1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



169 



shall coiiriiie oursclf to tlie incirst outliiip of 

 this liislory iiiid endeavor to select u.s many 

 of the pearls as we can in pussinj;. 



Of the anti(iuity of tlie bee, we eannot speak 

 jiositively, but tlie seolo^ieal evi(len(;es of 

 liowerini; plants, deniandinf^ insects for their 

 fertilization, together with tlic remains of in- 

 sect-feeding reptiles, as well as herbivorons 

 animals, places tlie bee. at least prcsuniably, 

 ages anterior to the creation of wan. The 

 positive proof of its early domestication are 

 ample. The ancient Kgyptian sculpture and 

 tablets abonnd with hieroglyphics, wherein 

 the bee is the symbol of royalty, theirecononiy 

 being represented with a monarch at its head 

 In most instances these representations are 

 rwlr, and betray a lack of close observation, 

 as tlie l-iee is pictured with two wings an<l four 

 legs; however, on one tablet of tlie twelftli 

 dynasty, the bee is figured ('orrectly, having 

 four wings and six legs. Sliwkard, in his 

 " ]5ritish Bees," gives us indications of a still 

 liigher aiititpiity fr(.)m tlie Sdnskrit, wherein 

 3la signifies honei/; Mudhupa, honcy-drinkcr, 

 and mad-kumkara, honey maker. He also- 

 traces the same iu the Chinese dialects. The 

 earliest Shemitic and Aryan records, the 

 Book of Job, the Vedas, as well as the Poems 

 of Homer, are conclusive proof of the early 

 domestication ot the honey bee, all of which 

 are interesting to the student of apiculture. 

 Of the oriijin of bees, the ancients indulged 

 the most extravagant fancies, some cojiteiid- 

 ing that they originated from the putrid car- 

 casses of animals. 



Probably from witnessing the transformation 

 of insects as millers from moth worms, but- 

 tertlies from caterpillars, etc., they give 

 receipts to produce swarms of bees, tlie details 

 of which are too disgusting to relate. Others, 

 of finer and more poetical conceptions, 

 imagined that bees were bred from tlie purest 

 juices of the summer flowers. Virgil expresses 

 something of this opinion in the following 

 from the fourth book of his Georgics : "Chietly 

 j'ou will marvel at this custom, peculiar to the 

 bees, that they neither indulge in conjugal 

 embrace nor softly dissolve their bodies in the 

 joys of love, nor bring forth young with a 

 mother's throes ; but they themselves cull 

 their progeny with their mouths, from leaves 

 and fragrant herbs. They themselves raise 

 up a new kiiuj, and little subjects, and build 

 palaces of waxen realms." With all these 

 false notions of bees, the ancients still pos- 

 sessed much valuable knowledge. To Aristotle 

 and Virgil wo an^ indebted for the first de- 

 scription of Italian bees, which, until recently, 

 had been regarded as a myth. Virgil remarks 

 as follows regarding the two varieties : "For 

 the one looks hideously ugly, as when a 

 parched traveler comes from a very dusty 

 road and spits the dirt out of liis dry mouth. 

 The others shine and S|)arkle with brightness, 

 glittering with gold. This is tlie better breed, 

 i'rom these, at stated seasons of the sky, you 

 may press tlie luscious honey, yet not so lus- 

 cious as pure, and fit to correct the hard relish 

 of the grape." Again he says: "There are 

 two sorts, the one glorious with refulgent 

 spots of gold, and is distinguished both by his 

 make and conspicuous with glittering scales. 

 The other is horribly deformed with sloth, 

 and ingloriously drags a large belly." 



Aristotle lived tlirec hundred years prior to 

 the Christian era. He wrote largely on every 

 department of natural history. His pupil, 

 Alexander the Great, placed at his disposal 

 large sums of money, and employed, during 

 his campaign in Asia, more than a thousand 

 persons in collecting specimens for his use 

 from all parts of the animal kingdom. From 

 his pen and those of his pupils we are indelited 

 for much information of value in liee culture. 

