138 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Feb. 28, 1901. 



■way, "I consider that very important." Mr. Grimm did 

 not tell why he thought it important, and I think I didn't 

 know enough to ask him. But I thought he was a safe man 

 to follow, and as I adopted sections very shortly after that 

 time, using double-tier wide frames with 56 sections in a 

 super, I provided an opening as nearly like Mr. Grimm's as 

 I could by shoving the super forward so as to make a space 

 of one-fourth to one-half an inch at the back. 



This workt quite satisfactorily, but a super with 56 sec- 

 tions was very heavy, and on some other accounts I was led 

 to change to the T super, which I now use. With this I 

 still kept the opening at the back by shoving the super 

 forward. A difficulty that I had before noticed to some ex- 

 tent seemed now to be aggravated. The sections nest the 

 opening proceeded very slowly compared with the others. 

 The opening to the outer air at this point prevented the 

 bees from building comb to a considerable extent. So I 

 gave up this opening, closing the hive entirely above, re- 

 lying only on the ventilation from below. 



After this change, however, the amount of swarming 

 increast a great deal, making it look as if the ventilation 

 right thru the hive had a good deal to do with keeping down 

 swarming. Another thing helps greatly to strengthen that 

 belief. For years I have generally had a few colonies that 

 were allowed to have three or more stories, with a large 

 opening to each stor}', the combs being used for extracting, 

 or kept as store-combs. I do not remember that one of 

 these colonies ever swarmed, and I attribute this immunity 

 from swarming in a great measure to the large amount of 

 ventilation. 



In the light of all this, it would look as if it would be a 

 good thing to have the ventilation you propose, providing 

 you are working for extracted honey, the air and the light 

 not being objectionable. With comb honey the hindrance 

 to comb-building stands in the way. Wire-cloth over a ven- 

 tilating hole is not needed, and the bees will be pretty sure 

 to till it up with bee-glue. It is hardly advisable to bore a 

 hole in any case, for you can get better effects by shoving 

 the super front or back. That distributes the ventilation, 

 instead of having it all at one spot with the hole. 



Questions on Swarming. 



In your book, "A Year Among the Bees," which I 

 bought of you in the spring of 1887, you say on page 49, 

 " When it comes time to put on supers, they (brood-frames) 

 are reduced to 4 or 5 frames." 



1. Do you still practice this contraction of the brood- 

 chamber before swarming ? 



2. When a colony swarms do you hive the swarm in a 

 contracted brood-chamber? 



3. And if contracted or not, do you use starters or full 

 sheets of foundation in brood-chamber? 



New York. 

 Answers.— 1. Alas for the changeableness of bee- 

 keeping — it is not safe to count on doing anything to-day 

 the same as 15 years ago. Strictly speaking. I do not prac- 

 tice contraction now. Up to the time of putting on supers 

 I give all the room needed for brood-rearing, even to two 

 stories of 8 frames each, if the bees will use it. At the 

 time of putting on supers I take away all but 8 of the best 

 frames of brood, if the colony has more, and give it enough 

 to make 8 if it has less. Some would say that is contract- 

 ing, and some would say it is exchanging room in the su- 

 per for room below. At any rate, my practice is to have 

 each colony have 8 frames of brood at the time of putting 

 on supers. 



2. If I were hiving a swarm, I would give it four or five 

 frames at hiving, and fill up about 10 days later. 



3. I always use full sheets of foundation. I might do 

 otherwise were it not for just one thing, and that is that I 

 want to be sure of all worker-comb. One of the ablest of 

 German bee-keepers, the late C. J. H. Gravenhorst, prac- 

 ticed giving a swarm four or five frames with narrow 

 starters, icounting that very little drone-comb would be 

 built in hem, and when they were filled giving enough 

 combs or full sheets of foundation to fill out the hive. 



Our Wood Binder (or Holder) is made to take all the 

 copies of the American Bee Journal for a year. It is sent 

 by mail for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. The Bee 

 Journals can be inserted as soon as they are received, and 

 thus preserved for future reference. Upon receipt of $1.00 

 for your Bee Journal subscription a full year in advance, 

 we will mail you a Wood Binder free — if you will mention it. 



