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[Illustration:
So work the Honey Bees.
Creatures that by a rule in Nature, teach
The art of order to a peopled kingdom.--_Shakspeare._]
[Illustration: Worker. Drone. Queen.
The above are a very accurate representations of the QUEEN, the WORKER
and the DRONE. The group of bees in the title page, represents the
attitude in which the bees surround their Queen or Mother as she rests
upon the comb.]
LANGSTROTH
ON THE
HIVE AND THE HONEY-BEE,
A Bee Keeper's Manual,
BY
REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH.
[Illustration: EVERY GOOD MOTHER SHOULD BE THE
HONORED QUEEN OF A HAPPY FAMILY.]
NORTHAMPTON:
HOPKINS, BRIDGMAN & COMPANY.
1853.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by
L. L. LANGSTROTH,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
C. A. MIRICK, PRINTER, GREENFIELD.
PREFACE.
This Treatise on the Hive and the Honey-Bee, is respectfully submitted
by the Author, to the candid consideration of those who are interested
in the culture of the most useful as well as wonderful Insect, in all
the range of Animated Nature. The information which it contains will be
found to be greatly in advance of anything which has yet been presented
to the English Reader; and, as far as facilities for practical
management are concerned, it is believed to be a very material advance
over anything which has hitherto been communicated to the Apiarian
Public.
Debarred, by the state of his health, from the more appropriate duties
of his Office, and compelled to seek an employment which would call him,
as much as possible, into the open air, the Author indulges the hope
that the result of his studies and observations, in an important branch
of Natural History, will be found of service to the Community as well as
to himself. The satisfaction which he has taken in his researches, has
been such that he has felt exceedingly desirous of interesting others,
in a pursuit which, (without any reference to its pecuniary profits,)
is capable of exciting the delight and enthusiasm of all intelligent
observers. The Creator may be seen in all the works of his hands; but in
few more directly than in the wise economy of the Honey-Bee.
"What well appointed commonwealths! where each
Adds to the stock of happiness for all;
Wisdom's own forums! whose professors teach
Eloquent lessons in their vaulted hall!
Galleries of art! and schools of industry!
Stores of rich fragrance! Orchestras of song!
What marvelous seats of hidden alchemy!
How oft, when wandering far and erring long,
Man might learn truth and virtue from the BEE!"
_Bowring._
The attention of Clergymen is particularly solicited to the study of
this branch of Natural History. An intimate acquaintance with the
wonders of the Bee-Hive, while it would benefit them in various ways,
might lead them to draw their illustrations, more from natural objects
and the world around them, and in this way to adapt them better to the
comprehension and sympathies of their hearers. It was, we know, the
constant practice of our Lord and Master, to illustrate his teachings
from the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, and the common walks
of life and pursuits of men. Common Sense, Experience and Religion alike
dictate that we should follow his example.
L. L. LANGSTROTH.
_Greenfield, Mass., May 25, 1853._
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION--CHAPTER I.
Deplorable state of bee-keeping. New era anticipated, 13. Huber's
discoveries and hives. Double hives for protection against extremes of
temperature, 14. Necessary to obtain complete control of the combs.
Taming bees. Hives with movable bars. Their results important, 15.
Bee-keeping made profitable and certain. Movable frames for comb. Bees
will work in glass hives exposed to the light. Dzierzon's discoveries,
16. Wagner's letter on the merits of Dzierzon's hive and the movable
comb hive, 17. Superiority of movable comb hive, 19. Superiority of
Dzierzon's over the old mode, 20. Success attending it, 22. Bee-Journal
to be established. Two of them in Germany. Important facts connected
with bees heretofore discredited, 23. Every thing seen in observing
hives, 24.
CHAPTER II.
BEES CAPABLE OF DOMESTICATION. Astonishment of persons at their
tameness, 25. Bees intended for the comfort of man. Properties fitting
them for domestication. Bees never attack when filled with honey, 26.
Swarming bees fill their honey bags and are peaceable. Hiving of bees
safe, 27. Bees cannot resist the temptation to fill themselves with
sweets. Manageable by means of sugared water, 28. Special aversion to
certain persons. Tobacco smoke to subdue bees should not be used.
Motions about a hive should be slow and gentle, 29.
CHAPTER III.
THE QUEEN BEE. THE DRONE. THE WORKER, 30. Knowledge of facts relating to
them, necessary to rear them with profit. Difficult to reason with some
bee-keepers. Queen bee the mother of the colony--described, 31.
Importance of queen to the colony. Respect shown her by the other bees.
Disturbance occasioned by her loss, 32. Bee-keepers cannot fail to be
interested in the habits of bees, 33. Whoever is fond of his bees is
fond of his home. Fertility of queen bees under-estimated. Fecundation
of eggs of the queen bees, 34-36. Huber vindicated. Francis Burnens.
Huber the prince of Apiarians, 35. Dr. Leidy's curious dissections, 37.
Wasps and hornets fertilized like queen bees. Huish's inconsistency, 38.
Retarded fecundation productive of drones only. Fertile workers produce
only drones, 39. Dzierzon's opinions on this subject, 40. Wagner's
theory. Singular fact in reference to a drone-rearing colony.
Drone-laying queen on dissection, unimpregnated. Dzierzon's theory
sustained, 41. Dead drone for queen, mistake of bees, 43. Eggs
unfecundated produce drones. Fecundated produce workers; theory
therefor, 44. Aphides but once impregnated for a series of generations.
Knowledge necessary for success, Queen bee, process of laying, 45. Eggs
described. Hatching, 46. Larva, its food, its nursing. Caps of breeding
and honey cells different, 47. Nymph or pupa, working. Time of
gestation. Cells contracted by cocoons sometimes become too small. Queen
bee, her mode of development, 48. Drone's development. Development of
young bees slow in cool weather or weak swarms. Temperature above 70
deg. for the production of young. Thin hives, their insufficiency. Brood
combs, danger of exposure to low temperature, 49. Cocoons of drones and
workers perfect. Cocoons of queens imperfect, the cause, 50. Number of
eggs dependent on the weather, &c. Supernumerary eggs, how disposed of,
51. Queen bee, fertility diminishes after her third year. Dies in her
fourth year, 52. Drones, description of. Their proper office. Destroyed
by the bees. When first appear, 53. None in weak hives. Great number of
them. Rapid increase of bees in tropical climates, 54. How to prevent
their over production. Expelled from the hive, 55. If not expelled, hive
should be examined. Provision to avoid "in and in breeding," 56. Close
breeding enfeebles colonies. Working bees, account of. Number in a hive,
58. All females with imperfect ovaries. Fertile workers not tolerated
where there are queens, 59. Honey receptacle. Pollen basket. The sting.
