POLISH ZOOTECHNICAL SOCIETY

STEFAN BLANK-WEISSBERG

BEE TREES AND LOGS

IN POLAND

WARSAW - 1937

FROM THE BENEFITS OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL REFORMS

PRINTING HOUSE

TECHNICAL

SP. ACC.

WARSAW

CZACKIEGO 3-5

PHONES:

614-67 and 277-98

ENTRY

Since time immemorial, beekeeping has moved from a predatory economy, consisting in taking honey from wild bees, to a breeding economy, in which the bee is not only an object of exploitation, but also a subject of more or less rational breeding.

Of course, bee breeding must and has had to take place from the beginning in rooms specially adapted for this purpose, and the type of these rooms determines the method of breeding. The issue of building bee housing also occupies a prominent place in the beekeeping literature. The development and changes taking place in their structure had a significant impact on the way of management, and on the other hand, modern scientific discoveries in the field of bee biology also had a significant impact on the construction of hives.

It would, of course, be a truism to say that without research on the development of hive structure it is impossible to criticize the structure of modern hives, but research on primitive hives has another special significance for us in Poland. Namely, even today, a large percentage of our hives do not differ in their structure at all from those built hundreds of years ago, and on the one hand, it allows us to study the "ancient history of the hive" using materials that are still in use today, but on the other hand, it is difficult to modernize our current beekeeping, not realizing what types of hives we actually deal with in the country.

A list of modern demountable hives, which are currently in use in greater numbers in Poland, together with an attempt at their relative quantity in various districts of the country can be found in the work of the author and Cedra (1936), regarding non-demountable hives, of which there are still some in the eastern borderlands. several dozen percent, and which constitute a significant percentage in the central voivodeships, apart from three sources published in the mid-19th century, we do not even have a new list of their types.

Among the original contributions concerning the construction of logs, a noteworthy article by Znamierowska-Prűfferowa (1933) and a description of Polesie logs on staircases by Moszyński (1928) have recently been published. We have relatively more sources regarding beehives and beekeeping. Not to mention the basic article in Kozłowski's "Dictionary of forest, beekeeping and orylski" by Kozłowski, recently published works by Klose (1925), Keler (1928), Moszyński's description of Polesie beehives (1928) and Kochanowski's exhaustive work (1935) on beekeeping in Grodno region. An outline of the history of the demountable hive in Poland can be found in Ciborowski's textbook (1927).

Having had the opportunity to make several dozen trips to various parts of the country over the last two years to learn about the state of beekeeping, I noticed the types of non-demountable hives. I was encouraged to do so by several conversations held in Berlin in 1934 with prof. Armbruster, who has been dealing with the history of the development of the hive in Europe for several years and whose works are currently fundamental to this issue.

This attempt to compile Polish types of primary hives cannot, of course, claim to be an exhaustive monograph. It is a first attempt, so it undoubtedly contains numerous omissions and omissions; However, I think that the shortcomings concern details rather than basic facts. A number of photographs that illustrate this work, and which show many details that have not been mentioned in the literature on the subject to date, seem to me worth publishing in themselves, even apart from the content.

Since I often use technical names in individual descriptions, the understanding of which requires thorough knowledge of the literature on the subject, to make reading this work easier, I provide at the end a list and explanation of individual beekeeping terms along with the synonyms known to me.

This work is thanks to the kind support of Mr. chief engineer E. Baird and counsel engineer T. Kossakowski is issued from the allowance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Reform. The illustrations contained therein are mostly photos taken by me personally, and some were kindly lent to me by Mr. studies agr. M. Chalecka, engineer J. Iwanowski, Eng. J. Kochanowski, Eng. J. Kulesza and Dr. St. Sekutowicz. I took the photographs from the Kurpiowski Museum in Nowogród Łomża with the permission of its curator, Mr. A. Chętnik. In addition, I owe gratitude to a number of people for graciously providing me with information and assistance that was often very valuable and made my work easier while working in the field. So let me express my heartfelt thanks to all of them here.

DESCRIPTIVE PART

Bart.

The most primitive rooms in which people kept bees in our lands were natural tree cavities, either caused by rot or carved out by woodpeckers. However, since in prehistoric times there were much fewer natural tree cavities than the number of hives that humans intended to grow, from the early Middle Ages artificial cavities called beehives were made in appropriately thick trees suitable for this purpose (Fig. 1) and so were transformed into inhabited by natural cavity bees to make them more suitable for permanent exploitation. The tree cavities inhabited by bees were often exploited in the same way as beehives until the beginning of the 20th century and were called swiepiets or blinds.

In the early Middle Ages, bees were the only artificial habitat of bees known in Poland, and since at that time honey, and especially wax, was one of the most important products not only of internal trade, but also of economically important export, it is possible that their number once exceeded the total number of hives currently used in Poland.

In the second half of the 18th century, when Pomerania was occupied by Prussia, there were about 20,000 beehives in the Tuchola Forest. And even in 1827, when beekeeping was clearly in decline, there were still 17,736 beehives registered in the government forests of the Congress Kingdom. Since the government forests then covered 25% of the total forest area of the Kingdom, the total number of beehives exploited in the Kingdom at that time can be assumed with considerable accuracy to be ±70,000.

Currently, beekeeping is in complete decline. The beehives that existed until recently in the Kurpiowska Forest were recently destroyed by the German occupation. The only beehive, and one still in use, that I managed to find in the former Kingdom, is located in the village of Teodorowo, 7 km north-east of Ostrołęka (Fig. 2). In addition, several dozen used beehives are located in the Grodno district near Druskininkai and in the Bersztowska Forest. There is also, according to the information provided to me by Mr. engineer J. Kochanowski and Eng. J. Kulesza about 200 beehives, currently no longer exploited. There are several such beehives in the National Park in the Białowieża Forest and various places in the province. Poleski. There are a few in Pomerania... Undoubtedly, this list does not exhaust all the beehives found in Poland, but I don't think there is much more that could be added.

As can be seen from the above, the only area where beekeeping is still practiced today, as in ancient times, is the northern part of the Grodno district. For this reason, this area has recently been described three times in terms of honey beekeeping. The first person to become interested in it in this respect was the German Stechow, who stayed here during the German occupation in 1918. Klose's work (1925) entitled "Uber die Waldbienenzucht in Lithauen und einigen Nachbargebieten" is based on his observations. According to Klose, "Lithauen" means the Bersztowska Forest, which is located within the borders of the Republic of Poland and which, even in ethnographic terms, has little in common with Lithuania (the Bersztowska commune is inhabited by 30% Poles, 57% Belarusians and 12% Lithuanians), and the work itself, apart from 30 interesting photographs, showing only the general shape of honey bee trees, contains on 60 pages in folio a poor compilation of literature relating mostly to those mentioned in the title "Nachbargebiete" such as Latvia, Estonia, East Prussia and Pomerania.

Recently, Kochanowski, whose beautiful work was published in 1935, took up beekeeping in the Grodno region, and Kulesza, who, relying largely on the research of the previously mentioned author, published a richly illustrated article on this subject in "Guide to Druskininkai" (1935). The data about beehives in the Grodno region presented below are mostly based on their research. The Barć from Teodorowo is recorded in this place for the first time.

The word barć means either a tree in which an artificial hole is made to serve as a home for bees, or the hollow itself in the tree. Beehives were made (knitted) mostly from pine, but sometimes other species of trees were also used to make beehives, such as linden, elm, fir, spruce and even oak. In most cases, the beards were knitted at a height of several to several meters above the ground, but in some cases even lower (2 m) or above 20 m.

A tree intended for a beehive must be of appropriate thickness. Its diameter at chest height is at least 1 m, otherwise the trunk could easily be broken by the wind at the place where the beehives were cut. The pine trees used for this purpose are over 120 years old. In ancient times, when a beekeeper chose a suitable tree for beekeeping, he marked it by cutting his own mark on the trunk, which meant taking possession of the tree for beekeeping purposes. This was called a beehive pile, and the cut mark was called a glue. Of course, each beekeeper had a separate glue, different from the others.

