le in common that
is interesting; the remainder seems designed to oppose some former
patent and commend a new one. They thus swell their volumes to a
troublesome and expensive size, with that which is of no use to
practical men. A work made to fight a patent, or to sell one, can not be
reliable. The requisites to successful bee-management are the
following:--

1. Always have large, strong swarms. Such only are able successfully to
contend with their enemies. This is done by uniting weak swarms, or
sending back a young, feeble swarm when it comes out (as herein after
directed).

2. Use medium-sized hives. In too large hives, bees find it difficult to
guard their territories. They also store up more honey than they need,
and yield less to the cultivator. The main box should be one foot square
by fifteen inches high. Make hives of new boards; plane smooth and paint
white on the outside. The usual direction is to leave the inside rough,
to aid in holding up the honey, but to plane the inside edges so as to
make close joints. We counsel to plane the inside of the hive smooth,
and draw a fine saw lightly length wise of the boards, to make the comb
adhere. This will be a great saving of the time of bees, when it is
worth the most in gathering honey. They always carry out all the sawdust
from the inside of their hives. Better save their time by planing it
off.

3. To prevent robberies among bees, when a weak colony is attacked,
close their entrances so that but one bee can pass at once, and they
will then take care of themselves. To prevent a disposition to pillage,
place all your hives in actual contact, on the sides, and make a
communication between them, but not large enough to allow bees to pass.
This will give the same scent to the whole, and make them feel like one
family. Bees distinguish strangers only by the smell: hence, so
connected, they will not quarrel or pillage.

4. Comb is usually regarded better for not being more than two or three
years old. The usual theory is, that cells fill up by repeated use, and,
becoming smaller, render the bees raised in them diminutive. This is not
probable, as a known habit of the bee is to clean out the cells before
reusing them. Huber demonstrated that bees raised in drone-cells (which
are always larger than for workers) grew no larger than in their own
natural cells. And as bees build their cells the right size at first, it
is probable they keep them so. Quinby assures us th