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.
The shed is a very important portion of the apiary, as it adds
materially to the comfort of the bees by protecting them from the
extremes of weather.
Although the cold of the winter seldom attains freezing-point, it is
sufficiently uncomfortable when accompanied by rain, and all creatures
that are expected to thrive require protection. The climate varies in
different localities, but the following meteorological data, that were
carefully registered by myself, accompanied by those kindly furnished me
by Colonel White, 1st Royal Scots, when chief commissioner of Lefkosia,
will afford a dependable basis for any medical opinion.
Thermometer
in degrees F.
Months. Inches Mean Mean Max. Min.
Rainfall 8 AM 3 PM
February, in the plain of Messaria . . 0.80 46 57 68 37
March, in the Carpas district and ditto 1.71 49 60 68 45
April, in the Kyrenia district, the
maximum at Morphu . . . . . . . . . . nil. 57 68 83 47
At 7 AM
May, in Limasol to 11th inst do. . . . ditto. 64 78 84 76
do. Trooditissa, 4,340 ft. to 31st
from 12th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.30 56.5 62 73 42
June, Trooditissa . . . . . . . . . . 1.13 66 71.6 78 54
July, do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.13 77.6 78 84 65
The fall of 1.13 inch of rain in June took place in one hour and a half,
and none of the rain which fell at the mountain range extended to the
low country. It will be seen that from 1st February to the end of May
only 2.51 inches fell throughout the central and eastern divisions, and
very little that was measured in the Carpas district reached the
Messaria. There was a fall of about 1.70 inch in January at Larnaca
which I had no opportunity of measuring, but inclusive of this quantity
the total rainfall from 1st January to the end of summer would not have
exceeded 4.21 inches in the lower country.
