f)08 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



they are some that were discarded by Dr. Mil- 

 ler, who has been experimenting with diiferent 

 fixings. 



While we were thus engaged, Emma amused 

 herself by snapping the Kodak at us, for she 

 •did not propose to have her picture put in 



less I notice he was quite glad to adopt the 

 modern fixtures and self spacing Hoffman 

 frames. Yes. he even liked i lie working of that 

 V edge, which, theoretically, looked like a poor 

 arrangement. In practice it was doing a great 

 deal better than he thought it would. 



"I notice you have your 

 hives arranged in pairs," 

 said I. 



" Yes, it economizes 

 room," he replied. " And 

 then, you see, in uniting 

 in the fall it is just the 

 easiest thing in the world. 

 I remove one of the hives 

 and put the bees in the 

 other, moving this hive at 

 the same time a little 

 toward where the other 

 one stood. The flying bees 

 will, of course, enter the 

 one hive. Then you will 

 notice, also, that the two 

 rest on one set of skids, 

 and this saves hive- 

 stands." 



I had to confess that I 

 liked that arrangement 

 far better than the one we 

 use in our own apiary, 

 where we have hives 

 grouped in lots of live, on 

 the S. E. Miller plan; and 

 I think now, that, when I 

 set out another apiary, it 

 Itleanings. The three of us finally went back will be on this same plan— two hives on one 

 to the apiary, while I asked questions some- stand. 



thing after this fashion: "Now, doctor, how do you like that Crane 



"I see you have got numbered tags on your smoker?" 



FI6. :i— THE KOAD TU WISCONSIN. 



liives. Now, suppose you want to change the 

 number; or suppose that a colony is trans- 

 ferred from one hive to another, and that you 

 wish to keep a record of that particular queen 

 and that particular hive." 



" Why, just pull the tag oil' and put it on the 

 other hive." 



The nailhead was sticking out, and it was 

 evident that this could be done very easily with 

 a claw-hammer. 



•'Oh, yes! I see you don't paint your hives," 

 said I; "and I see some of them, especially 

 those not dovetailed, are gaping at the cor- 

 ners." 



Then the doctor began to argue on the ad- 

 vantages of no paint— that the hive was warm- 

 er, etc., and without the paint the hives would 

 last longer than he cared to have them; for at 

 the end of ;3() years he wanted something differ- 

 ent, any way— that is, if he chose to follow in 

 the wake of such young chaps as I; and then 

 he began to score me for the changes that have 

 occurred during the last ten years, as if / were 

 to blame for the whole of them. liut neverthe- 



" It is a splendid implement." 

 " And the hinge — does that work nicely ? " 

 " Beautifully; and I do not lose the nozzle." 

 After dinner the doctor and I repaired to the 

 shop. Here he had quite a stock of supers and 

 new hives, all ready for the honey-tlow which 

 did not come. But the thing that struck me 

 particularly was 

 the way he nailed 

 his Dovetailed 

 hives. He is gen- 

 erally right, and 

 has good reasons; 

 but in this case, in 

 attempting to save 

 nails he was spoil- 

 ing the dovetail. 

 The accompanying 

 cut will show you 

 the right and the wrong way. The wrong way 

 is the one Dr. Miller used ; and I am sure it is of 

 so much importance that we call the attention 

 of the general reader to it here, for others may 

 be making the same mistake. When the nails 



or Hall if?.^ 



