1889 - A Visit to Mr. Manum's Marvelous Addison County Apiary!

It is always a joy to encounter someone who excels at some worthy pursuit!  Mr. Manum was one of these individuals and his contributions to apiarists were considerable.  A. E. Manum was a more scientific beekeeper than many of his contemporaries.

www.addisoncounty.com

Addison County, Vermont, celebrated for its pure-bred Merino sheep and horses, also stands high as a honey producing region. The heavy clay soil favors an abundant growth of white clover, which usually yields large quantities of the finest honey. Basswood trees also abound. The surplus honey yield being of short duration and very heavy, allows quick work by the bees, which insures delicate white comb and, with good management, completely filled boxes. This, with its fine quality, gives Addison comb honey its justly-deserved reputation.

 Numerous farmers and a few specialists scattered about the county keep bees. In some cases 200 colonies are kept in one yard with good results, while from forty to 100 is the usual number. Many with no love for the pursuit, but who have engaged in it simply for the dollars and cents to be made by following the instructions of leading bee masters, have found it as profitable or more so than any other branch of their farm work, and now market their ton or two of comb honey yearly. The specialists who run a number of large yards in different locations and make it their principal business, have also been successful in securing from ten to twenty tons of honey in a single good season.

The most extensive apiarist in this section and probably the one having the largest number of colonies in New England is A. E. Manum.  He commenced in 1870 with two colonies and, although like other beekeepers he soon found that a good season was usually followed by a poor one, his success led him to extend the business, and in the spring of 1885 he had in five different yards 470 colonies. That season was an unusual one, and he obtained from them nineteen tons of comb honey and three tons of extracted honey, and an increase in bees, making 850 colonies in the fall.  This large crop was nearly all gathered in twelve days, and one of the best colonies on scales at Yard No. 2, while working on basswood, gathered in one day thirty-three pounds and in four days 124 pounds. The largest yield from one hive was 228 pounds of comb honey. His greatest yield in 1883 was 312 pounds of comb honey from the bees in one hive.

The following illustration and indented description are NOT from this article.  I thought they added to it, however.

No. 1.—This picture shows A. E. Manum's sidehill apiary. This spot was selected because the ground is descending, thus affording good drainage and Mr. Manum thinks the bees can locate their hives better in such a place, especially the young queens when they go out to mate; and as every hive can be seen from the honey-house, the attendant can be watching for swarms while working inside. It must not be supposed that this hill is very steep, as the picture would lead one to think, as the descent is very slight; neither are the hives arranged on the amphitheater plan, but are set In straight rows. Mr. Manum has three apiaries on level ground, and he finds the water from melting snow often makes it too damp for the bees; hence his preference for a slope.

 As an offset to this and the previous good years, each season since 1885 has been a poor one, and his bees have not paid expenses. With a few exceptions in favored localities, beekeepers everywhere have fared the same, although three such poor seasons in succession are unparalleled in the history of the industry in this country. 

Mr. Manum’s out-apiaries are from two to sixteen miles from the home yard, and the accompanying engravings present an idea of their arrangement and surroundings. The long rows of symmetrical and neatly-painted hives covering a hillside or appearing from among the trees of an orchard  arrest attention and excite interest. In the lower left-hand corner is a view in the home apiary at swarming time, showing three swarms clustered on catchers, and Mr. Manum about to carry one to its new hive. The upper picture is a view of the Sincon apiary, on Yard No. 6, now moved to a more favorable location; and in the lower right-hand corner is a winter scene at the home apiary. 

At the start Mr. Manum tried all the different hives and studied and experimented to get the best for practical work. By combining, modifying and inventing new features he turned out that which met his ideas and which with a system of management suited to it is now used in all his apiaries and many others. 

The hive is double-walled and consists of a stand, inner hive 0r brood chamber and an outer case (see Figs. 2 and 3). 

The entrance is through the stand underneath the brood chamber and cannot be clogged by snow, is protected from rain, and by means of a slide can be graduated from two inches long by three-eighths of an inch wide in winter to fourteen inches long by two inches wide—the full summer width when the slide is removed. 

