SPxVClNG FRAMES. 



401 



SPANISH NEEDLE. 



made accurate measurements on straw hives 

 having straight combs built in them. Out 

 of 49 measurements, the average distance 

 was scant If inches. Baron von Berlepsch, 

 by 49 other measurements, verified this re- 

 sult. In the United States, prominent api- 

 arists have found the distance of natural- 

 built combs averaged 1^ inches from center 

 to center. It has been observed, that, in 

 the center of the brood-nest, the combs are 

 spaced more closely than those on the out- 

 side, the latter ranging anywhere from If to 

 2 inches to centers. 



It has been urged that we follow nature 

 in the spacing of brood-frames. But it seems 

 a very poor guide, inasmuch as we find such 

 a diversity of measurements. The bee-keep- 

 er should adopt that spacing which will give 

 him the best results— the most brood and 

 surplus honey. Quite a number of bee-keep- 

 ers are using H spacing for their frames. 

 The reason for this is, principally, because 

 they happened to start with this spacing. 

 But those who have given special attention 

 to the matter, trying both spacings, agree al- 

 most uniformly that the right distance is If, 

 or, if any thing, a trifle scant, and some use 

 quite successfully li-inch spacing. Many, 

 indeed,who liad fixed-distance frames adapt- 

 ed for H inches, have gone to the enormous 

 expense of changing over to If. The advan- 

 vantages of this latter spacing are so evi- 

 dent that very few deny that better results 

 can be obtained with it. Brood comb is 

 found to be, on an average, i inch thick; 

 capped brood, one inch thick. On If spac- 

 ing, this will allow i inch between uncapped 

 comb and f between capped brood combs. 



The following paragraph is taken from an 

 article published in Gleanings in Bee Culture, 

 page 673, Vol. XVIII., written by Mr. Julius 

 Hoffman, and it applies right here exactly: 



If, for instciuce, we space the combs from center to 

 center so as to measure IX instead of 1% inches, then 

 we have an empty space of % inch between two 

 combs of brood instead of |, as it ouglit to be; and it 

 will certainly require more bees to fill and Iseep 

 warm a H than a ^ space. In a |-incli space, the 

 breeding bees from two combs facing each otlier will 

 join with their backs, and so close up the space be- 

 tween the two brood-combs ; if this spacf is widened, 

 however, to %, the bees can not do this, and more 

 bees will be required to keep up the needed Ijrood- 

 ing temperature. What a drawback this would be in 

 cool spring weatlier, wlien our colonies are still weak 

 in numbers yet breeding most desirable, can readily 

 be understood. 



Where wider spacing is adopted, there is 

 apt to be more honey stored in the combs, 

 and less of worker (but more drone brood). 

 Close spacing, on the contrary (If), tends to 



encourage tlie rearing of more worker brood, 

 the exclusion of drone brood, and tlie st( r- 

 age of less honey below. This is exactly as 

 we wish. We said there is i inch between 

 the uncapped brood. The bees need a little 

 more room in backing in and out of the cells 

 for the purijose of feeding the larvae than 

 they do after these cells are capped over into 

 sealed l)rood. Sealed brood, requiring less 

 attention from the bees, and less heat from 

 the cluster, is spaced f apart, and this is 

 ample. For further hints on this subject, 

 see Frames, Self-spacing; Hive-making, 

 also Hives. 



SFASTISH NZSEDLE. This plant 

 yields immense quantities of honey along 

 the low bottom-grounds of the Mississippi 

 and Illinois Rivers. The following from 

 Gleanings, p. 1G2, Vol. XVI., is from the 

 Hon. J. M. Hambaugh, and tells all about 

 the plant, and the immense quantities of 

 honey that are often produced by it. 



Something over a year ago I wrote a letter for 

 Gleanings, claiming that the honey gathered from 

 this plant is superior to that produced from other 

 fall flowers, and tliat it should rank among the 

 very best grades, and command thb same price in 

 the markets as clover and linden honey. My pecul- 

 iar location has, fortunately, placed me in a posi- 

 tion to understand pretty thoroughly the nature of 

 this plant, and the quality of the honey it produces. 

 Located at the foot of the bluffs of the Illinois Riv- 

 er, there is a broad expanse of low marshy lands to 

 the east and south, from three to five miles in width. 

 These lands are subject to overflows from the river 

 once a year, which usually take place in early 

 spring. This renders a large portion of the soil un- 

 fit for tilling purposes; and the consetiuence is, the 

 Spanish needle has secured a permanent foothcld, 

 almost to the exclusion of nearly all other plants. 

 Early in September they begin to open their beauti- 

 ful petals, and in a short time wliole districts are 

 aglow, and their dazzling brilliancy reminds one of 

 burni.shed sheets of gold. It is now, should the 

 weather prove favorable, that the bfcs revel in 

 their glory, and the homy comes p////i!/ in; and ihe 

 beauty about this kind of honey is, it needs but lit- 

 tle " boiling down," and the bees no sooner fill their 

 cells than it is cured and ready to seal. This is 

 one great advantage, and saves the bees lots (f la- 

 bor, making the storage of honey more rapid. 

 I had one colony of bees that stored 63)^ lbs. of lu.n- 

 ey in six days; another one. 86 lbs. in nine days, 

 while 43 producing colonies netted me 2.21 lbs. in ten 

 daj's— an average of 47 lbs. to the colony. Thoujyh 

 not quite as clear as clover or linden, the honey ha.s 

 a golden hue, an exquisite flavor, and a very flue 

 body, weighing fully 13 lbs. to the gallon, and, as 

 previously stated, I can not see why it should not 

 rank on the market in grade and price with clover 

 and linden honey. 



So far as my market is concerned, there is no hon- 

 ey so universally liked by the consumers as my 

 "golden coreopsis;" in fact, not one word of com- 

 plaint has ever come back to me from this honey, 

 save one. A neighbor ceased buying it; and when 



