Value of Hive

In the Summer of 1851 I ascertained that bees could be made to work in glass hives, exposed to the full light of day. This discovery procured me the pleasure of an acquaintance with Rev. Dr. Berg, then pastor of a Reformed Dutch Church, in Philadelphia.

From him I first learned that a Prussian clergyman of the name of Dzierzon,s  was attracting the attention of crowned heads by his discoveries in the management of bees. Before he communicated to me the particulars of these discoveries, I explained to Dr. Berg my own system and showed him my hive.

He expressed great astonishment at the wonderful similarity in our methods of management, neither of us having any knowledge of the labors of the other.
Our hives he found to differ in some very important respects. In Dzierzon's hive, the combs not being attached to movable frames but to bars, cannot be removed without cutting.

In my hive, any comb may be taken out without removing the others; whereas in the Dzierzon’s hive, it is often necessary to cut and remove many combs to get access to a particular one; thus if the tenth from the end is to be removed, nine must be taken out.

The German hive does not furnish the surplus honey in a form the most salable in our markets, or admitting of safe transportation in the comb. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, it has achieved a great triumph in Germany, and given a new impulse to the cultivation of bees.

The following letter from Samuel Wagner, Esq., Cashier of the Bank of York, in York, Pennsylvania, will show the results obtained in Germany by the new system of management, and his estimate of the superior value of ray hive to those there in use.