“They with light pebbles, like a balanc’d boat,Pois’d, through the air on even pinions float.”Sotheby’s Georgics.
“They with light pebbles, like a balanc’d boat,Pois’d, through the air on even pinions float.”
Sotheby’s Georgics.
This assertion, which was probably borrowed by the poet from his predecessor Aristotle, and which has since been repeated by Pliny, is now ascertained to be erroneous. The error has been noticed by both Swammerdam and Reaumur, and ascribed by them to preceding observers having mistaken the mason bee for a hive-bee. The former builds its nest against a wall, with a compositionof gravel, sand and its own saliva, and when freighted with the former article, may easily have led a careless observer into the erroneous opinion above alluded to.
From a similar inaccuracy of observation, it is probable that flies were confounded with bees by ancient naturalists, and that from thence arose the absurd notion, of the latter being generated in putrid carcases, as we know the former to be; and this error was most likely confirmed by their having found both honey and bees in the carcases of dead animals, as recorded in the case of Samson.
Though, for the reasons above stated, an apiary would not be well situated near a large river, yet it should not be far from a rivulet or spring: small ones, that glide gently over pebbles, are the most desirable, as affording a variety of resting places for the bees to alight upon. If neither spring nor streamlet be near, a broad dish of water should be placed for the bees, the bottom being covered with small stones or duckweed, to facilitate their drinking and prevent drowning.
This, in a hot dry season, is of considerable importance, as it will save that time, which must otherwise be spent, in fetching water from a distance; for without water, as will be noticed hereafter, no wax can be formed.
It is of course of the greatest importance thatthe apiary be situated near to good pasturage, such as clover, saintfoin, buckwheat, &c.—better still if in a garden well stocked with suitable plants.
It should be near the residence of the proprietor, as well for the purpose of rendering the bees tractable and well acquainted with the family, as for affording a good view of their general proceedings; if it be so situated that its front may form a right angle with the window of the family sitting-room, an easy opportunity will be afforded to watch the bustle of swarming.
An out-door apiary should admit of being approached at the back part, to give an opportunity of making observations on the proceedings of the bees, or to perform any requisite operation upon them.
The hives should be placed upon separate stands, supported by single posts or pedestals, be raised from sixteen inches to two feet above the ground, and be three or four feet from each other; and they should stand quite clear of any wall or fence.
The resting-boards should project several inches in front of the hives, that the bees may have plenty of room to alight, when they return home loaded from the fields, and should be screwed down firmly to the tops of the stands, that thehives may not be overturned by high winds or other accidents.
They should be free from the droppings of trees, from noisome smells and disagreeable noises; and be guarded as much as possible from the extremes of heat and cold.
Most apiarians are agreed that the aspect of the apiary should, in this country, be more or less southerly, and that it should be well secured from the north and south-west, by trees, high hedges, or other fences; this is the opinion of Wildman, Keys, and Huish; Bonner, however, prefers an easterly aspect; Huish recommends two points to the east and one to the south. Wildman preferred a south-west aspect, as not tempting the labourers to emerge too early, and as affording a later light for their return home in the evening.
“Skreen’d from the east; where no delusive dawnChills, while it tempts them o’er the dew damp lawn,But, as on loaded wing, the labourers roam,Sol’s last bright glories light them to their home.”Evans.
“Skreen’d from the east; where no delusive dawnChills, while it tempts them o’er the dew damp lawn,But, as on loaded wing, the labourers roam,Sol’s last bright glories light them to their home.”
Evans.
Milton says: “It is not material in what aspect the stock stands, provided the sun shines on the hive once in the course of the day, for that well-peopled hives, kept dry, will thrive in most situations.” And provided due attention be paid toother circumstances calculated to promote their prosperity, I coincide in opinion with Milton.
Some recommend a valley or hollow glen, for the convenience of the bees returning home with their loads. At any rate care should be taken that no walls, trees, houses, nor anything else, impede the issuing forth of the bees to their pasturage, nor obstruct their return in right lines to the hives. They should be able to fly off from the resting-boards at an angle of about forty degrees with the plane of the horizon.
To those who, residing in towns, may consider it as indispensable to the success of an apiary, that it should be in theimmediatevicinity of good pasturage, and be thereby deterred from benefiting and amusing themselves by keeping bees; it may be satisfactory to learn, that the apiary of the celebrated Bonner was situated in a garret, in the centre of Glasgow, where it flourished for several years, and furnished him with the means of making many interesting and valuable observations, which he gave to the world about thirty years ago.
THE BEE-HOUSE.
Noone that could afford to purchase bee-boxes, and to construct a bee-house, or to convert to that use some building already constructed, would hesitate, I should think, to give them the preference over common straw-hives and an out-door apiary, whether he looked to ultimate profit or to present convenience and security.