The outer case is movable and is in three separate sections. The roof is of clapboards. In each gable is a two-inch auger hole for ventilation. This is protected by a wire cloth funnel projecting outward, which allows the bees to leave one at a time, but not to enter. This is an important proviso when bees are hastily shut in or when surplus honey is removed. The three inch space between the walls is filled with chaff or sawdust, which is allowed to remain winter and summer. When damp, it can be readily replaced. Having so many loose parts, the hive can be moved without heavy lifting, and when properly packed is sufficient protection from New England winters. The hive stands rest on two lengths of joist to keep them off the ground, and are set perfectly level. Hives once located are not afterward moved unless carried away from the yard.

The brood chamber is covered by a board, when the sections for honey are not in place, and contains twelve hanging frames twelve inches long by nine-and-one-half inches deep. The surplus arrangement consists of cases, at one end of which are a follower and wood screw by which the sections are tightly clamped together. Each section is supplied with a full sheet of foundation and between each row are placed thin wood separators to insure perfect combs. 

Figure 4 shows a Crane clamp of seven two-pound sections, with the separaters. 

Figure 5 illustrates the Bristol clamp of sixteen one-pound sections, one of which is raised and shows the sheet of foundation in place. 

Mr. Manum was probably the first to make a white poplar dovetailed section, which is not so much used. 

Previous to this they were of pine, and made to nail. This section. put together with glue, is not only the strongest but the neatest section in use. 

Two of the Bristol clamps cover the brood chamber and can be tiered up as high as desired. 

Figure 3 shows the hive with the outer case removed and three Crane clamps in position. 

Mr. Manum has lately discarded all but one-pound sections. When filled with finished combs, the cases are disconnected from the brood chamber, and before they are removed to the honey house the bees find their way out at the bee escape in the gable. A cord and a simple device allows the hive cover to be tipped back instead of having to lift them bodily when opened.

The hives are five feet from each other in rows twelve feet apart. To prevent upsetting by heavy storms in winter, a large cord is thrown across the roof and fastened to a stake driven in the ground on each side. During the winter everything needed in the summer campaign is prepared ready to be quickly supplied to the different yards by the teams which are then constantly on the road. In the spring at certain intervals Mr. Manum and his assistants spend a day in each apiary giving that aid to colonies which is so important. 

These rounds are made more and more often until the swarming season is about to commence, when one competent person is placed in charge and is in constant attendance for six or eight weeks, or until the honey season is over. Board is usually obtained at the farm house near which the yard is located, and the help are continually employed in hiving swarms, putting on or taking off boxes and in attending to other necessary details. 

As experienced men are not always to be had, many knowing nothing of the business must be taught, and as they usually commence for themselves as soon as really competent, this instruction must be given again and again. After a few weeks instruction some are able to do nicely the remainder of the season with occasional looking after. Women are also employed, and one who did not know a queen from a drone when she commenced, took entire charge of 116 colonies the second season.

At each apiary there is a building containing a honey room where clamps of honey are temporarily stored, and a work room where fixtures not in use are also housed. In each yard one hive stands on scales, of which a close watch is kept after the clover and basswood blossoms open. On the front of every hive in plain black figures is the colony’s number, while inside is a record of the colony, its origin, age of queen, date of each examination that season and their condition when examined. This is written in abbreviated characters on a piece of section or smooth board and laid on the packing. 

The apiarist also keeps in a book a list of the colonies casting swarms, and of those requiring special attention at a certain time. The wings of all queens are clipped to prevent their going off with the swarms. When the latter attempt to leave, they are caught by an arrangement consisting of a wire cloth cage fastened to a pole. It is made to stand anywhere by two legs, which fold up when not in use. A sufficient number of these are always at hand. When a swarm issues, the queen is caught on the ground near the hive and placed in the cage of the catcher, which is stood or held in the midst of or near the flying swarm, and the bees soon settle upon it, as seen in Figure 1.

 They are then left, and attention is given to the others, which usually issue at about the same time. If the swarm has gone some distance, or clustered in the top of a tall tree. it will soon return, as it is without a queen. So the catcher containing their queen is stood in front of the hive from which they came, and as they return they find her and cluster upon it. To make this more certain, the entrance of the old hive is covered with a cloth. 

