AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



629 



this hive in every country from smmy 

 France to the frozen sliores of Siberia ; and 

 ahnost everywhere the bees thrive in it, 

 even without any care of men. Who, in 

 the civilized world, is not acquainted at 

 least with its picture '^"' 



We would not pluck a laurel from the 

 old straw skep, nor gainsay in the least 

 this justly deserved encomium. It served 

 its purpose and its time, but like our 

 own venerable log-gum, which served so 

 well the purpose of our fore-fathers in 

 the early history of tliis country, it must 

 give way to newer and better methods 

 elucidated by the light of modern sci- 

 ence. 



Few American bee-keepers would con- 



[PATENT APPLIED FOR.] 



Description.— The body of the Hive, B, which is 

 made of straw, has a movable bottom-board, A, 

 haviDg strips on both sides and one end, to form the 

 entrance, and a i4 inch space below the frames. 

 There is a honey-board, C, with an opening 6x6 

 inches, over which Uts a lid, D ; there is also a 

 wooden rim, E, 7}r6 inches deep made to fit the body, 

 B, with movable cover F, cleated on both ends to 

 prevent warping, and hold it in place on the Hive. 

 There is a 5-l6 inch bee-space over the frames. 



sent to go back to the old log-gum of 

 their fathers, and few of our German 

 brethren, we think, after they have 

 tried the New American Straw Hive, 

 would consent to go back to the barrel- 

 shaped, hand-made affair of "ye olden 

 times." That this time-honored, old 

 straw skep has many advantages none 

 will deny ; but for easy and rapid ma- 

 nipulation, together with obtaining our 

 product in the neatest and most market- 

 able shape, the modern frame hive lays 

 it forever on the shelf. Nevertheless, 

 this hive, so nice to handle, is poorly 

 calculated to withstand the extremes of 

 heat and cold. 



Knowing these to be facts, and know- 

 ing, also, of the almost umiform success 

 of our brother bee-keepers across the 



water, as mentioned by Mr. Graven- 

 horst, together with our own success in 

 keeping bees in the New Straw Hive, it 

 is with feelings of the utmost confidence 

 that the latter is -offered to the bee-keep- 

 ing public, believing they will find in it 

 a friendly helper in more ways than 

 one. 



They are made to take either closed- 

 end or hanging frames, and as they av- 

 erage only about 9j^ pounds each, they 

 are lighter than the 10-frame Langs- 

 troth hive and can be as easily and 

 rapidly handled as the latter ; while 

 they are much lighter and more conven- 

 ient to handle than chaff hives. 



We have used this hive in our own 

 apiary for about five years ; in the "win- 

 ter of 1891-92, five colonies in the same 

 came through without a loss, while out 

 of 124 in board hives the loss was 32. 

 In the winter of 1892-93 we had about 

 two-thirds of our bees in the Straw 

 Hive, and the loss was 28 per cent, 

 while with the one-third in board hives 

 the loss was HI per cent. But that 

 winter we had six weeks of severe cold 

 weather in one stretch, while the walls 

 of the new hive were then only 1]4 in- 

 ches thick, and the covers were made of 

 straw pressed in roet — which we consid- 

 ered by no means a fair test. They are 

 now made with walls two inches thick, 

 and a board cover ; also with rim and 

 honey-board, which allows of packing 

 over the top. This we consider the best 

 winter arrangement yet devised. 



The past winter in our apiary of 85 

 colonies, 80 of which were in the New 

 Straw Hive, we did not lose a colony ; 

 but of course it was a mild winter. 



Five average colonies in the new hive 

 compared with five in Simplicity (board) 

 hives in the same yard, show at this 

 date (April 14th) nearly double the 

 strength in bees, and more than double 

 the amount of brood ; and the bees in 

 the board hives were packed on one side 

 and overhead with leaves ; showing con- 

 conclusively that the straw hives are 

 much the warmest. 



As an all-purpose hive for the general 

 bee-keeper, who does not wish to cellar 

 his bees or undergo the expense and 

 bother of supplying outside cases and 

 packing, and unpacking them on the 

 summer stands, we confidently believe 

 that the New Straw Hive stands with- 

 out a peer in the apicultural field. 



We have been working on this hive 

 for the past six years, and have gone to 

 a great deal of trouble and expense in 

 bringing it to its present state of perfec- 

 tion. Now we hope our bee-keeping 



