HISTORY ETHNOGRAPHY NATURE WINE-MAKING SITE MAP
Selected and rare materials, excerpts and observations from ancient, medieval and contemporary authors, travelers and researchers about Cyprus.
 
 
 
 
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SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER
CYPRUS AS I SAW IT IN 1879
page 449

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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 pipeSj 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,

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