1016 



American Dee Journal 



Dec. 13, 1906 



reading- would show that in more than 

 one particular I have expressly met the 

 difficulties which Mr. G. brings up in 

 his arguments. 



What canons of architecture apply to 

 hive-making I do not know. I remem- 

 ber that ourgood Prof. Norton, at Har- 

 vard, used to say that architectural 

 forms should subserve the use to which 

 the completed whole was to be put. 

 Those are not his words, but they con- 

 vey the idea. Possibly we might place 

 < fficiency as the rule which one could 

 apply to the architecture of bee-hives. 

 If a hive meets this most important of 

 all requirements, then just so far is it 

 beautiful. 



Mr. Greiner's statement about pho- 

 tographs of apiaries, once more opens 

 to me the opportunity to disclaim 

 against the prevailing notion that 

 hives must tilt forward, also the notion 

 that there is no cover but must be held 

 down by a clumsy r.tone. Let Mr. G. 

 select two other judges, and then let 

 the three pass judgment upon the pho- 

 tographs which have adorned (?) the 

 front cover of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal during the year 1906. The cover 

 of Jan 25th number shows part of my 

 own home apiary, taken from an eleva- 

 tion so as to bring into view more 

 hives. Hives are perfectly upright, 

 covers stay on of themselves, and hives 

 are as much alike as any other twins. 

 The hives may not be as geometrically 

 exact individually as a lot of dove- 

 tailed hives, but collectively they are 

 all right. _ Mr. Greiner, the appearance 

 of an apiary does not so much depend 

 upon the individual hive as it does 

 upon the orderly arrangement of the 

 hives, and upon the absence of un- 

 necessary clutter. 



I emphatically deny that T have un- 

 derestimated the need of uniformity in 

 bee-fixtures. I assume, and I think 

 rightly, that an intelligent bee-keeper 

 can make his own hives and have them 

 uniform. I wish to say that I approve 

 of Mr. Greiner's argument about uni- 

 form covers, and reject with scorn the 

 implication that my lips would say : 

 "Pretty small affair," etc. Does Mr. 

 G. think that the covers on the SO 

 home-made hives in my back-yard can 

 not be manipulated as he describes? 

 Mr. Greiner's allusion to covers was 

 most unfortunate, for every one knows 

 that no part of the factory-made hive 

 has given mere trouble than the cover ; 

 though it might truly be said that the 

 cover is hard-pressed by certain other 

 parts in the race for infamy. Even 

 though an apiarist buys all his hives, 

 it would pay him well to make covers 

 such as I describe in the article under 

 discussion, to use in conjunction with 

 the cover which comes with his hives. 

 It needs scarcely be said that this 

 could be done only with the flat cover. 

 Is it true that factory-made hives are 

 so very exact? I have put together 

 hives sent out by two of the foremost 

 firms in the country, each of which 

 firms claims for its goods perfect work- 

 manship. Well, Mr. Greiner, and my 

 other readers, I have never found the 

 exactness which the article on page 

 963 claims for such goods. Two causes 

 bring about this inexactness : 

 In the first place, a machine will not 

 o any better work than it is set to do, 

 nd a human being adjusts the ma- 



chine. Moreover, most parts of the 

 bee-hive, though got out by machinery, 

 are more or less subject to the muscular 

 action and the eyesight of the man 

 running the machine. Hence, many 

 parts are not exact. 



In the second place, rarely is the 

 lumber used by supply manufacturers 

 uniformly seasoned, nor of uniform 

 texture. Yet all goes through the 

 same mill. Result is a shrinking of 

 this part, and a warping of that, and 

 when the parts are assembled, and the 

 hive nailed together, the finished job 

 is not good. Talk about 1-32 of an 

 inch ! I have seen parts of hives put 

 out by these firms which fell 3-16 of an 

 inch away from accuracy. In my self- 

 made hive I am not satisfied with re- 

 sults less accurate than the best work 

 turned out by the manufacturers. 



Permit me to enumerate the points 

 in a hive where accurate uniformity is 

 essential : 



(a). Hive-bodies must be such that 

 one will fit another when placed upon 

 it. My directions meet that require- 

 ment. 



{/>). Inside length must be such that 

 proper bee space is left at end of 

 frames. My hive meets that require- 

 ment. 



(c). Width inside should be deter- 

 mined and adhered to. My hive ad- 

 mits of that. Factory hive is still on 

 the fence of uncertainty. 



(d). Depth inside should be such as 

 to allow proper space below frames. 