A number of honeycombs were described by Leciejewski (1919) and Namysłowski (1927), who also provided drawings from archival sources. In the wild, Conwentz saw them in Latvia, and in one case they were piled not only on the trunk, but also on the beehive log. There is no data in the literature about finding them in Poland recently. Recently, according to information kindly provided to me by Mr. Eng. J. Kochanowski found them in the Bersztowska Forest, piled on the bark of tree trunks at a height of about 1.5 m. From an old beekeeper, Michał Chyla (born in 1841) from the village of Gnojno, poviat. Pułtusk, who as a professional beekeeper served in his youth with Count. Potocki, I learned that in this area the glumes were usually placed inside the beehives on the back to make them more difficult to destroy. This information clarified Hedemann's (1934) doubts about placing and finding glues in some cases by stabbing the beehives, which, according to archival data, was supposed to spoil the pine (the word pine was used in this case to mean the beehives). Of course, if the glue is applied inside on the beehive's back, finding it must result in the destruction of the entire bee structure.

To stop the growth upwards and at the same time to cause a rapid increase in the thickness of the trunk, bee trees are usually topped, i.e. their top is cut off and covered with a piece of birch bark or a board to avoid getting wet, and often weighed down with a stone on top. This causes changes in the general shape of the honeybee tree over time, so from a distance it is easy to distinguish a honeybee pine from others by its dome-shaped shape. Such a tree with the top cut off is called podcin in the beekeeper's language, regardless of whether the beehive has already been cut out of it or whether it is intended for beehive cutting.

The beehive itself, or day, is a hollow in the trunk about 1-1.5 m high, 30-40 cm deep, 10-14 cm wide at the opening, and 25-30 cm deep. The beehive's opening (Fig. 3) in the shape of a high rectangle is called the beehive's beehive, the wall opposite the opening is called the back, the bottom, i.e. the heel or legs, is woven vertically to the beehive for easier sweeping, and the top, called the head, rises slightly towards the beehive's back. In most cases, the debt is located on the south-eastern side of the trunk. It is closed with a uniform or transversely cut in half board, also called a log, log or valve.

In the Grodno region, the bee outlet is located next to a uniform log that is not very precisely fitted, or is cut out in one of its sawn boards (see Fig. 29)[1]. In other areas, the outlet (eye) is made separately, using either a hole left by a broken knot (Fig. 4) or a specially made square hole (Fig. 5). In both cases, a long wedge (eyelet) is inserted into it, which narrows the opening and reaches up to the opposite wall of the beehive, thus supporting the entire structure of the bees. Apart from the eyelet, several other sticks (snoz) are placed inside the beehive in different directions to support the structure. All beehives throughout the Slavic region are decorated in the above-mentioned way. However, in some areas, e.g. in Polesie, Pomerania and East Prussia, and sometimes in Kurpie and the Grodno region, beehives also have an additional device in the form of an external cover covering the log from the outside. This is the so-called a log, a board or a piece of plank, suspended on two thick wooden hooks, one of which is above the log and the other below it. It serves to better protect the day from atmospheric influences. The assumption that it is intended to provide some protection against a bear does not seem probable to me. If the beehive is equipped with snow, then, as I had the opportunity to notice in the Białowieża Forest, on the side, at the same height as the upper hook supporting it, there is an additional peg on which the beekeeper hung the snow during work. The existence of this additional peg for hanging the wood is, logically speaking, necessary, because it is difficult to imagine what a beekeeper would do differently with it while working at a height of several meters (see Fig. 6). Another additional device is visible in Fig. 7 board nailed in the form of a shelf near the debt tower on the beehive in Teodorów. It is used to put down tools while working.

In Fig. 8, two days are visible: the upper one is currently closed and the lower one is still in use today. You can see a straw cover (ogatenie) used to protect against the cold. I have only encountered straw as an insulating material for beehives both in the field and in the literature in this one case, and I assume that using it to extinguish beehives is a secondary phenomenon caused by the fact that currently the beehive stands almost alone in a forestless area. Normally, brushwood or thin twigs are used to extinguish the beehives, as seen in Fig. 16. If there is a log, the end is between it and the log.

In cases where the beehive is not covered with snow, the bedding is tied to oak pins which are driven into the trunk on both sides of the log.

Hives are usually found in trees one at a time. Sometimes, however, they are also knitted in twos, under each other (see Fig. 9) or next to each other (see Fig. 37), and then they are called dwojnice. If there are even more beehives in one honey bee tree, and their number sometimes reaches up to five on one tree in the Grodno region, such a bee is called a queen.

Of course, quite simple tools are used to make beehives. These are an ax called a barta or a serka, which, as far as I know, is no different from any other axes, and a pienia (see Fig. 10). Piesznia is a chisel about 5 cm wide mounted with a sleeve on a one and a half meter long handle, loaded at the other end in the Grodno region, or unloaded in Polesie. I didn't manage to watch the Kurpie Piesznie.

In ancient times, bells were most often used to protect beehives from bears, i.e. logs of trees or even heavy stones suspended against snow or logs on a hemp or bast rope. The diagram of the suicide bomber is shown in Fig. 11 and 12[2]. They worked in such a way that the bear, wanting to get to the beehive, pushed the beetle to the side, and the harder he pushed it away, the stronger it returned and hit him. Of course, now, when there are practically no bears in the country for a long time, no one is making new suicide traps, and the old ones, due to the abrasion and rot of the ropes, no longer exist; however, old beekeepers all over the country remember them very well. Apart from self-defeating trees, it was common to stick sharp iron hooks into the trunks of beehives below and around them to protect them from bears, with which the bear would tear its skin and paws. From the literature we only know of the so-called baskets or cradles, i.e. boards attached to a branch bent and hooked to a long branch, which, if a bear sat on them, automatically jumped a certain distance from the trunk and carried the robber with them. There were supposed to be sharp stakes driven into the ground under the cradles, on which the bear would attack when jumping out of the cradle.

Smooth boards or boards with which a beehive tree was covered at the bottom and which prevented the bear from digging its claws into the trunk and getting to the beehive were called hangers.

Finally, an anti-bear device that can still be seen in some areas in Polesie is an odenek or podkur (fig. 23), i.e. a platform made of torn beams equipped with sharp pins underneath, similar to harrow pins. This obstacle, if made strong enough, is impassable for the bear. Another thing is that it does not make it easier for the beekeeper to get to the beehive, because he cannot get at it without the blade described below.

I still need to describe the ways in which beekeepers get to the beehives. Since honey bee trees are at least a meter in diameter, this is not an easy task.

The simplest way is to enter using a ladder (see Fig. 13) or a spur, i.e. a thin chopstick, the branches of which are cut in such a way that short knots remain, which serve as rungs of a ladder; but this is only easy if the beehives are close to the beekeeper's home. Otherwise, transporting a long ladder would pose serious difficulties, or you would have to have as many ladders as there are beehives. The use of a ladder in beekeeping, even though it was already known to Schirach in the 18th century (1774) and is also used today by the owner of a beehive in Teodorów and rarely in the Grodno region, should be treated as an exception.

The second way of getting to the beehive, also known to Schirach and recently described from the Grodno region by Kochanowski (lc), is to gird the tree with a rope so that it forms a closed circle and leaves a free space of about 70-80 cm between the bee beetle and the trunk. After tying the ends of the rope, the beekeeper cuts a step in the trunk at a height of one meter, and standing on it, he cuts down the next step and thus moves slowly upwards, always having the rope as a support for his back. However, this method of climbing trees is not the most common in beekeeping. Presumably, ready-cut steps, as well as leaving a ladder next to the beehive tree, would make it too easy for a thief to get into the beehive tree.

