"No. 1 in the wall was the first opened. There was a space eight or nine inches wide, and five feet long, and there was disclosed to us a wonderful sight In front of us were continuous honey and brood-combs, four feet six inches long, and as wide as the opening. The combs were four in number. Then we took No. 2 (next above), and in a similar opening found a quantity of brood, honey, and bees, the combs being smaller. Then we ascended to No. 3, where the bees entered by the eaves. After taking some splendid honey, some gathered by a swarm a month old, the bees took a turn further in the roof, and we left them. In the front gable we commenced cutting away the lath and plaster of the top lot, and opened a space six feet long and eight or nine feet wide; and here we were surprised in the extreme: a comb five feet six inches long (exactly one foot more than the other) was in front, and the combs were three feet deep, nearly as wide as the opening. We captured two queens and a large quantity of bees, and brought away a lot of brood as well. The whole of this work was done from a ladder; and had not our time been precious, we should have liked another day at it, as there were a quantity of bees, &c., still left behind. The combs were measured in the presence of the host and a friend, as well as ourselves, and I vouch for the correctness of my statement." From the time that man learnt the value of the bee as a domesticated insect, habitations more or less suitable for securing honey have been furnished to the industrious workers. It is unnecessary to detail the various kinds of abodes which have been, or still are, in use for the purpose in different countries. It will be more interesting to our readers to know what are the principal forms of hives at present in use among us. Of these the most antiquated, and, we fear we must say, still the commonest, is the old-fashioned dome-shaped straw skep. We shall not enlarge upon its merits, though we are prepared to admit some; but, as it is almost universally condemned in its primitive form by skilled apiarians, we prefer to speak of some easy modifications of it which render it less objectionable. [Illustration: Fig. 43.--Straw Skep.]