Sting of bees, 60. Often lost in using. Penalty of its loss. Sting not
lost by other insects. Labors of workers, 61. Age of bees, 62. Bees
useful to the last, 63. Cocoons not removed by the bees. Breeding cells
becoming too small are reconstructed. Old comb should be removed. Brood
comb not to be changed every year, 64. Inventors of hives too often men
of "one idea." Folly of large closets for bees, 65. Reason of limited
colonies. Mother wasps and hornets only survive Winter. Queen, process
of rearing, 66. Royal cells, 67. Royal Jelly, 68. Its effect on the
larvæ, 69. Swammerdam, 70. Queen departs when successors are provided
for. Queens, artificial rearing, 71. Interesting experiment, 72.
Objections against the Bible illustrated, 73. Huish against Huber, 74.
His objections puerile. Objections to the Bible ditto, 75.
CHAPTER IV.
COMB. Wax, how made. Formed of any saccharine substance. Huber's
experiments, 76. High temperature necessary to its composition, 77. Heat
generated in forming. Twenty pounds of honey to form one of wax. Value
of empty comb in the new hive. How to free comb from eggs of the moth,
78. Combs having bee-bread of great value. How to empty comb and replace
it in the hive, 79. Artificial comb. Experiment with wax proposed, 80.
Its results, if successful. Comb made chiefly in the night. 81. Honey
and comb made simultaneously. Wax a non-conductor of heat. Some of the
brood cells uniform in size, others vary, 82. Form of cells
mathematically perfect, 83. Honey comb a demonstration of a "Great First
Cause," 84.
CHAPTER V.
PROPOLIS OR BEE GLUE. Whence it is obtained. Huber's experiment, 85. Its
use. Comb varnished with it. The moth deposits her eggs in it, 85.
Propolis difficult for bees to work. Curious use of it by bees, 87.
Ingenuity of bees admirable, 88.
CHAPTER VI.
POLLEN OR BEE-BREAD. Whence obtained. Its use. Brood cannot be raised
without it. Pollen nitrogenous. Its use discovered by Huber, 89. Its
collection by bees indicates a healthy queen. Experiment showing the
importance of bee-bread to a colony, 90. Not used in making comb. Bees
prefer it fresh. Surplus in old hives to be used to supply its want to
young hives. Pollen and honey both secured at the same time by bees.
Mode of gathering pollen, 91. Packing down. Bees gather one kind of
pollen at a time. They aid in the impregnation of plants. History of the
bee plain proof of the wisdom of the Creator. Bees made for man, 92.
Virgil's opinion of bees. Rye meal a substitute for pollen. Quantity
used by each colony, 93. Wheat flour a substitute. The improved hive
facilitates feeding bees with meal. The discovery of a substitute for
pollen removes an obstacle to the cultivation of honey bees, 94.
CHAPTER VII.
Fifty-four Advantages which ought to be found in an improved hive,
95-110. Some desirable qualities the movable comb hive does not pretend
to! Is the result of years of study and observation. It has been tested
by experience, 111. Not claimed as a perfect hive. Old-fashioned
bee-keepers found most profit, &c. Simplest form of hive, 112. Bee
culture where it was fifty years ago. Best hives. New hive is submitted
to the judgment of candid bee-keepers, 113.
CHAPTER VIII.
PROTECTION AGAINST EXTREMES OF HEAT, COLD AND DAMPNESS. Many colonies
destroyed by extremes of weather. Evils of thin hives. Bees not torpid
in Winter. When frozen are killed, 114. Take exercise to keep warm.
Perish if unable to preserve suitable degree of warmth. Are often
starved in the midst of plenty. Eat an extra quantity of food in thin,
cold hives, 115. Muscular exertion occasions waste of muscular fiber.
Bees need less food when quiet than when excited. Experiment, wintering
bees in a dry cellar, 116. Protection must generally be given in open
air. None but diseased bees discharge fæces in the hive. Moisture, its
injurious effects. Free air needful in cold weather, with the common
hive, 117. Loss by their flying out in cold weather. Protection against
extremes of weather of the very first importance. Honey, our country
favorable to its production. Colonies in forests strong. Reasons for
this, 118. Russian and Polish bee-keepers successful. Their mode of
management, 119. Objection of want of air answered, 120. Bees need but
little air in Winter if protected. Protection in reference to the
construction of hives. Double hives, preferable to plank. Made warm in
Winter by packing. Double hives, inside may be of glass, 121. Advantages
of glass over wood, 122. Advantages of double glass. Disadvantages of
double hives in Spring. Avoided by the improved hive, 123. Covered
Apiaries exclude the sun in Spring. Reason for discarding them. Sun, its
effect in producing early swarms in thin hives. Protected hives fall for
want of sun. Enclosed Apiaries, nuisances. Thin hives ought to be given
up, they are expensive in waste of honey and bees, 124. Comparative
cheapness of new and old hives, 125. Protector against injurious
weather. Proper location of bees. Preparations for setting hives, 126.
Protector should be open in Summer and banked in Winter. Cheaper than an
Apiary. Summer air of Protector like forest air. In Winter uniform and
mild, 127. Bees will not be enticed out in improper weather. Secures
their natural heat. Dead bees, &c., to be removed in Winter. Temperature
of the Protector, 128. Importance of the Protector. Its economy in food,
129.
CHAPTER IX.
VENTILATION. Artificial ventilation produced by bees. Purity of air in
the hive, 130. Bad air fatal to bees, eggs and larvæ, 131. Bees when
disturbed need much air. Dysentery, how produced. Post mortem condition
of suffocated bees, 132. Great annoyance of excessive heat. Bees leave
the hive to save the comb. Ventilating instinct wonderful, 133. Should
shame man for his neglect of ventilation. Comparative expense of
ventilation to man and bees, 134. Importance of ventilation to man. Its
neglect induces disease, 135. Plants cannot thrive without free air. The
union of warmth and ventilation in Winter an important question.
House-builder and stove-maker combine against fresh air, 136. Run-away
slave boxed up. Evil qualities of bad air aggravated by heat. Dwellings
and public buildings generally deficient in ventilation. Degeneracy will
ensue, 137. Women the greatest sufferers. Necessity of reform, 138.
