As the printing press has had the desirable effect of exter- 
minating witches, fairies, and ghosts, so is it fast exterminating 
the idea of luck, and substituting in its stead the intelligible 
and true idea that every effect is produced by some cause. 
Who has not considered Bee-Culture a business of chance ? 
and the philosophy of Bees a mere speculation ? But a rev- 
olution in this pursuit is going on. General intelligence has 
increased rapidly of late. 
There was a time when bees prospered under the most 
rude management, but the condition of things pertaining to 
bees has so changed that no one need expect to be perma- 
nently successful in their culture, except he understands the 
whys and wherefores of the various phenomena of bees, so 
as to adapt himself to them. 
The following articles are only a synopsis of the subject, 
and to one wishing full instructions they will, in many par- 
ticulars, not be satisfying. To all such I would recommend 
“Mysteries of Bee-keeping,” by M. Quinby, St. Johnsvillc, 
New York; or “The Honey Bee,” by L. L. Langstroth, Ox- 
ford, Ohio. Both these works are very valuable and inter- 
esting. Whoever keeps five hives of bees, with the informa- 
tion such books afford, will likely derive more profit from 
them than he will with twice the number without that 
knowledge. 
The American Bee Journal, published by S. Wagoner, of 
Washington, D. C., will keep one posted in what is doing in the 
business. Knowledge will not move all obstacles out of the 
way. It cannot make good seasons nor entirely prevent the 
effects of bad ones, but it can very much modify them. 
Whoever cau manage to save his bees in bad seasons, is sure 
