316 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1.5. 



2, the brood extends to the very top of the 

 brood-chamber; 3, that the brood-nest was di- 

 vided where it was largest across, and thereby 

 the brood was. so to speak, spread out under- 

 neath the surplus-cases; 4, that placing the 

 honey where the bees want brood, induces them 

 to remove it and put brood in its place, thus 

 filling the brood-chamber with brood; .5. that, 

 in adding surplus-cases, we continually create 

 a shallow opening between the brood and honey 

 stored. 



The swarms we hive in one brood-case; place 

 them upon the stand of the parent colony, and 

 give them the unfinished surplus from the same, 

 and add an empty case, if needed. From this 

 arrangement of the hive, you will notice the 

 following conditions which now exist: 1, the 

 brood-chamber will be filled with brood, because 

 of its small capacity ; 2, brood will extend to the 

 top bars, because of its shallowness; 3, when 

 filled with brood, it will extend under the whole 

 bottom surface of the surplus-cases; 4, the 

 whole body or bulk of the brood is nearer to the 

 surplus-cases than it can be brought by any 

 method of narrowing the brood-chamber to 

 contract it; and, also, the bees are in a more 

 compact form to work; ,5, that a shallow opening 

 between the honey stored and the brood-cham- 

 ber is established for storage. 



In my opinion, with no other hive or system 

 that I know of can all the principles of honey- 

 production, as mentioned, be so easily and per- 

 fectly applied to our colonies, either before or 

 after swarming. " But," says some one, " there 

 are other things to be taken into consideration 

 if we are to be successful." True; but can the 

 most indulgent of editors be expected to permit 

 the space? 



Just as I finished this article. Gleanings 

 came to hand; and you may guess of my sur- 

 prise upon finding another claiming nearly all 

 of the essential features of Mr. Heddon's hive 

 and system. However, it is a pretty late day to 

 succeed in this kind of work. 



[As there are some who think the divisible- 

 brood-charaber hive is the coming system, I 

 have asked one of them (a user of the Heddon, 

 and one who thinks there is nothing like it) to 

 write it up for the Trade Notes department, and 

 this he has done in the foregoing. Along in the 

 same mail came, unsolicited, an article from 

 Ezra G. Smith, also an admirer of the Heddon 

 hive. He writes of it as follows:] 



I want to say something about Heddon's hive. 

 You say in Gleanings. Mar. 15, that two-story 

 Langstroth hives were used years ago. That 

 is so; they were used, but not as divisible 

 brood-chambers. We had no way to restrict 

 the queen. It was intended and advertised, 

 sold, and used as a single-brood-chamber hive. 

 When the queen went above, it was not because 

 we wanted her to do that, but because we 

 could not help it. I have used the Quinby, 

 Langstroth ( Hoffman frame ) hives ; have 

 used the Heddon hive five or six years; and if I 



had to go back to the other hive I would quit 

 the business. I can take care of my bees with 

 one-half the work that I formerly had to lay 

 out on them. I think the Heddon hive is as 

 much ahead of the other hives as those hives 

 are ahead of the old box hive. 



Ezra G. Smith. 

 Manchester, N. Y., Mar. 19. 



[I shall endeavor, so far as it is possible, to 

 make the Trade Notes department represent 

 fairly the views of our subscribers along the 

 line of practical bee-hive construction. While 

 I understand that there are some who like the 

 Heddon system, I am also told that there are 

 others who have tried it and abandoned it. 

 Now let us hear from these latter, and wherein 

 the multiple chamber is not a success. 



I am not seeking this information pro and con 

 because we desire, or may desire, to go into the 

 extensive manufacture of Heddon's hive under 

 royalty, but only to get at the truth. It is true 

 we did write to Mr. Heddon, asking royalty 

 price per hive; but it was only that we might 

 be in a position to supply such hives, in a limited 

 way. when ordered, and not that we considered 

 it the best hive, as Mr. Heddon seems to think. 

 At present we are satisfied with what is com- 

 mon property, viz., the Langstroth system. On 

 the other hand, we shall endeavor to hold our- 

 selves open to intelligent conviction. — Ed.] 



catnip honey, a barrel or more. 



In 1892 one extracting, of 500 to 700 lbs., was 

 either pure catnip or else so strongly impreg- 

 nated with that flavor that no other could be 

 detected. Besides, I could not find that they 

 were working on anything else in particular at 

 the time. Once or twice before when I had 

 not many bees I secured some. But that year 

 the bees fairly swarmed on it, as they some- 

 times do on basswood. 



Sang Run, Md., Feb. 25. C. A. Montague. 



PROPOLIS deposited IN A LIQUID STATE. 



Before the introduction of the movable frame 

 I used the Miner cross-bar hive. A piece of 

 thin cotton cloth was spread over the bars 

 when a swarm was hived, to prevent the bees 

 from attaching their combs to the loose cover 

 between them. This was allowed to remain 

 two or three days, and then removed. On re- 

 moval it was generally found to be almost or 

 quite saturated with liquid propolis, and was 

 as limp as if wet with water. This and some 

 other circumstances have led me to believe 

 that bees use propolis in only the liquid form. 

 Indeed, it is difficult to conceive how they can 

 handle it in a semi-solid state. I have often 

 seen them loading their pollen-baskets with 

 the solid material; but I think they liquefy 

 it before using it. With this liquid they varnish 

 their combs, and all other surfaces within their 

 hives, and wherever else they may cluster. 



