PROPER PERIODS OF DEPRIVATION.
It should be an invariable rule with the apiarian, never to remove an
upper hive or box, till an under one be quite full; and even then, it
should be ascertained that the contents of the inferior one, (if taken at
Michaelmas,) be not less than 18 pounds. If it do not contain so much, a
sufficient quantity should be returned in the box that has been removed,
otherwise recourse must be had to feeding. +Mr. Isaac+ says that he has
carried a colony that had no honey at Michaelmas, safely through the
winter and spring, with only eight pounds of honey. Huber succeeded with
less; but it appears that his observations were made upon weak stocks
that were not altogether destitute.
A variety of experiments were made by +Mr. John Hunter+ and +Mr. Keys+,
to ascertain _the quantity consumed during_ the respective months of
_winter and spring_, and they all led to one conclusion, namely, that it
_amounted upon an average to eight pounds_, taking the season through,
from the beginning of October to the end of May, when the spring proves
ungenial. _During the first six months the consumption was not more than
five pounds upon an average_, and the colder the weather the smaller was
the consumption. _Vide_ 2nd page of Chap. XXIV.
_As a general rule,--no honey should be taken from a colony the first
year of its being planted_, though there may be an extraordinary season
now and then, which may justify a departure from this rule; but neither
in such an uncommon year, nor even in the second year, should the whole
of the combs in any box be taken, (unless it be clearly ascertained that
the centre combs contain no brood,) but only the external ones, which
should be examined carefully one by one, and the brood-combs, if any,
be returned in the box to the stock. The apiarian, as +Huber+ observes,
if he wish to obtain a considerable quantity of honey, should endeavour
to secure his object rather by the number of his colonies, than by
plundering a few of a great proportion of their treasures. _A moderate
participation is the most infallible means of preserving the stock._
Should "Summer signs auspicious ride.
And tubes unfailing pour the balmy tide,
A full rich harvest, Bee-herds, may ye claim
From the blithe tenants of your crystal'd frame.
But long ere Virgo weaves the robe of sleet,
Or binds the hoar-frost sandals round her feet.
Close seal'd and sacred, leave your toil-worn hosts.
The last kind dole their waning season boasts,
Lest coop'd within their walls, the truants prey
On hoards reserv'd to cheer stern Winter's day."
+Evans.+
+Mr. Hubbard+ says that he has found _colonized bees frequently fail, in
consequence of their having been robbed of too much honey;_ it prevents
early breeding. +Wildman+ _particularly recommends cautious deprivation
after July_, to avoid the attention which might be required in feeding,
if the autumn should be unfavourable.
So much for the first and second years.--On the third, if the summer
of that year as well as the summer preceding have been favourable for
honey-gathering, the superior box will probably contain no brood, and may
then be taken all at once.
The proceedings of the fourth and fifth years may fall under the practice
of the second, but will probably allow of an earlier deprivation; some
side combs may perhaps be taken away in July, and in October either the
nadir or the centre box be removed entirely, and those above (if more
than one) be brought down, and remain so till April; when the nadir may
be introduced again.
_No hive or box should have its breeding combs left more than five
years;_ and in general, after the first year, the lower boxes will be
found to be principally occupied for this purpose.
By this practice for four years out of every five, whatever combs are
removed will be new ones, which, on account of the purity both of the wax
and the honey, are greatly preferable to old ones.
+Virgil+, probably copying his predecessor +Aristotle+, describes _two
harvests of honey every year_, namely, in the spring and in the autumn.
"The golden harvest twice each year o'erflows,
Thou, twice each year, the plenteous cells unclose,
Soon as fair Pleïas, bright'ning into day.
Scorns with indignant foot the wat'ry way,
Or, when descending down th' aërial steep,
She pours her pale ray on the wintry deep."
+Sotheby's Georgics.+
"+Varro+ mentions _three harvests_; namely, at the rising of the Pleiads,
about the twenty-second of April; the latter end of summer, and when the
same stars set about the end of October: +Columella+ recommends them to
take place about the twenty-fifth of April and the twenty-ninth of June;
+Pliny+ in May and July; and +Palladius+ in June only."--+Evans.+
Should such an accident occur as the destruction of a queen, by the
introduction of a divider (and she might be so unfortunately situated as
to fall a sacrifice to it), the stock will appear very much distressed
and very restless all day, particularly if there be no Royal Embryo or
no very young larva; for in either of these cases they will soon become
reconciled. But if neither of them be present, and the bees be left to
themselves, they will lose their wonted activity, gradually dwindle in
number and pine away: or they will transfer their allegiance to another
sovereign; and in that case, convey all the treasured sweets of their
own hive, to that of the family they join. _The only remedy for such a
misfortune_ is to unite the bees to another stock, in the manner already
directed, or to procure a supernumerary queen from another family. The
latter, however, is an operation which few will have courage to attempt.