10 PREFACE. 



The hive and system of bee management recom- 

 mended in these pages, is entirely original with 

 me, and is not patented. I invented the hive and 

 plan of management for my own use, as I am en- 

 gaged in raising honey for market, and wish every 

 swarm of bees I keep to produce the greatest pos- 

 sible amount of surplus honey, and in the most con- 

 venient and attractive marketable form. I am in- 

 duced to place this work before the public at the 

 earnest and oft repeated requests of friends and 

 correspondents. The work has been hurriedly 

 written, as I had but little spare time to devote to 

 this matter, consequently sentences are not all, per- 

 haps, grammatically arranged. I have made the 

 beautiful of secondary importance to the useful. I 

 have endeavored, however, to make my statements 

 so clear as to be readily understood and compre- 

 hended by every person of intelligence, although he 

 may be wholly unacquainted with bee keeping. 



Every person, who has a farm or garden, should 

 keep bees, at least one or more swarms, to furnish 

 honey for the use of the family. There is no 

 opreater luxury than nice honey in clean snow-white 

 comb in nice glass boxes, such as is produced by 

 my new system of bee management. This best of 

 all sweets is now w^ithin reach of every one who has 

 a plot of ground large enough to set a hive of bees 

 upon. 



After bees are once located in my hives but very 

 little expense is required to keep them in proper 

 condition, so that they will give a good quantity of 

 nice box honey every year. 



