296 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



edges and from corner to corner, and used 

 in the same way as the paper. These quilts 

 proved good, but not better than the paper 

 covers, while they cost five times as much. 



Notwithstanding my complete success 

 with these covers, I was induced by the con- 

 fident assertions of many so-called bee mas- 

 ters that solid board covers sealed down per- 

 fectly tight were not only less trouble but 

 very much better than any thing else, that, 

 in 1889, I prepared all my hives in that way. 

 They came out in the spring in a worse con- 

 dition than in the previous years. They 

 were wet and soggy, the covers swelled, the 

 nicely painted surfaces all covered with great 

 raised blisters, and the combs in poorer con- 

 dition than for years ; and I said to myself 

 that the big bosses should not fool me again. 

 In this assertion I was just a little hasty, for 

 they did. In this first trial I left the bottom 

 of my hives the same as I had done with the 

 paper and quilt covers, viz., with the bottom 

 boards under them and the entrances left 

 open the entire width of the hive. In 1890 I 

 went back to my paper covers and came out 

 all right again ; but the leading bee journals 

 continued to praise the sealed board covers. 

 Books were published seemingly on purpose 

 to introduce this great improvement in the 

 safe wintering of our busy little bees, and I 

 began to wonder why I had failed ; for surely 

 our favorite journals are not leading us 

 astray. I listened to the bosses again and 

 soon found why I did not succeed. I had 

 not raised the hives from their bottou boards 

 enough. Just raise them up all around or 

 leave the bottoms entirely off and it will be 

 all lovely. The Dadants and some others 

 raised their protests against the thing and 

 gave excellent reasons based on their experi- 

 ence ; but we are all just about as lazy as we 

 dare be and live, and are continually longing 

 to reach the happy land without paying our 

 passage, to reap without sowing, so I swal- 

 lowed the bait again and prepared 100 hives 

 with solid covers sealed tightly down. I put 

 in a.few with the bottoms left oif but nearly 

 all were left on their bottoms. The hives 

 were raised from them all around and the 

 combs raised two and three inches from the 

 same. The result was the same as before. 

 The hives were damp and swelled. The 

 paint loosened from the wood. The combs 

 were not, by any means, in as good a con- 

 dition as I had been accustomed to seeing 

 them. Many swarms were dead, starved 



with plenty of honey in one side of the hive 

 while the bees were on the other side. 



With my quilts and paper covers raised % 

 of an inch from the top cases in the center 

 of the hives, the bees came up and clustered 

 against the warm dry covers and very seldom 

 died with food in the hive. When taking the 

 bees from the cellar, I have been in the 

 habit of filling with sawdust the rims used 

 to fasten the paper to the hive and leaving 

 them thus until cold weather is well over. 

 The rims were made two inches high for 

 that purpose, and I suspect that it is nearly 

 as good as regular packing cases : likely bet- 

 ter, cost considered. 



I shall not be caught in this foolish way 

 again, even if all the bee journals endorse 

 "solid sealed covers." 



Mr. Editor, strange thoughts sometimes 

 present themselves to my mind, and I query 

 whether the bee journals have not done 

 about as much to lead astray as aright. I 

 do not say this in any spirit of hostility to 

 my beloved bee journals, which I expect to 

 take and read while I can read at all, I only 

 suggest that they should be very careful to 

 fc/iojt; that what they publish and recommend 

 is real truth. After all our boasted im- 

 proved ways, I am compelled, by the results, 

 to know that we are not securing larger 

 crops of surplus honey than the Germans 

 and other careful workers did 30 years ago. 

 This is a depressing thought, I confess. But 

 is it not true? And take the matter of im- 

 proved frames and hives; I have fairly tried 

 nearly all the boasted improvements, and 

 where a full sized brood chamber is used, I 

 shall go back to the first frame I ever in- 

 vented — ;30 years ago. I believe it is the 

 best I ever knew, and in this idea I think I 

 am supported by every person that ever 

 gave it a trial. Now, truthfully, feeling that 

 I have no better hive than I had in the long 

 ago, and that got as large yields of honey 

 then as now, I think the friends will pardon 

 me for the suspicion that much of the great 

 noise of past improved ways were but 

 "sounding brass." 



Notwithstanding all this, I shall continue 

 to test new things in the apiary. Indeed I 

 shall make a business of it : not for gain, 

 but for pleasure, as I can get excellent pay 

 for hard work in the satisfaction derived 

 from finding out new things to a certainty. 



FoBESTViLLE, Minn. April 20, 1892. 