Perhaps I cannot give a better notion of what I consider as the most eligible plan of a bee-house, than by describing the construction of my own. The whole building, besides answering the purpose of an apiary, may be made subservient to other uses;—my own serves for storing potatoes. The potatoe-cellar is sunk two thirds of its depth in the earth, and the bee-house is raised upon it, having a couple of steps up to the door. The dimensions of both are seven feet six inches by six feet clear within, which affords room for five colonies.
The piles or stories of bee-boxes are placed in the bee-house at somewhat less than two feet apart, so as to make the external entrance to each pile respectively, about a yard asunder.—See the plate which forms the frontispiece of this work.
On the inside of the bee-house, the boxes in the upper row stand about table height, those in the lower row, about six inches above the floor. On the outside, the entrances to the upper row are about five feet, the entrances to the lower row about three feet from the ground. The entrances through the wall may be cut in stone, bricks or wood, and should be chamfered away on the outside, leaving the wall at those parts as thin as practicable, and letting the opening correspond in size with the outlets that are sunk in the floor boards to be hereafter described. The potatoe-cellar is built with bricks, the bee-house of timber, lathed and plastered within, and thatched on the outside.
Where the bees enter the boxes, two wooden shelves or resting-boards are fixed, two or three inches thick, to prevent warping; they extend the whole length of the building, are about a foot wide, and rest on cross pieces, nailed fast to the uprights with which the bee-house is built: these cross pieces extend also about fifteen inches into the bee-house, where they serve as supporters for the shelves on which the bee-boxes are placed. The resting-boards on the outside are divided, by bricks on the edge, into several compartments, as shown in the frontispiece; the bricks extend the full width of the resting board, and all the compartments are slated over. By this means theentrances are well sheltered, and accommodation is afforded for the bees, when they are at any time driven home, by stress of weather, in greater numbers than can readily pass through the entrances into the boxes; for on the approach of a storm, the bees will sometimes return home from the fields, in such numbers and with such precipitation, as almost to block up the entrances into the hives.
The building is not only thatched on the top, but down the sides and ends, as low as the potatoe-cellar. On that side where the bees enter the boxes, the thatch of course terminates at the top of the compartments, over which it is spread out so as to conceal the slate coverings. The floor of the bee-house is boarded and the potatoe-cellar is ceiled, the space between the ceiling and the floor above being filled with dry sawdust. The door may be situated where most convenient; but the window or windows should be at one end or at both ends, that the light may fall sideways on the bee-boxes, and should be made to open, as in case of any of the bees accidentally getting into the bee-house, they may be let out more conveniently.
It is necessary to have an extra entrance, or rather an extra outlet, for discharging the bees when the time of deprivation arrives, which will be hereafter explained. My own outlet is placed in a line with and between the lower tier of boxes.
PASTURAGE.
Itis of the first importance to the success of an apiary, that it should be in a neighbourhood where the bees can be supplied with an abundance of good pasturage, as upon that will depend the fecundity of the queen and the harvest of wax and honey.
IfDutch clover(Trifolium repens) be neither grown abundantly by the neighbouring farmers, nor the spontaneous growth of the surrounding country, the apiarian should, if possible, crop some ground with it himself, as it is one of the grand sources from which bees collect their honey in the spring, and indeed during a considerable portion of the principal gathering season. From the value of clover in this respect, one species of it (Trifolium pratense) has acquired the name of Honey-suckle clover.Yellow trefoilalso (Medicago lupulina), though not so great a favourite with the bees as Dutch clover, is nevertheless a valuable pasturage for them, in consequence of its blossoming earlier than the clover.
Though I have made Dutch clover take precedence of every other bee pasturage,—a precedence which in this country at least it is fairly entitledto,—yet it is by no means the first in the order of the seasons.
“First the gray willow’s glossy pearls they steal.Or rob the hazel of its golden meal,While the gay crocus and the violet blueYield to the flexile trunk ambrosial dew.”Evans.
“First the gray willow’s glossy pearls they steal.Or rob the hazel of its golden meal,While the gay crocus and the violet blueYield to the flexile trunk ambrosial dew.”
Evans.
The earliest resources of the bee arethe willow, the hazel, the osier, the poplar, the sycamoreandthe plane, all which are very important adjuncts to the neighbourhood of an apiary. The catkins of several of them afford an abundant supply of farina, and attract the bees very strongly in early spring when the weather is fine. Mr. Kirby, in hisMonographia Apum Angliæ, considers thefemalecatkins of the different species of Salix as affording honey, themaleones, pollen.
To these may be addedthe snowdrop, the crocus, white alyssum, laurustinus, &c.
Orangeandlemon treesalso, and othergreen-house plants, afford excellent honey, and might be advantageously presented to the bees at this season.
