286 REMARKS OF DR. BEVAN ON THE HUISH HIVE. 



principle of it to be good, yet a great doubt exists as to its 

 being brought into general use. Now in our opinion not 

 the least doubt exists on the subject ; for were even not 

 only the theory but the practice of it indisputable, we are 

 too thoroughly acquainted with the contracted notions and 

 prejudices of the majority of bee-keepers, to suppose that 

 they will easily adopt any improvement in the management 

 of their bees, which has a tendency to the eradication of 

 those prejudices. One of the chief objections which has 

 been raised to the use of this hive is, that it is impossible to 

 force the bees to work on the bars ; and Dr. Bevan goes so 

 far as to say, that he never saw an instance in which the 

 combs did not either cross the bars at right angles, or 

 connect themselves in some way or other with two or three 

 bars, so as to render it impracticable to remove a comb or 

 two from the outsides, in the manner that Mr. Huish pro- 

 poses. In answer to these remarks of Dr. Bevan, we may ven- 

 ture to affirm that the experience of the learned doctor in the 

 use of our hive must have been very limited indeed. Inde- 

 pendently of the falsity of the statement that he has seen the 

 combs cross each other at right angles, does not Dr. Bevan 

 know that the combs are invariably made parallel with the 

 entrance ? and we defy him to adduce a single instance, in 

 which the combs of a hive were ever constructed so as to 

 form a right angle with the entrance. The great difficulty 

 which has to be surmounted in forcing the bees to attach 

 their combs parallel with the bars, arises from the circum- 

 stance that the side combs, which are always the richest in 

 honey, are in general double the width of the middle combs, 

 which are applied solely to the purposes of breeding. The 

 machinery of a hive generally consists of seven combs, that is, 

 supposing the bees to be in the common cottage hive ; and 

 consequently, we gave seven bars to our hive : but were we 

 to have made the side bars of that width, which would be 

 required for one of the side combs, we should have been 



