282 



NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 



much deprecates. In the first place, they say it is inhu- 

 man and cruel to destroy so many precious lives, particular- 

 ly where it is unnecessary and unprofitable ; and, secondly, 

 that if one is well acquainted with the management of bees, 

 it will very seldom happen that a hive perishes by starva- 

 tion or cold, and that the profits of the proprietor will 

 rapidly increase by the method of deprivation, and by keep- 

 ing the bees alive. Let us suppose an apiarian who well 

 understands the management of bees has, to commence 

 with, ten old hives; he may have by this method, at the 

 end of five years, six hundred and thirty-six hives, if he 

 chooses to keep so many, and may realize a profit of nearly 

 $1500, as illustrated by the following table: 



The idea of having an apiarium of six hundred and thir- 

 ty-six hives may seem rather eccentric, and many, doubt- 

 less, would think that so large a number of bees could hard- 

 ly find pasture enough for their support in any one section 

 of Europe; but in the immense territory of the United 

 States there are many thousand acres covered with woods, 

 and prairies abounding in odoriferous herbs and flowers, 

 principally in the West, where the inhabitants would find 

 this branch of industry, nowhere thoroughly attended to, a 

 very easy and lucrative business. At all events, if it should 

 be found impracticable to keep so many hives, still a very 

 handsome profit could be realized every year from the sale 

 of all the superfluous hives. 



The usual method of removing the honey and wax, 

 where it is intended to keep the bees alive, is the follow- 

 ing: The full hive is turned bottom-side up, and a new 



