ans in
the world, attach to protection; practical, common sense men, whose
heads have not been turned, as some would express it, by modern theories
and fanciful inventions. They cultivate their bees almost in a state of
nature, and their experience on what we would term a gigantic scale,
ought to convince even the most incredulous, of the folly of pretending
to keep bees, in the miserably thin and unprotected hives to which we
have been accustomed.

But how, it will be asked, can bees live in Winter, in a hive so closely
shut up as the Polish hive? They do live in such hives, and prosper,
just as they do in hollow trees, with only one small entrance. It is
well known that bees have flourished when their hives were buried in
Winter, and under circumstances in which but a very small amount of air
could possibly gain admission to them. Bees, when kept in a _dry_ place,
in properly protected hives and in a state of almost perfect repose,
need only a small supply of air; and the objection that those
cultivators among us, who shut up their colonies very closely in Winter,
are almost sure to lose them, is of no weight; because the majority of
our hives are so deficient in protection, that if they are too closely
shut up, "the breath of the bees," condensing and freezing upon the
inside, and afterwards thawing, causes the combs to mould, and the bees
to become diseased; just as many substances mould and perish when kept
in a close, damp cellar.

We are now prepared to discuss the question of protection in its
relations to the construction of hives. We have seen how it is furnished
to the bees in the Polish hives, and in the decayed hollows of trees. If
the Apiarian chooses, he can imitate this plan by constructing his hives
of very thick plank: but such hives would be clumsy, and with us,
expensive. Or he may much more effectually reach the same end, by making
his hives double, so as to enclose an air space all around, which in
Winter may be filled with charcoal, plaster of Paris, straw, or any good
non-conductor, to enable the bees to preserve with the least waste,
their animal heat. I prefer to pack the air-space with plaster of Paris,
as it is one of the very best non-conductors of heat, being used in the
manufacture of the celebrated Salamander fire-proof safes. Hives may be
constructed in this way, which without great expense, may be much better
protected than if they were made of six-inch plank. As the price of
glass is