324 SINGULAR DISCOVERY OF HUBER. 



were as active in the spring after an intense winter, as they 

 generally showed themselves after a milder one. On leaving 

 Russia in the following spring, Sir Charles made us a 

 present of one of his most populous hives, which we suc- 

 ceeded in bringing to Scotland, and we found no difficulty 

 whatever in acclimating them to this country ; but we saw 

 no reason to prefer them, either in industry or the quantity 

 of their produce, to our own native bees. 



We most unwillingly quote Huber on any point connected 

 with the practical management of the apiary ; and, in fact, 

 in no work extant on the subject of the apiary, is there so 

 little information to be derived relative to the practical de- 

 partment of it, as in the works of that falsely eulogised 

 naturalist ; in fact, they never ought to be consulted on the 

 subject, for they are actually destitute of the most common 

 rules, which the uninitiated bee-keeper would wish to know, 

 and which he ought to know, in order to insure to himself, 

 even a partial success. In his observations, however, (page 

 361) he says "that the bees are so free from torpor during 

 the winter, that when the thermometer falls in the open air 

 to many degrees below the freezing point, it remains at 

 twenty-four or twenty-five above it in those hives which are 

 well-peopled. The bees then press closely towards each 

 other, and thus by mutual action increase their natural 

 heat." 



According to this opinion of Huber, we find that the bees 

 possess the power not only of preserving, but of actually aug- 

 menting the internal heat of the hive, whenever they require 

 it. Without stopping, however, to invalidate so erroneous 

 an assertion, we will proceed to show, according to the dis- 

 covery of Huber, that so great is the abundance of calorific 

 matter in bees, that they may be made highly serviceable in 

 the heating of apartments, and particularly greenhouses ! ! ! 

 and in those countries, where there is a scarcity of fuel, the 

 discovery is by no means to be sneered at, as a few hives 



