122 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Dec, 



see light through a single thickness, they are 

 more apt to eat through. 



We think you will like it better to have the 

 hive come half-inch higher than top of frames, 

 and then you can tuck in the quilt so that " naly 

 bee ' ' can get above it, which they never should 

 do. 



Page 75 and page 88. " What would Novice 

 do ?" and "What killed bees in such a hive as 

 that?" 



1st. Coffee sugar syrup sealed up in combs, 

 and, 2d, because they didn't have pure food such 

 as coffee sugar, etc., etc Bless your hearts, 

 have we not told it often enough before ? 



And now, Mr. Uuknown, we like you tip top, 

 but 'twas "naughty " to say our experience was 

 limited. "The proof of the pudding," etc., for 

 our syrup don't candy, and won't ; so, there ; 

 and never did, only when we forgot the cream 

 of tartar : but you are right part of the time, too. 

 Listen : We made a barrel of syrup our way, 

 stirred it with a hoe about ten minutes, guessed 

 at the quantity of water, and as you say, the 

 sugar didn't all dissolve, but we put on our float, 

 and the bees took up all that had dissolved, and 

 then we stirred in more hot water ; the result 

 was only this, that the syrup was so thin they 

 could not cap it over for several days, but it 

 don't candy at all. 



We now boil it, because we can't make syrup 

 thick as honey otherwise. But our receipt is all 

 right, we know ; and we don't know your vinegar 

 receipt is just what is wanted for bees. Do you f 

 W"hy do you put in so much water, and have all 

 the trouble to boil it out again ? 



Page 92. When you raise queen cells, don't 

 never remove your choice queen at all. Swap 

 frames with a queenless hive, or make any hive 

 you wish queenless, and then "swap" frames. 



If you can't swap frames in less time than you 

 can remove queens, you had better make one 

 such a hive as we took three columns to explain, 

 and yet, friend Widener, page 96, will turn the 

 bottom board upside doivn. Bless you, Mr. W., 

 why did you suppose we insisted on having bot- 

 tom boards just like cover, bevelled around out- 

 side edge of top and all. 



Mr. Burd, you really astonish us. Did you 

 consider, as Quinby once said, that that hive 

 might have been our "pet idea," and how you 

 might hurt us. We expected, of course, some 

 heavy criticisms on such a hive, too cheap and 

 simple, etc., but not from you. On the contrary, 

 we were really worried, for fear you would ex- 

 plain the whole thing to the "Deacon," or some- 

 thing to that effect, as your "own ideas," and 

 then we worried more for fear Mr. King would 

 be afaid it might injure Ids hive ; but as it is, we 

 are really pleased, for you can stand on "your 

 own feet," and tell us what desirable things can 

 be done with " your hive" that can't be done 

 quicker with ours ; or, rather, with the Lang- 

 stroth hive as used by Novice. 



Let beekeepers avoid personalities in their 

 discussions ; they cause irration and bad feeling, 

 and do much to hinder the progress of true bee- 

 culture, while they do little or nothing to de- 

 velop truth 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The Bay State Hive. 



Novice thinks that perhaps this hive has been 

 unduly praised in the Journal. Now, as I may, 

 in some measure, have laid myself open to this 

 charge, I deem it due to Mr. Alley to say, as I 

 have said once before, that while I do not pre- 

 tend in the general way to make a comparative 

 estimate of different hives, yet, that I do feel at 

 liberty to state facts, and here is one. During 

 the present season I had a Bay State Hive on a 

 frame, together with an American hive on one 

 side, and a Langstroth on the other. Neither of 

 the latter two gave me an ounce of surplus 

 honey, while I obtained between sixty and 

 seventy pounds from the B. 8. Hive. 



Now, we know that the Langstroth is a good 

 hive, and the friends of the American claim 

 great credit for that particular style, but here 

 with equal stocks, and with perhaps some diffi- 

 culties, which I could not discover or remedy ; 

 we find the most marked difference in the results. 



I wish to do no injustice and to exhibit no 

 improper partiality, but certai»ly I do not think 

 that I at least have praised the B. S. Hive un- 

 duly ; but after saying this much, it may be 

 proper for me to add, that 1 am not personally 

 acquainted with Mr. Alley, and have no other 

 connection with his hive than the fortunate pos- 

 session of one of them, and I should be glad if 

 every subscriber to the Journal would "go and 

 do likewise," that they may then more intelli- 

 gently decide the question as to the amount of 

 praise to which the B. S. Hive is entitled. Does 

 Novice own one? If not, won't he try one? 



B. J. B. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Dronings. 



Profiting by Novice's suggestions, I have the 

 impudence to think that I have actually improved 

 upon his latest bee-feeder. I take a tin bucket, 

 with a top, of course (of height and diameter to 

 suit different hives), have a flange of about an 

 inch depth around the bottom, perforated with 

 iuuumeiable small holes. It is better to have 

 the smooth side of the bottom below, as the bee 

 thereby can insert its proboscis more readily. 

 The bucket being placed over the holes of the 

 honey-board, the bees come up and feed undis- 

 turbed and undisturbing. 



I would caution my brethren against putting 

 too much water with the sugar fed to bees. 

 Having erred in this myself, I soon found a 

 stream of liquid sweets trickling down, and be- 

 fore I could correct the error, a horde of robbers 

 made their appearance. The feed should ■ be 

 boiled well, for I agree with the anonymous critic 

 on Novice, that simply to pour boiling water 

 over the sugar is by no means sufficient. With 

 a bucket of this description, 12 inches in diame- 

 ter, and say 4 or 5 inches high, I think that 25 

 pounds of coffee sugar could be readily taken up 

 by a colony in twenty-four hours. 



