1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



93 



story, I have not been able to notice an ob- 

 jection. My experience has been strongly 

 in favor of an outer case to protect the case 

 of sections ; but very likely, allowing the air 

 to circulate between these two cases would 

 be an advantage. In regard to this matter 

 of getting sections in the wide frames, or 

 cases, placed over the brood, I am glad to be 

 able to say that we have something right 

 here from friend Doolittle also on this sub- 

 ject. Here him : 



WIDE FRAMES VS. TOP-STORING CASES. 



Seeing many are prophesying, at the present time, 

 that the wide frames with separators will soon be a 

 thing of the past, I am led to look the matter over a 

 little to see if wo can consistently do away with wide 

 frames and adopt the top-storing cases entirely. In 

 looking the ground over, I fail to see wherein the 

 top-storing system has any advantage over the wide 

 frames; while I think I sec many advantages of the 

 latter over the former. As considerable has been 

 said regarding honey-racks for top storing of late, I 

 will not dwell upon that part of the subject, but will 

 tell how I use the wide frames, which will show why 

 I think they have advantages not possessed by the 

 others. I use two styles of wide frames, the major 

 part of which hold but one tier of sections, and the 

 minor holding two tiers. During the winter and 

 early spring, these frames are all filled with sections 

 containing starters of either natural comb or comb 

 foundation, and stowed away ready for use as soon 

 as the honey harvest arrives. The bees are built up 

 as strong as possible, eo that we have lots of bees in 

 time for the honey harvest; and in order to prevent 

 early swarming I set some of the combs containing 

 sealed brood over in the space soon to be occupied 

 by the side boxes. It will readily be seen, that I am 

 thus able to give a colony nearly twice the combs 

 during the breeding season that I could if I used a 

 hive like friend Root's i;4-story hive. It will also be 

 seen, that if I can coax the queen to occupj- these 

 combs early in the season, I can get a powerful col- 

 ony of bees in the right time for the honey harvest, 

 without their having a desire to swarm, which thing 

 I could not do did I not have a hive which would ad- 

 mit of side boxing. Another thing all will admit 

 which is, that the wide frames are the most conven- 

 ient thing to use of any thing when honey is to be 

 stored at the side of the brood-combs. Having our 

 bees, and wide frames filled with sections all ready, 

 we await the honey harvest; and as soon as the bees 

 begin to store a little honey in the vacant cells in 

 the brood-combs, I take otit some of the frames in 

 the side-box apartment, and set in a tier of sections, 

 leaving one frame of brood beyond it. The same is 

 done to the opposite side of the hive when we have 

 sections to the capacity of 10 lbs. or more, surround- 

 ed by brood, the effect of which is to cause the bees 

 to enter them at once. In a few days, when these 

 sections are partly full, they are raised from between 

 the brood and placed on top of the hive, and more 

 wide frames of sections added between the brood, to 

 take their places. By this plan we accomplish two 

 objects, the first of which is an early start in the sec- 

 tions, and we also keep the bees from crowding the 

 queen with honey, thus causing them to desire to 

 swarm. In a few days niDre the two frames of brood 

 are taken out, which is beyond the sections at the 

 side of the hive, and the wide frames of sections 

 moved to the outside of the hive, when a tier of 

 empty sections is placed between them and the 



brood. At the same time the wide frames at the top 

 are spread apart, and those filled with empty sec- 

 tions placed between them, when the hive has the 

 full complement of sections, which gives a capacity 

 of about 70 lbs. 



It will be seen, that by the above I have those bees 

 at work in all the sections, and they have done so 

 according to their natural instinct, which is to fill up 

 any vacant space within their cluster. When only 

 top cases are used, the bees must become crowded 

 for I'oom before they enter them, hence can not be 

 gotten into the sections as readily as by the above 

 plan, which results in a loss of time and honey. 

 Again, when I have a prime swarm I give them at 

 first but about li the combs, and surround said 

 combs with sections, both at the sides and top, which 

 causes them to enter the sections at once. They are 

 I kept thus for about 24 days, when the brood will be- 

 ; gin to hatch, thus giving new strength to the colony, 

 ' when the wide frames of sections are shoved back, 

 I and more frames added to the brood-nest, which 

 I prevents their casting a swarm right in the height 

 of the honey harvest, as often happens when only 

 top cases are used. In order to give a prime swarm 

 box room enough on top, where only top boxes are 

 used, the whole hive below must be filled with 

 frames when the swarm is hived. In this case the 

 first thing the swarm does is to fill these combs with 

 ; honey, which remains there unless the queen is pro- 

 lific enough to cause the bees tn uncap it and carry 

 it above. For this reason much valuable time is 

 lost, and the bees are often slow to enter the sec- 

 tions, after thus having plenty of room in the brood- 

 chamber to store honey. 

 j Again, the old stock is often so weakened by 

 [ swarming that the bees never enter the sections at 

 all, when only top boxes are used. How many hives 

 I in the United States have sections placed upon them, 

 only to be taken off as empty as they were put on? 

 When I see that a colony having cast a swarm is not 

 likely to enter the sections from being too weak (if 

 the full number of brood frames is left in), I take 

 out a part of them as the brood hatches, and place a 

 wide frame of sections next to those left, together 

 with two or three at the top, and thus I am able to 

 secure something from each hive, which thing I 

 could never do when I used only top boxes. 



Lastly, I very often have nuclei or very small 

 swarms used for queen-rearing, which I can use to 

 advantage as honey gatherers during the honey sea- 

 son, if I can only confine them to a few frames. 

 With top boxes only, I made a failure, as a rule, 

 when I tried to get honey from them, unless I took 

 their honey with the extractor; but when I came to 

 use the wide frames, all I had to do was to give them 

 as few frames as I desired, and place next to them a 

 wide frame of sections, and next to that a division- 

 board. To illustrate: The past season I hived a 

 small second swarm (a thing I rarely do), on account 

 of their young queen I wished to save. After they 

 had been hived a few days I concluded the queen 

 was not what I wanted ; and as it was too late to re- 

 turn them to the parent hive, I gave them as many 

 combs as I thought was right, and placed a wide 

 frame of sections at each side of them. As they 

 needed more room in the brood-nest, I gave it them, 

 and at the end of the season 1 had 30 lbs. of nice sec- 

 tion honey, and sold the (then) good colony for IS.OO. 

 As the honey brought me 16 cts. per lb., this gave 

 me $13 80 from a small second swarm of bees, or a 

 mere nucleus, as it were. I always try to make 

 every hive in the yard yield me something, and I 

 know of nothing so well calculated to accomplish 

 that object as the wide frames; therefore, unless I 

 change my mind it will be some time before wide 

 frames go out of date with one person at least. 



G. M. POOLITTCE. 



Borodino, N. Y., January, 188i. 



