Vol. XVI. 



JULY 15, 1888. 



No. U. 



bANNTTM.inAjjvaijcE;! 77'o/-/v7»7-i o7i /5/7 -/-m 7i?'7? f <^ *>s to different postofflces, no' 

 ;3for*a.76;5forM.OO; -ZLot'Cl'Ct't'OAZ'C/Ct/ fc'A/' J. O ' c) . | tU . 30 cts. each. Sent postpaid, 

 ,s. ear-h. Sincrle num- 1 „,, — .„,,^„ „^ „„...■„,, „„ ' " .-. and Canadas. To all other 



TERMS :»1.00PbR 



2 Copies for 81.90; 



lO or more, 75 cts. each. Single num- \ 



ber. 5 cts. Additions to clubs may be ! 



made at club rates. Above are all to 



be sent to ONE postoffick. 



NOT LESS 



. in the 



. and Canadas. To all other coun- 

 tiies of the Universal Postal Union. 18 



A. 1. ROOT, MEDINA. OHIO. V^SiSild''i!v%':^cl'!^^/.^^^^l 



PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY EY 



"WORK IN SUPERS OVER CONTRACT- 

 ED BROOD-NESTS. 



DO WE WANT OUR SUPER TO EXTEND OVER DUM- 

 MIES? 



TN contractiug the brood-chamber at the time of 

 imP putting on supers, the principal troulile met 

 ^i with is, that when six brood-frames or less are 

 ■*■ used, the surface immediately over these 

 frames is less than the size of the super g'ener- 

 ally placed over it. As a result of this, one or both 

 sides of the super have for a certain distance no 

 brood-frames under them ; and in the sections 

 which have no brood-frames under them the, bees 

 8f)metimes, if not always, are rather slow about 

 working. 



Mr. Geo. A. Wright, of Glenwood, Pa., suggests a 

 plan which may work well. It is, to have in the 

 center of the hive four shallow frames whose 

 combs are SJi inches in depth, and underneath 

 these four frames a dummy or dead-air chamber. 

 As these four shallow frames are equivalent to 

 about one frame of full depth, their use is equiva- 

 lent to a contraction of three frames in the brood- 

 chamber, without any contraction of the surface 

 space occupied by bees immediately under the su- 

 per. " At the close of the honey-harvest the dum- 

 my can be placed at one side, the full-sized brood- 

 combs at the other side, and the bees fed, if neces- 

 Bary, for winter." 



I have used something just a little on the same 

 plan. I took common dummies made of inch lum- 

 ber, cut out a triangular piece at the upper part of 

 each dummy, then took a section from which the 

 honey had been extracted, cut across both diago- 



nals, thus making four triangular pieces of the 

 section, and inserted one of these pieces in each 

 dummy. This had the advantage that, at the close 

 of the season, these dummies could be laid aside, 

 the little honey that was in them being previously 

 Gleaned out by the bees. Mr. Wright's plan has the 

 advantage that bees would be more evenly distribut- 

 ed under the whole of the super. Jufct how im- 

 portant this advantage would be, I do not know; 

 for in either case the bees would work equally well 

 in both sides of the super, consequently there 

 would be little fear of their neglecting the middle. 

 An objection to either of the plans hei-e given is 

 the extra paraphernalia to be in the way. If the 

 four small frames of friend Wright are to be left 

 for the bees to occupy at one side through the win- 

 ter, the bees are packed in less compact quarters. 

 This might be remedied by having the four small 

 frames made of thin stuff, so that, at the close of 

 the season, the whole four could be put in one 

 brood-frame of full size. Of course, it will be un- 

 derstood that the object of these small frames, or 

 of the triangular pieces of comb, is to make con- 

 I uection between the two sides of the brood-cham- 

 I ber, so that the queen will occupj' both. 

 1 The plan I have generally practiced has been to put 

 the combs at one side of the hive at the time of 

 contraction, and, after the bees were well started 

 I in one side of the super, to reverse it (not invert), 

 I so as to force them to work in the other side. 



] IS CONTRACTION DESIRABLE ? 



I have carried contraotion to perhaps as great ex- 

 tremes as most bee-keepers, having had hives by 

 i the hundred with only four or five brood-frames, 

 I and in quite a number of instances with only two 



