282 Bee-keeping, by " The Times' " Bee Master. 



account of a prairie hunt ; and the description of a swarm 

 settling on the head of Thorley's maid- servant, is quoted twice 

 over, once at page 191, from Lardner, and again at page 196, 

 from Thorley, the latter quotation occupying four pages. The 

 last twenty-four pages of the treatise are made up of a number 

 of letters obviously appended to increase the volume to the 

 required size. 



The information contained in the work is practically of a 

 worthless character. The author is obviously wanting in that 

 accuracy of observation necessary to constitute a correct 

 describer ; nor is his employment of language more accurate 

 than his use of his perceptive faculties. The work, how- 

 ever, is written in a florid style, and, with those who read 

 only to be amused, may answer as a substitute for a flimsy 

 novel. 



To quote the whole of the inaccuracies would be to tran- 

 scribe nearly the entire volume. We will, therefore, take only 

 a few of the more prominent. At page 135, we are informed 

 that a swarm consists of" the outgoing queen, followed by 5000 

 or 6000 bees," " forming a cluster as large as the largest bunch 

 of grapes." ISTo one who had ever seen a swarm, and who pos- 

 sessed the slightest faculty of original observation, could pos- 

 sibly have fallen into such an error regarding the size of the 

 cluster. And the statement as to the number of the bees con- 

 tained in it is equally erroneous ; for, in truth, about 5000 

 bees weigh one pound ; and it is a very poor swarm that 

 weighs only three pounds — a fair one weighing four, and a 

 good one five pounds. This statement as to the number 

 of bees in a swarm was made in one of the Times' letters, 

 and is repeated in the volume ; but at page 66 we are in- 

 formed that "a strong swarm will consist of from 10,000 to 

 20,000 bees," and at page 99 we are told that the workers 

 in a prosperous hive vary from " 10,000 to 20,000.-" The 

 author does not inform us how a prosperous hive of 20,000 

 workers can give out a swarm of 20,000 strong without being 

 entirely depopulated; in fact, the three statements are alike 

 irreconcilable and untrue ; a good swarm consisting of from 

 20,000 to 25,000 bees, and a prosperous hive before swarming 

 containing at the lowest estimate upward of 40,000. 



The practical directions for the profitable working of 

 hives with top boxes or supers, as they are termed, are of the 

 most unsatisfactory character. The author recommends a 

 hive largely used in Ayrshire, and known as the Stewarton 

 hive. This he originally, in the Times, described as 

 hexagonal, and in fact still repeatedly terms it so at page 128, 

 where he mentions it as " the Scotch or Ayrshire octagonal 

 hive, made of thoroughly seasoned deal, in the form of a 



