AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
171 
that he may be like the brutes that perish, in¬ 
different to God, forgetful of his Maker’s will 1 or 
like the horse and mule that have no understand¬ 
ing, whose mouth must be held with bit and bri¬ 
dle ? Nay, but rather that he may everywhere 
read the revelation God has made, in Nature as 
well as in scripture, and reverently, in a meek and 
child-like spirit, may learn “ to think the thoughts 
of God,” and do his pleasure. Herein is human 
greatness ; herein can man be made like his Ma¬ 
ker. 
-- i —» a»- 
To Make Bees Cluster in Swarming. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist : 
In this section of country there are knotty 
bulks growing on the sides of trees and saplings, 
which resemble clusters of bees. I cut one of 
these to the size of a small swarm, bore a hole 
in it, and drive in the handle. For convenience, 
I have three of these—the handles ranging in 
length, from 10 to 20 feet, to suit the liight of the 
shrubbery near the bee-house, on which the bees 
will be likely to settle. When bees have com¬ 
menced settling elsewhere, I have frequently set 
the pole near them, shook them off the limb, and 
caught them on the knot, and then carried them 
to the same scaffold from which I have hived 
more than 20 swarms the last Summer. I spread 
a cloth over the scaffold, set the box on four 
blocks li inches high, and shake the bees down 
at the sides of the box. They generally need to 
be swept down gently off the box, with a small 
leafy branch, and they will go into their new 
home. Joshua Edwards. 
New Grenada, Fulton Co., Pa. 
Observing Bee-Hives. 
In order to study the habits of the honey-bee, 
and to attain personal knowledge in respect to 
many strange things which are told of it, it is ne¬ 
cessary that we should have a hive so construct¬ 
ed as to be open to inspection at all times. Hav¬ 
ing derived much instruction and satisfaction from 
the facilities afforded by an observing-hive, we 
comply with the request of several correspond¬ 
ents to give some account of the mode in which 
one can be made. 
An observing hive is essentially a common 
hive with glass sides, but made so narrow in one 
direction that it will contain but a single comb. 
This form gives the observer a chance to look in 
upon the bees at work, and see both sides of the 
comb at any time. We insert two of Mr. Lang- 
stroth’s engravings as the readiest means of illus¬ 
trating our views, though they introduce one pe¬ 
culiarity, to be spoken of presently, that is cov¬ 
ered as we suppose by his patent right, and that 
consequently can be used only with his permis¬ 
sion and in connection with his common hive. 
All that is essential in an observing hive, is sim¬ 
ply a frame work sufficiently large to hold one 
piece of honey comb, with glass sides, and ar¬ 
rangements for entrance and for ventilation. 
Fig. 1, is a side view, and fiig. 2, an end view, 
of such a hive. As the dimensions are not essen¬ 
tial, except when used in connection with Lang- 
stroth’s hive, we shall not adhere to those stated 
by him. The material maybe pine boards, seven- 
eights of an inch thick- The base-board a, is 24 
inches long, by 4 wide; b, the bottom of the 
hive, 17b by 2 b ; the front and rear are formed 
of two posts, c, c, 111 by 21; e, is a movable cov¬ 
er, 21 by 4, while on each side is a thin strip d, an 
inch wide, and as long as the hive. If then the 
bottom board b, has a rabbet made in each of its 
upper corners, £ each way, and the inner corners 
of the posts be rabbeted in the same manner, up 
and down, they will give room for two panes of 
glass, 11 by 18, which will come up flush with the 
cover, and may be kept in place by brads or tins. 
This allows just an inch and a half between the 
glasses, a space sufficient for one sheet of comb, 
and for the passing of bees over its surface. 
For ventilation two holes, an inch in diameter, 
may be bored through a and b, 11 inches apart 
from center to center, the wood being cut out be¬ 
tween them. Similar holes may be made in the 
posts c c ; and all these are to be covered, on the 
inside, with wire cloth. 
The entrance is made by boring a hole $ of an 
inch in diameter, 31 inches deep into the end of 
a above g. One inch from the end of b, start a 
similar hole and bore slanting so as to meet that 
in a. An alighting board g, may be added, 4 by 4 
inches, and, if desirable, clamp on the cover i, i. 
