The handy book of bees : being a practical treatise on their profitable management

Preface

Some years ago, I was induced by my respected friend, Mr W. Thomson, then editor of ‘ The Gardener,’ to contribute a series of articles on bees for that periodical. Mr Thomson heralded these articles with a few complimentary remarks. He then said : “We had practical proof of the extraordinary success resulting from Mr Pettigrew’s system of bee-management when he was our foreman in the gardens at Wrotharn Park, Middlesex, twenty-five years ago. We assure our readers who may peruse his letters, that though he may recommend what may clash violently with their present knowledge of the subject, he is, notwithstanding, a safe guide ; and that where profit is the object, no writer that we have ever read can be compared to him. We predicate that his letters will be of far greater value to all interested than the cost of the journal for many years to come.”

My father, James Pettigrew, was a labouring man, and perhaps the greatest bee-keeper that Scotland ever produced. He was so successful and enthusiastic in the management of his bees that he earned

VI

PREFACE.

and received the cognomen of “ The Bee-man and by this name he was well known for thirty years in a wider circle than the parish of Carluke, Lanarkshire, in which he resided. The district of the parish in which he lived when he kept most hives, took then the name of “ Honey Bank/’ which it still bears. While a common labouring man he saved a great deal of money from his bees ; indeed it was reported in the Glasgow newspapers that he realised £100 profit from them, one season. His example and success have, twenty-five years after his death, not yet lost their influence on the successful bee-keepers of Carluke, who say, “ The old bee-man taught us all we know.” The bee-man saved money enough to purchase the Black Bull Inn of the village, and therein commence business as a publican and butcher. When his sons reached their teens, the management of his bees’ was left in great measure to them. It was then that the foundation of what I know of bees was laid ; and though I left my native village thirty-five years ago, I am still known there as “ the bee-man’s son.” As most readers of a book like to know a little of the author, I may be pardoned the egotism of saying, that at the age of eighteen I was apprenticed to the occupation of gardening at Carstairs House. In about four years afterwards I went to London to pursue my business. While an apprentice at Carstairs, and a journeyman in Middlesex, I kept bees in “ hidden places ” in the plantations and shrubberies; and while acting in the capacity of head gardener, managed the bees of my

PREFACE.

Vll employers. Now I have a small garden of my own, in which bees are kept for profit. Such is a brief outline of my history. The work before the reader, then, is a practical one, and written by a practical man. Indeed the book is simply an exposition of a system of management practised by my father for forty years ; and profitably, for forty years since his day, by myself and others.

Dr M'Kenzie, in a small book on bees, says he was induced to study the subject from the fact that one of his two labouring men, having found a swarm of bees in a hedge, and therewith commenced bee-keeping, was enabled to go without his wages till they were earned. Previously, both labourers got their wages in advance. The lift given to the one man by the possession of this fugitive swarm was so pleasing to the Doctor, that he commenced to read works on bees, and study their management both in this country and on the Continent. This little incident shows what a swarm or two of bees may do for a poor labourer. Indeed there are few tilings more profitable to cottagers living in the country or on the skirts of towns, than a few swarms of bees, or more easily managed. “ Bees,” says Cobbett, “ are of great use in a house, on account of the honey, the wax, and the swarms they produce : they cost nothing to keep, and want nothing but a little care.”

In bee-keeping I reckon the question of profit is of first importance. Stings do not seem half so painful to the man whose annual proceeds of bee-keeping amount to £10, or £20, or £50. It is my desire,

Vlll

PREFACE.

therefore, in this work to show how bees may be kept with both profit and pleasure. In addition to the profits of bees, there is a fund of interest and enjoyment derived from keeping them, uplifting in its nature and tendencies. One of the most pleasing sights on earth is that of a son of toil, after the labour of the day is done, taking a child in his hand, and going to see his pig, or cow, or bees in his garden. Who has not seen hundreds of working men charmed beyond description in attending to their bees or cows !

I hold that all employers of labour would do well to encourage their servants to spend their leisure hours in a profitable way.

A. PETTIGREW.

NOTE TO TEE SECOND EDITION.

