1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



27 



and will try and be good hereafter. "We pre- 

 sume we should add that we are sorry for our 

 past errors, but on thinking it over we really 

 don't feel so, very much. 



P. S. No. 2.— We forgot to tell friend 

 Keller, on page 8, that we use the cover hinged 

 like a chest or trunk, for the same reason we 

 hinge the cover of a trunk, viz; because 'tis 

 handier; but, "bless you," we don't have bees on 

 the cover, never. Our quilts fit down over the 

 frames so closely that no crevice permitting a 

 bee is allowed. You must have quilts with 

 Simplicity hive, and one great advantage is that 

 the quilt made for the lower story fits equally 

 well the upper. 



By the way, a keen business friend remarks 

 that " the best apple tree in an orchard may 

 always be known by the "number of clubs 

 scattered around it and lodged in its top." 

 Verily the number of clubs that have been 

 hurled under the caption of " cheap hives " 

 would seem so, and they are directed mainly 

 at something the writers have never seen at all. 



Did any one ever call the Langstroth hive a 

 cheap hive'? and yet Simplicity, as we advertised 

 it was just that and nothing more. A carpenter 

 if asked to make a single one would tell you at 

 once the latter would be most expensive to 

 make. It is only by reducing it to a few simple 

 parts and making them by machinery that 

 expense is saved. 



We have never claimed bees would store more 

 honey in them than in the usual L. hive, or omi/ 

 other, but only that they are stronger and more 

 durable; and lighter and easier to handle. 

 We pride ourselves on having the best imple- 

 ments in our apiary known, and then if expense 

 can as well be saved we dispense with all use- 

 less appendages at once. Our bee-house cost us 

 over $200 because we wanted it eflicient, dura- 

 ble, and easily kept clean. If any one thinks 

 we have no taste for a pleasant place to work in 

 they had better make us a visit. We are going 

 to have a photograph of the whole, next week, 

 and will send you one, Mr. Editor. 



On the other hand, we dispense with Mr. 

 Langstroth's portico laecause it's too much 

 trouble to get out the spider webs every morn- 

 ing and "chase the spiders," besides making 

 the hive unwieldy. The Simplicity hives are 

 this season giving us the best results of any, 

 and for no other reason we know unless it is 

 Decause they are so much tighter and closer than 

 our L. hives. Well may Mr. Doolittle, page 7, 

 say that " smothering can"t be done " in cool 

 weather, and it is the entrance we are particu- 

 larly well pleased with, for it admits no wind 

 or cold storms even if it is not closed. 



If extra ventilation be given elsewhere than 

 at the entrance it will be used as a passage way, 

 and then when closed in cool weather bees are 

 lost, if covered with wire cloth it is soon waxed 

 over. Are not " ventilators " almost as " big a 

 humbug" as moth traps? As "dollar" hives 



are now made in so many neighborhoods, 

 Avithout fear or favor of "patent rights," 

 we think even Mr. Alley will not make the 

 charge that our "sole object" is wanting to 

 '• sell 'em." 



P. S. — Mr. Gallup we won't "peep," again 

 about " old bees " until you give i^ermission. 

 Great is truth and will prevail, and so will 

 " sugar syrup " now, even, with — nothing more 

 from 



Novice. 



[For the American Bee Journal.} 



Brood vs. Pollen. 



Mr. Editor: — We find Novice asking this 

 question, "If any one ever raise brood where 

 there was an entire absence of pollen ?" We 

 answer, yes. About twenty-two years ago we 

 tried an experiment that proved to us that bees 

 could raise brood Avithout pollen. At this time 

 we had not read the mysteries of bee-keeping by 

 M. Quinby, neither had we seen Mr. Lang- 

 stroth's work, but some little works, such as 

 Townly, Weeks, Colton, and others had come 

 under our notice. 



We thought if we could prove to ourselves 

 some one of these things found in said books, 

 Ave should have greater confidence in their teach- 

 ings, and Ave selected for our experiment this, 

 Do ioees secrete wax, or do they gather it from 

 the flowers ? So we got made to order a hive of 

 glass, except top and bottom, this was wood. 

 Now, Mr. Editor, don't laugh. But into this 

 beautiful little octagon hive we managed to 

 bungle a swarm of bees, or we should have 

 said a ^art of a swarm. For some of them got 

 drowned in honey and some went dead anyhow, 

 but enough were saved for all purposes. 



This hive was empty except a little strip of 

 comb 1x2 inches stuck to the top. As soon as 

 the bees got quiet Ave removed them to a warm 

 upper room over our store house, and close to a 

 large chimney that Avas constantly warm, and 

 by hanging up some carpet all was made dark. 

 This was done in the last week in November. 



Next we constructed a feeder for water and 

 honey, and fed daily all they would carry away, 

 and in about a week beautiful white combs 

 could be seen on all sides of the hive, and the 

 hive a little more than half filled. 



Not one bee had ever left the hive, but at 

 this time the little chaps positively refused to 

 Avork any longer. So we removed the feeder 

 and made all dark, and left them, satisfied Avith 

 the result. 



But about a week or so after this we went to 

 see if all was right and found about half the 

 liees dead on the bottom board. The rest were 

 snugly stored in between the combs. We then 

 earned the hive to a AvindoAV and inverted it. 

 The bees then began to move, so we gave them 

 a little smoke from our pipe to make them go 

 back, and it was then Ave discovered brood 



