32 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



ble for the thoughtful to enter a dis- 

 cussion with ultra views or prejudiced 

 mind. In judging what little I may say 

 on this point, please apply the standard 

 of differences in climate and estab- 

 lished methods here, the one so mild, 

 the other so nearly approaching the 

 "wholesale" as to make California 

 bee culture characteristic. The man 

 who has twenty-five to fifty colonies 

 to handle will look at facility, conven- 

 ience, etc., from a different stand- 

 point than does the man who has 

 two hundred. And those in Califor- 

 nia who number their colonies from 

 four hundred up, with the least 

 amount of hired help, practicably are 

 more particular about ease and ra- 

 pidity in the working of hives than if 

 they had only one-half or one- fourth 

 that number. 



I have given the subject of hives a 

 great deal of thought. I have stud- 

 ied the construction of a great many 

 kinds, though I have had practical 

 experience with but few of them. 

 Many an anxious hour have I spent 

 devising some style that would cor- 

 rect this bad feature and do away 

 with that ; and several are the new 

 forms I have gotten up, but the only 

 result I take any pride in is that I 

 had sufficient sense to discard them 

 all without trying to induce others to 

 use them. As a general thing in this 

 country the preference is steadfast 

 for the original Langstroth with the 

 metal improvements. Whether this 

 is on account of progress coming to a 

 standstill, or the result of practical 

 experience that amounts to almost a 

 demonstration, I will not presume to 

 say. My incHnation, however, to con- 

 cur in this preference is left more 

 decided after each attempt at a de- 

 parture. In working for extracted 

 honey the need of ease in manipula- 

 tion is specially felt. Among the 

 primary considerations needful in a 

 hive are : that it. may be opened 

 quickly and with little jar; the frames 

 taken out and tlie bees brushed and 

 shaken into the hive with despatch ; 



if a set of empty combs be not at 

 hand, that the hive may be left per- 

 fectly closed ; and then that the 

 frames may be rapidly returned three 

 or four in hand at a time and quickly 

 spaced without crushing bees in un- 

 due quantities. A secondary, yet 

 very important consideration, is sim- 

 plicity and cheapness of construction. 

 It seems to me that the Langstroth 

 principle of hanging frames comes as 

 closely or more closely to this stand- 

 ard of convenience than does any oth- 

 er. So long as I have deemed it prac- 

 ticable to remove frames from the end 

 of the hive, I have looked for some 

 style of standing frame. A frame that 

 could be removed from the brood- 

 chamber without need of changing the 

 surplus department would save much 

 crushing of bees so often unavoida- 

 ble in removing and replacing the 

 super. But this frame, even if de- 

 vised, would sacrifice one pointin the 

 standard, — quickness of handling, for 

 frames cannot be as naturally and 

 speedily removed from side or end 

 as from the top. There is, more- 

 over, no hive on the market with 

 standing frames that can be taken 

 out without removing the super or at 

 least tipping it up so that bees can 

 get under and be killed in replace- 

 ment. Last spring I constructed a 

 hive with Adair-Langstroth frames 

 that could either stand reversed or 

 hang in a natural position, and in the 

 former case could be removed from 

 the brood-chamber without touching 

 the surplus, by taking them out at the 

 end. Though I could remove any 

 frame first that I desired, still after a 

 two montiis' trial I cast it aside ; rea- 

 son — inconvenience. With the closed- 

 end standing-frame my experience is 

 very slight, and that little is with the 

 Bingham. I have none with the 

 Quinby, except modifications of my 

 own constiuction to do away with 

 the closed-end bar. I would not at- 

 tack those forms in any unfriendly 

 spirit, nor can I claim that my views 

 regardin" them are conclusive. But, 



