THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



275 



something- which does sound big- when 

 you find your frames grown fast to the 

 hive. I've been there, so I know. 



And thus one could ^o on, naming' 

 many small points commonly' neglected, 

 which g^o to help disgust many bee- 

 keepers witli the business, when, 

 in fact, the business showed its 

 disgust for the man, and drove him 

 o«t of the field of apiculture. 



I believe the tendency is altogether 

 too great toward what miglit be termed 

 wholesale attention in the apiary. No 

 doubt some one will ask how it could 

 be managed otherwise when operating- 

 three or four hundred colonies. That 

 is just the point. A great many 

 wholesale apiarists very often cover 

 twice as much ground, and have twice 

 as much expense, as is necessary to 

 g-et as g"ood returns from half the num- 

 ber of colonies, with half the expense 

 for fixtures, etc., if important details 



Clieaps 



were attended to. In fact, they could 

 not attend to so manj' colonies if they 

 attended strictly to all details. 



There is another point in favor of 

 cutting- down the number of colonies: 

 If there comes a poor season you get 

 all the honey there is in the field; you 

 have much less expense and a less 

 number of colonies to feed. 



I am convinced that if some men 

 would try the experiment of replacing 

 one-half the number of colonies with a 

 proportionate amount of attejition, the}' 

 would secure as much honey of a better 

 quality and a better race of bees, and 

 such thing's as foul and black brood 

 would not gain such a foot hold. The 

 matter of attention is similar to that of 

 overstocking a locality. If you have 

 more bees, than you have attention and 

 care to bestow, ^our bees are bound to 

 suffer. 



Palermo, Ontario, Aug. 22. 1906. 



ira- 



E. F. ATWATER. 



OTHE practical bee-keeper who hopes 

 T" to handle a score of apiaries had 

 best adopt the simplest hives that can 

 be used with satisfactory results. Our 

 preference at present is an eight-frame 

 hive of standard size for comb honey, 

 and for extracted, the regular ten- 

 frame hive. If we were to start anew, 

 it is quite probable that we would use 

 the ten-frame hive for all purposes, 

 using the full ten frames in the brood 

 nest for extracting-colonies, and eight, 

 nine, or ten frames, with dummies, 

 when needed, for comb honey brood 

 nests. 



If one has the time in winter he may 

 do as we have done, make up a lot of 

 very satisfactory 10-frame bodies or 

 full depth extracting supers, at a very 



low cost. We have many full depth 

 10-frame hive-bodies which have cost 

 us only five cents each for material, 

 aside from paint. They are made of 

 coal oil or gasoline cases (same as 

 cases for two, five-g'allon honey cans) 

 accurately cut, and the sides of double 

 thickness, ^-inch lumber. 



At the lower corners, a strip of gal- 

 vanized iron, about ^'4 x 3 ,^2 inches, is 

 folded around the corner and nailed 

 with three-penny common nails, well 

 clinched. That prevents the lower cor- 

 ners from spreading or opening. 



Across the top of the ends, and even 

 with the top of the hive, is nailed a 

 cleat ^x2xl6 inches. These cleats 

 furnish the hand-hold, streng-then the 

 weak place left by the cutting of the 



