best
"patent" we have seen; and Mr. Weeks having written an ingenious and
excellent treatise on the treatment of the bee, we freely recommend his
book to the attention of every apiarian who wishes to succeed in their
management. As a rule, we have no confidence in _patent_ hives. We have
seen scores of them, of different kinds, have tried several of great
pretension to sundry virtues--such as excluding moths, and other
marvelous benefits--and, after becoming the victim of bee empirics to
the tune of many a dollar, have thrown aside the gimcracks, and taken
again to a common-sense method of keeping our bees, as here described.
The bees themselves, we feel bound to say, seem to hold these
patent-right habitations in quite as sovereign contempt as ourself,
reluctantly going into them, and getting out of them at the first safe
opportunity. But, as a treatise on bee-keeping is not a part of this
present work, we must, for further information, commend the inquirer on
that subject to some of the valuable treatises extant, on so prolific a
subject, among which we name those of Bevan, Weeks, and Miner.

The bee-house should be thoroughly whitewashed _inside_ every spring,
and kept clean of cobwebs, wasp's nests, and vermin; and it may be
painted outside, a soft and agreeable color, in keeping with the other
buildings of the farm. Its premises should be clean, and sweet. The
grass around should be kept mowed close. Low trees, or shrubbery, should
stand within a few yards of it, that the new swarms may light upon them
when coming out, and not, for want of such settling places, be liable to
loss from flying away. It should, also, be within sight and hearing, and
at no great distance from a continually-frequented room in the
dwelling--perhaps the kitchen, if convenient, that, in their swarming
season, they may be secured as they leave the parent hive. The apiary is
a beautiful object, with its busy tenantry; and to the invalid, or one
who loves to look upon God's tiny creatures, it may while away many an
agreeable hour, in watching their labors--thus adding pleasure to
profit.

The cost of a bee-house, on the plan given, may be from ten to fifty
dollars, according to the price of material, and the amount of labor
expended upon it. It should not be an expensive structure, in any event,
as its purpose does not warrant it. If a gimcrack affair be wanted, for
the purposes of ornament, or expense, any sum of money may be squandered
up