THE HONEY-BEE. 173 



from the non-conducting quality of the material of 

 which the former are constructed The latter are 

 more easily kept clean thf>^ furnibh better means 

 of defence against vermin they are a great deal 

 more durable, and afford a much greater facility for 

 operating experimentally, ana studying the nature of 

 their interesting inmates. And what is always of 

 importance in matters of ruraJ economy, their cost, 

 at least as regards the simple* kinds, is very little 

 more than that of the straw hives ; and if we take 

 their disability into account, it is actually less. But 

 the nature of the material of which they are made, 

 rendering them easily affected b v variations of the 

 external temperature, furnishes an important and 

 well-founded objection ; for notwithstanding all the 

 precautions used, no practicable or manageable thick- 

 ness of material, nor wrappings of straw ropes and 

 straw covers have been found effectual in remedying 

 this defect. We are of opinion, therefore, that those 

 who cultivate bees for the sake of their produce only, 

 and who have no particular desire to study minutely 

 their natural history, or to witness their proceedings 

 in the interior of their dwellings, will do well to ad- 

 here to hives of straw ; and of these, by far the best 

 in our estimation, is the s^or'^d straw hive of Wild- 

 man, already described. 



There is a greater variety of form and structure in 

 the wooden hives, than in those of straw ; but the 

 storied kinds, of various dimensions, are most gener- 

 ally used. Wildman has invented one of this kind, 

 for a long and somewhat unintelligible description of 



