BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
"In September 1851, Dr. Berg again visited York, and stated to me your investigations, discoveries and inventitions. From the account Dr. Berg gave me, I felt assured that you had devised substantially the _same system_ as that so successfully parsed by Mr. Dzierzon ; but how far _your ktive_ resembled his I was unable to judge from description alone. I inferred, however, several points of difference. The coincidence as to system, and the principles on which it was evidently founded, struck me as exceedingly singular and interesting, because I felt confident that you had no more knowledge of Mr. Dzierzon and his labors, before Dr. Berg mentioned him and his book to you, than Mr. Dzierzon had of you. These cireumstances made me very anxious to examine your hives, and induced me to visit your Apiary in the village of West Philadelphia, last August. In the absence of the keeper I took the liberty to explore the premises thoroughly, opening and inspecting a number of the hives and noticing the internal arrangement of the parts. The result was, that I came away convinced that though your system was based on the same principles as Dzierzon's, your hive was almost totally different from his both in construction and arrangement; and that while the same objects _substatically_ are attained by each, your hive is more simple, more convenient, and much better adapted for general introduction and use, since the mode of using it can be more easily taught. Of its ultimate and triumphant success I have no doubt. I sincerely believe that when it comes under the notice of Mr. Dzierzon, he will himself prefer it to his own. It in fact combines all the good properties which a hive ought to possess, while it is free from the complication, clumsiness, _vain vekims_ and decidedly objectionable features which characterize most of the inventions which profes to be at all superior to the simple box, or the common chamber hive.
"You may certainly claim equal credit with Dzierzon for originality in observation and discovery in the natural history of the honey-bee, and for success in deducing principles and devising a most valuable system of management from observed facts. But in invention, as far as neatness, compactness, and adaptation of means to cends are concerned, the sturdy German must yield the palm to you.
"I send you herewith some interesting statements respecting Dzierzon, and the estimate in which his system is held in Germany. Very truly yours,
Sameel Wagner.
**Rev. L. L. Langstroth."**The following are the statements to which Mr. Wagner refers:"
"As the best test of the value of Mr. Dierzon's system is the _results_ which have been made to flow from it, a brief account of its rise and progress may be found interesting. In 1835, he commenced bee-keeping in the common way with twelve colonies, and after various mishaps which taught him the defects of the common hives and the old mode of management, his stock was so reduced, that, in 1838, he had virtually to begin anew. At this period he contrived his improved hive, in its ruder form, which gave him the command over all the combs, and he began to experiment on the theory which observation and study had enabled him to devise. Thenceforward his progress was as rapid, as his success was complete and triumphant. Though he met with frequent reverses, about seventy colonies having been stolen from him, sixty destroyed by fire, and twenty-four by a flood, yet, in 1846, his stock had increased to three hundred and sixty colonies, and he realized from them that year six thousand pounds of honey, besides several hundred weight of wax. At the same time, most of the cultivators in his vicinity who pursued the common methods, had fewer hives than they had when he commenced.
"In the year 1848, a fatal pestilence, known by the name of 'foul brood,' prevailed among his bees, and destroyed nearly all his colonies before it could be subdued, only about ten having escaped the malady which attacked alike the old stocks and his artificial swarms. He estimates his entire loss that year at over five hundred colonies. Nevertheless, he succeeded so well in multiplying by artificial swarms, the few that remained healthy, that, in the Fall of 1851, his stock consisted of nearly four hundred colonies. He must therefore have multiplied his stocks more than three-fold each year.
"The highly prosperous condition of his colonies is attested by the Report of the Secretary of the Annual Aparian Convention, which met in his vicinity last Spring. This Convention, the fourth which has been held, consisted of one hundred and twelve experienced and enthusiastic bee-keepers from various districts of Germany and neighboring countries, and among them were some who, when they assembled, were strong opposers of his system.
"They visited and personally examined the Aparies of Mr. Dzierzon. The report speaks in the very highest terms of his success, and of the manifest superiority of his system of management. He exhibited and satisfactorily explained to his visitors his practice and principles; and they remarked with astonishment the _singular ductility_ of his bees, and the thorough control to which they were subjected. After a full detail of the proceedings, the Secretary goes on to say :
"Now that I have seen Dzierzon's method practically demonstrated, I must admit that it is attended with fewer difficulties than I had supposed. With his hive and system of management, it would seem that bees become at once more docile than they are in other cases. I consider his system the simplest and best means of elevating bee-culture to a profitable pursuit, and of spreading it far and wide over the land ; especially as it is adapted to districts in which the bees do not readily and regularly swarm. His eminent success in re-establishing his stock after suffering so heavily from the devastating pestilence ; in short the recuperative power of the system, demonstrates conclusively that it furnishes the best, perhaps the only means of re-instating bee-culture to a profitable branch of rural economy.