The author gratefully acknowledges the many favourable notices of the first edition of this book by the press, and the kindly reception it met with from the hee-loving community.

More gratifying still are the statements and evidences of private letters to the author. Hundreds of apiarians, in all positions of society, are now masters of the art of bee-keeping, and are successfully practising the system of management unfolded in the pages of this work.

He trusts that this edition will he found as useful as the first, in giving its readers a firm grasp of the subject ; and that it will encourage all who are seeking profit or honey from bee-keeping, to carry into practice most of its lessons.

Sale, Cheshire,

8th February 1875.

Chapter I. Page

The queen bee, 1

Her shape and appearance, 1

Mother and monarch, 2

The age of queens, 2

How long in being hatched ? . . . 2

The food of princesses, 3

The fertilisation of queens, 4

Where fertilisation takes place, 6 Sometimes lost on their marriage-tour, 6

Egg-laying, 7

How many eggs laid daily ? 8

The sexes of eggs, 8

The ovaries of queens, 9

The eggs of virgin or unmated queens, 10

CHAPTER II. Drones, 10

How long in their cells ? 11

Why so many ? 11

Their idleness, 11

Their sorrowful end, 12

CHAPTER HI.

Working bees, 13

Imperfect females, 13

PAGE

Possess five senses, 14

Their industry, 14

Their ingenuity, 16

Their courage, 17

How to tame and domesticate

vicious bees, 18

Have bees a language ? 19

CHAPTER IY.

Ligurian or Italian bees, 20

CHAPTER V.

Government of a hive, 21

CHAPTER VI.

Swarming, 22

Preparations made for it, 23

The signal and the rush, 24

Piping, 25

Second and third swarms, 26

Royal battles, 27

CHAPTER VII.

Honey, 27

Crude and perfect honey, 28

No two kinds of different plants yield honey alike, 28

CONTENTS.

XI

CHAPTER VIII.

Honey-dew, 29

CHAPTER IX.

Wax, 30

The product of bees, 30

How much honey is consumed to make 1 lb. of wax ? 30

CHAPTER X.

Bee-bread, 32

Too much collected, 33

CHAPTER XL

Propolis and water, 33

PAET SECOND.

PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT.

CHAPTER XII.

The apiary, 36

How far should hives be off the

ground? 37

How far asunder ? 38

Bee-houses, 39

CHAPTER XIII.

Much honey ungathered, 40

Can a parish be overstocked ? .. 40 All localities not equally good, 40

Honey-plants, 40

Rich soil better than poor, 43

Exposed and sheltered pasture, 44 How far will bees go for honey ? 44 Short journeys desirable, 44

CHAPTER XIV.

Agriculture and horticulture, . . 45

Apiculture has loitered, 45

Facts and figures, 46

Successful management at Carluke, 47

Mr Reid’s letters, 47

English bee-keepers far behind, 48 Large hives, 50

Straw hives best, 52

The quackery of new inventions, 53

Improvements and success, 54

Shapes and sizes, 55

The bar-frame hives, 58

The American slinger, 58

The advantages and disadvantages of bar-frame hives, 59

Comb-knives, 60

Bar-frame hives should be made

of straw, 60

The quilt, 60

Guide-combs, 61

Cross-sticks, 61

The unicomb hive, 63

CHAPTER XV.

Boards, 63

The door of the hive, 64

CHAPTER XVI.

Covers for hives, 65

CHAPTER XVII.

Stings, 66

CHAPTER XVIII.

Fumigation, 68

Xll

CONTENTS.

The Irishman’s secret,

Old corduroy

Nothing else necessary,

CHAPTER XIX.

Swarming and non-swarming,..

Can swarms and honey he obtained from hives the same

season?

Swarming system best,

Reasons given,

Which system yields most supers ?

Great success of Mr Fox,

His magnificent supers,

His adjusting principle,

CHAPTER XX.

Straw, wood, and glass supers, The art of supering unfolded, Assisting bees to fill large supers,

No doors in supers,

Cutting supers off,

CHAPTER XXI.

Ekes,

Better for getting agreat weight

of honey than supers,

They prevent swarming,

CHAPTER XXII.

