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L.
L. Langstroth's BEE-KEEPER'S AXIOMS |
From the book A Practical Treatise on the
Hive and the Honey-Bee, by L L. Langstroth, 1853. Punctuated and emphasis as originally printed:
There are a few first principles in
bee-keeping which ought to be as familiar to the Apiarian as the letters of his alphabet ;
1st. Bees gorged with honey never volunteer an
attack.
2nd. Bees may always be made
peaceable by inducing them to accept liquid sweets.
3rd. Bees, when frightened by smoke or by drumming on
their hives, fill themselves with honey and lose all disposition to sting, unless they are hurt.
4th. Bees dislike any quick movements about their
hives, especially any motion which jars their
combs.
5th. Bees dislike the offensive
odour of sweaty animals, and will not endure impure air from human lungs.
6th. The bee-keeper will ordinarily
derive all his profits from stocks, strong and healthy, in early Spring.
7th. In districts where forage is
abundant only for a short period, the largest yield of honey will be secured by a very moderate increase of stocks.
8th. A moderate increase of colonies in any one season,
will, in the long run, prove to be the easiest, safest, and cheapest mode of
managing bees.
9th . Queenless colonies, unless
supplied with a queen, will inevitably dwindle away, or be destroyed by the bee-moth, or by robber-bees.
10th. The formation of new colonies should ordinarily be
confined to the season when bees are accumulating
honey ; and if this, or any other
operation must be performed, when forage
is scarce, the greatest precautions should be used to prevent robbing.
The essence of all profitable bee-keeping is
contained in Oettl's Golden Rule : KEEP YOUR STOCKS STRONG. If you cannot
succeed in doing this, the more money you invest in bees, the heavier your losses ; while, if your stocks are strong, you will show
that you are a bee-master, as well as a bee�keeper, and may safely calculate on
generous returns from your industrious subjects.