AS I am induced to become a

"A

candidate for the premium offered for ftocks of bees, clafs 108, I beg leave to communicate to the fociety the following experiments; the refult of which, I flatter myfelf, will afford fome information towards the management of thofe ufeful infects. In my early acquaintance with thefe entertaining creatures, my endeavours to increafe my stock were continually difap pointed, particularly in the early months, by faving moderate ftocks; which was a matter of furprife to me, as my ftrong ftocks throve amazingly, whether I kept them . for work or fwarming.

"Now, to afcertain the matter with fufficient accuracy, I determined to facrifice three hives every year, one strong and two moderate ones. Accordingly, on the firft of February, 1 fuffocated a strong hive, after Thorley's method; and when I took out the combs, it furprised me much to find an abundance of brood: the eggs and maggots were innumerable, and many were next to emerging from their cells.

"It was then obvious to me, that the queen had begun to lay her eggs in the early part of January; and this appeared the more extraordinary, as the month of January had been very cold, from fevere frofts and fnow; and it was evidently too fharp for a bee to stir abroad.

"This circumftance refutes the general received opinion, that the queen never begins breeding till the weather proves mild, and you fee bees carrying to their hives, the little balls of farina on their legs: but to investigate the matter more fully, there appeared in the combs, vait quantities of farina; and what was very curious, fome of it seemed covered with a kind of varnish subftance, in order to exclude the air from it; befides on the top of the hive, there was a confiderable quantity of water, apparently collected there from the fame caufe that it does on a window, where a room is hot, and the external air very cold. The foregoing confideration clears up a point that has puzzled many au thors; I mean, the laying up fuch quantities of farina: White, and

fome

fome others, fuppofe it to be real food, mixed with honey, for the old

bees.

"The fecond hive, which had not above three pounds of honey in it, I fuffocated on the first of March; the queen of which stock had not produced a fingle egg: the third ftock I examined the first of April, and there likewife found no eggs. In the fecond year, I repeated the fame experiments with the ftrong and weak hives as before, and the refult was the fame in every respect.

"But the third hive I referved till the 20th of April, by which time they begin to gather honey from the goofeberries: on examining this hive, I found fome eggs produced. Let it be obferved, that this hive I was under the neceffity of feeding, to keep them alive.

I cannot in this place forbear taking notice of the furprifing forefight which thefe wonderful infects feem to be endowed with: in the weak hive, not a fingle egg is produced, till honey gathering commences; but in the ftrong hive, the increafe of young bees is there carried on with furprifing avidity at a time when they are generally fuppofed to be in a torpid ftate; and this increafe is perfectly fafe in a ftrong hive, for they are never obferved to work in the early months, as weak hives do.

"From the above experiments, it is evident you gain almost four months between the two ftocks: betides, early in May the ftrong ftock is almost ready to fwarm; whereas the weak hive, by its pro gious decrease, occafioned from their Conftant working, and no young ones being bred, gener lly dwindles to nothing. Once, on a hot day in April, I had five of thefe weak hives driven out by plunderers, with their

different queens; for the strong ftocks never let the weak ones reft, when they find the latter are much reduced.

Sometimes, if the months of March and April happen to be cold and wet, fo as to prevent their going out, a little feeding may give them fufficient ftrength to defend themfelves; but thofe ftocks feldom turn to any account: hence the reafon why keeping bees in colonies have always failed; I mean, in this country; for, if you imprudently reduce your bees, by taking too much honey from them, fo as to prevent the queens breeding in the early months, "they muft mifcarry in the following fummer. I cannot help condemning two authors, that have written on this fubject, viz. Meffrs. White and Keys, particularly the former: their opinions have given a surprising check to the cultivation of bees; I mean, their idle notions refpecting fituation.

"A popular opinion prevails with us, that no village will fupport more than eight or ten flocks; confequently, the villages in our country do not contain above ten old stocks, one with another; whereas I am confident that twenty times the number might be kept. But let us examine what Mr. White has written on this bufinefs: he directs you to fwarm your bees, and the fame year to take part of their honey from them.

"Now it is well understood, that it requires a large fwarm, aided with a fine feafon, to make them produce five and twenty or thirty pounds weight in October; which weight is abfolutely neceffary for their future welfare: he alfo affirms, that if you leave them eight or ten pounds of honey in Auguft, it will very well fupport them through the winter. Further comments on fuch manage

ment are needlefs, as the reafon of his failure is too obvious to require the thought of a bad fituation, to account for it.