In our engraving another inside frame appears; 
this is moveable, and is intended to sustain the 
sheet of comb. This is one of the peculiarities al¬ 
luded to in Langstroth’s patented hive, in which 
it is intended that each comb shall be built on a 
separate and movable frame. Of course it is not 
essential to the observing-hive, but it greatly fa¬ 
cilitates the ease and pleasure of experiments, 
enabling us at any moment to stock an observing 
hive, or to furnish it with brood, honey or comb, 
at pleasure. 
It is an exceedingly simple thing when one has 
Langstroth’s frames and an observing-hive to 
match, to start a new colony, and that, without 
serious injury to the stock from which it is taken. 
A single frame containing comb, honey, pollen, 
eggs, brood and bees, is lifted out from the main 
hive and let down into the observing-hive from 
above. The cover is immediately put on and the 
entrance hole stopped. Sufficient air comes in at 
the ventilators to keep the bees from suffocation, 
and after ineffectual attempts to escape, they very 
soon begin to form queen cells. They do not 
even need to be kept in a dark place. If removed 
a mile or two, the entrance hole may, at once be 
opened: otherwise, they may be kept prisoners 
for two or three days, after which time they will 
not all desert their new locality. Before they are 
released, the hive may be set on a table before a 
window, where a curtain protects it from the di¬ 
rect rays of the sun, and yet the bees can come 
and go freely without entering the room. Some¬ 
times it may be convenient to remove the glass 
of the hive, for a few moments, in order to get at 
the comb, or to secure the mother-bee for exhib¬ 
ition. 
Two things are essential: first, to get a suffi¬ 
cient number of bees into such a hive; and se¬ 
condly, to furnish them with a queen, or with 
comb containing worker eggs. We are loth to re¬ 
commend what we have not tried, and yet we 
would risk this experiment this month. On the 
issuing of a first swarm secure the queen and 
clip her wings. Removing the cover, invert the 
hive here illustrated, and let enough bees fol¬ 
low the queen into it to fill it half full. Exclude 
the rest, and remove the hive to a quiet place. 
Those unable to enter will return to the old stock, 
and will go out probably as a second swarm in a 
few days after; while those in the new hive, being 
provided with a queen who cannot fly away, ought 
at once to begin cells and make themselves at 
home. After two or three weeks, or even sooner 
if eggs are laid in the cells, she may be removed 
and the efforts to supply her place will, of course, 
be watched with the greatest interest. Late in 
the season the whole colony may run out, but the 
observing hive will pay in entertainment and in¬ 
struction, more than other stocks pay in honey 
A feeble after swarm might be treated in the 
same way, if one does not care to risk the loss of 
a first swarm. 
And at any time, if one sufficiently bold and 
skilful can cut out a piece of comb containing eggs 
or young brood, and firmly attach it to the cover 
of the observing hive, he may, by driving or smok¬ 
ing, get enough bees out of the common hive 
into it, to carry on the operations already alluded 
to. This would demand time and judgment, 
and we hardly advise any one to attempt it. With 
Langstroth’s hives the whole work may be done 
in three minutes, and at the end of the season, 
the comb can be restored to the hive whence it 
was taken. 
- « ■ « —♦ «■- 
Green Corn for Summer Fodder- 
As every farmer knows, there is a season in 
mid-summer when pastures become parched and 
brown, and cows fail both in flesh and in milk. 
Some consider this a necessary evil, against which 
no provision can be made, but all do not so con 
sider it. Some farmers, as we happen to know, 
provide against this time of scarcity by planting 
corn for Summer feed. They often use the 
Southern yellow flat corn, manure the ground 
well, sow in drills three feet apart, leaving it so 
thick in the drill that no stalk will grow more 
than an inch in diameter. In this way, they se¬ 
cure fine, succulent feed for their stock, from the 
last of July to the middle of September. The 
cows keep in good flesh, and the butter and 
cheese show no abatement. This corn answers 
well also for dry fodder, though the difficulty in 
curing will prevent its general use on a large 
scale. The advantage of this corn over the com¬ 
mon Northern varieties is that more of it can be 
raised on the same ground, and that it grows 
faster. Plant about the middle of May, June 5th, 
and June 20th, for a succession of tender feed 
through the Summer. 