Public buildings should be required to have plenty of air. Improved
hive, its adaptedness to secure ventilation, 139. Nutt's hive too
complicated. Ventilation independent of the entrance, 140. Hive may be
entirely closed without incommoding the bees. Ventilators should be
easily removable to be cleansed. Ventilation from above injurious except
when bees are to be moved, 141. Variable size of the entrance adapts it
to all seasons. Ventilators should be closed in Spring. Downing on
ventilation, (note,) 142.
CHAPTER X.
SWARMING AND HIVING. Bees swarming a beautiful sight. Poetic description
by Evans. Design of swarming, 143. The honey bee unlike other insects in
its colonizing habits. It is chilled by a temperature below 50 deg.
Would perish in Winter if not congregated in masses. Admirable
adaptation, 144. Swarming necessary. Circumstances in which it takes
place. June the swarming month. Preparations for swarming. Old queen
accompanies the first swarm. No infallible signs of 1st swarming, 145.
Fickleness of bees about swarming. Indications of swarming. Hours of
swarming, 146. Proceedings within the hive before swarming. Interesting
scene. Bells and frying-pans useless, 147. Neglected bees apt to fly
away in swarming. Bees properly cared for seldom do it. Methods of
arresting their flight when started, 148. Conduct of bees in
disagreeable hives, 149. Why bees swarm before selecting a new home.
They rarely cluster without the queen. Interesting experiment, 150.
Scouts to search for new abodes. Scouts sent out before and after
swarming, 151. Bees remain awhile after alighting. Curious incident
stated by Mr. Zollickoffer. Necessity of scouts. Considerations
confirmed, 152. Re-population of the hive, 153. Inability of bees to
find their hive when it has been removed. After swarms, 154. Different
treatment to the cells of dead and living queens. Royal larvæ sometimes
protected against the queens. Anger of the queen at such interference,
155. Second swarming, its indications. Time, 156. Double swarms. Third
swarm. After swarms seriously reduce the strength of the hive. Wise
arrangement, 157. After-swarming avoided by the improved hive.
Impregnation of queens. Dangerous for queens to mistake their own hives,
158. Precautions against this. Proper color for hives. Time of laying
eggs. None but worker eggs, the first season, 159. Directions for
hiving. Hives should be painted and well dried. Bees reluctant to enter
thin warm hives in the sun, 160. Management with the improved hives,
161. Drone combs should never be used as guide comb. Pleasure of bees in
finding comb in their new quarters. Bees never voluntarily enter empty
hives. Rubbing the hive with herbs useless, 162. Small trees or bushes
in front of hives. Inexperienced Apiarian should wear a bee-dress.
Moderate dispatch in hiving needful, 163. Process of hiving particularly
described, 164. Old method of hiving should be abandoned, 166.
Importance of speedy hiving. Should be moved as soon as hived. Curious
fact stated by Dr. Scudamore, (note), 167. How to secure the queen. She
does not sting. Hiving before the hives are ready, 168. Another method
of hiving. Natural swarming profitable. Objections to natural swarming.
Common hive gives inadequate winter protection, 169. With it, the bees
often swarm too much. With the improved hive this is avoided.
Disadvantages of returning after-swarms. Third objection, inability to
strengthen small late swarms, 170. Evils of feeble stocks. Fourth
objection, loss of queen irreparable. By the new hive her loss is easily
supplied, 171. Fifth, common hives inconvenient when bees do not swarm.
This objection removed by the new hive. Sixth, the ravages of the moth
easily prevented by the improved hive. Seventh, the old queen, when
infertile, cannot be removed or replaced. Both can be done by the new
hive, 172.
CHAPTER X.
(Two Chapters numbered x, by error of the Press.)
ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. Numerous efforts to dispense with natural swarming.
Difficulties of natural swarming. First, many swarms are lost, 173.
Second, time and labor required. Sabbath labor, 174. Perplexities to
farmers. Third, large Apiaries cannot be established, 175. Fourth,
uncertainty of swarming. Disappointments from this source, 176. Efforts
to devise a surer method, 178. Columellas's mode of obtaining swarms.
Hyginus. Small success which attended, those efforts, Schirach's
discovery, 179. Huber's directions. Not adapted to general use. Dividing
hives in this country unsuitable. Bees without mature queens make no
preparation to rear workers, 180. Dividing hives to multiply colonies
will not answer, 181. Huber's hive even, inadequate. Common dividing
hives unsuccessful. Multiplying by brood comb in an empty hive, vain,
182. Multiplying by removal and substitution useless. Mortality of bees
in working season, 183. Connecting apartments a failure, 184. Many
prefer non-swarming hives, 185. Profitable in honey but calculated to
exterminate the insect. Improved hive good non-swarmer, if desired.
Disadvantages of non-swarming. Queen bee becomes infertile. Remedied by
the use of the improved hive, 186. Practicable mode of artificial
swarming, 187. Bees will welcome to their hives strange bees that come
loaded. Will destroy such as come empty, 188. Forced swarming requires
knowledge of the economy of the bee-hive. Common hives give no facility
for learning the bee's habits. Equalizing a divided swarm, 190. Bees in
parent hive, if removed, to be confined and watered, 191. Bees removed
will return to their old place. Supplying bees with water by a straw.
Water necessary to prepare food for the larvæ, 192. New forced swarms to
be returned to the place of the old one, or removed to a distance.
Treatment to wont them to new place in the Apiary, 193. Bees forget
their new locations. Objection to forced swarming in common hives, 194.
Forced swarming by the new hives removes the objection. Mode of forcing
swarms by the new hives, 195. Queen to be searched for. Important that
she should be in the right hive, 196. Convenience of forced swarming in
supplying extra queens. Mode of supplying them. Should be done by day
light and in pleasant weather, 197. Honey-water not to be used. Safety
to the operator. Forced swarming may be performed at mid-day. Advantages
of the shape of the new hive, 198. Huber's observation on the effect of
sudden light in the hive. True solution of the phenomenon. Bees at the
top of the hive, less belligerent than those at the bottom, 199. Sudden
jars to be avoided. Removal of honey-board. Sprinkling with sugar-water,
200. Loosening the frames. Removing the comb. Bees will adhere to their
comb, 201. Natural swarming imitated. How to catch the queen. Frames
protected from cold and robbery by bees. Frames returned to the hive.
