THE AMERICAS BEEKEEPER. 



Tie American Bee-Keeper, 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 



THE W. T. FALCONER MAN FG CO. 



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EDITORIAL, 



In Gleanings, for Dec. 15th, Ernest 

 gives an exhaustive view of G. R. 

 Pierce's hook, "The Winter Problem 

 in Bee-Keeping." Friend Pierce is 

 decidedly apposed to having cushions 

 next to the bees, preferring to have a 

 board glued down on top of the frames 

 by the bees in warm weather, and on 

 top of the board the cushions should 

 be placed. He takes no stock in the 

 pollen theory. Earnest is very much 

 inclined to the same views. Editor 

 Quigley, in the Misouri Bee-Keeper, 

 page 144, in reply to a correspondent, 

 also takes this view. He says that a 

 flat cover well glued down is better 

 than cushions. 



In the articles by T. K. Massie, 

 which have been running in the Bee- 

 Keeper, it will be seen that he ad- 

 vances this theory of having the boards 

 glued down, and protecting the hives, 

 sides and tops with cushions made of 

 some non-conducting material. Friend 

 Massie published this theory in the 



Bee World long before Messrs. Pierce, 

 Root or Quigley ever gave their ideas 

 to the public. Friend Massie certain- 

 ly has priority on this theory. He 

 not only advocated it, but "practiced 

 what he preached," for he had closed 

 end reversible frames with the winter 

 passage through the top bars, and 

 boards, made by us last winter for the 

 purpose of carrying out this theory. 

 He has again ordered frames of the 

 same kind for another year.- He is 

 going to push this theory further next 

 season by wintering a number of col- 

 onies in thin walled hives, by simply 

 protecting the board that is glued down 

 on top of frames with cushions on them. 

 We are now making him some half 

 stories, which will be covered with tin, 

 and used as a cover in which the 

 cushions will be placed, and then fitted 

 down on the hives. He claims that 

 with closed end frames a hive is prac- 

 tically a double walled hive, so far as 

 the ends are concerned, and that solid 

 sheets of comb are better than division 

 boards or chaff packed hives. 



News comes to us that the California 

 Bee- Keeper will shortly resume publi- 

 cation. We hope this is true, as it was, 

 during its brief career, a welcome visi- 

 tor and much superior to some of its con- 

 temporaries that are still flourishing. 



There are a great many subscribers 

 whose time has expired, but as we have 

 heard nothing from them, we shall 

 continue to mail the magazine to them 

 regularly, as heretofore, and shall ex- 

 pect them to pay up the same as if 

 they had ordered it continued. 



The weather in this locality has been 

 very severe the past few weeks, and we 

 shall not be surprised to learn that a 

 great many colonies have frozen. 



