LEAF HIVES.
Narrow hives, with large glazed doors on each side, have been recommended
by apiarian writers, for exposing the operations of bees. That of
+Reaumur+ was too wide: it allowed the construction of two parallel
combs, by which of course, the apiarian was precluded from making
any useful observations, upon the proceedings of the bees, in their
interspace. +Bonnet+ recommended the use of a hive, the doors of which
should be only so far asunder as to allow the building of one comb
between them. This suggestion was successfully adopted by +Huber+; and
to prevent the bees from building short transverse combs, instead of a
single one, parallel to the sides of the hive, he laid the foundation
himself, by fastening a piece of empty comb to the ceiling of the box.
+Huber's+ glass doors had only an interspace of an inch and half betwixt
them: in this hive the bees could not cluster upon the surfaces of
the comb, and yet had room to pass freely over it. Mr. +John Hunter+
recommended the diameter of these narrow hives to be three inches,
and the superficies of the sides to be of sufficient size to afford
stowage for a summer's work. Mr. +Dunbar+, with his mirror-hive,
constructed somewhat like Huber's, has been able to make some interesting
observations on the œconomy of the bee. _Vide_ Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal, vol. iii. The distance of his glass doors from each other is one
inch and two thirds; the height and width of the hive, according to the
plan in the Journal, about a foot. Across the centre of the mirror-hive
Mr. Dunbar introduced a light frame, which though apparently dividing the
hive into four compartments, allowed the bees a free passage: they were
skreened from the light by a pair of folding shutters on each side.
Mr. Dunbar hived a small swarm in one of these narrow boxes, in June
1819: the bees began to build immediately, and he witnessed the whole of
their proceedings, every bee being exposed to his view. The narrowness
of their limits constrained them, from the very commencement, to work
in divisions, so that four separate portions of comb were begun and
continued nearly at the same time.
[Illustration]
But this arrangement did not sufficiently employ these industrious
creatures; for contrary to their usual mode of building, which is from
above downwards, they laid two other foundations of comb, upon the upper
parts of the cross sticks.
[Illustration]
The bees now wrought upwards and downwards at the same time, till the
originally separate portions were united and become one comb.
[Illustration]
For want of proper precautions, the bees of this hive perished, during
the intense cold of January 1820.
On the 25th of March following, Mr. Dunbar introduced another swarm into
the same unicomb hive; and so early as the 27th, he saw the queen laying
the eggs of workers. This second swarm found plenty of honey and farina
in the hive, left by its former tenants. Other particulars reported by
Mr. Dunbar are detailed in the Chapters to which they belong.
These hives are of course only useful to the amateur apiarian, who is in
quest of information or amusement.
Huber carried the principle of this hive still further: he joined several
thin boxes together with hinges: these boxes or wooden frames were
without glasses, and the hinges were so contrived as to admit of easy
removal. Every box or leaf (as Huber called each separate frame), except
the two exterior, was reduced in thickness to an inch and quarter, which,
as there was a free communication between all the leaves, afforded the
same liberty for the operations of the bees as the single box that was
an inch and half wide. This contrivance gave him the power of opening
the leaves separately, and inspecting the proceedings of the bees at all
times: they soon became accustomed to this treatment, and M. Huber was
thus able to examine any one of the divisions, without exciting the anger
of the bees. After they had properly secured the pieces of comb which he
had attached to the roofs of the boxes, they were subjected to a daily
inspection by this indefatigable naturalist.
The preceding sketches may serve to show my readers the progressive
proceedings of the bees in the unicomb hive, and the following outline
may give them a notion of the compound hive.
[Illustration]