96 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



such need is practical and well-founded 

 remains to be seen byactUMl use of the 

 hives. Beinji strongly predisposed to 

 favor J. M. Hhucl^'s invention and yet 

 well impressed with yours, I wish you 

 to answer the foUowinii' questions on 

 points most of which seem to be objec- 

 tions(all but questions 1, 6, and 7 which 

 are merely of detail; : 



1. Do the end-bars project three- 

 eighths of an inch above and below to 

 make standings, or are frames square 

 cornered and resting on supports? 



2 (a) As the frames (closed-end) 

 necessarily lack the convenient lateral 

 movement of Shuck's hive, is it not 

 difficult to remove interior frames when 

 bees have built bridge-combs joining 

 two together, sucli needing to be pried 

 apart before they can be lifted out? 

 (b). Don't close-titting end-bars them- 

 selves make removal more difficult by 

 friction? 



3. You say "frames can be removed 

 without crushing bees." Can they be 

 replaced without crushing bees? Will 

 not the bees crowd over the end-bars 

 and necessarily be killed on frame be- 

 ing replaced and end-bars being brought 

 together? 



4. To a man with from three to four 

 hundred up to seven or eight hundred 

 hives of bees with supers for extracted 

 honey, who must extract from the 

 greatest number possible per day in 

 order to get around, could you recom- 

 mend the "Bay State" to admit of as 

 much expedition as the ordinary Lang- 

 stroth hive and super? How much 

 comparative delay at each hive would 

 the operator experience, first, in having 

 to unscrew and again screw up the 

 thumb screws of the bolts, and second, 

 from friction in lifting out and replac- 

 ing the closed-end frames? 



5. Do the bolts in section-cases 

 through the middle, pass right in cen- 

 tre of surplus-chamber and hence 

 through the middle of the combs? 



6. Have you a lifting device to facili- 

 tate reversal? 



7. Are end-bars Ih inches wide and 

 top and bottom-bars I inches wide? 



Assuring you that these questions 

 are prompted by interest, and lioping 

 you will kindly answer early, 



I remain yours, truly, 

 A. Norton. 



ANSWERS BY HENRY ALLEY. 



If none of the readers of the 

 Apiculturist understand the work- 

 ings of the " Bay State Reversible 



Hive " better than Mr. Norton they 

 cannot be blamed for making in- 

 quiries. 



We will answer these seven ques- 

 tions as briefly as possible and at 

 the same time try to give the de- 

 sired information. 



1. No, the end bars do not pro- 

 ject I of an inch at either end to 

 make ''standings." These bars pro- 

 ject a little less than | of an inch, 

 or just a bee-space is left between 

 the top-bar and the sections above. 

 Under the frame, that is, between 

 the bottom-bar and bottom-board, 

 there is a space of about an inch. 

 This allows free circulation of air 

 both summer and winter, and it is a 

 most important feature in any style 

 hive. To give this space, there are 

 strips of wood J of an inch thick 

 nailed to the top side of the bot- 

 tom-board upon which the frames 

 rest. We have tested this new 

 bottom-board on forty-three hives 

 this past winter with perfect satis- 

 faction and success. 



2. (a) The frames are easily giv- 

 en a lateral movement. Loosen the 

 thumb-screws and more than one 

 inch of spare room may be had in 

 which to operate the frames. You 

 are mistaken about Shuck's hive 

 having a lateral movement to the 

 frames. The Shuck frames are 

 spaced by pieces of wood between 

 each two frames, unless we are 

 greatly mistaken and it is impossi- 

 ble to move them laterally unless 

 one frame is first taken from the 

 hive. There is no diliiculty at all 

 in removing a frame from the B. 

 S. hive. The bees should not be 

 permitted to build brace or bridge 

 combs between the bars. About 

 the time the bees are getting ready 

 to do so, place some sections on 

 the hive and contract the entrance 

 in order to raise and to retain the 

 warmth, and thus compel the bees 

 to enter the sections and build 

 combs in them. No prying apart 

 is necessary, except in the fall when 



