563 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



least as much as six toas more of hay, as long as 

 the price remains where it is. The yield of seed 

 will average about three times as much as alfalfa 

 or red clover, as sweet clover so far has no insects 

 nor diseases of any kind, and it is worth $15, while 

 the other two can be bought for $9. 



Schenectady Co., N. Y. A. Bloomingdale. 



Some of the Fallacies of the Past; Try- 

 ing to Follow every new Hive or Idea 



Some years ago Gleanings was criticised 

 for advocating- in some cases certain new 

 hives and ideas. The pages of apicultural 

 history record many a new thing that was 

 going to revohttionize the beekeeping world. 

 Some of Ihem looked very promising. The 

 divisible-brood- chamber hive, for example, 

 occupied pages and pages of matter from 

 1885 to 1895. The slogan was to " handle 

 hives instead of frames:" but to-day nearly 

 every one has gone back to the regulation 

 ten-frame Langstroth hive and dimensions. 

 We say " nearly every one " because some 

 use and like the divisible principle. Reversi- 

 ble frames in the early 80's in a like manner 

 had their day, and yet there were some good 

 things about them. Reversible hives also 

 came up about the same time; but the re- 

 versing of either hive or frame is now near- 

 ly forgotten. 



Shake or shook swarming was exploited a 

 few years ago. There were some good things 

 about it; and Avhile there were many mod- 

 ifications of it, the old plan of shaking bees 

 of all ages to make an artificial swarm is 

 not practiced as it once was. 



In earlier days the pollen theory occupied 

 whole pages in the bee-journals. If we 

 could only get rid of the pollen in the 

 brood-nest in the fall, it was argTied, there 

 would be no dysentery and no winter losses. 

 The fallacy of this has been shown, and 

 to-daj' good stores and pollen in the outside 

 frames are essential for early brood-rearing. 

 Some early springs do not furnish a suflB- 

 cient quantity in time. 



Non-swarming hives have had their fair 

 share of attention ; and it would be unfair 

 to say that there was nothing in some of 

 the principles advocated ; but to-day the 

 scheme of swarm control seems to revolve 

 about the man and method rather than the 

 hive. 



In earlier days still, there were all kinds 

 of devices to catch the moth- miller and the 

 moth-worm; and while the pest is still trou- 

 blesome in the South, it is now the least of 

 the beekeeper's trouble, because he knows 

 he can handle it with a vigorous strain of 

 bees. 



Well, has any good idea been evolved in 

 late yeai's that was not found in the old 



original Langstroth book? Yes, many of 

 them. When Langstroth went into the 

 apicultural field he saw the importance of 

 mobility in the use of combs. He invented 

 and put into use an entirely new principle; 

 but in making a device to hold combs he 

 went clear to the other extreme — his frames 

 were too movable. To-day, while there are 

 thousands and thousands who will use noth- 

 ing but tlie old original Langstroth, the 

 beekeeping world at large in the United 

 States is using some form of self-spacing 

 frame. 



Langstroth, in his day, did not know 

 much about liquid honey; but there came, 

 shortly after, the centrifugal honey-extract- 

 or. That device has been improved year by 

 year, until now honey can be taken with a 

 little engine in large quantities, and at a 

 great saving of labor. Comb foundation 

 followed shortly after, and with it the 

 section honey-box, separators, fences, and 

 the modern supers for holding them. Un- 

 capping-deviees in the form of knives; im- 

 proA'ed methods of shipping bees by express 

 and in car lots; stronger and better-made 

 hives ; double-Avalled hives for wintering 

 bees outdoors. 



In the matter of hives themselves, no 

 great and radical change has been made 

 from the old original Langstroth except to 

 make a simpler hive — a plain box without 

 porticos, a simple detachable bottom-board, 

 and a double cover. 



But there are some hives that it would 

 have been better for the beekeeping world 

 if they had never been '' born." They cost 

 money and tons of poper, to say nothing 

 about printer's ink, to exploit their claims. 

 Some of these new ideas or hives have cost 

 thousands of dollars to the users of them. 

 Because of this the tendency seems to be to 

 discount everything new in the form of a 

 hive; and anj? man who will essay to give 

 the beekeeping world something better, is 

 the butt end of jokes and sarcasm, and in 

 most cases, at least, he ought to be. Shall we 

 therefore ignore all who attempt to put out 

 a new idea? Nay, verily. Such a policy 

 would have killed the Langstroth hive and 

 frame, the honey-extractor, comb founda- 

 tion, and other wonderful devices before 

 they were born. 



There is one very good rule for every one 

 to follow — -let the other fellow do the ex- 

 perimenting with the new hive and frame — 

 that is, the inventor himself; then if you 

 feel like trying the device, test it out on a 

 very small scale. In the mean time, stick to 

 the standard goods and to standard meth- 

 ods, and you will be a happier and a wiser 

 man, with more clean cash in your pocket. 



