48 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1.= 



19 183%' inches one way and 15>V the other, and 

 10>3 deep. The fraincn are, inside measure- 

 ment, 12^4 and 10}^ inches. This is the common 

 hive; the other is his observatory hive of two 

 or more stories. The frames are of the same 

 length, but the depth is only 8^' inches. These 

 frames are the very ones I bought of father 

 Langstroth 30 years ago, and, of course, are the 

 correct size of the Langstroth frames." 



Now, if this octogenarian is correct, were not 

 the frames the size of the short Langstroth 

 frame ? Were not the frames set across the 

 hive and across the entrance? Who is correct? 

 Is there not hope of a standard frame? 



AVill not some friend call on father Lang- 

 stroth and read this statement of friend Hol- 

 den's and learn for a certainty from his lips the 

 truth? and if not that, the true and original 

 Langstroth frame was not 12>^ x 8}4, inside 

 measurement ; so that we who advocate a 

 short frame are within the pale of truth when 

 we claim, at least in part, to be followers of 

 father Langstroth when we use and advise a 

 shorter frame, and a square hive for reason of 

 its economy. 



Astor Park, Fla., Dec. 10. 



[Years ago the short Langstroth frame was 

 tested quite extensively by a large number of 

 bee-keepers, ourselves included; and the only 

 advantage we could discover was that they 

 were a little lighter to manipulate and better 

 for queen-rearing than the long frame, the two 

 short frames making a small and more compact 

 cluster for the nucleus. Hut we, like everybody 

 else, discovered that th^re were just so many 

 more frames to handle for the same capacity, 

 and, with a very few exceptions, they were dis- 

 carded for the long franip adopted by father 

 Langstroth years ago. I have sometimes 

 thought myself, tluit, if the crosswise Lang- 

 strotli had been made an inch or so deeper, and 

 adopted as a standard by Langstroth. instead 

 of the frame now accepted as such, per/miw it 

 might have been better. Hut after all, reports 

 seem to show that colonies on the short frames 

 winter no better and produce no more honey. 

 The Langstroth utilizes to ihe very best advan- 

 tage the standard width of barn- boards in the 

 hives; whereas in the deep-frame hives very 

 wide lumber must be used, or one or more pieces 

 fitted together. This makes the hive either ex- 

 pensive, owing to the wide boards, or if of nar- 

 row boards, to a greater or less extent a patched- 

 up hive, with unsightly cracks that will surely 

 gap sooner or later. Taking everything into 

 consideration, while the Langstroth standard 

 seems to give just as good results, both for win- 

 tering and for honey, it surely does give more 

 surplus room on top— a very important desider- 

 atum, by the way.— Ed.] 



ECONOMY IN THE PRODUCTION OF HONEY 

 AS A STAPLE ARTICLE. 



BKE-KEEPIXG IN CUBA, IN A NUTSHELL; RE- 

 SOURfES GREAT, BUT PRICES LOW. 



Jill Fred L. Craycraft. 



In order to correct the impressions of some of 

 the readers of (ii.EANiNCis who seem to think 

 this is the " El Dorado " of the bee keeper, and 



that fortunes are to be picked up in a few 

 months, I will give a few facts in regard to the 

 outlook. 



During the season of 1891 and '02, buyers paid 

 from 45 to 50 cts. per gallon; in 1S92 and '93, 

 from 40 to 45 cts. The season of 1893 and '94 

 opened at 38; later on, dropping to 35, and dur- 

 ing the summer of 1894 prices dropped down to 

 20 cts. per gallon; and now with new honey 

 coming in, dealers are offering from 24 to 26 

 cts. per gallon, without package; but before 

 the end of the season prices may go up to 30, or 

 they may go down to 20 cts.; and with sugar at 

 li cts. per lb., and other staple products corres- 

 pondingly low, and all manufactured goods ex- 

 ceedingly high (Spain having bestowed with 

 an unstinted and generous hand the blessings 

 (?) of a high tariff protection upon this beauti- 

 ful but unfortunate country), it can be very 

 easily seen that the prospects are any thing 

 but flattering, and the only solution of the 

 problem is by producing honey on a large scale, 

 and economically enough to make it a safe in- 

 vestment. 



There are certain conditions here which 

 make it peculiarly adapted to producing honey 

 at a small cost. There being sufficient flowers 

 here to sustain from 200 to .'JOO colonies at one 

 location, the certainty of the honey -flow, and 

 the small amount of work required to keep the 

 bees in condition, are factors which must be 

 considered in counting the cost of production. 



With a modern four or six frame extractor, a 

 lively man who knows his business can throw 

 out a large amount of honey in a day; and 

 where there are a large number of colonies in 

 one place the bees do not get enough honey 

 during the spring and summer to encourage 

 swarming to any extent; and during the "cam- 

 panula " honey-flow the bees are never strong 

 enough to swarm; therefore it can be seen that 

 the swarming question can be eliminated. 



In order that the readers of Gleanings may 

 see the rapidity with which extracting can be 

 done by having the apiary arranged in a con- 

 venient manner. I will give a short description 

 of the 7no(lus operandi in use here. 



The sheds for the apiary are 13 feet wide, 

 with a row of hives set on each side, the en- 

 trances facing out, and the hives set close up 

 together, there being only about half an inch 

 space between the hives, in order that the 

 supers may be lifted off easily without being 

 wedged in between the hives at the sides. In 

 this manner the hives form a solid wall on each 

 sid,?, making it darker inside, and very few 

 bees enter to bother a person when opening 

 the hives, and it is also a protection in case of 

 robbing, as the robbers do not like to enter the 

 shed; and after buzzing around the entrance a 

 while they will become discouraged and leave. 

 When extracting, a man can till his comb-cart 

 at one place, saving both time and steps. 



Taking into consideration the length of the 



