THE YEOMAN.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 46, 18 November 1867, Page 3

THE YEOMAN.

■ B EES., As many of our readers; arc interested in the management of Bees, we extract the following from the “ Australasian ” written by a correspondent of that journal;—Three years ago I got four stocks of the common colonial bees. 1 built a nice Shed over them, 4i-ft. high in front and 6ft. in the back, and 41ft. wide, and I put them 'in gib boxes 15in. off the ground. This shed allowed the sun to shine on them all round in winter, and in summer it acted as a sunshade over them. The first year 1 got twelve of an increase, and of course I made my building longer. The ants one hot day in summer attacked four shocks of them at once, and some hundreds of thousands of them covered all the hive. I immediately threw three buckets- of water on each of them, and soon got them away. I then used a little kerosene, oil on the posts that support the hive, and I was never after troubled with the ants. The • second year I had an increase of thirty six hives. I then thought I would make a fortune soon, but to my great surprise, in the months of July and August I found seme of ray boxes empty of bees, and tbe Irohey left. Day after dayA found my bees going,away and leaving the honey, I then watched the bees for three or four days to see what was the cause of their leaving, and'l saw a great number of very large bees Hying about one of the hives. As near I could guess there were 1100, flying within 6 in. of the entrance. When the bees entered into the hive I got very close, to sec whrtt they intended to do, and ! saw some %f the inside bees come out and stand in lines of four deep in front of the entrance to the hive, and put themselves in battle array. I then knew that these large bees must be the enemy I had to dread. . One of the large bees made a rush at the door, and as, lie was getting in‘sis of .the.liive bees caught him aid commenced stinging him, but took along time to kill him. I took up the strange bee, and it measured an inch and a half long, with large wings. The place which the six bees left was soon filled up by six, more from the inside. Thefi six or eight of the large enemy bees made the next rush, and succeeded in breaking the ranks, and then all the robber bees got in; and as soon as they got in they turned out all the swarm, which went away , and perched, on a tree within ton yards of the hive I then shut in the robber bees by closing the door of the hive. The next everting I drove the robber bees into an empty box and shut them in as prisoners of the state, and replaced ray former bees in their own hive, who were contented. My bees generally cast their swarms in -October and November. When the bees are swarming I fire a gunshot over them and they alight on the ground. I theft--put aft empty box over them, and let them remain'there until dark, then remove them into the bee shed, and put a white cloth over them' for three days. , I generally take the honey by spreading a tarpaulin near the hive, I then take the full hive and place it on the tarpaulin, turning it upside down; then place an empty box oil tbe top of the full one, and close the taupaulin as close as possible ; then knock at the bottom box for fifteen minutes, and by that time have all the bees drawn into the empty box; then remove the bees'- ptir the board where I took the stock from, find take the box With the honey in it away. ,