""Dizierzon modestly disclaimed the idea of having attained perfection in his hive. He dwelt rather upon the truth and importance of his theory and system of management."
"_From the Leipzig Illustrated Almanac--Report on Agriculture for \(1846\)_ :
""Bee-culture is no longer regarded as of any importance in rural economy.'
"_From the same, for \(1851\) and \(1853\)_ :
"Strec Dizierzon's system has been made known, an entire revolution in bee-eulture has been produced. A new era has been created for it, and bee-keepers are turning their attention to it with renewed zeal. The merits of his discoveries are appreciated by the Government, and they recommend his system as worthy the attention of the teachers of common schools.'
""Mr. Dizierzon resides in a poor, sandy district of Lower Silesia, which according to the common notions of Aparinans is unfivorable to bee-culture. Yet, despite of this and of various other mishaps, he has succeeded in realizing nine hundred dollars as the product of his bees in one season I.
"By his mode of management, his bees yield even in the poorest years from \(10\) to \(15\) per cent, on the capital invested; and where the colonies are produced by the Apirarian's own skill and labor, they coat him only about one-fourth the price at which they are usually valued. In ordinary seasons, the profit amounts to from \(30\) to \(50\) per cent, and in very favorable seasons from \(80\) to \(100\) per cent."
In communicating these facts to the public, I take an honest pride in establishing my claim to having matured by my own independent discoveries, the system of beoculture which has excited so much interest in Germany ; I desire also to have the testimony to the merits of my hive, of Mr. Wagner, who is extensively known as an able German scholar. He has taken all the numbers of the Bee-Journal, which has been published monthly for more than nineteen years, in Germany ; and he is undoubtedly more familiar than any other man in this country with the state of Apiarian culture abroad.
I wish, also, to show that the importance which I attach to my system of management, is amply justified by the snecess of those who, by the same system, even with inferior hives, have attained results which to common beekeepers seem almost ineedlible. Inventors,are prone to form exaggerated estimates of the value of their labors ; and the public has been so often deluded by patent hives which have utterly failed to answer their prefessed objects, that they can scarcely be blamed for rejecting every new one as unworthy of confidence.
An American Bee-Journal, properly conducted, would have great influence in disseminating information, awakening enthusiasm, and guarding the public against the miserable impositions to which it has so long been subjected. Three such journals have been published monthly, in Germany ; and their circulation has widely disseminated those principles which must constitute the foundation of any enlightened and profitable system of bee-culture.
While many of the principal facts in the physiology of the honey-bee were long ago discovered, it has unfortunately happened that some of the most important have been the most widely disredited. In themselves, they are so wonderful, and to those who have not witnessed them, often so incredible, that it is not strange that they have been rejected as fanciful conceits or bare-faced inventions.
For more than half a century, hives have been in use containing only one comb inclosed on both sides by glass. These hives are darkened by shutters, and when opened the queen is as much exposed to observation as the other bees. I have discovered that, with proper precautions, colonies can be made to work in observing-hives exposed continually to the full light of day; so that observations may be made at all times, without interrupting by any _sudden_ admission of light the ordinary operations of the bees. In such hives, many intelligent persons from various States in the Union have seen the queen-bee depositing her eggs in the cells, while surrounded by an affectionate circle of her devoted children. They have also witnessed with astonishment and delight, all the mysterious steps in the process* of raising queens from eggs, which with the ordinary development would have produced only the common bees. Often for more than three months, there has not been a day in my Apiary in which some colonies were not engaged in rearing new queens to supply the place of those taken from them; and I have had the pleasure of exhibiting these facts to bee-keepers who never before felt willing to credit them.
As all my hives are made so that each comb can be taken out and examined at pleasure, those who use them can obtain all the information which they need without taking anything upon trust. May I be permitted to express the hope, that the time is now at hand when the number of practical observers will be so multiplied, and the principles of bee-keeping so thoroughly understood, that ignorant and designing men will not be able to impose their conceits and falsehoods upon the public, by depreciating the discoveries of those who have devoted years of observation to the advancement of Apiarian knowledge!
## Chapter I
The honey-like capacity of being tamed.
In the bee had not such a formidable weapon both of offence and defence, multitudes who now fear it might easily be induced to enter upon its cultivation. As my system of management takes the greatest possible liberties with this irascible insect, I deem it important to show in the very outset how all necessary operations may be performed without incurring any serious risk of exciting its anger.
Many persons have been unable to suppress their astonishment, as they have seen me opening hive after hive, removing the combs covered with bees, and shaking them off in front of the hives; forming new swarms, exhibiting the queen, transferring the bees with all their stores to another hive; and in short, dealing with them as if they were as harmless as flies. I have sometimes been asked, if the hives I was opening had not been subjected to a long course of training; when they contained swarms which had been brought only the day before to my Apiary.