The most common method used in beekeeping, and the only one known to Kozłowski (1846) and Gloger (1900), is entry using a lair.

The lounger (fig. 14) consists of the actual lounger and the deckchair. The rope itself is made of a thick rope braided in the shape of a braid, approximately 40 m long, with one to three knots made at one end. The other end of the rope is threaded through 4 holes, two at the ends of a board 50 cm long and 8 cm wide. This board is called a łaźbień, siadanka or siedlanka. It is strung on a rope in such a way that it hangs on it as if it were a swing, and the 4 pieces of rope on which it is suspended are connected at a distance of 60 cm from it. A trestle, also known as a wrench or a raven (lit. kumarogis), is attached in this place, the details of its construction are shown in Fig. 14 and 15 - four 60-centimeter parts of the bathing rope and a fifth part, the length of which is over 30 m, extend from it.

Sometimes, e.g. in Kurpie, the rope above the goat is made with a length of 30 m from a tape sewn together with a thin twine from two ropes twisted in opposite directions. Then this part of the sheath is called the yield, in contrast to the much shorter final part, which is made up of only a single rope called the chobot. It goes without saying that the knots described above are then tied at the end of the chobot. Both the weaving of the lazio in the form of a braid and the making of it from a tape sewn from two differently twisted ropes are intended to prevent unwinding and curling by giving it a certain stiffness.

A leżaj is a rope, usually slightly thicker and much shorter (± 15 m), with a short loop at one end, and the other end of which is 9 m long, folded in half and sewn in the shape of a circle. At the end of the 4.5-meter loop created in this way, the so-called a log, i.e. a semicircular piece of wood, smooth on its concave surface, and with a groove for a rope carved on its convex surface[3].

To climb a tree, the beekeeper, barefoot or wearing a belt, puts the beetle on his shoulders (see Fig. 15) so that both the beekeeper and the goat are on his back. Standing next to the tree he intends to climb, he throws (armpit) a double folded rope around the tree at head height, puts a loop (stirrup) (Fig. 16A), into which he steps with his foot and lifts up (Fig. 16B). Then he does the same thing higher with the remaining part of the leg at head level and steps into the next stirrup with the other leg. Of course, the stirrups hold on to the tree due to the roughness of the bark, and loading the stirrup with your foot tightens it even more. As soon as the load is relieved by removing the leg from the first stirrup, a slight pull on the rope will uncouple it without disturbing the next stirrup. In this way, by raising the stirrup higher and higher, the beekeeper reaches the height at which the beehive is located (Fig. 16C-F). Having raised himself a little higher, he takes off the log, wraps it around the tree above some knot or branch, or, if there are none, above a special peg (chmala) driven into the trunk so that it does not slip during work, and moves the log between the ropes of the log in their place. stitching. Then he threads the rope of the lair first through a small loop, which is located at the opposite, free-hanging end of the lair, and then through the pole and hangs it on the pole as if on a block (Fig. 16 H). Having lowered himself to the desired height and placed himself exactly in front of the beehive, the beekeeper ties a rope to the trestle and sits on the bathtub (Fig. 16J-L). The freely hanging end of the lair then serves as a crane to transport the necessary tools from the ground. The beekeeper suspended in this way can perform all activities in the already assigned beehive. However, when weaving a new beehive, which obviously requires physical strength and a point of support, this type of position would be uncomfortable, so when weaving the beehive, he also binds the tree at the height of the legs with a binder and inserts two knotted pegs called crutches between it and the trunk (Fig. 17). in such a way that they provide support for his legs.

photo: Kulesza

Dig. 16 A - D. Method of getting to the beehives using a lair. Gamekeeper Benedykt Bura. Zapurwie, poviat Grodno: A - Changing the stirrup. B - Getting into the stirrup. C - The smell of the double fold will get. D - Transferring the next stirrup.

photo: Kulesza

Dig. 16 E - H. Method of getting to the beehives using a lair: E, F - Putting further stirrups. G, H - Hanging the lounger.

photo: Kulesza

Dig. 16 I - M. Method of getting to the beehives using a lair: J, K - Going to the other side of the trunk. I - Working on the beehive. M - Downhill.

Letting yourself down from a tree (rappelling) is much easier than climbing up. The beekeeper then unties the rope of the lair from the goat (it tumbles) and, slowly letting go of the rope, it lowers itself onto a block, which again serves as the lax of the lair (Fig. 16 M). Having stood on the ground, he now pulls strongly on the end of the lair, and the knots at the end of the chobot pass freely through the lair but get hooked in the loop at the other end of the lair. Pulling this loop causes the hatch to slip between the ropes of the lounger and the entire lounger falls to the ground.

Logs.

Logs are hives made of round logs on a day that does not differ significantly from the day of the beehive. The main difference between them and beehives is that while beehives are made of living, growing trees, logs are made from pieces of dead trees. Depending on their arrangement, either directly on the ground in a vertical or horizontal position or on growing trees or artificially constructed scaffoldings specially built for this purpose, we distinguish between stakes, i.e. logs on stands, logs on stands or logs, logs on sochs, logs-stands and logs - loungers.

Rates.

Throughout the north-eastern borders of the Republic of Poland, in Polesie and in Soviet Belarus, there is a known method of keeping bees in hives, the arrangement of which is extremely similar to that of beehives. This method has been known for a long time, because the words "stake" and "spice" are already mentioned as terms commonly used in the act in force in the Polotsk Voivodeship in the first half of the 16th century.

A stake is a log stand placed on a tree, either in the forest or around the house. Of course, all tree species can be used for this purpose, provided that the trunk is strong enough to support the hive, which often weighs well over 100 kg (see Fig. 18).

Such a hive is essentially no different from stands placed directly on the ground or on stones or pieces of wood. It is a chopped or sawn round log, 1.5 to 2 m long, with a day completely similar to those found in beehives. In Polesie, such a hive, called simply a log, is always equipped with snow. North of Polesie, there is often a shortage. The top of the hive is covered with birch bark and discs, i.e. split pieces of wood. Attaching it to a tree involves either placing it in the fork of the branches (Fig. 19) or nailing it directly to the tree or branches or to the so-called spic, i.e. to pieces of wood which are either nailed to the trunk (Fig. 20) or supported by the fork of a branch. Keys are almost always used as an additional fixation, i.e. long wooden blocks made in such a way that, close to the fork of the branch, one branch is cut off in such a way that only a short knot remains, and the other one is left whole, (see Fig. 19, 21 ).

Several such keys completely protect the log from tipping over (see Fig. 19). Sometimes spices are attached to two trees growing close to each other so that the log stands between them (Fig. 21). It also sometimes happens that a bee tree is used as a stand (a tree on which a log stands and which together with it constitutes a stake) (see Fig. 54).

As far as anti-bear devices are concerned, as far as I know, only pendants, odenki (see Fig. 22, 23) and iron hooks are used for this purpose.

The log is pulled onto the tree using a wheel specially prepared for this purpose. The wheel is over a meter in diameter and differs from an ordinary wheel used for carts in that it is not covered with a rim and that one of its hubs is much longer than the other. The beekeeper, wanting to pull the hive up a tree, climbs it using a ladder or a ladder, or both (see Fig. 24) and, sitting on the ladder, supports the wheel axle, to the longer hub of which a rope is attached, on two branched branches or on an ad hoc prepared scaffolding. His assistant ties a log to the other end of the rope and guides it while it is being pulled in. The log is pulled in in a vertical position. The pulling itself is done by winding the rope around the wheel hub, turning it with his hands and legs, with which the beekeeper pushes its spokes.

It goes without saying that if a tall tree in the forest serves as a shelter, access to the hive is done in the same way as to a beehive using a lair. In cases where the logs are placed on trees near the house, and the trees are already branched close to the ground, it is often easy to climb onto them without any special tools.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 21. A log placed between two pine trees. Uroczysko Worotiec, district deniskowickie, poviat Luninets.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 22. Rate with price. Uroczysko Worotiec, district Deniskowickie poviat Luninets.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 24. Pulling a log onto a stand. Białe Jezioro, poviat Luninets.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 23. Odenek. Uroczysko Worotiec, district deniskowickie, poviat Luninets.

