198 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



out, some of the bees of the adjoining hive 

 endeavor to find an entrance at the back of 

 the hive next their own. They have marked 

 their entrance as one of a pair. With a 

 chamber rolled out they return to one en- 

 trance instead of a pair, and naturally shift 

 over one place to the right or the left as the 

 case may be. 



Briefly summing it up, then, we may say 

 that the apitram and its accessories secures 

 the following advantages: 



It furnishes a hive-stand wliich, once 

 13roperly leveled, need not be leveled again. 



It eliminates depreciation of the hive- 

 stand and reduces depreciation on hive-bot- 

 toms. 



It prolongs the producing period of the 

 beekeeper. 



It immensely reduces the hard labor in 

 beekeeping, and thus makes the work pleas- 

 anter. 



It greatly increases the number of colonies 

 one can keep, and thus makes the business 

 more i^rofitable. 



It makes the business look move like a 

 business. 



It secures the maximum of neatness. 



By placing the largest number of colonies 

 in the smallest amount of si")ace it saves 

 space and steps. 



Cadotte, Wis. 



[We presume that some may be inclined 

 to ridicule this an-ay of machinery, tracks, 

 etc., for doing away with the lifting in an 

 apiary. However, none can doubt the in- 

 genuity displayed in the arrangement con- 

 sidering all its details. 



We do not wish to throw cold water on so 

 clever a plan, but there are a few objec- 

 tions which we believe Mr. Beucus himself 

 will recognize after he has tried the arrange- 

 ment several seasons. 



Plaving the colonies so close together, 

 Iiesides causing some mixing up on the part 



of the bees (of course partly done away 

 with by changing every two colonies around 

 so that the entrances face in the other di- 

 rection) also causes some inconvenience to 

 the apiarist, as it is necessary to stand at 

 the back instead of at the side of a brood- 

 chamber unless the brood-chamber is run 

 out in front by means of the " lessertram." 



We admit that the whole arrangement 

 seems to us rather complicated. Taking 

 every thing into consideration, the time of 

 putting it up, etc., we doubt whether it 

 would bring about an actual saving in time; 

 but that it may be a saving in strength after 

 it is once set up, there is little doubt. In 

 this country, where it is not necessary to 

 locate the colonies in the smallest amount 

 of space possible, it is a question whether it 

 pays to spend very much money on a per- 

 manent equipment, such as a house-apiary, 

 for instance, or some such device as this 

 mentioned by our correspondent, for condi- 

 tions are such that it often becomes advis- 

 able to move the bees from one place to 

 another. While this apitram could be moved 

 we think that the labor requii^ed would be 

 a considerable item. 



In our opinion, moving supers to tlie 

 honey-house by means of the apitruck would 

 not be practicable, at least in very many 

 cases; for unless the extracting is postponed 

 until after the honey-flow, empty supers 

 must be returned to the hive. If the api- 

 truck were used they would have to be 

 stacked up until the whole extracting were 

 finished, and then returned all at once; 

 moreover, in ease of double-story colonies, 

 or colonies with partly filled supers, the 

 upper stories would often be in the way. 



After having said all this, however, we 

 believe there are possibilities connected with 

 the plan. ]f an expenditure of a moderatr; 

 amount of money will bring about a saving 

 of both time and labor, such expenditure is 

 worth looking into at least. — Ed.] 



THE BUGBEAR OF SPRING DWINDLING 



BY E. S. MILES 



When T first began to have the bee-fever, 

 more than twenty years ago, one of the first 

 uhrases I heard that came near curing tlie 

 fever was " damps." A farmer kept some 

 bees in the " good old way " in some boxes 

 in the back yard, and one severe winter a 

 large part of them died. The old farmer, 

 investigating on the first warm day toward 

 spring, found the combs all wet and daubed 

 with honey still in the hive. So, thinking 

 they could not have star\'ed wi h honey 



in the hive, he very properly, perhaps, with 

 his knowledge, said they were afflicted witli 

 the " damps." 



That word " damps " struck a chill 

 througli my apicultural frame, if you will 

 allow the expression, and lowered my fever 

 several points. Why do bees die with some 

 dreadful mysterious malady? Damps'? 

 Whew! the name was enough to dampen 

 one's rising enthusiasm. But on second 

 thought it occurred to me to ask mvself 



