AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
75 
returns for nine years ami eight months, of per¬ 
sons dying, over twenty years of age ; and the 
comparison is drawn between agriculturists and 
persons in the leading mechanical trades: 
Mo. 11 / Average Average length nf 
Occupations. Ileatlis age at life after 20 years 
reported. Death. of age. 
Agriculturists,.7,735 .. .64,03.44,03. 
Carpenters.1,127... .49,41.29,41. 
Shoemakers.1,639... .43,10.23,10. 
Blacksmiths,. 541-51,62.31,62. 
Painters,. 275....42,00.22.00. 
Masons,... 273... .48,32.28,32. 
Machinists. 268....37,15.17,15. 
Tailors. 192....43,87.23,87. 
Operatives,. 173....33,17. 13,17. 
' Printers,. 91....36,46.16,46. 
Hatters. 68.53,87.33,87. 
Tinsmiths,. 52 41,44.21,44. 
In the above Report, the deaths of 7,781 me¬ 
chanics are given, (46 more than of farmers,) 
whose average age is exactly 4C years, while that 
of farmers is a little over 64 years—showing a 
difference of 18 years in favor of agriculture. 
Speaking statistically, it appears that a farmer at 
20 years of age may expect to live 44 years, and a 
mechanic only 26. Among mechanic^, carpenters 
and masons who spend much of their time in the 
open air, live nearly 50 years, while machinists, 
printers, and operatives, live less than 40 years. 
- m i i » 
Wonders of the Bee-Hive. 
Number IX. 
One of the wonders of the bee-hive is the beau¬ 
tiful white virgin comb, too delicate to be handled 
without injury, which soon makes its appearance 
when a colony of bees have taken possession of a 
new home. The rapidity with which it is formed 
has often amazed us, bringing to mind the story 
of the wonderful palaces produced by Aladdin’s 
lamp. We have already spoken of the form ofthe 
cells which the bees instinctively adopt, and have 
shown how admirably everything is adapted to se¬ 
cure strength, ease of access, utility and economy 
of material. But what is the substance which 
they employ and where is it obtained 1 
When we put a swarm of bees into a hive, and 
after confining them for a day or two, find several 
sheets of wax fairly started, with no possibility of 
assistance from without, it seems more like “mak¬ 
ing bricks without straw ” than anything we know 
of. Yet being firm believers of the truth of the 
old saying that “ from nothing, nothing comes,” 
we are not willing to let the mystery pass unex¬ 
plained. 
It was formerly supposed, and indeed some peo¬ 
ple even now believe, that bees collect wax from 
plants or flowers, in the same manner as they pro¬ 
cure honey. And this is a very natural conclusion 
when the bees are seen bringing loads of pollen 
into the hives, on their thighs. But the incorrect* 
ness ofthis opinion was shown long ago by Huber, 
concerning whose researches the Edinburgh Phil¬ 
osophical Journal in 1833remarked “thatnothing 
of any importance had been added to the history 
of bees since his time ; and naturalists of unim¬ 
paired vision have nothing of consequence to sub¬ 
join to the observations of a brother who was de¬ 
prived of sight.” More recently, new discoveries 
have been made, but some facts that he establish¬ 
ed can never again be disputed. 
The wax of which the honey-comb is made is 
found to be a secretion of the worker bees, after be¬ 
ing gorged with honey ; or a substance produced in 
their bodies from their food and escaping to the 
surface someichal in the way that perspiration 
makes its appearance on our limbs. When the 
wax is first seen however, it is not in the form of 
drops, but of small white scales, looking like small 
pieces of skin. 
The abdomen of the bee is formed 
of a succession ofrings overlapping 
each other, and these scales of wax 
are found in pairs, slipping out from 
the pouches where they are formed, 
as if from under a man’s vest. This 
is very well illustrated by our en¬ 
graving, (Fig. II.) The prodtic- 
Fig. 11. tion of wax seems to require cer¬ 
tain favorable circumstances, such at least as an 
abundance of food, a high degree of animal heat 
and a state of repose. In the case of a new swarm, 
they are said to take their departure from the 
hive, with their honey-bags loaded ; and cluster¬ 
ing together in a thick mass, they raise the tem¬ 
perature to a degree that would not be possible if 
each bee started a home on its own account. 
Sometimes but a few hours elapse before the sup¬ 
ply of wax begins to appear, and before a full day 
has passed, considerable advance will be made in 
comb building. 
