OR

PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENTAND PRESERVATION OF HIVES.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF

JONAS DE GELIEU,

LATE MINISTER OF LIGNIERES, AT PRESENT MINISTER OF THE CHURCHES OF
COLOMBIER AND AUVERNIER, IN THE PRINCIPALITY OF NEUCHATEL;
MEMBER OF THE SOCIETÉ ECONOMIQUE DE BERNE,
&c., &c., &c.

PUBLISHED AT MULHAUSEN.

JOHN ANDERSON JUN. EDINBURGH,

55, NORTH BRIDGE STREET;
AND SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, LONDON.
MDCCCXXIX.

[Pg ii]

P. NEILL, PRINTER.

In respectfully dedicating this little Work to theHighland Society of Scotland, the Translator hopes,that, under their efficient and enlightened patronage, it maybe made generally known in Scotland, where the systemwhich it explains is calculated to be as extensively applicable,and as highly profitable, as it has proved in the native mountainsof its amiable and venerable Author. It seems, indeed,both from the plain practical directions which it contains,and the valuable discoveries which it communicates relativeto the history and economy of bees, to be singularlyadapted to forward the views of the Society, who have thisyear turned their attention to the encouragement of Apiariesamong the peasantry of our own country; and it is no smalladvantage, that the rules laid down are applicable to hivesof every form.

The Translator has no fear of its being objected, thatplans which are very suitable in Switzerland, may be lesssuccessful as applied to Scotland. Switzerland and Scotlandpresent so many points of resemblance—in their mountains—intheir valleys—and in their climate—that which is beneficial[Pg iv]in the one, can scarcely fail to be so in the other.And as the Swiss honey is known to be not only very abundant,but of a very superior flavour, especially in those districtswhere De Gelieu's or some similar plan is adopted,the Translator is desirous to see the simple and successfulmethods of that country transferred to our own, that theScottish peasantry may derive from their practice the sameadvantages. To the Swiss peasantry, bees are a greatsource of wealth; a stranger is attracted by the appearanceof substantial comfort, conveyed by well appointed apiaries,where the hives are ranged in double and triple rows alongthe sunny side, and under the shelter of the projecting roofsof the cottages; and in Scotland there is little doubt that, ifsimilar care were bestowed on the cultivation of bees, theywould be equally profitable.