1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



811 



lacked but one thing to coniijlctc it. This hive 

 was Root's DovetaikHl. The tiiins lacking was 

 an ontsidc case for winter and sin-ing protection. 

 Witii that addition I sliould consider tlie Dove- 

 tailed hive as good as the l!ay .State, as tlien it 

 would combine nearly all tlie good features of 

 tlie hive we use in our apiary. Hear in mind, 

 we use, in the Bay State hive, botli the closed- 

 end and standard' Langstroth frame. 



I have liad a good opinion of tlie Dovetailed 

 hive: and now that the out. or winter case, is to 

 be adopted, it seems to me it must prove to be 

 one of the best hives in use. 



I don't want to say one word against the 

 other hives I saw at the R. T. State Fair; but it 

 is a wonder to me that such hives are used by 

 anyone. Th(> liimbei'-hill lor 100 such hives, it 

 seems to me. must be immense. 



PACKING BEES FOK WIXTEH. 



I may be radical on this point, yet it does 

 seem to me that, with any good double-wall 

 hive, no packing is necessary in winter. 



Now. Bro. Root, as you are a strong advocate 

 of packing, why not try an expei'iment? Why 

 not place .50 hives in a row. jjack each alternate 

 colony, and let th(> others winter with the air- 

 space" open? 



I know from past experience, that the un- 

 packed hive will not only winter better, but will 

 do the best the following season, and come out 

 stronger, cleaner, and better in I'very way in the 

 si)ring. Here in New England, where we never 

 have more than three days of settled weather 

 at one time, we need no ijacking, save a mat or 

 cushion over the bees, to absorb moisture and 

 prevent too much draft up through the colony 

 and combs. IIenky Aij.ey. ' 



Wenham, Mass., Oct., 1890. 



Thanks for your testimony for the Dovetailed 

 hive. When it was originally constructed, we 

 did not have in mind any i)et theories, but sim- 

 ply endeavored to combim* in one hive the de- 

 mands of the largest and b(>st and most practical 

 bee-keeping, having in mind due reference to 

 economy: and that these reqirements have been 

 met is evidenced by the " carload "' demand for 

 it. You are right. A wide and thick top-bar 

 with scant ^cl^-inch bee-space, is among the 

 necessities of a good hive. 



I am greatly pleased to get so good an author- 

 ity as yourself for an outside protecting shell for 

 winter: and I am not sure but that your remark 

 in regard to pacMng vei'sus air space is true. I 

 have, for a year or so. hoped that it might be 

 so; and facts are beginning to come in with the 

 proof. If we can leave out packing ( I say //) 

 and yet obtain as good results, it will be a bless- 

 ing to bee-keepers. All single-walled hives can 

 be cheaply converted into double-walled winter 

 hives; and then, too, during summer these 

 winter cases will be worth all their cost for 

 shade when placed over supers while on the 

 hive. ]SIr. Elwood uses just about such a case 

 over his supers, and yet whole apiaries of his 

 were exposed to the direct rays of the sun. They 

 are better than a shade-board, because it 

 shades the .sides- of the supers as w(dl as the toj). 

 Here is an article from J. A. Roe, in a similar 

 t^train: 



TII.\T OUTSIDE I'lJOTEf'TING SIIEEE. 



I was very much interested in W. A. King's 

 article on page 697, and in Ernest's comments, 



especially where he speaks of winter cases, as I 

 was then getting out a descriptive circular of 

 what I call the '* hive-protector." This is made 

 high enough to take in a single-walled hive, 

 with two cases of sections or an extracting 

 suijei'. and lai'ge enough to set four chaff dum- 

 mies around tlie bi'ood-nest for winter: or, \\hat 

 I consider better and more convenient, is the 

 band suggested by Ernest for his winter case. 

 The hives are to be left in the protector the 

 year round, as they afford protection from the 

 hot sun and cool nights in the summer time. 

 But, as A. I. R. says, when these cases are made 

 good and substantial, and all complete, it brings 

 the cost to about the same as a good chaff hive 

 (including the cost of inside hive), so it is not 

 so much a matter of economy as to whether 

 this arrangement is more desii-able than a chaff 

 hive. As the inside hive can be readily lifted 

 out. this will be much easier than lifting heavy 

 chaff hives where new swarms are hived on the 

 old stand, or any o])(>ration requiring hives to be 

 moved: and with the chaff band made from 

 thin lumber, and permanently packed, it is but 

 the \\orl\ of a moiniMit to set this over the bi'ood- 

 uest. put on a U)\) cushion, and you have as good 

 a chaff hive as there is. W' here bees are win- 

 tered in the cellar it is a small job to give them 

 spring i)rotection with this arrangement. A 

 great many neglect to i)i'otect their liecs. and 1 

 think thos(> who do find it an unpleasant task, 

 to say nothing about tlie unsightly appearance 

 of the apiary, and the litter when unpacking in 

 the spring, "or the injury that may result from 

 leaky covers, J. A. Roe. 



Union City, Ind. 



We take the following description of the cuts 

 from his circular: 



.J. A. KOE S OUTER COVEIUNG FOR SINGEE- 

 WAEEED HIVES. 



I desire to say a few thing-s about bee-h'.ves. and 

 hop? j'ou will give me a patient hearing'. " Whicli is 

 the tiest general puipuse hive, i. e., the chaff or siii- 

 gb-\val ed hivf," always has been and perhaps always 

 will lie an unsettled (lui'siioii. That both have their 

 good and bad ijoiiits, 1 tliiuk most will admit. Let us 

 see: The sing-le-walled hive does not cost nearly so 

 much as the ehatf hive; it is much easier handled 

 (and tliis is quite an item where new swarms are 

 hi\-ed on the old stand), and is a much coolei- hive in 

 summer. I know a great many will nut agree with 

 me in this last statement, claiming: that a cliaff hive 

 is cooler in sununer. Hut how can it be, when we 

 know that any thing- that will contine the heat in the 

 winter will do the same in the summ-ei-'^ and good 

 authorities say tin- heat of the liiood-ufst during tlie 

 hot season is iH'arl.>- imi deg-iees. It tliis he true, it is 

 also a fact, thai, the tiiinner the hive up till the time 

 the outside temiieralure reaches that of tlie inside 

 tempei-atui-c, the belter can the heat escape; and 

 the thicker the hi\e, the more will it be eonfiiied. 1 

 have noticed that bees always lie out much more in 

 chaff hives; and 1 fail tosi-etlie ditference between 

 wearing- an ONercoat to keep the heat out and keep- 

 ing- bees in c-haft' hives to keep them cool. * * * 

 TIr' hive i)rote(-tor makes a chaff hive out of any 

 sitig-le-walled hive for winter, and gives plenty of 

 shade and ventilation for summer. It is made of 

 such dimensions that ;i single-walled hive with two 

 cases of seetions can be .set inside of it, and four 

 t-haff dummies, tht-(!0 inciies thick, .set ai-ound the 

 hive (these dummies are made of tliin lumber, :ind 

 should lie kept in the dry when not in use). The 

 hives are not to be fastened in the pi-otectoi-, and it 

 does not interfere in the least with the ordinaiy 



