Albert John Cook

“ I feel free to say that no person who reads, thinks, and studies—and success in apiculture can be promised to no other—will ever be content to use the old box-hives. In fact, thought and intelligence, which imply an eagerness to investigate, are essential elements in the apiarist's character. And to such an one a box-hive would be valued just in proportion to the amount of kindling-wood it contained. A very serious fault with one of our principal bee-books, which otherwise is mainly excellent in subject matter and treatment, is the fact that it presumes its readers to be box-hive men. ”

“ In June white clover yields largely of the most attractive honey, both as to appearance and flavor. In July the incomparable basswood makes both bees and apiarist jubilant. In August buckwheat offers a tribute, which we welcome, though it be dark and pungent in flavor, while with us in Michigan, August and September give us a profusion of bloom which yields to no other in the richness of its capacity to secrete honey, and is not cut-off till the autumn frosts—usually about September 15. ”

“ Some authors have placed Coleoptera or beetles as the highest of insects, others claim for Lepidoptera or butterflies and moths a first place, while others, and with the best of reasons, claim for Hymenoptera the highest position. The moth is admired for the glory of its coloring and elegance of its form, the beetle for the luster and brilliancy of its elytra or wing-covers; but these insects only revel in nature's wealth, and live and die without labor or purpose. ”

“ The sections should surely be in place at the dawn of the white clover season, so that the apiarist may secure the most of this irresistible nectar, chaste as if capped by the very snow itself. They should be taken away as soon as capped, as delay makes them highways of travel for the bees, which always mar their beauty. ”

“ Every contingency will be foreseen and provided against, and the myriad of little workers will become as manageable and may be fondled as safely as a pet dog or cat, and the apiarist will minister to their needs with the same fearlessness and self-possession that he does to his gentlest cow or favorite horse. Persistence in the face of all those discouragements which are so sure to confront inexperience, will surely triumph. In-sooth, he who appreciates the beautiful and marvelous, will soon grow to love his companions of the hive, and the labor attendant upon their care and management. ”

“ Langstroth, no man has probably done so much to promote the interest and growth of improved apiculture in the United States. His hive, his book, his views of wintering, his introduction of the bellows-smoker—a gift to apiarists—all speak his praise as a man and an apiarist. ”

“ Our motto, too, will demand that we only purchase strong colonies. If, as recommended, the purchaser sees the colonies before the bargain is closed, it will be easy to know that the colonies are strong. If the bees, as they come rushing out, remind you of Vesuvius at her best, or bring to mind the gush and rush at the nozzle of the fireman's hose, then buy. In the hives of such colonies, all combs will be covered with bees, and in the honey season, brood will be abundant. ”

“ Every apiarist of experience knows that empty combs in frames, comb-guides in the sections, to tempt the bees and to insure the proper position of the full combs, in fact, combs of almost any kind or shape, are of great importance. So every skillful apiarist is very careful to save all drone-comb that is cut out of the brood-chamber—where it is worse than useless, as it brings with it myriads of those useless gormands, the drones—to kill the eggs, remove the brood, or extract the honey, and to transfer it to the sections. ”

“ What in all the realm of nature is so worthy to awaken delight and admiration as the astonishing changes which insects undergo? Just think of the sluggish, repulsive caterpillar, dragging its heavy form over clod or bush, or mining in dirt and filth, changed, by the wand of nature's great magician, first into the motionless chrysalis, decked with green and gold, and beautiful as the gem that glitters on the finger of beauty, then bursting forth as the graceful, gorgeous butterfly ”

“ The old poetical notion that the queen is the revered and admired sovereign of the colony, whose pathway is ever lined by obsequious courtiers, whose person is ever the recipient of loving caresses, and whose will is law in this bee-hive kingdom, controlling all the activities inside the hive, and leading the colony whithersoever they may go, is unquestionably mere fiction. In the hive, as in the world, individuals are valued for what they are worth. ”

“ To migrate without the queen means death, and life is sweet even to bees, and is not to be willingly given up except for home and kindred. Neither has the apiarist to climb trees, to secure his bees from bushy trunks, from off the lattice-work or pickets of his fence, from the very top of a tall, slender, fragile fruit tree, or other most inconvenient places. Nor will he even be tempted to pay his money for patent hivers. He knows his bees will return to their old quarters, so he is not perturbed by the fear of loss, or plans to capture the unapproachable. ”

“ Bees are forced to cluster outside the hive, where the hives are subjected to the full force of the sun's rays. By the intense heat, the temperature inside becomes like that of an oven, and the wonder is that they do not desert entirely. I have known hives, thus unprotected, to be covered by bees, idling outside, when by simply shading the hives, all would go merrily to work. The combs, too, and foundation especially, are liable, in unshaded hives, to melt and fall down, which is very damaging to the bees, and very vexatious to the apiarist. ”

“ Every apiarist, whether novice or veteran, will receive ample reward by practicing stimulative feeding early in the season; then his hive at the dawn of the white clover era will be redundant with bees, well filled with brood, and in just the trim to receive a bountiful harvest of this most delicious nectar.
Feeding, too, is often necessary to secure sufficient stores for winter—for no apiarist, worthy the name, will suffer his faithful, willing subjects to starve, when so little care and expense will prevent it.
HOW MUCH TO FEED.
If we only wish to stimulate, the amount fed need not be great. ”

“ Bingham, to protect himself, and preserve the quality of his invention, has procured a patent. This, provided he has only patented his own invention, is certainly his right, which I think honesty requires us all to respect. Like Mr. Langstroth, he has given us a valuable instrument; let us see that he is not defrauded out of the justly earned reward for his invention.
Brother apiarists, let us cease this unjust clamor against patents and patentees. If a man procures a patent on a worthless thing, let him alone, and where is the damage? ”

“ These rear their young in cells of mud, in mud-cells lining hollow weeds and shrubs, and in burrows which they dig in the hard earth. In early summer, during warm days, these glistening gems of life are frequently seen in walks and drives intent on gathering earth for mortar, or digging holes, and will hardly escape identification by the observing apiarist, as their form is so much like that of our honey-bees. They are smaller; yet their broad head, prominent eyes, and general form, are very like those of the equally quick and active, yet more soberly attired, workers of the apiary. ”

“ When there are no flowers, or when the flowers yield no sweets, the bees, ever desirous to add to their stores, frequently essay to rob other colonies, and often visit the refuse of cider mills, or suck up the oozing sweets of various plant or bark lice, thus adding, may be, unwholesome food to their usually delicious and refined stores. It is a curious fact that the queen never lays her maximum number of eggs except when storing is going on. In fact, in the interims of honey-gathering, egg-laying not infrequently ceases altogether. ”