 Here again my hive surpasses the 

 factory-made hive. With the double 

 wall of my home-made hive, the boards 

 being put in with grains of the two 

 walls crossing, there is no change of 

 depth brought about by shrinking or 

 swelling. Can this be said of the 

 usual factory-made hive ? 



(e). There must be a bee-space be- 

 tween the super of sections and the 

 frames below. As I recommend an 

 outer upper story with thin section- 

 case inside, it will be seen that the 

 last-mentioned bee-space will not be 

 dependent upon the structural accuracy 

 of the hive, but of the super or of the 

 honey-board. My own section-super 

 has a bee-space below the slats — the 

 proper way, I think. 



(/). Covers should be made to stay 

 on, to shed rain, and to be interchange- 

 able. My telescope cover, as described, 

 meets all those requirements. I have 

 absolutely no use for a cover which 

 depends upon bee-glue to make it tight, 

 upon a stone to keep it in place, and 

 upon chance to shed rain. "Don't, 

 don't," my friends, let Mr. Greiner en- 

 courage you to further toleration of 

 such a nuisance. 



In closing his argument Mr. G. men- 

 tions the matter of saving of time 

 through easy manipulation. I am with 

 him here, heart and soul, and would 

 " go him one better." Not only should 

 we make manipulation easier, but we 

 ought to do away with about three- 

 fourths of even this easy manipulation. 

 Let the bees alone more. 



Heretofore I have largely devoted 

 my attention to meeting and contro- 

 verting what Mr. Greiner says. I 

 should like a little more space to em- 

 phasize what Mr. G. says nothing 

 about. 



The hive which I have described, 



judged from what it does and the re- 

 quirements it meets, is better than any 

 factory-made hive now on the market. 

 The paper covering, the double wall, 

 the splendid cover, the slanting bot- 

 tom, the warm super, etc., put it ahead 

 of all hives judged solely from a utili- 

 tarian standpoint. No supply-dealer 

 would get out such a hive to sell at a 

 price within the reach of most of us. 

 That hive made of new lumber, etc., 

 could not, judging by catalog prices of 

 other hives, sell for less than $4 or S5. 

 Let no one who can not use a square, 

 who can not saw to a line, who can not 

 nail two boards together with edges 

 flush, attempt to make his own hives. 

 But let those who can do all those 

 things make hives according to my 

 directions, and he will live to bless the 

 American Bee Journal for publishing 

 that article on page 74. 



Bee-Keepers' Wheelbarrow- 

 Shaking Bees Off Combs 



BY R. M. M'MDRDO 



In Gleanings for Oct. 1, Mr. William 

 Lossing describes an automatic cover 

 to attach to a " Daisy " wheelbarrow. 

 It is a good thing, I am sure, for, just 

 as he says, " the canvas or sack takes 

 up double the time," and is an ever- 

 lasting nuisance. 



Here, also, is something (perhaps not 

 as good as his), but is very simple, 

 works well, and is not patented : 



First extend the bottom of the wheel- 

 barrow so it will accommodate two 10- 

 frame supers ; nail a f^-inch strip all 

 around this so that the edges of the 

 super will rest on it exactly. Now wax 

 the bottom so as to make it honey- 

 tight. Make a hole in the lowest part, 

 and attach a tin of some kind under- 

 neath the wheelbarrow to catch the 

 drip. Have this so it can be moved 

 and emptied, or arrange some kind of 

 stopper for it. For the top I used 2 

 escape-boards with the bee-escapes 

 covered, a }ixji inch strip between 

 these, with 2 slim nails that go down 

 through the middle of the strip and 

 between the supers, and hold it in place. 

 Now get 2 good pieces of leather and 

 hinge the tops to this strip so that they 

 both open towards each other. Line 

 the underneath side of these tops with 

 some kind of felt. With this I can 

 carry 4 supers if I like. And when I 

 get in the honey-house I can lift the 

 top clean off, or open one side at a time. 



I would like to ask the supply-dealers 

 why they do not have a wheelbarrow 

 made especially for the apiarist. The 

 " Daisy " is a very nice, handy tool; 

 but I should think one with a bottom 

 large enough to accommodate two 10- 

 frame supers, with the front board 

 coming up at right angles to the bot- 

 tom, and a wheel a little bit larger so 

 that it would stand level, would be an 

 improvement, and still just as useful 

 for other things. 



Shaking Bees Off Honey-Frames. 



Permit me to say a few words in re- 

 gard to shaking bees off frames of 

 honey. I have shaken a good many, 

 and tried all the different grips ad- 

 vanced in the bee-papers — some with 

 sad disaster. An 8-pound frame has to- 



