FUMIGATION.
Fumigation is a rather portentous word; but, as soon as I shall have explained for what purposes, and in what manner, I occasionally make use of it, it will be totally divested of all deadly signification. In my practice it is not a Bee-destroyer, but a Bee-preserver;—when resorted to by me it is never carried, nor intended to be carried, to suffocation: but, in the operation of uniting weak swarms or poor stocks with more wealthy and prosperous ones—which I consider to be a meritorious and most humane practice,—when it is necessary to examine the state and condition of even a populous colony, should unfavourable symptoms as to its healthiness or its prosperity manifest themselves,—when it is known, or but suspected, that there are wax-moths, mice, spiders, or other Bee-enemies lodged in a hive, which the Bees of themselves cannot dislodge nor get rid of; and which, if not got rid of by man's assistance, would soon destroy almost any colony,—when Bees and their works (for I never transfer the former without transferring an ample sufficiency of the latter at the same time) are to be taken out of a decayed straw-hive, in order to be put into a more substantial one, or into collateral-boxes, which I hold to be the best of all hives,—and on innumerable other occasions, it is absolutely necessary to subdue Bees so far as to render them incapable of using that formidable, venomous, little weapon, with which Providence has armed them, and which generally dreaded little weapon they can use so dexterously, before we can operate upon them for their own good. By means of a very simple apparatus, which may be called a fumigator, and which is a contrivance as novel and as useful in the management of Bees, as any of my hives or other inventions, Bees may be totally subdued without being injured in the slightest degree, and dealt with as if they had neither stings nor wings.
I beg, however, to re-state distinctly—that, in taking off a box or a glass of honey, no fumigation whatever is necessary, or ever practised by me. It is only in cases such as those just enumerated that I have recourse to it; but in no case for the destruction of Bees. Fumigation, therefore, in my practice, is not suffocation.
The following figure is a representation of a fumigator, which a brief explanation will render intelligible.
This useful article consists of a square top-board upon which is placed a straw-hive (E.) so as to show an open, circular space under the hive and through the square board into the bag below. I need hardly observe—that the straw-hive is no part of the fumigator, but is here represented as standing upon it in order to exemplify its use. The top-board is of inch-deal, and is nineteen or twenty inches square. A round piece is cut out of its centre of not more than thirteen inches in diameter—that being something near to, or perhaps rather more than, the inside diameter of a common hive—so that a hive will stand upon the wooden circumference of the part left, without there being any ledge inside, that is—any part so enclosed by the hive as to catch and detain the falling Bees. From the upper-edge of this circle is suspended a bag, a yard in length, made of glazed calico, the bottom-part of which draws round the rim of a shallow, funnel-shaped, tin Bee-receiver, which Bee-receiver is about ten inches across at the top, and its lower part, or neck (D. or F.) is three inches and a half in length, and its throat (if I may so term it) is nearly three inches in width. To fit this neck, which is thickly perforated for the purpose of admitting fresh air, when fresh air may be required, is a close lid, just like that of a common, tin canister, to hold up the fumigated Bees, and also to stop the ventilation when not wanted. C. is the fumigating-lamp with a perforated top through which the fume ascends, and is made conical, so that a fumigated Bee in its fall cannot rest upon it and be thereby scorched or injured, as would inevitably be the case were this top flat. The tie (B.) closes the bag and keeps every Bee above until the lamp and every thing below be adjusted, and it is then to be untied. The fumigator is here represented as standing upon three legs made fast to the top-board by small bolts, as at A.; but it is quite as convenient in practice, and more portable, if, instead of these legs, it be made like a common scale with a cord from each corner, which may be gathered into a small iron-hook, and thereby suspended from the branch of a tree, or from any other convenient place, when used. The lower part of the bag is represented as being transparent, but that is done purposely to show how the lamp is placed inside when prepared for operation.
By persons inexperienced in such matters it may be thought to be an extraordinary feat to unite the Bees of one hive with those of another—-to bind, as it were, the legs and wings, and pro tempore, to render useless the sting of every individual Bee, until such union be effected. Nothing, however, is more easy; nor is any part of apiarian practice attended with more pleasing consequences to the operator, or with more important and beneficial ones to the Bees themselves. When in a state of temporary intoxication from the fume made to ascend through the perforated tin (C.) into their hive, these beautiful insects are perfectly manageable,—perfectly harmless.
This intoxicating fume is caused by introducing into the fumigating-lamp a piece of ignited vegetable substance, called puck, puckball, or frog-cheese, or, most commonly, fuzzball. It is a species of fungus, or mushroom, and is plentiful enough in the autumn in rank pastures and in rich edishes. Shepherds, milk-maids, or country-school boys are well acquainted with them,—know very well where to find them,—and for a mere trifle will easily pick up as many of them as will supply the demands of twenty apiarians. They are frequently as large as a man's head, or larger. In 1826 I had an unripe, white puckball, which weighed ten pounds. When ripe they are internally of a brown colour, and turning spongy and powdery become exceedingly light, and are then properly fuzzballs. For the substance of the following directions respecting the preparation of fuzzballs for Bee-fumigation, and for its application to that occasionally necessary purpose, I have no hesitation in acknowledging myself to be indebted to Thorley's treatise on Bees—no mean authority on such a subject.
When you have procured one of these pucks, put it into a large piece of stout paper,—press it down therein to two-thirds, or, if you can, to one-half, of its original size, and then tie it up closely,—and, lastly, put it into an oven sometime after the household bread has been drawn, that is, when the oven is nearly cool, and let it remain there all night, or, until it will hold fire and smother away like touch-wood, i. e. burn without kindling into flame. In this state it is fit for the fumigating-lamp, and may be used in the manner following, when the union of two stocks is the apiarian's object.