CHAPTER VIII.
TO ASCERTAIN THE WEIGHT OF HIVES.
Many apiaries do not prosper, in consequence of the ignorance of those who have the care of them. How many people follow blindly the way they have been used to, without knowing wherefore; others go on by chance, without rule or guide. At one time they ruin their hives, by depriving them of too much of their honey; at another, they suffer whole colonies to die of hunger, when they might save them by giving them food; and, in autumn, they suffocate those that appear to be destitute of provisions, because they know not how or in what manner to preserve them. Few amateurs understand thoroughly the state and wants of their hives, and generally estimate them by lifting them up to feel their weight; and, as this may be the cause of numerous mistakes, some being three or four times heavier than others, it is of the utmost importance to know the exact weight of each hive, when empty, without either combs or bees. For this purpose, I expressly recommend, that each hive be weighed before putting a swarm into it, and the weight noted down in a memorandum book, as well as on a ticket nailed on the hive, the use of which we shall soon see.