204 



GLEzVNlNGS IN JJEE CULTUllE. 



Mar. 



erally on hand with a rousing swarm in season, and, 

 besides, made a liberal amount of surplus each 

 year lor its owner. When father Lang-stroth, a 

 few year.s since, recommended a thin-walled hive 

 for outdoor wintering- I was quickly reminded of 

 the old hive (the panels in the sides of the cases 

 were not over I4 inch thick). That it had not been 

 manipulated on the modern plan of tiering- up the 

 cases and placing- the brood next to the supers, was 

 no fault of the hive. The combs were all attached 

 to cOmb-bars in each case, on the Dzierzon plan. 



REVERSING HIVES. 



In a shallow sectional brood-chamber we think 

 that there Is no advantag-e whatever to be derived 

 from reversing Its sectional parts. The placing of 

 the brood next to the super, and any honey that 

 inay be in the upper case below the brood, will ac- 

 complish all that can be done. We shall, therefore, 

 have no use for a reversible hive. Again, as we shall 

 not have occasion to handle the frames very much, 

 but instead the sectional cases, it will not be greatly 

 to our advantag-e to have the frames as readily 

 movable as are the L. frames. On this account a very 

 simple case Is all tha): is necessary to hold the 

 frames^a case without ornamentation, clamps, 

 screws, or any thing- of the kind. Neither do we 

 want a complicated bottom-hoard ; but all the parts 

 of a practical hive of this nature should be, and will 

 be, made of only a few pieces, and all very plain, 

 and easy of construction. 



The frames can be supported in th? sectional case 

 On strips of sheet iron out 5 16 wide, and as long- as 

 the case is wide inside, the stri)>s to be inserted in 

 thin saw-cuts made .5-6 of an inch from the inside low- 

 er edges of the ends, and to enter the wood only 3-16 

 of an inch. This construction will give a proper bee- 

 space under the frames, which should extend to the 

 top of the case. The width of the end-pieces of the 

 frames should be 1% in., and the thickness ?4 in., 

 making a closed-end frame to rest on the sheet-iron 

 strips. The width of the top and bottom bars should 

 be the same, and may be i'4 x I4 inch in thickness. 

 Here let me call the attention of bee-keepers to the 

 comparative cheapness of these frames, if dove- 

 tailed at the corners, to those iij common use. They 

 need no nails, and a set of 11 for one hive can be put 

 together in afew minutes; and as they can easily be 

 made very accurately, they will always fit nicely in 

 the cases. The length of the frame might well cor- 

 respond with the 4>4 x 4'^ sections now so popular. 

 The outside would therefore be ^7 inches long, and, 

 If made just 5 inches deep, it will take one-half of a 

 sheet of foundation, cut the regular size for L. 

 frames. The frames can be taken out of the cases 

 very readily, since, being very shallow, the cases 

 can be set on end, and the frames pushed thi-ough, 

 one or more at a time. Hence the worthlessness of 

 all clamps to hold the frames in place will be appar- 

 ent. 



Again, if we are to handle hives rather than 

 frames we can see no advantage in having so many 

 frames In each case. I think we shall find seven 

 enough, though many may prefer eight or even 

 nine frames to the case. It will then be very light; 

 but to further lighten it we would make the sides 

 only % thick, and the ends fi, and make the usual 

 hand-holes in the ends, or nail cleats across the ends 

 a little above the middle line to handle them by. 



The bottom-board, we would make out of half- 

 Inch stuff, with a cleat across each end, of one-inch 

 Btufif, the rear piece to be two inches wide and the 



front five Inches. The board is to be cut I'a inches 

 shorter than the hive is long, and the wide cleat 

 nailed across two inches from the end. This would 

 give an entrance across the front of ',4 inch. If 

 blocks are nailed on each side, to go under the fi'ont 

 corners of the hive, ordinary entrance-blocks can 

 then be used. 



Sectional hives, containing only seven or eight 

 frames in each section, will be so light that we shall 

 find it an easy task to carry them back and forth 

 from cellars in wintering, where they can be placed 

 under our full control, and wintered in a scientiflc 

 manner, which we shall never be able to do In out- 

 door wintering, where we can not regulate the tem- 

 perature at will. Only one of the sectional cases, 

 well filled, will be necessary for each colony for the 

 winter. 



To operate a sectional hive of shallow frames 

 successfully we shall need a honej'-board with strips 

 of perfoi'ated zinc set in thin saw-cuts, made in the 

 edges of the slats compassing the board. This con- 

 struction and use of perforated zinc is my invention, 

 but it is free to all to use. As any kind of a section 

 case or super can be adjusted to this hive, every 

 bee-keeper will be expected to use his favorite. 



The capacity of two of the sectional brood-cham- 

 bers will about equal the eight-fi-ame L. hive, but 

 many would prefer to use three of the parts in 

 building up for the honey-harvest. The frames 

 alone are made to reverse, but we shall need to re- 

 verse them but once, and that simply to get the 

 frames filled out with comb plump to the sides all 

 around. Ordinary six-inch boards can be split and 

 dressed to three-eighths for sides of the cases, and 

 we shall have no trouble to get whole boards wide 

 enough for the bottom aud covers, and yet there 

 will be ample room for top storing- on the hive. For 

 a very cheap hive we shall never get a cheaper; and 

 a better hive for laryc results may not be possible. 



It will hardly be necessary to add, in conclusion, 

 that this hive is not patented or patentable, except 

 in one or two features, which are my inventions, 

 and arc hereby freely given to the public. 



Since we received the above, the follow- 

 ing, also, came to hand from Dr. Tinker : 



I have sent you a brood-chamber by express. It 

 weighs complete, two tiers of frames, only 6;4 lbs., 

 and the complete hive will weigh about 15 lbs., and 

 I think it is heavy enough. 



As I wi'ote to you, I shall make a specialty of sec- 

 tions, and do not care so much about hive-making. 

 You can therefore do what you like with it. For 

 myself, I am now more favorably impressed with 

 the hive since making a few of them than before I 

 wrote the article. I further believe that the frames 

 will prove to be more readily movable than I had 

 anticipated. The hive is exactly right width for a 

 section I's wide, with or without separators, but I 

 shall use upon it a section I'j inches wide. 



The secret of working sections without separators 

 is a narrow case. You will now see Avhy I prefer 

 only 7 frames wide in the Hive. I believe that these 

 little narrow hives and cases possess more merit 

 than will be readily granted, and that they have a 

 futui'e. 



Where the sections are massed together in a nar- 

 row case (which is alone practicable without scpara- t 

 tors) of 4 or .5 sections wide, the side passages have 

 the same advantages, of course, that exist where 

 separators are used. 



