AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



277 



around ; in other words, where you 

 want an all-purpose hive. 



The shallow sectional hive which ad- 

 mits of the easy, gradual and at the 

 same time highest expansion of the 

 brood-chamber at the proper time, and 

 its sudden contraction at the beginning 

 of the honey-flow, and entailing the 

 smallest possible outlay of time and 

 labor will, in the course of time, com- 

 mand more attention than it does at 

 present. But the shallow sectional hive 

 as heretofore constructed has, so far as 

 I can learn, always been a thin-walled 

 hive ; and this, while it facilitates ma- 

 nipulation, necessitates packing in the 

 fall, and unpacking in the spring, 

 thereby entailing considerable extra 

 labor. What we want in an all-purpose, 

 out-door hive is a sectional hive so con- 

 structed as to be capable of resisting the 

 extremes of heat and cold, without the 

 expense of outside cases, or the trouble 

 of packing or unpacking. 



Mr. Henry Hayek, an Illinois bee- 

 keeper, has lately devised and con- 

 structed a hive which fills the bill more 

 nearly than anything I have yet seen. 

 In its construction, which is both simple 

 and practical, it combines, to a wonder- 

 ful degree, the advantages of the old 

 straw skep of Germany with those of the 

 modern sectional hive. It is a sectional 

 hive with thick walls ; the sections are 

 7 inches deep (but may be made of any 

 depth desired), 13^ inches thick, and 

 made of straw. The walls being thick, 

 it resists heat and cold as well as a ch^ff 

 hive. The sections being light, may be 

 as easily and rapidly manipulated as 

 any sectional hive made of boards. The 

 exterior being reasonably smooth, may 

 be painted, and Mr. H. says it will last 

 as long, if not longer, than the average 

 board hive. 



The Hayek Brothers have used this 

 hive in their apiary side by side with 

 the Heddon, American and Langstroth, 

 and they give it the preference over 

 either of the others. The present very 

 severe winter will show which is the 

 better winter domicile for the bees. 



I have no interest in this hive only as 

 it interests bee-keepers in general, but I 

 do believe it is going to meet a long-felt 

 want in the line of a cheap, easily ma- 

 nipulated and practical general-purpose 

 hive. It may be made to take either the 

 hanging or standing frame, and the 

 thickness of the walls may be modified 

 in thickness, I believe, to suit the no- 

 tions of the individual bee-keeper. 



Adams Co., Ills. 



Things Learned fromExperience 

 in Wintering Bee§. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY O. 8. BROWN, M. D. 



For the past six years I have been ex- 

 perimenting as to which was the best 

 to place absorbents or non-absorbents 

 directly over the cluster. Thinking that 

 the information thus gained would be of 

 interest to readers of the Bee Jocbnal, 

 I will give the various things tried, and 

 the conclusions drawn from these ex- 

 periments. 



I have tried, thick and thin boards, 

 with and without chaflf covering then ; 

 layers of old newspapers covered with 

 chaff ; mats of brussels carpet and bur- 

 lap covered with chaff' ; oil-cloth covered 

 with chaff; Hill's method and short 

 sticks across the frames, with all the 

 above excepting board covers ; also laid 

 covers flat upon the frames ; oats, 

 wheat and timothy chaff, finely cut ; 

 hay and oats, or wheat straw, forest 

 leaves; old rags, old papers torn into 

 bits ; planing mill shavings, and dry 

 sawdust, excelsior, and several layers of 

 old carpet. 



From all the experiments, I have 

 gleaned the following facts about win- 

 tering bees in this locality : 



1st. That next to plenty of good 

 stores, the next most important requisite 

 to safe wintering is — to have warm, dry 

 absorbents placed directly over the clus- 

 ter, so that this material will absorb all 

 moisture given off by the bees. 



2nd. That it makes but little differ- 

 ence what the absorbent is composed of, 

 so that it will readily absorb, and that 

 the hive keeps It from outside moisture. 



3rd. That the absorbents must not be 

 placed too thick, or the moisture will 

 not pass through them. 



4th. That it is better during the win- 

 ter, whenever a bright, warm day comes, 

 to remove the top of the hive, and let 

 the sun shine directly upon the absorb- 

 ents for some hours, to dry the moisture 

 found collected on top of the absorbents. 



oth. That it is better to have the ab- 

 sorbents in the form of mats or cushions, 

 for convenience. 



6th. That it is of no benefit to use 

 cross sticks or Hill's device under the 

 absorbents, nor to make winter passages 

 in the combs ; for the bees will winter 

 just as well without of any of these. 



7th. That for all ordinary-sized colo- 

 nies, it is useless to remove the brood- 

 frames and replace by absorbents or 

 solid division-boards. 