Nadirs,

Used when both honey and stocks are sought from the swarms of the current year,

CHAPTER XXIII.

Probably invented by Bonner,

Invaluable,

Easily performed,

How ?

Prevents waste of time,

Can be performed at any hour, 89 How to know when hives are

ready for swarming, 90

Where to place swarms, 91

Bee-barrow, 92

Vacant thrones, 93

Successors provided, 93

A little difficulty with second

swarms, 94

Surplus queens, 95

Very useful in many ways, .... 95 How to find the queens in a swarm, 97

CHAPTER XXIV.

Time of swarming, 98

Small hives cluster before, 98

Large hives seldom cluster, ... 98

Miscarriages, 99

Their cause, 99

The hiving of swarms, 100

Artificial thunder and rain, ... 101

Fugitive swarms, 101

Cannot be stopped, 101

American swarm-catcher, 102

Third and fourth swarms, 103

Conflict of queens, v... 103

Regicidal knots, 103

The loss of queens, 104

Making good the loss, 104

Virgin swarms, 105

CHAPTER XXV.

Turnouts, 106

New honey, 106

CHAPTER XXVI.

Bad seasons, 109

Disappointment of beginners, 109 Success is certain to the persevering, 109

The profits of bee-keeping during the last five years, 110

The author’s profits since 1870, 110

CONTENTS.

X1U

The importance of feeding well, What happens if not well fed,

Hunger-swarms,

Wealthymill-owners of Lancashire,

Best artificial food,

In what proportions mixed,...

Many ways of feeding hees, ...

Feeding - board, cistern, and

trough,

The express method of feeding,

Feeding in winter,

Feeding at home,

CHAPTER XXVII.

The diseases of bees,

Dysentery,

Foul brood,

How to discover its existence, Incurable,

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Enemies of bees,

Mice,

Snails,

Robbers,

How bees know each other,...

CHAPTER XXIX.

Transporting bees,

Great care required,

Ventilation,

The value of cross-sticks,

CHAPTER XXX.

The selection and preparation of stock-hives for another

year,

Should be full or nearly full

of combs,

Should contain young queens, The destruction of swarms

condemned,

Wbat should be done with them,

Greater consumption of food

in populous hives, 128

What to do with very light

Value of fresh combs to a

young swarm, 128

What is to be done when all the hives are too heavy for

keeping, 129

Sugar -syrup healthy winter food, 130

CHAPTER XXXI.

On driving and uniting

swarms, 132

How bees are driven, 132

How to succeed in cold weather, 132

How to shake swarms out, .... 133 Often done in candle-light,.... 134 Minted syrup and nutmeg,.... 134

The hilarity of children and bees, 135

CHAPTER XXXII.

On taking honey and wax, 137

How to know the quantity of

honey in a hive, 137

The process of taking honey,.. 138 The American slinger has not power to sling heather-

honey from comb, 139

Is never likely to come into general use amongst bee-

farmers, 140

Taking wax 141

CHAPTER XXXIII.

On winter treatment, 142

The importance of keeping

bees warm, 142

Fresh air necessary in winter, 142

Many destroyed for want of sufficient attention, 143

XIV

CONTENTS.

Bad luck comes from bad management, 143

Can bees be wintered under ground? 144

CHAPTER XXXIV.

When should bees be purchased? 144

THE CALENDAR.

January, 145

February, 147

March, 148

April, 150

June, 152

July, 155

August, 157

September, 158

October, November, and December, 161

THE

HANDY BOOK OF BEES.

Part First. The Natural History Of Bees

In every healthy hive of bees there may be found, at certain seasons of the year, a queen or mother bee, males or drones, and working bees ; honey and wax, bee- bread and propolis.

Queen.

Worker.

Drone.

CHAPTER I.

THE QUEEN BEE.

By looking at the representations of the different bees, the reader will see that a queen bee is less in size than a drone, and larger than a working bee. In shape she is

A

IIANDY BOOK OF BEES.

more like a worker than a drone, but more genteel and beautiful than either. Her abdomen or belly is comparatively long, and gradually tapers to a point — giving her an appearance quite distinguishable from all in the hive. She is really a queenly creature, modest and graceful in all her movements.