Gooseberry, currantandraspberry treeslikewise, withsweet marjoram, winter savoryandpeppermint, should not be far off them. From the early blossoming of the two first, and from their yielding an extraordinary quantity of honey, they form some of the first sources of spring food forthe bees, and in all probability furnish them with the pale green pellets, then seen upon their thighs.
The peach, nectarine, &c. are also valuable, on account of their blossoming very early.
Appleandpear trees, which in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, during several weeks of spring, seem to form
“One boundless blush, one white empurpled showerOf mingled blossoms,”
“One boundless blush, one white empurpled showerOf mingled blossoms,”
and give those counties the appearance of a perfect paradise, “may be said to constitute a second course for the bees, after their earlier spring feast on the bloom of the currants, gooseberries, and all the varieties of wall fruit.”
Alder budsandflowersare also particularly grateful to bees; the former are said to afford honey for six months together. The maple and the lime also afford it for a considerable time.
Dickson, in his “Agriculture,” states that the blossoms ofthe bean, which are highly fragrant, though affording but a scanty supply of honey, are nevertheless frequented by crowds of bees. “Is this,” says Dr. Evans, “an instance of mistaken instinct?”
The young spotted leaves ofthe vetch(Anthyllis vulneraria) they likewise ply continually for three months together, as well as its flowers, even though very distant from their homes. The beans alsowhich prove most attractive to them are those with spotted leaves.
From the partiality of these natural chemists for the spotted leaves of the vetch and bean, I suspect that the spotting originates from disease, which causes those leaves to throw out a honeyed secretion. In this opinion I am strengthened by what Mr. Hubbard has stated, in a paper presented to the Society of Arts for 1799, respecting papilionaceous plants. “It is not,” says he, “from the flower, but a small leaf, with a black spot on it, which, in warm weather, keeps constantly oozing, that the bees gather their honey.” Mr. Hubbard also assures us in the same paper thatthe tare(Ervum hirsutumettetraspermum) is highly useful to bees; and that several acres, sown near his apiary, otherwise badly situated, rendered it very productive.
Turnips, mustard, and allthe cabbage tribeare also important auxiliaries; their culture is strongly recommended by Wildman, as affording spring food to the bees. In the autumn a field ofbuckwheatbecomes a very valuable resource for them, from its prolonged succession of bloom. Buckwheat flowers in bunches, which contain ripe seeds in one part, while blossoms are but just opening in another. Huber has given his testimony in favour of this black grain, and Worlidge says that he has known the bees of a very large apiary fill the combs withhoney in a fortnight, in consequence of being placed near a large field of buckwheat. Bees indeed like to have every thing upon a large scale; whole fields of clover, beans, the brassica tribe and buckwheat, as has been just observed, attracting them much more strongly than scattered plants, though affording finer honey, such as creeping lemon thyme, mignonette, &c.
Some flowers they pass by, though yielding a considerable quantity of honey: those of the honey-suckle for instance, though much frequented by the humble-bee, are never visited by the hive-bee, the superior length of the proboscis of the former enabling it to collect what is quite out of the reach of the latter. Every flower of the trumpet honey-suckle (Lonicera sempervirens), if separated from the germen, after it is open, will yield two or three drops of pure nectar.
In the Transactions of the Society of Arts for 1789, Mr. John. Lane speaks of the fondness of bees forleek blossoms, and says that he raised leeks extensively for their use.
“Your bees will rejoice,” says Mr. Isaac, “when they see the neighbourhood variegated by the blossoms ofsunflowers, hollyhocksandSpanish broom, and even thedandelion, which embellishes the garden of the sluggard.” Dr. Evans observed that bees not only collect farina from the numerous assemblage of anthers in the flower of the hollyhock,but a balsamic varnish also, (most likely propolis,) from the young blossom buds, and says he has seen a bee rest upon the same bud for ten minutes at least, moulding the balsam with its fore-feet and transferring it to the hinder legs. An elegant modern writer, speaking of the fondness of bees in general for the flowers of the hollyhock, observes that “it has been held a gross libel upon animals to say, that a man has made a beast of himself, when he has drunk to such excess as to lose his reason; but we might without injustice say, that he has made a humble-bee of himself, for those little debauchees are particularly prone to intoxication. Round the nectaries of hollyhocks, you may generally observe a set of determined topers quaffing as pertinaciously as if they belonged to Wilkes’s club; and round about the flower, (to follow up the simile,) several of the bon-vivants will be found lying on the ground inebriated and insensible.” I have frequently seen the ground beneath one of my pear-trees strewed over with hive-bees and wasps, in a similar state, after they had banqueted upon the rich juices of the fallen fruit. Mr. Kirby, in hisMonographia Apum Angliæ, observes that the male humble-bees, when the thistles are in bloom, are often seen asleep or torpid upon its flowers, and sometimes acting as if intoxicated with the sweets they have been imbibing.
