1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



327 



frames. Perhaps that might not count for anything in the 

 South, but for wintering in the North it certainly has the ap- 

 pearance of an advantage. Aside from that it is perhaps 

 doubtful whether there is any difference in the two systems so 

 far as the bees are concerned. The difference relates to the 

 convenience of the bee-keeper, and, as already intimated, 

 those who are used to one kind will be likely to prefer that. 

 In handling frames, the loose-hanging frames have the advan- 

 tage that one does not need to pry them apart as one does the 

 closed-end frames. 



On the other hand, there seems a growing feeling that 

 frames should be spaced at tixed distances without stopping to 

 adjust them to the eye. And when thus spaced, it is doubt- 

 ful whether it is much more trouble to pry apart the closed- 

 end frames than those which are partly closed, as the Hoff- 

 man. Unless some sort of spacing is used which makes the 

 point of contact so small that the frames can be moved apart 

 without prying, the end-bars may perhaps be as well closed 

 their entire length. 



A Question on management for Section Honey. 



I have a colony in two stories, the upper story being now 

 solid with honey and lots of brood below. I want to get sec- 

 tion honey from them. Shall I let them be as they are, or 

 what shall I do? T. W. S. 



Answer. — Very likely your colony would be better off if 

 some of that honey had been taken away from them, for if 

 the queen is good she would probably have been laying in 

 some of the combs in the upper story. Possibly you may gain 

 now by extracting some of the combs, or by taking some of 

 them away and giving empty combs or foundation. Whether 

 you should reduce to one story, or keep both at time of put- 

 ting on sections is a question. If the combs are filled, it would 

 seem they can hardly prevent honey going into the sections, 

 and yet some object to having more than one story. It's a 

 matter that needs some experimenting, and if you have more 

 than one colony, it might be a good thing to try both ways. 

 If you want swarms you will be more sure to get them with 

 one story, and if you want to avoid swarming, you may be 

 safer to keep the two stories, filling In with dummies the 

 place occupied with empty combs, if there be any. In any 

 case, see to it right away that there is plenty of room for the 

 queen to lay. 



^'. '"NT-.'.' 





«^)>_j-o<r^,.- 



Mi\:\m 



The "Handy" Hive as a Iiarge or Small Hive. 



I have always used a large hiye, even for comb honey, at 

 certain periods of the season. I have used a large hive for 

 extracting, at all times, except in winter and early sprin<j. 

 My hives hold 1000 inches of brood-combs each ; and when 

 used singly, mine is a small hive. Two of them can be put to- 

 gether in two seconds, and then it is a large hive. Three or 

 more can be added in the same way, to increase the hive to 

 any size that Mr. Dadant could possibly desire. Next season 

 I shall run part of my colonies for extracted, and will give 

 those colonies two hives for a brood-nest. I will put a queen- 

 excluding honey-board on this, and then use as many hives 

 exactly like the brood-hives, and filled with extracting-combs, 

 as are needed to store the entire crop of honey. At the end of 

 the white-honey season I will use an escape-board under these 

 extracting-hives, and in one night the bees will be out of them, 

 and there will not be a single cell of brood In them to disturb 

 one's feelings. 



Next fall, after the white honey is removed from the 

 hives, I will put a cover on th^ two hives I have been using 

 for a brood-nest, so the bees may fill it with dark honey for 

 winter. If the fall flow is good, and more room is needed, 

 I open the top hive and remove sealed combs of honey, and 

 put empty ones in their place to be filled, so there will at all 

 times be vacant room for storing all the nectar within reach 

 of the bees. The combs of dark honey I got as above are the 

 store from which I will draw supplies for feeding light colo- 

 nies for wintering and for breeding up again next spring. In 

 the fall, say early in October, I will take the double brood- 

 chamber apart, and into one section of it I will put abundant 

 stores to last the colony through the winter. The bees will be 

 brushed from the removed hive, and that will be set in the 

 iron curing-house, where no rats or mice can reach them to 

 spoil the combs, for in the spring I will use them again to 

 transform my small hive into a large one, that the system I 

 use may be repeated again.— B. Taylor, in Gleanings. 



Painted vs. TJnpainted Hives. 



Several years ago I had a numbor of box-hives, some of 

 which were painted, while others were not. I set them out of 

 the cellar about the first of April, in as nearly an equal condi- 

 tion as well could be. In the morning after every cold, frosty 

 night, there would be water running out at the entrance of 

 those that were painted, and on tipping them up the combs 

 were found to be quite wet on the outside next the hive, from 

 the condensation of moisture, while those in the unpainted 

 hives were dry and nice, and these last increased in numbers 

 faster and swarmed from one to two weeks earlier than did 

 those in the painted hives. This gave a greater force of bees 

 to work in the honey harvest, which in turn gave a larger 

 yield of honey, and this gave more money for me tojingle in 

 my pockets. 



"But," says one, "I use ground cork, cutstraw, sawdust, 

 forest leavest or some other absorbent in the top of the hives 

 to take care of the moisture, by letting any exjess that may 

 arise pass through these and out of the top of the cover." 

 This will help much as far as the moisture is concerned, but if 

 not done on a scientific plan it will let out much of the heat, 

 which is so necessary for the welfare of the colony in early 

 spring, by such a direct draft process. Even if done properly. 

 I cannot help thinking that hives will keep bees better if un- 

 painted. Paint is useful only so far as looks and durability 

 are concerned, and is positively injurious as retarding the 

 evaporation of moisture. 



This is the result I have arrived at after 25 years of ex- 

 perience and close observation with single-walled hives, and I 

 believe the damage to the bees is far greater than the cost of 

 a new hive occasionally, where ordinary hives are used, say 

 nothing of the cost of the paint or time in putting it on. — 

 G. M. DooLiTTLE, in American Bee-Keeper. 



" Satuantlia at the "World's Fair."— We want 

 to make our present readers one of the best offers ever made. 

 All know the excellent books written by " Samantha, Josiah 

 Allen's Wife." Well, "Samantha at the World's Fair" is 

 probably her best, and we are enabled to offer this book and a 

 year's suhscriptloii to the New York "Fotcc" (the greatest 

 $1.00 weekly temperance paper published to-day), for sending 

 us only three new subscribers to the American Bee Journal 

 (with .$3,00), provided you are wot now a subscriber to the 

 "Voice." Think of it — a grand book and a grand weekly 

 temperance newspaper given simply /o?' sending us three new 

 subscribers to the Bee Journal for a year ! The Samantha 

 book is exactly the same as the $2.50 one, only the binding is 

 of heavy manilla instead of cloth. It is a special 100,000- 

 copy edition, and when they are all gone, the offer will be 

 withdrawn by the publishers. Of course, no premium will 

 also be given to the new subscribers — simply the American 

 Bee Journal for one year. 



We trust our readers will now go to work, get the three 

 new Bee Journal subscribers, send them to us with the $3.00, 

 and we will order the " Voice " and the book mailed to you. 

 This is the biggest and best offer we ever were able to make. 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 

 should be an agent for it, and get all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for it. 



