the summer stand, in the same position ; 

 only removing the sections, and placing 

 quilts over the frames. The plan of the 

 hive is that of the Langstroth, except 

 the base, which is like a hip roof in- 

 verted and supported by four legs. The 

 surplus arrangement is that of the 

 Langstroth. The inside is plaster and 

 sand, an inch or more thick, with an 

 air chamber between the plaster and 

 wood. Having tried the hive three 

 winters under the most severe tests, 

 with entire success, and as a summer 

 hive with the same results, being the 

 only hive, this year, in which I obtained 

 any surplus honey, averaging 80 lbs. to 

 the colony, with the same facilities of 

 my other hives, and the same strain of 

 bees. The only reason I can give why 

 I got better results from the lined hive 

 is, that the plaster and sand being two 

 of the greatest absorbents known, 

 facilitated the evaporation of water 

 from the nectar, also being a good non- 

 conductor, enabled the bees to keep the 

 proper temperature. I use no upward 

 ventilation, as in summer it only at- 

 tracts robbers, and in winter it venti- 

 lates the bees out of your hives. I 

 obtain all the advantages of upward 

 ventilation by absorption. By winter- 

 ing on the summer stands my bees fly 

 when it is warm enough, the plaster 

 and sand, keeping the hive dry and with 

 such a house the bees pass the winter 

 in a continuous holiday, greeting their 

 master with music every warm day. 

 Crawfordsville, Ind., Feb. 19, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Taking Sections from Broad Frames. 



o. E. COOLEY. 



A correspondent in a recent Bee 

 Journal relates his troubles in re- 

 moving sections when filled from the 

 wide frames which hold them in the 

 super. The plan that has proved en- 

 tirely satisfactory with me for the past 

 two years is as follows : My supers are 

 16 inches wide, and will consequently 

 hold 8 broad 2-inch frames of sections. 

 When putting them on the hive I place 

 4 frames of sections on one side in the 

 super, and three in the other, and put 

 a frame of comb in the space left in the 

 middle. The top bar to my frame of 

 comb is \% inches wide, and the bees 

 will not fasten it to the sections on 

 either side. When the sections are 

 filled, or when I wish to examine them, 

 I have only to take the frame of comb 

 out of the center, and I can remove the 

 sections at once. Another advantage 

 is derived from using the frame of 



239 



empty comb : the bees will go to rk 

 sooner than they otherwise won 

 the supers and they will begin in the 

 right place. Last year I put :; ami \ 

 frames of comb, and filled out the bal- 

 ance with frames of sections, in a few 

 supers, in order to ascertain if swarm- 

 ing could not be partly controlled 

 thereby, and the result wi is reasonably 

 satisfactory. By keeping the honey 

 closely extracted from the frames and 

 taking off the sections as soon as filled, 

 and replacing them with empty ones. 

 swarming was materially checked, 

 although not entirely prevented. 



Will others experiment in this direc- 

 tion and report results in the Bee 

 Journal ? 



Bluffton, Iowa, April 1, 1880. 



Translated from the Bienen-Zeitnng. 



Electricity upon Workers and Drones. 



O. FREIWIRTH. 



When I made my first trials of sub- 

 duing bees by the use of the electric 

 induction current, I had no drones in 

 my experimenting hives, and could 

 therefore only establish the fact, that 

 bees, according to the strength of the 

 current employed, would sooner or 

 later fully recover, apparently without 

 injury to their health. Afterwards, 

 when I had drones, I continued my ex- 

 periments, first taking them singly and 

 afterwards together with the workers. 

 Here I made the remarkable discovery 

 that the drones, as soon as thej come in 

 contact with electricity, instantly die. 

 At first I supposed that the current had 

 been too powerful, and to test this, I 

 employed the galvano-meter, by which 

 to ascertain the strength. To my sur- 

 prise I found the magnetic needle show- 

 ing the same as usual, 20P. By this 1 was 

 led to believe that drones are more 

 delicate and much more frail than the 

 workers. To make sure of this, I took 

 a small number of bees and drones, and 

 electrified them together and simul- 

 taneously. The result was the same as 

 before; the workers recovered after a 

 few minutes, but the drones were dead. 

 Of the relative weakness of thedrones, 

 every apiarist can convince himself by 

 taking a full grown drone between two 

 fingers, and, without pressing it, keep 

 the fingers on the head and the little 

 shield upon the back for a few seconds, 

 he will then have in Ins hand a dead 

 drone; while a worker, treated in the 

 same manner, will remain healthy and 

 active. In this bodily weakness of the 

 drones may be found an explanation 

 of the remarkable circumstance, that 

 the drones run around in the hive cow- 



