1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



183 



FRIEND STEHIiE'S VISIT. 



THE BBK8 THAT BUILT COMBS Al.lj OVER THE OUT- 

 SIDE OP THEIR HIVES. 



-ITH your permission I will report about 

 those Iteeion the outside of the hive (if not too 

 late), an account of which appeared in the 

 May No. of Gleanings, 1881, p. 239. I wrote down 

 with pencil a short sketch of ray visit there, but I 

 could not get time, somehow, to put it in shape for a 

 report, on account of work. June 8, 1881, a friend 

 and myself started to visit the apiary of Mr. Doanc, 

 to inspect those bees outside of the hive. We ar- 

 rived at Stanleyville just after a heavy shower. We 

 found Mr. Doane, his good wife, and a visitor, chat- 

 ting on the porch of their house. Wc told our er- 

 rand, and it seemed to please Mr. Doane greatly that 

 somebody had taken so much interest in his bees as 

 to drive out from Marietta, over such bad roads, to 

 see them. As I never have much time to lose, we 

 declined the invitation to take a seat, and made a 

 motion to see the bees. Mr. Doane remarked he had 

 not seen them for a week. Said he, "They are very 

 cross, and most generally chase me away." We as- 

 sured him that we did not fear them, so he came 

 along with us to see the fun. 



Owing to the shower above mentioned, all was qui- 

 et; the hives looked about the same as when I first 

 saw them in November, 18T9 — combs all over the 

 hives, on the sides and back, also on top. very little 

 in front, also below the hives down to the ground. 

 On the first hive there were no bees to be seen on 

 the outside. Mr. Doane said, " I guess they are all 

 dead." I gave the hive a rap, which was answered 

 within by a big hum. I looked at Mr. Doane to see 

 him smile; but "nary" a smile. I rapped again and 

 said, " They arc all right; don't you hear them buzz 

 now? " He told me that he once could hear the bees 

 hum, but he could hear nothing now. 



Upon close examination I found the combs on the 

 outside all empty; even the combs below the hive 

 were not occupied. The bees were evidently driven 

 up into the hive by the cold weather; as there is no 

 bottom to the hive, it is quite an easy matter for the 

 bees to move up. Judging from the buzz made by 

 the bees, this must be a fair colony; but when all 

 this outside comb was filled with bees, there must 

 have been at least a bushel of them. 



The second hive is covered with combs like the 

 first; no bees on sides; back of the hive, all the 

 combs look dry and clean; no sign of moth worms; 

 also not the least sign of dysentery. This colony is 

 in better condition than the first. The combs below 

 the hive are filled with bees down to the ground; 3 

 sheets of new combs have been built nearly down to 

 the ground — two worker, one drone comb, and all 

 were filled with larva}. There is nothing around 

 this lower comb. They are exposed all around. Just 

 think of it, and full of brood! doubtless this is a 

 rousing big colony. There is no surplus honey any- 

 where stored on the outside. This is a striking con- 

 trast to nay best colonies, which at that time had 

 from 50 to 70 lbs. of surplus honey in the upper sto- 

 ry. From all appearance these bees wintered wiih- 

 out dysentery. I have examined every thing very 

 closely, and find all about the hives sweet and clean. 

 In all ordinary seasons, I think these bees must be 

 unprofitable, owing to the disadvantage of being ex- 

 posed tcf the weather. It is not easy to calculate 

 how much surplus honey those two colonies would 



have made inside of a good hive, with plenty of 

 room (for an intelligent bee-keeper) while they were 

 building all this comb on the outside. It would 

 probably have astonished any of us. 



Brother Koot, I don't see whj' the moths don't com- 

 mit depredations on these combs, so exposed. Mr. 

 Doane regrets very much that his bees don't swarm 

 (his is a non-swarming hive); they have not swarmed 

 in twelve years. He says he bought some patent 

 hives (cheap) at a sale, and would like very much to 

 try them, but thinks he must buy a swarm, as his 

 bees won't swarm. I could not help meditating on 

 the difference between the bee-man who keeps post- 

 ed, and is up to the times, and this old friend. But 

 as our conversation had to be carried on in a very 

 high key, I did not venture to say any thing about 

 modern bee-keeping. 



In 187!t he got lots of honej- from his bees, from the 

 outside of his hives; and the same season my bees 

 made scarcely a living — only about six miles dis- 

 tance apart, on a bee-line. 



At the present writing, all my bees are busy gath- 

 ering pollen. Every one wintered well on summer 

 stands; also the winter of 1880-'81, every one of my 

 colonies wintered through on summer stands. I 

 think, for this section, outdoor wintering by far the 

 safest way. K. Stehle. 



Marietta, O., March 1 , 1S83. 



And it seems, friend S., that, even if it is 

 demonstrated tliat bees will live almost right 

 out of doors, witliout protection, tliey do not 

 yield the profit that they do with more mod- 

 ern appliances. The fact that these bees are 

 so healthy, and winter safely every winter, 

 seems to carry a lesson with "it ; but why do 

 they never swarm ? Is it because of having 

 so much empty comb about them all the 

 time V 



JONES'S SYSTEM OF COITIB HONEY. 



TALL FRAMES AND SHALLOW FRAMES. 



fllE following, from the ]^Iontreal ^Veek- 

 ly Witness, we publish principally be- 

 cause it touches on the new system of 

 getting comb honey in the body of the hive, 

 by use of the perforated zinc division-boards: 



COMB AND EXTRACTED HONEY. 



Sir : As our maiket demands comb honey as well as extracted . 

 I would liko to know, through Mr. Jones aiid the Witness, if tlie 

 Jones hive can be worked with advantage for the production of 

 comb honey. Mr. Doolittle, Mr. A. I. Root, and other large pro- 

 ducers of comb hone}', u^e a shallower frame than the Jones, 

 and make the hives two and even three stories high by placing 

 one on top of another. If I am correct, the Jones frame is too 

 deep to be used as a two-story hive in this way. Is there any 

 advantage in using a two-story hive for e-Ktraeting! 



Claude, Out. Novice. 



The Jones hive can be used to advantage for the 

 production of comb honey, on the new and approved 

 principle of taking comb honey from the body of the 

 hive. The above hive is best adapted to, and has 

 many great advantages over others. For instance, 

 the long shallow frame could not be worked as we 

 do the Jones frame, which is about lO-J^xW inches, in- 

 side measure. It can be used as a two-story hive if 

 properl.y arranged; but I can get larger yields of 

 honey from a one-story of my size and shape of 

 Irame. The way to take honey is from the brood- 

 chamber. By the use of the perforated metal divi- 

 sion-board, the queen Is prevented from getting 

 back of it to lay in the sections, while the bees pass 

 through as easily as if there were none there. Now 

 you have a sufficient number of combs to keep the 

 queen laying in front of hive; next, back of it you 

 have your perforated metal, then your frames of 

 sections, and behind, either hatching brood or larvae, 

 or empty combs to be filled with honey for extract- 

 ing. You cau extract from those combs, and the 



