bee-keeper's manual. 239 



other. The air that man breathes, was not made for 

 him alone, and if we place the bee where it is not found 

 in its purity, we do her wrong, since nature never thus 

 destined her to be. 



There is another method of placing bees in rooms. I 

 allude to allowing them to occupy a small room at large, 

 without being subject to hives at all ; I do not approve 

 of this method. In the first place, we get no increase 

 from our bees. They will not multiply and fill a whole 

 room, as some persons may imagine. The natural in- 

 herent hostility of queens towards rivals; prevents such 

 a result. Two queens cannot exist in the same family. 

 One must be mistress of " all she surveys." It matters 

 not how far you " extend the area of freedom," if a 

 second queen exist, she will be found by the legitimate 

 sovereign, and one of the two must perish, and that 

 quickly. Should bees form detached settlements in dif- 

 ferent parts of the same room, perhaps several families 

 might exist for a few years ; but it is folly to manage 

 bees in this way. The surplus honey is not as easily 

 taken away on this plan, as it is when stored in supers ; 

 and all the casualties attending the prosperity of bees, 

 from the ravages of the moth, are subject to result from 

 this mode of management, as well as from any other 

 method. 



BEES THRIVE IN LARGE TOWNS, ETC. 



Bees will thrive in a ilarge town with a fertile sur- 

 rounding country, as well as in any other place, unless 

 it be in a situation of peculiar merit, such as in a rich 