Logs on the stands.

Logs on stands, or as local beekeepers generally call them, on oders, are, as far as I know, only found in Polesie. The stand is a scaffolding made of planks, on which there is a platform made of planks surrounding the tree, similar to a tree (see Fig. 25). However, the structure of the stand is different from the structure of the stand in that the stand is supported only on the tree trunk to which it is attached, and the stand, although also attached to the trunk, is supported mainly on the planks on which it is placed. In most cases, stands are built where, due to marshy or periodically flooded terrain, it is impossible to place logs directly on the ground. They are built both in forests and near single trees in wet meadows. Their construction and height are different, as can be seen in the attached illustrations (see Fig. 26). It ranges from several dozen centimeters to over 2 meters.

Logs placed on them are no different from logs placed on stands.

Logs on the meadows.

I only know Sochy from Polesie. They are presented in Fig. 27. These are scaffoldings built near the house inside the farmyard. They are built of planks and do not have a complete platform, and the hive is supported only by one or two crossbars. Often, instead of one of the soch boards, a living, growing tree is used, or there are also structures (Fig. 26, right side), which are actually difficult to classify as either soch or stani. However, most of them have their own characteristic appearance, so that they are distinguished as a separate group of beehive bases. These hives are the same log-stands that are placed in Polesie on stands or directly on the ground.

Logs-racks.

Currently, the most common type of non-demountable hive in Poland is the stand (Fig. 28). Stands have been known in our country at least since the end of the 15th century. These are either sawn or hewn beehive trees, cut above and below the core, or, as is most common nowadays, round logs 1.5 to 2 m long, in which the core is shaped similarly to that of a beehive, differing from that of a beehive only in that it is larger. due to lack of fear of breakage. The closure is served by a log, just like in a beehive, either whole or cut in half transversely, which of course facilitates operation. In the latter case, the eye is located on the border of the two halves of the log (see Fig. 29), and the upper board (groove) of the log is attached with a small so-called bolts. In Polesie, logs are always covered with snow on top. Śnioty can also be found in stands in Pomerania, Kurpie and in the north-eastern borderlands. I haven't seen any sniots in the central voivodeships. The shape of sniots varies slightly depending on the district. In Pomerania, these are thick rectangular boards similar in shape to a log, only larger than it; in the Kurpie Museum in Nowogród Łomża there is a cut down log with an external hollow into which a long log made of a thin torn board is fitted, the upper end of which is sharpened (see Fig. 31, 32). The poles, which are often also fitted to the outer cavity of the hive, generally taper slightly at both ends, but I have never seen them pointed (see Fig. 30).

Apart from cases where the eye is located on the edge of a sawn log, it is usually made on the side of the hive. It is arranged either like a beehive's eye, with the only difference that because it is made on the ground and not at a height of several or

several meters, it can be made much more precisely, or it is drilled with a drill and then it no longer has a hole, because the small drilled hole does not require narrowing. Eyes with ocelli have a quadrangular or triangular shape. Eyelets are wedges of very different shapes: round, oval, quadrangular (see Fig. 33) or even with recesses on the sides (Fig. 34). If the eyelet does not fit exactly into the eye opening due to drying, it can be cut using an additional flat eyelet (Fig. 5). When the eye is drilled with a drill, it is inside a carved recess that serves as protection from rain. Inside such a cavity there is one or several outlets placed next to each other (Fig. 35). Saddles, or exit boards, are placed both under drilled eyes and under carved eyes with eyes.

Discs are most often used to cover the stands (see above). However, you can also often find pieces of boards (Fig. 28), sawn logs (Fig. 31), birch bark covered with hay (see Fig. 29), and even well-made roofs made of shingles (Fig. 36), under which there are often two stands each. All these covers are made of wood, but sometimes in southern Masovia and Małopolska you can find stands covered with a straw cap.

The method of edging stands outside Polesie is fundamentally different from the method of edging beehives. It is made either of clay, which is used to cover the entire log and the gaps between it and the walls of the hive, or it is made of cowhide, cowberry with clay or moss.

The stands are placed on platforms, i.e. pieces of boards, logs, stones, bricks or directly on the ground. In the latter case, the destruction of the hive occurs much faster, but even if placed directly on the ground, they often last over a hundred years. Since prolonged standing of the stand in the open air, soaking and drying causes cracking along the log from which the stand is made, the stands are often covered with iron hoops at the top and bottom to prevent this.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 31. A cut beehive placed as a stand. Kurpie Museum in Nowogród Łomża.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 32. The stand shown in Fig. 31 open.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 33. The eye of a stand log with a protruding eye and a saddle. Biszcza, poviat Biłgoraj.

Various species of both coniferous and deciduous trees are used to make stands. Most often, of course, they are made of pine, a material that can be found in abundance everywhere. The least common, as far as I know, is made of oak, due to the hardness of the wood, which is difficult to process, and because oak wood is a relatively good conductor of heat.

A stand with two sides lined with it is called a double or twin, analogously to a beehive. The more days he stays there, he is called a king.

In the south-eastern borderlands, small stands with a diameter of up to 50 cm and a height of up to 1 m, called bartniaczki, are used.

Since the middle of the last century, the stands were sometimes converted into frame hives or, formerly, snoose hives (see Figs. 38-43). This happened in Lesser Poland and in the south of the former Congress Poland under the influence of the teachings of Dzierżon and Lubieniecki, and in the north-eastern borderlands under the influence of beekeepers of the Russian school.

This modification consisted primarily in extending the day and giving it a cubic shape, as well as in widening the debt, which now constituted one of the sides of the cube. Such a door is closed with a wooden valve, under which there is a second valve, often with a glass pane. The slats or frames hang on strips nailed to the sides of the hive interior (Fig. 38) or on grooves carved in the sides of the hive (Fig. 41). Frame removal is most often done from the rear (see Fig. 38). However, it sometimes happens that the stand is modified in such a way that it has an upper service, or even an extension, as shown in Fig. 41. This hive has a characteristic straw roof in the shape of a thatch, lifted upwards on hinges, and frames which, apart from the external beams, have a fifth central beam reinforcing the structure. It should be noted that such a bar not only constitutes an obstacle for the mother during breeding, but even slows down the construction of combs. Of course, such a "modification" of an ordinary stand is by no means easier than building a new frame hive. Frame stands have outlets placed either opposite the valve (Figs. 39 and 43) or on its side. Depending on this, these hives have a warm or cold structure. The eyes are made with a drill or carved in the shape of transverse low rectangles, often equipped with modern plates to narrow the outlet.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 36. Two stands placed under a common roof. Biszcza poviat Biłgoraj.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 37. A truncated semi-detached house arranged as a semi-detached house. Kurpie Museum in Nowogród Łomża.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 38. A log stand converted into a frame frame, rear view. Tocznabiel, poviat pułtuski.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 39. The stand, shown in Fig. 38, from the eye side.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 40. Log-shaped frame stand. Closed, rear view. Strupka, poviat Sokolski.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 41. The hive shown in Fig. 40 open.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 42. The hive shown in Fig. 40 and 41. Side view.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 43. Log-shaped frame stand, front view. On the back right side you can see the beehive, shown in Fig. 40, 41 and 42.

Frame stands, sometimes decorative, are sometimes made even today by amateurs who want to give their apiaries a special archaic look. The description of these hives, often made with great taste and a sense of artistry, is beyond the scope of this work.

Logs-deckchairs.

Deckchairs are historically much younger than stands and are much rarer than them in Poland.