This plan differs from that of most beekeepers and enables Mr. Manum to quickly handle many swarms. In hiving, when time is more plenty, about a third of each swarm is shaken back in front of the old hive and the balance of two or three swarms, with one queen, is hived in a new hive. As this makes a powerful working colony in the new hive, abundant room in sections is immediately given.

A close watch is kept of the apiary, and more storage room is added as fast as used to advantage, and the filled clamps are removed as soon as they are completely sealed. A large crop can be cut off from communication with the brood chamber in a short time, and when free from bees is carried to the honey room and afterward carted to the central honey house. It is then scraped clean of propolis by women and girls, and after being graded is stored in the honey room to ripen.

 In the fall, wood sides of white poplar instead of glass are fastened to each section, and they are shipped to market in white poplar crates holding two one-pound sections. Sections full of nice white comb, those full of darker combs and those light in weight, are each crated separately and the crates are marked “Green Mountain,” “Comb Honey” and "Light Weight," according to contents. A few of the very best and most perfect are selected from the first quality and go as the “Snow Flake” brand.

As most of the crop is secured as surplus and but little is gathered after its removal, that remaining below is no more than the bees need during the season. Therefore, to keep them alive until spring, each colony must in early fall have its ration of sugar syrup. This season twenty-eight barrels of the best granulated sugar were required to insure sufficient winter food. For feeders, maple syrup cans with small holes punched in their bottoms are used. Three short legs of tin raise them enough to give the bees room to get at the holes. These cans are filled with syrup and set over a hole in the cover of the hive, and are renewed until the proper amount of food is consumed.

After the honey season, instead of a constant attendant at the out-yards. frequent visits are made, as in the spring, and are continued until the bees are snug for winter. Then an occasional trip is made on a warm day when the bees can fly to see that all entrances are clear.

Mr. Manum has, at present, about 700 colonies in eight different yards. The number in each is limited to 125 in the fall. The colonies in excess of this number are either sold or carried to a new location. For this work a double and a single team are used. By the use of rocks which hold a second tier the former takes fifty colonies and the latter twenty-three colonies. Before loading, the frames are immovably fixed and a sheet of muslin is tacked over the brood chamber to give air, while in very warm weather a rim covered with wire cloth is necessary to their safety. 

Mr.  Manum’s bees are most Italians, although in some apiaries there is a touch of Black and Holy Land blood.  He is about to test a few Carniolan queens.  The working queens are raised from the best Italian hives, which are selected out of this large number as possessing unusual excellences.  I saw many fine large queens a shade darker than the average Italians, having very plump and thick-set bodies.  I each yard, distributed among the regular hives, were many nucleus colonies - the temporary quarters of surplus queens.  

Mr. Manum has planted honey-producing crops in a limited scale, but is not certain that they can be made to pay.
LINKS:

• Nice photos and article in the Burlington Free Press.

• 1887 - Chapman's Honey-plant: #4 of Root's Bee Plants -letter from Manum at end of post

1734 - On Making the Bees Move Into Another Hive: from Réaumur's Memoires pour servir a l'histoire des insectes

There are some astounding, verging on absolutely bonkers, beekeeping techniques here, as well as interesting designs for equipment. Réaumur certainly enjoyed trying out ideas!  The point of this strategy is to move the bees away from the skep's load of honey so it can be harvested.

I include a version of the following disclaimer with each installment:

I have translated and used the illustrations appropriate to the text, positioning the particular part of a larger illustration near the text it illustrates.  The entire plate is also included.  In the original book you would have been flipping back and forth all the time to see what the text was referring to. 

I could not find a translation, (although that sounds implausible).   I used Google Translate, common sense and an ancient memory of French class to make sense of the plate descriptions, so don't quote me unless accuracy is not important. 

TENTH  MEMORY.

MEANS OF MAKING THE BEES 
OF A HIVE MOVE INTO ANOTHER

And how one can examine, one by one, all those of the Hive.

Planche 35 -

2017 NOTE: An aventail or camail is a flexible
curtain of mail attached to the skull of a helmet
 that extends to cover the throat, neck and
shoulders. Part or all of the face, with space
to allow vision, could also be covered.

EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES OF THE TENTH MEMORY.

Plate XXXV.

Figure 1 is that of a camail suitable for putting under cover against the stings of the bees on the face, head, and neck of him who is obliged to disturb them, and even to irritate them. 

