CRITERIA. OF A GOOD HIVE. 151 



of a person well experienced in bees, and who can imme- 

 diately discern the intrinsic value of the hive which is to 

 be sold. 



One of the greatest drawbacks attending the purchase of 

 a hive, is the groundless fear that persons are apt to enter- 

 tain for the stings of the bees ; whereas with a common veil, 

 or any other transparent article fastened round the hat, a 

 whole hive of bees may be managed with impunity. The 

 bee, although an irascible insect, is a great coward ; and he 

 will, like cowards in general, bluster a great deal, but a 

 puff of smoke will make him the most docile creature in the 

 world. 



The value of a hive can only be ascertained by a close and 

 minute examination of its interior ; for this purpose, a posi- 

 tive degree of presence of mind is indispensable ; all flurry 

 and hurry should be avoided ; and therefore, in all the at- 

 tempts of the young apiarian to manage his bees, it has been 

 our first endeavour to impress upon his mind, that coolness 

 and fortitude can alone insure success. 



The first act of the purchaser should be to examine the 

 exterior of the hive j if the straw be deranged and rotten, 

 the ligaments loose, and frequent blotches appear, which 

 evidently show that it has been mended, let him reject it 

 altogether. It is of very little consequence that the combs 

 be new, if the hive be rotten, and the purchaser will soon 

 find that he has full reason to repent of his bargain, from 

 the incessant trouble and vexation which the decayed state 

 of his hive will cause him. The cottagers of this country are 

 in general too inattentive to the condition of the hive in 

 which they put their bees ; and this arises from the supposi- 

 tion that it is of little consequence in what state the hive may 

 be, in which they put their swarms, it being their intention 

 to suffocate their bees at the close of the season. 



The purchaser having satisfied himself with the exterior 

 state of the hive, his most difficult part now arrives, which 



