h'EBRUAKY 1, 1915 



rate. Even a poilico is a useless attach- 

 ment, and in many instances cumbersome. 

 At the National beekeepers' convention in 

 Butfalo, many years ajro, Mr. Doolittle said 

 in his address when discussing* the various 

 hives, "Is it the hive? No, it is the man." 

 A more striking truth was never uttered. 



Nearly forty years ago we started the 

 manufacture of a double hive, claimed by 

 some so-called inventors to be the only prac- 

 tical hive with which to make a fortune 

 keeping bees. The brood-chamber consisted 

 of two hive bodies — one inside of the other, 

 with a %-inch air-space between the two. 

 It also had ventilators through both bodies 

 to connect the brood-chamber with the out- 

 side world, and a portico for good looks. 

 All in all. it was a tasty-looking hive when 

 finished with two coats of paint. Great as 

 were our expectations of this hive it did 

 not winter well nor insure any special ad- 

 vantages over plainer-made liives in spite of 

 its great expense. We soon learned that a 

 clieaper hive would give us better results 

 all round if properly managed. Mr. Doo- 

 little's Buffalo truth dawned upon us, even 

 at that early date. 



On page 899, same issue, Mr. Ritland 

 gives a description of his motor cycle trans- 

 formed into a power saw for hive-making, 

 which interested me very much. As a make- 

 shift an arrangement of this kind may give 

 tolerably good service. I have studied the 

 problem of using the power of an auto- 

 mobile in a similar way, bnt always came 

 to the conclusion that a two or three horse- 

 power gasoline-engine could be arranged to 

 give better satisfaction. The cycle as well 

 as the auto is a more or less cumbersome 

 affair in a hive-making establishment. It 

 requires room for lumber, room for the 

 finished stock, and some elbow room to make 

 our work convenient. But the main trouble 

 with the average beekeeper would be the 

 lumber question. Unless we are very fa- 

 vorably located it is almost impossible to 

 secure lumber of desirable quality, such as 

 our bee-supply establishments furnish us 

 with our orders. 



During last season's campaign I liad 

 occasion to order a number of hive-bodies 

 and super outsides to make up a shortage. 

 The work was all finished, except painting, 

 when the foreman of a neighboring planing- 

 mill called at my shop. I took special pains 

 to call his attention to the quality of luml)er 

 used in my order; and I could see by his 

 looks, although he did not say very much, 

 tliat lie greatly admired it. 



But there is another point that would-be 

 hive-makers should take into consideration. 

 Many things we beekeepers need in the line 



of our outfit require high speed and special 

 uiaciiinery to manufacture. It would hard- 

 ly pay to spend our time trying to make our 

 own supplies when we have not the facilities 

 to do it properly. We had better occupy 

 our time in some other dix'ection, and order 

 our needed supplies from the regular sup- 

 ply-manufacturers. In this way we get 

 things better and cheaper in the end. In 

 case we should desire goods of special con- 

 struction, not listed in the catalogs, an order 

 with correct description and measurements 

 will bring them to our doors. 



Another interesting feature of the Nov. 

 15th number is the views on the winter-ease 

 problem by Mr. Ames, pages 889 — 892, and 

 Mr. Holtermann on the three following 

 pages. I do not wish to cross bats with 

 either of tlie two gentlemen; but the expe- 

 rience of many years of beekeeping compels 

 me to differ with them on several points. 

 Having made the production of extracted 

 honey my main business for years, I know 

 from almost daily observations that for 

 convenience of management a combined 

 winter and summer case, or even bottom, as 

 described and illustrated by Mr. Ames, is 

 out of the question. We could overcome its 

 inconveniences better when producing comb 

 honey than we could when producing the 

 other; but for convenient, unobstructed, and 

 systematic work in the beeyard, hives must 

 be i^laced on separate stands in straight 

 rows, about two feet between the hives, and 

 from six to ten feet, according to the space 

 at our coimnand, between the rows. 



The objection of some beekeepers, that 

 the uniform appearance of a beeyard fre- 

 quently causes loss of queens, is more im- 

 aginary than real. It may confuse the 

 human eye, but not the animal instinct. A 

 queen is no more liable to miss her home 

 than a dog to lose the trail of his master. 

 Nature's instinct will guide them where 

 human skill and ingenuity will fail. 



The confusion Mr. Ames speaks of is a 

 new disclosure to me. It is something I 

 have never experienced. If the cases are 

 properly made, if bees are in winter posi- 

 tion, if tools and everything to work with 

 are on hand, packing in the fall and un- 

 packing in the spring goes like clockwork. 

 Not a mishitch of any kind, nor confusion, 

 need be encountered. 



Judging from the illustration, Mr. Ames' 

 eases may be a little more artistic in appear- 

 ance than mine — a point I admire; but for 

 elTicient service they are no better. Mine, 

 made of dressed matched lumber, covered 

 with rubber roofing, are as nearly air and 

 water tight as mechanical workmanship can 



