1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



493 



THE EIGHT VS. TEN FRAME HIVES. 



Sectional Brood-chambers. 



BY J. J. WILDER. 



Differences of opinion arise too often 

 among our apicultural authorities for the 

 greatest good to our industry. Especially 

 is this true on the question of the size of 

 brood-chambers and supers. It now seems 

 that some particular hive or super will win 

 out against all others; and as a bee-keeper, 

 and supply-dealer as well, I long to see the 

 time when this will take place. The senti- 

 ment seems to favor the ten-frame hive, be- 

 cause it is larger. This is one point in its 

 favor, but it is not large enough to furnish 

 sufTicient room for the average queens in our 

 aj^iaries. Then, too, the ten-frame does not 

 admit of as rapid handling of frames as does 

 the eight-frame hive, because it is not 

 large enough to hold ten frames i)roperly, 

 especially after the usual coat of propolis is 

 deposited on the inside fixtures. Moreover, 

 the outside frames are too close to the sides 

 of the hive, and the bees often neglect this 

 outside comb surface or extend brace-combs 

 from them to the hive-sides, resulting in 

 mutilated combs. If the center-combs are 

 removed for an examination of the condi- 

 tion of the brood-nest, many bees are crush- 

 ed on account of lack of room between end- 

 bars. Take it all in all, the ten-frame hives 

 are too large for nine frames in the brood- 

 chamber, and too small for ten frames for 

 rapid manipulation on the part of the bee- 

 keeper who produces honey in a wholesale 

 way and must, therefore, inspect the brood- 

 chamber many times during the season. 



The eight-frame hives provide just the 

 proper amount of room for the eight frames 

 when the follower is removed. Any frame 

 can be quickly removed without killing the 

 bees, and the outside combs are well occu- 

 pied, and free from brace-combs. 



This leads me to mention what I regard 

 as the best brood-nest for the production of 

 comb, extracted, or bulk comb honey, either 

 on a wholesale plan or otherwise — for the 

 South or any other locality. I know that 

 differences of opinion will exist; but I am 

 sure that, when my arrangement is put to 

 actual test for successive years, more bee- 

 keepers will agree that an eight-frame fuU- 

 dei)th hive-body and a shallow extracting- 

 sui)er on top, each containing the proper 

 size and number of frames, is the most 

 ideal arrangement. It is more natural for 

 bees to work u]) than sidewise; and it is just 

 as natural for the queen to follow with her 

 work. There is not much doing in the pro- 

 duction of bees until the queen moves up 

 out of her lower quarters, and the shallow 

 frames above give just about the right 

 amount of additional egg-laying room. 



In most localities here in the South we 

 have several months of swarming to con- 

 tend with. If the shallow brood-chamber 

 above is not allowed to be filled with honey 

 (and it rarely does get filled, with a queen 



of average prolificness) , there is no danger 

 of swarming until this upper brood-cham- 

 ber is too full of brood. Then, since all 

 signs of swarming will first appear in the 

 upper combs, which can quickly be detect- 

 ed by tipping up the shallow body (many 

 times there will be no sign of swarming 

 any other place in the hive) , this arrange- 

 ment, therefore, brings us as near to a non- 

 swarming hive as economy or labor will 

 allow. 



Sectional brood-chambers are strongly ad- 

 vocated by some of our leading bee-keepers, 

 and they have some advantages over single 

 brood-chambers; but the arrangement that 

 I have mentioned combines the good quali- 

 ties of both, and overcomes some of the fol- 

 lowing difficulties as well. The shallow 

 frames used under sectional brood-chambers 

 are too shallow to allow both brood and 

 honey, and consequently there is no rim of 

 honey around the brood as in deeper combs, 

 and the queens are constantly going above, 

 seeking more commodious quarters, thus 

 deserting the lower combs that contain no 

 honey, and which have to be constantly re- 

 moved and placed on top or the use of them 

 will be lost. Then, too, there being no 

 honey around the brood, excessive robbing 

 may be the result, so that the bee-keeper 

 will have to feed or allow the bees to starve. 

 Very often it is necessary to cut up the 

 brood-nest by adding a super; but this is 

 almost sure to excite swarming and make 

 too many brace-combs that have to be 

 cleaned up. Lastly, with the sectional hive 

 the queens have to crawl over too many 

 sticks, and search in too many out-of-the- 

 way corners for cells for the very best re- 

 sults. 



Cordele, Ga. 



THE BEE'S SENSE OF SMELL, 



Is it Not this Sense Alone that Guides the Bee 

 to the Source of Nectar? 



BY WM. M. WHITNEY. 



Mr. Raleigh Thompson's article on p. 124, 

 Feb. 15, is interesting, as it indicates the 

 acuteness of the sense of smell of the honey- 

 bee. It never has been my belief that bees 

 sought their field of labor by the sense of 

 sight in the first instance. Like all other 

 winged insects that I know any thing about, 

 exceiit, possibly, the locust "family, they 

 seek their food through the sense of smell 

 by flying against the wind. I believe the 

 comi)osite eye is chiefly valuable in the field 

 to guide them in their labors among the 

 flowers near by, as otherwise they would 

 miss many blossoms, the scent being waft- 

 ed away by the wind, and to mark their lo- 

 cation by the observance of nearby objects; 

 and that, the eyes being set in a triangular 

 form in the forehead, they form the head- 

 light, so to speak, to blaze the way; and the 

 sidelights, with their thousands of facets, 

 take cognizance of surrounding objects on 



