CONCLUSION.
I havenow given the result of sixty-four years experience. This little memoir has extended beneath my pen far beyond my original intention; but it was of consequence in describing the new methods I had adopted, to give my reasons for every thing I recommended; and, for this purpose, to enter very minutely into the details. I have not written with elegance, but have expressed myself plainly; and, in giving the account of my experiments, it seemed to me that, to be clearly understood, I ought to relate naturally how I set about them, as the different circumstances occurred, and that every reader could more easily follow me, in seeing meact, as it were, than if I merely laid down general rules. Those I have given, have the rare advantage ofbeing applicable to every kind of hive, of wood or straw, whether large or small, and of whatever form or shape. I have not recommended any one kind in particular, not even those that bear my name, as I consider them all equally profitable when skilfully taken care of. Every one may make use of such as he likes best, or such as he can most easily procure. I wish not to lead the apiarian into any expence, but to point out to him clearly those principles and rules that he should not lose sight of, if he wishes to preserve his bees and to profit by them.
If this little work is favourably received by the public, and if my life is spared, I may be induced to give it a sequel, in which will be found new ideas concerning the drones, and their destination, with several experiments to discover if it is of any use to assist the bees in killing them; calculations of the yearly and average profit of a single hive, by which I would encourage the cultivators to work a rich mine whence great profit maybe drawn; and also directions for purifying the honey, as well as for melting the wax, none of which could have a place in this little book, the sole object, as expressed in the title, being thepreservation of the bees.
Diminution of the Weight of my Hives during the Winter—from the 20th September 1813 to the 31st March 1814.
STRAW.
WOOD.
To know exactly if the consumption of united hives was greater than that of those hives whose population had not been augmented, I weighed thirty-six hives on the 31st of March 1814, that had been previously weighed on the 20th September 1813; but I omitted those from which I had taken honey, as well as those I fed, as I did not weigh them. It may be observed, by the foregoing table, that the most economical expenditure amounts to eight pounds of honey, andthat the greatest consumption is nineteen. I can attribute this enormous difference to nothing but pillage. It is very likely that the straw-hive, No. 38., must have enriched itself with booty in October or in March, while the wooden hive No. 8. had been plundered. Of these thirty-six hives, six had been doubled in October, by the introduction of a strong swarm into each of them, and we see that their expenditure has not been greater than that of those colonies that were left single. In the course of six months and eleven days, one diminished only eight pounds and a half; one, nine and a half; one, ten and a half; one eleven; one, eleven and a half; and the least economical, fourteen pounds. This comparison demonstrates, that hives, doubled by the re-union of the bees of another hive, consume no more in winter than less populous hives, left in their natural state. The fact is clearly proved, though I am ignorant of the cause. I ought to observe, that all these doubled hives, with the exception of one old one, twenty-two years of age, prospered perfectly the year following, and gave me more honey and more swarms than all the others.