AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



89 



I Contributed Articles. | 



Three Foggy Notions of Value. 



Wide-Frame Supers, the Honey-Board, and the 

 Telescope Hive-Cover. 



BV TRIEDEMANN GRKINEK. 



WHAT wonderful improvements have been made dur- 

 ing- the past SO years in bee-hive manufacture 1 

 Even .5(1 years ago it was an uncommon sight to see 

 anything else but box-hives in a bee-yard. If we will ex- 

 cept an occasional hive of an extremely odd pattern, box- 

 hives were the order of the day. A markt change has ta- 

 ken place — a change for the better. Well-made and nicely 

 painted movable-comb hives have taken the place of the 

 ugly boxes. It would seem almost as tho the climax in the 

 line of hive-manufacture had been reacht: but still the im- 

 provement is going on. As to the construction of the 

 brood-chambers little is left that need be changed. Of the 

 several different patterns, one should please the most ex- 

 acting. 



As to a cover for my hives, I can not become reconciled 

 to use the modern light single board or even the improved 

 ventilated covers. A single thickness of lumber between 

 the inside fixtures and the weather is certainh' not enough, 

 and if a shade-board is required to make it safe — and it is — 

 a better cover could be built, not costing more. Accident- 

 ally I once left the telescope-cover off from a hive during 

 the noon hours, leaving the surplus-case protected only by 

 a '4 -inch board. Two hours later, when I happened along 

 again, the honey was running out of the entrance of that 

 hive, and a case of honey was ruined. A shade board 

 would have prevented that loss. A regular telescope-cover, 

 such as Father Langstroth used on his 10-frame-portico- 

 hive, would have been still .better. I have not yet found 

 anything to suit me better. I think it is an advantage to 

 have the cover made tall enough at least to take in one su- 

 per. If made to take in two supers the cover becomes too 

 heavy and expensive. It would, of course, be a good thing 

 to have the two supers %Tell-protected against loss of heat 

 as well as against extreme heat ; but if we do not have 

 better honey seasons than we have had for two or three 

 years, the single-tier cover will suffice. 



The honey-board is the next foggy notion. Father 

 Langstroth made use of it ; and in this way it was handed 

 down to me. When I saw so many adopt and use the quilt 

 instead, I also gave it a trial. For two years I used it ex- 

 tensively, but it did not please me as did the board, and I 

 discarded it for summer use. The bees have a non-com- 

 mendable way of chinking in propolis between the quilt 

 and the tops of frames or sections, and every time the 

 quilt is raised more glue is crowded in, for the quilt cannot 

 well be readjusted as it had been before. More propolis 

 and stain is found on quilt-covered sections than on those 

 entirely exposed. I would rather use the board, even on 

 such supers as have their sections unprotected at the top. 

 A honey-board is also very convenient as a record-keeper. 

 On many of my hives the record for 10 years may be found 

 on the honey-boards. 



A marvelous progress — I would rather say change — 

 has been made in the supers, and most complicated ar- 

 rangements have made their appearance. Ouite a number 

 of years ago, soon after Mr. Root invented his double-tier 

 wide frame, my brother and self hit on the same device un- 

 beknown of what Mr. Root had already in use, except that 

 we adopted a single-tier wide-frame and wooden separators. 

 I have since, and before, used other styles of supers quite 

 2xtensively, but I have not been able to find one that meets 

 all my requirements and is as handy as this one. To be 

 sure, I have changed the size of my sections several times, 

 but still the wide frame is my favorite. 



The objection is sometimes raised that it is difficult to 

 remove the filled sections from the frames. Those who 

 have never given the wide fraine a trial are excusable for 

 holding such an opinion. A friend from a neighboring 

 town stopt with me this fall and lookt over things ; he ex- 

 prest just such fear. He was not in the business very ex- 

 tensively, but said he wanted to go in, and before doing 



so he wanted to find out what the best supers and appliances 

 were, so not to be obliged to change later on when it would 

 cost more to change. (If we all had been as careful as this 

 friend, how many mistakes would have been avoided, how 

 much money we could have saved !) 



