iv PEEFACE. 



of the honey, the wax, and the swarms they produce 

 — they cost nothing to keep, and want nothing but 

 a little care." 



The author's father, James Pettigrew, was a labour- 

 ing man, and perhaps the greatest bee-keeper that 

 Scotland has ever produced. He was so successful 

 and enthusiastic in the management of his bees, 

 that he earned and received the cognomen of " The 

 Bee-man," and by this name he was well known for 

 thirty years in a wider circle than the parish of Car- 

 luke, Lanarkshire, in which he resided. Even the 

 district of the parish in which he lived when he kept 

 most hives took then the name of " Honey Bank," 

 which it still bears. And though the author left his 

 native village thirty-five years ago, he is best known 

 there on an occasional visit as " The Bee-man's son." 



AVhile a common labouring man, he saved a great 

 deal of money from his bees ; indeed it was reported 

 in the Glasgow newspapers that he realised £100 

 profit from them one season. His example and suc- 

 cess twenty-five years after his death have not yet 

 lost their influence on the successful bee-keepers of 

 his native village, who say, " The old bee-man taught 

 us all we know; who taught him?" "The bee- 

 man" saved money enough to purchase the Black 

 Bull Inn of the village, and therein commenced busi- 

 ness as a publican and butcher. When his sons 

 reached their 'teens, the management of his bees was 

 left in great measure to them. It was then that the 

 foundation of what we know of bees was laid. And 

 as most readers of a book like to know a little of the 



