The combs being all removed and the Bees swept off them into the hive, it must now be put upon a board and placed exactly where the Bees entered before they were disturbed, and, if possible, it should remain in this situation till Autumn, but its remaining for a week or two is absolutely necessary; should there be many combs filled with brood, three or four of them may be placed in the hive, by putting some wooden pegs at the top of it to keep them at proper distances, and allowing them to rest upon the hive-board.
This, however, is a tedious operation and very seldom pays for the trouble it occasions; for stocks thus obtained are generally weak and require feeding, or to be united to others to keep them alive through the winter. It is, therefore, more to the advantage of the proprietor, to cause the combs in trees or building, in which Bees have died, to be destroyed, and the places effectually stopped up with clay or mortar.
CHAPTER XVII.
Description of Nutt's newly invented Hive, for obtaining Honey without destroying the Bees.
This Hive consists of three collateral Boxes, (see [fig. 8.]) the centre one fourteen inches, and the side ones ten and a half square inside measure, depth eleven inches; the middle box has a number of holes in the top three quarters of an inch in diameter, bored in the circumference of a circle six inches in diameter, with one in its centre, over which a glass is placed. The side boxes (aa) have each a hole of four inches square in the centre of the top, into which is fitted a piece of tin pierced with small holes, and in its centre a hole of an inch in diameter, wherein is placed a tube of tin of the same size, reaching nearly to the bottom of the Box, and supported by a shoulder resting upon the square tin, which is also perforated. This square tin and cylinder constitute the ventilator, the opening in the Boxes is covered by a piece of wood, (bb) the Boxes have each a glazed window (c). The centre Box communicates with the side ones by a grating cut in the wood and corresponding with each other, this communication is cut off when necessary by sliding tins.
The method that I have adopted for protecting this Hive from wet, is to cover the glass with a common straw hive, upon which a milk-pan is placed, and each of the side boxes by two pieces of board eleven inches by fifteen, put together so as to form an angle of ninety degrees, resembling the roof of a cottage. The whole should be made of inch deal and well painted, the board upon which the three boxes stand must be of two-inch deal and of one piece, except the alighting board which is nailed on; three strong pieces of two inch deal will be necessary on the under side of the board as braces to prevent its warping.
In this I have differed a little from Mr. Nutt, because I think the solid board more substantial and less likely to harbour insects, his being hollow to allow the bees to escape at the time of deprivation, when the communication between the centre and the side boxes is cut off by means of the sliding tins, for which I have made provision by having an entrance at the back of each of the side boxes, to which is attached a copper slider, ([fig. 10.]) but without the entrance for a single Bee.
The middle Box must be stocked in the usual way, by hiving a swarm into it, and if the swarm be not a large one, it will be better to put two swarms into it as directed in [Chapter VIII]. It will be necessary to have both the top and side tins securely fastened to the centre box at the time of hiving, and till after the union, when they may be removed, thereby giving the bees the full range of all the boxes as well as of the glass upon the centre one, nothing further will be required till the next Summer, except carefully placing the roofs to defend the boxes from wet. "Perhaps," says Mr. Taylor, "there is nothing more prejudicial to Bees than the moisture they engender during the Winter season, particularly after frost, and in certain states of the atmosphere. It accumulates on the top and sides of the pavilion, moulding and rendering offensive the combs, and producing disease. For this reason boxes with flat roofs have been objected to. I have tried different experiments to obviate this serious evil, and have found nothing better than the practice of condensing the vapour as much as possible and conveying it away. This I have done for several years by means of the bell-glasses.
"At the beginning of Winter I place over the holes on the top of the pavilion, pieces of perforated zinc, and on these I set the glasses, each within a circular leaden or zinc trough, open in the centre. As the exhalation rises from the warmth below, it is condensed on the glass, and received, often in considerable quantity, in the troughs. An imperceptible current of air is thus produced, of great advantage to the inmates; for ventilation is as much wanted in Winter as in Summer, and particularly when the population is numerous. The holes at the top of the glasses may be left open to assist this, for of two evils it is better to have too much than too little air. Nor, with good protection from weather, need the effects of cold be apprehended; for the Bees, (if not weak in numbers) will always of themselves generate sufficient warmth, and a dry, cold season is better withstood than a mild, moist one, particularly after a good honey year."