156 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Jan., 



tlie subject of movinjf bees from one location to 

 another, to gather different crops of honey is at- 

 tracting attention. This branch of bv;siness 

 would undoubtedly be carried on quite exten- 

 sively, if hives were as easily moved as so many 

 boxes of beans. I have never yet practiced this ; 

 but want to get my hives in such a shape that I 

 can do it, as I believe in it. Will not those who 

 have done so, give us some ideas of the sub- 

 ject?" 



I exactly agree with Mr. Hubbard, in the 

 above description of the hive we want, and shall 

 adopt the Triumph Bee Plive by W. R. King, 

 as I think it com^s nearer the above description 

 than any I ever saw or heard of, except Adair's 

 sectional hive, which I find too inconvenient to 

 handle. The Triumph has close fitting frames, 

 or fixed ; can be closed up and fastened in less 

 than five minutes, and has sufllcient ventilation 

 for transportation in the hottest weather. It is 

 the best ventilated hive I have ever seen. It is 

 also well adapted for wintering on the summer 

 stand. The close fitting frames literally making 

 one hive in another, which is warm in winter and 

 cool in summer. Also, by means of a partition 

 board, it can be enlarged or contracted at will, 

 and in a few minutes, to suit the size of the 

 swarm ; and in the honey-gathering season it 

 can be enlarged, so as for the bees to make all 

 surplus in frames in the body of the hive and 

 on top ; and it is well adapted for the extractor. 

 If the apiarian would rather have his honey 

 stored in caps, he can be accommodated with 

 this hive. It is also self-cleansing by means of 

 a moth-trap drawer in the bottom ; but that is 

 of minor importance. It can be made without 

 the moth-trap ; but I think that by means of the 

 moth-trap drawer, it is the best self-cleaner and 

 ventilator I ever saw. Also the frame of this 

 hive is just the size I want, being 9x12 inside, 

 and is a great advantage to those rearing queens, 

 as three or four of such frames will make a 

 pi'etty strong queen-raising nucleus, which can 

 be kept strong by exchanging frames with full 

 hives, and so save the trouble of feeding and re- 

 inforcing with bees. The frames are so adopted 

 as to secure straight eombs. These are only my 

 views, as I have tried only one of them this sea- 

 son, and it has giveii satisfaction, convincing me 

 of the superior advantages of this hive over many 

 others, I will not say over all others, for I want 

 to try a thing, and in fact always do try a thing, 

 before I give niy experience, or what I know of 

 it from experience. I have not given all the ad- 

 vantages of this hive yet ; but the length to 

 which I am spinning this out, warns me to stop 

 for the present. 



R. M. Argo. 

 Lowell, Ky., Nov. 27, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Cursory Eemarks and Observations. 



Dear Editor : — I intend again trying to 

 drop you and the readers of our beloved Journal 

 a few of my thoughts, experiences, &c., in order 

 to give you a better chance to select such articles 



as may seem best calculated to promote the 

 worthy cause of bee-cultui"e. I think many 

 others of your subscribers who have hitherto 

 contributed nothing in this way would confer a 

 favor on the bee family and often aid the inex- 

 ])erienced if they would take notes of what is 

 daily transpiring in their apiaries, and send 

 them to the editor to give him a lai'ger supply of 

 materials from which to select. Nor should any 

 feel disappointed if his contribution does not 

 appear, but rather be glad that there was in the 

 editor's possession some article better suited for 

 publication, or just then better adajrted to the 

 passing season. 



The first thing I do when I receive the Journal 

 is to put a few stitches in the back, rip open the 

 edges of the leaves, take a hurried glance over 

 the pages, and if the mill is not running empty, 

 pick out what interests me most. I often have 

 to let it drop, and run to some work, but that 

 evening it gets pretty tlioroughly finished, even 

 if it takes till twelve o'clock to finish it. In two 

 days after receiving it I would be ready for 

 the next number. 



Well, I see in the August number that Novice 

 has a bran new scale, to test matters closely. I 

 received one also about the same time, but, 

 brother Novice, I would not trade even with 

 you, as you say yours only weighs sixty pounds, 

 antl you cannot weigh a Langsti-oth hive on it. 

 My scale cost fifteen dollars. It is a Fairbank's 

 and Grofpleaf double beam platform counter 

 scale, with brass hopper, and will weigh two 

 hundred and eighty-four (284) pounds, and as 4 

 low as half an ounce. I like it very much, and 

 think it is the very thing for bee keepers. They 

 should each have one. I had a hive of hybrids 

 in a Langstroth on the scale from the 16th of 

 August, with the following result : August 16th, 

 gain h lb., 17th, ^ lb., 18th, 1 lb., 19th, U lbs., 

 20th, 2i lbs.. 21st, 1^ lbs., 22d, 2^1bs.,.28d, 2\ 

 lbs., 24th, 3:^ lbs., 2oth. 2 lbs., 2(ith, 3 lbs., 27th, 

 4^ lbs., 28th, none, rainy and cold, 29th, lost 1 

 lb., 80th, gained 1 lb., 31st, 4 lbs., Sept. 1st, 5 

 lbs., 2d, 5 lbs. The hive was then removed and 

 another put on of black bees, not quite as good 

 results. I did not try my best hive, which 

 would have shown much better results. When 

 I weighed them this fall, I only found out which 

 was my best hive. The above can be considered 

 the product of fall pasturage. Novice's, I 

 judge, was spring honey, as his article had to be 

 in Washington by the 10th of August. My hive 

 was always weighed in the evening. In the 

 morning it always lost from two to three pounds. 

 I cannot see how Novice's gained from six to 

 thirteen ounces so early as from six to seven, 

 seven to eight, and eight to nine o'clock in the 

 morning. i\Iine only commenced gaining from 

 twelve to six in the afternoon. On September 

 23d, they were still gathering at the rate of one 

 and a half to two pounds per day. Soon after 

 that frost stopped their operations. My best 

 hive goes into winter quarters with one hundred 

 and seventy-six (1763 pounds, hive and all. 

 Take fifty pounds off for hive, leave one hundred 

 and twenty-six (126) pounds. Take oft' again 

 thirty-five pounds for bees, combs, and winter 

 stores, would leave ninety-one pounds of surplus, 



