Emanating from a house so well known and so extensively patronized by the cultivators of bees, it will readily be concluded that the object of the present work is primarily commercial. The author, a member of the firm, in giving the reason for the publication of his book, speaks in the name of the company. "We are," he says, "so frequently applied to for advice on matters connected with bees and bee-hives, that it seemed likely to prove a great advantage, alike to our correspondents and _ourselves_, if we could point to a 'handy-book' of our own, which should contain full and detailed replies sufficient to meet all reasonable inquiries." This is candid and open, and stands in favourable contrast to the ordinary puffing books which aim to conceal under the aspect often of a scientific treatise the boasting advertisement of their own wares. It is but justice to the respectable house from which the present little treatise issues to say that it fulfils its public object, presenting one of the most useful practical treatises on this most interesting pursuit which we have met with. It does not profess to enter deeply into the physiological marvels of the habits of bees; it is, in fact, meagre in the scientific phase of the subject. The various theories concerning the propagation of bees are nowhere discussed,[1] and the hypothesis of Siebold is not even alluded to.[1] But for those persons who desire to know how to procure good honey with certainty, and how to watch in safety the working of these little untaught but unerring mathematicians, the work of Mr. Neighbour will be found very useful. It also informs us where the best hives of every kind and form are to be obtained--of course, of "Messrs. Neighbour & Sons." [Footnote 1: Will be found in third edition.] The Reader, 26 August, 1865. The Apiary; or, Bees, Beehives, and Bee Culture. By Alfred Neighbour. (Kent & Co.) This valuable manual is, what it professes to be, a familiar account of the habits of bees, and the most improved methods of management, with full directions adapted for the cottager, farmer, or scientific apiarian. The writer is a regular enthusiast, but an enthusiast whose practical knowledge of the subject is made all the more available to the reader from the very enthusiasm which, as in Virgil, leaves not the most minute instruction untold. Nobody can write about bees without quoting poetry, and Mr. Neighbour does this largely, yet most aptly. THE APIARY. [Illustration: GEO. NEIGHBOUR & SONS' BEE FARM, WEST END, HAMPSTEAD.--_See page 330._] THE APIARY; OR, BEES, BEEHIVES. AND BEE CULTURE. BEING A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT OF THE HABITS OF BEES AND THE MOST IMPROVED METHODS OF MANAGEMENT. BY ALFRED NEIGHBOUR. _THIRD EDITION._