"If the object of your intentions be an autumnal hive, you had better ascertain that the massacre of the drones has taken place: an observation of the stand and of the ground around the hive will tell this. Observe the actions of these bees—see that they are lively and industrious; and if, on your too near approach, one or two bees dash at your face, do not be alarmed, but rather regard their pugnacity as a sign of vigour, and buy the hive. Some writers speak of the necessity of purchasing only such stocks as are in nice new hives. This is an advice very necessary to be attended to; but it would not be so, were you sure that the interior of the hive were filled only with honey-comb, and with no old worn-out comb, the accumulation of years. If you are in doubt on the subject, you should fumigate the hive in the evening, in the manner hereafter to be described; then, turning up the hive, you can readily ascertain the character of its contents. If the comb be black, have nothing to do with the stock. The genuine colour of the comb is white, and, consequently, the lighter it is, the more the stock is to be esteemed.
"Never, unless you can depend on the party, send your hive to receive a swarm: for you may, if you do, have a second swarm imposed upon you for a first—a comparatively valueless stock for just the very thing you desire. The first swarm begin the formation of the combs at the middle of the apex of the hive; the second does so at the side. These are the only criteria I can furnish, for neither weight nor bulk are to be depended upon. It is to the obstinate use of the old-fashioned hive that these difficulties, and these opportunities for fraud, are attributable. Were the improved system once established, these cautions would be no longer called for. For old Wildman I entertain a very high respect, although in some instances I am compelled to differ from him; yet I always investigate closely the point at issue between us ere doing so, and, if I doubt, I suffer the weight of his authority to act as a 'casting vote.' Wildman has given some good advice as to the purchase of stocks; and in this advice he speaks like an oracle. Attend to him:—
"'The person who intends to erect an apiary should purchase a proper number of hives at the latter end of the year, when they are cheapest. The hives should be full of combs, and well stored with bees. The purchaser should examine the combs, in order to know the age of the hives. The combs of that season are white; those of a former year are of a darkish yellow; and when the combs are black, the hives should be rejected, because old hives are most liable to vermin and other accidents.
"'If the number of hives wanted have not been purchased in the autumn, it will be necessary to remedy this neglect, after the severity of the cold is past, in the spring. At this season, bees which are in good condition will get into the fields early in the morning, return loaded, enter boldly, and do not come out of the hive in bad weather, for when they do, this indicates that they are in great want of provisions. They are alert on the least disturbance, and by the loudness of their humming we judge of their strength. They preserve their hives free from all filth, and are ready to defend it against every enemy that approaches.
"'The summer is an improper time for buying bees, because the heat of the weather softens the wax, and thereby renders the comb liable to break, if they are not very well secured. The honey, too, being then thinner than at other times, is more apt to run out at the cells, which is attended with a double disadvantage—viz., the loss of the honey, and the daubing of the bees—whereby many of them may be destroyed. A first and strong swarm may indeed be purchased: and, if leave can be obtained, permitted to stand in the same garden until the autumn; but, if leave is not obtained, it may be carried away in the night after it has been hived.
"'I suppose that, in the stocks purchased, the bees are in the hives of the old construction. The only directions here necessary are, that the first swami from these stocks should be put into one of my hives; and that another of my hives should, in a few days, be put under the old stock, in order to prevent its swarming again.'"
But perhaps you have a swarm from one of your own stock-hives,—not so desirable as the purchase of a swarm from a neighbour. A swarm will occasionally emerge from hives and bee-boxes, in spite of every plan of preventing it. The signs of swarming are some of them appreciable by the most expert bee-master only. A common sign of the emergence of a swarm is inactivity in work, and about the hive clusters hanging from the bee-board—arising, probably, from the old queen finding no princess ready to take her throne—and a high temperature within. If, in addition, the weather is moist and warm, the issue of a swarm may be expected. From ten o'clock to three has been stated as the period within which swarming occurs. Every swarm I have had for twelve years has issued between twelve and three.
A strong swarm will consist of from ten thousand to twenty thousand bees; a caste, or second swarm, of five thousand. Two thousand bees fill a pint measure. Scouts are generally sent out to select a residence for the young family. House-seeking is an arduous work for human tenants, and no doubt the pioneer bees find great difficulty in fixing on what seems to them suitable. I have seen them settle under the leaves of a standard rose, sometimes on the bough of an apple-tree, and at other times in a sheltered recess in a laurel-hedge. No sight is more exciting than that of a swarm of bees. The air is clouded with the circling bees—vocal with their united music, while the eyes of the bee-master quietly watch their descent. As soon as the queen settles, the bees cluster around her and hang from the branch on which she has settled. As soon as the great mass has settled, take your bee-box or hive, hold it with one hand, mouth or bottom upward, beneath the swarm, enclosing as many of the pendent bees as the situation will allow. With the other hand shake the bough from which they hang, and on the great mass tumbling into the hive, carry it away half-a-dozen yards; set it upright on the bottom board or a white sheet previously spread on the grass; raise the edge of the hive with a piece of wood or stone a few inches from the ground, and cover the hive with a branch ot two to keep off the direct rays of the sun.
If the queen be inside the hive, the bees that are already inside will remain, and you will find the bees that linger about the branch on which they first settled steadily enter, and by sunset they will all be within. If the queen has not been caught, and still remains on the bough or branch on which the swarm first settled, the bees will leave the hive and re-cluster as they were. You must then repeat the process. You need not be afraid of stings. But if your nerves do not respond to your convictions, begin by spreading a square of gauze over your hat, the brim of the hat keeping it from your face; push the ends and corners under your coat, buttoning it to the chin. This will protect your face, ears, and neck, and a pair of worsted gloves will protect your hands. But practice will dispel fear, and save you from the necessity of such defences. If this homely and cheap defence seem to you insufficient, you can purchase at Neighbours', in Regent-street, for five shillings, a perfect fit.