Hives, he— I have cnnclnried to take up the practi- 

 cal pan lit" niy subject without further delay, as this 

 part is of the moft im|xirlaiice to the majority of bee- 

 keepers : End if my remarks on this branch of bee- 

 culture are not from necessity considerably extended, 

 I shall resume my essays on the most interesting 

 portions of the natural history of this insect, in a 

 brief manner. 



There is no grenter error into which bee-keepers 

 generally have fallen, than that of erroneous sized 

 hives. Look where you will, you will in most cases 

 find hives From the size of a box ten inches by twelve 

 to three or four times that size. Again, the shape 

 of hives is a mnttcr of great importance. Long, 

 narrow liives, never produce as much box, or surplus 

 honey in the s>^)ers, or chambers, as those of a more 

 shallow form : for the iVison, that in long hives the 

 bees meet with more obstructions in ascending, and 

 they are often discouraged by the difficulties of forcing 

 their way through some two feet of solid masses of 

 bees, and refuse to work in the chambers at all. On 

 the conlrary, hives of about twelve inches in height, 

 with a suitable breadth, give greater facilities for 

 ascending ; and more honey is generally stored in 

 the chambers of such hives, than in longer ones. 

 Hives without a svprr, (an upper section to receive 

 surplus honey, free from bee-bread and brood, which 

 being removed produces an annual profit without the 

 loss of the bees,) I consider not worth discussing, 

 and straw hives the worst of all. Bees will do very 

 well frequently in such hives ; but if one wishes to 

 obtain a profit and save the lives of his bees, he must 

 discard straw hives and those witli no chambers. 

 These hives are as much behind the age as the 

 wooden plows of Mexico are behind our most im- 

 proved patent ones now in ure. 



After we obtain hives of the right size and shape, 

 the communication to the chamber is also most gross- 

 ly mismanaged. Some people make asi«g/c hole in 

 the center, about one inch in diameter ! This is the 

 extreme ol folly. What man in his right mind, if 

 he had several thousand men employed on a work 

 extending one hundred rods, would cause them to 

 pass through a single passage in the enclosure, with 

 burdens from without, and then disperse to their 

 respective locations of duty ? Would he not open 

 numerous ways of access along the whole front, that 

 no hindrance may occur one to another in the pres- 

 sure of the passage ? Most certainly he would. — 

 Now, bees are laborers in miniature, and in their 

 labors require the aid of philosophy and reason to 

 facilitate their operations. Instead of one hole, a 

 half a dozen or more should always be made, of at 

 least an inch and a quarter in diameter, or a single 

 large round or square a])erture, several inches in 

 width, should be made. 1 I'ccommend n(«c (inch and 

 a quarter) holes, three in a row. 



It may be said, without any fear of being in error, 

 that a hive, the loircr section of which shall contain 

 more than two thousand cubic inches in the clear, is 

 too large : rnd.one with less than fifteen hundred, 

 too small. About eighteen hundred cubic inches I 

 consider should be the solid contents of hives ; that 

 is, the lower section, designed as the permanent 

 abode of the bees. I have made them twelve inches 

 Bquare, and 1 have made them thirteen inches in di- 

 ameter by eleven inches in height — -Jnside, recollect; 

 and for. a northern latitude above the city of New 



York, the latter size is preferable. If you add an 

 inch to these latter dimensions, you might not read-' 

 ily perceive the difference in your success ; hut in. 

 the long run there would be a considerable difference. 

 The object of keeping bees generally, I take for 

 granted, is (or prujil ; ami the hive that produces the 

 most sirarms and the most surplus hvnei/ in the 

 supers, taking a series of years together, is the best 

 without doubt. A hive of large dimensioRs will not 

 throw off as many swarms as a smaller one, nor will 

 there be as much honey stored in tlie super. This 

 is a settled point; hence we must discard sucli hives. 

 The queen requires a certain area to deposit her eggs 

 in, and a hive of eighteen hundred solid inches is as 

 near her requirements as can be set down as a gen- 

 eral rule, always allowing for the few thick combs 

 that may in some cases be used simply as store combs. 

 These store combs, however, are not always con- 

 structed ; and it would be better if we could adopt 

 some pian to cause the bees to adhere wholly to the 

 supers, as a depository of such combs : but we can 

 not do this in all cases. If the hives be too small, 

 the queen is limited in her labors — there is not so 

 great an increase — not so many swarms — and not so 

 much honey stored. 



It is natural for an inexperienced bee-keeper to 

 suppose that a large swarm requires a large hive, 

 and a small one a small hive. This is erroneous. 

 If we merely look to the first season only, it is par- 

 tially correct : but we should take subsequent sea- 

 sons into our calculation : and if we do this, we shall 

 never vary the size of our hives, let our swarms be 

 what they may. Even a double swarm, if I could not 

 easily divide them.. I should put into a i;r^ual ;-i7.od 

 hive; and if the bees found difficulty in laboring 

 there, I would place a nndir under thcni ; that is. a 

 temporary box open at both ends. In the fall, the 

 nadir may be removed by severing the combs \> ith a 

 fine wire drawn through tliem, when all the be<;= will 

 be able to enter the hive proper. Supers may be as 

 high as you please, and not interfere with aUj prin- 

 ciple detrimental to tho prosperity of the bees ; but 

 they should not contain more than one-half or two- 

 thirds the number of cubic inches that the lower sec- 

 tion does. If they do, the extra space will be useless. 

 If your hives be from twelve to fifteen inches in 

 diameter, nine or ten inches in height is enough, and 

 of the same diameter as the lower section. Most 

 chamber hives are made in one box t'.'.e full length, 

 the chamber being formed by a division at t)ic proper 

 distance from the top. One side of the chamber 

 being open, it is closed by a door hung on small 

 butts, with a hook or button to secure it when shut. 

 One or two boxes are then jdaced in the chamber, 

 with a pane of glass in front, or a small piece of 

 glass only, say enough to cover a hole two inches in 

 diameter, for the purpixse of seeing when the boxes 

 are filled. This kind of hive, if made of the proper 

 dimensions, does very well ; hut they arc not as con- 

 venient as those made in two distinct sections. The 

 various styles and kinds of hives in use are numer- 

 ous, and 1 shall endeavor to give the most of them as 

 extended a notice as my limits will allow. 



T. B. Miner, 



Author of the Amcriciin Bf c-I\ecpi*r'r Mnau&l 

 Clinton, Oneida Co., A'. 1"., 1850. 



A Farmer should never be so immersed in politi- 

 cal matters, as to forget to sow his wheat, dig his 

 potatoes, and bank up his cellar. 