Being mother and monarch of the hive, her life is very precious. The loyalty of her people, and the activity of her body-guard, are remarkable. Ho human monarch was ever half so well attended to by his subjects as a queen bee is by hers. The life and prosperity of a hive depend on the presence of a queen — a queen moving and reigning in it — or in prospect — that is, in embryo ; for ■when a queen dies, or goes with a colony or swarm, she leaves behind her some princesses in their cells — that is to say, in their infant state — or eggs which the bees hatch into queens. If a hive lose its queen, and is without expectation of getting another, all prosperity comes to an end — the contentment, loyalty, and industry of the bees depart from them : their stores of honey are often undefended by themselves, and stolen by the bees of prosperous hives.

The Age of Queens.

They live about four years. In this the worth of their lives to the community is seen. The working bees live but nine months, and the drones are not permitted either to live or die ; they are destroyed. The climax of their history is not a pleasing one. But queens, generally speaking, live four years. Some die when they are three years old : very few die a natural death sooner.

Queens are fourteen days in being hatched — that is to say, perfect queens are produced on the fourteenth day after eggs have been put into royal cells. To a thoughtful bee-keeper the length of their days is not so great a

THE AGE OF QUEENS.

marvel as the shortness of time they are in their cradlecells. Only fourteen days for the process of developing small eggs into princesses of the blood ! A worker is twenty-one days in the cell, and a drone twenty-four days. Queens are perfected in ten days less time than drones. The mystery of this is beyond our depth ; hut the fact indicates the value of the presence of the queens in their hives. When a queen is accidentally killed, or dies unexpectedly, or is taken from a hive, as in artificial swarming, the bees have the power to make another. They take an egg meant for a worker from a common cell, where, if undisturbed, it would be developed into a worker in twenty-one days, and place it in a royal cell,, and there convert it into a queen in fourteen days. In the royal cell the egg is developed into a bee — difierent in size and colour, perfect every way, and perfect in seven days’ less time than it would otherwise have been if left in a common worker-cell. This is an exceedingly interesting point in bee-history, and a wise provision of nature. It is a fact established beyond dispute that bees have the power of rearing queens from common eggs. It may be asked how they accomplish 'this, and by what means. The power seems to be in a substance termed “ royal jelly,” which has a milky, gelatinous appearance. Whenever an egg is set in a royal cell, the bees place around it some of this milky-like substance, and soon after a little worm or grub may be seen floating on it, and by it this grub is fed. What this royal jelly is, we do not know — neither can we tell where it comes from. Ho writer, we think, has ventured to describe how or where it is manufactured or obtained. If an analytical chemist would ever like to examine this substance, we would gladly furnish him with a thimbleful of it at the swarming season — taking it, of course, from the cells in which it may be deposited.

Seven days after eggs have been deposited in royal

HANDY BOOK OF BEES.

ceils, licls are placed on them — which is technically termed “ sealing them up.” What takes place at the birth of queens will be explained when we come to the chapter on swarming.

Fertilisation of Queens.

This a very important affair — so important that a bee-keeper should know all he can about it ; when and where it takes place, and what happens when it never takes place at all. Queens are mated or take the drone when they are very young — viz., from two to ten or twelve days old. If they are not mated before they are twelve days old, they are worthless for breeding purposes, and worthless for every purpose save that of keeping the bees together till they are worn out by labour or old age.

When we consider the importance of the fertilisation of queens, the number of drones in a hive is not to be wondered at, especially when we consider that copulation never takes place inside a hive. If the weather be unfavourable for ten days after the birth of a queen, she is not mated. Some five-and-twenty years ago we caused a hive to rear a queen in the month of September, after all its drones had been killed. This was done with a view to ascertain how many days she left her hive to find a companion. The mouth of the hive was shut, so that every bee going out had to pass through a narrow tube, projecting two or three inches, before it took wing. Though the way out was plain and easy, neither the queen nor bees ever found their way back through the tube. For nine days the queen came through the tube, though the weather was rather showery at the time, and was invariably found outside the hive about four o’clock p.M., either nestled up in a cluster of bees near the door, or trying to find an entrance into the hive. Once she came home and alighted on the flight-board in our pre-

FERTILISATION OF QUEENS.

sence at four o’clock, when the sky was heavily clouded and the atmosphere rather cold. Of course the queen and bees found outside the hive were admitted every afternoon. This simple experiment fully convinced me that the impulses of a young queen for a mate are very strong and urgent ; and when she fails to find one, the fault is not hers.