 Columella, about the commencement of the 

 Christian era, wrote a large work on "Hus- 

 bandry," in which he gives directions for the 

 artificial swarming of bees, supplying queens 

 to destitute colonies, transferring hatching 

 brood to weak stoeks, and many other useful 

 operations of which the great multitude of 

 bee-keepers are ignorant to this day. Varo 

 and Pliny also wrote in a manner which pre- 



supposes (piite a knowledge of the brood-nest, 

 all of whiih leads to the belief that in those 

 early classic days a very advanced knowledge 

 of bee culture jircvailed. What is known as 

 the "dark ages" now came on, and for the 

 space of nearly fourteen hundred years no 

 lirogress was made in any departnu'iit of 

 natural liislory, but on the contrary much was 

 lost. 



At the close of this dark era of mental 

 darkness the celebrated .lolin Kay appeared. 

 He collected and arranged all which survived 

 of the previous jiroductions on entomology. 

 Hay was succeeded by Linnaeus, the inventor of 

 the binomial system of classification whieh is 

 still used by all investigators of natural sci- 

 ence. At the close of the 17th century .Swam- 

 merilain, Maraldi and llanmcr wrote extra- 

 sively on bees and hives, and Shirach, Keims 

 and others still later. 



Tliese writers discovered many of the faints 

 connected with the secret working of the hive, 

 which contributed largely in raising the vail 

 of ignorance which still enslirouded this in- 

 dustry and paved the way for the prince of 

 apiarians — the great Huber, who apjieared 

 about the close of the IStli century, and with 

 whose history every ai)iarian, worthy the 

 name, is more or less acquainted. He it was, 

 who combining in one of tlu^ nnicomb obser- 

 vation frames of this day, removed their glass 

 sides and gave to the world the first movable 

 frame bee-hive in existence, and by the aid of 

 which he made those beautiful experiments 

 which placed the science of bee-keeping on 

 the enduring basis of truth. Experiments 

 which established one by one nearly all the 

 wondrous facts connected with the natural 

 history of the honey bee, by the adoption of 

 which bee-keeping has gradually assumed na- 

 tional iiniiortance in all civilized countries. It 

 is a fact that the blind Huber, through the 

 eyes of his faithful servant, Francis Burnens, 

 saw more and did more for rational bee-cul- 

 ture than any one man before or since his 

 time. The correct theory once established, 

 prominent naturalists adopted it. Authors and 

 inventors sprang up on every hand, and 

 movable frame liives of different iiatterns 

 were soon in use in various parts of Euroiie. 

 Munn, of England ; Berlepsch, of Germany; 

 and De Bovois, of France, being the most 

 prominent, and all of whom have written ex- 

 tensively on the subject of bees and hives. It 

 is estimated that from Shirach up to about 

 1S47, one hundred and twenty-four books were 

 •written on bee-keeping. Apiaries sprang up 

 of larger dimensions than ever before, some 

 nobleman owning as high as eight thousand 

 stocks. The discovery of the refining of sugar, 

 made by the Venetians about the middle of 

 the 16th century, was at this time in full blast 

 in Germany, and served to distract attention 

 from the production of honey, and sufliciently 

 accounts for its decline aliout this time. 



The engraving and description of the Munn 

 movable frame hive may be found in the 

 "Cottage Gardener's Chronicle," London, 

 1S43, page .317, also in the author's pamphlet 

 in 1844. The De Bovois' movable frame hive, 

 which was almost identical with King's Amer- 

 ican bee-hive, is fully dcscriljed iu the au- 

 thor's large book on apiculture, published in 

 France, in 1847. The Berlepsch hive invent- 

 ed in 1840, was greatly improved in 1845, 

 making it almost identical with the Langs- 

 troth. He further improved it and iniblished 

 an illustrated description in the liicnen Xiitung, 

 for May, 18.V2. But bee culture in Europe 

 was by no means carried on principally by 

 those using movable frames. On the contrary 

 the great majority used either the straw hive, 

 wooden gum or sipiare box, with bars cross- 

 ing the top, to which the combs were attached, 

 and then either the storifying, or nadir and 

 collateral sjstem were resorted to for surplus 

 honey. 