That is to say, of sieve-cloth, c, c, cords, which serve to fasten one of the sleeves on one of the arms, and of cords, which are fitted to hold the coat exactly on the chest.

Figure 2 shows one of these dryers, by means of which the bees which have been drawn from the bath as dead are re-aired and reanimated.

The walls of this drying-room are made of a sieve-cloth, extended and fixed on a wicker frame. In g, finish the wicker frame, go, can be called the collar of the dryer. This neck might be longer than it is here, and it would be only more convenient. 

It is expedient to put a ring of wire at in opening o,o; it keeps it round in the times when the bees are to be brought in, and what is more important, in that where they are to be taken out of the dryer.

 The c cord is used to bind the neck of the dryer, so that the bees which have recovered vigor can not leave them until they are permitted, and handles which make it possible to handle the dryer without risk, even when the bees become very lively.

Figure 3 shows the dryer frame on which the screen cloth can be applied and stopped as shown in Figure 2.









Figures 4 and 5 show from these doors or valves that M. de Moraiec has imagined to put on the hives whose males they wish to destroy.

Figure 4 has four open holes, and only one part covered by a valve.

 

The four holes in FIG. 5 each have a valve. 

The opening which has entered the lower edge of the hole, and that of the door, is sufficient to let a bee pass freely. But the drone-drone can only go out by raising the valve, and it is no longer possible for him to lift it when he wishes to return.

Figure 6 shows a hive which has been turned upside down to make its bees pass into another hive; it has been made to enter the ground to the right, so as to keep it thus reversed.

Figure 7,  a beehive in which the bees are to be housed has been placed on the beehive of FIG. 6.















Figure 8 shows the hives r r, s,s . 

Figure above, surrounded at their junction by a large towel bound around them with string to close all the passages which the bees could find.

Figure 9 shows the ruchess, of the preceding figures, placed on the top of the hive; many flies have already entered, and others continue to go.

Figure 10 is that of the hive r, of Figures 6, 7, and 8, of which the majority of the flies have been expelled, and of which those which remain leave to go towards the hive, is a sheet on which the hive R, has been shaken, a board arranged like a bridge to abridge the way to the flies that are en route to the hive sf.

Figure 11 shows a tub full of water, in which a hive has been bathed. The bees float on the water of this vat.

*******************************************

It is equally important for those who are raising bees in the field to profit by their labors, and those who are chiefly interested in learning their history,  to know the means of forcing those of one hive to pass into another.

All the wax and honey of the hive from which they were driven is taken.

If this process seems to be somewhat unjust, at least cruelty is not joined to injustice, as it is practiced  in many countries, where, in order to seize everything that these flies (bees) have picked up (honey), they have the barbarity to destroy them, where they are all suffocated in their own habitation.

There are even circumstances in which it is to render them a good service, only to make them leave a dwelling which is filled with wax cakes, although it is to establish them in another which is devoid of everything.

When these false moths (wax moth?), of which we have spoken in the third volume, have multiplied too much in a hive, the Bees have nothing better to do than to leave.  They would not be able to build as many cells as these false worms destroy.

The time of the swarms approaches, there is only one mother in each hive, and they multiply then without a male.

I must say that I bathed the bees of three hives the first days of April, one on the 5th, the other on the 9th, and the other on the 11th, and I bathed two others at the end of the same month, the 25th.
...... I must repeat, that more than once I have lost more than three-quarters of the bees, and sometimes more like seven-eighths.

It is only after several operations have been repeated and repeated, even the most simple, that we succeed in avoiding all accidents that prevent success, and that it is possible to make them as risk free as possible. 

The disadvantages to be avoided in order to make the bath of the bees successful can be divided into those of two different times - those problems  during the bathing of flies until they have been drawn out of the water, as drowned, and those problems which have come after they have been taken from the water until they are hived.

The greater the size of the tub of water, the less we shall have to fear from the bath. 
For having bathed two hives in the water of the same tub, which had no more diameter than the hives which I had successively entered, I lost almost all their bees.

When the quantity of water which surrounds the honey-cakes is small, this water soon finds itself too much effected by the same bees which are introduced into it.   The violent state in which they find themselves compels them to expel honey from both their ends.  The water in which too much honey and too many slimy excrements have been diluted, becomes itself too sticky.

