Some friends, for whom I entertain a very high respect, have remarked, on reading the proof sheets of this translation, that Gelieu appears to be very successful in preserving the bees, but that he does not prove so clearly that any great increase of honey is thereby to be obtained. To the practical apiarian this objection will never present itself; but, for the satisfaction of those who are not acquainted with bees, I regret not being in possession of Gelieu's calculation of the average profits of single and doubled hives: and I regret more especially, that, during the few years my attention has been directed to the management of bees, I have been contented with remarking the thriving condition of the apiary, without giving myself the trouble to calculate the exact amount of its produce. Those, however, who are accustomed to observe and to take care of bees, will know that the whole value of the hives depends on the swarms being large and early, and will therefore see at once the advantages to be gained by attending to Gelieu's directions. The results of my own experience are, in other respects, as follows.
I have tried hives of various kinds: those of the common shape, made of straw; the still prettier sort, made of sea-shore bent (Arundo arenaria); the square-storied hive of wood; also the Huish hives; and, consequently, have had an opportunity of assuring myself that the success of the apiary depends neither on the form nor the material, but entirely on the treatment the bees meet with, and that hives may be made, with equal success, of whatever is most easily obtained in the district they are to be used in, always provided they are kept clean and are well managed. In some of the high valleys of the Alps, where straw is not to be had, and where every blade of grass is carefully economized for the use of the cattle, the hives are merely rough blocks of timber, sawn across the stems of the pine tree, and rudely scooped out to receive the swarms: these answer the purpose just as well as other hives; and the only or the chief difference, is the greater or less facilities which each affords for the extraction of the combs; an operation of easy performance in the Huish hives, when its inventor's directions are adhered to. But, in Switzerland, the same process is accomplished without difficulty in hives of any shape or material, by means of a knife, which is so simple in its construction, and so easily used, that it deserves to be made generally known. I therefore subjoin a figure, with a description and a note of the dimensions, from which it may be made by any country black-smith.
This figure represents the shape of the knife; it is formed merely of a slip of iron, about two feet long by an eighth of an inch thick. The two horizontal lines a a shew the size and appearance of the handle, which is twenty inches long by half an inch broad. The turned-down blade (b), of two inches in length, is spear-pointed, sharp on the edges, and bent perpendicularly from the handle. The other blade (c) is two inches long by one and a half broad, and sharpened all round, as marked by the double black line.
The broad blade (c) cuts and separates the wax from the sides of the hive, and the spear-point (b), which is also sharp on each side, admits, from its direction and narrowness, of being introduced between the combs, to loosen them from the top of the hive; and, for the same reason, it also answers the purpose of pruning the combs.
The honey-comb which is thus extracted, or which is obtained from the capes, is greatly superior to that which is suffered to remain in the hives till the autumn. The wax is thin and transparent, and the honey, being newly drawn from the nectaries, is particularly rich and delicious, as it has not had time to lose the fragrant and delicate flavour of the young flowers.
Huish, it may be observed, gives very clear directions for extracting the combs from the hives that bear his name; he also recommends the uniting of swarms; but I could never obtain his instructions on this latter point. Doubting nothing of its practicability, however, I made the experiment, but having no guiding principle to direct me, it was like going to sea without a compass; and, in consequence, my hopes were soon wrecked, and I had the misery of seeing the whole of the swarm that I had saved from suffocation, speedily put to death by the bees of the hive that I had so rashly forced it to enter. The result, however, was widely different when I made the trial again last autumn, guided by the directions contained in this little volume, for I accomplished the union of my swarms without difficulty—even without previously having seen it done, and without having received a single sting; and I had thus the pleasure of witnessing my hopes crowned with complete success.
For this operation, it is not necessary either to have the courage of a warrior, or the intelligence and coolness of a philosopher like M. de Gelieu. An ordinary degree of judgment to understand his directions, and confidence enough implicitly to follow them, will enable any one to perform it, provided he sets about it cautiously, and takes care not to hurt the bees, or to handle them roughly.
I managed It, with the assistance of two persons, without gloves, or any shield or shadow of defence, except a little tobacco-smoke, involving us, as it were, within the influence of a charmed atmosphere, that seemed to stupify the bees, and render their sting powerless, while it inspired us with confidence to proceed. I recommend it being done at first by three persons, one to manage the hive and extract the combs, another to sweep the bees back gently with a feather or goose-wing, and a third to manage the fumigating bellows; or, if the fumigating-bellows are not at hand, to blow occasional whiffs of smoke from a tobacco-pipe.
When my first cluster of bees was shaken out of the pillaged hive upon the table-cloth, I had the happiness of seeing them instantly begin their ascent (not on the wing) but in a regular march. It was a spectacle of intense interest. They entered the full hive as orderly and as peaceably as any body of regular troops ever took possession of a citadel; and next day the original possessors and the new settlers, were seen, in perfect harmony, working together for the general good.