IDE^VOTEHD E:x:CIL.TJSI"VElL."3r TO BEES .A-3SIID liOZSTE^Sr 



voi.~lnr 



AUGUST 1, 1875. 



No. VIII. 



OUR OPPOSITION "AIR CASTLE." 



TKOIJAliLY liELOKGINd TO TIIK '20th riCNTtJKV. 



^ppSjK EAK KDITORS:— 1 am i^crj/, very sorry to fell 

 • 1,^1 yonv *'air castle"' to Iho anMiin!, almost before 

 ^~r you have trot it built, but T have devised some- 

 thin<r so far in advance of it, that I think you will 

 tender me a vote of thanks. Kelievina- that yon are 

 anxious for the point. I will proceed. First, you must 

 build a tnnk. (any where in your Apiavy. or there- 

 about), elevated "upon posts, or any suitable founda- 

 tbin; next you must use my new artificial comb. 

 Xow, as all which I am about toexftlain. is covered by 

 heavv letters patent. l)oth in this and other countries. 

 I will without fear ro on. My combs are built by the 

 liees up,6n comb foundations,'similar to tlie late Sam- 

 uel Wa.ffner's. only that I use fwo foundations for eacli 

 comb in tlie following manner. My foundations are 

 • if light sheet iron, (galvanized) and 'are placed V of an 

 inch apart, and closed all around, top, bottom, and 

 sides, so as to form a vacuum between them. Xow 

 ilie bees will build their ".sy??s" outward from each of 

 these foundations. I forgot to say that I have a fine 

 hole through the foundation at the back of eacli ".scK," 

 also a X inch hole at the back end of each comb. I 

 also have an incli hole in the back end of each hive. 

 I now lay '■^r/ass^'' jiiiies just a little way under ground, 

 all in connection with a large one that runs to the top 

 of the aforesaid tank. Each of tlio underground 1 

 inch ]iipes enters from the lar;:'o tank pijie, to the 

 back end of each hive. You will now see that all I 

 have to do is to attach a force pnm]) to the tank end 

 of the large "r/rtss" pipe, an<l pump all the honey 

 from all the supers at once. I also have a 2 inch ])ipe 

 running from my elevated tank to each of our 14 gro- 

 cery stores, with a faucet at the grocery end of the 

 uipe. from which they draw the honey as they would 

 irom a barrel. The tank holds about 250 barrels, and 

 being elevated, the faucets at the grocery stores are 

 i'.lwavs full. 



The above is substantially the same as my specifica- 

 tions. What I claim as my invention, and desire to 

 secure bv letters patent, is : First, the double comb 

 foundations, when used together, in the manuer, and 

 for the p'ariioses described. 



Second : The hollow, or vacuum between the walls. 

 or comb foundations, in combination with the said 

 walls, or their equivalent, substantially in the manner, 

 and for anv or all the purposes set forllh. 



Third: The elevated tank in combination with the 

 store-keener or his clerks, or their equivalent, for any 

 or all of the purjioses set forth. 



I will here omit the succeeding claims, and give 

 vnnr readers the 21st and last claim which is: The 

 '•v/".s.s''' pipes T). D, R, K. N', V, and the rubber pipes 

 s. S, in combination with the hives. Queens, tank, 

 ■j-roccry stores, and my iiired man who does the ])\un|)- 

 imr onthe tank, substantially in the manner, and for 

 an>- of the purposes 1 have or may, or any body else 

 ni:iv herein-after for all time to come set forth. 



I will close by saying that I shall prosecute to the 

 tidiest extent of the law any person or persons who 

 make, use, "sffC or thhik. or cause his or their 

 ueic-hbor or neightiors to think of using, making, or 

 •Kt'll" -ing any body with mv invention. 



J.^MES IlEDDON. 



i )owagiac, Mich. July .")th, "5. 



The above an-ansrcmciit is ccrttiinly perfect, 

 Avith the exception that our ffiend has made no 

 l)fovision for coilcctln.-i- tlie money that Avonhl 

 roil in, nnless he travels around "in the liot 

 sun" to these 14 irrocery stores, to collect it; 

 somethins? that a man of his i^ii^antic intellect 



could not be expected to do. Had he not bet- 

 ter lay a second series of "sjass" pipes, and — 

 beg- pardon, it's ]y(tn/(c(t 



SJMPI.ICITV IIIVKS FOR KdIX HONEY. 



5nfp|I)IT01! (;LKANI>;(;S:-Our s)>ring opened 

 j8p|y|i very late here. I'.ees all wintered on summer 

 *—rr4} stands, and came through well. First swarm 

 Mav '2ti, full two weeks later than usual. I started 

 with 27 colonies, and have tranfferi'ed two into sim- 

 plicities, from box hives rotted througli. yet they are 

 good colonies. The hives must lie over" nine years 

 old. and I think one is 15 years old. I have had them 

 nearly 8 years, and they looked old when I bought 

 them. I have saved nine swarms, and made one nu- 

 cleus. I have two box hives in which boxes are near- 

 ly filled, and the bees are making comb outside of one 

 as large as a peck measure. All are collecting honey 

 rapidly. 



I wish to make two suggestions, which I think will 

 im)n-()ve the Simplicity hive in working it for boxes. 

 One is to have one side of the second story swing on 

 a hinge at one end, or remain movable at both ends 

 and hooked fast. The other is to use the lower hives 

 exclusively for that, and either have permanent bot- 

 tom board's attached, or boartls esijecially for that 

 purpose. A cover once used for bottom "board can 

 hardly be desirable to use as a cover again, all gum- 

 med lip, and it costs more than a plain clamped bot- 

 tom board. The second story can be made lower 

 where one tier only of boxesis used. As it is, there 

 is no point of observation without lifting ofl' the 

 whole, and boxes must be watched. An 0])en side, 

 with four side glass boxes one can see. As boxes 

 must cover or nearly cover the frames, they wholly 

 fill up the space of second story. I would like tlib 

 oiiinion of one who makes comb honey in the Sim- 

 plicitj^ hives, as you do not I believe, Mr. Xovice. 



J. W. PORTEU. 



P. s.— I have made two lots of Simplicity hives; 1 

 have succeeded better with the last lot of 20, than 

 with the first 12, and now I can make them as well as 

 the best. 1 made the 20 in one day with dressed lum- 

 ber. Charlottsville, ^'a. June 17th, '75. 



Wliile it is true that a bottotn board could 

 be made a little cheaper unlike the cover, you 

 would have the disadvantage of having an ex- 

 tra piece about ; for instance, in the Apiary, 

 you would frequently have extra covers, but 

 no bottoiu board, and vice versa. "When we 

 take into consideration, that a one story hive 

 is ample in size for ahnost iiii/c tiionths in the 

 year, and for new swarms generally all of the 

 first year, it seems too bad to encumber hives 

 the year round with all this extra rigging, 

 that is onlj^ needed during the surplus season. 

 If your upper and lower stories are uidike, j'ou 

 complicate the machinery of the Apiary, more 

 than any one would suppose until lie had 

 really tried it. 



wily not. lift oft" the whole upper story tc in- 

 spect the boxes "r* ir you have made all tight 

 around the top of fratncs where the boxes rest, 

 you will have no bees in the Vv'ay and no pro- 

 polis; the single story witliout cover is very 

 light, and easier to remove, than to unhook a 