Often the production of wax is so great that 
the scales are allowed to fall upon the floor of the 
hive. Their shape and appearance may be learned 
Fig. 12. 
from the engraving, (Fig. 12). It will he seen that 
they are of oblong form ; the longer diameter be¬ 
ing about one-tenth of an inch. How these scales 
are detached from the pouches where they are 
formed, we are not able to say. Some writers 
speak of their being taken off by the hind legs, 
and transferred to the mouth. Mr. Langstroth, 
says “ the bees seem to aid its liberation from their 
bodies, by violently shaking themselves, as they 
stand upon the combs.” These thin delicate 
scales being made soft and pliable by the heat of 
the hive, are moulded by the bees, and applied to 
the roof of the hive, in the lines of direction which 
the combs are to follow. The bees may be com¬ 
pelled to build from the floor upwards, but in that 
case, they work at a great disadvantage. The 
sheets of comb are placed parallel to each other, 
and any variation from a direct line in one of them, 
however occasioned, is likely to be followed in the 
others. 
The cells on the lower edges of the comb are 
not at first made as deep as those above them, the 
thickness of the sheet, diminishing somewhat like 
a double convex lens. But as the work advances 
these cells are made of full size, and if the comb is 
attached to the bottom of the box or hive, the 
lowest part has the same thickness as the rest. 
Sometimes,however, the uppermost cells are made 
of unusual depths for the storing away of honey, 
and the lower ones, reserved for brood, are con¬ 
fined to narrower limits. It seems to be neces¬ 
sary for the comb to have this shape like a lens, 
while its construction is going on ; and if a sheet 
of comb is broken square off, the bees trim it down 
at the edges before proceeding to restore its orig¬ 
inal dimensions. Empty comb is extremely light 
and the sides of each cell in new comb are said to 
be so thin that one-hundred-and-eighty of them 
would be necessary to make one inch in thick' 
ness. When the brood cells have been occupied 
by many generations of bees, the accumulation of 
cocoons adds much to the weight of the comb, 
and the results of some experiments with old 
brood comb, show that the cocoons sometimes 
weigh eight or nine times as much as the wax 
which surrounds them. 
The consumption of honey in the manufacture 
of wax is surprisingly great. It is thought that 
twenty pounds are consumed in making a single 
pound of comb. Hence the utility of giving to the 
bees whatever empty combs we can secure, and 
saving all the expense of manufacturing new wax. 
If a swarm can be saved the expenditure ol'twen- 
ty pounds of honey, when they first “goto house¬ 
keeping,” it is so much clear gain to their owner. 
It is a question too, whether it is not good econ¬ 
omy to guide the direction of the combs so as to 
save a useless expenditure of wax. Those who 
have had occasion to turn hives over, or even to 
open boxes of honey, know how often the sheets 
of comb run obliquely. And sometimes in Mr. 
Langstroth’s hive, which is designed to bring each 
sheet of comb upon a single moveable frame, we 
have found it difficult to keep the combs from 
crossing to other frames. But it is very evident 
.that attachments of the combs to the side of the 
boxes involves some waste of wax. Hence it is 
not good economy to have comb made in smaller 
in round receptacles; and it is better that in a 
long box, the combs should run with the length, 
rather than across it, and parallel with the sides 
rather than obliquely. Whatever is desired in this 
respect can be accomplished practically by fast¬ 
ening pieces of guide comb into the hive before 
the bees enter it, and by taking care that the hive 
stands perpendicularly on its platform. 
It is.yet a question whether any substitute can 
be found for the honey-comb, which will save all 
expenditure of honey, and be proof against the at¬ 
tacks of the bee-moth. We think there is ingen¬ 
uity enough in the land to accomplish this work, 
and confidently expect that we shall at some time 
have the pleasure of announcing that artificial 
honey-combs have been successfully introduced 
into bee-culture. 
Improved Stable Floors. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Some years ago my stable was laid with a plank 
floor. My horse, a late purchase, (I keep but one! 
became lame. An experienced horseman attrib¬ 
uted it to bad shoeing. I had the shoes removed, 
and a few days after replaced, but the lameness, 
which was in the forefeet, continued. Upon a 
careful examination I came to the conclusion that 
dryness was the cause of it, I then had recourse 
to stuffing with moist manure at night, which en¬ 
tirely remedied the lameness. But I found this 
troublesome, and apt to be neglected, when the 
lameness was sure to return. I then took up the 
plank in one stall and filled up to the floor with 
gravelly clay. But I did not like this owing to the 
soaking of the clay with the droppings of the ani¬ 
mal. I then removed the clay for about two-thirds 
or three-fourths of the length of the stall, ami laid 
down plank for the part removed even with the ori¬ 
ginal floor leaving the horse to stand with Ins tore- 
feet on the clay. This has been continued for more 
than a year, and answers an admirable purpose 
My horse requires no stalling ofthe feet, and keeps 
free from lameness. E. H. Vanuxem. 
Shrewsbury, N. J., Feb. 8, 1858. 
Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon 
overtakes her. 
