214 
DOMESTIC FISH-PONDS.-NO. 2 . 
and it matters not how large you furnish hives, 
where they swarm, which is seldom in very large 
hives, the quantity of bees is not in proportion to 
the size of the hive, but in accordance with the 
laws of nature. Now, to come to the point with as 
few words as possible, I have found, from practi¬ 
cal demonstration, that hives one foot square in the 
clear, conform more to the natural requirements of 
bees than any other. It is a consideration with 
apiarians who make a business of the sale of bees, 
to make their hives much less than this, as thereby 
they increase their profits. I have an instance of 
the deplorable effects of this, in the case of a neigh¬ 
bor, who went to great expense in building bee 
houses, which he filled with “ patent hives,” from 
a well-known apiarian of New York, on the prin¬ 
ciple of 8 by 10, or somewhere about this size, at 
an enormous cost, and now, where are they ? 
From six hives procured several years ago, he has 
only one now remaining, and when I last saw that 
one, “ solitary and alone,” throwing out an occa¬ 
sional pale sickly bee, in quest of food, while the 
air of my premises was literally “ vocal with 
music,” and the furious dashing whiz that resound¬ 
ed about my ears as I approached them, giving 
indications of power, vigor, and prosperity—I say, 
when I saw this great difference from positions 
only a few rods distant, I grieved that darkness 
should yet hover over the apiaries of thousands 
who seem indifferent to their success, or rather con¬ 
sider success as a matter of chance rather than of 
science. 
Having spoken of the efFects of too small hives,' I 
will now give my experience in too large ones. 
In 1842 I had a few hives made 12 by 18 inches, 
in the clear. (In speaking of the size of hives, I 
refer to the body of the hive for the dwelling of the 
stock, without any regard to what are termed 
supers for storifying.) I found that it took the 
bees two seasons to fill them, and when filled they 
did not swarm at all some seasons, for this reason, 
that however great the quantity of the bees in the 
summer and fall there is in a hive, they dwindle 
away before spring, to a certain quantity, and thus 
leave a vacant space of some six inches, or more, at 
the bottom of the hive, to fill up with the increase 
of spring, while smaller hives are full, and are 
throwing off swarms in profusion. Not only does 
this retard swarming, but the queen bee, in whose 
power all swarming lies, surveys the space of her 
tenement, and if she finds that the whole room can 
be occupied by her vassals, she will either lay the 
foundation of no new queens, or when they are 
brought into existence, she will destroy them as 
fast as they appear, and no swarm is ever thrown 
off without a queen; hence, large hives are not 
only unproductive as regards increase of swarms, 
but there will not as much honey be stored in the 
supers in hives 15 or 18 inches deep, as in those of 
less depth, for the reason of the greater obstruction 
to which the workers are liable in ascending to the 
supers; this being the case, it would naturally 
suggest to our minds that broad and shallow hives 
would do better than those that are about square, 
such as I consider best. This would be the case so 
far as storifying honey is concerned, but it is im¬ 
portant that the bees should be kept as compact as 
possible, to secure them against the sudden changes 
of winter weather, and also to be in better condi¬ 
tion to resist the approaches of the bee-moth, than 
an extended surface would admit of. 
Well, in regard to my large hives, I saw the fal¬ 
lacy of such dimensions, and conceived the idea of 
cutting them off in April last, while occupied with 
bees, which operation I performed personally with 
a common handsaw, the modus operandi of which 
I will give in a succeeding chapter, as well as of 
some other difficult and perilous performances. I 
say perilous , for, when a thousand bees dart with 
furious ire at one’s hands or face, a small displace¬ 
ment of any part of his shield, by accident, would 
be worse for him than the charging of the Mexican 
batteries, as did the indomitable Capt. May and his 
valiant dragoons ! 
After cutting these hives off, I found that they 
contained but a very few more bees than hives of 
12 by 12, of last year’s swarms, and these stocks in 
hives of that size, actually swarmed this season 
first. This result, with various other proofs, ren¬ 
dered it conclusive to my mind, that hives very near 
square are best, and that 12 by 12 inches in the 
clear, when managed on my plan, is as near correct 
as can be. 
In my next I shall treat of the position of the 
apiary— ventilation of hives—the bee-moth; how 
guarded against, and the fallacy of the “ patent 
hive ” system, as adapted and recommended by some 
of our apiarians. T. B. Miner 
Ravenswood, Long Island, June 1st, 1846. 
DOMESTIC FISH-PONDS.—No. 2. 
Modes of Stocking the Ponds with Fish. —The 
ponds may be stocked from the nearest rivers, 
lakes, or ponds. If the fish are to be brought from 
a great distance in tubs or casks, the water must be 
changed every four or five hours, and always kept 
more or less in motion, particularly for trout. By 
adding ice, however, the time of changing the wa¬ 
ter may be prolonged. The fish, if possible, should 
be taken in nets, and be put instantly into the tubs 
for transportation ; but if they be caught with lines, 
care should be observed not to wound them more 
than can be helped in extricating them from the 
hook. 
It has been recommended to stock a pond by col¬ 
lecting ripe spawn and carrying it in water mixed 
with grass, and speedily placing it in the shallow 
and sandy part of the pond, in order that it may re¬ 
ceive the influence of the heat and light of the 
sun ; but how far this mode would succeed in 
bringing the spawn of the white fish and of the 
Mackanaw trout from the Great Lakes to the 
waters near the seaboard, nothing short of an ac¬ 
tual experiment can determine. In attempting to 
introduce these fishes into Lake George, Cham¬ 
plain, Winnipisiogee, or other waters of great 
depth, or to introduce tench and carp from Europe 
into artificial ponds in the United States, the surest 
mode of success, it is thought, would be, to select 
with care, a small number of each kind of fish, just 
before their spawning season arrives, and convey 
them as speedily as possible, in large cisterns or 
tanks, paying particular attention to regulate the 
temperature of the water, and change it as oiten as 
circumstances may require. That the common 
carp ( Cyprinus carpio ), originally from the central 
