1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



205 



[For the Ame ican Bee Joainal.] 



"Triumph" Bee Hive Description. 



Mr. Editor, and brother beekeepers : — Ac- 

 cording to i^romisu, I give you a description of 

 the Triumph hive, with cuts to illustrate it. The 

 above- cut re jDresents a front view of the hive, 

 which is 34 inches long, outside measurement, 

 by 16 inches wide and 10 inches deep. The 

 fiames are hung either upon the rabbeted 

 edges of the brood chamber, or upon strips 

 I of an inch square tacked on the inner edge 

 of the brood chamber f of an inch from the 

 top. 'I'he frames are hung the narrow way 

 of tl e hive, instead of lengthwise, as in the 

 Langstroth. The advantage is that in hand- 

 ling new combs filled with brood and honey, 

 there is but little danger of the combs fall- 

 ing out of the frames, as is frequently the 

 case with longer frames. We use from ten to 

 fourteen of these frames, as circumstances re- 

 quire. We have a partition board in either one 

 or both ends of the hive, that fits closely in the 

 chamber, yet is jjerfcctly easy to slide either 

 back or forth, for the purpose of contracting or 

 enlarging at will, the brood chamber. The 

 frames are made of strips | of an inch thick. 

 The top piece is ]| inches wide. We cut th.ree- 

 thirty-seconds of an inch otF both edges of this 

 top }/iece, commencing Ij inches from eacli end. 

 This is to let the bees pass jiito the surplus 

 chamber above. The end pieces are 1| inches 

 wide, and 9^ inches long. The bottom i)iece is 

 I inch wide. The end pieces of the frame have 

 a little cleat or block | inch square and 1 inch 

 long tacked on their bottom edges on both sides. 

 This prevents the frames from touching each 

 other, excepting at these points and at either 

 end at the toj). The frames are thus made to 

 fit up close against each other at the points 

 named, yet leaving space for bees to pass above, 

 between, and all around them. We now slide 

 our paitition board up against them frnm either 

 end, placing wedges behind it. The brood 

 chamber is thus foimed, and by so arranging it, 

 we secure the frames in such a manner as to be 

 able to ship the hive filled with bees and comb 

 to any part of the United States or Canada, 

 without any danger of the combs being broken 

 down. In November, last, I shipped 43 colo- 

 nies from Milton, Ky., to this place (over two 

 hundred miles), by boat fifty miles, and by rail- 



road one hundred and fifty, and they were 

 hauled one mile in wagons, and not one comb 

 was broken down ; besides there were not more 

 than one-fourth of a pint of dead bees in all the 

 hives put together. I simply pressed my wedges 

 in tight, putting a nail in each of them to keep 

 them in place. There were no frames to be 

 nailed down. One dozen "Triumph" hives 

 can be piepared for shipping in the same time 

 you would be preparing one of any other kind, 

 differently arranged. 



We use the hive both with and without a 

 wire bottom. The wire used is No. 8, and is 

 tacked to the sides and ends of the hive f of an 

 inch from the bottom of the frames, covering the 

 whole bottom. Underneath the wire bottom we 

 have a drawer or receiver, to receive all the 

 chippings of comb and filth thrown down by the 

 bees. This drawer has strips of tin, Ik inches 

 wide, tacked oh to its edges all around, extend- 

 ing over the inside. This is our moth trap. Of 

 course there are many worms that pass into this 

 drawer, and unless it is cleansed at least once 

 in ten days, they will accumulate until they fill 

 the drawer to the wire above with web, and then 

 they can return to the brood chamber. I would 

 advise any one who will not look after his bees 

 to use the hive without the wire bottom and 

 drawer ; but those that wall cleanse it, will find 

 that it is of great advantage, as by means of it 

 we keep the bottom of our hive perfectly clean, 

 without interfering with the bees. We also more 

 successfully ventilate the hive, as will be seen 

 by examining the following cut. 



6ECT10^'AL VIEW. 



This cut shows a sectional view of the hive 

 with fig. 2, the caji, off. Figure 3, represents 

 the surplus honey chamber resting on the top 

 of the cap, with three of the surplus frames 

 pulled up in it. This chamber has a partition 

 board Avith wedges. The frames in it are only 6^ 

 inches deep, but are of the same length as those 

 in the brood chamber, and can be used in the 

 brood chamber for feeding purposes. These sur- 

 plus frames fit closely in the chamber, being 

 suspended on the top edge. We use no honey- 

 board, so-called, except in winter. 



The patented features in this hive are the ven- 

 tilators and the perforated division hoards, which 

 are used in a large hive not represented in these 

 cuts, but which I will explain hereafter. The 