Drones seldom leave their hives hut in very fine weather. This fact accounts for the non-impregnation of queens during unfavourable weather. Yery cold or stormy weather may, and often does, we daresay, prevent queens from leaving their hives on these errands. Failure is very uncommon in fine weather. About the time her majesty is expected to leave her hive, the drones come out in great force, and make a tremendous noise in front of the hive. By reason of their number their buzz becomes a roar, and may be heard at a considerable distance from the hive. Last year we happened to hear this well-known sound, and went to see her majesty come out of her hive and go away on her marriage - tour. The hive was no sooner reached than she was seen going into it. She had been abroad before the drones had come out. In about five minutes after her return she came out again, and took wing amid a noisy rabble of drones.

The statements of some authors about queens selecting their lovers in their hives, and then going away together to make their nuptial couches, high up in the air, where no eye may follow, are mere poetical fancies. When a queen comes out of her hive for this purpose, she comes by herself : she has no favourites, and as readily accepts a mate from another hive or community as from her own. IIow far she will fly in search of a mate is not known. Drones fly great distances from home, and often impregnate queens which they happen to meet. Though there were a great many hives in our

HANDY BOOK OF BEES.

garden last year, and drones enough, in every one of them, some of our young queens were made fruitful by contact with Italian or Ligurian drones. ISTo bee-keeper that we knew of, having Ligurian bees, lived within four miles’ distance of our apiary. Pairing does not take place inside of hives.

Put where does copulation take place ? In the air, or on the ground ? Most writers on bees think it takes place in the air. We think it takes place on the ground — that the queen is caught in the air by one or more drones, and both come to the ground. Last summer we saw a queen hotly pursued by two drones. They overtook her, when she doubled, and went back as a hare does when pursued and overtaken by dogs. She gained a few paces at the turn, and all went out of my sight. When I was a lad, in my father’s house, a labouring man called to tell us what he had seen while digging in a field about half a mile distant from our house. He heard a great noise, as if a swarm of bees were passing over his head ; he instantly looked up, when a ball of drones fell at his feet, half the size of his spade-handle. With a bit of stick he began to poke among the drones, when to his astonishment a queen crawled out of the cluster and took wing, followed in a twinkling by all the drones. His statement we believed at the time, and still believe it.

A great many queens are lost on their marriage-tours : they never return. Whether they fall into water and are thus lost, or lose their way home, or go into wrong hives, we cannot say ; but most bee-keepers of observation and experience well know that these necessary excursions are not unattended with risk, and often with loss.

It is well for apiarians that their queens, when timely fertilised, never require drones again as long as they live. It is believed that during the first ten days of their lives copulation may take place more than once, but after-

EGG-LAYING.

wards it never takes place. This is one of the most extraordinary things in bee-history. A queen bee lives four years, and lays a vast number of eggs — at least 2000 a-day — in the heat of summer, for months together, every year. We guess that a healthy fertile queen, during her life, lays 800,000 eggs — 200,000 a-year — all duly fecundated, and capable of hatching into young bees, though the queen never meets a drone after the first few days of her existence.

Egg-Laying.

