On Rational Bee-Keeping. 
3 
we know for a fact that all who have tried 
the moveable bar system must have appreciated 
its advantages. In apiculture, facility of mani- 
pulation is of the greatest importance, as the 
want of skill produced by the fear of being 
stung often prevents a bee-keeper from giving 
his bees, at the right moment, the attention they 
require. 
We will give a few examples in support of our 
assertion. 
A bee-master may be fully aware that combs 
which have been perforated by the bees to ex- 
tract the larvse of the moth, as well as combs 
which have become hardened by age, are of no 
use for the young brood ; but being in the 
middle of hives made on the old principle and 
occupied by bees, he will hesitate to remove 
them, because, by making use of an instrument 
to cut out the defective parts, he will run a risk 
of destroying the workers, and possibly even the 
queen herself. 
If this operation be undertaken in winter, 
additional cold is introduced into the hive by the 
vacuum which is created ; and if delayed till the 
spring (seeing that these defective combs often 
contain brood as early as February), it may be a 
