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Advantages Of The Changeable Hive Considered

Categories: HIVES.
Bee Keeping: Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained

The value of changeable hives is based upon the following

principle:--Each young bee when it first hatches from the egg, is

neither more nor less than a worm; when it receives the necessary food,

the bees seal it over; it will then spin a cocoon, or line its cell

with a coating of silk, less in thickness than the thinnest paper: this

remains after the bee leaves it. It is evident, therefore, that after a

few hundreds h
ve been reared in a cell, and each one has left its

cocoon, that such cell must be somewhat diminished, although the

thickness of a dozen cocoons could not be measured; and this old cell

needs removing, that the bees may replace it with a new one. But how

shall it be done? This is a feat for the display of ingenuity. A common

man might go about it in a very sensible, simple manner, might possibly

turn the hive over, and cut out the old combs when necessary, without

knowing perhaps that the patent-vender could _sell_ a receipt to do the

thing _scientifically_, the benefit of which would be many times on the

principle of a surgeon cutting off your head, to get a good chance to

tie a small artery according to system; or would show you a roundabout

way of half a dozen miles to accomplish what the same number of rods

would do. Had we not ocular demonstration of the fact, we could not

suppose so many variations for the same end could be invented. But if

we reward ingenuity, it will be stimulated to great exertions. Perhaps

if we describe the merits of one or two of this class, the utility of

this principle may be comprehended.



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