120 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Patent Hives. 



Mr. Lang'stroth somewhere in liis valuable 

 work on "The Hive and Honey Bee," (a note at 

 the foot of page 61, third edition, I believe,) cau- 

 tious persons purciiasing patent rights "to be care- 

 ful to find out just what is covered by the patent 

 device, wliich they are careful to conceal, while 

 they are loud in their praise of other parts which 

 any one has a right to use." He might add — 

 "or which in some cases are covered by patents 

 of other parties." 



Acting imder this advice, I determined this 

 spring to write to a widely known Western firm, 

 engaged in vending a patent hive, which they 

 claim to be ahead of anything yet out, and ask 

 them to forward me a copy of the claims under 

 their patent. 



They replied tliat they had no printed copies 

 of their claims, not having time to prepare them, 

 and were too busy to make a written copy; but 

 in the fall would have some printed and send 

 me one; (which I have not yet received) and 

 wound up by advising me to get their "book and 

 be satisfied, as all the points chiefly dwelt on, 

 are covered by the patent." 



Now it happens that I had read their book, 

 and this w^as my very reason for Avriting to them, 

 as I was not satisfied by any means. The points 

 that seemed to me "chiefly dwelt on" were— 



1st. Movable frames. As they could not pos- 

 sibly claim these, we will say nothing more about 

 them. 



2d. UprigTd form of Jtwe. Now as upright 

 hives seem, from all accounts, to have been used 

 as long as bees have been domesticated, we sup- 

 pose they do not claim this. 



3d. Side-opening. German apiarians have used 

 this feature for upwards of thirty years, and Mr. 

 Langstroth tested it before he fixed on hives with 

 a movable cover, as the most desirable form; 

 (see October number of the Bee JouiiNAii); and 

 however loose the workings of the Patent Oftice 

 may be, a patent would hardly be granted on so 

 old an invention. 



4th. The use of two boxes for sui'jylus honey .^ 

 one above the other., to induce the bees to work 

 more readily in empty boxes after full ones are 

 removed. This is an idea of Mr. Quinby's, pub- 

 lished by him (Mr. Q.) long since. 



5th. The hive being zce«^Aer ^woo/. This is a 

 most absurd thing to claim, for almost any hive, 

 if well made, would be so. 



Gth. The arrangement for ventilation and nu- 

 cleus swarming. Tins may be patented, but how 

 are we to know? 



7th. The entrance regulator. If this is cov- 

 ered, it is certainly not worth mvich to any one 

 owning the Langstroth right, as it is much more 

 conii)licated, and we think less useful than the 

 triangular blocks. 



There are several other points "dwelt on," but 

 as we have already written more than are in- 

 tended, they must remain unnoticed. 



You may judge from the above how near a 

 man can guess at what he pays his money for. 

 Yet, strange to say, from certificates of Express 

 agents and postmasters, published l)y the firm, 



it would seem that they find plenty of customers. 

 We would like to know if any of them were fur- 

 nished with more reliable information than that 

 with which we were expected to be satisfied. 



The plea that they had not time to prepare 

 copies of the claims under their patent, is hardly 

 credible, when we see the quantities of circulars, 

 pamphlets, «fcc., which they distribute through- 

 out the country. It is assuredly part of a man's 

 business to inform his customers wiiat they are 

 buying from him. Mr. Langstroth, whose health 

 is very poor, and who has as much business as 

 any apiarian, still manages to find time to pre- 

 pare copies of his claims, although he cannot 

 write his new book, which all his friends are 

 anxiously w^aiting for. 



We have written this not from a wish to in- 

 jure any one, but simply to warn bee-keepers 

 against purchasing rights from any one without 

 firet knowing precisely what those rights are.. If 

 any one feels agrieved b^ our remarks, we shall 

 be most happy to have him answer us through 

 the medium of the Bee Jourkal, so that its 

 readers can understand the merits of the case. 



D. M. WOBTHINGTON. 



Elkridge, Md., Nov.. 8, 1867. 



P. S. — I have no interest in any patent, save 

 an individual right in the Langstroth hive. 



D. M. W. 



Preservation of Empty Combs. 



New, clean, and straight empty combs are of 

 great importance and value in bee-culture, where 

 movable frames are used, and should be care- 

 fully secured from the attacks of vermin and 

 insects. Miceand the bacon beetle, (Dermentes 

 lardarixis) though not wont to devour them, 

 are yet prone to gnaw and damage them. The 

 most formidable enemj' against which we have 

 to guard is the larva of the wax-moth. If once 

 in possession of a comb, these nauseous Avorms 

 multiply rapidly, and subsisting on tlie wax, 

 soon reduce the whole to a filthy mass of web- 

 entangled excrement. Combs Avhich have never 

 contained brood and are free from pollen or bee- 

 bread, are not so liable to be attacked by the 

 wax-worm, as brood comb long used and stored 

 with pollen. 



Empty combs should be suspended separately 

 in an airy upper chamber, and frequently iu- 

 s.pected. A mere glance usually suffices to de- 

 tect the presence of larvse in these combs, and 

 if taken in hand immediately the grubs may 

 easily be removed without injury to the comb 

 by inserting a splinter of wood in the cell in- 

 fested, twirling it around a few times, and then 

 withdrawing it with the worm and its web. 

 Repeated examination, however, is necessary, 

 because the cells may contain eggs, which do 

 not all hatch simultaneously, but disclose from 

 time to time, as the state of the atmosphere 

 around is more or less propitious. The most 

 effectual preventive is to suspend the combs in 

 a tight box, and exposing them there to the 

 fumes of brimstone. They should be well aired 

 again before given to the bees. 



