76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



latter, Ants and Bees have been long notable; Solomon points 

 the sluggard to the Ant, while John the Baptist fed upon the 

 excellent produce of the Bee, The many lessons Bees teach us 

 in their mode of attack and defence, in their government, order, 

 sanitary arrangements and economy, are in themselves a perfect 

 school of instruction. I need not take up your time in de- 

 scribing the different modes of cultivation now in use, because 

 there is but one opinion amongst advanced bee-keepers as to 

 the proper way, which is by means of the bar -frame hive. 

 The Lanarkshire one now before you may be compared to a 

 large city and its workings, where every thing is carried on 

 separately, yet combined; where one part may be withdrawn 

 and yet not affect its neighbour; where each member works 

 for his own good and for that of the community ; and where 

 the treasures are stored within the walls. With the aid of 

 the " dividing board," this hive may be enlarged or decreased 

 to suit the change of seasons. There can be no doubt the 

 beeJiive was first invented by " Blind Huber," who was the first 

 inventor of moveable combs; but to Dr Dzierzon of Germany, 

 and the Rev. H. Langstroth of America, the j^resent generation 

 of bee-keepers should be, and I trust are, truly thankful, as 

 through their invention we now have complete command over 

 the Bees and comb in every part of the hive. Thus bee-keep- 

 ing has been reduced to a sure, pleasant, and profitable business, 

 and with the aid of a hive such as the one now before us, 

 Bees, comb, and honey may be transferred from one hive to 

 another in a few minutes. Worms may be readily destroyed 

 before they make havoc of a weak stock, and weak stocks may 

 at once be strengthened by giving them a bar of brood from a strong 

 hive. Useless drone comb may be cut out, and the bee-master 

 may satisfy himself that there is enough of worker comb at 

 all times in the hive, as it sometimes happens that there is too 

 much honey in the brood nest, and that the queen has no place 

 to deposit her eggs, to the great injury of the hive. Bees in 

 a state of nature usually build in a serpentine form, using small 

 pillar-like attachments to connect the sides of the combs, and 

 which serve the double purpose of steadying them and act- 

 ing as suspension bridges by which the Bees may easily travel 

 from one comb to another. But the bee-keeper who uses straw 

 hives has none of these advantages, and has no means of easily 



