B74 BEE-CULTURE. 
should not use it. Ifhe fails to keep command of the movable slide or 
bottom, my preference is the same. The individual who does this, in 
the face of the explicit and needful directions which are given, deserves 
not to succeed, and probably will not succeed, whatever plan he may 
adopt. The hive should be placed substantiaily in the circumstances 
which have been contemplated, and be managed in the same manner, 
substantially, which has been pointed out, in spring, summer, autumn, 
and winter. The essential features of successful Bee-culture are the 
following. 1. Bees should be placed in a good hive, one which will 
bear exposure to the weather. 2. The keeper should be able at any 
time to inspect their condition. 3. They should be allowed to swarm. 
A, They should be protected from the encroachments of the Bee-moth. 
5. The hive should be sufficiently ventilated, especially in winter. 
6. No Bees should ever be destroyed. 7. The keeper should be able 
to avail himself of all the labor which they can perform. 8. He should 
ascertain, and note their weight of stockin autumn and spring. 9. Bees 
which occupy a good hive, (and they should be put into no other) should 
rarely be dislodged. These are by no means all the important features 
of a good system of Bee-culture. But these I regard as indispensable ; 
others are comparatively of minor importance, or incidental. Without 
each of these, any system which may be adopted, must present glaring 
defects, and must prove unprofitable, in proportion as such defects are 
found to exist. : 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
CONCLUSION. 
THE Bee-keeper is concerned in the management of a most wonder- 
ful insect. The wisdom of the Creator is conspicuous in the instincts 
which are stamped upon it. Here is a profitable theme of study, not 
merely for the naturalist, but for the moralist and the divine. Their 
industry is proverbial. On this account, it may be well for the dron- 
ish portion of our race to witness their operations, and learn from them 
salutary lessons. They occupy a field of labor, which, were it not for 
