BEE-KEEPER S MANUAL. 



riments, that never occurred save in the imagination of 

 this naturalist, or of his assistant, I deem it necessary to 

 place the position of this author fairly before my readers, 

 that they may be able to judge for themselves, in some 

 measure, whether he is, or is not, entitled to full cre- 

 dence. I do this, partly for the reason that some authors 

 on this subject, within the reach of an American public, 

 servilely tread in the footsteps of Huber, without ever 

 having read his writings from his own pen, which is 

 perfectly apparent, from the limited knowledge of his 

 work, possessed by the writers, as their essays plainly 

 manifest. - 



At the time that Huber wrote, about the year 1790, 

 the natural history of the honey bee, as well as its do- 

 mestic economy and management, was in a state of ob- 

 scurity. Very few men of talent had given the subject 

 a profound attention, and the traditions and absurd fan- 

 cies of olden times, in regard to this insect, were believed 

 and acted upon, by the majority of bee-keepers. At 

 this epoch, Huber professed to have made a series of 

 experiments, during a period of some five or six years, 

 illustrating the physiology and economy of the honey 

 bee to an extent that had never been reached before. 

 But his writings throw no light whatever upon the do- 

 mestic management of bees ; therefore, they are of no 

 value to the apiarian who studies the economy of bees, 

 merely for the profit derived from them. The natural- 

 ist alone considered his discoveries as highly important 

 and valuable, and being a novelty, the world at once 

 took the truth of his theories and experiments for grant- 

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