg SO that q