the unnecessary cruelty of so doing, merely ask yourself if a man would be wise, to kill his cow for the purpose of getting her milk? The more bees you have the more honey-that is certain. People who get their honey by killing their bees, would to a certainty have much more if they kept them alive.

About the latter end of September, the blooming season is over, and few flowers remain for the bees to get honey from. This is the best time to ascertain what honey they can spare. Therefore weigh every hive, and deduct from it the weight of the hive and the bees, as ascertained when the swarm entered it at first, as above directed.

To live through the winter, a hive must have at least sixteen pounds of honey; and if you wish it to swarm early, it ought to have twenty pounds: but do not grudge them twenty-five or even thirty pounds; they will thrive so much the better. A hive of a year old, or more, should be allowed thirty or thirty-five pounds; while for one of the present year, sixteen or twenty pounds will be sufficient, old combs being heavier than the new. A hive with a sufficient quantity of honey, as above, will thrive better than one which has the combs filled to the board; because the bees in the latter case will not have empty cells enough in spring for their eggs, so that in all probability they will not be sufficiently strong to swarm that season.

There will always be some hives, which will not have honey enough to last till the next spring. If they have from ten to fourteen pounds, add as much more as will support them; if less than that, take from them what they have, and join the bees to another hive that has honey enough.

You are, therefore, to take the honey from hives that have much above twenty pounds, or less than ten pounds but it is not advisable to take the honey from a hive that has just enough, even though you save the bees, because you thereby diminish your stock of hives for next year; and there is no fear of your having too many hives.

We will suppose, then, that you have three hives,

1, 2, and 3. No. 1 is the old one of last year, Nos. 2 and 3 are this year's swarms'; No. 1, from having had the swarm No. 3 come off late, has collected little honey, say nine pounds; and No. 3 has only ten pounds, not having had time to gather more; and No. 2 has forty-seven pounds. If you leave them all untouched, Nos. 1 and 3 may possibly exist till spring, but will certainly die then; or even if they do not die, they will not collect honey enough to support themselves through the next winter, nor give you swarms.

In this case, if you are desirous to keep all three, to increase your stock, take No. 2, and cut away carefully about twenty pounds of its honey, as described hereafter, and distribute it to Nos. 1 and 3. But as you may be desirous to have a little honey yourself, after waiting so long for it, take the honey out of No. 2 entirely, and give Nos. 1 and 3 as much as they require, and the remainder will be your own. Then join the bees of No. 2 to No. 3, in the manner stated below, which will thus become strong for next season. The same method is to be pursued, whatever number of hives you may have.

The only secret to make your bees thrive, is to let them have enough of food in autumn. It will not do to give it to them in spring; and incredible as it may appear, the same quantity of honey which will support a single swarm, will suffice for two, or even for three joined together in the same hive.

When you determine on taking away the honey from a hive, either for your own use, or for distributing to other hives, proceed as follows:-The first fine calm morning after the honey season is over, go to your hive, provided with a tobacco-pipe in your mouth, a large dish for the honey in one hand, and a long knife with the point bent, and a goose or turkey feather in your other. Blow two or three full puffs of smoke in at the door, then turn the hive upside down on the ground, so as to stand steadily; and immediately give the bees (who will collect on the edge of the combs to see what is going on), a little more smoke. This will stupify them so completely, that not above one or two will be

able to fly out, and they will be so sick that they will not dream of stinging you. Begin at one side of the hive, and cut out a comb, having first sent down a puff of smoke to make the bees go away to the middle and the other side. Proceed thus (sweeping the bees off every comb back into the hive with the feather), till you come to the centre comb, laying each comb, as cut out, into the dish covered with a cloth; then begin at the other side, and do the same; and last of all cut out the centre comb. The only nicety consists in blowing away the bees, to prevent any of them being crushed. If the operation be neatly done, not above a dozen bees will be killed. Take the hive now, and replace it on its stand, as before.