These are hives with a structure completely similar to stands, differing from them primarily in that while the stand is vertical, the lounger is placed horizontally, or more precisely, more or less obliquely (Fig. 44). Therefore, of course, their structure must be slightly changed.

They are placed on logs, stones, wooden crosses or forked pieces of wood and, as I mentioned above, usually in such a way that one end of the log is higher than the other.

The day is made here similarly to the stand, but it expands from the log towards both ends of the round log. The head is called the higher end and the lower end is called the legs. The eye is cut out in the lower edge of the log and is usually equipped with a saddle. A separate eye, similar to the eye of a rack, occurs only in cases where a log previously used as a rack is placed horizontally as a deckchair. I have encountered this type of hives in Polesie, where, generally speaking, deckchairs are not used at all, e.g. in the village of Zamosze in the Łuniniec district (Fig. 45). It is easy to see that this beehive was previously used as a stand by the fact that it is equipped with a bed, which is not available in other parts of the country. Moreover, even the recess in the log used to place the log clearly indicates that the log originally had to be placed vertically, and its covering also proves the same.

In most cases, the base of the deckchair is a single board. In one single case, only in Izbica (Lublin Voivodeship), I saw a debt sawn into two parts, as is sometimes done in racks (see page 45).

On top, the deckchairs are covered with straight boards without any special fastening (Fig. 44 at the front), roofs with longitudinally (Fig. 44 at the back) or transversely arranged boards (Fig. 46), roofs made of shingles or birch bark. Birch bark stretched over wooden poles is sometimes found as a deckchair cover in the north-eastern borderlands of the Nowogródek and Vilnius voivodeships. It is the most common covering for deck chairs in Kaunas Lithuania (fig. 47), so, in all probability, the drawing posted by Klinge (1925) comes from Kaunas Lithuania and not, as the above-mentioned author states, from Poland in the ethnographic sense.

Taking care of a deckchair is completely analogous to taking care of a stand. It is made using clay, cowhide, clay with cowberry or moss.

Just like the stands, deckchairs are also converted into frame hives, or frame hives are made from round logs, externally resembling deckchairs. In the latter case, such a hive is easy to recognize from its external appearance. Then it has no log at all (see Fig. 48), and its eye is selected with a drill halfway along the length of the log and placed in a carved recess, similarly to stands with drilled eyes. The frames are removed either from the side (Fig. 49) or from above after removing the roof and the appropriate cover.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 48. A frame hive in the shape of a log-chair. Biszcza, poviat Biłgoraj.

photo: Weissberg

Dig. 49. The hive, shown in Fig. 48, open. Side view.

Paki, hollow and bottomless.

Having finished the description of proper log hives, I consider it advisable to briefly mention other types of primary hives found in the territory of the Republic of Poland.

I mention them because, on the one hand, they are very similar to log hives in terms of structure, and partly even in terms of external appearance, and therefore they are sometimes mixed with actual log hives, and on the other hand, getting to know them is necessary to to find out the position of our log hives among other original European hives. These hives are, first of all, the so-called crates, the origin of which comes directly from the log-stand, as will be clear from what follows, should not raise any doubts, and secondly, hollow-cores and bottomless ones.

Paki.

The box (Fig. 50) is a cubic hive about 120 cm high and 25-30 cm wide and deep. Its side walls and bottom are made of 5-6 cm thick boards, while the top cover is usually made of even slightly thicker boards. It opens from the side in such a way that one of its walls is fully or partially extended, just like the length of the stand. The entire way of handling the box is no different from operating the stand. The eye is located in one of the side walls and is often equipped with an eyelet. Apart from the only removable wall, which serves as a valve, all other walls, including the upper and lower ones, are permanently nailed and cannot be removed.

There are similar hives in the north of the Warsaw Voivodeship and in the Kielce Voivodeship.

Dziuplanki and deckchairs in Podolia.

These beehives are made of round logs just like logs, so they are not much different externally. However, their internal structure is completely different from that of logs. While the logs are cut from the side so that the log receives a side depression in the shape of a hole, the logs (fig. 51) are chiseled out lengthwise starting from one end of the log in such a way that, as a result, it becomes a hollow tube open at both ends ( Fig. 52). One of the ends of the log is then closed with a fitted wooden headrest, which constitutes the ceiling of the hive, and the log is placed in the apiary with its open end downwards, externally having a completely similar appearance to the log-stand. This similarity is further enhanced by a small valve located near the base and a triangular eyelet with an eyelet stuck in. However, the method of handling such a hive is fundamentally different from handling a log - a stand. The valve, which is both absolutely and relative to the volume of the hive, much smaller than the log valve, only allows you to control the condition of the trunk, but does not allow you to perform other activities, such as honey harvesting. The cutting of the slices must be done from the bottom, as in the case of tipped baskets, or from the top.

Hollow houses are covered with a straw roof, the top of which is often protected against rain by the shell of a broken pot or other vessel.

Often, apart from the eyes, they also have a backing similar to sticks placed in the beehives' nests or logs-stands that support the slices. Dziuplanki are used in Volhynia and eastern Lesser Poland.

The Podolian deckchair is a beehive that is in the same relationship to the hollow tree as the deckchair log is to the logstand. It is a hollow box without a valve and placed on its side, with not only one but also the other end closed with a fitted bottom. Such deckchairs, used in the Tarnopol region, are covered with a wooden roof, similar to the roofs used for log deckchairs in other areas.

Both the Dziuplanki and the Podolia deckchairs are usually made of deciduous trees: willow, linden, beech.

Bottomless.

Bottomless hives are those made in the cooper's way or made of straw in the shape of a bell or an inverted bucket. The general plan for their construction is completely similar to the plan for building a hollow tree. In the territory of the Republic of Poland, they can be found in eastern Lesser Poland[4].

When describing hollow houses and bottomless beehives, we should also mention the beehive described in 1614 by Ostrorog. This is the oldest beehive described in Poland, and for this reason the view is sometimes found in the literature that it is a prototype, or relatively similar to the prototype, of the Polish beehive. Ostroróg, when describing the hives he used on the Komarzeński estate in the Bełzki County, does not mention that hives of a similar construction were generally used by his contemporaries.

The Ostroroga hive was a hollow tree with a much larger opening than is normally found in hollow trees, the size of the opening of a log-stand. This valve was cut transversely into two parts and allowed for handling similar to handling a log. Inside, from the bottom up to the height of the lower edge of the valve, it was lined with clay so that the original hollow, open at the bottom, was de facto made into a log-stand, differing only from other log-stands in that its bottom was made of clay. We can see here, on the one hand, the influence of the type of beehive used in the Komarno area (the hollow tree), and on the other hand, the desire to convert it into the beehive used in most of the country at that time.

It is doubtful whether this hive was ever used on a wider scale in Poland. There is no data confirming such an assumption. Therefore, it was probably the hive of the idea of Ostrorog or Walenty Kącki, whom Ostroróg refers to, used in the few, better-run apiaries of the 17th century[5].

GENERAL PART

Having become acquainted with the general outlines of what types of log hives occur within the borders of the Republic of Poland, three more issues should be considered: 1) in what areas the previously described forms occur, 2) what is their origin and how long have they been used in Poland, and 3) what is the ratio of Polish log hives to other forms of non-demountable hives used in the lands bordering Poland.

The first of the issues raised here is absolutely the easiest to solve, because it requires appropriate field research or, for example, information scattered in a number of articles in beekeeping, ethnographic and tourism magazines. Already based on the data contained in the literature, it can be stated that both beehives and log hives in the past and now occur throughout the entire Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, except for Volhynia and eastern Lesser Poland, where, although they were previously known, they are now replaced by hollow trees and podolia beehives. As for individual forms, log-stands cover the entire area, with forms with sniots found only in the north and north-east, and forms without sniots in the entire area except Polesie. Logs-deckchairs, much less numerous than stands, are found in larger numbers in the north-eastern borderlands and on islands in the central voivodeships (e.g. Biłgoraj County is an island where logs-loungers are used in much larger numbers than logs-decks) . The area of the ponds, logs on stands and logs on sochy areas is Polesie in the physiographic sense, i.e. outside the Polesie Voivodeship, the northern part of the Volhynian Voivodeship and the southern part of the Novgorod Voivodeship. However, they can be found in the same way, although in relatively smaller numbers, in areas north of Polesie. It follows from the above that in many respects, Polesie is the most characteristic district of Poland in terms of log hives, as it contains all forms of logs in terms of arrangement, with the only reservation that they are all equipped with logs.

