148 



GLEAN'INGS IN 



EE CULTURE 



March, 1918 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



AN ASCENDING HIVE 



A New 'Idea in Hive Building and Why One Man 

 Likes It 



This " ascending " hive was designed to 

 eliminate the lifting necessary in the use of 

 tiered-up hives, which is trying on all bee- 

 keepers and especially so to those of advanc- 

 ing years; also to overcome the objection 

 to the long-idea hive that the bees do not 

 store as much honey in a horizontal hive as 

 they do above. I have experimented enough 

 to prove this. 



I had two hives of this ascending pattern 

 made last spring. The two cost $7.40 com- 

 plete, painted and crated for shipment. 



The last week in May I placed an aver- 

 age colony in each, confined to nine frames. 

 One of the colonies started cells and the 

 other did not, and the yield was as good as 

 any colony in my yard. (Very poor season 

 — .35 lbs. average for 112 colonies.) 



My ascending hive holds 21 frames, spaced 

 iy2 inches, and stepped % in. All makes of 

 frames of Langstroth dimensions can be 

 used, and perfectly spaced by simply press- 

 ing them against the steps. It is a pleasure 

 to handle the frames in this hive and it is 

 a great labor-saver. 



After the extracting was done I divided 

 each hive with a close-fitting division board, 

 equalized the brood and honey, and gave the 

 queenless part a cell. 



This hive will be almost as easy to move as 

 a two-story hive, if the legs are removed and 

 the bodies nested. 



It suits me better than any I have yet 

 tried, and I have experimented with Hand 

 bottom boards, Danzenbaker, Langstroth 8- 

 and 10-frame and " horizontal " from 16 to 

 32 frames. There may be some principle that 

 Avill condemn it, and I know there is no one 

 better than Gleanings to tell me of it. 



Los Angeles, Cal. Eugene Baker. 



[We have made some tests of the long idea 

 hive, and do not find there is any difference 

 about bees storing horizontally or on a ver- 

 tical plan, like a sky-scraper, for example. 

 Your experience is somewhat unusual, if you 

 found that bees would not store in a hori- 

 zontal hive of the ' ' long-idea ' ' principle, 

 as well as in a vertical hive, one story on to;.» 

 of another. The greatest objection we would 

 have to the one that you show is that tlie 

 rabbet to hold the frames must be in the 

 form of a zigzag, or steps. This would de- 

 feat one very important feature of a modern 

 movable frame hive, for in your lu\'e the 

 frames could not be shoved together nor 

 pulled along as a whole. It is very impor- 

 tant that the frames be so arranged in tiie 

 hive that they can be shoved together in lots 

 of three or four. If we understand the prin- 

 ciple of your hive, it would be impossible 

 for you to do this without manipulating each 

 individual frame. This would take considera- 



View of Eugene Baker't; Apiaries, Showing the Standard Ten-Frame Tiering-Up Hive, the Long-Idea Hive 



and Several of the Ascending Hives. 



