356 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



0UR QaEgTi6N-B0?^, 



With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



All queries sent in for this department should be briefly 

 stated, and free from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions should be written upon a separate slip or paper, 

 and marked, " For Our Question-Box." 



Question No. 49.— Do yon prefer the entrance at 

 the end of the frame? Why? 



No. Geo. Grimm. 



I do. It facilitates the travel of the bee. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 

 No. I shouldn't expect it to make any practical 

 difference. P. H. Elwood. 



I use them so, but hardly know why, except that 

 it was the way I started. G. M. Doolittle. 



Yes. Because every part of the hive is more ac- 

 cessible from the entrance. H. R. IJoardman. 



I never observed that it made any difference, so 

 far as the working- of the bees is concerned. 



Paul L. Viat-lon. 



Theoretically, no. I have never tried frames 

 crosswise of the entrance, but shall the coming 

 season. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



It doesn't make any difference whether at the 

 sides or ends. I know, for half of our hives for 

 years now have been one way and half the other, 

 and no difference in results is manifest. 



A. J. Cook. 



Yes. Well, perhaps l)ecause it's the fashion, and 

 I never tried any other way. At least, that's the 

 principal reason. I suppose it allows a better 

 chance for ventilation, and for ready access to all 

 parts of the hive. C. C. Mii.l,er. 



Yes. For one particular reason. The hive 

 should always be tipped toward the entrance, to 

 allow water to run out of and not into the hive, as 

 well as for other reasons, and the combs will not be 

 built true in the frames, if they are tipped sidewise. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



I do. To assist the bees in getting out with a 

 worm when they get one by the collar, the hive 

 should be tilted forward; and this will not do when 

 the combs run crosswise -or is it because I'm a 

 Yankee, and the " stupid Britishers " all use side 

 entrances? E. E. Hasty. 



We like to have the bottom-board slope slightly 

 toward the entrance, then rain or melting snow 

 will run out instead of in. If a hive does not stand 

 level, then it ought to slant lengthwise of the 

 frames, otherwise they do not hang square with 

 the hive. W.Z.Hutchinson. 



We have over 100 colonies in quadruple L. hives. 

 Half of those colonies go in at the ends of frames; 

 the other half, the entrance is at the side of the 

 combs. I don't see any difference in working the 

 bees, or in the amount of honey gathered, or in 

 wintering the bees. E. France. 



Yes; because I can tip the hive, making the en- 

 trance lowest, aiding the bees in keeping the hive 

 clean. Besides, it is more natural for them to 

 climb up than down or on the level. If the frames 

 run crosswise, you can't tip the hive toward the en- 

 trance without throwing the frame out of the de- 

 sirable vertical position. James Heddon. 



This is much debated in Europe, because the 

 Berlepsch hive has the entrance on the side. We 

 prefer the Langstroth way, because it gives the 

 bees and the air access to all the combs readily. 

 Besides, we can slant the hive forward, for the es- 

 cape of moisture, debris, etc., without causing the 

 frames to hang out of the perpendicular line. 



Dadant & Son. 



Yes. The bees have more ready access to all the 

 combs as they enter. The brood-neat can be more 

 desirably contracted with the combs in this posi- 

 tion. Ventilation with a proper enti-anee may be 

 made more thorough. It is also often very desira- 

 ble to have the hive stand so that the front is low- 

 est, without throwing the combs out of their 

 perpendicular position. L. C. Root. 



The Dzierzon method favors the so-called " warm- 

 frame arrangement;" i. e., the bi'ood-frames hang- 

 ing crosswise of the entrance. I prefer the so- 

 called "cold-frame arrangement;" that is, the 

 entrance at the ends of the brood-frames, because 

 any part of the brood-chamber is of easier access to 

 the bees. Besides, practical results have prov^ed 

 Langstroth's arrangement superior to Dzierzon's. 



Chas F. Muth. 



Well, friends, this is pretty good. We 

 can rest satisfied that it does not make any 

 difference about the amount of honey stored, 

 whether the bees go into the hives sidewise 

 or endwise ; but so far as aiding the bees in 

 house-cleaning, expelling intruders, etc., is 

 concerned, the endwise doorway offers the 

 best facilities. It seems, also, as if an en- 

 trance the full width of the hive, with the 

 combs running endwise, must offer the 

 bees better facilities for perfect ventilation. 



Question No. .50.-2. What is the hest method of re- 

 moving bees from sections? 2. Which have you 'used 

 with success? 



1. Don't know. 3. Drum on the super, and use 

 smoke. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



It depends on the circumstances, number of sec- 

 tions, and time of the crop. Dadant & Son. 



Smoke and shake will do the business, especially 

 where wide frames are used. G. M. Doolittle. 



1. Smoke them down, and brush off any remain- 

 ing, with a yucca brush. 3. Ditto. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Brush them off with a soft goose-feather, first 

 shaking off with a quick .ierk all that will drop. 



Geo. Grimm. 



Bee-tent. Dark box. Vehement shake, such as 

 the experienced bee - keeper understands, and 

 smoke. A. J. COOK. 



My experience in raising section honey is too lim- 

 ited for me to have any " best " method of doing 

 this work. O. O. Poppleton. 



I presume this question refers mainly to super- 

 cases, which I do not use. I use wide frames; and 

 the manipulation is to take them out rapidly, and 

 dislodge the bees with a vigorous shake. 



E. E. Hasty. 



Drive the most of the bees out with smoke, then 

 carry the case of sections to a room having a win- 

 dow or windows so arranged that the bees can read- 

 ily pass out, and those outside can not get In. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



