1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



195 



able. You cannot do this, and yet, you must acknowledge 

 that it is of very great importance to keep the bees with room, 

 and yet, as warm as possible during the spring months. 



Our method saves work and gives the bees just the space 

 they want. It leaves enough honey with them for the entire 

 winter, unless the supply was short, in which case you are no 

 better off than we are. 



If your bees are so strong that they can use nearly two 

 stories the season through, you have an unwieldy hive, easily 

 tipped by strong winds, the bees are less cosy, the cluster more 

 scattered, and the expense of keeping two small hives is just 

 as great as that of ttie one large hive. 



If we had to use the 8-frame hive, we should not use a 

 double story, but a story and a half, which would make about 

 the right space, but we prefer to use the half-stories only for 

 the surplus. Hamilton, 111. 



Some Subjects Reviewed and Commented Upon 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



Size op Hives. — Referring to the remarks of D. A. Hole- 

 man, on page loO, I must say that the size I gave on page 

 745 is really the size of the Dovetail hive instead of the Sim- 

 plicity. It's the size, however, that I would make the Simplic- 

 ity hive if I should make such a hive, which I don't think I'll 

 ever do. Mr. Holeman is right in supposing a dummy is used 

 in the hive, and I wouldn't like to be without it. It gives so 

 much better chance to get out the first frame. 



With regard to super, I'd have that the same size as hive, 

 and I'd have a dummy in that, too. 



QuEEN-CLipriNG Device. — When I first saw the advertise- 

 ment of this implement, I said to myself it didn't amount to 

 anything, if indeed it wasn't a humbug, but after reading the 

 description on page 130 I must confess I think it would be a fine 

 thing for many an inexperienced person, and possibly it might 

 be a decided help to those with much experience. 



House-Apiaries on Posts. — Does B. Taylor find no disad- 

 vantage in having his house-apiary on posts, on account of its 

 being colder ? 



Amalgamation. — Is there something in the climate that 

 makes bee-keepers in California think the attachment of the 

 North American to the Union would be a damage ? Mr. Ham- 

 baugh has come to be a Californian, and his views have un- 

 dergone a change. I do really believe, Mr. Hambaugh, that 

 you Californians have the views you have, simply from some 

 misunderstanding. 



On page 102, you think a big change would be necessary 

 to unite the two because one is national and the other interna- 

 tional. I believe that is a mistake as to fact, for unless I am 

 utterly mistaken one is international as much as the other. So 

 that point needs no diccussion. 



As to the " bone of contention," there might be a bone of 

 that kind if there was to be a division, and one society get less 

 money than the other, but when all the money and all the 

 members are one, where is the chance for contention ? 



That question about "abandoning the national feature to 

 become international" falls to the ground if I am right in 

 thinking the Union is already international. Moreover, our 

 brethren across the border are no more obliged to accept a 

 tax than we on this side. If I don't want to pay my dollar I 

 can stay out of the Union, and so can a Canadian. 



Yes, you're right, the whole thing should be fully under- 

 stood, and I've no idea there will be any action taken without 

 a fair vote of the members of the Union. 



Now look here, Mr. Hambaugh, the last time I looked in- 

 to your pleasant face, (I wish I could look into it again) you 

 seemed perfectly sane, but you surely must have been suffer- 

 ing a temporary aberration when you wrote that word about 

 dethroning Thos. G. Newman. Who in the world was talking 

 about dethroning him ? Besides, if I wanted to have him de- 

 throned I could vote against him as manager without any 

 amalgamation, and what more could I do if the two societies 

 were united ? What difference can the amalgamation possibly 

 make as to his election ? 



Now, friends, if there's any reason against amalgamation, 

 by all means let's have it. But if there's any way by which 

 the numbers can be increased, don't oppose that way through 

 errors of imagination. Marengo, 111. 



PJo-w is the Time to work for new subscribers. 

 Why not take advantage of the offers made on page 175 ? 



