Langstroth on the Hive and Honey

Cornell Uniuersity Library SF 523.L286 1913 Langstroth on the hive & honey bee. 3 1924 003 227 679 ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York State Colleges OF Agriculture and Home Economics AT Cornell University EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS BEEKEEPING LIBRARY Gift Of Lyman C. Root Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003227679 Plate 1. L. L, LA\(:;yTROTH at 70. LANGSTROTH ON THE HIVE & HONEY BEE Revised by DADANT Twentieth Century Edition PUBLISHED BY DADANT & SONS Hamilton, Hancock County, III., U. S. A. 1913 COPYRIGHTED 1888 BY CHAS. DADANT & SON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Plate 2. L. L. LANGSTROTH at 80. BIOGRAPHY OF L. L. LANGSTROTH Lorenzo Lorrain Langstroth, the "father of American Apiculture," was bom in the city of Philadelphia, December 25, 1810. He early showed unusual interest in insect life. His parents were intelligent and in comfortable circumstances, but they were not pleased to see him "waste so much time" in digging holes in the gravel walks, filling them with crumbs of bread and dead flies, to watch the curious habits of the ants. No books of any kind on natural history were put into his hands, but, on the contrary, much was said to discourage his "strange notions." Still he persisted in his observations, and gave to them much of the time that his playmates spent in sport. In 1827, he entered Yale College, graduating in 1831. His father's means having failed, he supported himself by teach- ing, while pursuing his theological studies. After serving as mathematical tutor in Yale College for nearly two years, he was ordained Pastor of a Congregational church in Andover, Massachusetts, in May, 1836, and was married in August of that year to Miss A. M. Tucker of New Haven. Strange to say, notwithstanding his passion in early life for studying the habits of insects, he took no interest in such pursuits during his college life. In 1837, the sight of a glass vessel filled with beautiful comb honey, on the table of a friend, led him to visit the attic where the bees were kept. This revived all his enthusiasm, and before he went home he purchased two colonies of bees in old box hives. The only lit- IV BIOGEAPIiy OP L. L. LANGSTROTH. erary knowledge which he then had of bee-culture was gleaned from the Latin writings of Virgil, and from a modem writer, "who was somewhat skeptical as to the existence of a queen- lee." In 1839, Mr. Langstroth removed to Greenfield, Massachu- setts. His health was much impaired, and he had resigned his pastorate. Increasing very gradually the number of his colonies, he sought information on all sides. The "Letters of Huber" and the work of Dr. Bevan on the honey bee (London, 1838), fell into his hands and gave him an introduction to the vast literature of bee-keeping. In 1848, having removed to Philadelphia, Mr. Langstroth, with the help of his wife, began to experiment with hives of different forms, but made no special improvements in them until 1851, when he de^•ised the movable frame hive, used at the present day in preference to all others. This is recorded in his journal, under the date of October 30, 1851, with the following remarks : "The use of tliese frames will, I am per- suaded, give a new impetus to the easy and profitable management of bees.'' This invention, which gave him perfect control over all the combs of the hive, enabled him afterwards to make many remarks and incidental discoveries, the most of which he recorded in his book, on the habits and the natural history of the honey-bee. The first edition of the work was published in 1852, and in its preparation he was greatly assisted by his ac- complished wife. A revised edition was published in 1857, another in 1859, and large editions, without further revisions, were published until 1889, when the Dadants undertook the first re-writing of the book. In January, 1852, Sir. Langstroth applied for a patent on Plate 3. CHARLES DADANT at 70. EIOGKAPHY OP L. L. LANGSTROTH. V his invention. This was granted him; but he was deprived of all the profits of this valuable discovery, by infringements and subsequent law-suits, which impoverished him and gave him trouble for years; though no doubt remains now in the mind of any one, as to the originality and priority of his discoveries. From the very beginning, his hive was adopted by such men as Quinby, Grimm and others, while the inventions of Munii and Debeauvoys are now buried in oblivion. Removing to Oxford, Ohio, in 1858, Mr. Langstroth, with the help of his son, engaged in the propagation of the