The holly, the privet, phillyrea, elderandcommon bramble, together withsweet fennel, nasturtiumsandasparagus, are also much frequented by the bees. They are likewise very partial to the yellow flowers of thecrowfoot, as well as to the flowers ofthe dead nettle, especially the white.
The blossoms ofthe cucumber, gourdandvegetable marrowalso, yield a considerable quantity both of honey and farina, as do likewise those of thewhite lily.
“Apes æstate serenâFloribus insidunt variis, et Candida circumLilia funduntur.”Virgil.
“Apes æstate serenâFloribus insidunt variis, et Candida circumLilia funduntur.”
Virgil.
Dr. Evans speaks of theCacaliaorAlpine coltsfootas affording a great quantity of honey, the scent of which is often diffused to a considerable distance; and Dr. Darwin, in a note to his “Botanic Garden,” mentions having counted on one of those plants, besides bees of various kinds, upwards of two hundred painted butterflies, which gave it the appearance of being loaded with additional flowers.
“When o’er her nectar’d couch papilios crowd.And bees in clusters hum their plaudits loud.”Evans.
“When o’er her nectar’d couch papilios crowd.And bees in clusters hum their plaudits loud.”
Evans.
“What is it,” says the anonymous writer whom I lately quoted, “that brings the bees buzzing round us so busily? See, it is this tuft of coltsfoot, which they approach with a harmoniouschorus, somewhat like theNon nobis, Domine, of our singers; and after partaking silently of the luxurious banquet, again setup their tuneful Pæans.”
Ornamental flowers, such as roses, ranunculuses, anemones, pinks and carnations, afford little or no pabulum for bees, and tulips are probably pernicious to them, dead bees being frequently found in their flowers.
It would be a great acquisition to the bees to have near them a large plantation ofborage, which affords peculiarly delicate honey, as does alsoviper’s bugloss. The former continues blooming for many months, and, bearing a pendant flower, it is not liable to be washed by rain;mignonettetoo, if sown abundantly, is a plant of considerable importance to the apiary, and for a somewhat similar reason,—its continuing in bloom till the autumnal frosts set in, and its yielding honey of peculiar whiteness and delicacy. Instances have been known, of an abundant crop of these two flowers affording a large supply of honey to the apiary, near which they were sown, when, at the same time, there was a general failure of all the neighbouring stocks.
Lemon thymeshould be planted in every bee-garden, wherever room can be afforded for it: it blossoms late, (the beginning of August,) and affords very fine flavoured honey. It might be advantageously used as an edging for garden walksand flower-beds, instead of box; some use thrift and daisies for the same purpose. Box has the character of giving honey a bitter flavour, and Pliny has observed that the Romans, in laying tribute upon Corsica, exacted from the inhabitants two hundred pounds of wax, but wholly excepted honey, on account of its being flavoured by the box-tree.
The common teasel(Dipsacus sylvestris) should have a place near every bee-house, as it not only supplies honey from its rich purple heads, but yields a seasonable supply of water, in the cups formed by the leaves at every joint of the stem, which contain from a spoonful to half a pint of water. This convenience is still more efficiently supplied by the large floating leaves ofthe water lily, which should if practicable be introduced near every apiary. As should also the great hairywillow-herb(Epilobium hirsutum), a very ornamental though a very common plant, growing by the sides of rivulets.
Furze, broom, heathandsaintfoin, are good neighbours to an apiary. The blossoms of furze so abound with honey as to be pervaded strongly by the scent of it, and the broom has been extolled ever since the days of Pliny. Mr. Bradley speaks in the highest terms of its blossoms, as affording a great quantity of honey; but he greatly prefers the Spanish broom, and says that an acre of itwould maintain ten stocks. The culture of saintfoin as a bee-pasture is also well worthy of the apiarian’s attention in some situations; for though it flourishes best in a calcareous soil, it will thrive in soils which are too poor either for grass or tillage. Furze and broom are particularly serviceable on account of their blossoming early and long, and abounding in farina.
On the other hand, the lateness of its bloom makesivya very valuable resource for the bees. On a fine day at the end of October, among the ivy-mantled towers of an old castle, I have heard their humming noise, so loud as scarcely to be exceeded by that which they make, among the trees affected with honey-dew, in summer. I should however conceive that the ivy blossom is principally serviceable as affording pollen, which the bees probably warehouse, for feeding the young larvæ in the ensuing spring. Mr. Hunter recommends St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), which also comes in late, as a favourite plant for collecting pollen, for winter’s store. This stored pollen is used for feeding the earliest hatched larvæ, though it is evident that the bees prefer fresh for the purpose, from their collecting it as early in the spring as possible, and from the quantity of stored pollen that is found in every old hive.
