1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



889 



stylos of hpe-liivcs: and all l)iit one were dis- 

 carded aftor testing thom a fi'W seasons. There 

 are several points I never lost sight of when 

 trying to construct a practical bee-hive. Some 

 of the ])oints are these: 



1. A proper brood-fi'ame: :,'. A hive suitahh^ 

 to winter bees successfully on the siunnier 

 stands: ;{. A hive so constructed that it can h(> 

 set In the sun without protection all sununer, 

 and without danger of destruction of the combs 

 or of roasting out the bees: 4. A hive so ar- 

 ranged that the largest amounts of both comb 

 and extract(>d honey can be secured. 



In some of the hives I hav(^ devised 1 could 

 not combine all the desirable features here 

 named. In my last attcMiipt to construct a 

 practical hive, and one suited to most classes 

 of bee-k(>ep(>rs. I think T have combined all the 

 best fealuies. This hive is calleil the 



I'.AV STATK CI.OSKD-ENP-FIiAMK HIVE. 



1 do not claim, by any means, that tln^ T'.ay 

 State is the ideal hive: but 1 do claim tiiat it is 

 good enough for an>' b(^e-ke(^i)(>r. and that it 

 has but few if any olijectionable features. I 

 will describe some of the good points of the I Jay 

 State, and explain the illustrations in as few 

 words as ])ossilile. 



Fig. 1 shows the brood-chamber, which is 

 merely eight closed - end frames, two side- 

 boards, and two iron rods with thumb-nuts at 

 each end. The frames rest on a bottom-hoard 

 (illustrated in Fig. 5). and which is described 

 further on. Ri'sting on the brood-fram<>s are 

 four section-cases, each containing :.'4 ]-lb. sec- 

 tions. This case, like the brood-chamber, is 

 composed of frames or section-holders, as some 

 bee-keepers call them. The broad frames, as 

 well as the sections, are held tii'mly in position 

 by being clamix'd between two side-boards 

 through which runs an iron rod. which also has 

 thumb-nuts at the ends. A d(>scription of the 

 case will be given further on. 



It will be seen in the illustration, that the cap 

 which covers the section-cases is the same as 

 used on the hive shown in Fig. 3. 



FIG. :.'. FIG. 1. 



HAY STATE IIIVE DISSECTED AND KEADY FOIJ 



WIXTEH. 



The Bay Stat(> hive is used in summer exact- 

 ly as is shown in Fig. 3. Ninety-six sections 

 can be used to good advantage on the hive at 

 the same time. I have had colonies fill all in 

 one good season — something which is consiil- 

 <>red a big thing here, when it is known that 

 our honey season is of but a fcnv weeks" dura- 

 tion, incliiding both favorable and unfavorable 

 weathei-. 



Now a word about the way we manage the 

 Bay State hive to get comb honey, and to use 

 so many sections ;it one time. Of course, no 

 sane bee-keeper would think of placing '.»> emp- 

 ty sections on a hi\'e al on<' tinu'. Oiu' case of 

 24 sections is enough to start \\i1h.e\i'n wilh 



the strongest colony. When on(> set of sections 

 is pretty well filled, it is removed, reversed, and 

 a new set of sections put on the hive, and the 

 lirst set placed upon that, and so on till there 

 are three or four sets of sections, oi' as many as 

 the bees can woi'k in at one time when tiered 

 up. The passaireways thi-ough the four cases 

 ai-e dii'ect fi'om the brood-chamber to the top 

 sections. By this plan the empty sections are 

 at all times nearest tin- brood, i believe that 

 the sections can be put nearer the brood in the 

 Hay State hive than in any other one now in 

 use. This is a point I have iried to incoi'i)oi'ate 

 into all the hives I have devised. 



FIG. .3. 

 STATE IIIVE 



FOI! CO.A[l{ 

 HONEY. 



FIG. 4. 

 OK EXTRACTED 



Another good point about this hive is, that it 

 is not necessary to use any cpieen-excluder be- 

 tween the section-cases and the brood-chamber; 

 and. furthermore, of the thousands of Bay State 

 hives in use. no queen has ever been known to 

 (Miter the sections and deposit eggs therein. 

 Can this be said of any other hive in use? By 

 reversing the sections when partly filled with 

 honey, the bees attach the combs to all sid(»s of 

 the wood. This is a feature appreciated by 

 all who find it necesary to ship honey a long 

 distance to market. Bear in mind, that 34 sec- 

 tions are reversed ki one time, and none can 

 get out of place during the oi)eration. 



Here is another point about this section-case 

 worthy of mention: The sections are all incased 

 in wide frames, and it is impossible for the bees 

 to get at them to soil them with pro])olis or by 

 traveling ov(M' them. At the same time, every 

 section is held in a perfectly S(piare position. 



Fig. 4 represents the Bay State hive as used 

 for extracti^d honey. There are two sets of 

 brood-frames — one over the other, with a queen- 

 excluder between the two hives. On the toj) is 

 used an ordinary honey-boai'd. and then all is 

 jM'otectefl from sun and rain by a hi\e-cait. the 

 same as seen in Fig. 4. A snuill stone, or weight 

 of any sort, will previ'ut the wind from blowing 

 th(> cap ofl'. What little rain will reach the 

 fi'ames or section-case can do ho harm. 



Fig. :.' illustrates the hive as jji-epared for 

 winter. By examining Fig..-) (bottom-iioard) it 

 will be seen that (! (i and V. ai'e strips of wood 

 upon which the brood-nest rests. The.se strips 

 are ?K of an inch thick. The outer case shuts 

 (lown outside these strips, thei'eby comi)letely 

 excluding all water, and thus |)reventing the 

 packing, when any is used, from becoming wet. 

 As the entranc(>. F. E. is below the level of the 

 bottom-board, and directly und(>r the slrijjs the 

 frami's rest on. no water can enter tlu' hive 

 thei-e. 