Honey-cover, how managed. Motions of bee-keeper to be gentle. Bees must
not be breathed on. Success in the operation certain, 202. New colonies
may be thus formed in ten minutes. Natural swarming wholly prevented. If
attempted by the bees cannot succeed. How to remove the wings of the
queens, 203. Precaution against loss of queen by old age. Advantages of
this, 204. Certainty and ease of artificial swarming with the new hive.
After-swarms prevented if desired, 205. Large harvests of honey and
after-swarming impracticable. Danger of too rapid increase of stocks.
Importance of understanding his object, by the bee-keeper, 206. The
matter made plain, 207. Apiarians dissuaded from more than tripling
their stocks in a year. Tenfold increase of stocks attainable, 209.
Certain increase, not rapid, most needed. Cautions concerning
experiments, 210. Honey, largest yield obtained by doubling colonies.
The process, 211. May be done at swarming time. Bees recognize each
other by smell, 213. Importance of following these directions
illustrated. Process of uniting swarms simplified by the new hive, 214.
Very rapid increase of colonies precarious. Mode of effecting the most
rapid increase, 215. Nucleus system, 217. Can a queen be raised from any
egg? Two sorts of workers, wax workers and nurses, 218. Probable
explication of a difficulty, 219. Experimenting difficult work. Swarming
season best time for artificial swarming. Amusing perplexity of bees on
finding their hive changed, 220. Perseverance of bees. Interesting
incident illustrating it, 221. Novel and successful mode of forming
nuclei, 223. Mode of managing nuclei, 225. Danger of over-feeding.
Increasing stocks by doubling hives, 229. Important rule for multiplying
stocks. How to direct the strength of a colony to the rearing of young
bees, 230. Proper dimensions of hives. Reasons therefor, 231. Easy
construction of the improved hive. Precaution of queen bees in their
combats, 234. Reluctance of bees to receive a new queen. Expedient to
overcome this. Queen nursery, 235. Mode of rearing numerous queens, 237.
Control of the comb the soul of good bee-culture. Objection against
bee-keeping answered, 233. No "royal road" to bee-keeping. A prediction,
239.
CHAPTER XI.
ENEMIES OF BEES. Bee-moth, its ravages. Defiance against it, 240. Its
habits. Known to Virgil. Time of appearance. Nocturnal in habits, 241.
Their agility. Vigilance of the bees against the moth. Havoc of sin in
the heart, 242. Disgusting effects of the moth worm in a hive. Wax the
food of the moth larvæ. Making their cocoons, 243. Devices to escape the
bees. Time of development, 244. Habits of the female when laying eggs.
Of the worm when hatched, 245. Our climate favorable to the increase of
the moth. Moth not a native of America, 246. Honey, its former plenty.
Present depressure of its culture. Old mode of culture described, 247.
Depredations of the moth increased by patent hives. Aim of patent hives.
Sulphur or starvation, 249. Feeble swarms a nuisance, 250. Notion
prevailing in relation to breaking up stocks. Improved hives valueless
without improved system of treatment, 251. Pretended secrets in the
management of bees. Strong stocks thrive under almost any circumstances,
252. Stocks in costly hives. Circumstances under which the moth succeeds
in a hive, 253. Signs of worms in a hive, 254. When entrenched difficult
to remove. Method of avoiding their ravages, 255. Combs having moth eggs
to be removed and smoked, 257. Uncovered comb to be removed, 258. Loss
of the queen the most fruitful occasion of ravages by the moth.
Experiments on this point, 259. Attempts to defend a queenless swarm
against the moth useless, 260. Strong queenless colonies destroyed when
feeble ones with queens are untouched. Common hives furnish no remedy
for the loss of the queen. Colonies without queens will perish, if not
destroyed by the moth, 261. Strong stocks rob queenless ones. Principal
reasons of protection, 262. Small stocks should have small space.
Inefficiency of various contrivances, 263. Useful precautions when using
common hives. Destroy the larvæ of the moth early. Decoy of a woolen
rag, 264. Hollow or split sticks for traps. If the queen be lost, and
worms infest the colony, break it up. Provision of the improved hives
against moths, 265. Moth-traps no help to careless bee-keepers.
Incorrigibly careless persons should have nothing to do with bees, 266.
Worms, how removed from an improved hive. Sweet solutions useful to
catch the moths. Interesting remarks of H. K. Oliver, on the bee-moth,
267. Ravages of mice. Birds. Observations on the king-bird, 269.
Inhumanity and injurious effects of destroying birds, 270. Other
enemies of the bee. Precautions against dysentery. Bees not to be fed on
liquid honey late in the season. Foul brood of the Germans, 271.
Produced by "American Honey." Peculiar kind of dysentery, 272.
CHAPTER XII.
LOSS OF THE QUEEN. Queen often lost. Queens of strong hives seldom
perish without providing for successors. Their death commonly occurs
under favorable circumstances, 273. Young queen sometimes matured before
the death of the old one. Superannuated queens incapable of laying
worker eggs. Case of precocious superannuation, 274. Signs that there is
no queen in a hive. Signs of queenless hives, 275. Exhortation to wives,
276. Difficult in common hives, to decide on the condition of the stock.
Always easy with the movable comb hive, 277. Bees sometimes refuse to
accept of aid in their queenless state. Parallel in human conduct. Young
bees in such hives will at once provide for a queen. An appeal to the
young, 278. Hives should be examined early in Spring. Destitute stocks
should be united to others having queens. Reasons therefor. General
treatment in early Spring, 279. Hives should be cleansed in Spring.
Durability and cheapness of hives, 280. Undue regard to mere cheapness.
Various causes destructive of queens, 281. Agitation of the bees on
missing their queen, 282. Treatment of swarms that have lost their
queens, 283. Examination of the hive needful, 284. Examination and
treatment in the Fall. Persons who cannot attend to their bees
themselves, may safely entrust their care to others, 285. Business of
the Apiarian united with that of the gardner. Experiments with queen
bees, 286.
CHAPTER XIII.
UNION OF STOCKS. TRANSFERRING BEES. STARTING AN APIARY. Queenless
colonies should be broken up, Spring and Fall. Small colonies should be
united. Animal heat necessary in a hive. Small swarms in Winter consume
much honey, 287. Colonies to be united, should stand side by side. How
to effect this. Removal of an Apiary in the working season, 288. To
secure the largest quantity of honey from a given number of stocks, 289.
Non-swarming plan. Moderate increase best, 290. Transferring bees from
common, to the movable comb hive, 291. Successful experiment. Should not
be attempted in cold weather. The process of transfer, 292. Best time.
