1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



181 



a little, and making a big day's work, it would 

 amount to mure than a thousand dollars. Now 

 what the material for making the comb must be, 

 when a machine costing only $200, would not be 

 remunerative, I cannot imagine, unless gold or 

 greenbacks. I wish they would go over their 

 figures once more. I think sufficient induce- 

 ment would be found for those parties in com- 

 munication with Mr. Bickford to bring out a 

 machine. 



If the material for making it is as cheap as 

 wax, we (Quinby & Root,) want two thousand 

 feet to begin with. It doen seem that we could 

 afford a machine. Are these gentlemen sure 

 they know what they do want ? When it was 

 erroneously reported that Mr. Quinby could 

 furnish everlasting comb for two dollars per 

 hive, and Mr. B. could prove that a frame of it 

 was worth $1.50, they were not satisfied. 



If a machine can be made to do what Mr. 

 Bickford claims it will, I want one even if the 

 cost is ten times his estimate. I will take the 

 risk of its paying the investment. At present the 

 greatest risk seems to be in waiting for the 

 machine itself to appear. 



M. Quinby. 



St. Johiisville, iV. Y. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The Hive Controversy. 



Under this head Mr. Pucket has much to say 

 in favor of the shallow form of Langstroth hive. 

 Well, if the shallow foi'm suits Mr. P. I am 

 willing for him to say all in its favor that he 

 pleases. But there are hundreds of bee-keepers 

 who do not like the shallow form, and all the 

 arguments that Mr. P. can advance in its favor, 

 will not change their opinions, nor will it change 

 the principle of the hive. I used to think the 

 shalloAV hive a very good, one to winter in, but 

 after several years' experience with it, I was 

 obliged to change my opinion ; and it has been 

 acknowledged by Mr. Langstroth that this one 

 disadvantage hurt the sale of his hive. (I have 

 this from the lips of Mr. J. T. Langstroth. ) 

 Most bee-keepers are convinced that this form of 

 the hive is not deep enough to winter bees in 

 safely on the sinnmer stand. 



Now as I have had some experience in "tall " 

 hives, I will reply to some questions that Mr. P. 

 desires Mr. Calvin Rogers to reply to. " Did you 

 ever know bees in your tall hives, to commence 

 rearing brood at tlie top of the hive?" As Mr. 

 P. has one of the Bay State hives In use, I will 

 ask him to examine the stock in it early in the 

 spring ; and if he does not find brood not over 

 one or two inches below the top bar, I can say 

 that his bees do not work the same as bees do 

 here in New England. Their stores are con- 

 sumed or removed by the bees to other parts of 

 the hive, for the purpose of making room for 

 brood. In no kind of hive that I ever have ex- 

 amined did the bees commence to rear brood 

 below the middle of the comb, but generally as 

 near the top as they can get. In the shallow 

 Langstroth hive the bees cluster near the top of 

 the frames, and unless it is a very large stock, 



the brood must be very near the top or comb 

 bar. The reason for this is to get as far from 

 the entrance and cold as po.ssible. In March 

 and April double the amount of brood will be 

 found in "tall" hives, than can be found in 

 shallow ones. 



Mr. P. says " the Alley hive is no better than 

 the Langstroth two-story glass liive." The 

 best reply I can make to this assertion is to ask 

 Mr. P. to wait until he has had a little more ex- 

 perience with the Alley hive, before he gives his 

 opinion, and then perhaps his opinion will be 

 worth more. So, at least, it seems to me. 



Mr. P. also says "the great objection to the 

 Alley hive is its cost." I can say that they do not 

 cost much more than his two-story Langstroth 

 hive ; and if they were offered for sale, side by 

 side, with the L. hives at five dollars and the 

 Bay State at seven dollars, I believe that five 

 customers out of every six would take the Bay 

 State hive and pay the seven dollars. There is 

 not more than half the room for surplus boxes 

 or honey in the L. liive that there is in the 

 Bay State hive, and the honey cannot be stored 

 in so good marketable form in the L. hive. As 

 I have already described the Bay State hive in 

 the Journal, I will not do so again; and will 

 reply to only one more of Mr. P. 's assertions. 

 He says: "They (meaning the two-story L. 

 hives) cost no more and winter fully as well in 

 the open air, and are some better for (pure) 

 surplus honey, as the honey obtained from the 

 Langstroth hive, is free from pollen, and the side 

 boxes of the Alley hive opposite the brood 

 nearly always contain more or less pollen. At 

 least that is my experience." One is led to 

 think by this statement, that Mr. P. had used 

 this hive for several years, instead of only six or 

 seven months. Why does Mr. P. make this 

 assertion, when he has used the Alley hive only 

 one season ? I have no doubt that some of his 

 boxes did contain some pollen, as that is not an 

 uncommon thing with any hive in use. I will 

 say, however, that I never saw any pollen in the 

 boxes that I have taken trom the Bay State 

 hives, and it is a thing that I never heard of 

 before. But I can say, and so can many others, 

 that boxes used in the L. hive do contain more 

 or less brood, (drone brood generally.) Mr. P. 

 says nothing about this. I never saw any brood 

 of any kind in the boxes used in the Bay State 

 hive. Mr. P.'s opinion agrees with all who have 

 purchased the Bay State hive, and that is, it is 

 a good hive. This is the universal opinion of 

 all to whom I have sold them, as well as of all 

 those who have seen and examined them. 



H. Alley. 



Wenha77i, Jan. 9th 1871. 



The bee-keei)er who has queenless stocks on 

 hand in August, must expect as the result of his 

 ignorance or neglect, either to have them robbed 

 by other colonies, or destroyed by the moth. — 

 Langstroth. 



One spoonful of honey attracts more flies than 

 a hundred barrels of vinegar. 