The bees moist with this water are in a state similar to those which have been coated with oil.

The viscous matter, which enters into their stigmata, fixes it in order not to leave it any more, it stops the breathing, or it makes it too difficult. One sees the effect of this water, even on the body of bees, those which have been wet only by ordinary water dry a reddish color, whereas the others dry well, never they become reddish again, remain of a shining brown.   

In order to avoid the bad effect of such a water, two large buckets will be placed next to each other. In one of these buckets, we shall be content to plunge the base of the hive to about an inch or two in height. While a man  supports it in this state, another will beat the hive with a wand.

The flies, troubled by blows and the sound of this wand, are determined to fly - several fall into the water, the number of those falling there is greater than that of the others.  By moving the hive a little, and producing agitations in the water, these bees are conducted to its surface.  They are gathered with a skimmer or with a polka-dot sieve, and are carried in the second In the water of which those who still had an appearance of life, ended in losing it.

Finally, the hive is entirely dipped in the water only when the flies that remain there are obstinate and stay on the comb. After a few moments the hive is removed from the water, its combs are detached, and the flies that have remained on it are swept with a feather. They are dropped into the first tub. 

...

After passing the flies into the second tub, when they appear in it, they will be carried on towels, laid out on a large table, either in a room or in the air, according to the season.

With the towels, the flies will be wiped off, and dried as soon as possible. I lost a large part of the bees in a hive when I immediately placed them wet on a wooden table and placed them too wet in jars.   (For this chapter I am using the word "jar" for "poudrier".)

I still lost many of those of another hive, which had, however, been well wiped, because I put too many into each jar.
...

The glass jars, with which I have employed many kinds of operations of this kind, and for several which have very well succeeded, are, nevertheless, vessels of the least proper to complete the drying of the bees.

The greater part of the water which the heat causes to evaporate from the body of the flies, attaches itself to the glass as it leaves the bees. Now, and this is a remark which I have had occasion to make more times than I would have wished, the heat which would  be able to revive the bees under any other circumstances, promptly kills those that are wet.

These buckets, we shall be content to plunge the base of the hive to about an inch or two in height; While a man will support her in this state, another will beat her with a wand.

The flies, troubled by blows and the sound of this wand, are determined to fly; several fall into the water, the number of those falling there is greater than that of the others.   By changing the hive a little, and producing agitations in the water, these bees are conducted to its surface.  They are gathered with a skimmer or with a polka-dot sieve, and are carried in the second in the water of which those who still had an appearance of life, ended in losing it.

Finally, the hive is entirely dipped in the water only when the flies that remain there are obstinate to stay on the combs. After a few moments the hive is removed from the water, its cakes are detached, and the flies that have remained on it are swept with a feather. They are dropped into the first tub. In some of the operations, which were not successful, I took the cakes while the hive was under the bucket, and overturned. 

I did not think how bad this process was.

The broken combs permitted a great deal of honey to be poured out, and the water on which it was contained was taken over, and the water became too sticky. A further advantage is that it is necessary to beat the hive before it is completely plunged in water, is that there are very few flies in the cells, the blows of the wand cause them to leave it:

Besides that it always has the risk to draw them when they have lost all movement, it is long
after passing the flies into the second tub, when they appear in it, they will be carried on towels, laid out on a large table, either in a room or in the air, according to the season.

With the towels, the flies will be wiped off, and dried as soon as possible. I lost a large part of the bees in a hive, to content myself with leaving them a little drained on a wooden table on which they were immediately placed, and having placed them too wet in jars.

I still lost many of those of another hive, which had, however, been well wiped, because I put too much into each jar.

 Scarcely had I left the quarter or the third part of the jar;

And it is too much for the quarter to be full, by placing the first immediately on the wood, I had wished to put out of danger of perishing those who would too soon recover forces,
may, as they often do, stick to the napkins, and leave their stings.

But when they have been kept in the water for a long time, they have to wipe them before they are able to sting. In order not to run the risk itself of feeling the sting of a few, it is necessary to take with a spoon of silver, the pile which has just been wiped, and which it is desired to bring into the jar.

The glass jars, of which I have employed many kinds of operations of this kind, and for several which have very well succeeded, are, nevertheless, vessels of the least proper to complete the drying of the bees.

