700 



GLEAMNGS IX BEE CULTLKE. 



Si;i>i-. 1. 



collar th(> ciid-liai-s have sometimes swelled so 

 much ill some hives that this ^v ^l»ace is entire- 

 ly closed up: but between the ends of the 

 frames and the cmls of the outside case there is 

 ample space to allow the manipulatiou of the 

 frames. I allow only ,^ " play." yet the blaiU' 

 of an ordinary case-knife mi^ht be easily thrust 

 down between the ends of the frames and the 

 ends of the case iu the most swelled set of 

 frames I ever saw. If hives and frames were 

 made as I have described, and ^„ play allowed, 

 they might be suuk in the miUpond a week 

 without the fi-anu's being sweHed against tin' 

 ends of the case — it couldn't be done. 



[The above is an editorial that appeared in 

 the Bee-kccpers' Review for Aug. It), page :il;.\ 

 that perhaps needs some reply. In tlie first 

 place. I will -ay tiuit Heddon hives, made in the 

 manner Mr. [lutchinson has here tlescribcd. 

 would be practically i)roof against flames stick- 

 ing, because of swelling eiihcrof the endsof the 

 iiives and the ends of the frames; and so far I 

 agree with Hro. Hutchinson. But the hive we 

 have is made quite differently. I believe it came 

 from Mr. Heddon in 188()oi-\S7. The ends arc- 

 halved %\^-2. and are nailed in such a way that 

 >i inch at each end may swell towai'd the 

 frames. The frame-ends (% in. ihick) are dove- 

 tailed to the top and bottom hai-s. This gives 

 1^-4 inches of wood that may swell, instead of ^'s. 

 as would be the case with Mr. Hutchinson's 

 hives. Mr. H. says lumber does not swell end- 

 wise. I know this is a current impression. 

 But let him oi- anybody else try tlir experi- 

 ment, and it will be found there is a .s'//(//if in- 

 crease in length in dry to wet lumber. 



I have no accurate data before me to show 

 just how much difference there is in shrinkage 

 tvidthwisc from wet to dry liimbei-; but every 

 year we buy up iminense quantiiies of basswood 

 lumber, and we always oi'der it sawed 'Jis thick. 

 This will shrink to two inches, and .soineliiiies 

 a little less. I am well aware that liasswood 

 will shrink a little morc^ than pine; but in 1-^4 

 pine tiiere would be a shrinkages from dry lo 

 wet of somewhere about iV ii^'h. Brother 

 Hutchinson will say there is >et a whole iV i"^''' 

 to be taken up by swelling bel'ore the irames 

 are wedged tight. N(jt so. If In- will examine 

 liis frames 1 think he will find that they are a 

 trifle diamond-shaped. This tendency, how- 

 ever, will i)e so slight as almost not to be de- 

 tected by the eye; but if you |)lace a squan- on 

 tliem, you can see. When these frames are 

 tilled out with combs, or are wired, they a.r<' 

 practically rigid. Seveial of the Heddon 

 frames in our hive were nil the way from ji, to 

 3ft from square, so that the diagonally ojiposite 

 corners of ihem touch the ends of the case. 

 Now. a very -slifiht swelling would make these 

 frames /V(st But there is another factor comes 

 in here. I find that, in close-litting frames, 

 propolis will somehow get down in between the 

 backs of the frami's and the ends of the hive. 

 Now, in cool weather in early spring propolis is 

 hard and unyielding. Taking into account the 

 manner in s\ hich our hive is maile. and the 

 fact that some of the frames are not absolutely 

 square, no matter how perfect their sawing, and 

 the propolis accumulations that will wedge in, 

 shrinkage and swelling do have quite an etfect. 

 The frames of our Heddon hive were wedged 

 tight e»tZ(i'i.sc from swelling last spring. After 

 it warmed up they became loose. But the mat- 

 ter of moisture does not begin to assume the 

 importance in the way of an objection that in- 

 accuracy of manufacture has upon the close- 

 fitting frame. As I explained in my original 

 article on page .o;i.">. unless there is perfect ac- 

 curacy of workmanship, or unless manufactur- 

 ers invariably go by the same gauge, which 



they do not in standard sizes, the clost--titting 

 frame would not be made inteichangeable with 

 hives throughout the country, like frames hav- 

 ing a bee-space back of the end-bars. 



FOUL BROOD. 



now TO TEI-L WHKTIIEIi COM15S II.WE HAD IT. 



Our readers will rememl^er that, some time 

 ago. we gave an illustration of foul-brood comb 

 — comb that had. at some previous time, held 

 the diseased brood. We sent samples of the 

 comb to our engravers, but they did not at the 

 time succeed in getting Mr. Taylor's idea. We 

 requested him to send another sample, and we 

 would try again. We made another engraving, 

 whiclu though not entii'ely satisfactory, is per- 

 liaps sufficiently accurate to illustrate the idea 

 which friend T. wishes to bring out. To be 

 able to recognize promptly combs that have 

 once held tlie disease is a very impoi'tant mat- 

 ter indeed. Mr. Taylor writes: ' 



Friend Root:— I send you a rough pencil- 

 sketch, giving something' of iny ideas of how it 

 should appear. I also send you a piece of comb 

 containing the diseased and dried- up larvie. 

 To see the dead laiva? to the best advantage, 

 stand with your face toward the point of the 

 compass where th(> sun is. and hold the comb 

 down in fiont of you. with what was the lower 



^^^m^ 



Enlarged CELL. Cells Natural Size. 



(>dge away from you, so that the sun lights up 

 the upper sid(\ aiid so that your sight strikes 

 across it at an angle of ;^0 or 40 degrees. This 

 will make the presence of the disease very evi- 

 dent. R. E. Tayi-or. 



Lansing, Mich., .luiie 1. 



[In a former article Mr. Taylor said: "The 

 dead brood is entirely dri(>d up— mere scales, 

 almost the color of th(> comb itself, lying fast 

 to the lower sides of the cell, and drawn back 

 more or less from th(> opening." In the sample 

 of comb sent, th(;re seemed to be a sort of resi- 

 due a little darker in color than the comb itself, 

 lying fi^st to the lower sides, as explained. It 

 is, perlia])s. exaggeiated a little bit in the en- 

 graving: but the purpo;-<' is to show about how- 

 it lies on the bottom sides of the cells, or what 

 are the bottom sides when in the hive. It 

 seems these scales are nothing but maturat- 

 ed masses of foul brood dried up, and which tht^ 

 bees are loth to clean uii.] 



THE NORTH AMERICAN AT ALBANY. 



TO THE VERMONT BEE-KEEPEK8. 



The North American Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will meet soon in Albany. N. Y. A year 

 ago I was making calculation- to attend this 

 mi-eting: but. how little can W(- foresee the fu- 



