THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



223 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



A. P. Durant's Patent Hive. 



The hive repre- 

 sented by the an- 

 nexed cut is the 

 most simple and 

 the easiest man- 

 aped of any that 

 I have ever seen. 

 I think it is per- 

 fectly adapted to 

 persons handling 

 bees. I used it ._= 

 last season, and JH 

 found it far ahead s 

 of my expecta- §§= 

 tions. It is so "ll 

 arranged that I = 

 can take out the 

 frames without 

 injury to the bees 

 or combs, by 

 loosening the 

 iron rod a little. 



The side board 

 is loose, and 

 comes auy re- 

 quired distance, 

 or can be taken 

 off entirely. The 

 frames are rab- 

 beted at the low- 

 er end, resting 

 . on a shoulder or 

 L a crossbar. 

 |= I make my 

 jig frames 10 1 

 |l§ inches deep and 

 Sp" 15 inches long. 

 g I am not con- 

 I lined to any par- 

 ' t'cular number 

 of frames with 

 this hive. I 

 make my botrom 

 board wide 



enough to receive frames for a large stock of bees ; or, if my swarm is small, I use fewer frames. 

 I put a frame on the top, to receive honey boxes. This frame and the cap are nut shown in the 

 cut. 



I see, in the April number of the Bee Journal, that Mr. Quinby has got up a hive in which 

 the principle of handling the frames, if I understand it, is the same. The first hive I got up, I 

 set the frames on the bottom board. I do not like that as well as setting them ou the crossbar, 

 as shown intho cut. The bottom bar of my frame is three-eighths of an inch trom the bottom- 

 board. 



I see that some do not, like a patent hive. Very well, I cannot help it now. The thing 

 is done and gone. I obtained a patent on this hive December 8, 1868, number 84,805. What I 

 claim as my inveutijn is, Bottom-board A, Bars B B, Frames C D, Side-pieces E F, Connecting- 

 bars G G, Frame H, Cap I ; all constructed and arranger! substantially as set forth. 



Inquries from readers of the Bee Journal, concerning this hive, will receive due attention 

 and prompt answers, if addressed to 



A. P DURANT, 



April 10, 18G9. Athens, Ohio. 



[For the American BeeJourual ] 



The Native Honey Bee of Australia. 



I see that on page 110 of the American Bee 

 Journal are quoted tw T o lines from the JVcw 

 York Tribune, to the effect that " in Australia 

 the bees are as large as horse-flies, and do not 

 sting." This seems ridiculous enough, but I 

 have no doubt that the remark is intended to 

 apply to the native honey bee of that country, 

 and that its apparent absurdity arises entirely 

 from misprint. If we hear this in mind, and 

 substitute house-Hies for "horse-flies," the ab- 

 surdity vanishes, and the infoimation conveyed 

 becomes moreover perfectly correct. It is a 

 curious fact that the apparently powerless Lilli- 

 putians are stated to be quite capable of holding 

 their own, and even of successful!}'' defending 

 their nests against what might well be consi- 

 dered an irrisistible attack of the comparatively 

 gigantic and well-armed European bee, which 

 has been introduced by the colonists, and which 

 has flourished and extended itself through the 

 land to an almost unprecedented extent. Their 

 mode ol defence is described as being summary 

 and effective, although their tactics may be 



deemed simple in the extreme. They merely 

 grapple with the huge intruder, bite off her 

 wings and legs, and in this helpless condition 

 thrust her out of the nest ! 



In September, 1863, I received a beautiful 

 nest of these remarkable insects, the scientific 

 name of which is Trigona carbonaria, and which 

 nest is now deposited in the British Museum. 

 Its inhabitants were alive when shipped from 

 Brisbane, but had unfortunately become defunct 

 long before the conclusion of their voyage. 



If wished by the Editor of the American Bee 

 Journal, I shall be happy to forward a copy 

 of an interesting description of this nest and 

 its architects, from the pen of Mr. F. Smith, the 

 distinguished hymenopterist, who was at that 

 time President of the Entomological Society, 

 and who is at the head of the entomological de- 

 partment of the British Museum.* 



T. W. Woodbury, 

 ("A Devonshire Bee-keeper.") 



Mount Radford, Exeter, England, De- 

 cember 21, 1868. 



*We shall be please \ to receive the descrip- 

 tion referred to above. — Ed. A. B. J. 