Resolving the issue of historical antiquity and the origin of individual forms of hives will, of course, be much more difficult. Archival monuments and monuments of ancient legislation contain only data on honey bee management until the 14th century. This can be explained by the fact that beekeeping provided more opportunities for disputes and therefore had to be the subject of both written law and court proceedings much more often than the management of hives placed in an apiary near the owner's home. We can only judge from the written monuments from the period up to the 14th century about the great importance and development of beekeeping at that time, but due to the lack of data on apiary management, we cannot draw a conclusion about the lack of apiaries at that time. However, despite the lack of sufficient data in this respect, it seems to me that it will not be too bold to conclude that the beehive economy and the construction of beehives on Polish lands in even prehistoric times, starting from the time when the Slavs lived here, did not differ from the beekeeping economy in later centuries. This indicates the lack of any changes in the structure of beehives and their management throughout the historical period that we know in this respect. This view is also confirmed by the monuments of the old honey hunting law, which do not indicate any differences between the former honey hunting economy and the present one.

The first historical data relating to beekeeping in our lands come from the 15th century (see Dąbkowski 1923, pp. 15-16). They indicate the existence of domestic hives at that time, as opposed to forest beehives, but they do not say anything nor do they contain any data that would enable us to find out what kind of domestic hives we are talking about. We have more information about the types of hives from the 16th century. Both the already mentioned (page 32) act in force in the Polotsk Voivodeship (cf. Hedemann 1934) and the provisions of the Statute of Lithuania prove the existence of both log stands and stakes at that time. We even have an engraving from this age, depicting an apiary undoubtedly composed of log stands (Brückner 1937). As for the appearance of deckchair logs and logs on stands and sochs, I do not know of any data until the beginning of the 19th century.

Therefore, in view of such scant historical material, finding out about the origin of individual types of log hives currently occurring in Poland is only possible using the comparative method and the method of transposing phenomena currently taking place into past periods.

The diagram shown in Fig. 53[6] ranks the forms discussed in the previous chapter based on their greatest similarity. It is therefore a seemingly completely artificial scheme that can only claim to be probable. Some parts of it, however, can be proven more or less precisely. Namely, if we consider its upper row, illustrating the development of the beehive in the north-eastern borderlands, and more precisely in Polesie, the transition from beehives to breeding stock, not to mention the fact that it began at least four hundred years ago and took place often in Polesie in the 19th century (Moszyński 1928), sometimes it still takes place today [7]). Dig. 54, although it comes not from Polesie but from the Grodno region, it shows a bee tree that also serves as a stool. This is therefore an indication that sometimes these two forms of building bee housing even occur simultaneously. The transition from a stand to a stand and from a stand to a socha confirms a whole series of transitional forms that are extremely common in Polesie and which sometimes simply make it impossible to strictly classify some of the basics of log hives into any of these, to some extent, arbitrarily created categories. Dig. 55 shows two stands, one of which is placed on top of the other - the lower one serves as a base for the upper one and replaces the nearby pedestals.

So far, we have seen the log constantly descending from a height of several or even twenty meters to the ground. This phenomenon seems incomprehensible at first glance. It is still possible to explain why a beekeeper, unable to harvest beehives for one reason or another, put the hive on a tree, reasoning that if the bees were successful in the beehive, they would probably be successful in the hive placed on a tree. what is apparently less understandable is, so to speak, the persistent effort to place the hive at least above the ground and thus making the work more difficult, which, of course, the lower the hive is placed, the easier and less troublesome it is. However, the reason for striving to place the hive as high as possible is, on the one hand, the observation that swarms more often settle in hives placed higher, and on the other hand, a common claim that I have constantly encountered in Polesie, that the higher the hive is placed, the greater the honey harvest. This statement is quite probable, because it is possible, for example, that bees flying out of a hive placed higher have a longer flight range - in any case, it seems to me that this view cannot be rejected outright and that it would be worth checking it experimentally.

As for the settlement of swarms in hives placed higher, this view is confirmed by the fact that in other areas, even where all the hives are standing directly on the top, decoys are placed on trees (Fig. 56), to which swarms fly, and, of course, in an economy where the beekeeper's settling of swarms in the hive is an exception and where in most cases he only waits for his own or someone else's swarm to settle in his hive, the issue of whether the swarm settles more willingly or less willingly is one of the most important things . The move to stands or deckchairs means not only a different arrangement of hives, making beekeeping activities easier, but also progress in the management method itself, because now the beekeeper must take care of the swarms, which he cannot let escape, but must catch them and place them in newly prepared hives.

The transition from a rack to a deckchair is currently only in its initial phase in Polesie, so it is also a phenomenon that can sometimes be observed there simply in flagranti. Described on page 61 and shown in Fig. The 45 Polesie lounger is, as I have already mentioned, an example of this.

The transition from beehive to log hive was different in our central and western lands. This transition took place there, in all probability, directly from the tree to the ground, i.e. most often in such a way that the bee tree was chopped off above and below the tree and placed on a toque. To this day, you can often see such cut beehives placed in apiaries. Of course, in many cases it is impossible to distinguish them from logs, and most often we can only find out that we are dealing with a cut beehive and not a log only from the owner of the apiary, who received this information from family tradition. The transition from stands to deckchairs took place in the central and western regions, in many cases at least 150 years ago, and perhaps even earlier. In the middle of the last century, both stands and loungers began to be converted into frame hives, but it should be noted that conversions into hives with side or rear support are generally older than conversions into hives with top support.

Of course, the crate described in the previous chapter is nothing else in terms of construction than a log-rack made of boards to save wood. This is indicated by both the method of opening and operation, as well as the structure of the eyelet.

It is also worth considering what place our beehives and logs occupy among the original types of European hives. They are used or were used in a completely similar form outside Poland in Lithuania and the entire Baltic coast, in Russia, the Czech Republic and in those areas of Germany that were previously inhabited by Slavic peoples. According to Armbruster (1926), the range of log hives, and formerly beehives, eliminates the former range of the Western Slavs in the territory of the German state. According to the work of the same researcher, to the south and west of the area occupied by the logs there is an area which, broadly speaking, can be called the area of bottomless pits and beehives similar to the Podolia deckchairs found in our country. Of course, their form and the material from which these hives are made require separate discussion and vary greatly from country to country. The material from which bottoms are made in Germany is only straw, the material from which they are made in Mediterranean countries is wicker or cork oak bark. We know bottomless bottoms from wood from the Alpine and Carpathian countries (Slovakia, Romania, Hungary) and from Ukraine, where straw and wicker are also used. The hollow trees and bezdenki found here in Volhynia and eastern Małopolska are also among the influences of Ukrainian folk culture.

Another thing is that I would not completely agree with Armbruster's statement that both the form of the hives and the material used for them depend solely on ethnographic factors. I think that apart from ethnographic factors, the physiography of the area also has a great influence. The use of wood in the production of beehives in Poland and Russia undoubtedly depends on the great abundance and cheapness of this material, which has long been much more expensive in the Germanic countries, and the lack of logs in steppe Ukraine does not require any special explanation. Since it is not easy to make a hive in the form of a log from a material such as straw or wicker, the form of the original hive had to be different for this reason. Undoubtedly, however, a certain conservatism in the use of one or another material for the construction of the hive can be noticed, for example, in the case when the Kanitz basket was adopted several dozen years ago in the area of the former Congress Poland, but was made of wood. This is the so-called Lewicki's Beehive of the Polish Virgin (fig. 57), which actually differs from Kanitz's baskets only in terms of material.

