222 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15. 



or any other hive. They are scored out at the 

 corners, providing side openings for free pass- 

 ago of air and bees between the tiers of sec- 

 tions, also saving the irksome labor of scraping 

 propolis from the corners of sections; said cor- 

 ner being cut away, the bees do not daub or 

 glue the openings which they can pass through. 

 The sections are nicely filled at the corners, and 

 are ready to set right into the shipping-cases, 

 as taken from the supers. 



The Root style of section-holder (put togeth- 

 er by dovetailing) is made to hold four of these 

 sections, there being eight holders for each 

 case, supported within the metal hangers and 

 case, provided with wood separators nailed to 

 them to make the sections of uniform size and 

 weight. 



The entire case of sections and holders is cov- 

 ered air-tight with a layer of paraffine paper, 

 which the bees do not cut away if covered over 

 with other paper or cloth, and held down close 

 and smooth by thin boards beneath the outer 

 cover. This is of the utmost importance, as 

 bees can not work to advantage until the top of 

 their hive is air-figfht to retain the warmth of 

 the colony, provided there is abundant ventila- 

 tion at the entrance of the hive, which may be 

 controlled to suit the seasons and conditions of 

 the colony, to restrain the swarming impulse. 

 When extra stories are used, and more ventila- 

 tion is needed, it can be given by reversing the 

 bottom and shifting the first or second story 

 forward, thus giving full and direct ventilation 

 at front and rear if desired, which will cause 

 the bees to store their honey at the top of the 

 hive, instinctively to avoid danger from robbers. 

 The hive-bottom is made to give a deep space 

 and opening under the frames by reversing it 

 when desired to admit more light and air to 

 force the bees to store their surplus at the top 

 of the hive. The bodies and supers are all 

 alike, square edged, to fit tightly together for 

 tiering up, consisting of but two pieces, ends 

 and sides dovetailed to go together the same as 

 four-piece sections. 



The brood-frames are made in the same way; 

 but the ends and top and bottom bars being 

 alike there are but two kinds of pieces used in 

 them. The section -holders are also made of 

 two pieces, so in each of the separate parts of 

 the hive they duplicate each other, to have the 

 fewest separate pieces possible; and as all are 

 made for me by the A. I. Root Co. with the lat- 

 est Improved all-iron machinery, the work is as 

 nearly perfect as possible to be, and is very 

 easily put together. 



The hive proper consists of two stories used 

 as a brood-chamber, and one story for a super; 

 extra supers can be ordered to use if two tiers 

 are needed. Two stories are intended to be 

 used in wintering, as well as breeding up in 

 spring, as the full bee-space is at the top of 

 each case, independent of the others. The 

 lower hive is intended to be placed at the top in 



putting on a super to bring the brood directly 

 beneath the sections, which stimulates the bees 

 to storing honey directly above it; by alternat- 

 ing the bodies at proper intervals, the uncapped 

 honey will be carried from the lower one to 

 give room for the queen; and the two stories 

 giving ample room for a brood-chamber, no 

 queen -excluder is needed where separators are 

 used between sections filled with worked foun- 

 dation, as the queen will not leave a large 

 brood-nest for single sections, except to raise 

 drones when not allowed drone comb in the 

 brood. 



METAL HANGER. 



The brood frames for sections, and the brood- 

 frames, are supported in the case on a remova- 

 ble sheet metal provided with turned edges or 

 flanges on alternate sides, to hang upon the top 

 edges of the cases, with the end-bars of brood- 

 frames or section-bars resting upon its lower 

 edge, this unshrinkable metal having such 



bee-space that will not be contracted by shrink- 

 age above the brood-frame and sections as may 

 be desired, and determined by the width of the 

 sheet metal and corresponding depth of the 

 cases. These metal supports are adapted to 

 either deep or shallow hives, using close-fitting 

 end-barred brood-frames. This arrangement 

 gives increased capacity and facility of manip- 

 ulation, as these removable supports can not bti 

 glued fast to the hive, and are fully covered by 

 the end-bars of the frames, which they sup- 

 port and protect from touching the end of the 

 cases, so that the bees can not glue the frames 

 fast to these supports, nor to the sides of the 

 hive, and they are easily removed with the 

 brood -frames or sections by reversing the case 

 and lifting it off, or they may be pressed down 

 over a follower the same as a " T super," leav- 

 ing the sections or frames free for removal or 

 inspection. Paper or other elastic material 

 may be placed between these supports and the 

 cases to form a cushion giving flexibility, if de- 



