INSIDE A HIVE 
3i 
lence of the dead.” I poked in a stick and only 
pulled out more dead bees. Heavy-hearted at what 
I had done, I pried up the box from the bottom board 
on which it rested. There lay a great lifeless mass. 
. . . Right then, I knew all the feelings of a mur¬ 
deress . . . though an unintentional one. 
Through negligence and lack of forethought I 
had not been able to prevent a panic. About seventy 
thousand bees had rushed to their door, trampled on 
each other, crushed each other, and in the end smoth¬ 
ered to death. 
I made many mistakes and errors in judgment, 
but they increased my knowledge and self-reliance, 
as well as sharpened my judgment by my having 
to make my own decisions. 
No one told me what was what when I “opened” 
a hive—that is, took off the cover and lifted out 
the frames one by one. . . . 
In doing this the first item of interest is. . . . 
Have they a queen? Then, is she laying well? If 
not, why not? . . . Not yet mated? . . . 
Too old? . . . Injured? . . . Have they 
just swarmed or are they just preparing to do so? 
. . . Are they healthy? Are any of the brood 
diseased? . . . Are they bringing in much 
honey? ... Do they need more room for it? 