On the one hand, hollow trees, i.e. wooden bottoms, occur in the area on the border of forests and steppes, on the other hand, one can actually see here an image of the clash of two beekeeping cultures: on the one hand, the Polish-Belarusian-Russian culture, the culture of logs, and on the other hand, the culture of straw and wicker bottoms. Moreover, the demarcation line between the area of beehives and logs on the one hand, and the area of hollow trees on the other, has shown a clear tendency to shift towards the north-east over the last few centuries, which is by no means related to a change in ethnographic relations, which tend to have the opposite tendency. , and simply with a change in the nature of the plant cover, determined by the increase in the area used for agriculture.

The further development of the hive in lands where previously only beehives and logs were known is not the subject of this work. It took place already in the 19th century, so the methods of researching this development may be completely different, relying solely on the study of the already rich literature and, of course, much more precise. In my diagram I mark this development only in very rough outlines with serious abbreviations and omissions. More detailed data in this area was provided several years ago by Ciborowski (1927).

A good illustration of the transition from beehives to the Warsaw hive is the hive shown in Fig. 58. This is a Warsaw beehive, which is made of a tree that was once a beehive, after which it was cut down and set up as a log-stand, and then cut into thick boards and used for the Warsaw beehive.

It should be emphasized, however, that the introduction of a beehive with overhead support by Dolinowski in the area of the central voivodeships about 85 years ago, the current form of which is the Warsaw hive, can be called skipping a certain development phase. The direct passage from the log to the hive with movable combs was through a hive with rear or side service, which differs from the log, which is also a hive with side service, only in the activation of the combs, while hives opened from the top are most similar in terms of their structure. and service for original Greek hives, or perhaps for bottomless hives with a movable headrest. The first hive with movable combs that was built in Poland was the Dzierżona snoze hive (fig. 59), whose original form was a log with movable combs, and then a cubic box, analogous to a crate.

It is characteristic that this form of beehive, even regardless of the nationality of its creator, undoubtedly of Polish origin, quickly spread in Germany and is still the dominant form there in terms of quantity, while in our country beehives have been widely used for several decades in a large part of the country. with top support, more modern.

Beekeeping Department

Warsaw University of Life Sciences

Warsaw, in December 1936

LIST OF CONCERNING TERMS

BARCI AND KŁOD

Adior - see odenek, stand.

Beehive, honey bee tree, dzianek - a living tree in the trunk of which there is a cavity-shaped room for bees.

Written beard - beard with glue applied.

Barta, serka - a type of ax used by a beekeeper.

Bartniaczek - a small log-stand.

Bartnica - see song.

Bezbotek - a bell-shaped hive without a bottom.

A twin, a double - a log with two days.

Chmal - a peg driven into a beehive tree to prevent the cradle from sliding while working on the beehive.

Chobot - the final part of the leziva.

Denczak - a hollow tree placed on a round bottom.

Outlet board - see saddle.

Log - see log.

Debris - an opening in a beehive or log used to support it; see also log.

Dłużyca, dłudziec, debtor, patch, zatuła, zastaw, zdłu, zdłuka - a board closing a debt.

Beehive (hive) tree - see beehive.

Pawn tree - see stojło.

Ass - see legs.

Duplanka - see dziuplanka.

Duplex - see semi-detached.

Dwojnica - beehive with two days.

Dzianek - see beehive.

Knitting - making the day.

Dzianka - see the day.

Day, day, dzianka, barć - a hollow inside a beehive or log.

Dziuplanka, duplanka - a non-demountable hive made of a round log in the shape of a wooden tube, empty inside.

Bell - see self-defeating.

Head - upper part of the day.

Główczak - a hollow house with a headrest at the top, open at the bottom, placed directly on the ground.

Jarczos, jarkul - see oczkas.

Klejma, klejmo, klejno, honey bee mark - a sign cut into a beehive stating who the beetle belongs to.

Key - a wooden hook used to attach a log to a stand.

Key - see goat.

Layers, sleepers - pieces of wood on which the hives are placed.

Log - a non-demountable hive made of round logs, in which a depression is hollowed out on the side, serving as a room for bees.

To log - to cut glue.

Cradle, basket - a bear trap in the shape of a platform that springs away from the trunk when a bear sits on it.

Korzennik - the pond has not yet been inhabited by bees.

Koszałka - see cradle.

Kozioł, kokołek, keyka, kruczek, kumarogis - a wooden hook that is part of the leziwa.

Discs - pieces of wood used to cover a log.

King - a log that has been knitted for more than two days.

Queen - a beehive that has been hatched for more than two days.

Crow - see goat.

Crutches - sticks used as support for the legs while weaving beehives.

Kumarogis (lit.) - see goat.

Sticks, snoses - rods or thin boards supporting the combs in the hive.

Lągło - part of the lair.

Leziwo, rope - a device used by a beekeeper to climb a tree.

Leżajo - part of the lezywa.

Deckchair - a beehive made of round logs and placed in a horizontal position.

Bench - see bath.

Łaźbień, bench, sitanka, sitanka - a board constituting part of the lounge and serving as a seat while working on the beehive.

Legs, ass, heel - lower part of the day.

Oblęja, oblina (plur.) — pine (barć) with a single day.

Hanger - smooth boards or boards with which a bee tree or stojło is covered, which prevents the bear from digging its claws into the trunk.

Oczkas, jarczos, jarkul - a long, thin wedge narrowing the light of the eye and supporting the patches.

Eye - see eye.

Eyeball - the middle part of the day opposite the eye.

Odenek, adior, oder, odra, podkur, połatka, ter, werek - a bridge made of planks preventing a bear from getting onto a bee tree or stojło.

Measles, measles - see odenek, stop.

Extinguishing - providing the hive with cold protection.

Eye, mouth, outlet - the opening of the hive through which the bees escape.

Spur, spur - see spur.

Ostrzeszek - a roof next to the fence under which hives are placed.

A spur, a spur, a spur - a type of primitive ladder made of a pine tree with dense short knots.

To shove - to throw a lair around a tree trunk to make a stirrup.

Crate - a hive made of thick boards with a structure similar to a log-rack.

Apiary - a field with hives placed on it.

Trunk - hive with swarm and structure.

A song, a song, a bee-handler - a long-handled chisel used for carving bees.

Heel - see legs.

The back is the opposite wall of the day.

Płacha - see log.

Podcin - a tree intended for beehives with the top chopped off (headed).

Underlays - see underlays.

Underlay - a layer of wood in which the beech is to be knitted.

Podkur - see odek.

Patch - see odek.

Ropes - see laziwo.

Bees - a word sometimes used as a synonym for beehives, beehives or apiaries.

To untie the rope - to untie the rope from the goat in order to lower it to the ground after finishing work on the beehive.

A beehive, a bell - a piece of wood or a stone hung on a beehive tree, making it difficult for the bear to get to the beehive.

Serka - see barta.

Siadanka, siedłanka - see łaźbień.

Saddle, outlet board - a small board nailed under the eye.

Blind, blind - see brilliant.

Śniat, Śniat - see Śniat.

Śniot, Śniat, Śniot - a board covering the log from the outside.

Snozy - see canes.

Socha - a base made of boards on which logs are placed.

Spice - pieces of wood nailed to a stand on one side and to a log on the other.

Stand, adior, oder, odra - a scaffolding set up around a tree on which logs are placed.

Stall - a stand with logs placed on it.

Stand - A log placed in a vertical position.

Stojło, pawn tree - a tree on which logs are placed.

Loom - a bee tree with a top broken off by wind or lightning.

Contact - A forked pole, sometimes used to set up a hop bed.

Stirrup - a loop into which the beekeeper puts his leg when climbing a tree.

