150 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



colonies tind which evince a deep 

 consideration and judgment. A 

 few years ago, I let a large red 

 snail creep into a glass bee-hive 

 that was not quite filled with bees, 

 so that I could observe everything. 

 I saw immediately a great stir and 

 tumult caused by the bees running 

 up and down the panes of glass, 

 and I was very anxious to see what 

 they would do in this emergency. 

 In the bee-hive the snail could not 

 and should not stay ; to carry her 

 out was a burden too heavy for 

 them and so impossible, and they 

 could not depend upon my help. 

 They could kill her with their 

 stings, but the smell and evapora- 

 tion would have been so harmful, 

 that they would have been com- 

 pelled to leave the hive, honey 

 and brood and move away. But 

 they were wiser than we would 

 think, for they besieged the poor 

 snail in such a manner that she 

 could not stir or move in an}' way. 

 Whether they had killed her I 

 could not oliserve, for the large 

 number of bees that were about 

 her. They built a hill of wax 

 over her and imprisoned her, which 

 was all the work of two hours. 



It is not to be wondered at 

 that Aristomachus and Hylicus 

 spent their whole lives in the study 

 of the bees ; the former studied 

 fifty-eight years, the latter left the 

 civilized world and sought the 

 desert wilds that, undisturbed, he 

 might watch them more closely. 

 Beekeeping is not only an agreea- 

 ble occupation, but it is useful as 

 well. There is hardly a capital 

 that yields as much interest as a 



well-managed apiary. Twenty-five 

 good colonies average in a 3'^ear 

 from $50 to Si 00. I have had in 

 many years, and in the last sum- 

 mer of 1778, which was very dry 

 from the end of July and very bad 

 for bees, such colonies, of which 

 every one yielded over $10. 

 From several colonies I have taken 

 12 lbs. of honey each and a young 

 swarm from which in four weeks I 

 took 7 lbs. of honey and 2^ lbs. 

 of wax. The old colony also gave 

 me 2| lbs. of wax. And that is 

 nothing remarkable. A single 

 good, populous colony in a good 

 hive will yield in a good bee 

 year from twenty to twentj'-five 

 pounds of hone}^ which would 

 have been the same last summer 

 had the last half of it been as good 

 as the first half till July. Not- 

 withstanding the bees differ in 

 quality and kind, so ma}'^ one col- 

 ony do extremely well this season, 

 while the next may show results 

 quite the reverse. At the same 

 time, the very good ones make up 

 for what the ordinary lose, and 

 on the whole the profit is very 

 good. 



One ought to pay more attention 

 to this branch of agriculture and 

 not only for his own benefit, but 

 also, where there is an opportunity, 

 gain a capital for poor-houses and 

 orphan homes, especially, as at 

 first a large amount of money is 

 not necessary for it ; as everybody 

 can make a beginning with eight 

 or thirteen dollars, for what in 

 five or six years, without the yeax- 

 ly profit (which I will count for 

 the expenses of the hives and 



