September, 1915. 



309 



American Hee Journal 



around. Thin lumber }i or H inch 

 thick, as some beekeepers use for their 

 cases, is not advisable for various rea- 

 sons. Some years ago I followed a 

 friend's advice and used yellow pine, 

 sometimes called pitch pine, for my 

 season's need. He claimed it was 

 cheaper and longer lasting, not being 

 liable to rot. Both qualifications are 

 correct, but I would rather pay a little 

 more and use the other kind. The ob- 

 jectionable features are too convincing 

 to admit any argument, it is unneces- 

 sarily heavy and too liable to split 

 when being nailed. I used it that one 

 season, and have been sorry ever since 

 I did it. 



The size of the case is the next point 

 to be considered. Allowing :j inches 

 of packing at the sides and ends and 6 

 on the top, decides width and height, 

 and the number of colonies to be ac- 

 commodated decides the length. When 

 laying my plans for the first few I made 

 as a trial experiment, I was misled by 

 the mechanical rule of "the larger the 

 case the more economical in regard to 

 work and material." I planned them 

 to hold nine colonies each. This was 

 a great mistake, and like the pitch-pine 

 lumber spoken of above, I used them 

 only one season. Two features con- 

 demned them for all future use. First, 

 they were too outrageously heavy to 

 be handled by one person, and second, 

 it required too much shifting to get 

 nine colonies in proper winter position. 



Although this first attempt could not 

 be called a success, it was by no means 

 a serious loss. By wasting a few inches 

 of lumber and furnishing the necessary 

 end sections, each one of these large 

 cases could be cut in two, making one 

 to hold five and the other three colo- 

 nies. The experience of the next win- 

 ter with these smaller winter cases 

 gave such satisfactory results that I 

 adopted the 5colony cases for future 

 use, and for a number of years all the 

 added cases were of that type. 



.As time passed on, I also used still 

 smaller cases holding three colonies, 

 the remnants cut from those large cases 

 the first year, and the longer I used 

 them and compared them with the 5- 

 colony cases the better I liked them. 

 Thev ofliered advantages too apparent 

 to remain unnoticed. While they were 

 a little more expensive at the outset, 

 requiring a little more labor and ma- 

 terial, and later a little more work in 

 packing for winter and unpacking in 

 the spring, in proportion to the num- 

 ber of colonies accommodated, they 

 eliminated practically all shifting of 

 colonies for winter position, and the 

 same re-shifting in the spring. Every 

 third colony is in proper place for the 

 winter packing, and each one of its 

 neighbors needs only one shifting 

 towards the center one to have the en- 

 tire apiary in proper position for win- 

 ter cases. Once going over the yard 

 accomplishes this. 



It is very different with the •5-colany 

 cases. To arrange our bees in sets of 

 five and avoid all confusion and possi- 

 ble loss of bees, the shifting has to be 

 done with some caution, requiring per- 

 haps three or four separate operations. 

 Thus the question of size in regard to 

 economy and practicability becomes 

 one of deliberation. If we overreach 

 in one direction, trying to save a com- 

 paratively small amount in the initial 



cost, which occurs only once, we re- 

 duce the practicability of our outfit by 

 increased work once or twice every 

 year. From this it would seem that by 

 taking the golden mean as our guide, 

 where the expense in cash on one side 

 and the outlay of time and labor on the 

 other balance one another, we would 

 obtain the most satisfactory results. 



Taking all these points into consid- 

 eration, I have come to the conclusion 

 that a case holding three colonies is 

 the most desirable for practical use, 

 and consequently havedecided to make 

 all new work that I may need in that 

 line of that size. 



The shape and other individual fea- 

 tures of our cases depend in a great 

 measure on the summer arrangement 

 of our bees. If they are placed in 

 straight rows, facing one way, or in 

 quadruplets facing in diflferent direc- 

 tions, a favorite method of some bee- 

 keepers, which I consider a great hin- 

 drance when producing extracted 

 honey, our cases must be planned to 

 meet these conditions. 



The accompanying photographs are 

 taken from cases as I use them today. 

 Figure 3 is the one case ready for the 

 bees. The roof and back section are 

 removed and set against the front of 

 the case. The bees are taken from the 

 stands and set on the ground, the 

 stands removed and the case has taken 

 their places. Figure 2 is the case as it 

 appears from the front when completed 

 with stands and outside covers stacked 

 at each end. 