The greater part of the water which the heat causes to evaporate from the body of the flies, attaches itself to the glass as it leaves the bees. Now, and it is a remark which I have had occasion to make more times than I would have wished, the heat which would only be able to revive the bees under any other circumstances, promptly kills those that are wet.

Several times, after having seen all the bees in a jar, revived and in motion, I saw them perish in less than a quarter of an hour without being able to attribute their death to any other cause than to the heat which had caused the water to penetrate into their stigmata, although this heat could only have been agreeable to dryer flies, or those held in a less humid place.




I have thought of a way of making them sustain the same heat without danger.    I substituted
for the glass jars, other vases, which I call drying-rooms, and have all the advantages we can wish them. 

These are baskets in the form of bottles, the walls of which are the most coarse and consequently the clearest sieve.

Four uprights of the same wood, of which the baskets are made, are fastened by each end to a circle, to a ring of the same material. One of the rings larger than the other, forms the bottom of the dryer, and the smallest, in fact, the collar. 







It is on this frame that a sieve-cloth is sewn, which surrounds it on all sides. It is, however,

satisfied to sew it round the ring of the collar above which it rises, and above which it is bound with a ribbon, as the mouth of a sack is tied.  The drier was placed in the We want them. 
It would be useless to point out how these dryers have more advantage over the glass jar, but I must say that these same dryers made me think about  having wiped the bees crudely. 

There was nothing better to sink them more thoroughly, and without exposing them to losing their sting, than to stretch them on large sieves, from which they are then drawn with a silver spoon to put them in the dryers. We see that the size of the dryers is arbitrary.

The most important thing is to think of returning the bees to a hive only after they have regained their vigor, only after they have become well dried, only after having seen them in groups or garlands in the dryers.

To have been too much in a hurry to put them into a hive, I have nearly lost all those I had bathed, and they fell one upon another at the bottom of the hive where they collected in a mass too thick from which the moisture could not escape.

Those which were below the first strata, and still more those which were in the last strata, were overwhelmed by the weight of the flies of the upper strata, and were too weak to escape.

The excrements which they rendered, moistened by the water which they found among them, extended themselves upon their stigmata, and placed them in a state in which the aid which I wished to give them too late was useless to them. It was not till the next day, that is to say, at the end of twelve hours, that I saw them in such a bad condition, that I wished to heat them.

But we shall have a happier success. A few flies of each hive will scarcely be lost if they are bathed and dried with the precautions which have just been indicated.







The warmest times may not be the most favorable to this operation: besides the first bees I bathed at the end of December, I bathed those of a hive on the 10th of November in the middle of a garden, In the morning when the thermometer was only two degrees above freezing;
I lost as few of these bees as it is possible to lose in the happiest change of hive.

I will add, in passing, that among these bees, which is very important, is to think of bringing the bees into a hive only after they have regained all their vigor, They became very reddish, only after having seen them in groups or garlands in the drying-rooms.

To have been too much in a hurry to put them back in a hive, I have nearly lost all those I had bathed, and they fell one upon another at the bottom of the hive; They found them collected in a mass too thick, and of which the moisture could not escape.

Those which were below the first strata, and still less those
Which were in the last layers, were overwhelmed by the weight of the flies of the upper strata, and were too feeble to escape.

 The excrements which they rendered, moistened by the water which they found among them, extended themselves upon their stigmata, and placed them in a state in which the aid which I wished to give them too late was useless to them; For it was not till the next day, that is to say, at the end of twelve hours, that I saw them in such a bad condition, that I wished to heat them.

But we shall have a happier success; We shall scarcely lose a few flies from each hive, if we bathe them and dry them with the precautions which have just been indicated.

The warmest times may not be the most favorable to this operation: besides the first bees I bathed at the end of December,
I bathed a beehive on the 10th of November in the midst of a garden, at one o'clock in the morning, when the thermometer was only two degrees above freezing;

I lost, however, few of these bees, that it is possible to lose them in the happiest change of hives. ...

1734 - On Experimental Hives: from Réaumur's Memoires pour servir a l'histoire des insectes - Plates 21, 22, 23, 24 with Translation

I love Réaumur's work. And the plates!...Wonderful!   

