294 The Honey Bcr. [July, 



sieged soon join the besiegers and assist in removing the plunder. — 

 After which, often a general belligerent and mobocartic state will 

 be kept up. 



Patent hives often lead to this very state of things in the following 

 way. They are generally made of the same size and after the same 

 pattern throughout, painted alike, set on a bench of the same hight, 

 about the same distance apart. The young queens are often in this 

 way misled. Alighting at the wrong place not knowing their own 

 hive, are at once seized and destroyed. The loss of the hive is then 

 inevitable. Many hives are doubtless ruined in this way. As we 

 see the old queen leads the swarm, leaving the young queen gener- 

 ally in the cell, yet unhatched always unfertilized. She emerges on 

 this errand and losing her way, is destroyed, and before another one 

 can be reared, the hive is in ruins. Hence the old swarm is generally 

 the one most in danger — the one destroyed. To guard against this 

 catastrophe, the hives should be placed farther apart in the apiary, 

 or painted in front with different colors, or set with their openings 

 alternated. Indeed these fine hives, and fine apiaries, have generally 

 proved unsuccessful ; better set your hives promiscuously about the 

 yard, than to be too tenacious about uniformity, setting them so 

 closely together. 



HOW PREVENT THE MILLER ? 



Let your cfi'ort be to discover the condition of your hive, and if 

 you find it queenless, which you can easily discover by their move- 

 ments, either restore one, or take the honey at once. The bees 

 themselves must be their own protectors; you can do nothing to pre- 

 vent such destruction ; and after the laying season is principally 

 over, if you would prove our theory, take away your queens, and 

 one short week will convince you of its truth. There are miller 

 eggs enough about any hive, at any time to destroy it in two weeks 

 without a queen. You may assist them if you please ; you will do it, 

 whenever you see the egg, the miller, or the worm, but all will be in 

 vain to prevent their ravages, if your hive is queenless. 



WOULD YOU KEEP BEES? 



If you love their society, and are willing to take part of your 

 pay in witnessing their interesting and curious operations — if 

 you love natural history and entomological science, by all means. — 

 If like bruin you are captivated only by their sweets, or would enter 

 upon the work to make money, it is by no means advisable. You 