I shall, in this chapter, anticipate some principles in the natural history of the bee, to convince my readers that any one favorably situated may enjoy the pleasure and profit of a pursuit which has been appropriately styled, "the poetry of rural economy," without being made too familiar with a sharp little weapon which can speedily convert all the poetry into very sorry prose.
It must be manifest to every reflecting mind, that the Greater intended the bee, as truly as the horse or the cow, for the comfort of man. In the early ages of the world,
and indeed until quite modern times, honey was almost the only natural sweet; and the promise of "a land flowing with milk and honey" had once a significance which it is difficult for us fully to realize. The honey-bee, therefore, was created not merely to store up its delicious nectar for its own use, but with certain propensities, without which man could no more subject it to his control, than he could make a useful beast of burden of a lion or a tiger.
One of the peculiarities which constitutes the foundation of my system of management, and indeed of the possibility of domesticating at all so irascible an insect, has never to my knowledge been clearly stated as a great and controlling principle. It may be thus expressed:
_A honey-bee when filled with honey never volunteers an attack, but bets solely on the defensive._
This law of the honied tribe is so universal, that a stone might as soon be expected to rise into the air without any propelling power, as a bee well filled with honey to offer to sting, unless crushed or injured by some direct assault. The man who first attempted to hive a swarm of bees, must have been agreeably surprised at the ease with which he was able to accomplish the feat; for it is wisely ordered that bees when intending to swarm, should fill their honey-bags to their utmost capacity. They are thus so peaceful that they can easily be secured by man, besides having materials for commencing operations immediately in their new habitation, and being in no danger of starving if several stormy days should follow their emigration.
Bees issue from their hives in the most peaceable mood imaginable; and unless abused allow themselves to be treated with great familiarity. The hiving of them might always be conducted without risk, if there were not ocean sionally some improvident or unfortunate ones, who coming forth without the soothing supply; are filled' instead with the bittorest hate against any one daring to meddle with them. Such thrittless radicals are always to be dreaded, for they must vent their spleen on something, even though they perish in the act.
If a whole colony on sallying forth possessed such a fierocious spirit, no one could have them unless clad in a coat of mail, bee-proof; and not even then, until all the windows of his house were closed, his domestic animals bestowed in some place of safety, and sentinels posted at suitable stations to warn all comers to keep at a safe distance. In short, if the propensity to be exceedingly good, natured after a hearty meal had not been given to the bee, it could never have been domesticated, and our honey would still be procured from the clefts of rocks or the hollows of trees.
A second peculiarity in the nature of the bee, of which we may avail ourselves with great success, may be thus stated:
_Bees cannot under any circumstances resist the temptation to fill themselves with liquid assets._
It would be quite as difficult for them to do this, as for an inveterate miser to despise a golden shower of double angles falling at his feet and soliciting his appropriation. If, then, when we wish to perform any operation which might provoke them, we can contrive to call their attention to a treat of flowing sweets, we may be sure that under its genial influence they will allow us to do what we please, so long as we do not hurt them.
Special care should be used not to handle them roughly, for they will never allow themselves to be pinched or hurt without thrusting out their siting to resent the indiginity. If, as soon as a hive is opened, the exposed bees are gently sprinkled with water sweetened with sugar, they will help themselves with great eagerness, and in a few moments will be perfectly under control. The truth is, that bees thus managed are always glad to see visitors, for they expect at every call to receive an acceptable peace-offering. The greatest objection to the use of sweetened water, is the greediness of bees from other hives, who when there is any scarcity of honey in the fields, will often surround the Apiarian as soon as he presents himself with his watering-pot, and attempt to force their way into any hive he may open, to steal if possible a portion of its treasures.
A third peculiarity in the nature of bees gives an almost unlimited control over them, and may be expressed as follows :
_Bees when frightened immediately begin to fill themselves with honey from their combs._
If the Apiarian only succeeds in frightening his little subjects, he can make them as peaceable as though they were incapable of stinging. By the use of a little smoke from decayed wood,1 the largest and most fiery colony may at once be brought into complete subjection. As soon as the smoke is blown among them, they retreat from before it, raising a subdued or terrified note ; and seeming to imagine that their honey is to be taken from them, they ceram their honey-bags to their utmost capacity. They act either as if aware that only what they can lodge in this inside pocket is safe, or as if expecting to be driven away from their stores, they are determined to start with a full supply of provisions for the way. - The same result may be obtained by shutting them up in their hive and drumming upon it for a short time. The various processes, however, for inducing bees to fill themselves with honey, are more fully explained in the chapter on Artificial Swarming.
