1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



271 



just the same above as below. We 

 cross-cut iu two directions, but ran 

 right into this cavern full of honey 

 in both cross-cuts ; besides, the work 

 was getting on our nerves, being all 

 sticky, and the smell wasn't the most 

 pleasant. As I said, it was getting 

 on in the fall and we were short of 

 grub, so we determined to go out and 

 get venison, as we needed meat, so 

 we went up to the top of the moun- 

 tain, and near the cliffs we got a 

 four-pronger. We were right there 

 at the Red Cliffs, so we concluded to 

 explore a little. Strapping our guns 

 to us, we climbed up through the 

 cliffs. It was tedious climbing, as 

 the rocks were sham and jagged. 

 Finally we got up, say about a 

 hundred feet from the top of the 

 main cliff, and all of a sudden we 

 could see the bees flying around a 

 sort of opening, and although it was 

 well along in the afternoon, thou- 

 sands of bees were flying in and out 

 of this hole in the rock. 



As we stood there watching, Jabe 

 tossed a rock up toward the opening. 

 It was the most foolish thing he 

 could have done. Immediately the 

 bees came for us, and in our haste to 

 get down we ran right onto a couple 

 of rattlesnakes, and while the rat- 

 tlers didn't get us the bees did. When 

 we finally got down to the ground 

 again we both were a sorry mess, 

 and the blooming bees were still 

 after us. 



I should judge from the top of 

 those cliffs to the mouth of our tun- 

 nel the distance was easy half a mile, 

 and it was almost straight down. We 

 figured it out that the bees had gone 

 into that hole in the rock maybe a 

 few hundred years before and went 

 to the very bottom and built up from 

 there, and, as near as Jabe could fig- 

 ure it, there must have been at least 

 a million tons of honey deposited in 

 the big cavern. 



That winter a big snow slide came 

 down and boulders bigger than a 

 three-story house covered up the 



tunnel, cabin and all. Jabe died that 

 winter, down in the city, and I was 

 discouraged and broke. I went back 

 the following summer to see about 

 the claim, but finding the whole 

 thing covered up, abandoned it for 

 good. 



San Francisco, Calif. 



Vouched for by Mr. E. F. Lane. 



Mr. Sites is evidently trying to get 

 ahead of the stories told by our 

 friend Mr. Baldensperger in a previ- 

 ous issue. Let us not stop at that, 

 since honey has been recognized as 

 the "ambrosia" or food of the gods, 

 and since there is also a "milky way," 

 is it not quite probable that some of 

 the stars which we see in the heav- 

 ens are entirely composed of honey? 

 They say that there are no lawyers 

 in heaven, but beekeepers are surely 

 found there. — Editor. 



The Huish Hive and Stand 



The Evolution of the Beehive 



By the Editor. 



"Editor Dadant : An extract from 

 the diary of John Evelyn, who lived, 

 during the times of King Charles I, 

 O. Cromwell, Charles II and James II, 

 at Sayes Court, near London, may 

 interest your many readers, who 

 have read articles on 'The Evolution 

 of the Beehive.' Evelyn wrote, Tuly 

 13, 1654: 



" 'We all dined at that most oblig- 

 ing and universally curious Dr. Wil- 

 kins's, at Wadham College, Oxford. 

 He was the first who showed me the 

 transparent apiaries, which he built 

 like castles and palaces, and so or- 

 dered them one upon another as to 

 take the honey without destroying 

 the bees. These were adorned with 

 a variety of dials, little statues, vanes, 

 etc., and he was so abundantly civil, 

 finding me pleased with them, to 

 present me with one of the hives 

 which he had empty, and which I 

 afterwards had in my garden at 

 Sayes Court, where it continued 

 many years, and which his Majesty 

 came on purpose to see and contem- 

 plate with much satisfaction.' 



"From this brief account, we are 

 justified in assuming there were 

 movable frames in this observation 

 hive. Evelyn throughout his life 

 kept bees and took more than a pass- 

 ing interest in their work, and the 

 pasture needed for their upkeep. It 

 is interesting to note that Charles II, 

 with other people of 'quality' could 

 find sufficient interest in the bees to 

 contemplate with much satisfaction 

 their habits, on more than one oc- 

 casion. WILLIAMS HUGH, 



"Victoria B. C." 



The reading of old bee books is 

 fascinating, but above all things it 

 shows us how circumspect one must 

 be, not to make assertions which 

 later may prove fallacious if not 

 even ridiculous. 



In order to discuss "the evolution 

 of the beehive" it is necessary to 

 search the old masters' works, read 

 their arguments in favor of such or 

 such a system and study their de- 

 scriptions. 



After reading Delia Rocca (1790) 



and Huber (1814), I took up Huish 

 (1815), a well posted English author 

 and beekeeper. He was a great 

 critic and took particular pains to 

 ridicule the discoveries and teachings 

 of Huber, denying Huber's assertion 

 that the large number of drones 

 which bees rear is intended to enable 

 the queen to find one more readily 

 in her wedding flight. Huber discov- 

 ered that the queen went out to mate 

 and mated "on the wing." He showed 

 that a single mating was sufficient to 

 fecundate her "for 2 years, at least." 

 Huish wrote : 



"How inconsistent with reason is 

 such a system! and how contradic- 

 tory to the daily experience of the 

 attentive apiarian! It is an acknowl- 

 edged fact that the queen never 

 leaves the hive on any account what- 

 soever." 



Huish also denied Huber's discov- 

 ery that comb was made by digesting 

 honey. He wrote: 



"Mr. Huber's experiments appeared 

 conclusive to the majority of foreign 

 apiarians. * * * These discoveries 

 can only excite a smile on the coun- 

 tenance of the chemist and the nat- 

 uralist. * * * " 



As Huish also criticises Delia Roc- 

 ca, one would hardly expect him to 

 borrow from him. So my astonish- 

 ment was great when I found pas- 

 sages of several pages translated, 

 verbatim, from the latter's work 

 without giving him credit. For in- 

 stance, Delia Rocca, speaking of the 

 sting of the queen writes : 



"The sting of the mother bee is 

 bent, and it penetrates deeply, writes 

 M. Ducarne. It is true that they 

 rarely use it, but they do sometimes, 

 and it makes a wound in proportion 

 to its size. La Grenee says that he 

 has held very active queens in his 

 hands, for a long time without the 

 honor of being stung. As to myself, 

 I have experienced that honor, while 

 holding a queen in my hand, after 

 pressing her a little : in truth the 

 sting was slight and not verv pain- 

 ful." 



This entire passage, as well as a 

 page before and after was inserted 

 by Huish, in his book, page 30, with- 

 out giving even a hint that it was 

 Delia Rocca and not himself who 

 had managed to be stung by a queen. 

 For shame, Mr. Huish, was this ever 

 noticed by some of your readers be- 



The Huish Hive had only top-bars for the 

 combs, and was called a movable-comb hive. 

 The combs had to be cut loose from the 

 walls at every inspection. 



