350 



October, 1915. 



American line Journal 



Uniform dimensions for the bar-frame 

 hives, which are still frequently called 

 Uzierzon or Berlepsch hives, were 

 fixed upon, the so-called German Aiis- 

 irian staitihird (8.79 inch wide by 7.29 

 inch high for half frames and 14.68 

 inch high for whole frames). It soon 

 appeared that these dimensions were 

 not I'avorable to the development of 

 the colonies. The early collection of 

 the honey demanded a numerous popu- 

 lation already in May and June, to be 

 able to utilize completely the season 

 which was often very short. This was 

 not, however, possible with the stand- 

 ard hive, except with much trouble 

 and difficulty, by enlarging the brood- 

 ing space and similar measures. 



At the same time as the insufficiency 

 of the standard measures was recog- 

 nized, the discovery was made of the 

 laws which govern the making of wax 

 and of the brood-cells, which was to 

 prove of the greatest importance in 

 the construction of hives. With the 

 demand for more space for the devel- 

 opment of the colony was added the 

 demand for stacc correspoyuUng to the 

 population. Thus, scientific dimen- 

 sions were introduced into Germany 

 during the last 20 years, and they 

 have given satisfaction throughout 

 the country. They are the follow- 

 ing: 15.75 by 9.84 inches or 155 square 

 inches for the comb without the 

 wooden frame, and nine such combs 

 afTord the colony a sufficient brood- 

 ing space. These dimensions, wher- 

 ever they have been applied with un- 

 derstanding, have given the best re- 

 sults, and it seems that their substitu- 

 tion for all the others will be only a 

 question of time. It is hardly to be 

 expected that these will ever be re- 

 placed by other dimensions, as with 

 them the habitation of the colony is 

 made according to its requirements. 

 This brood-comb enlargement has 

 been adopted in many systems of hives 

 which formerly used the standard 

 dimensions, as for instance the Ber- 

 lepsch, the four-storied Liedloff, the 

 Alberti, the German - American and 

 other hives. Most modern hives ar-i 

 built according to these dimensions. 



On the introduction of this modern 

 system the influence of America was 

 felt. Almost all ihe American forms 

 of hives prefer the isolated position of 

 the colonies in the open under a sep- 

 arate protecting roof, which naturally 

 suggested the idea of handling the col- 

 ony from above. This method at first 

 seemed strange and unusual to German 

 beekeepers, who mostly kept their col- 

 onies in bee houses and handled them 

 from the back of the hive. The hand- 

 ling from above and the new dimen- 

 sions encountered many difficulties, 

 and had to struggle with much preju- 

 dice, but with time all hostility has 

 been overcome. When, during the last 

 five years the horizontal hives became 

 the fashion in Germany, the handling 

 from above, which a short time pre- 

 viously was held to be impossible, be- 

 gan to be considered quite natural. 



When the systematic dimensions 

 were introduced the vertical hives 

 were preferred, that is, those with high 

 frames. For countries without late 

 honey these hives are even now the 

 best form, as they oblige the colony to 

 provide first of all the necessary store 

 of food for the winter and to deposit 



it overhead, before bringing the bee- 

 keeper's share into the lifts. These 

 hives, by their special build, prevent 

 the pernicious practice of feeding with 

 sugar and causing the degeneration of 

 the bees. 



Certain conditions of the honey crop 

 (fir and heather honey, etc.) render it 

 necessary to remove all the honey 

 from the body box or to collect as 

 comb honey all that which cannot be 

 removed by centrifugation. This is 

 not easy with the vertical hive; corise- 

 quently, by the side of the vertical 

 hives, have been introduced the hori- 

 zontal ones, in which the modern 

 brood-comb is simply set on its end 

 without altering its dimensions. It is 

 advisable to build the horizontal hives 

 with the frames at right angles to the 

 side which bears the alighting-board 

 and entrance. 



The horizontal hive induces the bees, 

 without any effort on the part of the 

 beekeeper, to deposit all the honey they 

 collect in the lifts, whence it can be 

 easily collected. This can cause the 

 body box to be completely freed from 

 honey when the booty is not heavy 



and sometimes in very poor years it 

 can even endanger the existence of the 

 colony. 



An unforeseen difficulty in the way of 

 adapting beekeeping to the changed 

 conditions in the supply of honey- 

 bearing flowers arose by the introduc- 

 tion made some decades ago of foreign 

 breeds of bees, which hybridized the 

 native bees that were well adapted to 

 their environment, and in most cases 

 spoiled them. It became necessary to 

 breed, by selection, a bee suitable to 

 present conditions. This was no easy 

 task, as it is not possible to select a 

 particular male (drone) for the mating. 

 The impulse to the scientific breeding 

 of queens, from both the theoretical 

 and practical points of view, came from 

 America. Von Stachelhausen worked 

 out several sure methods and intro- 

 duced them into Germany by his book : 

 Der Bun und seine Zucht. The Swiss 

 also, under the leadership of Dr. Kra- 

 mer, of Zurich, have devoted much care 

 to the breeding of queens, which at 

 present awakens much interest in Ger- 

 many and is practiced with success. 



The recent investigations into the 



ASSISTANT INSPECTOR I. E. PYLES IN THE J. R. RILEY APIARY AT 



BREEDS. ILL. 



APIARY OF BAXTER BROS.. AT LEAVENWORTH. KANS. 



The two sons of E. J. Baxter, President of the Illinois State Beekeepers' Association, 



located on an 8o acre fruit farm last sprintr and keep bees in connection 