Well, it so happened that I did have a few full cases of 

 honey on hand that had not been disturbed, but were ex- 

 actly as they came from the hives. They were opened up 

 and in a few moments the doubts and fears of my young 

 friend were disperst, for the filled sections came out easier 

 than empty ones would. In fact, there is no difficulty 

 whatever. 



And then the advantage of having our sections pro- 

 tected on all sides is not — well — to be sneered at. The so- 

 popular section-holders, the T and other supers, leave just 

 that part of the sections exposed that, above all, should be 

 protected. I always ca.se my honey the same side up as it 

 was in the hive ; thus the tops of the sections are first ex- 

 posed to view when a case is opened, and, when they are 

 soiled, they make a bad impression. I can understand that 

 those who use such supers as allow the soiling of the sec- 

 tion-tops have use for sand-paper machines. I find I can 

 well dispense with them as I seldom use other than wide- 

 frame supers. 



In conclusion I wish to say: It is true that when we 

 become accustomed to certain implements, or the ways to 

 use them, we gradually become of the opinion that those 

 implements or methods are superior. The bee-keepers in 

 Germany, for example, use a hive accessible only from the 

 rear ; their hives more nearly represent a cupboard ; 

 grooves are cut out in the proper places to allow two, 

 three, or even four sets of frames to hang one above the 

 other. The German bee-keepers understand how to get 

 along with the inconvenience of their hive, and altho they 

 well know what kind of hives we in America use, not one 

 in a thousand can be induced to try them. We Americans 

 can hardly understand this attitude of the Germans ; and 

 yet, even in America, it takes a long time, sometimes, be- 

 fore a good thing is recognized. Sometimes even a good 

 thing is thrown aside, as is the case with the wide-frame 

 super, the honev-board, and the telescope cover. 



Ontario Co., N. Y. 



An Interesting Cellar-Wintering Experience. 



I KEEP my bees in the cellar, and have a lamp-stove to 

 regulate the temperature during extreme cold spells. 

 The cellar has no other deposit than the bees. The 

 lower hives are about f wo feet above the floor, but other- 

 wise so compact that only narrow aisles are left between 

 the tiers. 



Yesterday (Dec. 31) the mercury registered, outside, 28 

 degrees below zero ; in the cellar the temperature was 2 de- 

 grees below freezing. So in the evening the lamp-stove 

 was arranged on the ground floor, as I had done a few times 

 before, with a metal cover over the top for shading. The 

 light coming from under the burner seemed to annoy the 

 bees more this time than before, so a cheese-mould (zinc 

 open at both ends, and its sides perforated with small 

 holes) being close at hand was placed around the lamp. 

 The free draft at the top and the small holes in the sides I 

 thought would give plenty of oxygen. 



After watching the "dummy " a little while, with an 

 air of satisfaction, I turned from the cellar, replenisht the 

 fire in the heater, and prepared for the pleasures of dream- 

 land. 



I will never be able to tell how much I dreamed, but at 

 any rate just as the Old Year and Old Century were leav- 

 ing, the bees and I were undergoing a very unpleasant 

 siege of lamp-black smoke. The strong scent awakened 

 me, and on lighting a match I noticed it was just a little 

 past 12 o'clock. The New Year and New Century were 

 here, and the house full of smoke— "a bad beginning"— 

 but there was comfort in the last part of the saying— "a 

 good ending." 



The stovepipe was examined, and then the stove. The 

 trap-door leading to the cellar was next, and the trouble 

 found. Th^amp-stove was all aglow. Flames were shoot- 

 ing from uilfcr the burner. A little red " vase" stood nam- 

 ing from the perforations of the sci-ew cap of the lamp, 

 and a column of smoke was rapidly moving from the top. 

 The blaze was soon put out, and with a cloth I was able to 

 hold the hot and sputtering thing longenough to remove it. 



The bees were surprisingly on their best behavior. 

 Only one or two were heard flying. The hive, entrances 



