tried to persuade beekeepers to use a deeper 

 and larger frame than the Langstroth, or 

 was there not at the back of his busy brain 

 a practical development that assured him 

 all was not right with the Langstroth 

 frame? 



Ultimate and permanent utility has been 

 sacriSced to initial convenience through 

 the supposed difficulty in j^rocuring wider 

 lumber than ten inches. Is this not a de- 

 lusion? The writer has used on\y eleven 

 inch lumber for more than 30 years, and 

 this has come almost wholly from North 

 America, principally from Canada? Of 

 course, it is a mere toss, pitching those logs 

 over here; but it is strange that miy friends 

 can not catch a few of them. "A little ex- 

 tra cost ! " Oh, yes! but compare that with 

 20 years greater efficiency. 



Heathfield, England. 



[The point at issue, apparently, between 

 Mr. Simminsand ourself is that he believes 

 that a large frame is more efficient than a 

 small one, while we contend that efficiency 

 lies in a large colony with the right propor- 

 tion of fielders and nurse bees. We have 

 tested boih large and small frames, have 

 compareil hundreds of reports, have traveled 

 all over the United States, and our conclu- 

 sion is that there is no particular merit in a 

 hdT^e frame, but there is merit in large pow- 

 erful colonies, whether on large or small 

 frames. Mr. II. F. Iloltermann, one of the 

 best beekeepers in Canada, has decided 

 there is no advantage in the ten-frame Quin- 

 by over the twelve- frame Langstroth — a hive 

 that has practically the same cubic capacity; 

 and while we do not advocate twelve-frame 

 Langstroth hives nor the ten-frame Quinby, 

 we do believe that in the production of ex- 

 tracted honey there are times when neither 

 the Quinby nor the twelve- frame Langstroth 

 will be large enough. Therefore it follow-i, 

 sometimes, that a good queen will uiilize 

 two ten-frame hive bodies of Langstroth 

 depth. When the season closes, the single 

 hive is quite large enough. 



For the production of comb honey the ten- 

 frame (Quinby or a twelve-frame Langstroth 

 is too large for this country. Our authori- 

 ties are practically a unit on this proposi- 

 tion. And right here, friend Simmins, do 

 not forget that we said if > ou were more 

 familiar with general conditions in this 

 count/*!/ you might change your mind. We 

 did not say general conditions the world 

 over, as you quote us. You ask, " Was Ed- 

 itor Root acquainted with general conditions 

 when he tried to persuade beekeepers to use 

 a deeper and larger frame than the Lang- 

 stroth?" Here, again, you misquote us. We 

 shall appreciate it very much if you will tell 

 us tvherc we ever advocated the big frames 

 to the exclusion of all others. As editors of 

 a publication that is going to people of all 

 shades of opinion and diverse conditions so 

 far as locality is concerned, we have put the 

 Quinby frame and the divisible -brood- 

 chamber hive with their shallow frames be- 

 fore the public, and have tried to let the 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURB 



public decide on their merits. We have nev- 

 er advised the shallow frames to the exclu- 

 sion of all other frames. As we have said 

 of all frames, each has its own special ad- 

 vantages in certain localities. See our cat- 

 alogs for a statement of the comparative 

 merits of each size and style of frames. As 

 a matter of fact, our experience teaches us, 

 and reports confirm it, that a divisible-brood- 

 chamber hive, on account of the horizontal 

 passageway between two sets of frames, will 

 winter bees better than any other form of 

 brood-chamber; but the everlasting nuisance 

 of handUng a lot of little frames has prac- 

 tically driven the divisible brood-chamber 

 out of the market — not because Editor Root 

 advocated or condemned it, but because the 

 beekeeping public has found it wanting. 

 As we said before, the Langstroth frame 

 has held its own everywhere in the United 

 States. We are not contradicting the ex- 

 periences of the Dadants; but we do believe 

 that an equal capacity of hives and smaller 

 frames would give jttst as good results. 



It would be well to bear in mind that the 

 Dadants are producers of extracted honey, 

 or at least were at the time they introduced 

 the Quinby frame into their apiaries. If 

 we are correct, their large following in Eu- 

 rope are largely extracted-honey producers or 

 producers of chunk comb honey. There is 

 no question that the Quinby gives excellent 

 results for the production of such honey; 

 but we doubt very much whether the ten- 

 frame (iuinby would do any better than a 

 twelve-frame Langstroth. Indeed, we be- 

 lieve that a sixteen or twenty frame Lang- 

 stroth hive in two stories, in the production 

 of extracted honey, would excel either. — 

 Ed.] 



Will it Pay to Cut Down Maples and Plant Bass- 

 woods ? 



Dr. C. C. Miller:— Alongside the roadside of my 

 place I have 40 rods of very large trees of hard ma- 

 ple, soft maple, and catalpa, which I ani thinking 

 of cutting out and replacing with basswood. Would 

 you consider the basswood better for bees than any 

 of tlie above which I now have? I could make 

 good firewood of them, and plant something better 

 for bees. Any information you could give me 

 would be very thankfully received. Do you know 

 where I could buy linden trees ? When is the best 

 time to sow white clover? 



I^a Fayette, Ind. W. H. Robinson. 



[Dr. Miller replies:] 



No other tree that will grow in your region com- 

 pares with linden (or basswood) as a honey-yielder. 

 However, it depends upon circumstances whether 

 you will lose or gain by substituting lindens for 

 your large maples. 1 never tasted a sample of ma- 

 ple honey, and probably never will. Yet I count 

 maples of much value to me. since they come early 

 and greatly help brood-rearing. Here's about the 

 size of it: If there are plenty of other maples within 

 a mile or so, and lindens not very plentiful, then 

 you will gain greatly by making the change. If no 

 other maples are in reach of your bees, then you 

 would likely lose by the change. If no other ma- 

 ples are in reach of your bees, then you would like- 

 ly lose by the change; for when early pasturage is 

 scarce, a pound of honey in April may be worth 

 more than ten in July. 



You can get lindens from the American Forestry 

 Co., South Framington. Mass. 



White clover may be sown almost any time, as 

 good a time as any being In the spring when farm- 

 ers in your vicinity sow red clover. 