May be done at any season when the weather is warm, 294. Precaution
against robbing, 295. Combs should be transferred with the bees, 296.
Caution on trying new hives, 297. Thrifty old swarms. Conditions of
their thrift, 298. Procuring bees to start an Apiary. New early swarms
best. Signs to guide the inexperienced buyer, 299. Directions for
removing old colonies. For removing new swarms, 300. To procure honey
the first season. Novices should begin in a small way. Neglected Apiary,
303. Superstitions about bees. Cautions to the inexperienced, against
transferring, renewed. Parallel between bees and covetous men, 304.
CHAPTER XIV.
ROBBING. Idleness a great cause of it, 305. Colonies should be examined
and supplied with food in Spring. Appearance of robber bees, 306. Their
suspicious actions. Are real "Jerry Sneaks," 308. Highway robbers, 309.
Bee battles. Subjected bees unite with the conquerors. Cautions against
robbery. Importance of guarding against robbery, 310. Efficiency of the
movable blocks to this end. Comb with honey not to be exposed, 311.
Curious case of robbery, 314.
CHAPTER XV.
DIRECTIONS FOR FEEDING BEES. Feeding greatly mismanaged. Condition of
the bees should be ascertained in the Spring. They should be supplied if
needy, 315. Many perish from want. Connection between feeding and
breeding in the hive, 316. Caution in feeding necessary. Results of over
feeding, 317. Necessary to feed largely in multiplying stocks. How to
feed weak swarms in Spring, 319. Considerations governing the quantity
of food, 320. Main object to produce bees. Proper condition of an Apiary
at close of honey season, 321. Feeding for Winter attended to in August.
Unsealed honey sours. Sour food is unwholesome to bees. Striking
instance, 322. Spare honey to be apportioned among the stocks. Swarms
with overstocks of honey do not breed so well. Surplus honey in Spring
to be removed, 323. Full frames exchanged for empty ones. Feeble stocks
in Fall, to be broken up. Profits all come from strong swarms.
Composition of a good bee-feed, 324. Directions for feeding with the
improved hive, 325. Feeding useless when but little comb in the hive,
326. Top feeding. Feeder described. Importance of water to bees, 328.
Sugar candy a valuable substitute for honey. Summer feeding, 330. Bees
with proper care need but little feeding. Quantity of honey necessary to
winter a stock, 331. Feeding as a source of profit. Selling W. I. honey
a cheat, 332. Honey not a secretion of the bee. Evaporation of its water
the principal change it undergoes, 334. Folly of diluting the feed of
bees too much. Feeders of cheap honey for market, deceivers or deceived,
335. Artificial liquid honey, 336. Improved Maple sugar, 337. Feeding
bees on artificial honey not profitable, 337. Dangerous feeding bees
without floats. Their infatuation for liquid sweets, 339. Like that of
the inebriate for his cups, 340. Avarice in bees and men, 341.
CHAPTER XVI.
HONEY. PASTURAGE. OVERSTOCKING. Honey the product of flowers, 342. Honey
dew. Aphides, 343. Qualities of honey, 345. Poisonous honey. Innoxious
by boiling. Preserving honey, 346. Modes of taking honey from the hive.
Objections to glass vessels, 347. Pasteboard boxes preferred. Honey
should be handled carefully. Pattern comb to be used in the boxes. Honey
safely removed, 348. Should not be taken from the bees in large
quantities during honey harvest. Pasturage, 349. The Willow. Sugar Maple
and other honey-yielding trees, 350. Linden tree as an ornament. White
clover, 351. Recommended by Hon. Frederick Holbrook as a grass crop,
352. Sweet-scented clover, 363. Hybrid clover front Sweden, 354.
Buckwheat. Raspberry, 355. Garden flowers. Overstocking, 356. Little
danger of it. Bee-keepers and Napoleon. No overstocking in this country.
Letter from Mr. Wagner on the subject, 357. Flight of bees for food,
361. Advantages of a good hive in saving time and honey. Energies of
bees limited. Bees injured by winds, 362. Protector saves them from
harm. Estimated profits of bee-culture. Advice to the careless, 363.
Value of Dzierzon's system. Adopted by the government of Norway. Want of
National encouragement to agriculture, (note), 364.
CHAPTER XVII.
ANGER OF BEES. REMEDY FOR THEIR STING. BEE-DRESS. INSTINCTS OF BEES.
Gentleness of the bee, 365. Feats of Wildman. Interesting incident, 366.
Discovery of a universal law. Its importance and results, 367. Cross
bees diseased. Never necessary to provoke a whole colony of bees, 368.
Danger from bees when provoked. A word to females, 369. Kindness of bees
to one another. Contrast with some children, 370. Effects of a sting.
The poison, 371. Peculiar odors offensive to bees. Precautions against
animals and human robbers, 372. Sense of smell in the bee, 373. By this
they distinguish their hive companions. Robbers repelled by odors, 374.
Stocks united by them, 375. Warning given by bees before stinging. How
to act when assaulted by bees, 376. Remedies for the sting, 377.
Bee-dress, 380. Instincts of bees, 381. Distinction between instinct in
animals and reason in men. Remarkable instance of sagacity in bees, 383.
Facilities afforded by the Author's Improved Observing Hive.
Indebtedness of the author to S. Wagner, Esq., 384.
ADVERTISEMENT
L. L. LANGSTROTH'S MOVABLE COMB HIVE.
Patented October 5, 1862.
Each comb in this hive is attached to a separate, movable frame, and in
less than five minutes they may all be taken out, without cutting or
injuring them, or at all enraging the bees. Weak stocks may be quickly
strengthened by helping them to honey and maturing brood from stronger
ones; queenless colonies may be rescued from certain ruin by supplying
them with the means of obtaining another queen; and the ravages of the
moth effectually prevented, as at any time the hive may be readily
examined and all the worms, &c., removed from the combs. New colonies
may be formed in less time than is usually required to hive a natural
swarm; or the hive may be used as a non-swarmer, or managed on the
common swarming plan. The surplus honey may be taken from the interior
of the hive on the frames or in upper boxes or glasses, in the most
convenient, beautiful and saleable forms. Colonies may be safely
transferred from any other hive to this, at any season of the year, from
April to October, as the brood, combs, honey and all the contents of the
hive are transferred with them, and securely fastened in the frames.