Commons surrounded by woodsare well knownto make an apiary productive, the commons abounding with wild thyme and various other flowers, which the scythe never touches; and the trees, in addition to their farina, affording in some seasons a profusion of honey-dew. The forwardness and activity of hives thus situated, may, in part, be attributed to the sheltering protection of the woods.
Keys says he never observed bees to be particularly fond of the wild thyme. In this he is opposed to almost all the authors who have written upon the subject. Theophrastus, Pliny, Varro, Columella, and various other writers, speak in the highest terms of it. The Abbé Barthelemy speaks thus of bees. “These insects are extremely partial to Mount Hymettus, which they have filled with their colonies, and which is covered almost every where with wild thyme and other odoriferous plants; but it is chiefly from the excellent thyme the Mount produces, that they extract those precious sweets, with which they compose a honey in high estimation throughout Greece.”
“Here their delicious task the fervent Bees,In swarming millions, tend: around, athwart,Through the soft air the busy nations fly,Cling to the bud, and, with inserted tube.Suck its pure essence, its ethereal soul;And oft with bolder wing, they soaring dareThe purple heath, or where the wild thyme grows,And yellow load them with the luscious spoil.”Thomson.
“Here their delicious task the fervent Bees,In swarming millions, tend: around, athwart,Through the soft air the busy nations fly,Cling to the bud, and, with inserted tube.Suck its pure essence, its ethereal soul;And oft with bolder wing, they soaring dareThe purple heath, or where the wild thyme grows,And yellow load them with the luscious spoil.”
Thomson.
That flowers impart a portion of their flavour to honey, seems to be generally admitted, though probably not so much as some have imagined. It is not to be supposed that the bee confines itself, in this country at least, to a few particular flowers,—it ranges through a great variety; excellent honey has been produced where the bees had little access to any flowers but those of nettles and other weeds.
Still however the balm of Pontus, the thyme of Hymettus, and the rosemary of Narbonne, are generally supposed, from their aromatic flowers, to give its peculiar excellence to the celebrated honey of those places.
It should seem therefore thatrosemarymight prove of importance in the neighbourhood of an apiary, by improving the quality and increasing the quantity of honey in certain seasons, viz. if the weather were very hot and dry, when it blossomed; for it never affords much honey in this country, excepting in such a season. It blossoms the earliest of aromatic herbs, and should of course be planted in a southern aspect.
Having said thus much upon the power which flowers possess of imparting a peculiar flavour tothe honey which is extracted from them, I will now advert to what has been stated relative to their impregnating it with deleterious qualities. During the celebrated retreat of the ten thousand, as recorded by Xenophon in hisMemorabilia, the soldiers sucked some honey-combs in a place near Trebizonde, where was a great number of bee-hives, and in consequence became intoxicated, and were attacked with vomiting and purging. He states that they did not recover their senses for twenty-four hours, nor their strength for three or four days. Tournefort, when travelling in Asia, bearing in mind this account of Xenophon, was very diligent in his endeavours to ascertain its truth, and had good reason to be satisfied respecting it. He concluded that the honey had been extracted from a shrub growing in the neighbourhood of Trebizonde, which is well known to produce the before-mentioned effects, and even to disturb the head by its odour. From his description and that of others, the plant from which this honey was extracted, appears to be theRhododendron ponticumorAzalea ponticaof Linnæus, both nearly allied to each other, and growing abundantly in that part of the country. The smell resembles honey-suckle, but is much stronger. Father Lamberti confirms Xenophon’s account, by stating similar effects to have been produced by thehoney of Colchis or Mingrelia, where this shrub is also common.
Dr. Darwin, in his “Temple of Nature,” states that some plants afford a honey which is intoxicating and poisonous to man, and that what is afforded by others is so injurious to the bees themselves, that sometimes they will not collect it. And Dr. Barton, in the American Philosophical Transactions, has stated that, in the autumn and winter of 1790, the honey collected near Philadelphia proved fatal to many, in consequence of which, a minute inquiry was instituted under the direction of the American Government, when it was ascertained satisfactorily, that the fatal honey had been chiefly extracted from the flowers of theKalmia latifolia. Still more recently, two persons at New York are said to have lost their lives by eating wild honey, which was supposed to have been gathered from the flowers of the dwarf laurel, a thriving shrub in the American woods. I shall resume this subject inChap. 24, on Bee-maladies.
It appears also that at the time of the inquiry set on foot by the American Government, similar fatal consequences were produced among those who had eaten the common American pheasant, which, on examination, was found to arise from the pheasants having fed upon the leaves of thesame plantKalmia latifolia. This led to a public proclamation prohibiting the use of the pheasant for food during that season.
