1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



353 



place the frame in the hive close to one side; and 

 after putting in an empty frame next to it, the di- 

 vision-board is adjusted, when we have a nice nu- 

 cleus, to be used for any purpose we may desire. I 

 generally use it for building- worker comb or for 

 rearing queens according to my needs, and think 

 for either it can be made of more profit than to take 

 away the queen and unite all of the bees with No. 

 2, as some who have written me conclude is a better 

 way. 



I have given the latter part of this article before; 

 but of late I have had to answer so many questions 

 regarding it, that I thought it best to give it again. 

 I hardly think it advisable to put on boxes, in this 

 locality, in May; but further south they should be 

 put on as soon as any of the hives are filled with 

 brood. Of course, each one can use the principle 

 described, whether north or south, and vary the 

 dates to suit their locality. The plan as above giv- 

 en is the best way to get the bees ready for the 

 harvest, in my opinion, after having tried multi- 

 tudes of other plans, none of which proved as good. 

 G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., Apr. 13, 1889. 



SHALL WE PAINT OUR HIVES? 



NOTES ON DOOLITTLE'S ARTICLE, PAGE 217. 



fNTIL I read Mr. Doolittle's article on page 217 

 I had never, I think, heard it claimed that 

 unpainted hives had any advantage over 

 painted ones. His experiment with a num- 

 ber of colonies in which those in the former 

 style of hive came out so much better than in the 

 latter is experience, and can hardly be gainsaid. I 

 have always claimed that the testimony of experi- 

 ence is worth entire volumes of reasoning. But, 

 did he have chaff cushions, or any kind of a good 

 absorbent over the frames? I feel certain that, 

 when that part of the matter is properly managed, 

 all trouble as to moisture will disappear. When I 

 prepare my bees for winter I put about two thick- 

 nesses of burlap over the frames, and above them 

 about four to six inches of chaff. The chaff is in 

 boxes, the sides of which are made of boards with a 

 burlap sheet tacked onto the bottom, and the top 

 left open. These chaff boxes rest upon the brood- 

 chamber in such a way as to more than completely 

 cover the frames, so that I think no heat is ever 

 lost. For experiment I have sometimes put on en- 

 ameled cloth in place of the burlap, in which case I 

 have found them dripping with water, and the 

 combs moldy. But when I use the absorbents, as 

 described above, I have no such thing. I often 

 find the ends of the sheets and chaff wet; but im- 

 mediately over the cluster, all is dry. It is very 

 little condensed vapor 1 ever find, and that in the 

 remotest end of the hive. I leave the winter pack- 

 ing above the frames on until the weather is warm 

 and the stocks are quite strong. I think my upper 

 absorbents are about as near perfection, so far as 

 they go, as can be obtained, and obviate all difficul- 

 ty concerning moisture. That done, I think it not 

 hard to establish the superiority of painted hives. 

 1 ;idmit I have not tried- unpainted hives very 

 much. I had one when I commenced bee-keeping, 

 and it, though not an old one, was all warped and 

 cracked, just like any other unpainted box when 

 exposed to the sun and weather. Judging from 

 that, and the characteristics of pine lumber in 



general, I considered the matter settled, and went 

 to painting my new hives all white. In behalf of 

 paint, the point of perfection must be added to that 

 of durability. But those are not the most impor- 

 tant items in the case, after all, I think. White 

 does not absorb heat. It is as a shield from the 

 piercing rays of the summer sun that I want my 

 hives painted white, as many of my hives stand 

 right in the sun. Some bee-keepers, A. I. Root, for 

 one, have given us proofs that, when hives are 

 painted white, the interior is less affected by the 

 heat of the sun than those painted any other hue; 

 and the difference between white and unpainted 

 hives must be the same in kind if not in degree. * 



One other point: If porous walls allow moisture 

 to pass out, must they not allow it to pass in like- 

 wise? I know that the interior of my painted 

 hives is much affected by the dryness or damp- 

 ness of the weather, while those in the sun are per- 

 ceptibly dryer than those in the shade. Must not 

 the unpainted (and consequently porous) hives be 

 even more sensibly affected? If I am wrong, I am 

 willing to be set right; but so far, I am satisfied 

 that it is better to adhere to painted hives. 



Geo. F. Robbins. 



Mechanicsburg, 111., Mar. 22, 1889. 



Very likely, friend R., unpainted hives, 

 during a very wet, rainy time, would get 

 more damp and soggy than painted ones ; 

 but when the sun comes out I think they 

 will dry out, outside and inside, quicker. In 

 the early spring, when the bees need all the 

 beneht they can get from the sun, a black, 

 unpainted hive would certainly secure more 

 warmth; but when the great heat of tlie 

 summer sun becomes an objection, it would 

 be just the other way. A careful, enlight- 

 ened, intelligent bee-keeper will, as a rule, 

 have not only his bee-hives, but his imple- 

 ments and every thing else, including house 

 and barn, kept well painted, while the slip- 

 shod don't-care old fogy would be pretty 

 sure to have every thing' unpainted ; there- 

 fore paint indicates the character of the 

 man. I should hesitate some about want- 

 ing my hives to present such an appearance 

 as unpainted ones usually do. 



WOODEN COMB. 



PROF. COOK TELLS US THAT IT IS ALREADY IN 

 PRACTICAL USE. 



R. EDITOR:— You, the publisher of a stan- 

 dard work on potato culture, and most 

 readers of Gleanings, will, at the mention 

 of Aspinwall, think of potato-planters. The 

 Aspinwall potato-planter is the invention of 

 Mr. Aspinwall, of Three Rivers, Mich. Mr. A. is not 

 only an inventor of high rank, but he is a refined 

 Christian gentleman, as every one who meets him 

 will at once believe upon looking into his face. 

 How much there is in a face! It is indeed the mir- 

 ror of the soul. I think, friend Root, you and I 

 once talked this over. In Tennyson's "Elaine," 

 Launcelot, when first seen by the beautiful Elaine, 

 is thus described: 

 The great and guilty love he bare the queen, 

 Tn battle with the love he bare his lord, 

 Had marred his face, and marked it ere his time. 

 It seems as if nature had made it so for our pro- 

 tection. The evil heart is very often betrayed by 

 the face. So a clean, pure face ag surely indicates 



