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40th YEAR, 



CHICAGO, ILL, MARCH 1, 1900, 



No, 9. 



Descpiption of the Johansen Extension Hive. 



BY H. JOHANSEN. 



APROPOS of questions which are continually agitating^ 

 the bee-world, and with some casual reference to the 

 small-laig-e hive (or, more properly, colony) agitation 

 which last summer was of apparently absorbing interest, 

 the following remarks may shed interest and light upon 

 some subjects. 



Certain results, and observation of present methods in 

 apiculture, led me to make some radical departures in the 

 important matter of the hive. I was strongly imprest with 

 the need and possibility of great improvement, and equipt 

 an apiary of 25 colonies with a hive which includes the pos- 

 sibility of the best features of the standard hives (Lang- 

 stroth, etc.), and makes possible the correction of some evils 

 which bee-keepers experience. 



If I had experimented with one colony I might not have 

 been fully convinced of the correctness of my theories as 

 represented in the hive, but having found the trial made on 

 a large scale to have been eminently successful and con- 

 vincing, I have seen my way clear to relegate the old furni- 

 ture for the new ; and I am convinced that however radical 

 the ideas may seem, or how much opposed to commonly ac- 

 cepted practices, they are correct, and entirely follow along 

 the lines of the natural habits and inclinations of the bee. 

 That, of course, is the plan of procedure in successful api- 

 culture. There is but small wisdom, for instance, in at- 

 tempting to make the creature of instinct rise with its 

 stores when entering the hive, if its instinct directs to do 

 otherwise, however much it may be said that the bees de- 

 posit their stores all around the brood-comb, and accepting 

 that as true. Now, I believe there is a good deal of such 

 work attempted, and it cannot help being detrimental to a 

 large extent to anything like success. I do not believe that 

 present appurtenances are any more perfect than present 

 methods of handling. Since the time of the great Lang- 

 stroth there have been some improvements in hives, it is 

 true, yet the main features remain the same. 



It seems barely possible none of the predecessors 

 thought of all the requirements, and it is even possible that 

 errors have been made which altho perhaps slight, or mere 

 perversions, are still detrimental to a degree. 



In contemplating a change I had the following ideas in 

 mind, and they are all of sufficient importance to warrant 

 the attention and careful consideration of bee-keepers : 



1st. I recognized the importance of preventing the bees 

 from wasting tiipe during the season when one is anxious 

 they shall rise to the super (if such is considered), or, in 

 other words, force them tiiru natural impulse to fill the sec- 

 tions without the delay so often experienced. 



2nd. Preventing the detriment of swarming when it 

 becomes such — and it usually does become detrimental when 

 running for honey. 



3rd. Facilities when desirable to run several queens in 

 one hive because of its economy in honey-production, as I 

 shall explain later. 



4th. The necessity of better means than present ones 

 for keeping the sections clean, and handling when remov- 

 ing them. 



5th. The desirability from my standpoint of_a' chafif 

 hive with the features mentioned. 



I may describe the hive which I built, briefly as follows : 

 It is made to accommodate standard Hoffman brood-frames, 

 of which it will hold eight or 20, according to the manner 

 in which it is run. Across the back of the hive is a space 

 designed to hold two section-frames of eight sections each. 

 On each side of the brood-frame I hang two section-frames 

 similar to those at the back, with eight sections in each 

 frame. This honey or section frame is simply a frame with 

 lock and hinges which incloses eight sections in such a 

 manner as to expose only the edges for the bees to stick 

 over with glue, and can be hung in the hive in the same 

 manner as, and alongside of, the brood-frames, or elsewhere. 



When the hive is run for extracted honey ordinary 

 frames, such as are used for the brood, take the place of the 

 section-frames, being separated from the brood only by ex- 

 cluders ; or the brood-chamber can be run thru to the sides 

 and back, as the case and the intentions may require. Next 



Mr. Johansen and His Extension Hive. 