As most of the plants here enumerated are now introduced into our gardens, they might be supposed to injure the British honey. Most probably, however, their proportion to the whole of the flowers in bloom is too small to produce any such inconvenience; whereas on their native continent they exclusively cover whole tracts of country.
I cannot close this chapter on Bee-Pasturage, without adverting to what Linnæus has said of theFritillaria imperialisorcrown imperial, and of theMelianthusorhoney-flower. Of the former, he observes that “no plant, melianthus alone excepted, abounds so much with honey, yet the bees do not collect it.” Of the latter he remarks “that if it be shaken, whilst in flower, it distils a shower of nectar.” This observation applies more particularly to theMelianthus major. And with respect to theFritillaria, Dr. Evans says, “that the bees do sometimes visit it; and he thinks that they would do so oftener, but for the disagreeable fox-like smell that emanates from it.”
Theliquidambarandliriodendrum, ortulip-tree, both which are so ornamental, the former to our shrubberies and the latter to larger plantations, have been much extolled, as affording food forbees. The liquidambar bears bright saffron-coloured flowers, and highly perfumed and glossy leaves, and its whole rind exudes a fragrant gum. The liriodendrum is crowned with large bell-shaped blossoms, of every rainbow hue, which give it a very splendid appearance.
HONEY-DEW.
Thetermhoney-dewis applied to those sweet clammy drops that glitter on the foliage of many trees in hot weather. The name of this substance would seem to import, that it is a deposition from the atmosphere, and this has been the generally received opinion respecting it, particularly among the ancients; it is an opinion still prevalent among the husbandmen, who suppose it to fall from the heavens:Virgilspeaks of “Aërii mellis cœlestia dona:” andPlinyexpresses his doubts, “sive ille est cœli sudor, sive quædam siderum saliva, sive purgantis se aëris succus.” The Rev.Gilbert White, in his Naturalist’s Calendar, regards honey-dew as the effluvia of flowers, evaporated and drawn up into the atmosphere by the heat of the weather, and falling down again in the night with the dews that entangle them. But if this were the case, the fall would be indiscriminate, and we should not have it confined to particular trees and shrubs, nor would it be found upon green-house and other covered plants. Some naturalists have regarded honey-dew as an exudation or secretion from the surface of those leaves upon which it is found, produced by some atmosphericstroke, which has injured their health.Dr. Darwinstands in this class. Others have viewed it as a kind of vegetable perspiration, which the trees emit for their relief in sultry weather; its appearance being never observed in a cold ungenial summer. Dr.Evansis of this opinion, and makes the following comparative remark: “As the glutinous sweat of the negro enables him to bear the fervours of his native clime, far better than the lymph-perspiring European; so the saccharine dew of the orange, and the fragrant gum of the Cretan cistus, may preserve them amidst the heats even of the torrid zone.” Mr.Curtishas given it as his opinion that the honey-dew is an excrementitious matter, voided by the aphis or vine-fretter, an insect which he regards as the general cause of what are called blights. He assures us that he never, in a single instance, observed the honey-dew unattended with aphids.
I believe it will be found thatthere are at least two sorts of honey-dew; the one a secretion from the surface of the leaf, occasioned by one of the causes just alluded to,the other a deposition from the body of the aphis. SirJ. E. Smithobserves of the sensible perspiration of plants, that “when watery, it can be considered only as a condensation of their insensible evaporation, perhaps from some sudden change in the atmosphere. Groves ofpoplar or willow exhibit this phenomenon, even in England, in hot calm weather, when drops of clear water trickle from their leaves, like a slight shower of rain. Sometimes this secretion is of a saccharine nature, asDe la Hireobserved in orange trees.” “It is somewhat glutinous in the tilia or lime-tree, rather resinous in poplars, as well as inCistus creticus.” “Ovid has made an elegant use of the resinous exudations of Lombardy poplars, which he supposes to be the tears of Phaëton’s sisters, who were transformed into those trees. Such exudations must be considered as effusions of the peculiar secretions; for it has been observed that manna may be scraped from the leaves ofFraxinus ornus, as well as be procured from its stem by incision. They are often perhaps a sign of unhealthiness in the plant; at least such appears to be the nature of one kind of honey-dew, found in particular upon the beech, which, in consequence of an unfavourable wind, has its leaves often covered with a sweet exudation, similar in flavour to the liquor obtained from its trunk. So likewise the hop, according toLinnæus, is affected with the honey-dew, and its flowers are rendered abortive, in consequence of the attacks of the caterpillar of the Ghost moth (Phalæna Humuli) upon its roots. In such case the saccharine exudation must decidedly be of a morbid nature.”
