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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 4, 



Michigan. It is pleasant to live over in memory the old scenes 

 and pleasures of the past happy days, but I wish it to be in 

 memory, for I never virish to leave, for long, this beloved 

 Southern California. The grand mountains, the lovely 

 climate with its genial sunshine, the luscious fruits, ever 

 fresh, and, above all, the magnificent people, unequalled, I 

 believe, on the face of the earth, hold me in perfect fascina- 

 tion to this lovely region of the South. 



Los Angeles Co., Cal., Feb. 15. 



Bee-Notes from Nebraska. 



BY J. M. YOUNG. 



When it is zero weather outside, like it has been for the 

 last week, it is a good deal of satisfaction to know that nearly 

 all of our bees are in chaff hives packt in good shape, and 

 with plenty of honey to carry them through. 



Comb honey is being sold in our market by Omaha whole- 

 sale bummers for less money than we can sell it. The honey 

 is very nice, and put up in very attractive cases, holding 24 

 sections. It hails from Utah, and was perhaps gathered from 

 alfalfa. Extracted honey is also being sold here by some- 

 body, and is put up in small glass tumblers with a piece of 

 comb put in. We notice that this honey doesn't candy. Mine 

 always does. 



I seldom open a bee-hive at any time unless I have 

 the smoker lighted, and in good working order, sitting near 

 by, in case of emergency. Very often I can, and do, open 

 hives without blowing smoke down in among the bees, but 

 then it is a risky business. Sometimes I have half a notion 

 to think that the bees know just when you are prepared for 

 battle, and about how much ammunition you have. 



In learning to handle bees, it is foolish to th.ink of getting 

 them unless we make up our minds to work and subdue them. 

 The dread of getting stung will soon disappear, and after 

 diligent practice you will soon become accustomed to their 

 ways, and after a short time you will be surprised to learn 

 how easy it is to avoid their stings — in fact, after continued 

 practice it will soon become natural and a pleasant pastime. 



About the first thing I do when I pick up a new bee- 

 paper is to read the editorials, or what the " bosses " have to 

 say about this and that, and if there have been any new im- 

 provements made on honey-cases, covers to hives, and hives. 

 I always think if there is anything to be launcht on the sea of 

 apiculture, it should be accompanied by an engraving. 

 Pictures cost money, that is true, but one can get a clearer 

 idea, and at once, from a good illustration, than from a half 

 column of directions, and in the end I firmly believe a good 

 drawing or cut is worth more to the utensil to be introduced, 

 than can be otherwise obtained. 



I always like to read footnotes to any article, and they 

 catch my eye first, for they are generally the cream skimmed 

 from the milk, and many a time these short notes contains in 

 substance the sense of the entire article. 



If the bee-keeper tries to winter bees on the summer 

 stands in any form of a hive other than a chafif or 

 double-walled hive, it is my opinion that he will lose more in 

 the value of bees than the extra expense he would be at in 

 making chafi hives of some kind. I think that some form of 

 a hive that can be used for summer advantages should be used. 

 This thing of having outside winter cases to set over hives is 

 decidedly at a disadvantage in many ways. When winter is 

 over they cannot be used about the apiary during summer to 

 any advantage whatever, but the bee-keeper must have a 

 house or some place provided for them to keep them from the 

 weather, or they will be warpt and weather beaten, and will 

 last but a few years. Hence, the construction of my summer 

 and winter chaff hive certalnly-overcomes many of these ob- 

 jections. 



Very often, just a few bees from a queenless colony in tho 

 apiary will fly and dodge around your head all day long, and 

 make a great deal of fuss, simply because they are a little 

 bit out of humor, and their master has been tinkering with 

 their mother, or handling them. The more you can kill or 

 knock down these little rascals the less you will be bothered 

 with them. 



More bees starve to death with honey in tho hive, and 



that within two inches of them, than from any other cause, 

 from the fact that during severely cold weather bees form 

 themselves into one compact form or body, and when all the 

 honey is consumed within their reach, unless the weather is 

 warm enough for them to change their location from one part 

 of the hive to another, in order to reach their stores, they 

 will surely starve with plenty of feed near them. This is 

 usually the case with single-walled hives, hence the adoption 

 of chaff hives to confine the heat arising from the bees. 



Cass Co., Nebr., Jan. 30. 



The New Hoffman Frame for 1897. 



BY E. R. BOOT. 



When we first introduced the Hoffman frame, some years 

 ago, it took like hot-cakes, and the continued and increasing 

 demand for it ever since shows plainly enough that it is a 

 practical labor-saver. It had, however, just one fault); 

 namely, that the bees would stick the ends of the top-bars to 

 the contiguous parts of the hive-rabbet, so that, in order to 

 remove one frame, it sometimes became necessary at some 

 seasons of the year to break this top-bar propolis connection 

 of several other frames before the frame in question could be 

 removed. We have been studying on this problem for a 

 couple of years. We have recognized the fact that a bee- 

 space around the ends of the top-bars would solve the trouble. 

 The next difficulty was, how to prevent end play. We had 

 thought of a number of devices, and finally Mr. John S. Call- 

 breath, of New York, sent us a frame with furniture-nails 

 under the top-bar. 



I must confess I was at first delighted with the idea. 

 During the summer we tested several hives with these end- 

 spacers on the frames ; and to say that I was pleased with 

 them after manipulation was putting it mildly. During the 

 very worst part of the propolis season, and even when it 

 turned cooler, so that the bee-glue would snap, I could handle 

 Hoffman frames with these end-spacers, with my fingers 

 alone. Such a thing as a screwdriver or a pry was unneces- 

 sary. The reason will be apparent. The metallic head of the 

 furniture-nail striking against the tin rabbet would offer the 

 bees no chance to propolize ; and even if they did attempt to 

 stick it, the points of contact were so small that it practically 

 amounted to nothing. You can set it down as a rule that 

 bees will never attempt to daub up with propolis a point of 

 metal when it comes against a flat surface of metal. 



But we met one serious difficulty — the cost. After a good 

 deal of inquiry we were forced to the conclusion that we 

 could not get these furniture-nails cheap enough without 

 tucking on another dollar or two per 1,000 to the cost of the 

 frames. Then our thoughts turned to nails, staples, strips of 

 sheet metal, iron buttons, and everything else, in fact. The 

 staples seemed to be the most feasible. Here is shown a set of 

 Hoffman frames with staple end-spacers : 



These staples, providing they are driven the right depth, 

 are as good as furniture-nails, and cost only one-fifteenth as 

 much. Of course, it will be understood that top-bars on all 

 such frames will be a bee-space shorter than the last year's 

 top-bars. The staples are fully as strong, and present as 

 little surface of contact as the furniture-nails. 



This improvement is so important and far-reaching in its 

 benefits, that, just as soon as spring opens up, we shall change 

 over to tho end-spacing style of Hoffman in all our yards. It 



