HIVES. 149 



No. I in the wall was the first opened. There was 

 a space eight or nine inches wide, and five feet long, 

 and there was disclosed to us a wonder- 

 ful sight. In front of us were continuous 

 honey and brood-combs, four feet six 

 inches long, and as wide as the opening. 

 The combs were four in number. Then 

 we took No. 2 (next above), and in a 

 similar opening found a quantity of brood, 

 honey, and bees, the combs being smaller. 

 Then we ascended to No. 3, where 

 the bees entered by the eaves. After taking some 

 splendid honey, some gathered by a swarm a month 

 old, the bees took a turn further in the roof, and we 

 left them. In the front gable we commenced cutting 

 away the lath and plaster of the top lot, and opened 

 a space six feet long and eight or nine feet wide ; 

 and here we were surprised in the extreme : a comb five 

 feet six inches long (exactly one foot more than the 

 other) was in front, and the combs were three feet 

 deep, nearly as wide as the opening. We captured two 

 queens and a large quantity of bees, and brought 

 away a lot of brood as well. The whole of this work 

 was done from a ladder; and had not our time been 

 precious, we should have liked another day at it, as 

 there were a quantity of bees, 8z;c., still left behind. 

 The combs were measured in the presence of the 

 host and a friend, as well as ourselves, and I vouch 

 for the correctness of my statement." 



From the time that man learnt the value of the 

 bee as a domesticated insect, habitations more or 

 less suitable for securing honey have been furnished 

 to the industrious workers. It is unnecessary to 



