TO THE
REVEREND L. L. LANGSTROTH,
THE
INVENTOR OF THE MOVABLE FRAME HIVE,
THE
HUBER OF AMERICA, AND THE GREATEST MASTER OF
PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCE, AS RELATING TO
APICULTURE, IN THE WORLD; THIS MANUAL
IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED
BY
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
THE APIARY.
Why another treatise on this subject? Have we not Langstroth, and Quinby, and King, and Bevan, and Hunter? Yes; all of these. Each of which has done excellent service in promoting an important industry. Each of which possesses peculiar and striking excellences. Yet none of these combine all of the qualities desirable in a popular manual. Hence, the excuse for another claimant for public favor. Every cultured apiarist laments that there is no text-book which possesses all of the following very desirable characters: Simple style, full in its discussions, cheap, disinterested, up with the times. It is for the bee-keeping public to decide whether this treatise meets any more fully the demands made by the latest discoveries and improvements, by the wants of those eager to learn, and by the superior intelligence which is now enlisted in the interests of the Apiary.
The following is, in substance, the same as the course of lectures which I have given each year to the students of the Michigan Agricultural College, and their desire, as expressed in repeated requests, has led to this publication.
It will be my desire to consider subjects of merely scientific interest and value, as fully as scientific students can reasonably desire; and, that such discussions may not confuse or perplex those who only read or study with practical ends in view, a very full index is added, so that the whereabouts of any topic, either of practical or scientific value, can be easily ascertained.
In considering the various subjects of interest to the bee-keeper, I am greatly indebted to the authors mentioned above, and also to the following journals, all worthy of high commendation: Gleanings in Bee Culture, American Bee Journal, Bee-Keepers' Magazine, and Bee World.
The illustrations for this manual were nearly all drawn by the author from the natural object.
| Michigan Agricultural College, Lansing, May 1, 1876. |