Amalgamation and a National Bee-Keepers* 

 Association. 



BY GEO. W. BRODBECK. 



Have you ever thought of the possibility of the proposed an- 

 nexation of the National Bee-Keepers' Union to the North 

 American Bee-Keepers' Association as being a misleading one, 

 and, should this consummation take place, it would not be 

 what our needs demand ? 



Is it not true that every organization of prominence in 

 connection with bee-culture that has existed in this country 

 which has gone through the varied phases of consolidation, 

 etc., is a thing of the past '? 



Is it not true that some of the very individuals who are 

 seeking to enlarge the capacity of the North American are but 

 repeating their past history '? 



If past failures have followed like projects, have we any 

 assurance that the proposed one will be a success ? 



If the National Bee-Keepers' Union had no bank account, 

 would the effort to secure control of it by the members of the 

 North American be just as strong? 



Have the members of the Union expressed dissatisfaction 

 with their organization, and a desire to consolidate with the 

 North American ? 



Is it not true that the Union has been a success up to the 

 present ? 



Is it not the boundeu duty of the officers of an organiza- 

 tion to protect its interest without discrimination ? 



We leave the reply to these questions to the readers, but 

 especially to the members of the Union. 



Our Canadian brethren have thoroughly intrenched them- 

 selves by effective home organizations, and one of the late re- 

 sults of their labor and combined influence was the enactment 

 of a prohibitory adulteration act by the Canadian Parliament. 

 We, unfortunately, have no such organization, consequently 

 our bee-periodicals find it incumbent to request the bee-keep- 

 ers to appeal to their congressmen, and in all likelihood that 

 ends it ; and this very method has been demonstrated quite 

 recently in the American Bee Journal and Gleanings in the 

 effort to secure a re-issue of Mr. Benton's bee-book ; and yet 

 we are prone to prate about our advanced state in bee-culture, 

 when there does not exist a single organization in the United 

 States representing the bee-keepers of this great land, capa- 

 ble of meeting the demands of the times ! 



'Tis true, wo have our county and State organizations, in 

 which we take just pride, but right here our influence ends, 

 and that is why we are so helpless outside of our own domain. 

 We believe that the realization of this condition has resulted 

 in impressing itself upon the minds of some, that this proposed 

 new project of amalgamation would fill this long-felt want, 

 and the sooner we rid ourselves of this assurance the nearer 

 we will be to the accomplishment of our desires, and the at- 

 tainment of our objects. 



How would it be possible for an affiliated association, com- 

 posed of two elements, and one of those elements of foreign 

 competition, entering the halls of our republican form of gov- 

 ernment, and claim to representthe American bee-keepers (we 

 have no thought of reflecting upon our Canadian friends) ? 

 Why, the very thought is absurd and preposterous ! Nothing 

 but a representative United States organization can ever repre- 

 sent our bee-keepers within our legislative halls, and it is a 

 blot upon our history, both past and present, that no such or- 

 ganization exists in the United States to-day. 



We appeal to every State and county organization, and to 

 every individual bee-keeper of foreign or native extraction, 

 who claims this land as his home, and whose sentiments are 

 in accord with those expressed, to join hands with all others 

 who favor the upbuilding and protection of the bee-keepers' 

 interests by the organization of a National Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation. Los Angeles, Calif. 



Hives and Systems of Management. 



BY JOSEPH THIRY. 



Never before has our bee-literature been so valuable to 

 the wide-awake and successful bee-keepers as it is now. One 

 of the most important and valuable discussions is that on the 

 bee-hive — the proper size of brood-chamber, and the most 

 economic and labor-saving systems of bee-keeping ; for these 

 are the ones that will come out ahead in the present competi- 

 tion with low prices. Of course there will always be advocates 

 of the various types of hives and systems, but the great ma- 

 jority will agree with me, that there are but three systems to- 

 day that are worthy of consideration, namely : the Dadant, the 

 Tinker, and the Heddon. I believe there is not a place on the 