Italian bee. From his large apiary he sold in one season $2,000 worth of Italian queens. This amount looks small at the present stage of bee-keeping, but it was enormous at a time when so few people were interested in it. The death of his only son, and repeated attacks of a serious head trouble, together with physical infirmities caused by a railroad accident, compelled Mr. Langstroth to abandon extensive bee-culture in 1874. But when his health permitted, his ideas were always turned toward improvements in bee- culture. On the 19th of August, 1895, he wrote us, asking us to try the feeding of bees with malted milk, to induce the rearing of brood. He had also written to others on the same subject. On the li3th of September he wrote m the American Bee Journal, that, after comparative experiments he had found that a thirteen comb Langstroth hive gave more honey than the ordinary ten frame hive, thus showmg that his mind was at all times occupied with bees. Mr. Langstroth died October 6th, 1895, at Dayton, Ohio, while delivering a sermon. He was nearly eighty-five years old. His name is now "venerated" by American bee-keepers. VI BIOGRAPHY OF L. L. LAXGSTEOTH. who are aware of the great debt due him by the fraternity. He is to them what Dzierzon* is to German Apiarists, a master whose teachings will be retained for ages. Mr. Langstroth was an eminent scholar. His bee library was one of the most extensive in the world. He learned French without a teacher, simply through his knowledge of Latin, for the sole purpose of reading the many valuable works on bees in the French language. He was a pleasant and eloquent speaker. His writings are praised by all, and we can not close his biography better than by quoting an able writer, who called him the "Huber of America." * Pronounce Tseertsone. Plate 4. CHARLES DADANT at 80. BIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES DADANT Mr. Charles Dadant was born May 22, 1817, at Vaux-Sous- Aubigny, in the golden hills of Burgundy, France. After his education in the College of Langres, he went into the mercan- tile business in that city, but ill-success induced him to remove to America. He settled in Hamilton, Illinois, in 1863, and found a profitable occupation in bee-culture, which in his hands yielded marvelous results. He soon became noted as one of the leading apiarists of the world. After a few years of trial he made a trip to Italy, in 1872, to import the bees of that country to America. Though at first unsuccessful, he persisted in his efforts and finally achieved great success. He was the first to lay down rules for the safe transportation of queen bees across the sea, which is now a matter of daily occurrence. Later on, in partnership with his son, C. P. Dadant, he undertook the manufacture of comb foundation which has been continued by the firm, together with the management of sev- eral large apiaries, run almost exclusively for the production of extracted honey. Although well versed in the English language, which he mastered at the age of forty-six, with the help of a pocket dictionary, Mr. Dadant was never able to speak it fluently and many of the readers of his numerous writings were astonished when meeting him to find that he could converse with difficulty. His writings were not confined to American publications, for in 1870 he began writing for European bee-journals and con- Vlll BIOGRAPHY OP CHARLES DADANT. tinued to do so until his methods were adopted, especially in Switzerland, France, Italy and Russia, where the hive which he recommended is now known under his name. Tor twenty years he was a regular contributor to the Eevue Internationale D'Apiculture, and, as a result, there is probably not another bee-writer whose name is so thoroughly known the world over. iir. Dadant was made an honorary member of more than twenty bee-keepers' associations throughout the world and his death, which occurred July 16, 1902, was lamented by every bee publication on both continents. Mr. Dadant was a congenial man and a philosopher. He retained his cheerfulness of spirit to his last day. In addition to his supervision of the revision of this book, he was the author of a small treatise on bees, "Petit (!'ours d'Apieulture Pratique." He also published, in connection with his son, a pamphlet on "Extracted Honey," 1881, now out of print. PREFACE The first editions of the work of Langstroth were honored with the title of "The Classic in Bee-Culture." The first re- written revision was published in 1889, and this was so well received in the bee-keeping world that Mr.

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