(0 ^ OLDEST BEE PAPER 



-■'^ _ IN AMERICA 



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Es tablishedT^I /(^. 



N 1861 



VOL. XIX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., FEBRUARY 28, 1883. 



No. 9. 



i*^B| =W«|BIG4^^^^ 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 



Hives for Observation. 



It is our aim to make honey a staple 

 product. To this end we have en- 

 deavored to popularize the consump- 

 tion of honey by the masses, as well 

 as to raise the standard of production, 

 by applying correct principles and 

 progressive art to the management of 

 the apiary. 



Public manipulations with bees and 

 magnificent honey exhibits are the 

 most attractive features of State, 

 County and District Fairs. There are 

 many good reasons for introducing 

 such, but the chief one, perhaps, is 

 that those who produce honey for the 

 market may be induced to present it 

 in the most marketable shape; for the 

 new methods and new ideas of prac- 

 tical mana|bment must take the place 

 of the old and undesirable ones. 



At the American Institute Fair, in 

 New York, in 1877, Dr. Worrall ex- 

 hibited a colony of bees in his hive, 



DH. WORKAJJ.'S OBSERVATION HIVE. 



the brood chamber of which is shown 

 in the engraving. It has glass sides 

 all around, and it was a great attrac- 

 tion. Prof. Hasbrouck. Mr. Locke 



and others, also exhibited bees in ob- 

 servation hives. 



Bees and honey are already the 

 great attraction at such Fairs as have 

 given prominence to this industry— 

 and this will become more apparent 

 each successive year. Michigan, Ne- 

 braska, Missouri, and some other 

 States, have tried a small Bee and 

 Honey Show, and the results have 

 been so satisfactory, that they are now 

 intending to have them on a much 

 larger scale. 



When in Great Britain, during the 

 summer of 1879, we found that the 

 most attractive features of the Fairs 

 were the public manipulations with 

 bees, and the very large exhibition 

 of honey of captivating beauty. For 

 exhibiting bees, observation hives 

 were used— tho-^e having glass sides, 

 through which the bees may be seen 

 at work— the hives being inside the 

 exhibition building, with a tube cov- 

 ering the entrance, and running 

 through the side of the building, giv- 

 ing free passage, in and out, for the 

 bees. Sometimes, a glass box inclos- 

 ing each frame, arranged like leaves 

 of a book, with a common entrance to 

 all of them, from the tube running 

 through the side of the building, is 

 made to exhibit bees. This gives an 

 opportunity for thorough examination 

 of the whole colony. 



Prof. Cook has one of the latter 

 kind in his study, and, by request, he 

 has sent us a drawing of it, from 

 which we have made the illustration, 

 so that our readers will obtain a good 

 idea from it and the accompanying 

 description given by the Professor : 



OBSERVING HIVES. 



Of course, every live bee-keeper 

 will possess and read one or more of 

 the books that treat of bees and their 

 management. These place the whole 

 subject before him, and, if well in- 

 dexed, enable him to study any par- 

 ticular phase of the subject at will. 

 He will, also, if wise, take and read 

 one or more of our excellent period- 

 icals. These keep him versed in the 

 progressive steps in his art, and the 



various discoveries and improvements 

 can be appropriated as soon as made. 



There is still another method to gain 

 knowledge, which though, perhaps, 

 not so full of practical aid as the 

 above, will greatly benefit, even on the 

 practical side of our business ; but, 

 more than this, it will enable us to 

 confirm what we learn from the books, 

 and will do more than anything else to 

 exalt our appreciation of the wondrous 

 habits and instincts of the little in- 

 sects with which we have to do. It 

 will do much to make our life work as 

 full of wonder and admiration as it is 

 of pleasure and profit. I refer to the 

 possession of an " Observing Hive ;" 

 so that, with each leisure hour, we 

 may look into the very life habits of 

 our pets. Such observation, in any 

 field of natural history, always excites 

 interest, imparts instruction and en- 

 nobles the observer. 



Few experiences in my life have 

 yielded more real pleasure and valu- 

 able instruction, than the hours spent 

 in watching the strangely interesting 

 labors of the bees, as studied in my 

 library, by use of the small "observing 

 hive," here illustrated. 



PROF. A. J. COOK'S OBSERVATION HIVE. 



I do not think we need any complex 

 arrangement. A simple, uni-frame 

 hive, with glass sides, which may be 

 darkened by doors, is cheap, easily 

 made, and will enable us to watch any 

 operations carried on in the hive. I 

 have even had bees in such a hive 

 prepare to swarm. Of course, such 

 limited quarters will not permit much 

 increase, and so, when the brood com- 

 mences to hatch out, the bees must be 

 shaken from the frame, and it re- 

 placed with a frame of empty comb, 

 or, better still, a frame of comb foun- 

 dation. We then can watch the bees 

 as they transform the foundation into 



