should not make this statement were it 

 not that Novice claims that his Simpli- 

 city hives are the Ne plus ultra for all 

 to use. 



If you wish to use this as a chaff hive 

 (as many of mine are) cut number 2, 

 22i inches long and let them project 4 

 inches on each side of number 1. Then 

 get 2 pieces similar to number 1 but 

 only i inch thick and nail the number 

 2 pieces to them, so as to leave 3i inches 

 between them and number 1. Make 

 the cap and the bottom board to fit, and 

 pack in the front and rear permanently. 

 After the boxes are off pack ends and 

 cap, and you have as good a chaff hive 

 as any one. For winter, I use quilts 

 over the frames and down the ends, 

 over slotted division boards, filling the 

 cap and place for side boxes, with fine 

 straw, whether chaff hives or not. 



In conclusion I would say, I know of 

 no hive with which one can secure 

 large results by simply folding his hands 

 and letting the bees work. I wish it 

 understood that large yields of honey 

 can only be secured where there are 

 large numbers of bees in a hive ; and 

 securing the bees in time for the honey 

 harvest is one great secret of success. 

 That more bees can be secured by the 

 use of the Gallup frame than any other 

 is only one of our preferences, and we 

 must be excused for preferring this 

 frame in this locality. But whichever 

 style of frame is preferred, the principle 

 for securing box honey as given in this 

 and the February number is certainly 

 correct. Next month I shall commence 

 a series of articles on how I manage an 

 apiary and the above hive. 



DIVIDING BEES. 



John Fox wants me to tell him " how 

 to divide withoutempty combs and have 

 the bees build worker and not drone 

 comb." One way would be (if we wished 

 increase instead of honey, as he does) 

 to get queen-cells started by removing 

 the queen from a populous colony (one 

 we wish to breed from) 25 days in 

 advance of the time we wish to make 

 our swarms; then in 10 or 12 days form 

 as many nuclei, lacking one, as we had 

 sealed cells, by taking a frame of hatch- 

 ing brood, bees, &c, from the colony to 

 be divided (being sure not to take the 

 old queen), and putting them in an 

 empty hive, setting it where you wish 

 your new colony to stand. Go back to 

 the same hive and get another frame of 

 bees, but instead of brood, get honey if 

 possible, and set it with the other frame 

 in the nucleus. Contract both hives 

 with a division board, and in 24 hours 

 give the nucleus one of the sealed cells. 

 As soon as the queen in the nucleus 



commences laying, go to the colony you 

 took the frames from to form the 

 nucleus, and take away all the combs 

 they have, brushing or shaking off all 

 the bees and put in empty frames in 

 their places. Thus you will have the 

 same as a natural swarm, and they will 

 build comb just the same as a natural 

 swarm would ; I will not warrant it to 

 be all worker comb, but the greater 

 part of it will be, if your queen is good 

 for anything. Now take the frame of 

 brood you have taken from them, and 

 place them into the nucleus, and you 

 have two good colonies of bees. If you 

 wish farther increase you can treat that 

 which was the nucleus in the same way 

 in a week or so, and so on, as long as 

 the honey season lasts. Of course it 

 will be unnecessary for me to say, never 

 make swarms by any method in a time 

 of scarcity of honey. 

 Borodino, N. Y., Feb. 12, 1879. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Home Market for Honey. 



BY WM. H. S. GROUT. 



The state of the honey markets seems 

 to trouble some, but I think with the 

 help of the Journal that I have found 

 the true way to sell honey. Extract all 

 the surplus and then sell it all at home 

 at a rate that the poor can afford to 

 buy. My crop this season has been 

 over 5,000 lbs. and I have sold all I can 

 spare at 10 cents here and feel happy. 

 Previous to this season I have sold oc- 

 casionally at 15 cents, and sent some to 

 dealers in the cities and sometimes 

 found one that did not pay up, so that 

 on the whole, the sales have not aver- 

 aged more than 10 cents per pound, and 

 the bother and vexation which amount 

 to something. The honey should be 

 well ripened in the hive before it is 

 extracted, so that the customers can 

 not help being satisfied. Have sold as 

 high as 168 lbs in a day, and attracted 

 by the low price they came from far and 

 near; nearly every day I could have sold 

 as- much more, if I had it. 



I used 50 pounds of comb-foundation 

 last year, with decided success. It is a 

 great help to apiarists and with its aid 

 one can soon rid his hives of drone 

 comb. It all sagged more or less, but 

 do not see that it was any harm. It is 

 certainly better than natural comb. 



A word about hives. lam still firm in 

 the belief that the double " Long Idea " 

 hives are best to use for extracted 

 honey. My frame is 11x13 inches inside 

 and I have used two-story hives almost 

 every season by the side of the long 



