Lest coop'd within their walls, the truants prey EVANS. MR. HUBBARD says that he has found colonized bees frequently fail, in consequence of their having been robbed of too much honey; it prevents early breeding. WILDMAN particularly recommends cautious deprivation after July, to avoid the attention which might be required in feeding, if the autumn should be unfavourable. So much for the first and second years.-On the third, if the summer of that year as well as the summer preceding have been favourable for honey-gathering, the superior box will probably contain no brood, and may then be taken all at once. The proceedings of the fourth and fifth years may fall under the practice of the second, but will probably allow of an earlier deprivation; some side combs may perhaps be taken away in July, and in October either the nadir or the centre box be removed entirely, and those above (if more than one) be brought down, and remain so till April; when the nadir may be introduced again. No hive or box should have its breeding combs left more than five years; and in general, after the first year, the lower boxes will be found to be principally occupied for this purpose. By this practice for four years out of every five, whatever combs are removed will be new ones, which, on account of the purity both of the wax and the honey, are greatly preferable to old ones. VIRGIL, probably copying his predecessor ARISTOTLE, describes two harvests of honey every year, namely, in the spring and in the autumn. "The golden harvest twice each year o'erflows, SOTHEBY'S GEORGICS. "VARRO mentions three harvests; namely, at the rising of the Pleiads, about the twentysecond of April; the latter end of summer, and when the same stars set about the end of October: COLUMELLA recommends them to take place about the twenty-fifth of April and the twenty-ninth of June; PLINY in May and July; and PALLADIUS in June only."-Evans. Should such an accident occur as the destruction of a queen, by the introduction of a divider (and she might be so unfortunately situated as to fall a sacrifice to it), the stock will appear very much distressed and very restless all day, particularly if there be no Royal Embryo or no very young larva; for in either of these cases they will soon become reconciled. But if neither of them be present, and the bees be left to themselves, they will lose their wonted activity, gradually dwindle in number and pine away or they will transfer their allegiance to another sovereign; and in that case, convey all the treasured sweets of their own hive, to that of the family they join. The only remedy for such a misfortune is to unite the bees to another stock, in the manner already directed, or to procure a supernumerary queen from another family. The latter, however, is an operation which few will have courage to attempt. CHAPTER XXI. TAKING HONEY BY MEANS OF DIVIDERS. AFTER having noted the utility of Dividers, in adding fresh empty boxes, the reader will readily perceive their importance in the removal of full ones, when the period arrives for depriving a colony of a portion of its honey. In this case, the two dividers must be introduced between the middle board of the box to be removed and the box below it, precisely as in nadir hiving. In the act of deprivation a little more force will be required to push in, as well as to withdraw the divider, as it will generally have to pass through a portion of honey-comb. The above directions apply to the removal of an upper box, which will in general be the first for which they will be required. When any other is to be taken away, the plan of proceeding must be varied, but it would be tedious to give directions for every an intelligent operator by an attention to the instructions already given, and his own reflection, will be able to adapt his mode of proceeding to the particular exigency. Only one divider should be introduced till the situation of the queen be ascertained: if she be in the box intended for removal, the divider must be with case; drawn, and the experiment tried again in a week or two. If in an hour after the introduction of the divider, the bees in the box intended to be taken should exhibit symptoms of inquietude, it may be assumed that the queen is not within that box, the disturbance being caused by the anxiety of the bees to have access to her; whereas if she be in the box, the bees in company with her will be tranquil, and the excluded portion of the family will be in a state of commotion. Having, we will suppose, ascertained that the queen is in the desired place, the second divider should be introduced as before directed, when the box, with one of the dividers underneath it, must be removed. The apiarian, when performing this operation for the first time, may find it convenient to raise a stage of empty bee-boxes or other convenient articles, on one side or at the back of the box to be removed, and upon a level with the bottom of its middle board; he can then, after having introduced the dividers, very easily slide the full box, with its middle board and divider, over his temporary stage. (This mode of proceeding may likewise be found applicable on other occasions.) The operation having proceeded thus far, the box is ready for being applied over the hole of delivery, where a floor board should be placed with its sliding shutter open, and with an uncovered empty box |