1835 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



315 



also closely fit their case endwise, and are sup- 

 ported on tin rests, and held tightly together 

 and securely in position by a thumbscrew at 

 either end, which arrangement allows the cases 

 to be handled in any position as one solid whole, 

 and yet, by loosening the thumbscrews, it leaves 

 the frames readily removable. M should be the 

 queen and brace-comb excluder, but is not shown 

 and is generally wrongly named " honey-board." 

 D and E are wide-frame surplus-cases for 

 comb honey. These have the same kind of 

 frame adjustment as the brood-cases which 

 are used forsurplus-cases when extracted honey 

 is wanted. F is the cover. Besides, there is the 

 escape and board which are not shown, and 

 without which the hive is incomplete, although 

 not a part of the invention. Each brood- case, 

 outside measure, is 19X inches lung, by 13 inches 

 wide, and 5fJ inches deep. The wide-frame 

 surplus-cases are the same length and breadth, 

 but only 5^ inches deep. Considering, now, 

 the size, shape, lightness, and construction of 

 the parts, you will see how admirably adapted 

 it is to its system of case (sometimes called 

 hive) manipulation, no matter whether of the 

 brood or surplus apartments, or these as used in 

 connection with each other or any of the other 

 parts of the hive, or of the hive as a whole, and 

 for which it is intended and expressly built. 



When left to themselves, and under natural 

 conditions, bees will store a little of their honey 

 about the sides of their brood-nest; but the 

 great bulk of it will be above. Besides, they 

 store it as near the top of their hive as possible, 

 and for consumption use that lowest down and 

 nearest the brood. In breeding, the upper part 

 of the brood-nest is kept immediately next to 

 the honey. When the upper brood hatches, and 

 the honey-flow is suificient, the bees will fill 

 with honey the cells out o which it hatched, 

 thus continually working to connect the brood 

 and honey by filling with honey the s^iaWo?/; 

 space continually being created between them. 

 From these natural conditions we learn some 

 important principles as they relate to a hive's 

 construction and its manipulation. 



1. That surplus cases should be added above 

 the brood-nest, and hence our hives built for top 

 storage. 



2. That we should not compel our bees to 

 travel over honey at the top of the brood-nest 

 in order to store their honey, and hence the di- 

 vision between the surplus-apartment of our 

 hives and the brood-chamber should come right 

 where the brood and honey meet. In other 

 words, the construction of our hives, and man- 

 agement, should be such that there will be no 

 honey, or as little as practicable, at the top of 

 the brood-chamber when we wish the bees to 

 store in the surplus-cases above it. 



3. That brood should extend under the whole 

 bottom surface of the surplus-cases; hence sur- 

 plus-cases should not extend endwise or side- 

 wise beyond the brood-chamber; neithershould 



there be combs of honey beneath them, at 

 the sides of the brood-chamber. It is a fact, 

 that a brood-chamber of sufficient capacity, 

 and more than eight combs wide, is quite liable 

 to have its outside combs filled with honey; 

 hence a brood-chamber should not be more than 

 eight combs wide. 



4. From principles two and three, we see that 

 any hive or system which attempts to fill the 

 brood-chamber with honey for winter stores, 

 either before or while the honey-harvest is on, 

 does so at the expense of important conditions 

 necessary to the development of the strongest 

 honey gathering and storing instinct of the bees. 



5. That when one or more surplus-cases have 

 been filled sufficiently to justify the addition of 

 another, it should be placed right between the 

 brood and honey already stored, and, as might 

 also be inferred, and which experiment proves 

 true, the shallower the opening which we make 

 for storage between the brood and the honey 

 already stored, the stronger the instinct of the 

 bees to fill it. It is also much better that the 

 first surplus-case which is put on be shallow 

 rather than deep, and of large capacity. 



6. A little reflection shows, and experience 

 proves it true, that the deeper the brood-cham- 

 ber the greater the liability to have honey 

 stored at the top of it by the bees, which they 

 will have to traveise to store honey in the sur- 

 plus-cases, greatly lessening their energy. 



7. A little mathematical calculation shows, 

 too, that, the deeper the brood -chamber, the 

 less surface there can be above it for top stor- 

 age, and hence the deeper will the surplus-cases 

 have to be in order to have sufficient capacity, 

 in adding which the deeper will be the opening 

 made between the brood and honey, thereby 

 again lessening the instinct of our bees to fill 

 this space promptly. 



8. It is a fact that, wlaen a brood -chamber is 

 larger than a queen can keep filled with brood, 

 the remaining space will be filled with honey. 

 We at once see, therefore, that such is a mis- 

 take, where we wish a brood-chamber tilled with 

 brood, and devoid of honey. 



You will now look at the cut, carefully study 

 the hive, its shape, construction, and size of the 

 different parts, and connect therewith the fol- 

 lowing manipulation, and carefully compare 

 any and all of its bearings with the above prin- 

 ciples. 



Suppose our colonies are in normal condition, 

 and ready for the surplus-cases at the opening 

 of the summer honey-flow. When we put on 

 the first case we will interchange the two brood- 

 cases— that is, place the upper one below and 

 the lower one above, and then put on the honey- 

 board and surplus-case. When this shalloiv 

 case is sufficiently filled, we will add another 

 on top of the honey-board and beneath it, and 

 so on with others as required upon the tiering- 

 up plan. You will notice now, 1, that the 

 brood-uest is flat on top instead of rounding; 



