1V PREFACE. 
ranged themselves into a compact and beautiful sys- 
tem. His experiments were pursued simply as a 
pleasure, and his hive invented for his own private 
use: it was not until quite recently that he had any 
thought of offering to the public a new hive, or pub- 
lishing a book on Bees. He now does it at the re- 
quest of friends, and to supply what seems to be a 
public need. 
He has intended to give due credit in. his book.— 
Its designed limits and chief aim forbade extensive 
copying ; for he has purposely excluded all spec- 
ulative hypotheses not yet brought from the field 
of experiment by repeated demonstrations, giving 
only the absolute and abundantly established truths 
on which the hive and system herein described 
rest. He does not expect, in a day, to convince 
all of the truth of every statement made in his book, 
nor of the entire practicability of his system. He 
asks for the former a careful study, and for the latter 
a fair trial—these granted, he has no fears for the 
result. 
THe AUTHOR. 
Grand Rapids, Michigan, April, 1862. 
