LOSS OF THE QTJBEN. 287 



wish, no matter what kind of hives they use, to attain the 

 largest profits from their hees. 



In the summer of 1844, 1 first began to question the pro- 

 priety of keeping colonies in hives placed very near to each 

 other. For the purpose of giving my bees greater protection 

 against extremes of heat and cold, I had recommended, in 

 the first edition of this work, to set the hives over a trench, 

 which I called a Protector, and very near to each other. In 

 Summer, the bees were to receive from this trench, a cool 

 air, through the ventilators ; and in Winter, ^hey were to be 

 confined to their hives, and yet to have a sufficient supply of 

 air, only moderately cool, from the Protector. After the ex- 

 perience of a severe winter, I found that I had been too hasty 

 in supposing that I had given this plan a thorough trial, and 

 that the Prelector must be abandoned^ because it supplied the 

 hives, in Winter, with a damp, cellar-like air. In consequence 

 of keeping my bees in hives of uniform appearance, and plac- 

 ed side by side on the Protector, 1 soon found that many young 

 queens were lost, when seeking the males, and this led me to 

 institute a careful course of observations, to ascertain under 

 what circumstances, these young queens were ordinarily lost. 



A number of hives were devoted to this experiment, being 

 first deprived of their fertile mothers, and in a few days, 

 supplied with unimpregnated queens. These hives were uni- 

 form in size, shape, and color, and were placed as near as 

 possible to each other, at the same height from the ground, 

 and all facing the same way. The ground before them, was 

 free from trees and shrubs, so as to prevent, as far as possible, 

 any hive having its location more easily remembered by a re- 

 turning queen, from its relative position to some external object. 



As fast as any colony succeeded in securing an impregnat- 

 ed queen, she was taken from it, and an unfertile one put in 

 her place, as soon as the the bees would receive her. On 



