394 



(iLEANJNGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15. 



Layens found by experiment that very old 

 bees in queenless colonies not only store no hon- 

 ey, but gather nothing for their own subsist- 

 ence, while other colonies are storing briskly. 

 I have always supposed that, as long as a bee 

 was able to fly, it would work if it could. Is 

 Layen's observation exci ptional. oris that the 

 general rule? 



Meal feeding in spring is valued by some 

 and opposed by others. If your bees can get 

 plenty of natural pollen they'll not work on 

 any substitute; and if there is nice weather for 

 bees to fly, and not enough natural pollen to be 

 found, I believe it's a good thing to offer them 

 a substitute. The fun of seeing them work on 

 it is something. 



" A CHANGE OF PASTURE is good for Cattle," 

 is an old proverb; and now we are told that the 

 same thing applies to bees, as proven by those 

 who oractice migratory bee-keeping. One 

 writer gravely recommends those who have not 

 the opportunity, to change the location of their 

 bees throughout the season, to give them a ride 

 on a wheelbaiTow, to sharpen their energy. It 

 would at least sharpen the appetite of the man 

 between the handles. 



LANGSTROTH'S REMINISCENCES. 



THE INVENTION OF THE COMB -GUIDE. 



One great difficulty which I had to encounter 

 in introducing the movable frames was, to in- 

 duce the bees to contine each comb to a sejja- 

 rate frame. About a hundred years ago the 

 Abbe Delia Rocca. in order to have the combs 

 properly built on the bars which he used in one 

 of his hives, had small pieces of worker comb 

 supported by a fixture which could be inserted 

 in the hive, and removed when these guides 

 were attached by the bees. Huber improved 

 upon this crude idea considerably, but fell far 

 short of Golding's simple plan of dipping the 

 upper part of his guides in melted wax. 



From the tirst invention of my frames I was 

 desirous of securing straight combs, without 

 resorting to the use of these pieces of worker 

 comb. Under date of Nov. 24th, 1853. I find 

 this suggestion in my private journal: " Guirte- 

 combs. — If none can be had, hive bees in, say, 34 

 hours: remove their frames; such as are right 

 may be replaced; the combs of the others may 

 be cut off and put in a proper position." This 

 extract will explain, better than any thing else, 

 how much I must have been troubled to get 

 what worker comb I needed. 



TRIANGULAR COMB-GUIDE. 



Extract from my journal. Feb. 13. 1853: " Let 

 triangular pieces be fastened to frames to serve 

 instead of guide-combs. The equilateral trian- 

 gles (not shown in print) show the ends which 

 come against the side-strips; these may be inch 

 on their top. or smaller, as experience shall de- 

 termine ... I feel a strong persuasion that 

 these will dispense with all guide-combs." 



Little did I think, when I made this record, 

 how much expense and trouble I should incur 

 frotn this invention. To narrate at length ray 

 experience with it would require many pages. 

 This I shall not attempt, but yet it entered too 

 largely into my history to be passed by with 

 only a brief notice. 



I had a number of frames furnished with 

 these guides, and waited with great impatience 

 for the time when I could submit them to the 

 decision of the bees. At last a swarm issued, 

 was hived for a test, and allowed to remain un- 

 disturbed for several days. I had met with so 



many failures that I tried to prepare myself for 

 another. Opening the hive and lifting out a 

 frame I could scarcely believe my own eyes 

 when I saw that the bees had accepted the 

 sharp edge as the true direction in which to 

 build their comb. I lifted out another and an- 

 other, and saw the same thing, with irrepressi- 

 ble delight. Yes! my comb-guide was indeed a 

 success. But one swallow does notmake a sum- 

 mer, and I afterward found out that, in a few 

 cases, the bees built their combs without any 

 regard to the guides, so as to make it impossi- 

 ble to remove them without cutting. If that 

 first swarm had done so, and I had accepted the 

 device as a failure, it would have been, human- 

 ly speaking, a very fortunate result for me. 



After using this guide for two seasons I 

 thought so well of it that I tried to patent it. 

 My application was rejected on the ground of a 

 rejected application in the files of the office, 

 showing the same device. On paying the ex- 

 pense for a copy I found that some one had in- 

 vented what he thought would be an excellent 

 plan for destroying the larv;e of the bee-moth 

 by placing a series of triangular strips on the 

 bottom- board of the hive, the sharp edges 

 pointing up. as mine pointed down. He alleged 

 that, upon these sharp edges, the clumsy worms 

 would be fatally injured as they fell from the 

 combs! It is not strange that, for some time, I 

 thought the examiner was trifling with me. for 

 at first I could see no conceivable connection 

 between triangular strips placed on the bottom- 

 board of a hive for maiming worms, and my use 

 of the same for securing straight combs. At 

 last I came to the conclusion that the examiner 

 did not know that bees build their combs from 

 the top of the hive downward, and that he saw 

 no reason why they would not build them up- 

 ward upon these bottom strips as well as on 

 mine. I succeeded at last in convincing him 

 that there was no interference. 



Next in order, the office informs me of an- 

 other interference; and on paying for a copy, I 

 find in the drawings certain strips not termi- 

 nating in a sharp edg(\ but beveled, so as to 

 leave their bottoms about I4 inch wide. No 

 claim was made for these strips, and not a word 

 was said about ihem. They simply appeared 

 in th(^ dia wings. More correspondence ensued; 

 and at last, when I confine my claim to a sharp 

 edge, the interference is no longer alleged 

 against it. 



I was now looking confidently for a patent, 

 until notified of another interference. A party 

 had applied for a patent on the very same de- 

 vice; and on sending for a copy I learned that 

 a claim was made for my sharp-edged guide, 

 when applied to the sides and bottom as well as 

 the top of the frames. This application came 

 from one whom I had appointed as an agent for 

 the sale of my hive, and to whom hives with 

 my guides had been sent. Both parties are now 

 notified to prepare testimony as to priority of 

 invention; but my former agent refused to con- 

 test his claim against mine, and the interfer- 

 ence was dissolved.* 



This matt'-r being settled, instead of the ex- 

 pected patent I receive notice of another inter- 

 ference, a party having applied for a patent on 

 the same device, to be used on the bars or slats 

 of a hive. This proved to be a much more se- 

 rious matter than the others, as testimony had 

 to be taken by each party before a notai'y pub- 

 lic. On hearing the testimony on the other side, 



* T liad already experimented witli the guides for 

 the side and bottom strips of tlie frame, and dis- 

 carded tliis use of them. Put on tlie bottom one, in- 

 stead of fastening- the comb to tlie sharp edge, the 

 bees, to utilize all the space they could, often car- 

 ried it outside the true direction, leaving- only the 

 usual bee-space between it and the bottom-board. 



