The hive is an earthenware cylinder about three feet six inches or four
feet in length, by ten or twelve inches in diameter; this might be
represented by a common chimney-pot. One end is securely stopped by a
wad of straw, neatly made in a similar manner to the back of an archery
target. This is smeared on the outside with clay so as to exclude the
air. A similar wad is inserted at the other extremity, but this is
provided with a small aperture or entrance for the bees. In a large
apiary twenty or thirty of these rude pipes or cylinders are piled one
upon the other in the same manner that draining tiles are heaped in
England, and they are protected from the sun and rain by a shed, open
only to the front. The bees learn to recognise their several hives
without confusion, although the cylinders are exactly alike and closely
packed together.
When the comb is fully developed and the honey should be secured, it is
only necessary to open a hole in the back, by removing the wad, and to
blow smoke through the aperture; the bees escape uninjured from their
ordinary entrance. The operator, whose head and face are protected with
the necessary veil, and his hands with gloves, now cuts out the honey
required, leaving a certain quantity as food for the bees, who will
return to their hive when re-adjusted.
When a swarm is captured, the bees are placed in an earthenware cylinder
which has been rubbed in the inside with a mixture of honey and wine.
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