By the methods above described, I can superintend a large Apiary, performing every operation necessary for pleasure or profit, without as much risk of being stung as must frequently be incurred in attempting to manage a single have in the ordinary way.
Let all your motions about your hives be gentle and slow. Aecustom your bees to your presence; never crush or injure them, or breathe upon them in any operation; acquaint yourself fully with the principles of management detailed in this treatise, and you will find that you have little more reason to thread the sting of a bee, than the horns of a favorite cow, or the beels of your faithful horse.
Equipped with a bee-hat (Pl. XI, Figs. 25, 27) and india-rubber gloves, even the most timid, by availing themselves of these principles, may open my hives and deal with their bees with a freedom astonishing to many of the oldest cultivators on the common plan : for in the management of the most extensive Apiary, no operation will ever be necessary, which by exaggerating a whole colony, impels them to assail with almost irresistible fury the person of the bee-keeperFigure 10:
## Chapter 11 The queen, or motiier-bee ; this drones ; the workers ; facts in their natural history.
Honey-Bees can flourish only when associated in large numbers, as in a colony. In a solitary state, a single bee is almost as helpless as a new-born child, being paralyzed by the chill of a cool Summer night.
If a strong colony preparing to swarm is examined, three kinds of bees will be found in the hive.
1st, One bee of peculiar shape, commonly called the _Queen-Boe_.
2d, Some hundreds and often thousands of large bees, called _Drones_.
3d, Many thousands of a smaller kind, called _Workers_, or common bees, such as are seen on the blossoms. Many of the cells will be found to contain honey and bee-bread; and vast numbers, eggs and immature workers and drones. A few cells of unusual size are devoted to the rearing of young queens. On Plate XII, the queen, drone, and worker are represented as magnified, and also of the natural size.
The _queen-bee_ is the only _perfect female_ in the hive, and all the eggs are laid by her. The _drones_ are the _males_, and the _aockers_, _females_ whose ovaries, or "egg-bags," are so imperfectly developed that they are incapable of breeding; and which retain the instinct of females, only so far as to take care of the brood.
These facts have been demonstrated so repeatedly, that they are as well established as the most common laws in the breeding of our domestic animals. The knowledge of them in their most important bearings, is essential to all who would realize large profits from improved methods of rearing bees. Those who will not acquire the necessary information, if they keep bees at all, should manage them in the old-fashioned way, which demands the smallest amount of knowledge and skill.
I am well aware how difficult it is to reason with bekeepers, who have been so often imposed upon, that they have no faith in statements made by any one interested in a patent hive ; or who stigmatize all knowledge which does not square with their own, as mere "book knowledge" unworthy the attention of practical men.
If any such read this book, let me remind them that all my assertions may be put to the test. So long as the interior of a hive was to common observers a profound mystery, ignorant or designing men might assert what they pleased of what passed in its dark recesses ; but now, when every comb can in a few moments be exposed to the fall light of day, the man who publishes his own conceits for facts, will speedily earn the character both of a.fool and an imposter.
The Queen-Boe, as she is the common mother of the whole colony, may very properly be called _the mother-bee_. She reign most unquestionably by a divine right, for every good mother ought to be a queen in her own family. Her shape is widely different from that of the other bees. While she is not near so bulky as a drone, her body is longer ; and as it is considerably more tapering, or sugar-loaf in form than that of a worker, she has a somewhat wasp-like appearance. Her wings are much shorter in proportion than those of the drone, or worker ; the under part of her body is of a golden, and the upper part usually darker than that of the other bees. Her motions are generally slow and matronly, although she can, when she pleases, move with astonishing quickness. No colony can long exist without the presence of this all important insect; but must as surely perish, as the body without the spirit must hasten to inevitable decay.
The queen is treated with the greatest respect and affection by the bees. A circle of her loving offspring constantly surrounds her,* testifying in various ways their dutiful regard; some gently embracing her with their antennae, others offering her honey from time to time, and all of them politely backing out of her way, to give her a clear path when she moves over the comba. If she is taken from them, the whole colony is thrown into a state of the most intense agitation as soon as they ascertain their loss; all the lbors of the hive are abandoned; the bees run wildly over the combs, and frequently rusli from the hive in anxious search for their beloved mother. If they cannot find her, they return to their desolate home, and by their sorrowful tones reveal their deep sense of so deplorable a calamity. Their note at such times, more especially when they first realize their loss, is of a peculiarly mournful character it sounds somewhat like a succession of wailings on the minor key, and can no more be mistaken by an experienced bee-keeper, for their ordinary happy hum, than the piteous meanings of a sick child could be confounded by the anxious mother with its joyous crowings when overflowing with health and happiness.