The other kind of honey-dew which is derived from the aphis, appears to be the favourite food of ants, and is thus spoken of by Messrs.KirbyandSpence, in their late valuable Introduction to Entomology. “The loves of the ants and the aphides have long been celebrated; and that there is a connexion between them you may at any time in the proper season, convince yourself; for you will always find the former very busy on those trees and plants on which the latter abound; and if you examine more closely, you will discover that the object of the ants, in thus attending upon the aphides, is to obtain the saccharine fluid secreted by them, which may well be denominated their milk. This fluid, which is scarcely inferior to honey in sweetness, issues in limpid drops from the abdomen of these insects, not only by the ordinary passage, but also by two setiform tubes placed, one on each side, just above it. Their sucker being inserted in the tender bark, is without intermission employed in absorbing the sap, which, after it has passed through the system, they keep continually discharging by these organs. When no ants attend them, by a certain jerk of the body, which takes place at regular intervals, they ejaculate it to a distance.” The power of ejecting the fluid from their bodies, seems to have been wisely instituted to preserve cleanliness in each individual fly, and indeed for the preservationof the whole family; for pressing as they do upon one another, they would otherwise soon be glued together, and rendered incapable of stirring. “When the ants are at hand, watching the moment at which the aphides emit their fluid, they seize and suck it down immediately: this however is the least of their talents; for the ants absolutely possess the art of making the aphides yield it at their pleasure; or in other words of milking them.” The ant ascends the tree, says Linnæus,that it may milk its cows the aphides, not kill them. Huber informs us that the liquor is voluntarily given out by the aphis, when solicited by the ant, the latter tapping the aphis gently, but repeatedly with its antennæ, and using the same motions as when caressing its own young. He thinks, when the ants are not at hand to receive it, that the aphis retains the liquor for a longer time, and yields it freely and apparently without the least detriment to itself, for even when it has acquired wings, it shows no disposition to escape. A single aphis supplies many ants with a plentiful meal. The ants occasionally form an establishment for their aphides, constructing a building in a secure place, at a distance from their own city, to which, after fortifying it, they transport those insects, and confine them under a guard, like cows upon a dairy farm, to supply the wants of the metropolis. The aphides are provided with a hollow pointedproboscis, folded under the breast, when the insects are not feeding, with which instrument they puncture the turgid vessels of the leaf, leaf-stalk or bark, and suck with great avidity their contents, which are expelled nearly unchanged, so that however fabulous it may appear, they may literally be said to void a liquid sugar. On looking steadfastly at a group of these insects (Aphides Salicis) while feeding on the bark of the willow, their superior size enables us to perceive some of them elevating their bodies and emitting a transparent substance in the form of a small shower.
“Nor scorn ye now, fond elves, the foliage sear,When the light aphids, arm’d with puny spear.Probe each emulgent vein till bright belowLike falling stars, clear drops of nectar glow.”Evans.
“Nor scorn ye now, fond elves, the foliage sear,When the light aphids, arm’d with puny spear.Probe each emulgent vein till bright belowLike falling stars, clear drops of nectar glow.”
Evans.
Thewillowaccommodates the bees in a kind of threefold succession, the farina of the flowers yielding spring food for their young,—the bark giving out propolis for sealing the hives of fresh swarms,—and the leaves shining with honey-dew in the midst of summer scarcity. But to return to the aphides. “These insects may also be seen distinctly, with a strong magnifier, on the leaves of the hazel, lime, &c. but invariably on the inferior surface, piercing the vessels, and expelling the honey-dew from their hinder parts with considerable force.” “These might easily have escapedthe observation of the earlier philosophers, being usually concealed within the curl of the leaves that are punctured.” The drops that are spurted out, unless intercepted by the surrounding foliage, or some other interposing body, fall upon the ground, and the spots may often be observed, for some time, beneath the trees affected with honey-dew, till washed away by the rain. When the leaves of the kidney-bean are affected by honey-dew, their surface assumes the appearance of having been sprinkled with soot.
Honey-dew usually appears upon the leaves, as a viscid, transparent substance, sweet as honey, sometimes in the form of globules, at others resembling a syrup, and is generally most abundant from the middle of June to the middle of July.
It is found chiefly upon theoak, theelm, themaple, theplane, thesycamore, thelime, thehazeland theblackberry; occasionally also on thecherry,currant, and other fruit trees. Sometimes only one species of trees is affected at a time. The oak generally affords the largest quantity. At the season of its greatest abundance, the happy humming noise of the bees may be heard at a considerable distance from the trees, sometimes nearly equalling in loudness the united hum of swarming. Of theplanethere are two sorts; theorientaland theoccidental, both highly ornamental trees, andmuch regarded in hot climates for the cooling shade they afford.
“Jamque ministrantem Platanum potantibus umbram.”Virgil.
