our calling ; a book which every bee-keoper 

 may welcome as a fit expoiientof thescieiice 

 which gives such pleasure to all who are en- 

 gaeed in it. O. Clute. 



Keokuk, Iowa, 30th May, 1878. 



Peculiar Sliding Bottom-Board. 



Friend Gordon has sent us the following 

 description of his detached, sliding bottom- 

 board : 



It is composed of 5 pieces, viz : One cen- 

 tral piece, numbered "3" in the drawing ; 

 tivo side pieces, uumbered "land 2;" and 

 two battens, numbered "4 and .5;" the 

 fronts of 1, 2. 3 and 4, are beveled back to 

 make the ascent easy ; and number 3, (the 

 central piece,) is cut slopingly, beginning 

 on the short side at 183^ inches from rear 

 end, and making it as long on the long side 

 as the piece will allow. Thus you will 

 perceive, /rom the length of my hive, that 

 when the hive is pushed back even with 



"simplicity hive," to which we have very 

 serious objections. At all events, friend 

 Gordon is entitled to credit for working out 

 the simple arrangement. 



The two slides, as shown on another page, 

 in connection with the new Langstroth 

 hive, for controling the entrance is a much 

 superior arrangement. 



1^ California will ship only extracted 

 honey hereafter, the freight and break- 

 age being so much as to make it mi- 

 protttable. This leaves the production 

 of comb honey to the Eastern and Mid- 

 dle States. They ask 10 cents per pound 

 for extracted honey in San Francisco, 

 and as it costs 3 cents per pound to 

 bring it to Chicago, that fixes the price, 

 in bulk, at 13 cents here. 



Detached Sliding Bottom-Board. 



the rear end of bottom board, all entrance 

 to the hive becomes closed ; and as you 

 draw the hive forward, the entrance-way 

 gradually enlarges, until, when the hive is 

 drawn forward to the end of the side pieces, 

 you have an entrance-way of 10J^x% inches. 

 This does away with entrance blocks, and 

 all cuts into body of hive, for purpose of 

 entrance, which 1 regard as quite objection- 

 able. We have 120 colonies, all doing well. 

 Wm. L. Gordon. 

 Shreveport, La., May 13, 1878. 



Particular reference to the cut and the 



above description will enable any one to 



see the design and arrangement. The sizes 



of the pieces of wood composing it are as 



follows : 



No 1 and 2 pieces, 2V^xMx24 inches. 

 " 3 " 10v^xMx22 " 



■•4 " 8xlMxl5>g " 



" 5 " 2x3x151^ 



The moving of the body of the hive to 

 control the entrance, we think quite objec- 

 tionable. If we did approve of it, we 

 should like friend Gordon's plan better than 

 any other we know of. It is much better 

 than the arrangement recommended for the 



Fastening Comij Foundation.— Friend 

 W. W. Moore has sent us a little model show- 

 ing the way he fastens comb foundation into 

 the frames. It consists in having the top- 

 bar in two pieces, and when put together it 

 liolds the foundation very firmly. Several 

 have been using a similar plan for fastening 

 it, and it works well. 



Adams Station, May 1.5, 1878. 

 "Will you please state in the next Jour- 

 nal the objections, if any, to hives in 

 which the frames run from side to side, 

 instead of from end to end." 



Theo. F. C. VanAllen. 



[ One of the greatest objections is, that no 

 matter how much you may desire to tip the 

 hive a little to the front, to let water run off, 

 &c., it cannot be done when frames run 

 from side to side. When they run ends to 

 the entrance, all can see that it is much 

 easier for bees to get to any comb desired, 

 without interference from bees from other 

 combs.— Ed.] 



