Vol. XVI. 



JULY 1, 1888. 



No. IB. 



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THE FIRST BEE-HIVE PATENTED IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



fRIEND ROOT:— I have just read your leader 

 in Gleanings, and also the article of Charles 

 Uadant, as well as the communication from 

 Rev. L. L. Laugstroth. It gave me surprise 

 on reading your heading, "Who invented the 

 frame hive?" You add, "A vexed question settled." 

 I assume you do not bar t'uther authentic ini'orma- 

 tion, and I respectfully call attention to recorded 

 evidence that bears upon the question, and ought 

 to be duly considered before it is " decided " by the 

 public. Mr. Stachelhausen asserts that the state- 

 ment in Mr. Cheshire's book is incorrect; but Mr. 

 S.'s statement is not supijorted by any proof. He 

 says, it " has been proven many times that the first 

 hanging-//'ame hive was invented in 1851 by Laug- 

 stroth." The records show that Mr. Langstroth 

 did not record his invention until Oct. 5, 18.53. I for- 

 bear criticising Mr. S., for the reason his criticism 

 is mere statements. I have no desire to controvert, 

 but I do desire to point out what I know to be in- 

 correct history. I believe that Mr. Chas. Dadant is 

 not capable of intentional fault; but I know he is 

 mistaken in some of the matters in his article. I 

 have given special attention to the invention of 

 bee-hives through a longer period than any other 

 American now living, and 1 have all along been fa- 

 miliar with their history. I forward you an illus- 

 tration of the hive which was awarded the first let- 

 ters patent in America. 

 For the benefit of the bee-fraternity and said 



writers, I beg to refer them to certnin records which 

 afl'ord more facts, and are more reliable than state- 

 ments based on mere suppositions, and w"iich facts 

 set aside Mr. Staclielhausen's version, and materi- 

 ally qualify Mr. Dadant's version of the case. Mr. 

 D. alludes to " Munn's " invention of a hive, mak- 

 ing statements relating to the hive. Now, let us ex- 

 amine the unimpeachable records, and see how it is 

 possible to reconcile Mr. D.'s statements with the 

 records. Major Munn died some 30 years ago. He 

 was a prominent scientist, English, a professor in 

 the profession of Prof. Cook, and he gave special 

 attention to bees, and is it not proper to mention 

 his name respectfully? Mr. Wm. Carr, the well- 

 known English apiarian, put upon record in 1874, 

 that "Major Munn was the first to put comb-frames 

 inside a box or case, the same as the modern 

 comb - frame hives." He invented his hive in 

 1834, and, after testing it nine years, he took out a 

 patent for it in Paris, in 1S43. This record in the ar- 

 chives of Paris will not wipe out at the behest of 

 scribbling partisans. He could not take out a pat- 

 ent for his hive in England, because, before he ap- 

 plied, the hive had been described and illustrated 

 in the Gardner's Chronicle lor 184:5, page :U7— anoth- 

 er record showing Major Munn's priority and Mr. 

 D.'s error. Major Munn described his hive in a 

 pamphlet, in 1844; and in a second edition of it, 

 published in 1851 (it is fair to presume that friend 

 Dadant got his knowledge of the Munn hive out 

 of or from the latest edition of said pamphlet), Maj. 

 Munn exhibited his hives, etc., at the International 

 Exhibition in London, in 1851. Whether or not Mr. 

 Langstroth saw the Munn hive on exhibition, I 

 know not; but Mr. Carr did examine it, and Mr. 



