326 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 4, 1905 



tural lines, but they have carpeted the fields and roadsides 

 with a wealth of green and bloom that is a delight to behold. 

 I have, in all my 11 years in this place, never seen so many 

 flowers at this early date as now gladden the vision of any 

 one who strolls forth over the plains and hills for air and 

 sunshine. 



The phacelias are out, and swarm with bees, as do the 

 orange and lemon trees, and the great live-oaks which are 

 now in full bloom. The white and black sage are now push- 

 ing out new growth, and will be early in bloom to attract 

 the bees, and swell the profits of the bee-keeper. The gilias 

 are thickly spread, and are also attractive to all nectar- 

 loving insects. Some of the gilias bear blue pollen, and it 

 is not uncommon to see bees with their full loads of this 

 blue proteid which they are carrying for bread to the hive. 



At present the whole air is perfumed with the scent 

 from the citrus bloom. No doubt but we would get much 

 orange honey except that at this early season the bees are 

 few, and thus the harvest of orange honey is never great. 

 L,os Angeles Co., Calif., April 3. 



# 



Using the Langstroth Hive Advantageously 



BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL 



MUCH larger hives are necessary in the South. There 

 are many advantages for using them, but not so many 

 bee-keepers know it. The trouble is that the L,ang- 

 stroth hive, which is almost universally used, is too large 

 in one way and too small in another. This statement might 

 cause many to say that I was condemning the Langstroth 

 hive, or that I am not showing proper respect to its inven- 

 tor. Not so, however, but I do say that the best results can 

 not be obtained with the regular Langstroth hive in a 

 locality with the honey-flows and the other existing condi- 

 tions as given in my previous articles. 



THE 10-FRAME THB SOUTHERN STANDARD. 



The 10-frame L/angstroth is mostly used in the South- 

 ern localities here, but even it is not large enough — at other 

 times of the season, again, it is too large. That is the 

 objection I have to this hive. A satisfactory hive must be 

 so constructed that it can be enlarged or contracted at will, 

 and this can hardly be done with the Langstroth. The re- 

 sult is that many valuable manipulations that would be 

 worth much to the bee-keeper in critical times are unknown, 

 or even unthought of, by the majority of the users of this 

 hive. 



ENLARGING THE LANGSTROTH HIVE. 



I have always been an advocate of large hives — large 

 hives at the right time ; large hives in the proper shape, 

 other conditions being equal, mean rousing colonies of bees. 

 They prevent swarming ; and a large crop of surplus is the 

 result. The 10 frame hive as commonly used, with only a 

 single brood-chamber, is not quite large enough for the best 

 results in brood-rearing in the spring. For this reason I 

 enlarge the brood-nest by a super of shallow combs above. 

 Some will say that another hive-body could be added, but 

 that would be adding too much room for the majority of the 

 colonies. In such hives the brood is generally scattered too 

 much, while in the former it is all in a compact form. If 

 the colony is an extra-strong one an additional super can be 

 added, and that without the danger of giving too much 

 room at a time. By using hives so, and breeding the bees 

 in accordance therewith, the problem of swarming will be 

 reduced to a minimum. 



PROVIDES ADDITIONAL BREEDING ROOM. 



The queen has used the shallow combs of the super for 

 egg laying, the brood has been hatching out, and the honey 

 that has been coming in in excess of the amount required 

 by the bees, has been stored in place of it. 



AN EXTRA SUPER OF HONEY. 



In this way an extra amount of surplus honey is ob- 

 tained. All honey that is not used by the colony goes into 

 the shallow extracting-super, whereas it would have to go 

 into the brood-chamber otherwise, or perhaps not be gath- 

 ered at all. If it is stored in the brood-chamber it clogs the 

 brood-nest and crowds out the queen. It also places honey 

 along the top-bars above which the bees are loth to store 

 during the main flow when the comb-honey supers are 

 given. The shallow extracting-super prevents this. Its 

 use brings the colonies in a Langstroth brood-chamber to 

 the best condition by the beginning of the honey-flow, for 



the brood- nest extends up to the top-bars of the chamber. 

 There is no honey along the top-bars. The colony is in 

 an ideal shape for the comb-honey supers. 



CONTRACTION DURING THE HONEY-FLOW. 



Now I do not mean to contract the brood-chamber to 4 

 or 6 frames, and place a lot of dummies in the place of 

 those taken out. Such practice has always seemed like a 

 "dummy "to me, and I never liked it, although I tried it 

 repeatedly. 



When the time comes for putting on the comb-honey 

 supers, the extracting super, now filled or nearly so, is 

 simply raised up and placed above the empty super put on. 

 This places the colony in a shape by which immediate stor- 

 ing in the comb-honey super is obtained if the honey-flow is 

 on. The bees take possession of the supers at once, and 

 there is no need of bait sections and other methods for 

 coaxing them up. 



The extracting-super is left on until the first super 

 given is partly filled. Then, when the second super is added 

 underneath it, the extracting-super is removed to be ex- 

 tracted. 



THE ADVANTAGES THAT ARE GAINED. 



The. advantages that are obtained by using a shallow 

 extracting-super as outlined can be summarized about as 

 follows : 



First, it enlarges the hives. This means prevention of 

 swarming, rousing the colonies of bees, and large surplus 

 crops. 



Second, extra storing-room is provided for honey not 

 needed by the bees. It prevents the clogging of the brood- 

 nest, and an extra amount of surplus is obtained. 



Third, the brood-chamber is in the best condition for 

 the comb-honey supers when the main flow comes. There 

 is no sealed honey along the top-bars above which the bees 

 are loth to store, but the brood extends up to them. 



Fourth, contraction of the right kind can be practiced 

 with great advantage and without extra trouble. Placing 

 the extracting-super above causes better work in the comb- 

 honey supers, and the extracted honey is ripened better 

 while left on. In this way the bees are used to working in 

 the supers, and the trouble about them not entering the 

 comb-honey supers is done away with. 



Brazos Co., Tex. 



(£ont)ention 

 Proccebings 



^ 



The Illinois State Convention 



J^ 



The 14th annual session of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association was held in Springfield, Nov. IS and 16, 1904. The 

 proceedings of that meeting are published in a pamphlet, as 

 mentioned on page 324 of this number of the American Bee 

 Journal, from which we take the following : 



CO-OPERATION AMONQ BEE-KEEPERS 



Your invitation to me to attend our annual State Bee-Keep- 

 ers' meeting and deliver an address has been duly received, 

 and I would gladly comply with your request were it not 

 that the date conflicts with that of another congress — the 

 Upper Mississippi River Improvement .'\ssociation — which is 

 of very great interest to the cities along the big river, and 

 for which I am delegated by our city. I trust that, in view of 

 the importance of the matter, our bee-keepers will excuse 

 my absence. 



I believe that the most important matter before the bee- 

 keepers of the country at the present time is the matter of 

 cooperation. The methods of bee-culture have been so im- 

 proved in the past 50 years as to make the production of 

 honey an easy matter for all practical men. The old fogy 

 bee-keeper and the "gum" have been relegated to the back- 

 ground. The moth-trap has been put away with the spin- 

 ning-wheel of our grandmothers, and neither of them is 

 brought to light, except as a relic of the past. The essential 

 questions today are : How to market our honey, and how to 

 protect ourselves against damage, either through the con- 

 tagious disease, foul brood, or through the ignorance or dis- 



