i8 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



and rigid tlioroughness ; stimulated thereto not 

 on]y by the gratitication of the palate, but also 

 by pecuniary advantage, since the making of 

 lionej^ is highly profitable. 



Next to a due supply of food, the home of the 

 bee is of greatest importance. This should be 

 so constructed as to fultil two main indications; 

 the one, that it be suited to the insect's 

 just requirements of labor and rest, and really 

 be a snug and comfortable home in which it 

 may live well and work comfortably ; and the 

 otlier, that the apiarian should have easy, safe 

 and quick means of performing all his opera- 

 tions. 



"While the hives in common use — Langstroth's 

 and others — fulfil to some extent these condi- 

 tions, that of Mr. Allen, combining as it does, 

 their advantages, and leaving out their defects, 

 as well as presenting some new features of its 

 own, may claim as we think with justice, a 

 clear pre-eminence. 



"Without stopping to describe all its good points, 

 or dwell upon any, we will merely indicate two 

 new and important additions possessed exclu- 

 sively by this hive. 



These are first, an entire movable outside, 

 capable of easy and safe removal and replace- 

 ment. On all other hives this is a permanent 

 part of the hive, except indeed, the top or cover. 

 The advantages of Mr. Allen's plan are that 

 the whole interior of the hive is better exposed 

 to the view and manipulations of the apiarian, 

 and less disturbance of the swaim by blows or 

 motion of any kind. 



But perhaps the most important improvement 

 consists in the frame work and frames. The 

 frame work (best made of cast iron) is so con- 

 structed b}^ means of bevels or hinges at the 

 top, and sacks at the bottom, that the frames 

 are securely fixed at proper equal distances 

 from each other, while they may be easily 

 withdrawn through each side, instead of being 

 lifted out as is The case in other hives. But 

 we are running on at length, induced by the se- 

 ductioh of the subject, and will close by inviting 

 ail interested in bee-culture to call at No. 182, 

 E. R. R. Streets and examine Mr. Allen's model. 

 If such are not repaid for their time and trouble, 

 we shall be much disappointed. 



Wm. a. Bennett. 

 Syracuse, May, 18G7. 



Age will cause hives to weigh heavier than 

 their legilimate contents would call for. This is 

 caused by an accumulation of Jcefirmt?, or pollen, 

 in the cells, and also of the cast slough which for- 

 merly served as envelopes for the young. In 

 the case of old hive, therefore, an allowance of 

 from two to five pounds must be made for these 

 matters, according to age, when endeavoring 

 to estimate the honey contents of the combs. 



Snails and slugs are not to be classed among 

 the true enrniii s of bees, as they have no de- 

 sign upon them or their honey in entering the 

 hive, but mereiy do so trom accident. The 

 mischief done by them consists in the alarm and 

 confusion they occasion. 



Facts about the Honey Bee. 



EXTKACTED AND TRANSLATED FROM DR. ED, 



ASSMUSS. 



When a hive swarms, the young bee colony 

 generally gather together, before going farther, 

 in the vicinity of the parent hive, in order to 

 rally and to rest, as they are heavy with the 

 honey taken along for the voyage. The place 

 for this is chosen by the workers, not by the 

 queen, as was formerly generally believed, and 

 is mostly a densely leaved low shrub or tree, of 

 which more hereafter. It occurs but seldom 

 that the colony does not gather in this way, but 

 files off at once. 



Sending out Eeconnoitrers. — When the colony 

 has rested in this way for a time, they despatch 

 a few workers, reconnoitrers or cjuartermaslers 

 so to say, who search for a new habitation, and, 

 when they have found one, guide and direct 

 the colony to it. Sometimes the new habita- 

 tion is selected already while the intended col- 

 ony still remain for a time in the parent hive ; 

 this is done especially by first swarms. 



Clustering in the ww Habitation and the first 

 Occupations. — The swarm on entering the new 

 habitation, suspends itself from the top or ceil- 

 ing in the shape ot a cluster of grapes, which is 

 formed by a great number of garlands crossing 

 each other in all directions, each containing a 

 greater or lesser number of bees according to the 

 size of the garlands ; these are formed by the 

 first two bees clinging with their forelegs to the 

 ceiling of the hive, the next two with their 

 fore-legs to the hind legs of the two first ones, 

 and so forth. Their first occupations are — to 

 cleanse the habitation, to make wax for building 

 material, to reconnoitre the new environs in 

 order to fly out safely after forage. These are 

 the only occupations for the first two or three 

 days. 



lieconnoitering, Circle of FligJit, and Eyes of 

 the Bee. — The bees reconnoitre by describing a 

 small circle around the hive, which grows, lar- 

 ger and larger, and they do not fly off until the 

 hive, its location and environs are thoroughly 

 noticed. The circle of flight of the bees has, 

 according to recent careful observations, a ra- 

 dius of half a German mile (equal to 2^ English 

 miles.) This remarkable and extraordinary 

 ability of the bee to find her way is owing to 

 her five eyes. Two of these stand on the side 

 of the head, arc large kidney-shaped, and com- 

 posed of many thousand of hexagonal convex 

 facets adjoining each other, like the meshes of 

 a net, each facet representing a separate eye, 

 and which are divided by a few single hairs. 

 Because of this construction, they are called 

 composite, faceted, or net eyes. Those of the 

 male are larger, and touch each other, as men- 

 tioned before, on the top of the head ; the fa- 

 cets are also larger than those of the queen and 

 the workers. The other three eyes consist of a 

 single hemispherical horny skin, like three 

 littje knobs standing in the form of a triangle, 

 the apex forward, the base behind. As men- 

 tioned boiore, these eyes the males have on V\(i 

 forehead, the queen and the workers on the top 

 of the head. All these eyes are provided with 



