AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



625 



and increase them slowly until you have 

 gained knowledge by experience. Try 

 producing both comb and extracted 

 honey, and see which you like best, and 

 what the market demands. I used to 

 produce both, and I sold the comb for 

 15, and the extracted for 10 cents per 

 pound (in 10-pound lots), for the white 

 honey. But for a few years past I have 

 produced only extracted honey, as the 

 demand for that is much the better. 



In regard to the time required to care 

 for a small number, say 20 or 25 colo- 

 nies, after you have had a few years' 

 experience will you find it'doesn't require 

 a great deal of time, if you run for ex- 

 tracted honey, and have the upper hive- 

 stories ready — at least two for each col- 

 ony of the capacity of the brood-nest, or 

 its equivalent, with plenty of surplus 

 combs. 



I winter my bees in the cellar, and for 

 25 colonies I allow a half day to carry 

 them in, and the same to take them out 

 in the spring. After they have been 

 out a week, examine to see if all have 

 brood or eggs ; if not, they are probably 

 queenless, and should be united with the 

 weakest colonies. See that all have 

 plenty of honey, and step out amongst 

 them after dinner every day or two and 

 see if any robbing is going on ; if so, 

 contract the entrance, or carry them 

 into the cellar for a day or two. 



Put on one of the upper stories as soon 

 as the hive is crowded with bees, and 

 honey is coming in freely. When this 

 story is two-thirds full, raise up and put 

 the other story under it. When the bass- 

 wood bloom closes, extract from both 

 chambers, and leave only one on for 

 buckwheat, and fall flowers in this 

 locality. 



In September, see that each colony 

 has 30 pounds of honey ; and if you win- 

 ter them in the cellar, you can extract 

 the most of the rest, but be sure that 

 each one has an abundance, or else save 

 some of the combs for spring use. 



Warsaw, N. Y. 



Closei-EM ys. Mm Frames. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY F. L. THOMPSON. 



On page 867, Mr. G. W. Demaree 

 pays his respects to close-fitting frames. 

 I have not yet seen a complete presenta- 

 tion of all the pros andco?is of the frame 

 question, but this is just what all those 

 new subscribers of the Bee Journal 

 who want to start right, and not make 



changes in the future, ought to have. I 

 will give all the points I can think of 

 concerned with a choice of frames ; if 

 any are unintentionally overrated, un- 

 derrated, or omitted, those who know 

 can make corrections. 



Hanging frames (omitting the old-style 

 closed-top, which is very unhandy, and 

 retards work in the supers) are of three 

 kinds : 



1st. The ordinary Langstroth frame, 

 sold at the factories, too well known for 

 description. 



2nd. The Hoffman, the same with 

 these exceptions — the end-bars, for 

 about one-third of the way down, are 

 li^8 inches wide, so that here the frames 

 touch one another when hanging in the 

 hive, consequently always preserve the 

 correct spacing ; and one edge of the 

 wide portion of each end-bar is beveled, 

 so that a sharp edge of one frame always 

 joins a flat edge of the next one. 



3rd. Like No. 1, but spaced, by some 

 device not contained in the frame itself. 

 The "wire-end" frame, described by 

 Mr. Barnett Taylor on pages 336 and 

 337, is the best example. To quote 

 him, "The top of the frame is kept in 

 place by the wire ends of the frame rest- 

 ing in a shallow notch in the edge of the 

 tin rabbett, and the bottom is held by 

 suitable wire staples driven into the 



ends of the hive body the wired ends 



being 6-penny wire-nails driven into the 

 top ends of the frame." It should be 

 noticed here that if the staples are 

 driven into the bottom-board, they are a 

 nuisance when loose bottom-boards are 

 used. 



The end-bars of closed-end frames are 

 1% inches wide the whole length, and 

 not beveled on the edges. Now to com- 

 pare : 



1. The Hoffman costs a little more 

 than the others. 



2. The wire-end frames takes a little 

 more construction work, in measure- 

 ment, driving staples, and filing notches. 



3. The ordinary frame can be spaced 

 correctly. If the bee-keeper uses a 

 notched stick, or some such device, 

 when setting frames back (not trusting 

 to his eye), always uses the spirit level 

 in setting hives, and keeps the interior 

 of the hive, and the ends of the frames 

 reasonably free from brace-comb, so 

 that nothing will prevent the frame 

 from hanging perpendicularly when left 

 to itself ; and if the frames have been 

 nailed square, and if they are not 

 twisted, that is, square in three dimen- 

 sions as well as in two, there appears to 

 be no reason who the combs should not 



