130 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Dec, 



above to below, but there are some that object 

 to having the queen breeding in the upper story. 

 But our friend Novice, No. 1, says: " and if 

 the queen goes into the upper story, all the bet- 

 ter." Well, I thought so too, but I expected 

 that she would probably only occupy the central 

 combs, leaving about two combs on the outside, 

 above and below, or nearly so, making eight 

 combs to occupy with brood, and the other 

 eight for bees to store honey ; but not so. all the 

 combs, sixteen in number, in two of the five 

 hives, the queen traversed, and used them for 

 breeding. I suppose you think that I had some 

 such queens that Mr. Furman understood Gal 

 lup to have ; but uo, for the brood, if condensed, 

 would all go on seven combs. Now, in adopting 

 this plan of the double story, I expected to 

 avoid taking such combs as contained brood, for 

 I am certain that taking combs, with brood all 

 nicely sealed over, is more dangerous to the 

 brood, when slinging out the honey, than when 

 in its larva? state ; for I 'found, when in its last 

 named state, it effects it only when either moved 

 from its food bed, or thrown out altogether, 

 which may easily be avoided by slow turning ; 

 but this is, in my opinion, such slow-poke work, 

 that it is, at best, more unnecessary trouble than 

 it is worth, and this ye;;r I had enough of that, 

 taking up a comb heavy with honey, and per- 

 haps no brood in it, the next one also heavy, 

 but uuless you examine close, you will overlook 

 a patch, perhaps four inches square, or less, with 

 larvae in it ; now, you will have to turn slow of 

 course, and make it slow from beginning to end, 

 and to say nothing of lifting off an upper story 

 every time is, well, I am so sick of it, and more 

 so, when thinking of having some fifty to do 

 that way, as I am hoping to succeed in seeing 

 that number yet in my yard some day ; but I 

 really should be contented with having no more 

 than I possessed daring the present honey har- 

 vest, for they took up all my patience I had to 

 spare. What, then, with fifty? 



But, now, just you listen a little to my no less 

 good friend than friend Novice, I mean friend 

 Gallup. I think his pet arrangement of spread- 

 ing out the combs horizontally, has just relieved 

 me of all that trouble again, I say again, be- 

 cause I managed five stocks in that way in 1871, 

 therefore, I had my hives side-openers, to make 

 two single hives answer for a double one, on the 

 horizontal principle, and it worked very well ; 

 but one is, as it were, never satisfied till he 

 jumps from thefryingpan into the fire and, w.o 

 versa. Though I am none the worse for that, it 

 only proved something to me, that when theoriz- 

 ing about it, it was perfectly satisfactory, but 

 when practicing it, tho thing didn't result within 

 expectation at all ; and many more, I am sure, 

 will adhere to the horizontal plan, after trying 

 both ways ; let the frame be what shape it will, 

 it won't make a straw's difference. Now, by 

 having the combs spread out, it is so easy to 

 manage. You only take off the cover, and you 

 have all your frames in sight ; I have the con- 

 tents of a single hive, moved into a hive of dou- 

 ble the capacity of a single one, and placed in 

 the centre, and placo four ompty combs on each 

 side of the main stock, but without division 



boards ; there is no need for any, except you 

 wish to contract the space of the hive for certain 

 purposes, but not for gathering honey ; and if 

 the honey is coming in pretty fast, in order to 

 keep the bees from getting the swarming fever, 

 spread the combs of the main brood chamber, 

 except tho three centre ones, and alternate 

 brood comb, then an empty one ; and every 

 other slinging, empty the honey from the brood 

 combs that is not sealed, but do not break any 

 sealing, unless it takes in too much of the 

 breeding space. I always calculate having some 

 25 or 30 pounds of sealed honey, as such honey 

 is undoubtedly the very best for the bees to 

 winter on, and you are always safe, if the honey 

 should, through some cause or other, suddenly 

 fail ; and I have not been troubled yet with 

 swarming, not even a queen cell started ; that 

 it checks swarming, if managed in that way ; I 

 do not think there is any better method ; and as 

 for storing the honey even, well the bees, of 

 course, fill up the combs nearest the brood, and so 

 work outward, and when honey comes in at the 

 rate of 12 or 15 pounds per day. I always found 

 the combs on the outside filled up as any of the 

 others, and get every ounce as much honey, as 

 with the top story way ; it should be slung every 

 three or four days. I have said above, that I 

 was not in favor of taking honey from a comb 

 that has its brood sealed over, and the fact is, 

 that I lost any amount of bees in '71. When 

 opening the hive in July, the fourth day after 

 slinging the honey from it, for the purpose of 

 going through the process again, I found patches 

 on different combs of different sizes, uncapped 

 brood, all with their whiteheads protruding, and 

 finding such, more or less in all the hives, op- 

 erated on before, I took it seriously to thought ; 

 what could have brought this about ; and I, 

 according to my observation, found it to be 

 through the slinging process, and do it as care- 

 ful nevertheless as you will, it seems to me, 

 when the inmate of these cells, after being 

 sealed over, arrives at a certain point of ma- 

 turity, its tenderness is far greater and easier 

 chilled, than when younger. I mean to try ex- 

 periments on that another season ; I have found 

 the same thing again this year, where I took 

 such combs of sealed brood. Now, Mr. Editor, 

 you will perhaps ask, if the horizontal plan of 

 placing the combs was more advantageous than 

 simply, as some may think I was only imagining 

 it to be managed easier than the top-story hive. 

 I will say that I am able to control my stock, as 

 to have the brood all compact, because the queen 

 has her combs placed, when putting them in the 

 double hive, just in the same way as they were 

 in the single hive, and with the empty combs on 

 the side of the others. Now, if she finds her 

 brooding space too small, she will undoubtedly 

 occupy some of these combs, but not go from 

 one end to the other across all the combs, nor do 

 the bees fill up these empty combs all over with 

 bee-bread ; the bees store their bee-bread al- 

 ways near the brood ; but, as I found in the 

 top-story process, the queen making her way up 

 above, filling the combs with brood, and below, 

 as- the combs are getting emptied of young bees ; 

 the bees fill these cells with bee-bvead, and of 