This commences from six to ten days after impregnation. Who can think of the laborious and monotonous life of a queen bee without being touched with a feeling of tenderness and compassion for her1? This queenly creature leads a life of toil. Six months of the year does she move from comb to comb, and from cell to cell. In thus travelling up and down the hive, she is seeking empty cells in which to lay her eggs, which are of some size and substance, being in shape somewhat akin to birds’ eggs. When she finds an empty cell, she inserts her abdomen, and drops an egg, which adheres to the bottom of the cell by the small end. The eggs come so fast from her that she has neither time nor strength to lay one in each cell : often two, and sometimes three, drop into one cell. The bees remove the supernumeraries that are found in some cells, and fill the cells that have no eggs in them. This point or statement has been disputed by one or two apiarians, but never disproved. We have known eggs removed from cells to other cells hundreds, if not thousands of times. There is, we admit, great difficulty in seeing the transit of eggs from cells to cells ; but on examination of combs after queens have gone over them, empty cells may be found near to other

HANDY BOOK OF BEES.

cells containing two or three eggs. On another examination some time after, the empty cells will he found all filled. And often, when bees are building combs, eggs are set on the foundations of cells — that is to say, as soon as the bottoms of the cells are formed, eggs are placed on them, and afterwards their sides are built up around the eggs.

Some one may ask how it is known that a queen bee lays 2000 eggs every day in the height of the season. Some hives contain more than 2000 square inches of combs each. Let us suppose that only one half of these combs is filled with brood, and the rest filled with honey and bee-bread : that is 1000 inches of comb for brood in each hive. One inch of comb has 50 worker-cells in it, 25 on each side. Very well, 1000 inches of comb contain 50,000 young bees, in all stages of development, from the egg up. These 50,000 young come from one queen in three weeks. Divide the 50,000 by 21, and it will be found that the average number laid per day for three weeks amounts to some hundreds beyond 2000 per day. We have not yet seen a hive large enough to overtask the laying powers of a queen bee.

The Sexes of Eggs.

On this question there appeared in the first edition of this work some very interesting and well-written letters from the pen of the late Mr Woodbury of Exeter, who held “ that eggs of queen bees when laid are of two sexes, male and female, and that no after-treatment can alter either sex.” We then were inclined to believe that all the eggs of queen bees in proper condition are of one kind only, and convertible into queens, drones, or workers. Mr Quinby, an able American writer on bees, held the same opinion, and argued thus : “ If food and treatment

TIIE SEXES OF EGGS.

would create or produce organs of generation in the female, by making an egg destined to be a worker into a queen (a fact which all apiarians admit), why not food and treatment make a drone?” We suggested some experiments, with the hope that they would he fairly and widely tried. We tried them ourselves, and in every experiment the bees failed to hatch female eggs into drones, and drone eggs into females. Mr Woodbury, and all of his way of thinking on this question, are right, and we were wrong. As soon as we were satisfied on the question, we published our change of views in the columns of the ‘Journal of Horticulture,’ and there gave an account of the experiments which led to the change. A hit of drone-comb containing eggs was placed amongst some bees which had lost their queen, and were in a state of great commotion and lamentation for their loss, running hither and thither in search of her. The hive contained no eggs of its own, as the queen lost was a virgin one. As soon as the bees found the eggs, they commenced at once to erect royal cells around them, and became as calm and contented as possible. The eggs became maggots in the royal cells, and were covered with lids at the proper time. On the sixteenth day after the royal cells were formed, they were cut out for examination. Only one of the maggots had taken the insect form : all were dead. The bees made a great effort, hut failed to produce queens. In various ways, and many times during the last few years, have we had proof that queen bees lay both male and female eggs, and that no treatment by the bees can alter the sex.

It has been stated by more than one writer that the ovaries of a queen are never impregnated, the matter of the male being stored in a distinct vesicle called the spermatheca, a portion of the contents of which is either withheld from, or communicated to, every egg as it passes through the oviduct — and this difference determines the

HANDY BOOK OF BEES.

sex. If this is true, it appears to us all but impossible to account for the fact that impregnation makes a queen prolific, causing her to lay a hundredfold more eggs than a queen unimpregnated. If the fertilising matter of the male is simply lodged in a distinct vesicle, and does not affect the productive powers of the queen, but merely touches and femalises so many eggs in passing through the oviduct, how comes it to pass that unmated queens are nearly barren 1 We think that the explanation given as to the cause of some eggs being male and some female is not satisfactory, and that the mode of fecundation may be for ever veiled from the ken of mortals. Also, how the queen knows what kind of eggs she deposits — placing male eggs in cfrone-comb and female eggs in worker-comb.