im 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



797 



Aside from this, there arc more ants, spiders, etc., 

 on the ground; so, two years ago I raised the liives 

 two feet by driving cedar stubs into the ground, 18 

 inches apart, in pairs, and each pair 9 feet apart. 

 I then nailed a 4-inch planlj across the stubs and 

 then a 6-inch planli horizontally over the 4-inch 

 plank. The 4iiich plank keeps the bench plank 

 from sagging under the weight of the hives. My 

 hives on the long bench are only Itj inches apart; 

 and in order to assist the bees in knowing their own 

 hive I painted one hive red, one blue, one white, 

 and so on. Where the hives are all white, alike, it 

 makes some trouble when they stand so close to- 

 gether. I like it much better to have the hives 

 about two feet from the ground, for this country. 

 I think it best to have only three hives on one 

 bench five feet long, for then the bees will easilj' 

 know whether they belong in the right-hand, left- 

 hand, or middle hive. The benches should be at 

 least ten feet apart. 



MEI.CHER S APIARY, WITH HIVES RAISED ABOVE 

 THE GROUND. 



My frames are 10 x 10 inches. I like this small 

 size better, because I don't need to wire them, and 

 they don't sag' like the L., and they are somewhat 

 safer and handier to handle for extracting. I like 

 the looks of the higher hives better than I do the 

 low broad ones; but often we must make mine 3- 

 story high, and then they look rather slim, 13 x ISM, 

 and 38 inches high outside. Each story consists of 

 8 frames, so that the lower story is just about right 

 for brood. No honey is taken out of the lower 

 story. 



I use a flat cover of double plank, with no cloth 

 over the top of the frames. I leave a bee-space of 

 Vz inch between the top frames and the cover. For 

 the entrance I prefer a slot ?i inch broad and % 

 inch high, 5 in number, to the longer and wider en- 

 trances, because the wind often blows grass or 

 leaves into them, and then the bees have much 

 trouble in getting it out, and in the winter the wind 

 can not blow so fiercely into the small entrances. 



O'Quinn, Texas. J. C. Melcher. 



Well done, friend M. Even though the 

 editor of Gleanixgs did sit down a little 

 on your first honey-extractor, it seems that 

 it had the effect of inducing you to improve 

 it considerably. But haven't you done a 

 rash thing in coming out in this manner in 

 print? Some one who has bought an ex- 

 tractor of you may make a report that you 

 won't like. If, however, you are ready to 

 tell them to come on with their reports, good 

 or bad, I admire your courage and decision. 

 I do not believe your little hive, with frames 

 10 X 10, will compare favorably with the 

 Langstroth frame for comb honey. If I 



were you, instead of running them up three 

 stories high I would put one story in front 

 of the other, then you would have room for 

 surplus boxes on the upper side, to hold a 

 crate 10 x 20 inches. You can do this and 

 still keep your small comb. In fact, some- 

 thing of the kind has been done alreadv, as 

 you will notice by our back volumes. ' In- 

 stead, however, of starting a hive of differ- 

 ent dimensions from that of anybody else, 

 why not adopt the Gallup frame, lli x lUV 



PREPARING COLONIES FOR WINTER 

 IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI. 



NO CHAFF PACKING OR CELLAR NEEDED. 



^^> EADER, first turn to page 570, present volume 

 J35 of Gleanings, and read my note on winter- 

 EV ^"g'inthe Softh. That little note has called 

 ^^ for this one, and thej' are both freely given, 

 for I have, for years past, observed, by read- 

 ing our bee-literature, that many beginners in our 

 latitude, and further south, often incur much un- 

 necessary expense in preparation for wintering, 

 and particularly so when we at present need to 

 economize on account of our business not paying 

 us a profit. 



I use the L. hive and frame, ten frames to the 

 story. I prefer this to the L. 8-frame hive. I pro- 

 duce extracted honej-, and can have more honey 

 left in the brood-chamber at the end of the season 

 for wintering than I would have with a less number 

 of frames. My hives are set slanting from rear to 

 front, and the entrance the whole width of hive is 

 generally left open. This gives the bees a chance 

 to clear out all accumulating matter every warm 

 day that comes. In September or October I go 

 through them, punch a i4 or ^.i inch hole through 

 every comb. This hole should be nearly in the cen- 

 ter of the comb; if any variation, rather above the 

 center of the comb. If brood is not already in the 

 middle of the brood-chamber, I move it in the mid- 

 dle, with the combs also that contain most empty 

 cells in their center put next to the brood-nest. I 

 leave the combs that are full of honey on each out- 

 side next the walls of the hive. See that there is 

 plenty of honey. I seldom have so much but that 

 they use it all next spring in rearing young bees 

 before the honey harvest comes. I should like to 

 have bees enough to cover six or more combs on 

 cold frosty mornings. If there are not enough 

 bees, I double up the weak colonies, or else con- 

 tract their space down to four or five frames, nuclei 

 style, and then toward spring I see that they have 

 suflBcient honey. I then cover with a tight honey- 

 board or quilt, just such as we use in summer. It 

 is very seldom hei'C that we have continued cold 

 weather so that bees can not have a good fly out, 

 inside of 21 daj-s, during our hardest winters. 



By having good queens, and being crowded with 

 bees, I winter three and four frame nuclei with 

 perfect success. I prefer to have them in the south 

 part of the hive. They get more advantage of sun- 

 shine. E. LiSTON. 

 Virgil City, Mo., Aug 30, 1888. 



Friend L., we are well aware that you can, 

 without doubt, winter well in single -walled 

 hives in your locality ; but inasmuch as you 

 often have very severe weather during the 

 winter, and sometimes severe cold winds 