That the combs can always be removed from this hive with ease and
safety, and that the new system, by giving the perfect control over all
the combs, effects a complete revolution in practical bee-keeping, the
subscriber prefers to _prove_ rather than assert. Practical Apiarians
and all who wish to purchase rights and hives, are invited to visit his
Apiary, where combs, honey and bees will be taken from the hives;
colonies which may be brought to him for that purpose, transferred from
any old hive; queens, and the whole process of rearing them constantly
exhibited; new colonies formed, and all processes connected with the
practical management of an Apiary fully illustrated and explained.
Those who have any considerable number of bees, will find it to their
interest to have at least one movable comb-hive in their Apiary, from
which they may, in a few minutes, supply any colony which has lost its
queen, with the means of rearing another.
The hive and right will be furnished on the following terms. For an
individual or farm right, five dollars. This will entitle the purchaser
to use and construct for his own use on his own premises, as many hives
as he chooses. The hives are manufactured by machinery, and can probably
be delivered, freight included, at any Railroad Station in New England,
or New York, cheaper than they could be made in small quantities on the
spot. On receipt of a hive, the purchaser can decide for himself,
whether he prefers to make them, or to order them of the Patentee. For
one dollar, postage paid, the book will be sent free by mail. On receipt
of ten dollars, a beautiful hive showing all the combs, (with glass on
four sides,) will be sent with right, freight paid to any railroad
station in New England or New York: a right and hive which will
accommodate _two_ colonies, with glass on each side, for twelve dollars;
for seven dollars, a right and a well made hive that any one can
construct who can handle the simplest tools. In all cases where the
hives are sent out of New England or New York, as the freight will not
be prepaid, a dollar will be deducted from the above prices.
Address
L. L. LANGSTROTH,
_Greenfield, Mass._
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I.
The present condition of practical bee-keeping in this country, is known
to be deplorably low. From the great mass of agriculturists, and others
favorably situated for obtaining honey, it receives not the slightest
attention. Notwithstanding the large number of patent hives which have
been introduced, the ravages of the bee-moth have increased, and success
is becoming more and more precarious. Multitudes have abandoned the
pursuit in disgust, while many of the most experienced, are fast
settling down into the conviction that all the so-called "Improved
Hives" are delusions, and that they must return to the simple box or
hollow log, and "_take up_" their bees with sulphur, in the
old-fashioned way.
In the present state of public opinion, it requires no little courage to
venture upon the introduction of a new hive and system of management;
but I feel confident that a _new era_ in bee-keeping has arrived, and
invite the attention of all interested, to the reasons for this belief.
A perusal of this Manual, will, I trust, convince them that there is a
better way than any with which they have yet been acquainted. They will
here find many hitherto mysterious points in the physiology of the
honey-bee, clearly explained, and much valuable information never before
communicated to the public.
It is now nearly fifteen years since I first turned my attention to the
cultivation of bees. The state of my health having compelled me to live
more and more in the open air, I have devoted a large portion of my
time, of late years, to a careful investigation of their habits, and to
a series of minute and thorough experiments in the construction of
hives, and the best methods of managing them, so as to secure the
largest practical results.
Very early in my Apiarian studies, I procured an imported copy of the
work of the celebrated Huber, and constructed a hive on his plan, which
furnished me with favorable opportunities of verifying some of his most
valuable discoveries; and I soon found that the prejudices existing
against him, were entirely unfounded. Believing that his discoveries
laid the foundation for a more extended and profitable system of
bee-keeping, I began to experiment with hives of various construction.
The result of all these investigations fell far short of my
expectations. I became, however, most thoroughly convinced that no hives
were fit to be used, unless they furnished _uncommon protection_ against
_extremes_ of _heat_ and more especially of COLD. I accordingly
discarded all thin hives made of inch stuff, and constructed my hives of
_doubled_ materials, enclosing a "dead air" space all around.
These hives, although more expensive in the first cost, proved to be
much cheaper in the end, than those I had previously used. The bees
_wintered_ remarkably well in them, and swarmed _early_ and with unusual
_regularity_. My next step in advance, was, while I secured my surplus
honey in the most convenient, beautiful and salable forms, so to
facilitate the entrance of the bees into the honey receptacles, as to
secure the largest fruits from their labors.
Although I felt confident that my hive possessed some valuable
peculiarities, I still found myself unable to remedy many of the
casualties to which bee-keeping is liable. I now perceived that no hive
could be made to answer my expectations unless it gave me the _complete
control of the combs_, so that I might remove any, or all of them at
pleasure. The use of the Huber hive had convinced me that with proper
precautions, the combs might be removed without _enraging_ the bees, and
that these insects were capable of being domesticated or _tamed_, to a
most surprising degree. A knowledge of these facts was absolutely
necessary to the further progress of my invention, for without it, I
should have regarded a hive designed to allow of the removal of the
combs, as too dangerous in use, to be of any practical value. At first,
I used movable slats or bars placed on rabbets in the front and back of
the hive. The bees were induced to build their combs upon these bars,
and in carrying them down, to fasten them to the sides of the hive. By
severing the attachments to the sides, I was able, at any time, to
remove the combs suspended from the bars. There was nothing _new_ in the
use of movable _bars_; the invention being probably, at least, a hundred
years old; and I had myself used such hives on Bevan's plan, very early
in the commencement of my experiments. The chief peculiarity in my
hives, as now constructed, was the facility with which these bars could
be removed without enraging the bees, and their combination with my new
mode of obtaining the surplus honey.
With hives of this construction I commenced experimenting on a larger
scale than ever, and soon arrived at results which proved to be of the
very first importance. I found myself able, if I wished it, to _dispense
entirely_ with _natural swarming_, and yet to multiply colonies with
much greater _rapidity_ and _certainty_ than by the common methods. I
could, in a _short time, strengthen my feeble colonies_, and furnish
those which had _lost their Queen_ with the means of _obtaining
another_. If I suspected that any thing was the matter with a hive, I
could _ascertain_ its _true condition_, by making a thorough examination
of every part, and if the _worms had gained a lodgment_, I could quickly
_dispossess_ them. In short, I could perform all the operations which
will be explained in this treatise, and I now believed that bee-keeping
could be made _highly profitable_, and as much a matter of _certainty_,
as any other branch of rural economy.
