A case in point occurred in the spring of '49. I sold over twenty stocks to one person. He had constructed a bee-house, and his arrangement brought the hives within four inches of each other. The result was, he entirely lost several stocks; some of them were the best; others were materially injured, yet he had a few made better by the addition of bees from other hives; (sometimes a stock will allow strange bees to unite with them, but it is seldom, unless a large number enters--it is safest to keep each family by itself, under ordinary circumstances). These stocks, before they were moved, had been collecting pollen, and had their location well marked. Had they been placed six feet apart, instead of four inches, he probably would not have lost any, or even two feet might have saved them. I have often moved them at this season, and placed them at three feet distance, and had no bad results. Facts like the foregoing, satisfied me long since that stocks should occupy their situation for the summer, as early as possible in the spring, at least before they mark the location; or if they must be moved after that, let it be nothing short of a mile and a half, and plenty of room between the hives. SPACE BETWEEN HIVES. As regards the distance between hives generally, I would say let it be as great as convenience will allow. Want of room makes it necessary sometimes to set them close; where such necessity exists, if the hives were dissimilar in color, some dark, others light, alternately, it would greatly assist the bees in knowing their own hive. But it should be borne in mind, that whenever economy of space dictates less than two feet, there are often bees enough lost by entering the wrong hive, which, if saved, would pay the rent of a small addition to a garden, or bee-yard. I have several other reasons to offer for giving plenty of room between hives, which will be mentioned hereafter. SMALL MATTERS.