1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



305 



apiaries. How many are there wlio liave hives 

 that have been in nse for five years, where it is 

 practical to slide the cover on without killing 

 or rolling up bees'? Raise your hands, please. 



Friend F.. I want to congratulate you on your 

 Iveen, sharp observation and common sense in 

 having exploded that old humbug about feed- 

 ing bees a chicken. How stupid we have been 

 all these years ! Now. is it not possible, that, 

 after the mice had worked in th(^ wheat, the 

 bees also used the biiin ? The strong moral is. 

 that mice should never have access to a hive of 

 bees at all; and stores of sugar syrup are prob- 

 ablv cheaper and safer than wlieat, ov fliichens 

 either.] A. 1. R. 



PROTECTION VS. NO PEOTECTION. 



A VALUAIil.K EXPEKIENCP:. 



Friend Botjt: — In tlic spiing of 1890 I conclud- 

 ed to test thoroughly the advantage of spring 

 protection for single-walled hives. My bee- 

 yard is laid out in three circles of 50 feet diame- 

 ter, with a smaller circle witiiin the large ones. 

 The hive-stands holding two hives each, are 

 placed around these circles. Hi on the outer cir- 

 cle, 8 in the inside smaller one. and all facing 

 outward. This is the mostsatisfaetoi'y ari'ange- 

 ment I have ever tried, as it gives a distinct 

 individuality to each stand. In setting out the 

 bees in the spring. I selected one of these circles 

 and tilled the 24 stands with 48 of my best 

 swarms as nearly equal in quality as possible. 

 I then took lath and made 12 handsome outside 

 cases large enough to set over t^^'0 hives, with 

 four-inch space on all sides for packing, and six 

 inches on top. I placed one of these cases on 

 every other stand, leaving one half of the hives 

 unprotected. The cases were then filled neatly 

 with excelsior sawdust from the section ma- 

 chine. There were double bottom -boards, and 

 bottom protection to the packed hives. Tiie 

 cases were made in four pieces, so that, by tack- 

 ing foul' small tinishi ng nails, one in each corner, 

 the whole case could be knocked down in a mo- 

 ment, and laid away in the flat when not in use; 

 and when the 12 stands were packed in their 

 neat cases, and securely covered with a water- 

 proof roof, I said to myself. "Well, this is just 

 splendid." The 24 other hives were left entirely 

 unprotected, except that each hive was covered 

 with a shallow rim three inches deep, with 

 building-paper nailed on one side for a bottom. 

 Each of these shallow boxes was tilled with 

 sawdust. A square of burlap was spread over 

 each hive, the boxes S(^t on these, and covered 

 with a good roof. The spring was excedingly 

 cold and late — just such a one as would give 

 spring protection its best chance to prove its 

 value. I then gave watchful care to all alike, 

 and awaited results with great interest. I re- 

 solved atthe start that I would let all those be(>s 

 swarm naturally, and then keep strict account 

 of the time of swarming as well as the honey 

 produced by each class of swarms. They all did 

 swarm somewhat late, as the season was the 

 poorest for honey in all my 45 years' experience. 



I will not lengthen this ai'ticle by giving de- 

 tails of the I'esults of this experiment. It is suf- 

 ficient to say, that, wiiile the cost of material 

 for making the cases wasonly 25 cents each, and 

 the work of making them was lujt very great, 

 yet the incn-ased result was not greatenough to 

 warrant this small outlay. I shall try the same 

 experiment with some new ones again this year. 

 and again note results. But my present impres- 

 sions are. that plain hives, cellar wintering, 

 with spring protection in the shape of warm 

 bottom-boards, and warm covers for the top of 

 the hives, are the thing. The bottom is where 



the cold enters, and the top is where the heat 

 escapes. Both of these points should be care- 

 fully protected. My observation has led me to 

 fear that the danger (jf enticing the b(>es to 

 leave their warmly packed hives on unsuitable 

 cold days, and perisliing in the cold- winds, will 

 counterbalance all the good they will do. 



BaKNETT TAYLOIt. 



Foi-estville, Minn., March 23. 



[Look here, B. Taylor. You have given u-> 

 the result of a very valuable ((xperinnuit just, 

 now; but as you i)repared your bees, I am sure 

 they all wintered pretty well; for, in fiu't, both 

 those that were chaff-packed and tliose that 

 were not, were in very good good sluipe for win- 

 ter. You have omitted to say to our readers 

 that you have them in these shallow half-depth 

 frames; but the fact is. in those shallow brood- 

 chambers, with a good warm tiottom-board, and 

 your chaff packing on toj). you I'eally have a 

 pretty good chaff hive; and I should not wonder 

 that, with such good protection for both top 

 and liottom, and then allowing the sun to strike 

 directly on the sides of the hives whenever it 

 shines, we shall have an arrangement pretty 

 nearly as good as a i-egular chaff hive. J 



BEE-ESCAPES. 



THEIR REQUISITES, USES, AND ADVANTAGES. 



During the season now rapidly approaching, 

 many bee-keepers will use the new bee-escapes 

 who have never tried them before. The hori- 

 zontal escape has passed the experimental stage, 

 and is an accomplished fact; and of its uses and 

 advantages there is no longer any doubt. When 

 I invented the horizontal escape I discovered a 

 syxteni rather than any particular form of es- 

 cape; and when I look over the many catalogues 

 now advertising the"Dibbern" (or horizontal) 

 bee-escapes I often wonder what they are really 

 like. There seems to be a general disposition 

 to simplify and cheapen every thing used in the 

 apiary, and the bee-escape is no exception. In- 

 deed, I expect to greatly simplify it myself the 

 coming season; but past experience has taught 

 me that it is entirely safe to "go slow" in the 

 matter. The pear-shaped escape between met- 

 al sheets was entirely successful last year, and 

 I shall make no radical changes till something 

 better, simpler, and cheaper has been fully test- 

 ed. 



I fully believe this to be a great invention, 

 and I want all bee-keepers to have the advan- 

 tages that it secures; and all are free to make, 

 or buy them where they please; my only 

 concern is, that escapes sent out under my 

 name should be rightly made, and give good 

 satisfaction. With this idea in view, it seems 

 to me it would be well at the present time to 

 give a few of the requisites of a perfect bee-es- 

 cape. 



The first thing required is the escape itself; 

 and it should be so made that it will fit into a 

 board without any projections, and no empty 

 boxes or supers should be required 



The next thing is the escape- board, to cut the 

 bees in the super off from the main hive. This 

 should be made of boards not more than half an 

 inch thick, and should be provided with bee- 

 spaces, so that, when it is placed under the su- 

 per, there will be a bee-space on both sides. The 

 escape should be i-emovable from the board, so 

 that a piece of board can be substituted for the 

 escape; when desired. There must be neither 

 brood nor t]ueen in the super, or the escape will 

 not clear it entirely of bees. If a wood-zinc 

 honey-board is used, there will be no trouble on 