I perceived, however, that one thing was _yet_ wanting. The _cutting_ of
the combs from their attachments to the _sides_ of the hive, in order to
remove them, was attended with much loss of _time_ to myself and to the
bees, and in order to _facilitate_ this operation, the construction of
my hive was necessarily _complicated_. This led me to invent a method by
which the combs were attached to MOVABLE FRAMES, and suspended in the
hives, _so as to touch neither the top, bottom, nor sides_. By this
device, I was able to remove the combs at pleasure, and if desired, I
could speedily transfer them, bees and all, _without any cutting_, to
another hive. I have experimented largely with hives of this
construction, and find that they answer most admirably, all the ends
proposed in their invention.
While experimenting in the summer of 1851, with some observing hives of
a peculiar construction, I discovered that bees could be made to work in
glass hives, _exposed to the full light of day_. The notice, in a
Philadelphia newspaper, of this discovery, procured me the pleasure of
an acquaintance with Rev. Dr. Berg, pastor of a Dutch Reformed church in
that city. From him, I first learned that a Prussian clergyman, of the
name of Dzierzon, (pronounced Tseertsone,) had attracted the attention
of crowned heads, by his important discoveries in the management of
bees. Before he communicated the particulars of these discoveries, I
explained to Dr. Berg, my system of management, and showed him my hive.
He expressed the greatest astonishment at the wonderful similarity in
our methods of management, both of us having carried on our
investigations without the slightest knowledge of each other's labors.
Our hives, he found to differ in some very important respects. In the
Dzierzon hive, the combs are not attached to _movable frames_, but to
_bars_, so that they cannot, _without cutting_, be removed from the
hive. In my hive, which is opened _from the top_, any comb may be taken
out, without at all disturbing the others; whereas, in the Dzierzon
hive, which is opened from one of the ends, it is often necessary to
_cut_ and _remove many_ combs, in order to get access to a particular
one; thus, if the _tenth_ comb from the end is to be removed, _nine_
combs must be first _cut and taken out_. All this consumes a large
amount of time. The German hive does not furnish the surplus honey in a
form which would be found most salable in our markets, or which would
admit of safe transportation in the comb. Notwithstanding these
disadvantages, it has achieved a _great triumph_ in Germany, and given a
_new impulse_ to the cultivation of bees.
The following letter from Samuel Wagner, Esq., cashier of the bank in
York, Pennsylvania, will show the results which have been obtained in
Germany, by the new system of management, and his estimate of the
superior value of my hive to those in use there.
YORK, PA., DEC. 24, 1852.
DEAR SIR,
The Dzierzon theory and the system of bee-management based thereon, were
originally promulgated, _hypothetically_, in the "Eichstadt
Bienenzeitung" or Bee-journal, in 1845, and at once arrested my
attention. Subsequently, when in 1848, at the instance of the Prussian
government, the Rev. Mr. Dzierzon published his "Theory and Practice of
Bee Culture," I imported a copy, which reached me in 1849, and which I
translated prior to January 1850. Before the translation was completed,
I received a visit from my friend, the Rev. Dr. Berg, of Philadelphia,
and in the course of conversation on bee-keeping, mentioned to him the
Dzierzon theory and system, as one which I regarded as new and very
superior, though I had had no opportunity for testing it practically. In
February following, when in Philadelphia, I left with him the
translation in manuscript--up to which period, I doubt whether any other
person in this country had any knowledge of the Dzierzon theory; except
to Dr. Berg I had never mentioned it to any one, save in very general
terms.
In September, 1851, Dr. Berg again visited York, and stated to me your
investigations, discoveries and inventions. From the account Dr. Berg
gave me, I felt assured that you had devised substantially the _same
system_ as that so successfully pursued by Mr. Dzierzon; but how far
_your hive_ resembled his I was unable to judge from description alone.
I inferred, however, several points of difference. The coincidence as to
system, and the principles on which it was evidently founded, struck me
as exceedingly singular and interesting, because I felt confident that
you had no more knowledge of Mr. Dzierzon and his labors, before Dr.
Berg mentioned him and his book to you, than Mr. Dzierzon had of you.
These circumstances made me very anxious to examine your hives, and
induced me to visit your Apiary in the village of West Philadelphia,
last August. In the absence of the keeper, as I informed you, I took the
liberty to explore the premises thoroughly, opening and inspecting a
number of the hives, and noticing the internal arrangement of the parts.
The result was, that I came away convinced that though your system was
based on the same principles as Dzierzon's, yet that your hive was
almost totally different from his, in construction and arrangement; that
while the same objects _substantially_ are attained by each, your hive
is more simple, more convenient, and much better adapted for general
introduction and use, since the mode of using it can be more easily
taught. Of its ultimate and triumphant success I have no doubt. I
sincerely believe that when it comes under the notice of Mr. Dzierzon,
he will himself prefer it to his own. It in fact combines all the good
properties which a hive ought to possess, while it is free from the
complication, clumsiness, _vain whims_, and decidedly objectionable
features, which characterize most of the inventions which profess to be
at all superior to the simple box, or the common chamber hive.
You may certainly claim _equal credit_ with Dzierzon for originality in
observation and discovery in the natural history of the honey bee, and
for success in deducing principles and devising a most valuable system
of management from observed facts. But in _invention_, as far as
neatness, compactness, and adaptation of means to ends are concerned,
the sturdy German must yield the palm to you. You will find a case of
similar coincidence detailed in the Westminster Review for October,
1852, page 267, et seq.
I send you herewith some interesting statements respecting Dzierzon, and
the estimate in which his system is held in Germany.
Very truly yours,
SAMUEL WAGNER.
REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH.
The following are the statements to which Mr. Wagner refers.--
"As the best test of the value of Mr. Dzierzon's system, is the
_results_ which have been made to flow from it, a brief account of its
rise and progress maybe found interesting. In 1835 he commenced
bee-keeping in the common way, with 12 colonies--and after various
mishaps, which taught him the defects of the common hives and the old
mode of management, his stock was so reduced that in 1838 he had
virtually to begin anew. At this period he contrived his improved hive
in its ruder form, which gave him the command over all the combs, and he
began to experiment on the theory which observation and study had
enabled him to devise. Thenceforward his progress was as rapid as his
success was complete and triumphant. Though he met with frequent
reverses--about 70 colonies having been stolen from him, sixty destroyed
by fire, and 24 by a flood--yet in 1846 his stock had increased to 360
colonies, and he realized from them that year six thousand pounds of
honey, besides several hundred weight of wax. At the same time most of
the cultivators in his vicinity who pursued the common methods, had
fewer hives than they had when he commenced.
