1890 



GLEAKINGS IN BJlE CULTUHE. 



45 



"The top-bars ot the movable frames are heavy, 

 and their sides run straight down ?s of an inch be- 

 fore the bevel commences. I know that this shap- 

 ed bar gives truer combs and fewer brace-combs be- 

 tween their tops and the honey-board or surplus 

 receptacle." 



And at this time 1 had many of the J bars in use; 

 and the reason why I advocated the 5a depth before 

 the bevel commences was because such a bar, V 

 bevel and all, could be made of | lumber. 



I am pleased to write the above on this subject, 

 because it Is one I have long- felt I understood 

 thoroughly; and I will say, that all bee-keepers 

 who think they are going to master the brace-comb 

 dlflBculty without a honey-board will find their mis- 

 take a little further on. James Heddon. 



Dowaglac, Mich., Jan. 8. 



WIDE TOP-BARS AND BURR-COMBS. 



A VALUABLE ARTICLE ON THE SUB.TECT. 



In the Jan. 1st issue, page 20, you ask, " Is It nec- 

 essary to have top-bars 78 thick, if they are IJg 

 wide ?" I answer, " Yes, without any if s or buts 

 or wherefores." I first began using ^i-inch, then %, 

 then IJ^, and a few hives \%, and a few even 

 stretched that width; but everything over IJ4 was 

 soon relegated to the woodpile, while the \K stayed 

 around a good while. Some of them are here yet, 

 but are too wide for the best results. My experi- 

 mental stage covered a period of about ten years, 

 during which time I scarcely made hives twice 

 alike, certainly not any two seasons. Now for re- 

 sults: As to width of top-bars, every thing above IH 

 was wholly unsatisfactory; of the 1>4, most of 

 them worked all right. If new swarms were hived 

 in them during extremely hot weather, each comb 

 would be in its proper place; but if the weather 

 was cool, then there was trouble at once. The bees 

 seemed to work in closer quarters, and would put 

 three combs on two frames, or go crosswise of the 

 whole, so I gave up the \)i ; and after all others had 

 been thoroughly tried I settled down to l^g as 

 the nearest right, and {^ to % the proper distance 

 apart. For thickness I used li of an inch, beveled 

 shape, so that they are % thick at the edges, mak- 

 ing a top-bar that will not sag down as a flat % piece 

 will. Then, too, bees will make a stronger comb on 

 a V top-bar than on a flat one; but it lets them up 

 80 near the top that they will build burr-combs be- 

 tween and on top of the frames, about 98 times out 

 of every 100; and I guess it is only a mistake that 

 the other two don't do it, and they will make some 

 burr-combs on top of % frames if they are much 

 over %, inch apart; and at that distance they are 

 quite apt to fill the whole space nearly solid with 

 bee-glue or a single row of cells seemingly stuck up 

 endwise between frames, with now and then a hole 

 just large enough to pass one bee up or down. 



Now, brethren of the bee-fraternity, don't be in 

 too great baste to get rid of your honey-boards, as I 

 once was, for I went and made racks for all my 

 hives, about 15 years ago, which were used on the T- 

 tin principle, only my tins were made of wooden 

 strips nailed into the bottom of the rack, and then 

 strips of tin nailed on to them to support the sec- 

 tions (and glass boxes in the same way, before sec- 

 tions came into use); they came down close to the 

 top-bars; but after using them two or three years I 



went back to the honey-board and rack combined, 

 which I now use. E. M. Johnson. 



Mentor, O., Jan. 6, 18!m. 



Thanks for the information you give, 

 friend J. I am the more glad of it because 

 of its caution. I would not advise any one 

 to discard the honey-boards just yet. Let 

 each one, if he chooses, try a few hives w^ith 

 thick top-bars, and first ascertain whether 

 his hive, his locality, or himself, justifies the 

 change. It is no doubt true, that thicker 

 and wider top-bars largely discourage the 

 building of burr-combs. It is equally true, 

 that they do entirely prevent it in many 

 cases, if the testimony of several witnesses 

 can be relied on as true, and there is no 

 reason to think that it can not. In the 

 mean time, let us have more facts from 

 others. It is a very important subject, and 

 it is well worth sifting down, both pro and 

 con. Kemember, we want the cons as well 

 as the pros. Ernest. 



THE BRISTOL HIVE. 



ITS CONSTRUCTION, AND SOME OF ITS FEATURES, 

 AS DESCRIBED BY THE INVENTOR, A. E. MANUM. 



As the Bristol hive is now so extensively used In 

 New England, a description of it may not be unin- 

 teresting to some of your Western readers; and to 

 assist me in describing it with its different parts, I 

 have made a photograph of it, which I inclose. 



1. On the right is a Bristol hive put together just 

 as it appears both in summer and in winter, when 

 closed, except that the winter entrance - slide is 

 drawn out and leaned against the front of the hive; 

 and on the top of this hive will be seen one of my 

 cushions, such as I use over the bees in winter. 



By the side of this hive, standing on the gi-ound, 

 is a brood-chamber, D. This brood-chamber is \6% 

 long by 13,14 wide, and 11 deep. The sides are cut 

 16?4 long by 11 wide, and the top edge is rabbeted 

 .'a X Vi, with a saw-kerf cut in one edge of the shoul- 

 der, to admit of the metal frame support, or tin rab- 

 bet. The kerf is cut % deep; and by using % hoop 

 iron it allows the iron to project M inch; and the 

 top-bar of the frame being /s thick, it therefore 

 leaves ^^ space between the upper surface of the 

 top-bar and the under surface of the honey-board. 

 The ends of the brood-chamber are cut 16 in. long 

 by 11 wide. In giving the dimensions of any piece 

 of lumber I always call the length the way the 

 grain of the wood runs; and as the stock is % thick, 

 and the end-pieces nailed on to the ends of the 

 sides, it makes the box 13^ wide inside. 



On the top of the brood chamber you will ob- 

 serve a Bristol clamp, E, filled with sections; and I 

 believe it is the most convenient clamp in use, as 

 you see this clamp covers only half of the brood- 

 chamber, two clamps just covering it. But when 

 two are not needed, as in the early part of the hon- 

 ey season, or at the close of the season, only one 

 clamp may be used when one of the half honey- 

 boards, H, is used in place of the second clamp; 

 thus giving the bees no more surplus room than 

 they require, and being able, with these small 

 clamps, to give the bees more room as they require 

 it, or reduce it by degrees, thus keeping pace with 

 the honey-flow at either end of the game. 



The stand. A, shows for itself how it is made. 

 The top of the stand is 22 inches square, and the in- 



