CHAPTER IX. 



OF THE BEE HOUSE AND WINDOW APIARY. 



Bee hives ranged in order in a well-sheltered garden, form so pleasing 

 an object to every true lover of rural pursuits, that it cannot be won- 

 dered at how tenaciously most apiarians adhere to the management of 

 their bees in this way. I am the last person to quarrel with this pre- 

 dilection, in which, I myself fully share. While, however, it must be 

 confessed, that to bee hives located in the open air, in point of pictur- 

 esque appearance and rural interest, the palm of superiority is to be 

 accorded ; it cannot be denied, that for scientific purposes, general fa- 

 cility of management and profit, out-door apiaries must yield to such 

 as are conducted in-doors. The advantages of protection from the 

 weather, of security against accident, of opportunities for minute and 

 leisurely observation, cannot be too highly estimated. I think, there- 

 fore, I am fully justified in reserving to this place, as a sort of climax 

 to my subject, the details and treatment of hmise apiaries. 



The use of some sort of cover for bee hives has been common 

 among all bee keepers of every country. Our old apiarians who aimed 

 at any improvement upon the prevailing system, generally made use 

 of a sort of shed or box, capable of holding from one to six or more 

 colonies of bees ; and such are still to be seen in some places. Speak- 

 ing of boxes of this kind, Mr. Taylor very justly observes, " the com- 

 mon bee houses, as usually constructed, opened in front and closed 

 against approach behind, retaining the sun's heat as in an^oven, are 

 very objectionable. These are frequently unsightly, the receptacles of 

 dirt and insects, and in most instances, inconvenient to operate in." 

 As these boxes, moreover, very imperfectly answer, at best, the end 

 in view, I shall content myself with this passing allusion to them, 

 leaving it to the ingenuity of the apiator, or to the instructions of the 



