262 



THE AMERICAN APTCULTURIST. 



Foi' breeding;, a frame 11 inclies deep, 12 

 to 14 in length placed in the hive cross- 

 wise of the entrance, has given us the 

 best results. The bees can be crowded 

 upon few frames, heat retained and the 

 back portion of the hive used for feed- 

 ing. For honey storing, it depends 

 upon what you are runninir bees for, ex- 

 tracted orcomb honey. For extracted 

 honey one frame is as good as another; 

 with the exception that a long shallow 

 or a very large frame is awkward to 

 handle. For obtaining box honey a 

 shallow frame with a large surface has 

 perhaps a slight advantage. 



2. Yes, and also for the expert. 



3. No. The 8 frames will do, but 

 provide more room fortiering up. For 

 ordinary seasons perhaps two sets of 

 boxes are enough but we sometimes 

 have an extraordinary season. Shallthe 

 beekeeper be ready for it or will he be 

 caught with a hive without surplus 

 room ? It is a safe plan to provide plenty 

 of room up stairs : there will be times 

 when you will need it. 



ANSWERS BY UEV. D. D. MAKSH. 



1. A deep frame permits a winter 

 cluster to form within the centre of 

 combs, not exposing the outer edge in 

 any direction. Place their honey above 

 when it retains the heat, is the secret 

 of the farmer's early swarms from box 

 hives. 



It favors breeding by encourag- 

 ing a few bee spaces between large 

 patches of brood, rather than yiany 

 spaces to be ttlkd by bees between 

 many small areas of brood. It is not 

 so favorable to storing in boxes, be- 

 cause Nature's " box" is the upper part 

 of a deep comb itself, and a box top of 

 that is too far aloft. A medium depth 

 I think tlie best for storing. 



2. The plainer and simpler the bet- 

 ter; just brood-box, sections and cap. 

 Nature's hive is just a hollow tree. 



3. I believe from experience that 

 our 8 L. frame hive is preferable for 

 section honey. The section clamp 

 should be made in halves : put one on 

 and get the bees at work, then put on 

 the other, then tier up. 



Georgetown, 3Iass. 



ANSWERS BY K. K. HASTY. 



1. For wintering, my experience is 

 that the shallow frame has the advan- 

 tage. Some years the deeper frame 

 makes the better show of surplus, but 

 I do not regard tiie matter as settled. 

 For breeding in cold weather a square 

 frame prevents waste of heat. In warm 

 weather there is no very great differ- 

 ence I think. 



2. No complicated hive has yet come 

 out which is to be recommended for 

 general use. 



3. A two story 8-frame Langstroth 

 hive ought to succeed. I prefer, how- 

 ever to have the hive hold ten frames 

 and contract to seven by the use of 

 dummies or loafers. 



Michards, 0. 



ANSWERS BY L. C. ROOT. 



1. It is a fact not to be disputed that 

 if during early spring our bees are to 

 make the greatest possil)le advance- 

 ment in brood-rearing, the warmth 

 generated by the bees must be econo- 

 mized to the very extreme. If this be 

 true, the advantage of the deep frame 

 is so apparent, that for this purpose 

 we need not argue its superiority. I 

 have proven for a certainty that bees 

 reach their stores more readily in a 

 deep frame, than in a shallow long 

 frame, and that, side by side, they 

 winter more successfully in the former. 



The size of frame that will insure 

 best results in wintering and brood 

 rearing, thereby securing a good work- 

 ing force at the earliest possible date, 

 is the best for honey storing. Surplus 

 combs or boxes can be arranged for 

 storing honey, no matter what the size 

 of the frame may be. To those who 

 dider with me in these opinions, I ask 

 this question : 



If we were keeping bees in bad hives 

 which we desired to winter well, and 

 from wiiich we desired to secure early 

 swarms, who would think of construct- 

 ing hives, seventeen inches from front 

 to rear, fifteen inches wide and eight 

 inches deep inside measure, rather than 

 twelve inches square and fourteen 

 inches deep. 



2. Yes. 



3. If you mean by L. frame, the shal- 

 low frame with a hive so constructed 

 that there is a space on all sides and 

 between the frames, I answer, no. 



If you mean a properly constructed 

 hive as to size and form of frame, and 

 for securing box honey only, I answer, 

 yes. ' , 



Mohaivk, N. T. 



ANSWER TO QUESTION BY SAMUEL CUSII- 

 MAN IN OCT. NO., BY HENRY ALLEY. 



Our correspondent inquires regard- 

 ing the question of feeding back honey 

 to induce bees to finish out incomplete 

 sections. This reminds me of the expe- 

 rience I had and the experiments I made 

 several years ago in order to get some 

 unfinished sections filled with honey. 



