1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



255 



[For the American Bee Jourual.] 



Side Gathering Hives. 



Mr. Editor : — I see in the Journal of Febru- 

 ary last, page 173, Novice fully endorses the side 

 gathering of surplus honey, referring to Lang- 

 stroth and all works copied from his, as evidence 

 of his correctness. "From fifty to one hundred 

 per cent, more surplus honey will be stored in the 

 body of the hive than on the top in boxes." 



I have been using the two-story Langstroth hive 

 for a few years past, and find the statement of 

 Novice correct. To get a large yield of honey we 

 must turn them to side gathering hives, by bring- 

 ing up a part of the coftibs, bees, and brood, to the 

 upper chamber, and work the bees at the side of 

 the brood in empty frames. But the thought 

 presented itself about two years since that it 

 would be better to increase the depth of the 

 frames and the width of the hive, and thereby 

 place the room of the second story on each side 

 of the frames of a one story hive, for surplus. 

 And it has proved true, for five "several rea- 

 sons." First, I can place twelve six pound boxes 

 inside of my hive, six on each side of the frames. 

 Second, if we wish to ship honey in the frames, 

 make the frames two inches less in depth, and 

 tlie bees will cluster under the lower bars as 

 they approximate the bottom of the hive, and the 

 combs are fastened to the bottom bar as efi'ectu- 

 ally as when in the upper story. Third, Avhen 

 we want to empty honey with the extractor, con- 

 venience presents itself at once. Fourth, when 

 honey is being stored in the boxes, and the 

 frames in the center of the hive gets too full of 

 honey, so as to require emptying, to give the 

 queen roonr to desposit eggs, so soon as the 

 lid is removed we are at the frames, without 

 having i)reviously to remove half filled boxes 

 and the honey board, which is a great inconveni- 

 ence. Fifth, in the removal or exchange of 

 queens, tl:^e removal of the lid lays the frames 

 bare. The work is done without i-emoving a box. 



A. Salisbury. 



Camargo, Ills. 



^ [For the American Bee Journal.] 



Bees and Grapes. 



On page 210 of the March number of the Bee 

 Journal, Mr. .J. L. Pcabody wishes to know if 

 bees injure grapes. Some eight or nine years 

 ago I planted a small vineyard of three acres. 

 While at work planting my vines, a friend came 

 along and advised me to stop planting grape 

 vines, as my bees would destroy all the grapes I 

 could raise in the neighborhood, not to mention 

 three acres. He figured up how many bees were 

 in my apiary of a hundred hives, and supposed 

 each bee would desti'oy one or more grapes per 

 day, and thus made out that an enormous 

 amount of grapes would be destroyed, in a 

 month. I laughed at him and continued my 

 planting, and can safely say that I have not had 

 a bushel of grapes injured by bees, since they 

 began to bear — five or six years ago. 



Some years, when honey was scarce, the wasps 



would attack some few grapes ; but the bees 

 would drive them away, and then suck out the 

 sweet. I have also had grapes in my garden for 

 twenty years, within thi-ee rods of my bees, and 

 before movable comb hives came in fashion. I had 

 a bee-house and trained grape vines around and 

 over it, to shade it, but 1 never knew the bees to 

 injure the grapes. 



I think the trouble with Mr. Peabody was in 

 the grapes, and not in the bees. It is likely that 

 his grapes had taken the "grape cholera," or 

 some other disease, that caused them to burst 

 open and gave the bees admission to the sweets. 



H. Nesbit. 



Cynthiana, Ky., March, 7, 1871. 



[For the American Beo Journal.] 



Proper Size of Honey Jars. 



Mr. Editor : — I see much said of the extrac- 

 ted honey ; but the people will give little or no 

 more for it than for strained honey. Now, what 

 I wish to know is, how to j^ut it up. I have put 

 it in quart cans, in jiint can.s, and in half pint 

 cans. When in quart cans, the buyers say they 

 are too large ; and when in half pint cans, too 

 small. In jjints some think them too large, and 

 others too small. How shall the}'^ be made to 

 suit ? And what will extracted honey settle down 

 at? How may it be kej^t from candying, and 

 not change to a dark or slate color, by time ? 



I use a machine some, but would use it much 

 more, if the honey would sell for what it is 

 worth. But people are used to eating what their 

 stomachs cannot digest, in the sha]3e of wax, 

 which even the strongest acids will not dissolve, 

 instead of the pure honey as stored by the little 

 bee. 



Many persons want the honey in nice white 

 comb. Now what is the empty comb worth to 

 the bee-kee])er ? That is a point well worth con- 

 sidering. Will bee-keepers ascertain its value in 

 their business, and then charge accordingly for 

 honey in the comb? Then, and not till then, 

 will machine rendered honey sell at a fair price. 

 This is my view of the matter. Am I right ? or 

 if wrong, will some one kindly set me right. 



J. H. Hadsell 



Breesport, N. Y. 



[For tlie American Bee Journal.] 



Devices that are no Inventions. 



Mr. Editor : — I am glad to see so many of 

 your correspondents pitch into the humbugs 

 called movable comb hives, which are neither 

 more nor less than the Langstroth hive infringed 

 on by some useless addition or change. I have 

 five diifei-ent kinds of patented hives in my 

 apiary, and the Langstroth hive produces double 

 the amount of surplus honey than any other I 

 use. As for wintering bees in them, they are as 

 good as any other. When left on their summer 

 stands, I take otf the boxes and cover the holes 

 with corncobs, five or six deep, or old carpet, or 

 old clothes, close the back entrance, and also the 



