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•THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Nov., 



[For the American Bee Journal] 



Improved Bee Hives. 



The object of improving bee hives is, or ought 

 to be, to combine simplicity and cheapness of 

 construction with facihty in the management of 

 the bees ; and the hive vrliicli does tliis to the 

 greatest degree, is the best hive. A hive which 

 costs five dollars, is too expensive for tlie ma- 

 jority of beekeepers : it takes too much of the 

 profits. And one which costs but a single dol- 

 lar, if so made that it is not easily manipulated, 

 or if it be not conducive to the storing of sur- 

 plus honey, or not eifective in the rapid building 

 up of colonies, is too cheap for any beekeeper. 

 As all who keep bees for profit, need to rear 

 some queens for their own use, their hives 

 should be so constructed as to be convenient for 

 that purpose ; and they should be so made as to 

 cimform to the instincts and needs of the bees 

 in storing and consuming their winter's food. 



With these necessary adaptations in view, let 

 us reason as hoio to make a good hive. It is 

 presumed at the start, of course, that the hive 

 shall have movable comb-frames, as they are in- 

 dispensable to success. 



First, then, as to caparHy. It is believed by 

 the most successful apiarians that a capacity of 

 about two thousand cubic inches is sufiicient for 

 the needs of a strong colony, -both for breeding 

 purposes and for storing the winter supplies. 

 But small colonies, as second and third swarms, 

 do not, at the start, need so niuch room, and 

 will build combs more rapidly in a space adapted 

 to their size. Hence, means for regulating the 

 capacity of the hive slumld be provided; and 

 for this purpose nothing is better than a close- 

 fitting division board. To use a division board 

 successfully, the hive must be narrow one way, 

 with the frame running the narrow Avay, and 

 the entrance at the end of the hive, or side of 

 the frames. The swarm or colony may then 

 have four, six, eight, or ten frames, as it needs. 

 The hive must also be tall, to secvtre the storing 

 of winter supplies in the proper place, viz., 

 above the brood and the cluster. In the common 

 form of the Langstroth hive, the division board 

 cannot be used successfully, neither can the bees 

 store their winter supplies where needed. 



We can readily see, then, that to combine the 

 proper capacity for the main hive with the ne- 

 cessary shape — narrowness and talluess— we 

 shall have a hive with dimensions somewhat as 

 follows : say, twelve inches from side to side, 

 fifteen inches tall, and fifteen inches from front 

 to rear. This will give abundant space for 

 brood and winter store. 



But the principal object in keeping bees, is to 

 secure surplus honey, and provision must be 

 made for this. 



Those who wish to obtain their sitrplus stores 

 in boxes, may place them on the sides of a hive 

 of the dimensions indicated above. Such a 

 hive will accommodate boxes to the aggregate 

 capacity of one hundred pounds or more. An 

 outside casing may cover the whole. 



But, to secure the largest qtiantity of honey, 

 we must use the Extractor ; or, if not, we may 



obtain it in frames suspended in the rear of the 

 main hive, mttch more readily and rapidly than 

 by the use of boxes ; and in either case, whether 

 we use the Extractor, or take the honey in the 

 comb, by frames, we need only to lengthen the 

 hive, so as to hold two or three more frames 

 than are needed for winter purposes. 



With a hive thus constructed, we shall need 

 no cap other than a plain board, with cleats on 

 the under side to prevent warping or being mis- 

 placed. Neither shaU we need a honey-board, 

 which is an expensive and troublesome arrange- 

 ment. Of course, then, we need no air space 

 above the frames, and no rabbets to hang them 

 on — simply hanging them on the edges of the 

 box which composes the hive, making the tops 

 of th e frames close-fitting to each other through- 

 out their whole extent. 



As to a bottom, we need only a plain board, 

 detached, with strong cleats on the tinder side. 



The writer of this has used the Langstroth 

 hive many years, also the American and other 

 patents, and has constantly studied to improve 

 them. The result thus far is, that he has a hive 

 that can be made here for two dollars, which, as 

 he thinks, has many advantages over a host of 

 patents, with few disadvantages, and no un- 

 necessary fixings. It can be adapted to the 

 needs of a large or a small colony ; will hold 

 and winter two strong colonies at the same time ; 

 or can be used for three, or four good queen- 

 raising colonies. 



The inside dimensions of this hive are : 

 twelve and three-fourths inches from side to 

 side, nineteen and one-fourth inches from front 

 to rear, and fifteen and three-fourths inches deep. 

 It contains thirteen frames and a division board. 

 Entrances at each end ; top of frames closed ; 

 cross-bars through the middle ; top and bottom 

 detached. 



This hive is not patented, and the only feature 

 in which it resembles the Langstroth hive is in 

 having movable frames. If any of the readers 

 of this desire to try the hive, and cannot make 

 one from the description, I will cheerfully give 

 full directions ; but all correspondents must en- 

 close stamps or money sufficient to pay me for 

 my time, stationery and postage. 



W. C. CONDIT. 



Maryiville, East Tennessee. 



Bef.s and Honey. — Great and increasing at- 

 tention to bees and the production of honey, is 

 one of the "signs of the times" at the North 

 and West, but our people do not seem to have 

 awakened yet to the importance of the subject. 

 The cash value of the honey made in the United 

 States, every year, amounts to several millions 

 of dollars, and the cost of producing it is a mere 

 trifle. If the people of the South and South- 

 west would devote a little time and attention to 

 this matter, they would be agreeably surprised 

 at the great results from light labor and care. 

 With the Italian bees, new and improved hives, 

 &c., the business is reduced to perfect simplicity, 

 and the profits are unfailing and sure. We 

 earnestly advise our readers to give bee-keeping 

 a reasonable and proper share of attention at 

 once. -New Orleans Home Journal. 



