266 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[June, 



eggs laid by the queen are ever allowed to 

 hatch; and, now, if there is a man, woman or 

 child that can point out to us some substitute 

 for pollen, that bees will use when placed in 

 empty comb, and given them during rainy or 

 bad weather, we shall be ever so much obliged. 



Much has been said and written on the bene- 

 fits of stimulative feeding ; yet, feeding honey 

 or sugar-syrup during bad weather, it seems to 

 us, has very little effect compared with the 

 benefits of large yields of pollen, and we are 

 very much inclined to think plenty of sealed 

 combs of honey, or syrup, answer every purpose 

 of daily feeding. 



Considerable has been said in favor of filling 

 combs with the extractor, yet we cannot see 

 what earthly use there is in using the extractor 

 when combs may be filled both sides by simply 

 pouring it into the combs from a heighth of a 

 foot or two. By pouring from a kind of strainer 

 that will produce a number of small streams, 

 a number of combs can be filled very quickly. 



The most utterly impracticable extractor that 

 it has ever been our lot to try was one recom- 

 mended for the above purpose, tried in our 

 apiary last season. Two metal baskets at the 

 ends of revolving arms, to swing out horizon- 

 tally, constituted the mr.chine, and the centri- 

 fugal force was tearful, indeed, when the 

 contents of a pair of combs were deposited in 

 them. 



The first trial was made in our bee-house, but 

 after making a streak of honey entirely around 

 the house, spectators and all, we decided to ad- 

 journ out-doors ; and, a second trial there, satis- 

 fied even the owner of the " right for the State 

 of Ohio " that, although the machine might be 

 good for some things, it wasn't good to get out 

 honey. 



It seems that Mr. Quinby, with many others, 

 has an impression that we recommend a small 

 hive and a cheap one; and, again, that $1 pays 

 for the whole complete, yet it seems to us we 

 have gone over the ground often enough. 



It matters not what frame be used, neither the 

 length nor depth, but simply the case to hold 

 them; and, with any of them, we s^ted that a 

 single story, such as would be required to hold 

 the bees and stores in winter, for instance, 

 should be made for $1. Two, or even three, 

 such stories may be needed for surplus and for 

 box honey ; we advised making the Langstroth 

 hive double width and two stories ; this would 

 be much the shape and size of Quinby's hive, 

 and with us would be much easier to handle, 

 besides enabling us to use the same frames we 

 have in cur other hives. 



We think, even, Mr. Q. would concede that 

 such an arrangement will give just as much box 

 honey as his own, and then we should have only 

 to consider which form of case and frames was 

 easiest to handle. As we do not think alike on 

 this subject we would suggest that every bee- 

 keeper exercise his own judgment in the matter, 



and if he be inexperienced let him visit apiaries 

 of from 50 to 100 colonies, in the working sea- 

 son, managed both ways or with both kinds of 

 hives. 



If Mr. Q.'s or Mr. Hazen's or Mr. Alley's hive 

 will give 200 pounds of box honey per season 

 we should adopt them by all means, but we 

 should not think of paying anyone for a right 

 to place boxes around the brood combs in any 

 position we chose. 



Our reports from the above hives are nearly 

 all isolated instances. Cannot some one tell us 

 what fifty colonies have done on an average, or 

 has no one ever had so many of the hives men- 

 tioned in one apiaiy? How many has Mr. Q., 

 himself, of the kind he speaks of, and have they 

 given him 200 pounds on an average any season? 



We have here reported our yield of honey 

 each season and think it a pretty fair average, 

 even poor seasons. 



We never let our bees lack for room, and we 

 can't think Mr. Q. means to intimate that more 

 honey will be made in boxes than in frames. It 

 has been our impression for many years, that 

 the hive had little to do with the yield of 

 honey, providing that room be always given 

 just so fast as needed, and we have little doubt 

 but that the long hive described on page 250, 

 May number, would give as much honey as the 

 two-story Langstroth, begging Mr. Adair's par- 

 don for the illustration. 



It seems to us that it would be inconvenient 

 to " lug " it all in the house to winter, and it 

 would take twice the surface of bottom-board 

 and cover that one of the same kind would of 

 two -story. 



In conclusion we would ask our readers to 

 use caution in making a lot of any of the ex- 

 treme forms of hives advertised (double walls 

 for instance). Where you find apiarias of con- 

 siderable size managed satisfactorily for several 

 years with a hive, there can be but little risk of 

 adopting them. 



As it has been clearly demonstrated that one 

 kind of a hive or one-sized frame won't suit all, 

 can't we compromise the matter so far as to set- 

 tle down on about five different dimensions of 

 frames, of 



Quinby's frame, 18J^ x 12 inches outside. 

 Langstroth " 11% x 9% " 

 American " 12 x 12 " 



Adair " 13^x11^ " 



Gallup " 11^x11^ " 



If we are incorrect in any of the above we are 

 willing to be set right, and would ask the aid 

 of others in sifting the matter down to as small 

 a compass as possible. 



Novice. 



p. S.— We can't see, in looking at the above, 

 that we have mentioned anything we might 

 want " to sell," unless it be " the stove," and 

 " Mrs. N." says " that ain't for sale no how." 