In the year 1848, a fatal pestilence, known by the name of "foul brood,"
prevailed among his bees, and destroyed nearly all his colonies before
it could be subdued--only about ten having escaped the malady, which
attacked alike the old stocks and his artificial swarms. He estimates
his entire loss that year at over 500 _colonies_. Nevertheless he
succeeded so well in multiplying by artificial swarms, the few that
remained healthy, that in the fall of 1851 his stock consisted of nearly
400 colonies. He must, therefore, have multiplied his stocks more than
three fold each year."
The highly prosperous condition of his colonies is attested by the
Report of the Secretary of the Annual Apiarian Convention which met in
his vicinity last spring. This Convention, the fourth which has been
held, consisted of 112 experienced and enthusiastic bee-keepers from
various districts of Germany and neighboring countries, and among them
were some who when they assembled were strong opposers of his system.
They visited and personally examined the Apiaries of Mr. Dzierzon. The
report speaks in the very highest terms of his success, and of the
manifest superiority of his system of management. He exhibited and
satisfactorily explained to his visitors his practice and principles;
and they remarked, with astonishment, the _singular docility_ of his
bees, and the thorough control to which they were subjected. After a
full detail of the proceedings, the Secretary goes on to say:--
"Now that I have seen Dzierzon's method practically demonstrated, I must
admit that it is attended with fewer difficulties than I had supposed.
With his hive and system of management it would seem that bees become at
once more docile than they are in other cases. I consider his system the
simplest and best means of elevating bee-culture to a profitable
pursuit, and of spreading it far and wide over the land--especially as
it is peculiarly adapted to districts in which the bees do not readily
and regularly swarm. His eminent success in re-establishing his stock
after suffering so heavily from the devastating pestilence--in short the
recuperative power of the system demonstrates conclusively, that it
furnishes the best, perhaps the only means of reinstating bee-culture lo
a profitable branch of rural economy.
Dzierzon modestly disclaimed the idea of having attained perfection in
his hive. He dwelt rather upon the truth and importance of his _theory_
and _system_ of _management_."
_From the Leipzig Illustrated Almanac--Report on Agriculture for 1846._
"Bee culture is no longer regarded as of any importance in rural
economy."
From the same for 1851, and 1853.
"Since Dzierzon's system has been made known an entire revolution in bee
culture has been produced. A new era has been created for it, and
bee-keepers are turning their attention to it with renewed zeal. The
merits of his discoveries are appreciated by the government, and they
recommend his system as worthy the attention of the teachers of common
schools.
Mr. Dzierzon resides in a poor sandy district of Middle Silesia, which,
according to the common notions of Apiarians, is unfavorable to
bee-culture. Yet despite of this and of various mishaps, he has
succeeded in realizing 900 dollars as the product of his bees in one
season!
By his mode of management, his bees yield, even in the poorest years,
from 10 to 15 per cent on the capital invested, and where the colonies
are produced by the Apiarian's own skill and labor they cost him only
about one-fourth the price at which they are usually valued. In ordinary
seasons the profit amounts to from 30 to 50 per cent, and in very
favorable seasons from 80 to 100 per cent."
In communicating these facts to the public, I have several objects in
view. I freely acknowledge that I take an honest pride in establishing
my claims as an independent observer; and as having matured by my own
discoveries, the same system of bee-culture, as that which has excited
so much interest in Germany; I desire also to have the testimony of the
translator of Dzierzon to the superior merits of my hive. Mr. Wagner is
extensively known as an able German scholar. He has taken all the
numbers of the Bee Journal, a monthly periodical which has been
published for more than fifteen years in Germany, and is probably more
familiar with the state of Apiarian culture abroad, than any man in this
country.
I am anxious further to show that the great importance which I attach to
my system of management, is amply justified by the success of those who
while pursuing the same system with inferior hives, have attained
results, which to common bee-keepers, seem almost incredible. Inventors
are very prone to form exaggerated estimates of the value of their
labors; and the American public has been so often deluded with patent
hives, devised by persons ignorant of the most important principles in
the natural history of the bee, and which have utterly failed to answer
their professed objects, that they are scarcely to be blamed for
rejecting every new hive as unworthy of confidence.
There is now a prospect that a Bee Journal will before long, be
established in this country. Such a publication has long been needed.
Properly conducted, it will have a most powerful influence in
disseminating information, awakening enthusiasm, and guarding the public
against the miserable impositions to which it has so long been
subjected.
Two such journals are now published monthly in Germany, one of which has
been in existence for more than 15 years--and their wide circulation has
made thousands well acquainted with those principles, which must
constitute the foundation of any enlightened and profitable system of
culture.
The truth is that while many of the principal facts in the physiology of
the honey bee have long been familiar to scientific observers, it has
unfortunately happened that some of the most important have been widely
discredited. In themselves they are so _wonderful_, and to those who
have not witnessed them, often _so incredible_, that it is not at all
strange that they have been rejected as fanciful conceits, or bare-faced
inventions.
Many persons have not the slightest idea that _every thing_ may be
_seen_ that takes place in a bee-hive. But hives have for many years,
been in use, containing only one large comb, enclosed on both sides, by
glass. These hives are darkened by shutters, and when opened, the queen
is exposed to observation, as well as all the other bees. Within the
last two years, I have discovered that with proper precautions, colonies
can be made to work in observing hives, without shutters, and exposed
continually to the _full light of day_; so that observations may be made
at all times, without in the least interrupting the ordinary operations
of the bees. By the aid of such hives, some of the most intelligent
citizens of Philadelphia have seen in my Apiary, the queen bee
depositing her eggs in the cells, and constantly surrounded by an
affectionate circle of her devoted children. They have also witnessed,
with astonishment and delight, all the steps in the mysterious process
of raising queens from eggs which with the ordinary development, would
have produced only the common bees. For more than three months, there
was not a day in which some of my colonies were not engaged in making
new queens to supply the place of those taken from them, and I had the
pleasure of exhibiting all the facts to bee-keepers who never before
felt willing to credit them. As _all_ my hives are so made that each
comb can be taken out, and examined at pleasure, those who use them, can
obtain from them all the information which they need, and, are no longer
forced to take any thing upon trust.
May I be permitted to express the hope that the time is now at hand,
when the number of practical observers will be so multiplied, that
ignorant and designing men will neither be able to impose their conceits
and falsehoods upon the public, nor be sustained in their attempts to
depreciate the valuable discoveries of those who have devoted years of
observation and experiment to promote the advancement of Apiarian
knowledge.