“Jamque ministrantem Platanum potantibus umbram.”
Virgil.
The ancients so much respected the former that they used to refresh its roots with wine instead of water, believing, as Sir William Temple has observed, that “this tree loved that liquor, as well as those who used to drink under its shade.”
“Crevit et affuso latior umbra mero.”Virgil.
“Crevit et affuso latior umbra mero.”
Virgil.
Thesycamorehas been discarded from the situation it used formerly to hold, near the mansions of the convivial, owing to the bees crowding to banquet on its profusion of honey-dew, and occasioning an early fall of its leaves. Thelimeorlindentree has been regarded as doubly acceptable to the bees, on account of its fragrant blossoms and its honey-dewed leaves appearing both together, amidst the oppressive heats of the dog-days; but it seems doubtful whether the flowers have any attraction but their fragrance, as they are said to have no honey-cup.
It is of great importance to apiarians who reside in the vicinity of such trees as are apt to be affected with honey-dew, to keep their bees on the storifying plan, where additional room can at all times be provided for them at pleasure, asduring the time of a honey-dew, more honey will be collected in one week than will be afforded by flowers in several. So great is the ardour of the bees on these occasions, and so rapid are their movements, that it is often dangerous to be placed betwixt the hives and the dews.
That species of honey-dew which is secreted from the surface of the leaves, appears to have been first noticed by theAbbé Boissier de Sauvages. He observed it upon the old leaves of the holm-oak and upon those of the blackberry, but not upon the young leaves of either; and he remarked at the same time, that neighbouring trees of a different sort were exempt from it: among these latter he noticed the mulberry tree, “which,” says he, “is a very particular circumstance, for this juice” (honey-dew) “is a deadly poison to silk-worms.”
Some years do not afford any honey-dew, it generally occurs pretty extensively once in four or five years.
PURCHASE OF BEES.
Everyone who meditates the establishment of an apiary, should be able to distinguish a good from a bad hive of bees, that he may detect imposition, if it should be attempted, when he is purchasing his first swarms or stocks. Bees are commonly purchased in the spring or in the autumn. The value of a hive of bees, purchased in the spring, if it be a recent swarm, may be ascertained by its weight, which should not be less than four or five pounds, on the day of swarming. But the weightalone, of astockhive, is not a criterion of its worth; several other circumstances are to be considered,—for the worststockhives often weigh the heaviest. Still if a stock-hive be a swarm of the current year, which is always desirable, weight may be regardedin a greatdegree, as acriterion of value, its quantity of heterogeneous matters being probably inconsiderable. Such a hive, purchased in the autumn, should not weigh less than from twenty-five to thirty pounds, and should contain about half a bushel of bees.
There are surer grounds, however, upon which its value may be determined.
1st. The combs should be of a pale colour, as dark ones denote age; though even in this there may be deception, for old combs may be lengthened out and bordered with new wax.
2ndly. The combs should be worked down to the floor of the hive.
3rdly. The interstices of the combs should be crowded with bees.
All these points may be safely ascertained, by gently turning up the hive in an evening, when the bees are at rest. It may be well also to notice the proceedings of the bees in the day-time. If when they quit the hive, to range the fields, they depart in quick succession and without lingering about; and if the entrance be well guarded by sentinels; these are pretty sure indications of a prosperous hive.
The hive, when purchased, should be raised gently from the stool, some hours prior to its removal, and be supported by wedges, that the bees may not cluster on the floor, as this would be productive of inconvenience at the time of their removal. After being wedged up, the hive should remain undisturbed till night, when, being placed upon a proper board, it should be carried away carefully, and placed at once where it is intended to remain, unless it be a recent swarm which is to be removed into a box.—The mode of proceeding in this case will be noticed hereafter.
The bees of a hive, recently removed, if purchased of a near neighbour, or if the weather be cold, should be confined for a day or two, or else many of them, after flying about in quest of provision, will be lost; in the one case, by returning to their old habitation, and in the other, by being chilled to death, in searching for their new one.
BEE-BOXES.
Therehas been some difference of opinion as tothe most suitable dimensions of bee-boxes. I prefer those of Keys, which are twelve inches square and nine inches deep,in the clear. Thebest woodfor them isred cedar, the fragrance of which is regarded by some as agreeable to the bees; but the chief grounds of preference are its effect in keeping moths out of the boxes, and its being a bad conductor of heat, from its lightness and sponginess. Whatever kind of wood be made use of, it should be well seasoned;yellow dealanswers the purpose very well. The sides of the boxes should be an inch thick, and the bars on the top three quarters of an inch, about an inch and half wide, and six in number, which will leave an interspace between each of about half an inch. At the back of each box, a pane of glass should be fixed in a small rabbet, which may be covered with a half inch door, hung with wire hinges and fastened by a button.