1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



53 



Use of Bees-Wax, Eight vs. 

 Ten Frame HiveSj Etc. 



BY ED. JOLLEY. 



It was stated recently in one of the 

 bee journals that the heads of the 

 Catholic church in Rome had adopted 

 bees-wax for material for their can- 

 dles. And that it was likely to have 

 a pleasing effect on the price of bees- 

 wax. Evidently they will not make 

 all their candles of bees wax. I am 

 in the employ of the Eclipse Oil works 

 of the Standard Oil company, am en- 

 gaged in the filtering business, filter- 

 ing fine oils and paraffine wax. A 

 few days ago we got orders to filter 

 ten thousand barrels of the finest wax 

 we could turn out to be shipped direct 

 to Rome for candles. One would think 

 this would make candles enough to 

 last until eternity would be well under 

 way. 



Different localities and modes of 

 management require a large or small 

 hive respectively , and the eight versus 

 ten frame hive discussion is apt to 

 leave matters about as they were. No 

 doubt the ten frame hive is preferable 

 in some local ties, but I am satisfied 

 that the eight frame hive is large 

 enough for this locality (Western 

 Pennsylvania). I have used both kinds 

 in the same ipiarv for the last five 

 years and find the eight frame hive 

 ahead for comb honey which is about 

 the only kind produced here, in fact 

 the only kind that finds a ready sale. 

 But one thing I noticed last spring in 

 favor of the ten frame hive was this: 

 We had about three weeks of wet, cold 

 weather after the brood rearing was 

 well under way, and if I had not fed 

 the eight frame colonies they would 

 not have pulled through, while the ten 



frame colonies had enough honey in 

 the extra combs to go through all but 

 a little at the last of the siege. But 

 last spring was an exceptionally un- 

 favorable one, worse than 1 have seen 

 in my experience of five years. That 

 is the only instance in all that time 

 where I thought the ten frame hive 

 had any advantage over the eight. I 

 never had but one queen that would 

 fill ten frames with brood, very sel- 

 dom more than eight, and the extra 

 combs to be filled with honey before 

 the bees would go to the supers ; seem- 

 ed to make them reluctant to go at 

 all, often encroaching on the queens 

 room until she hadn't as much laying 

 room in the ten frame hive as she 

 would in the eight. This would have 

 been alright in a long continued honey 

 flow, for when the bees once get started 

 in the sections they would soon carry 

 it up from below. But for as short 

 honey flows as we usually have here 

 this foolishness on the part of the 

 bees is not profitable. 



As it is now time we were getting our 

 supplies and getting them ready for 

 another season, I will tell you how I 

 proceed to set up my dove-tailed hives. 

 Get a pan about two inches deep, I 

 use and old pan that was used for bak- 

 ing bread in, I now get some linseed 

 oil and mix enough white lead to a 

 thin paint, thiner than that which is 

 generally used for the priming coat, 

 pour enough of this into the pan to be 

 about one inch deep or a little deeper 

 than the tenons on the hive parts. I 

 set the pan close to one side of the 

 shop and take as many hive parts as 

 the pan will hold and set them on end 

 in the paint and let the other end lean 

 against the side of the shop, in about 

 a minute or so 1 reverse the parts and 