At one time in France bee-keeping was deem- 

 ed of so much importance that in some places 

 laws were enacted rendering it imperative on 

 every cottager to keep at least three hives of 

 bees, or in Heir thereof to pay a certain fine 

 into the treasury. In England large rewards 



were given for the finest display of honey and 

 beeswax of one's own raising, and obtained 

 without sacrificing tlie lives of the bees. Pro- 

 minent men wrote books on the subject, de- 

 signed enlirely for the lienelit of the cottag- 

 ers, and the same unselfish cour.se is still pur- 

 sued in Europe. 



A brief mention of some of the most useful 

 inventions and discoveries must close our 

 notice of the progress of bee culture in Europe. 

 Dziertzon discovered the (larlhenogenesis of 

 the (pieeij bee, and Siebold, Jjcukart, Ber- 

 Icpscli and other eminent German naturalists 

 demonstiated it. D/ierlzon also discovered 

 flour to lie a substitute for pollen. Mehriug 

 made the first artificial honey comb founda- 

 tion, ilajor Von Ilriischka invented the 

 honey extractor. Tlie inventors of bellows 

 smokers adapted to the apiary have been used 

 in all parts of Europe for the past one liun- 

 dred years or more. Some had straight and 

 some bent nozzles, and som(^ of the nozzles 

 were hinged to the bellows and were turned 

 at right angles for draft when not in use, and 

 also to receive the materials for the smoke. 

 These might have been appropriately called 

 lu-eecli loaders. 



Reaumer first describes-artificial fertilization 

 of queens in confiiiemeiit. His experiment 

 called the " Amours of the(2ueen Bee," made 

 under a gla.ss vessel with the drones is exceed- 

 ingly funny, and sounds very modern, but is 

 too lengthy for in.serf ion in this notice. 



Bees came with the Pilgrim Fathers to 

 America, and were carried by the early 

 pioneers to all iiarts, until now they are to be 

 found in every portion of the Western Conti- 

 nent; bu'„ owing to the many toils and cares 

 incident to the development of a new country, 

 together with their lack of knowledge of the 

 subject, little attention was paid to bees until 

 within the jiast thirty or forty years. 



The first record of a movable frame liivc in 

 America may be found in the (hdtivulor for 

 June, 184(1, by Solon Kobinson, now of .Tack- 

 souviUc, Florida. The second invention may 

 be found in the Sricntilic Anirriran for March 

 (itii, 1847. The inventor, Mr. Shaw, of 

 Hinckley, Ohio, I beli(!ve is still living. Mov- 

 able fraiiies were also used by Marcus Robin- 

 son, at Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts, in 

 1848, and varied in no respect from the Langs- 

 troth frame and hive. This on the affidavit of 

 Solon Kobinson. The same style of frame 

 was used about the same time at Danvers, 

 Massachusetts, as per the afiidavit of Mr. 

 Putnam, of Galesburg, Illinois. These affi- 

 davits are on record in the oflice of the Hon. 

 A. F. Perry, corner of Main and Third streets, 

 Cincinnati, Ohio. 



Harbison, Townley, Flander, Metcalf and 

 some others claim to have known of movable 

 frame hives between 184.") and 18."')0. A few 

 books were written on bees about this time, 

 but possessed little merit either in theory or 

 practice. 



About 185-2 the Rev. L. L. Langstroth i)at- 

 ented the hive whieh still bears liis name and 

 which many prominent bee-keepers .still uso 

 with but slight modifications. This gentle- 

 man took hold of the matter in earnest. He 

 sold large portions of the territory covered by 

 his patent to influential and wealthy men 

 who, in connection with himself, introduced 

 the hive far and wide and thus demonstrated 

 that a patent is not necessarily an evil, as 

 many seem to sujjpose, for it proved in his 

 hands a powerful means of advancing the true 

 science of bee-culture. This he soon followed 

 up with his book, "The Hive and the Honey 

 Bee," which is perhajis the mo.st complete 

 and scholarly jirodiiction of its kind ever 

 written in any age or country, and shows its 

 author to have been perfectly' familar with the 

 best literature on this subject in the Old 

 World, and a perfect master of both the sci- 

 ence and practice of bee-keeping. To Mr. 

 I>ang.stroth— although not the first — more than 

 to any other man, are we indebted for the 

 introduction of new races of bees to mix with 

 our own and thus prevent the evil of in and 

 in breed ins. 



The "Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained" 