\ ^'^ The Afterthoia^ht- '^ \ 



The "Old Reliable" seen thru New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. HASTY, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, O. 



THE BEE KEEPER AND THE BEE-SUPPLY DEALER. 



In "Colorado's ■' letter and its replies, on pages 69 and 

 70, we have a first-class rumpus, albeit by no means a new 

 one, and not likely to become a closed incident very soon. 

 How much human nature we can see in man when we get him 

 in print onoe ! Man who doesn't like a situation seldom fully 

 appreciated by tlv man who does like it. Just hear the latter 

 fellow's ir|ili.< p..|i off — as he talks of buying a car-load of 

 supplies ■• Miiht unseen," and a thousand miles off. " Not so 

 bad off as hf juiufiiues.'' "Do not consider the dilemma of 

 our Colorado friend a serious one." "Very little trouble in 

 getting or giving satisfaction." Ahem ! And, in good sooth, 

 if the fellow is plump and candid enough, we rather like him, 

 at least to the extent of a good laugh. " Why should Icon- 

 tribute to make it perfectly safe for my customers to order of 

 my competitor? If I have given them satisfaction, and no 

 cause to complain, let them keep on buying of me.'' And 

 when we get reminded that much of the trouble arises from 

 our own too fierce cheapening of everything we would do well 

 to stop and consider — yes, di a large amount of considering. 

 First a pinch of " live " and then a pinch of " let live " should 

 go in the peace-pipe which we are to smoke. The two little 

 girls who never quarreled reported their S(<cretto be, " Addie 

 lets me and I let Addie." But, as to the manufacturing Addie, 

 we don't quite see our way clear to " let Addie " while she is 

 in her present frame of mind. For one thing she doesn't re- 

 alize what a prodigious lot of mista'Kes — some annoying, some 

 pxpciishc. some both, \)V^\i not entirely spoiling the goods — go 

 out In Im r aliment customers. I take it that part of these are 

 sidl.liil iiliniii a little, and salved over by a little apology, and 

 the hugiT part never mentioned at all. Never mentioned be- 

 cause few of us enjoy making complaints, when we know in 

 advance that they will never eventuate in anything except 

 talk. A present-at-the-factory customer would say: "Fix 

 this and this, and I'll take a thousand : otherwise I'll not 

 touch 'em with a pole." 



Remedy ? Not sure there is any. The Falconer propo- 

 sition seems the best mentioned. Pay half, and deposit the 

 other half to be paid on satisfaction being reaclit. How would 

 it do to employ some bee-man who lives within "25 miles of the 

 factory to go and see your ear-load of supplies on board ? He 

 couldn't see with your eyes nor feel with your feelings, as to 

 faults mainly annoying or ill looking, but not seriously affect- 

 ing the utility of the goods. 



A TRICK THE BEES PLAYED. 



That trick which Mr. Bauckman's bees played, page 60, 

 was a very unusual one. It is unusual for a swarm to plunder 

 the home hive, and again unusual for a jilundered hive to sur- 

 vive and amount to something later on. 



KEEPING BEES ON SHARKS. 



Yes. that's so; the man who is keeping your bees on 

 shares can not be dismist very well if unsatisfactory. Also, if 

 the season proves so bad as to afford no hope of anything to 

 divide, he might take himself off without saying a word. 

 You think your bees have a keeper when they are totally neg- 

 lected. Page 66. 



so UNUTTERABLY UTTERED, YOU KNOW. 



The Utter case being so " utterly utter," and all that's 

 fairly utterable being already uttered, I think I'll skip it, and 

 forbear to utter. (Oft thusly our bread findeth butter). 



TH.\T GERMAN UNCAPPING FORK. 



So Mr. Kreutzingerhasan uncapping fork — but does not tell 

 his editorial visitor whether he has ever " made it go" or no . 

 Suspicious circumstance. Motors that never "mote" are not 

 as a class a very hopeful class. Perchance the uncapping fork 

 may "be the idea of that kind of amateur who wants to lift off 

 the cappings without taking any of the honey — and the amount 

 of time it takes to do it may not appeal to his mind very 

 strongly. Page 68. 