"Keys, feems to have copied his fentiments refpecting fituation; but from what I have advanced in regard to keeping fuch a number of stocks, it may be neceffary to examine what the bees collect from. I will first mention the tare, that inexhauftible fupport to bees, from which they gather the whole fummer; and it may not be improper here to note, that it is not from the flower, but a fmall leaf with a black fpot on it, which in warm weather keeps continually oozing. But from careful infpection at the time of their gathering, this nectareous juice may be feen oozing from every joint of the stem. A hundred acres of tares are grown every year within the reach of my bees; yet it was always faid to be a bad fituation, and not able to fupport more than eight or ten ftocks befides, if the month of June proves hot, the collection from the oak, lime, and fycamore leaves, is aftonishingly great; as well as from the profufion of flowers, which nature exhibits in fucceffion through out the whole fummer.

"From these remarks and experi. ments it is evident, that fuccefs depends entirely on leaving your bees ftrong in October; for by this plan they naturally get into a habit of fwarming early, and, by having the whole fummer before them, always get rich. Whenever an unkindly feafon happens, to prevent this, it is an invariable practice with me, to give all my fwarms fugar and water, or honey, fufficient to make each ftock produce thirty or thirty-fix pounds weight: befides, I am never difappointed of a fwarm in May; and it is more frequent than other wife, that these stocks will yield three

fwarms each; the old stock likewile in general will be as rich as the prime fwart. On the other hand, if the stock is left moderate, though they may have honey enough to get them through the winter, yet fome check may be given to the queen's breeding; of course it may be the middle of June, before they are ready for fwarming; and if the weather turns out fine and hot, there is fuch a profufion of honey in the fields, and they are fo intent after it, that no art can make them swarm : in that cafe, they will lie out the remainder of the fummer, to the great lofs of the owner. However, whenever this happens, I would advise all fuch stocks, after laying out a week, to be fet on empty hives.

"I will now prefume to offer a fimple and eafy mode of managing thefe admirable infects, the profits from which will far furpafs that in common ufe. The owner must patiently wait till he has acquired. twenty ftocks, which may be foon accomplished by attending to the foregoing hints.. In the month of April following, he muft feparate ten of the strongest hives for fwarming; the other ten must be raised on large empty hives, the tops of which fhould be firft taken off, and the joinings of the two hives fecured with a little clay, which plan keeps the bees from fwarming. In the month of September following, being the time I would recommend them to be burnt, each stock will seldom be found to have produced lefs than fifty pounds weight, provided it has been a kind feafon.

"The prime fwarms from the other stocks, I would recommend to be put into three-peck hives, at least;: for when they fwarm fo early, they are very likely to fwarm again in a few weeks, which fhould always be prevented: and all the after-fwarms

fhould

The first step the fwine herd takes, is to investigate fome clofe fheltered part of the foreft, where there is a conveniency of water: and plenty of oak, or beech-maft, the former of which he prefers, when he can have it in fufficient abundance. He fixes next on fome fpreading tree, round the bole of which he wattles a flight, circular fence of the dimenfions he wants; and covering it roughly with boughs, and fods, he fills it plentifully with ftraw, or fern.

"Having made this preparation, he collects his colony among the farmers, with whom he commonly agrees for a fhilling a head, and will get together perhaps a herd of five or fix hundred hogs. Having driven them to their deftined habitation, he gives them a plentiful fupper of acorns, or beech-maft, which he had already provided, founding his horn, during the repaft. He then turns them into the litter, where, after a long journey, and a hearty meal, they fleep deliciously.

"The next morning he lets them look a little around them fhews them the pool, or ftream, where they may occafionally drink -leaves them to pick up the offals of the last night's meal; and as the evening draws on, gives them another plentiful repaft under the neighbouring trees, which rains acorns upon them for hours together, at

the found of his horn. He then fends them again to fleep.

"The following day he is perhaps at the pains of procuring them another meal, with mufic playing as ufual. He then leaves them a little more to themselves, having an eye however on their evening-hours. But as their bellies are full, they feldom wander far from home, retiring commonly very orderly, and early to bed.

"After this, he throws his sty open, and leaves them to cater for themfelves; and from hence-forward has little more trouble with them, during the whole time of their migration. Now and then, in calm weather, when maft falls fparingly, he calls them perhaps together by the mufic of his horn to a gratuitous meal; but in general, they need little attention, returning regularly home at night, though they often wander in the day two or three miles from their fty. There are experienced leaders in all herds, which have spent this roving life before; and can instruct their juniors in the method of it. By this management the herd is carried home to their respective owners in fuch condition, that a little dry meat will foon fatten them.

"I would not however have it fuppofed, that all the swine-herds in the foreft manage their colonies with this exactnefs. Bad governments, and bad governors will every where exift; but I mention this as an example of found policy - not as à mere Platonic, or Eutopian fcheme; but fuch as hath been often realized, and hath as often been found produc