164 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Jan., 



X 



the rear of the other portion, and entrances at 

 both ends just alike. We made six of these 

 containing thirteen frames in each apartment, 

 or twenty-six frames to the hive. We made one 

 containing sixteen frames in each aparrment, or 

 thirty-two frames to the hive, and this gave ns 

 the most satisfaction. We made a cap eight 

 inches high for appearance sake, and for winter- 

 ing purposes, and thus Ave can set boxes over 

 one set of combs and use the extractor on the 

 othf-r. We make the roof in the Bay State form, 

 independent of the cap, so that it sets on over 

 the chamber or cap, sugar box fashion. In sum- 

 mer if we do not use the cap we can lay it away, 

 and the roof protects the main hive. 



In future we shall make the caps high enough to 

 hold a set of standard frames for some of our 

 queens occupy the entire twenty-six frames, over 

 four thousand (4000) cubic inches, with brood, 

 and we are bound to furnish them with room 

 according to their strength, even if they do lay 

 themselves to death, though we have no fears on 

 that head. Now we shall have our fifty-two 

 frame hive, a thirty-two frame hive, a twenty- 

 six frame hive, a twelve frame hive, and nucleus 

 hives, all containing the same size frame, and 

 any frame in the yard will fit in any hive in the 

 yard, and in any place in any hive, and they are 

 all reversible. 



This article will be too long to permit us to 

 give the management, but, friends, we will now 

 come down to dead earnest. No joking now ! 

 A large colony of bees will store surplus honey, 

 while a small one scarcely makes a living. Any 

 colony, especially the Italians, will store more 

 surplus honey in the same apartment with the 

 queen than they will otherwise. Nearly every 

 person familiar with the Italians has noticed this 

 trait in their character— that is, their reluctance 

 to take possession of surplus boxes, in com- 

 parison with the black bees. This was very 

 forcibly illustrated by Mr. Langstroth at the 

 Cincinnati Convention. When we give the 

 queen room according to her strength, she will 

 breed beyond all our previous calculations — that 

 is, a good, prolific queen. A hive to suit oul- 

 notions must be so constructed that we can 

 enlarge or contract the brooding and storing 

 capacity at will ; or, in other words, one in which 

 we can manage the smallest or the largest swarm 

 to best advantage. 



As this article is getting long, and we must 

 soon close. Uur first swarm came out on the 

 14th of May. We hived it in one end of our 

 thirty- two frame hive, making use of the division 

 board the same as we do in our standard hive. 

 As soon as the bees commenced building drone 

 comb we removed the division board and filled 

 UY> with worker combs. When these were all 

 occupied with brood we filled the other end of 

 the hive also with worker comb, moving some 

 of the sealed brood into that apartment, and re- 

 placing with empty worker comb in front. The 

 queen soon began to spread herself most glori- 

 ously into all parts of the hive, and when the 

 basswood began to bloom, we had a bursting 

 swarm in that hive, you had better believe. The 

 last of June we commenced using the extractor, 

 first taking all the honey from one end of the 



hive, and the next time all from the other. 

 We extracted from that hive every third day, 

 and we now know that we ought to have taken 

 it out every other day, for it was all of it half 

 sealed every time, which you will readily see in- 

 volves a loss of time, a waste of honey, especially 

 when they are gathering rapidly. At one time 

 I did not overhaul it for five days. Consequently 

 they filled up the combs, built queen cells, and 

 on the 4th of July out came a rousing swarm 

 (celebrating the 4th, I guess). I have them in a 

 box, extracted all the honey from the parent 

 hive, cut out the queen cells, and returned the 

 swarm. They went to work with a will. In 

 overhauling the hive I endeavored to keep the 

 brood about equally apportioned in each apart- 

 ment. The queen passed into all parts of the 

 hive freely, and the workers poured out and in, 

 at both ends of the hive. The regular entrances 

 were left open to their full capacity, besides an 

 inch hole in the centre of each end, yet during a 

 large part of the time both porticoes were clus- 

 tered fall of bees at night, when they quit work. 



In thirty days I obtained from the hive fifty 

 (50) gallons of excellent thick honey (a gallon 

 will weigh twelve pounds). An average of twenty 

 pounds per day for thirty days in succession 

 is not bad for one swarm of bees. I took five 

 and a half gallons from that hive the first week 

 in September, have at least six gallons more in 

 the hive, over and above what will be required 

 for wintering the swarm. 



Mr. Editor, please to tell Novice that I am 

 not going to tear down that hive yet. My better 

 half suggests that I put on a steeple, and call it 

 a church instead of a bee hive ! What a con- 

 gregation, and what excellent sermonizers. 



And now, Mr. Editor, if any more of them 'ere 

 donkeys wish to bray at Gallup, don't hold them 

 back a particle, just let 'em bray ! 



Orchard, Iowa, Dec, 1871. E. Gallup. 



[For the American Bee .Tournal.] 



A Puzzle. 



Some time in August, last summer, I killed 

 the virgin queen of a nucleus hive, because the 

 bees had crippled one of her hind legs so mu"h 

 that I feared she was unable to become fertilizjed. 

 Next day I opened this nucleus for the purp'6se 

 of inserting a new queen cell, and found the bees 

 perfectly quiet and content. On examination I 

 found among them an apparently fertile queen, 

 whose wings were clipped. As there was no 

 other nucleus within ten feet of this one, where 

 did this queen with clipped wings come from ? 

 There was standing at that distance, directly 

 behind this one a nucleus which had swarmed 

 off ; and as at that season of the year, I nearly 

 always clip the wings of the young queens as soon 

 as they become fertile, the queen of this decamp- 

 ing swarm could probably not accompany the 

 workers, may she not have fallen to the ground 

 and afterwards travelled ten feet ahead, and 

 then been boosted up by the workers of the other 

 queenless nucleus? Or how did such a queen 

 get in there? A. Grimm. 



Jefferson, Wis., Dec. 1871, 