Sheltering bees, as hire shown and 

 described, is not as lengthy a job 

 as it may seem to the uninitiated, if we 

 pre prepared for this part of our busi- 

 ness. For my own gratification I timed 

 myself last fall when preparing my bees 

 for winter. One forenoon, when the 

 weather was ideal for this work, I com- 

 pleted nine cases in 3>^ hours. This 

 included every stroke of work from 

 setting the bees on the ground back of 

 their stands, to the finished case as 

 shown at Fig. 2. The tool that oper- 

 ates the square-headed screws at the 

 corners, when opening and closing the 

 back of the case, is seen on the first 

 hive. It is of my own invention and 

 construction; a wrench that fits into 

 the common brace and does its work 

 at lightning speed. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



Report from Wisconsin 



BY N. E. FRANCE. 



OUR honey season is over. We had 

 cold and almost daily rains during 

 the blooming season. Clover 

 bloom was plenty, and some days the 

 bees worked all the afternoon. Bass- 

 wood bloom was plenty but short, and 

 every day a rain. I had extra strong 

 colonies, plenty of storage combs 

 tiered up three to five high, left combs 

 filled and sealed some time before ex- 

 tracting. The honey was too thick to 

 strain through a cloth or gravity strain 

 perfectly, and we had to warm up the 

 honey in warm water so we could 

 strain it. Now it is all in 5-gallon 

 cans boxed for market. I am selling 

 my honey at 10 cents for small lots or 

 !l cents by the 5-gallon can. My old 

 customers will take the crop and more. 



We have found another trouble with 

 bees in many apiaries including my 

 own. The brood seems healthy, but at 

 the opening of the honey season both 

 old and young hatched bees by the 

 hundreds were running in the grass 

 never to return to the hive. Upon 

 examination my son found the lower 

 part of the digestive organs swollen 

 and full of brown-colored matter, quite 

 oHensive, often causing decay before 

 the bee dies. Colonies thus affected 

 were depleted from 10 to 50 percent of 

 their hatched bees The disease was 

 worse on cold and wet days of which 

 Wisconsin has had an abundance 

 lately, but little of it showing on bright 

 warm days. We think the condition 

 of the weather causes it, as we had an 

 abundance of it 17 years ago all over 

 Wisconsin for two weeks in June. 



I am looking for a great meeting 

 Sept. 7 and 8. 



Platteville, Wis. 



[The disease described by Mr. France 

 seems similar to the Isle-of-Wight dis- 

 ease and the May disease or paralysis. 

 The exact cause has not yet been 

 pointed out, although the Xosfma apis 

 is generally found in diseased bees. 

 Damp, cool, cloudy weather helps to 

 bring it on. It is not usually of any 

 importance as it lasts but a few days. 

 But in moist countries like England 

 the trouble gives serious concern. 



Mr. Frank F. France, son of N. E. 

 France, announced to us the birth of a 

 son, Dean Floyd France, June 6. This 

 is the 4th generation of beekeepers in 

 a family known the world over as great 

 honey producers. Edwin France, the 

 great grandfather, was a contributor of 

 the American Bee Journal 38 years 

 ago. N. E. France was for years Gen- 

 eral Manager of the National Associa- 

 tion. Many beekeepers will be glad to 

 meet him at Hamilton Sept. 7. — Editor.] 



Uniformity of Sections— Sani- 

 tary Section Made of Tin 



BY F. (".REINER. 



IT is puzzling to the novice in bee- 

 culture, and to the professional as 

 well, when we see the many difTer- 

 ent styles of hives, supers, sections, 

 etc., listed in the catalogs sent out by 

 the bee-supply houses, and can scarcely 

 help asking the question : Why all this 

 confusion? When we investigate we 

 discover that it is more notion than 

 anything else. Principle is rarely in- 

 volved. From the standpoint of the 

 beekeeper or honey producer, and the 

 purchaser or consumer of honey, but 

 particularly from the standpoint of the 

 dealer in hives and honey, uni- 

 formity in hives and sections is very 

 desirable. There was a time when the 

 4 54x4 'i section was the standard. 

 Would that no other size had been 

 added. Tne introduction of the 4x5 

 and other tall sections was a great mis- 

 take. I am sure it would be a benefit 

 to all if we were using uniform sized 

 sections all over the United States. 



