208 
to this end. ‘he necessary measure- 
ments of the regulation frames to be 
accommodated, etc., can be obtained 
from any handbook on bee keeping, 
while the same source will supply in- 
formation on the subject of install- 
ing a swarm of bees in its new home. 
But unless the would-be student ot 
insect life has already had some ex- 
perience of practical bee-keeping on 
a large scale, he will do well to enlist 
the services of an established apiar- 
ist when he is ready to put bees into 
his observation hive—otherwise he 
may experience difficulties and dan- 
gers greater than he bargained for. Once the bees are 
established, however, they will give no further trouble, while 
they will prove a constant source of pleasure, and may be- 
come actually profitable. Even in big cities, where bees are 
restricted to the limited number of flowers to be found in 
window boxes, back gardens, and the ornamental beds of 
parks and open spaces, the insects contrive to collect honey 
in considerable quantity. This the writer can vouch for 
from actual experience. 
Then, too, the owner of an 
observation hive may try all 
manner of experiments on 
his bees, such as marking a 
bee with a spot of paint, 
and recording the number 
of hours which it devotes to 
labor each day. He may 
see, also, the cute way in 
which his pets accept a rank 
of artificial comb, stamped 
by machinery, and thus save 
themselves the weary proc- 
ess of wax making. To the writer this acceptance of aid 
offered by mankind appears to be among the most remark- 
able of all bee traits. 
It may be said that it is quite possible to keep wasps in 
a roomy observation hive. ‘They are fascinating pets, 
and afford infinite diversion by their elaborate paper- 
making schemes, by means of which the nest is enlarged 
and sheltered. But it is a very dificult matter to trans- 
fer a colony of wasps to a hive; and the reader will be 
well advised to refrain from at- 
tempting the task, at least until he 
has had some experience with bees, 
which insects are less fierce in dis- 
position, and have less powerful 
stings. 
While it is quite true one may 
obtain a substantial amount of 
honey from an observation hive, it 
is hardly to be expected that any- 
one will maintain these useful in- 
sects in this way for that purpose 
chiefly or alone. The honey one 
may take from these hives is, in 
fact, apt to be but comparatively 
small in amount, and quite a second- 
ary product of the whole business. 
The merit of the observation hive 
is its exceeding interest and its won- 
derful mystery. Here there is no 
limit, and one may watch and study 
the busy little creatures for hours 
without really finding out what they 
Artificial comb made by 
machinery 
The ants’ nest. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
The observatory hive with door open 
The plug of cotton seals the 
only entrance 
May, 1909 
are doing, or what is accomplished 
by their ceaseless movements. But 
the interest they excite is always 
present. ‘There is always something 
going on. There is very much going 
on, and going on all the time. It is 
the mystery of insect life that excites 
one’s interest in this wonderful ac- 
tivity, with the added interest that 
you know that a definite insect prod- 
uct is being manufactured immedi- 
ately under your eyes, a product, 
perchance, for your own delectation. 
I have written of these two curi- 
ous forms of insect life and told, in 
a very brief way, how they can be maintained on the library 
table or at any convenient point within the house, because 
the love of animals seems deeply ingrained in the human 
heart. And I submit that no animals can be kept with less 
trouble than ants and bees. If, at first blush, it may appear 
a bit strange to look upon these curious creatures as pets, 
the notion falls away immediately, I am sure, when the ways 
of keeping them, and the easy means of observation that may 
be provided are made 
known. One may not, in- 
deed, be prepared to take 
the ants and bees out of 
their strange homes and 
fondle them, but one can 
always watch them, always 
study them, always learn 
something from them. 
No other form of animal 
life may be kept within the 
house so neatly and so 
readily. Practically no care 
is: required. ‘The keeping 
places or houses are, to all intents and purposes hermetically 
sealed, and one has but to roll up a curtain or lift a cloth to 
have all the mysteries of the insect’s private life displayed 
for all who may wish to view them. And this is something 
accomplished. Many interesting forms of animal life can 
not be maintained within the house because the creatures are 
unpleasant or their care involves too many difficulties. But 
the ants and bees will flourish everywhere, and may every- 
where be objects of interest. 
Comb made by 
bees 
Examining captive ants in 
the formicarium 