Bright, bright, blind, blind - a natural hole in which a wild swarm settled.

Pins - pegs to which the beehive's fencing is attached.

Ter - see odek.

Toczek - a place where beehives are placed.

Hive - artificial room for bees, except beehives.

Yield, usufruct - the initial part of the land.

Werek - see odek.

Panicle - thorny twigs stuck between twigs and logs, making access to the day difficult for insectivorous birds.

Outlet - see eye.

Zadziatek, zadziak - a beehive with an unfinished day.

Zalesowanie - anchoring of walking sticks during the day.

Latch - a bolt used to secure the nursery.

Zatuła - see log.

Valve - see bar.

Lengthen, lengthen - see length.

Descent - descending from a bee tree using a lair and a lair.

Honey bee stigma - see klemo.

Groove - half of a log sawn crosswise.

LITERATURE

Armbruster, L. Der Bienenstand als völkerkundliches Denkmal. Neumünster 1926.

Armbruster, L. Die alte Bienenzucht der Alpen. Neumünster 1928.

Armbruster, L. Die alte Bienenzucht Italiens. Arch. f. Bienenkunde Bd. October 1929.

Armbruster, L. Klassische Bienenzuchtgebiete im Lichte der historischen Betriebslehre u. Völkerkunde. Arch. f. Bienenkunde Bd. XII. 1931.

Armbruster, L. Zur Verbreitung des alten alpinen Tunnelstockes (Bauernkastens) usw. Arch. f. Bienenkunde Bd. XIII. 1932.

Armbruster, L. Imkerei-Betriebsformen II. Arch. f. Bienenkunde Bd. XIV. 1933.

Armbruster, L. Von der grauen Vorzeit der Imkerei, besonders der germanischen Arch. f. Bienenkunde Bd. 15th 1934.

Armbruster, L. Uber Imkersprache als Urkunde. Arch. f. Bienenkunde Bd. 15th 1934.

Bessler, J. G. Geschichte der Bienenzucht. Stuttgart 1886.

Blank-Weissberg, S. and Cedro, T. Preliminary research on the statistics of beehive types in Poland. Overview Breeding TX 1936.

Bruckner, A. Old Polish Encyclopedia. Warsaw 1937.

Chetnik, A. About Kurpie. Warsaw 1919.

Conwentz, H. Über Bienenbäume (Beutkiefern). Schr. d.Nat. Goose. Danzig. (Neue Folge) Nd. October 1899.

Conwentz, H. Forstbotanisches Merkbuch I Provinz Westpreussen. Berlin 1900.

Ciborowski, T. Work in the apiary. Vilnius 1927.

Cuny, P. Learning to breed bees. Vol. I. Warsaw, 1872.

Dąbkowski, P. Beekeeping in ancient Poland. Lviv 1923.

Falkowski, A. Beekeeping in Toruń in ancient times. Pam. Pomeranian. Appearance Beekeeping. Toruń 1936.

Gloger, Z. Old Polish Illustrated Encyclopedia. TI Warszawa 1900.

Glotz, K. The story about log hives. Annual Warsz. King. Comrade Admission Science. Vol. XII. 1818.

Hedemann, O. Ancient forests and waters. Vilnius 1934.

Keler, S. Beehive trees in Pomerania. Annual Half. Comrade Dendrologist. Vol. II 1928.

Klinge, J. Die Honigbäume des Ostbalticums ud Beutkiefern Westpreussens. Schr. d.Nat. Goose. Danzig (Neue Folge) Bd. October 1901.

Klose, H. Uber Waldbienenzucht in Lithauen u. einigen Nachbargebieten. Abh. Math.-Nat. Abt. d. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Suppl.-Bd. September 1925.

Kochanowski, J. Barcie and beekeeping in the Grodno region. Niemen Z. I 1935.

Kozłowski, W. Forest, beekeeping, amber and Oryla dictionary. Warsaw 1846—7.

Królikowski, J. The oldest Polish book about beekeeping. Zamość 1920.

Kulesza, T. Druskininkai and surroundings. Druskininkai 1935.

Leciejewski, J. Bees and beekeeping in Poland. Poznań 1856.

Lubieniecki, J. Thorough practical training for beekeepers. TI Lviv 1859.

Mieczyński, A. Good beekeeper. Warsaw 1860.

Moszyński, K. Eastern Polesie. Warsaw 1928.

Moszyński, K. Folk culture of the Slavs. Vol. I. Material culture. Krakow 1929.

Namysłowski, B. Masovian honey bee marks of the 17th and 18th centuries and other folk signs. Overview Leśn. 1927.

Ostroróg, J. Learning about apiaries from information from Mr. Walenty Kącki. Zamość 1613.

Pyłypčuk, W. Praktyčnyj pidručnyk of grazing. Lviv 1930.

Połujański, A. Description of the forests of the Kingdom of Poland and the western provinces of the Russian Empire. Vol. I-IV. Warsaw 1854—5.

Popov, WP Letopis' russkago pečeldomstwa. Penza 1913.

Röhrenschef, S. 12 months in the apiary. Tarnów 1919.

Sajó, K. Unsere Honigbiene. Stuttgart 1909.

Schirach, AG Die Waldbienenzucht. Breslau 1774.

Selivanow, AF Istoričeskij očerk razwitja pełdomy in Russia. Petersburg 1896.

Szydłowski, S. Beehive, knitting and protection of beehives. Pam. Pomeranian. Appearance Beekeeping. Toruń 1936.

Tokmakov, IF Kratkij obzor of materials on the history of peo-dom. Invitation Imp. Obšč. Lub. Is. Antr. and Etn. T.XLVI. 1889.

Witwicki, M. On the need to preserve and care for beehives in our forests. Gazeta Polska 1828.

Witwicki, M. On bee breeding in Polish provinces. Vol. I—II Warsaw 1829.

Znamierowska-Prufferowa, M. A hundred-year-old apiary in Skowronowo near Częstochowa. Tabes. People Vol. II. 1933.

Znamirowski, J. Polish beekeeper. TI Warszawa 1863.

Żorawko-Pokorskij, AI Istorija usowieršenstwowanija ulja. Broker 1840.

NN About beekeeping, i.e. wild breeding of bees in forests. Sylvan T. IV. 1827.

NN Criticism of M. Witwicki's article "On the need to preserve and care for beehives in our forests". Sylwan TV 1828.

1.

• The diagram of closing the beehives drawn by Klinge (1901) based on information given to him orally by Puuseppa is completely different from reality. It is incomprehensible how it was possible to come up with a similar scheme, which not only differs from the Conwentz photographs known to the above-mentioned author, in which it is clearly visible that the beet always completely covers the log, but which, moreover, a priori, having never even seen a single beehive, would have to be rejected on the grounds that a similarly leaky closure would prevent bees from overwintering.

• Figures 11 and 12, by Zygmunt Lorec (1891—1963), will enter the public domain in 2034.

• Exactly the same thing that I have already noted in relation to the diagram of closing the beehive by Klinge, should also be said about the drawing of the lazy, especially the bath and the goat, which Klose gives. This drawing, like Klinge's drawing is based on Puuseppa's oral story, is based on Bielenstein's (1896) description. And yet, even in German literature there is a photograph from Pomerania showing a beekeeper sitting on a bee tree on an original lair.

• Of course, bottomless bottoms also include crested baskets, which are used in large numbers in our western lands. However, these are not hives that originally occurred in these lands, but are the result of the influence of German culture and came to us over the last two hundred or so years from the west.

• On the authorship of the mentioned beehive, see Królikowski (1920).

• Figure 53, by Zygmunt Lorec (1891—1963), will enter the public domain in 2034.

7. It should be noted that placing beehives on trees is also found outside the Slavs, in Asia Minor, and among some African peoples, such as the Abyssinians and the Maasai. This is even more interesting because these people have probably never known beehives.