The next thing to be done is to join the bees from which the honey has been so taken, to another hive in which you wish them to be accommodated; and the manner of doing this is as follows:

In the evening, if you look into the hive which has been deprived of its honey, you will find all the bees hanging in the centre, just like a new swarm. Bring the hive near the one to which they are to be joined. Get about eight table-spoonfuls of run honey, or syrup, so thin as to pour easily, and have it in a jug beside the hive which is to receive the strangers. Blow a few whiffs of tobacco smoke in at the door of this hive, then turn it up and give them an additional puff or two, and pour the honey or syrup from the jug all over the bees between the combs, so that they may be quite smeared over. Then spread a clean linen cloth on the ground in front of the hive, with one edge of it placed on the floor of the hive, and secured there by two stones to prevent its falling, and which will also serve to keep the hive a little raised from its floor on that side. Now replace the hive, so that the edge of the cloth may be under it, while the two stones keep it raised about an inch. Next take the hive containing the bees, hold it steadily over the cloth, and by one sudden blow knock out all the bees upon the cloth in a lump. They will immediately begin to climb up and enter the new hive; and though part may remain

out during the evening, every one will have entered before morning, when you may take away the cloth and the stones, and the two swarms will ever after live together in peace. If they were to be united without previously smearing one of them with honey, or syrup, the chance is that half of both hives would be killed by fighting.

The best method of furnishing a light hive in autumn, with sufficient honey to keep them till next season, is as follows:

Take some pieces of honeycomb in a dish, and a board rather larger than the diameter of the hive; blow a few whiffs of tobacco smoke in at the door of the light hive, turn it up, give them a little more smoke, and proceed to cut out as much of the empty comb, as you have pieces of full comb to fill up. When you have done this, and inserted as much honey as they require, place the board on the bottom of the hive, and turn it carefully over, replacing it on its stool. In two or three days the bees will have joined all the pieces of loose comb to their own combs, and you may then take away the board. In spring, when they have emptied the cells, turn up the hive and take away the empty comb, and the bees will soon replace the vacant spaces by new comb. If you have no comb to give them, nor honey, make as much syrup of sugar and water, well boiled, as they would require of honey; or treacle and water may be used, of the consistence of honey; and insert this food, in long wooden troughs, at the door of the hive. But always remember, if you wish your bees to thrive, they must be supplied with food in autumn, not in winter or spring.

The foregoing directions are founded on experience, and may be followed with confidence; but a new method of obtaining the surplus honey, without disturbing the bees, has of late been recommended, and it seems to possess some advantage over the old method, as above described, and to be worthy of a trial; after which it may be continued or abandoned, according as the result is found satisfactory or otherwise.

In March, before the bees begin to work, place a

tub, such as is used for butter, or other similar vessel, under the hive, and over this put a board about half an inch thick, having two holes in it, each an inch in diameter; on this board the hive is to be set. When the bees have filled or nearly filled the hive in the course of the summer, they will descend through the holes in the bottom-board into the tub or vessel below, and there commence making comb and depositing honey; which may easily be removed at the end of the season without disturbing the hive. This is a very simple process, and the quantity of honey obtained in this way, is said to be often very considerable, and that which is left in the hive is always sufficient to carry the bees through the winter, as they will never commence working in the vessel below, until they have accumulated a sufficient store for their own use in the hive above.

Late swarms, which have not had sufficient time to collect their winter provender, must be fed as usual.

In winter, say from the 1st of November to the 1st of March, your hives should be placed in a northern exposure; or at any rate the sun should not be allowed to shine much upon them, as it entices the bees out, when they get benumbed with the cold, and perish. They would also eat twice as much of their winter store, as when kept in the shade.

Your hives may be either of straw or wood. Bees thrive equally well in either; but the wood lasts longer, and the honey is more easily got out of them, than from straw hives, and they are therefore, on the whole, to be preferred. The wood should be 1 inch thick, to protect the bees from changes of temperature.

You ought to keep hives of different sizes, and the small or late swarms should be put into small hives, while early swarms will succeed best in large hives.

After hiving a young swarm, if the weather for some days be wet, they must be regularly fed with syrup, or treacle and water, or there will be great danger of their dying.

Never put sticks in your hives to support the combs. They are unnecessary, and prevent your cutting out the combs, without much trouble, when that operation is required.