This post is the part of the text that specifically describes the illustrations on Plates 21, 22, 23, and 24 which refer to honeybee hives, both traditional and observation hives.  

Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des insectes ... V5. 

Réaumur, René-Antoine Ferchault de, 1683-1757.

(Just the bits referring to honeybees.)

I have translated and used the illustrations appropriate to the text, positioning the particular part of a larger illustration near the text it illustrates.  The entire plate is also included.  In the original book you would have been flipping back and forth all the time to see what the text was referring to.

I could not find a translation, (although that sounds implausible).   I used Google Translate, common sense and an ancient memory of French class to make sense of the plate descriptions, so don't quote me unless  accuracy is not important.  

EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES OF THE FIFTH VOLUME:

P L A N C H E  X X I.

The first figure is that of a hive in a basket.

Figures 2, 3, and 4 also represent hangers in the form of a hive, but they are reversed, so that the interior of them may be seen in the arrangement of the rays or wax cakes which the bees have built there. 
These hives were drawn on a larger scale than that of the hive of FIG. 1, in order to preserve to the cakes a scale which renders them more sensible.

On the outer surface of the last three hives there is no evidence of the crowns of the wooden strands of which they are made, as seen in fig. 1, because the strands of wood are hidden under a plaster, either of plaster, or of cow-dung mixed with earth, etc.

In Figure 2, all the cakes, three of which are marked g g, r r, g g, are parallel to one another; And it is the disposition which is most common to them.

Figure 3, shows a hive whose cakes from the first to the last cake are parallel to one another. The other cakes, of which three are marked, are not in the same manner as the preceding ones, and are not even parallels among them.

Figure 4 shows cakes still otherwise disposed than in previous hives. The cake c c and those following it, including the cake g g, are parallel to each other, but then there is a cake h p, which 
(following  from Page 276) one half of which is parallel to the preceding cakes, and the other half perpendicular to them.
The cakes i, i, i, & c. are also perpendicular to the former. 

Figure 5 shows a group of bees, the top of which are attached to a stick, and of which the following are attached to each other by their legs. There are some groups of bees of considerable size.

P L A N C H E  X X I I.

 

Figure 1 is that of an ordinary bee.



                   Figure 2 shows a bee-buck, a drone.









Figure 3 shows bees such as those of FIG. 1, arranged in daisy-chain fashion; each of these flies, except the first two, is hooked by the legs to the legs of the one preceding it.

Figure 4 shows, in its natural size, that a mother bee was one of the largest, and of the largest, I have seen, for there are smaller ones.

Figure 5 shows a hive made in square tower. In it are the holes which allow the bees to enter and exit, two of the wooden shutters which may open, and below each of which is a glass pane.

A wooden chassis resting on its upper part of the tower, and bearing the capital d. 
The capital d d, is only placed on the chassis e, and the chassis e, is only placed on the hive. Thus, the parts d d, e e can be removed.
When removed, a lantern of glass is uncovered, the figure of which is similar to that formed by the parts ee, dd.

(below from Page 277)
Figure 6 shows a pyramidal & flattened hive,

On one of its broad sides, u, c, f, e, e, five flaps, above which are chassis, each of which is glazed with a glass pane.

f, one of the doors that is open, with honeybees seen through the glass pane. 

g, wax cake.

b, button which can be removed from place, and which plugs a hole which is at the top of the hive. 

a i k a,  i l l k,  l m n l, three parts placed one on top of the other can be separated from each other.

p, p, base of the Hive, which has slides which receive the lower edges of the parts of which part l m n l is composed. 

It is clear, when one wants, this part of the base p p, is the place where the holes which serve as doors to bees are, and which did not appear in this view of the hive.


P L A N C H E   X X I I I.

Figures 1 & 2 are those of a very small hive which I used to make several observations and several experiments on bees.

In Figure 1, the hive is visible, the tile of glass, which is raised here, it is easy to imagine that its edges are in the wings of the wooden posts, between which it is placed. 

b b, base of the hive in the small hive of Figure 2, there are a few bees who have already made a cup of wax g, attached to the top of the hive. 
The front tile is lowered. 

In this way, this square is cut, and leaves an opening which allows the bees to go out and enter. This opening is closed, when desired, with a small plate of iron.

