DKCEMBER 1, 1915 



979 



lUH'ossity of iniproveiiiLMit of the jn-esent 

 conditions by the jjovernniont. 



Last, but not least, the association tries 

 (o come to a more uniform packing and 

 iiiading of lioney. and to a better co-opera- 

 tion among beekocpeis in the matter of dis- 

 posing of their crops and the purchase of 

 their supplies. To further this purpose, a 

 chamber of commerce (as it is called) has 

 boon instituted; but whether or not it will 

 prove a success remains to be seen. The 



interests of many beekeepers would certain- 

 ly be greatly advanced by a general office, 

 as instituted. But opposition from the 

 tiade is surely to be reckoned on, and the 

 great difficulty will always be to find the 

 right man to head such an office, while it 

 won't prove such an easy matter either, to 

 convince the smaller fry that co-operation 

 in these matters must necessarily result to 

 their profit. 

 Soest, Holland. 



ANOTHER WAY TO GET A START 



BY DI{. G. R. RICHARDSON 



In the fall of 1012 I happened to remem- 

 ber an old-time beekeeper who had died 

 several years before, and I wondered if 

 there were any of his old hives still left. I 

 investigated, and found that out of an orig- 

 inal 700 there were 240 still holding togeth- 

 er. 



I interviewed the widow, and she asked 

 20 cents apiece for them just as they were. 

 I finally ofl'ered her $25.00 for the "lot for 

 kindling-wood ; and after properly demur- 

 ring she accepted my offer, and I am sure 

 that she at the same time smiled in her 

 sleeve. I did not at that time tell my wife 

 how much I really did pay for them, nor 

 did I tell her that it cost me a dollar a load 

 for ten platform hayrack loads to have 

 them hauled a mile. The teamster agi'eeing 

 to take a load of broken covers for one of 



the dollars somewhat quieted my conscience, 

 and I started in to clean up the immense 

 pile of hives. By the nest spring I had 

 them sufficiently cleared away to be able to 

 find the barn, and furthermore had sold the 

 old worm-eaten combs for $10.00. 



These hives (Fig. 1) were 26 inches long, 

 16 deep, and 41 from the ground to the 



The hives were each over twenty-six inches long. 



Eacli hive rested on four legs. 



middle of the cover when the super was on. 

 Each hive stood on four legs nailed to the 

 ends of the brood-chamber, which was 18 

 inches high in front and 12 in the back, and 

 held 14 frames, with the bottom-board nail- 

 ed on, and sloping from back to front (so 

 that the worms would fall off the combs and 

 roll out the entrance!) which extended clear 

 across the front, and was hinged so it could 

 be opened fully three inches. 



The frames (see illustration) had thirteen 

 inch top-bars with a three-cornered piece to 

 fasten the foundation on, and with closed 

 ends. The bottom-bar was at an angle to 

 follow the bottom-board, and rested on a 



