Dec. 21. 1V( S 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



881 



But \vc are unable to foresee cold winters. Many a man 

 lias tried to predict the future weather. Many a man has said 

 that the bees, the animals, the corn, even, prepared for a cold 

 winter when it was coming. I believe this is all a mistake. 

 Neither the insects nor the plants know more about the future 

 than we do, except that through years or centuries of natural 

 selection, those succeeded best and surs'ived that bent them- 

 ■selves to the changes of seasons. 



Some farmers say that the corn has a heavier husk when 

 a hard winter is coming. I wondered how this could be, until 

 one season I was told by two different farmers of great expe- 

 rience that the winter would be hard, and that it would be 

 mild, for the one said, "The corn husks are heavy," and the 

 other said, "The corn husks are light." 



I can see very plainly that Dr. Miller understands the 

 situation in regard to cellar-wintering fully as well as I do, 

 for the last remark he makes, "I'd be glad to feel sure that 

 the cellared colony is just as well off in all respects," indicates 

 that he realizes the difference in conditions at the time when 

 the hive is taken out of the cellar. If I were as far North 

 as Dr. Miller, I believe that I would winter my bees in the 

 cellar every winter. One winter or even a half-dozen winters 

 are not sufficient to decide the question. But for years we 

 tried cellar-wintering side by side with outdoor wintering, 

 placing sometimes an entire apiary, sometimes only a portion 

 of it, in the cellar prepared purposely for them, while other 

 apiaries remained entirely out-of-doors. 



After all these trials I have come to the conclusion that 

 it is as well to risk outdoor wintering in this latitude. But 

 •with small hives, or weak colonies, short in stores, and a 

 good cellar in easy reach of the apiary, I would still recom- 

 mend cellar-wintering. A little south of us, or below the 

 40th degree, I believe cellar-wintering should be discounte- 

 nanced, while north of this latitude it is probably more profit- 

 able to winter the bees in the cellar. 



I wish, in closing, to thank Dr. Miller for the remarks 

 made, as these have called my attention to the possible mis- 

 understanding I caused. If there is a bee-keeper whose 

 opinion I value above all others, it is Dr. Miller, for he has a 

 very extensive practical experience, and never advances a 

 thing unless he is sure of it. He never jumps at conclusions, 

 and never supports that which he has not proven correct. 



Hamilton, 111. 



Best Bee-Hive— Something About It 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



A SUBSCRIBER to the American Bee Journal writes: 

 "Will you describe the best bee-hive, and tell us some- 

 thing about it, as I wish to make some hives the coming 

 winter." 



This is a hard question to answer, for nearly every person 

 keeping bees believes he or she has the best bee-hive in ex- 

 istence, and when I say that the number of different bee-hives 

 in use reaches into the scores, if not into the hundreds, it 

 will be seen how difficult it would be to do as requested. 



Probably the hive most in use (unless, perchance, it is 

 the bo.x-hive) is what is termed the "Langstroth." Then next 

 in order comes the Gallup, Quinby, Danzenbaker, Hoffman, 

 Simplicity, Heddon, American, etc., nearly all of which are 

 only a modification of the Langstroth to suit the different 

 notions of different persons using them and putting them be- 

 fore the public, for th- re is scarcely a frame hive today but 

 what embodies more or less of the Langstroth principles, 

 especially as to bee-space and the frame principle. 



With the progressive bee-keeper the box-hive is a thing 

 of the past, although there are a few using them which do 

 quite a good business with them, by having the combs built 

 to slats along the top of the hive, with a movable top-board 

 so that the surplus boxes or sections can be set right over 

 the combs. With the farmer bee-keeper — one who never 

 thinks of handling the frames or even looking inside of the 

 hive— a box-hive so arranged would probably be as good 

 for him as the best frame hive ever made. But such a one 

 could not be considered a progressive bee-keeper. 



Excluding, then, the box-hive, we have a simple box 

 arranged for bee-spaces and containing frames as the best 

 hive, letting him or her who uses it make said box and frames 

 of any dimensions which they may choose. 



