Bees require attention at the time of swarming, that they may not fly away and be lost. They require also to be fed during winter, when, on account of a bad season, the lateness of the swarm, or other cause. they have not enough of honey to support them. A common rule is, that the weight of the contents of the hive must be at least 20 lbs., that the bees may survive the winter without being fed; and even in this case a supply of food for a short time in spring promotes the activity of the bees, and their summer pros perity. The food ordinarily supplied to bees is either the coarser kind of honey, or sugar and water. trong.ale and sugar boiled are also frequently given as food. The practice has very lairgely 6revailtA in Britain and elsewhere, of 'killing bees by fume?; of sulphur, in order tp take from them their honey in the end of autumn, A, portion only of the increase of the stock being kept through the winter. This practice still has its advo cates; hut many now take only what they can by top boxes or supers, or by cutting out combs, preserving all hives which are not so light that there is no good hope of their surviving the winter. It may be doubted if, in almost any part of the country, the number of bees kept is so great as nearly to exhaust the floral resources, and in all prob ability this may yet become a much greater source of wealth than it is in Britain.
When honey is to be taken from bees, the person doing it must be carefully protected from their stings by gloves, veil, etc. It is best done during the heat of a fine day, when the bees more readily leave the combs of the super that is taken away, and return to their hive. A little gentle tapping generally causes them to leave the combs, and a feather is used for brushing off those which are slow to do so. Tile smoke of the
common puff-ball (q.v.) causes them to fall down in a stupefaction from which they speedily recover, and its use is very convenient. It is gathered and dried for the purpose. Chloroform is also sometimes used for the same purpose, but the effect is apt to be fatal, unless care is taken to choose the morning of a fine day, so that the stupefied bees may have time to recover in the air and sunshine.
Bees are much less apt to sting when swarming than at other times, and in general all the necessary operations are performed without gloves or veil, and with perfect safety. The sting of a B. is to many persons a thing of no great consequence, although, in some, it causes great local inflammation and swelling, and general derangement of health. The application of •a little ammonia usually- relieves the pain; or an onion cut through the middle; or the common "blue-bag" of a washer-woman.
The apiary- should, if possible, be in a sheltered place, and where it enjoys a good amount of sunshine. The hives are very generally placed at small distances in the open ground,but some bee-keepers protect them by a shed. In the former ease, each hive is usuallv covered with a straw-hood in winter, to keep away the rain. as damp is partic ularly injurious to bees. For the avoidance of damp, and to prevent the bees from coining in contact with the ground when they hang in a great cluster at the door of the hive—as they often do before swarming, when the weather is hot, and the hive very populous—each hive is raised to a height of at least 15 or 18 in. from the ground.