looj rHE AMERICAN hEE-KEEPEi: 



The Langstroth Hive. 



(By L. E. Kerr.) 



3 



OWING to the great number of 

 styles and sizes of frames and 

 hives now before the public, all 

 being up to the standard, and manufac- 

 tured by greatly esteemed members of 

 the bee-keeping fraternity, it leaves the 

 subject of hives a very delicate one to 

 touch upon, and for this reason writ- 

 ers usually no more than touch upon it, 

 at most; and, consequently beginner? 



L. E. KRRR. 



are "at sea" when it comes to choosing 

 which of the many styles to adopt. 



At present there are five styles of 

 hives, namely, Danzebaker, Lang- 

 stroth. Gallup, New Heddon and the 

 old-fashioned box-hive. There are also 

 distinctly five different methods of 

 management, each especially adapted to 

 a certain style of hive. 



It is not possible for anyone, no mat- 

 ter how much experience he may have 

 had, to say positively that any hive is 



best, further than to say which is best 

 for his own locality; for the reason that 

 no two localities are alike, and there- 

 fore call for different management. 



There are more bees kept today in 

 the old-fashioned box-hive than any 

 other one style. The question has been 

 asked in these columns: "If the Hed- 

 don is so far superior to the Lang- 

 stroth, why don't it supersede the 

 Langstroth?" Now the Langstroth is 

 considered by some to be better than 

 the box-hive, and the question is, if the 

 Langstroth is so far superior to the 

 box-hive, why doesn't it supersede the 

 box-hive? 



After all. the Langstroth is greatly 

 ■superior to the old-fashioned box; but 

 it is worse than absurdity to regard the 

 Langstroth as a faultless hive. Though 

 it may be the most perfect hive in the 

 universe, still, the Langstroth, and style 

 of management is faulty. One of oui 

 greatest queen breeders says a square 

 frame for nuclei is by all odds the best. 

 A long, shallow frame, such as the 

 Langstroth. is out of proportion; and 

 soon only one end or the other will be 

 occupied by the bees. This is not the 

 only fault of the Langsworth; still I 

 have never held that the Langstroth 

 was more faulty than others; though I 

 have said the Langstroth hive and sys- 

 tem is defective and still hold it to be 

 the case. 



Hurricane. Ark. 



What mighty contests rise from triv- 

 ial things! — Pope- 



The Bee Martin. 



(By Bessie L. Putnam.) 



THE kingbird, locally known as 

 bee martin or bee-bird, may be 

 readily recognized by its re- 

 semblance to the well known phoebe, 

 it's near relative. Each has the charac- 

 teristics of the flycatcher family strong- 



