206 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



August 



very much handling their combs or 

 cleaning their house too early in the 

 spring. The bees have the pleasure of 

 doing their own house cleaning. I 

 believe in progression. We are now 

 living in the age of the hanging 

 frame. This is a great improvement 

 from the old box hives, yet we can 

 have the advantages of a tall hive. I 

 can say from 17 years experience us- 

 ing many kinds of hives and frames, 

 I think I have tried nearly all, (I am 

 sure of this, and if I had not experi- 

 mented quite as much and knew les« 

 about them I would be better off to- 

 day). Knowledge is dearly bought 

 iometimei, yet experience is a good 

 teacher. I am wandei"ing from my 

 subject. I am not a professional writ- 

 er, but will say I am a lover of the 

 honey bee and its persuits. 



First a hive that must be carried in 

 the cellar is a costly hive for me, as I 

 must hire the work done fall and 

 spring, so my hive is a " woman's 

 hive " that I now use mostly in ray 

 apiary. It calls for the least work 

 through the season. If we winter out 

 doors we must have a hive and frame 

 for the purpose. It must be a double- 

 wall chaff hive about 5 inches thick. 

 The frame I use is 13 inches deep, 16 

 inches long ; if deeper I think it 

 if»ould be better. I use 10 of these 

 frames, and a section case containing 

 54 one pound sections with glass front 

 and I can see the work going on by 

 raising the cap, and know just when 

 to remove the honey. In swarming 

 time my hive is not so heavy that I 

 cannot carry it to any place I wish by 

 taking off the cap. When my bees 

 swarm I move the parent hive back 

 and set the new hive on the old stand. 

 This \k'ill have all of the worker bees. 



I put on my sections and the work is 

 done until I must take off the honey. 

 Now my points are these : In those 

 deep frames there is always honey 

 enough to winter through, and not 

 trouble the bees any more than you 

 would in a box hive, until warm and 

 settled weather. I help them clean 

 away their entrances in warm spells 

 in winter and spring by taking a wire 

 and drawing out dead bees if there are 

 any that might stop up the entrance. 

 I have no fussing with feeders ; if 

 they are needed I use them in the fall. 

 This saves early working in the spring 

 which is io hurtful to bees. They 

 must not have their hive covers taken 

 off for it will use up a weak •olony, 

 even to disturb them in the least. In 

 apple bloom I take from those that 

 have too much honey and give to 

 those, if there be any, needing it. 

 This gives the queen room to fill her 

 hive with bees and we get mammoth 

 Bwarms. The hive is not so large as 

 to take all the best of the season to get 

 bees for the harvest, but we do have 

 them when we want them, for we have 

 bees in the spring to commence with 

 in those hives. The hive I moved 

 back has no queens, soon as cells are 

 all closed I cut them and give a young 

 laying queen. This can be done 

 from 6 to 8 days after swarming. By 

 this time 1 put on a case of sections, 

 and if the honey flow is favorable 

 they will -fill the sections, not swarm- 

 ing but once. Then if I desire a sec- 

 ond increase from one colony after 

 taking off the filled sections I do not 

 put on any more, but take 3 frames 

 from each hive and form a new colony 

 and set this hive on the stand of the 

 first swarm. I then move that back, 

 give all frames a starter of foundation, 



