136 THE BEE-HIVES. 
bees are allowed to swarm, he may be called in a dozen dif- 
ferent directions at once, and if any accident, such as the 
loss of a queen, happens to the colonies of his customers, 
he can usually apply no remedy. 
21. All the joints of the hive should be water-tight and 
moth-prcof (804), and there should be no doors or shutters 
liable to shrink, swell, or get out of order. 
22. A complete hive should be protected against the de- 
structive ravages of mice in Winter (348). 
23. It should permit the honey, after the gathering sea- 
son is over, to be concentrated where the bees will most 
need it. 
24. It should permit the space for spare honey recepta- 
cles to be enlarged or contracted at will, without any alter- 
ation or destruction of existing parts of the hive. 
Without the power to do this, the productive force of a 
colony is in some seasons greatly diminished. 
25. Its surplus honey receptacle should be as close to the 
brood as possible. 
26. A complete hive, while possessing ail these requisites, 
should, if possible, combine them in a cheap and simple form, 
adapted to the wants of all who are competent to cultivate 
bees. 
281. There are a few desirables to which a hive, even if 
it were perfect, could make no pretensions! 
It could not promise splendid results to those who are 
too ignorant or too careless to be entrusted with the man- 
agement of bees. In bee-keeping, as in all other pursuits, 
man must first understand his business, and then proceed 
upon the good old maxim, that ‘‘the hand of the diligent 
maketh rich.’? ‘‘ In a word, to succeed it is indispensable to 
know what to do, and to do it just in time.’’—(S. Wagner). 
It could not have the talismanic influence to convert a bad 
situation for honey into a good one; or give the Apiarist an 
abundant harvest, whether the season was productive or 
