1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



507 



barn-door hanger travels on this track. With 

 a safety rope-hoist I am in position to hft any 

 hive in a moment, to leave it suspended, or 

 to run it a little to one side if desirable. 



The hive-grip is simply two square loops of 

 quarter-inch round iron, the two parts being 

 loosely connected by a two-inch iron ring. 

 The whole thing, when extended on the 

 ground, is about three inches longer than 

 the hive, and wide enough to sHp loosely 

 over it. 



I use the sectional hive; and, not liking to 

 mai- my cases by gripping them with teeth 

 (as Mr. Hand does), 1 have cut a narrow 



fjroove across the ends of each case in the 

 me of the hand-holes. The lift engages in 

 this groove, tightens as the pull is put on, 

 and gives a very secure hold, as will be seen 

 by reference to the cut. The particular con- 

 struction of the grip as shown in the illustra- 

 tion I shall discai'd in favor of the one that 

 Mr. Hand uses, although I shall have the 

 grooves in the ends of the hives to prevent 

 marring. This first grip was all right for 

 lifting two or three supers from the top; but 

 when it was put lower the center of gravity 

 fell too high, making the load top-heavy. 

 Lifting from four points is much steadier 

 than from two. 



By inserting a spring balance between the 

 hoist and the hive-grip I can easily do any 

 weighing necessary. 

 Danbury, Ct., March 17. 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 



A Criticism. 



BY W. HERROD. 



I liave been reading the article, page 1383, 

 Nov. 1.', on "Bee-keeping, in the British 

 Isles," and as there are several inaccuracies 

 in it which may give a wrong impression as 

 to the state of bee-keeping in this country I 

 hope you will allow me to make use of your 

 columns to make some corrections. 



First with regard to the statement that 

 there is not a single bee-keeper who depends 

 entirely upon his bees for a livelihood. The 

 number certainly is limited, and could be 

 counted on the fingers of one hand; but I 

 could give the names of several who depend 

 upon tlieir bees as a means of livelihood; and 

 though, certainly, our climate and seasons 

 are fickle they do very well. It is more the 

 limitation of abundance of bee forage in any 

 one particular district that prevents a living 

 being made out of the industry than the 

 above reasons. 



The bee-tents used in this country for 

 demonstration purposes are not enclosures 

 of mosquito netting, but are made of a much 

 finer material to enable the spectators to see 

 very clearly what is going on. Very fine 

 silk net is often used. The tent consists of 

 curtains onlv. The top is left quite open to 

 enable the flying bees to get clear away from 

 the demonstrator. The colonies used for 

 demonstrations are placed some little distance 



away, and allowed to fly early in the morn- 

 ing of the day the demonstrations are to take 

 place. In this way they locate their new po- 

 sition, and so tly straight to it from the dem- 

 onstration tent instead of worrying round 

 the demonstrator and spectators. It is found 

 that, if the bees are enclosed altogether, it 

 is impossible to work the tent on a hot day 

 without killing heaps of bees, as, instead of 

 again going into the hive being used, they 

 fly round until exhausted, and drop on the 

 ground and are crushed by the feet of the 

 operator. 



It is true some of the exhibitions are held 

 in the Agricultural Hall, London, in conjunc- 

 tion with other exhibitions, but the classes 

 there are for bee produce only. The finest 

 show of all for both produce and bee appli- 

 ances is that held by The British Bee-keep- 



THE "W. B. C. ' HIVE AS USED EXTENSIVELY 

 IN EiN GLAND. 



ers' Association in connection with The 

 Royal Agricultural Society of England's an- 

 nual show. This is not held in one place con- 

 tinuously, but is migratory, being held in a 

 different town and part of the country each 

 year, enabling both agriculturists and bee- 

 keepers in that particular part to see the lat- 

 est appliances with very little expense in the 

 way ot traveling. The British Bee-keepers' 

 Association has nothing to do with the exhi- 

 bitions held in London beyond appointing 

 judges. 



Nlr. W. Broughton Carr, the designer of 

 the hive bearing his initials, was not the ed- 

 itor of the British Bee Journal. It is owned 

 and edited byT. W. Cowan, Esq., whose rep- 

 utation is world-wide. Mr. Carr, whose loss 

 we all deplore, was certainly assistant editor. 



