PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



UR apology for preparing a bee-book is a very 

 simple one. We are so frequently applied to 

 for advice on matters connected with bees and 

 beehives, 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 ordinary enquiries. Most of the apiarian manuals 

 possess some special excellence or other, and we have 

 no wish to disparage any of tliem ; yet in all we have 

 found a want of explanations relating to several of the 

 more recent improvements. 



It has more especially been our aim to_ give explicit 

 and detailed directions on most subjects connected with 

 the hiving and removing of bees, and also to show how, 

 by judicious application of the " depriving " system, the 

 productive powers of the bees may be enormously 

 increased. 