As "my notions," away back in the early seventies, led 

 me to prefer the Gallup form of the Langstroth frame, I will 

 briefly describe how this hive is made, so that anyone can 

 make it. or a modification of it, as he pleases. 



Get lumber 12 inches wide and Vs of an inch thick, planed 



on one side (or both, as you please), and saw it into lengths 

 so that when nailed you will have a box without top or 

 bottom 12 inches deep, 12 wide, and 18 inches long, inside 

 measure. Before nailing, on the upper inside edge of the two 

 long boards rabbet out a space J/i inch deep by -ys back, for 

 the frames to rest on, and on the bottom edge of one of 

 them cut out a piece 12 inches long by % deep, for an entrance. 

 A plain board of the right size, with two pieces of 2.x4 

 stuff nailed on the under side near two edges of it, running 

 crosswise of the grain, constitutes the bottom-board or stand 

 for the hive. If it is preferred, the hive itself can be made 

 without the entrance cut in it as above; and, if so, then cut 

 out strips from the Vs stuff H thick, and after cutting them 

 the right length, nail them to three sides of the upper side 

 of the bottom-board, when the fourth side, not having one of 

 these strips nailed to it, will constitute the entrance, which 

 can be contracted to any desired dimensions by using entrance- 

 blocks, giving an entrance of Vs by 4 inches for winter and 

 ea^ly spring, up to the whole width of the hive for summer. 



The frames are made of stuff sawed 14-inch thick from 

 an inch board, and cut to the right length so that when nailed 

 together the outside of the frame will be 11^x11'.^ inches 

 square. The top-bar to the frame is to be long enough to 

 project ^ of an inch at each end, so as to hang on the rabbet 

 prepared in the upper part of the side boards of the hive for 

 them. Hang the frames in the hive so 12 of them till it, and 

 the proper bee-spaces will be given, according to my views, 

 as I prefer a space VA inches from center to center of the 

 frames, having tested the matter for years. 



Make the surplus part of it to suit your notion, with or 

 without a honey-board, and with or without a cap or hood. 

 If you use a cap or hood, then the cover can be a board of 

 the right size to cover the top, or the same can be of enameled 

 cloth, quilt, canvas, oi- anything you may choose, with the cap 

 or hood filled with leaves, chaff or sawdust above the cover 

 for wintering. Where no cap or hood is used, then a cleated 

 board, water-proofed in some way, should be used as a cover, 

 the same being a cover for the hive and the surplus arrange- 

 ment, as well, when that is on. .... 



In the above we have the best bee-hive prmciple m ex- 

 istence and one which can be made in any conceivable shape 

 to suit the desires of the most fastidious, and yet the word 

 "Langstroth" suggests all there is of it, and carries the minds 

 of all who delight to honor the Father of Modern Apiculture 

 back to the time when this noble man (who passed to his 

 heavenly home a few years ago), spent hours, days and years 

 of toil and study in inventing this principle, that we, his 

 apicultural children, might profit and enjoy that which he 

 wrought out for us. , 



At the out-apiarv I use the regular Langstroth frame, and 

 10 of these to the hive. Where an apiary is worked on the 

 ••shook-swarming" plan, a large hive seems to give the best 

 results • and an out-apiary cannot well allow natural swarm- 

 jj^„ Borodino, N. 1. 



• ' ^ 



Contention 

 Proceebings 



^ 



Report of the Texas Convention 



BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL, BEC. 



(Continued from page 865) 



Mr Aten, in behalf of the bee-keepers, asked for a 

 statement concerning the work of the experimental apiary. 



Mr. Scholl went over the ground since the establisn- 

 ment of the apiary, and what had been done • He also 

 gave an outline of the experiments contemplated, together 

 with other work now under way, and some of the problems 

 that are to be solved, as follows: 



Does Alfalfa Produce Hcney in Texas With or Without 

 Irrig.\tion? 



With the advent of irrigation in the arid regions, will 

 Texas ever be classed with the Western States that pro- 

 duce enormous amounts of alfalfa honey annually. 



It is the general belief that alfalfa is a good honey- 

 producing plant, but no satisfactory data to that effect in 

 Texas has been obtained. Investigations of this subject 



