January. 1918 



GLEANINGS IN B K E CULTURE 



17 



Lon? Idea hives with a vengeance. Freeman Reeder, Fisher's Ferry. Pa., has 250 of them in use. 



putting the combs with adhering bees into 

 carrier boxes which are set inside of the hive 

 until the bees have settled. The boxes are 

 then screened, the entrances closed, and the 

 carrier boxes are ready for moving. If the 

 hives are made of light stuff it is very easy 

 to load and unload them. One evening we 

 moved twenty large hives on a hay-rack, 

 which seemed just about the right convey- 

 ance for this purpose. 



Since using the Long Idea hive it has 



seemed to us that the bees work differently, 

 and also behave in quite a different manner. 

 We think that they sting less, and that they 

 are driven from one end of the hive to the 

 other ver}^ easily and with little smoke. 



For wintering we pack the hives. This 

 is short work — two chaff division-boards, one 

 cushion, contracted entrance with storm- 

 hood, and all is completed. 



FEEEMAN E. EEEDER. 



Fisher 's Ferry, Pa. 



FEEDING WITHOUT ROBBING 



IVhy is there danger from Robbing 



in One Instance and no Indication 



of such Trouble in Another? 



By J. L. Byer 



IN Gleanings, 

 March, page 

 178, I read 

 with considera- 

 ble interest that 

 article by Mr. 

 Bartlett, enti- 

 tled, "From 

 one Colony to 

 532. ' ' Twenty- 

 two years ago Mr. Bartlett started with one 

 colony, and just 22 years ago last May, the 

 first colony I ever owned was bought for me 

 at the sale where all my great-uncle 's apiary 

 was disposed of. For the next few years I 

 was working on the farm of 150 acres, and 

 found little time to devote to bees — in fact, 

 it was five or six years after buying that 

 first colony that we definitely decided to try 

 to make a living from bees. 



It is a generally accepted truism that 

 " comparisons are odious;" but in so far 

 as I shall do any comparing, the advantage 

 will all be in favor of friend Bartlett, so I 

 think he will bear with me in my comments 

 on his article. 



First of all, I would say that the whole 

 spirit of the article impresses one with the 

 idea that the author is an up-to-date busi- 

 ness man, with neat and efficient apiaries, 

 and every thing spick and span. The exact 

 number of colonies, "532," shows precision. 



Honestly, I am 

 not sure within 

 a ttozen or two 

 just how many 

 colonies we 

 have; but I 

 would know on 

 my first visit, if 

 any were ' ' lif t- 

 ed" from an 

 apiary. Score one against me for careless- 

 ness on this point. ' ' I try "to keep my api- 

 aries spick and span." I am afraid that I 

 don 't do this, or at least I don 't try hard 

 enough, for our apiaries certainly are not 

 alwa.ys pretty to look at. 



' ' Honey-houses in a presentable condi- 

 tion." Here again we plead guilty to not 

 coming up to that ideal; for often in the 

 rush of the season our honey-houses are not 

 in shape to receive company. 



"I won't have a leakv cover or old rotten 

 hive." These are sound business principles 

 as claimed by friend Bartlett, without a 

 doubt; but once more I fall down lament- 

 ably, as we certainly have quite a few old 

 hives and possibly — no, probably — a few 

 roofs that leak more or less. While it is 

 true that, with over 700 colonies, at least 

 GOO of which are still in the second-hand 

 hives in which they were bought, a fair ex- 

 cuse might be given for having old hives ; 



