AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



627 



The closed-end and the Hoffman have 

 not — in themselves ; but lateral play to 

 the extent of '4 inch (enough when the 

 combs are regular) is secured in getting 

 out any desired frame, by the space of 

 that amount, which, in correctly made 

 hives, is provided for between the out- 

 side frames and the sides of the hive. 

 When the frames are In, the outside 

 frame is prevented from leaning over 

 into this space by the " wedges or 

 screws " referred to by Mr. Taylor in 

 his condemnation of this style of frame. 

 I use Heddon's wooden thumb-screws, 

 which serve also to hold the hive and 

 frames together, when desired to lift the 

 hive from the bottom-board. But I am 

 assured by a neighbor of mine, a practi- 

 cal apiarist, who uses none but closed- 

 end frames, that the slight amount of 

 propolis referred to above is sufficient 

 to keep the frames attached to one 

 another in an upright position, without 

 wedges or screws. 



11. In withdrawing and inserting one 

 coinb among the others, a closed-end 

 frame requires less care than any of the 

 hanging frames to keep the comb from 

 knocking against the adjacent ones, and 

 crushing bees between — a small matter 

 when looking at but one comb, but of 

 considerable importance when many are 

 to be inspected. The wide end-bars ab- 

 solutely prevent the combs from ap- 

 proaching one another closer than they 

 ought to. When looking at but two or 

 three combs in a hive, I do not first take 

 out a frame and lean it against the hive, 

 then spread the others, but put each one 

 back before taking out the others. This 

 facility is a convenience when obliged to 

 look at brood in cool weather. The 

 wire-end frame, Mr. Taylor claims, has 

 the same facility ; but it is certainly not 

 secured, as is the closed-end, against a 

 possible false movement before it reaches 

 the staple below. 



12. " It kills bees," is the great ob- 

 jection made by theorizers against the 

 closed-end. As a matter of fact, how- 

 ever, I have killed no more bees, and 

 have a strong impression that I have not 

 killed as many, as when I had the ordi- 

 nary type of the hanging frame, with its 

 undulatory combs, its brace-combs be- 

 tween frame-ends and hive, its inaccu- 

 rate spacing, and its unguarded end- 

 bars. 



There is no excuse for killing a bee 

 between two end-bars of the closed-end 

 frame. When no bees are observed in 

 that position, a frame can be inserted 

 slantingly, then swung up against the 

 next one ; but when bees are crawling 

 everywhere, it is nearly as easy to slide i 



down one frame against another with a 

 slight shaking motion. If the ends of 

 the frame rest on a flat surface, there is 

 some danger of catching a bee there ; 

 but this may be obviated by going slow 

 when the frame is nearly down, and 

 jogging it slightly up and down. The 

 chances are much lessened when the 

 ends rest on a tin edge, as in the Hed- 

 don hive. 



The Hoffman and the wire-end frames, 

 however (with the limitation referred to 

 in paragraph 11), must be conceded to 

 be superior in this respect to the other 

 two ; but the Hoffman would not be su- 

 perior to the ordinary type if it were not 

 for its accurate spacing, and conse- 

 quently better combs, when the bee- 

 keeper is careless. 



13. The closed-end frames form an 

 interior solid wall, % of an inch in thick- 

 ness, at each end of the hive, with a 

 dead-air space between it and the end. 

 None of the other frames contribute to 

 the warmth ef the hive. Hence, I do 

 not see how Mr. Taylor can make the 

 claim that the wire-end frame combines 

 all the good points of suspended and 

 fixed frames. 



To conclude: The ordinary hanging 

 frame is not "in It" for automatic ac- 

 curacy. The other three have no ex- 

 cessive advantages over one another, 

 with the exception of hive warmth, 

 which is important, and, in my judg- 

 ment, gives the palm to the closed-end. 



The popular conception of the closed- 

 end frame — fostered by unfair manu- 

 facturers — is altogether wrong. It is 

 superior to the common hanging frame 

 in the very points in which it is thought 

 to be inferior — ease of handling, and 

 freedom from bee-killing, when rightly 

 handled. 



When the frames are not uniform, 

 and the hive badly spaced, or set un- 

 even, or if no provision is made for 

 lateral play, closed-end frames may 

 cause trouble just as any other frame 

 would. 



I have said nothing of the slotted top- 

 bar in the wire-end frame, because I do 

 not see that it has any advantage over 

 the ordinary thick bar. 



To judge from its advertisement, the 

 new Aspinwall frame appears to com- 

 bine many good points of the others. 

 It leaves out two, however — hive warmth 

 and reversing. It does not seem possi- 

 ble to combine all points in one frame. 



Arvada, Colo. 



Have You Read the wonderful Pre- 

 mium offer on page 639 ? 



