OPINIONS OF THE PJiESS—(commvED). 



anecdotes of his experiences are related by him in a light and 

 amusing manner. For this reason also the information conveyed in 

 his pages is, as we have already stated, very generally correct. 



Athen^um, August 19, 1865. 



Emanating from a house so well known and so extensively 

 patronized by the cultivators of bees, it will readily be concluded 

 that the object of the present work is primarily commercial. The 

 author, a member of the firm, in giving the reason for the publica- 

 tion of his book, speaks in the name of the company. ' ' We are, " 

 he says, "so frequently applied to for advice on matters connected 

 with bees and bee-hives, that it seemed likely to prove a great advan- 

 tage, alike to our correspondents and ourselves, if we could point to 

 a ' handy-book ' of our own, which should contain full and detailed 

 replies sufficient to meet all reasonable inquiries. " This is candid 

 and open, and stands in favourable contrast to the ordinaiy puffing 

 books which aim to conceal under the aspect often of a scientific 

 treatise the boasting advertisement of their own wares. It is but 

 justice to the respectable house from which the present little treatise 

 issues to say that it fulfils its public object, presenting one of the most 

 useful practical treatises on this most interesting pursuit which we have 

 met with. It does not profess to enter deeply into the physiological 

 marvels of the habits of bees ; it is, in fact, meagre in the scientific 

 phase of the subject. The various theories concerning the propaga- 

 tion of bees are nowhere discussed,* and the hypothesis of Siebold is 

 not even alluded to. * But for those persons who desire to know how 

 to procure good honey with certainty, and how to watch in safety 

 the working of these little untaught but unerring mathematicians, 

 the work of Mr. Neighbour will be found very useful. It also in- 

 forms us where the best hives of every kind and form are to be 

 obtained — of course, of " Messrs. Neighbour & Sons." 



The Reader, 26 August, 1865. 



The Apiary ; or, Bees, Beehives, and Bee Culture. By Alfred 

 Neighbour. (Kent & Co.) 



This valuable manual is, what it professes to be, a familiar account 

 of the habits of bees, and the most improved methods of manage- 

 ment, with full directions adapted for the cottager, farmer, or scientific 

 apiarian. The writer is a regular enthusiast, but an enthusiast whose 

 practical knowledge of the subject is made all the more available to 

 the reader from the very enthusiasm which, as in Virgil, leaves not 

 the most minute instruction untold. Nobody can write about bees 

 without quoting poetry, and Mr. Neighbour does this largely, yet 

 most aptly. 



* Will be found in third edition. 