This same tile has no cut-out, and it has none in Figure 1, then a door is given to the bees as long as the front of the hive is broad, to the top of the slide intended to receive the lower edge of the tile; 

When we wish to deprive the bees of the freedom to go out, all you have to do is remove the little stone, and lower the tile in the slide. 

B b, base of the hive.

M n, one of the four uprights, which are assembled with cross pieces, two of which are marked m t, t d.  The stick which is placed in the middle of the hive, is made of a stick
from a parrot cage, and gives an idea of ​​the composition of those that can be placed in large hives for help to support the cakes full of honey. 

On the background of the hive, is a fly, larger than the others, towards which several others have their heads turned, it is a mother.

Figure 3 is that of an (?), which I used to cover the previous hive, and on which it may be secured by means of cords c, c, c, & c. The top of this especially is tick, & it has a lining of a thick flannel. The lining appears in d.

FIG. 4, represents a large extremely flat hive. B b, on which the base of the hive is stopped by the screws u, u. In p, are the holes through which the flies can enter and exit. The top has a larger hole in its center, which serves when the flies are to be passed through a compact, and to various other experiments.

The glass panes of this hive are now uncovered, the wooden shutter has been removed, which hides them in ordinary times. R, r, turnstiles which serve to stop by the flap, the lower edge of this same flap, lodges in a slide c c.

Only a few wax cakes have been placed in this hive. T, t, t, wood rods, which use is to give support to the cakes.

FIG. 5, shows the shutter which serves to cover the glass panes of the preceding hive, and in fact to see the internal face, that is to say, that which is applied to the tiles.


This face of the shutter is covered with flannel; which has been done in the view of preserving the heat in the hive, which, being thin, is more exposed to the impressions of cold air than are the ordinary hives. The other side of this shutter is wood.

P L A N C H E   X X IV.

Three different kinds of glazed hives are represented in this board.

Figures 1 and 2 are those of the same hive, which is pyramidal and flat, and which shows one of its great faces. 

In FIG. 1, the glass tiles are hidden by the flap c, c, c, c, four turnstiles which serve to stop the flap,  f,  handle which gives the ease of pulling it from the place, and of putting it back.

In FIG. 2, the flap of  FIG. 1 is removed; the glass panes then allow you to see the part of the hive which is filled with wax cakes g, g, on which are some flies.

In the lower part is the biggest, a,  has flies at rest.

 - p, p, base of the hive.

 - t, holes through which flies can come out and enter.

FIG. 3 shows a pyramidal hive thicker than that of FIGS. 1 and 2, consisting of three parts a e, e f, ft, which can be separated from each other, and from the base p, p.

It has four flaps u, x, & y, y.

Such a beehive may be reduced, if it be desired, to the parts f, e only, & e, a, and then it is of a medium size. One can take only the part a, e, which alone forms a very small hive.

 The cross, which appears through the glass pane when the shutter opens helps support the wax cakes.  The parts a and f must each have their cross, and even a cross of more arms than the one shown.

FIG. 4 is that of the button b which terminates the hive in FIG. 3.
In b is the bolt which freely enters the hole which is pierced in the top of the hive.

Figure 5 shows separately the upper part a e of the hive of Figure 3; but instead of the button, which rises above FIG. 3, a jar is placed on that of FIG. 5.

The bees are not long in entering such a compact by the superior opening of the hive which provides a convenient way of providing oneself with those needed for experiments.

Figure 6 shows a glazed hive, the upper part of which is composed of four equal boxes, which are of little height, placed one on top of the other.

c, d, e,f, g h, l,k, the four boxes which can be separated from one another.

a, the lid of the hive, which is readily removed from the place, and under which is a glass pane. 

i, k, flap of the box 

l k, which is open: then the glass pane allows us to see the cakes which are in the hive, and the flies which are on these cakes.

The flaps of the other boxes are closed, and can be opened as the flap i, k.

The face of each hive opposite to that in sight has a shutter like that which appears on it.

m m n, o o t, two parts of the beehive which are conical, and which serve as the basis for the assembly of the boxes.

 p p, on which the hive is placed. Which, with a similar one on the other side, serves to contain the four boxes, and to fix them with the part m  n.

m, m, o, o, four flaps.