BIOGRAPHY OF L. L LANGSTROTH. 



Lorenzo Lorrain Lanrstroth, the "father of American 

 Apiculture," was born in the city of Philadelphia, December 

 "25, 1810. He early showed unusual interest in insect life. 

 His parents were intelligent and in comfortable circum- 

 stances, but they were not pleased to see him "waste so 

 much time " in digging holes in the gravel walks, filling them 

 with crumbs of bread and dead flies, to watch the curious 

 habits of the ants. No books of any kind on natural history 

 were put into his hands, but, on the contrary, much was said 

 to discourage his " strange notions." StiU he persisted in 

 his observations, and gave to them much of the time that 

 his playmates spent in sport. 



In 1827, he entered Yale College, graduating in 1831. 

 His father's means having failed, he supported himself by 

 teaching, while pursuing his theological studies. After serv- 

 ing as mathematical tutor in Yale College for nearly two 

 years, he was ordained Pastor of a Congregational church 

 in Andover, Massachusetts, in May, 1836, and was married 

 in August of that yearto Miss A. M. Tucker of New Haven. 



Strange to say, notwithstanding his passion in early life 

 for studying the habits of insects, he took no interest in 

 such pursuits during his college life. In 1837, the sight of 

 a glass vessel filled with beautiful comb honey, on the table 

 of a friend, led him to visit the attic where the bees were 

 kept. This revived all his enthusiasm, and before he went 

 home he purchased two colonies of bees in old box hives. 

 Ill 



