738 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



more forcible than polite, for this was before 

 the days of the smoker, and the bees were hy- 

 brids of a very warlike tribe. This was experi- 

 ence No. 1. 



The next season we made a lot of American 

 hives for an oat-apiary, frames with a close- 

 fitting top-bar the entire length, and slots for 

 the bees to go up into the surplus apartment 

 cut in them, and a movable side. This was 

 better, but had many objections, and was dis- 

 carded. Thus closed experience No. 3. 



The next year I had charge t)f still another 

 out-apiary, mostly on frames very much like 

 the Van Deusen, only the corneis were worked 

 solid from the top-bar. This, the " Union " 

 bee-hive, was so arranged that the frames 

 could not be removed except from the side, or, 

 rather, from the rear, and was a very inconven- 

 ient arrangement indeed in many respects — in 

 fact, about all respects. This was experience 

 No. 3, and I was then satisfied that father 

 Langstroth was right, so I built my hives two- 

 story, and confined my operations to the pro- 

 duction of extracted honey with the L. frame. 



A few years ago I changed to a frame a foot 

 square, a swinging frame, being satisfied that, 

 for the production of extracted honey and for 

 winter, it was superior to a shallow frame as 

 well as for brood -rearing. 



METHOD OF GETTING BEP:S OUT OF EXTKACTING- 



CA8ES. 



But here I ran against a snag with the Lang- 

 stroth frame. I found it an easy matter, usual- 

 ly, to smoke the bees down from the upper sto- 

 ry, and then pile up as many stories on top of 

 one another as I conveniently could, and place 

 a board on top of the pile, with a wire cone per- 

 mitting tlie bees to leave the combs. They 

 w^ere then wheeled into the honey- house and 

 extracted. 



BEE-ESCAPE. 



This cone was made from a patent fly-trap, 

 and I sent a description of it to the old Bee- 

 keepers' Magazine, away back in the "70's; but 

 for some reason it was not illustrated. But 

 when I tried this same way with my di'ep 

 frames I did not succeed as well, on account of 

 the greater depth of frame. 



THE FIXED FRAME I NOW USE. 



I then, to remedy this defect, constructed a 

 frame nearly six inches deep, twelve inches 

 long, with }i top and bottom bars and uprights, 

 If^ wide, with usual bee-space between up- 

 right (or end-bar) and hive, top-bars resting in 

 a rabbet, dummy at side, and set-screws to 

 crowd all frames up close. At th(> side opposite 

 the dummy the frames rest against a pair of 

 little strips to keep them away from the side of 

 the hive and preserve thp correct spacing. 



I made a large number of these litth; cases; 

 and although, from past experience, I was very 

 much opposed to fixed frames, and believed 

 them impractical. I am more than pleased with 

 the result of two seasons' use. and shall try 

 them next year as a brood-frame. I can han- 

 dle them by cases, pairs, and trios, with ease, 

 and have no difficulty except with the comb- 

 building nuisance between the cases, which will 

 happen to a greater or les'^er extent with any 

 hive I have ever used yet. I also left the screws 

 out of nearly half of these cases, and fastened 

 the dummy with a key; but it does not fill the 

 bill with me, as it is too slow and uncertain. 

 My hive is, in many respects, like your Dove- 

 tailed hive — cleated cover, and bee-spaced bot- 

 tom-board; and all cases, supeis, etc., inter- 

 changeable. When I adopted the closed -end 

 frame I did not intend to try to handle them 

 except by cases, and expect to handle them 

 mostly in that way: but in my limited expe- 

 rience with tills frame I find no tiouble if vou 



only screw your frames up close and prevent 

 the bees fi'om sticking glue between the edges 

 of the uprights, or end-bars. If usual care is 

 taken in this there will be but litth' trouble; or 

 such, at least, has been my experience, and I am 

 surprised at the ease and rapidity with which I 

 have Ijeen able to handle these little combs, and 

 very often with less trouble than the lai'ger 

 ones. But I want a bee-space' between the end 

 of the frame and hive so far; and in case I wish 

 to do away with it I can easily nail a thin 

 board in at each end. J. A. Nash. 



Monroe. la., Aug. 2.5, 1891. 



[You are correct in saying that fixed frames 

 should be wedged or screwed tight. This is 

 necessary in order to keep the bees from stick- 

 ing the frames together with propolis. On some 

 accounts I should prefer th<^ wood screws. One 

 objection to wedsies inside of the hive is, that 

 bees propolize them fast; and it sometimes, in 

 the case of hybrids, takes no small amount of 

 pulling to get it loose. The screws have the 

 advantage, also, that more power may be ap- 

 plied. — I think you are also right in deciding 

 that there should be a bee-space between the 

 end-bars and the hive. I once, you may remem- 

 ber, thought that no bee-space would work 

 better; but practice does not warrant this con- 

 clusion.] E. R. 

 —^^ I i^ 



A FKIEND MALIGNED. 



PKOF. COOK STANDS VP IN DEFENSE. 



Mr. J. S. Whittenburg writes as follows of an 

 insect of which he desires the name: 



"I send you a vicious insect which I have 

 just killed. I could smell (?) the poison all oyer 

 the house. What is the name of the thing? I 

 shall call it the McKinley wasp until I hear 

 from you. I tore off its head, and five minutes 

 afterward it was still crawling around trying 

 to spear things with its four-inch lance."' 



Mr. W. is much mistaken, as this is one of 

 our largest ichneumon flies, and one of our 

 best friends. The name is Tlialessa Uinator. 

 It is a large wasp-like insect with a very long 

 ovipositor, which it uses to bore into trees, that 

 it may lay its eggs on or near the borers that 

 are tiinneling and destroying the trees. Thus 

 this insect is very useful in destroying borers 

 that otherwise would destroy our fine maples. 

 Thus the insect is not only our friend, but is as 

 harmless and safe to handle as a house-fly. I 

 have handled them fret'ly, many times, and 

 never smelled the poison or received harm. 

 This insect belongs to a very useful family of 

 insects— the JclDieurnonuhr—nW of which are 

 parasites, and our very good friends, as they 

 live on our insect enemies, which they destroy 

 by the millions. They lay their eggs in, on, or 

 near some grub, or caterpillar; and as the eggs 

 hatch, the young of the ichneumon feeds on the 

 luckless grub, etc.; and so, as we attempt to 

 rear these lattei-, we rear the ichneumon in- 

 stead. Were it not for these friends, agricul- 

 ture, horticulture, etc., would be losing pursuits. 

 All of these have large flat abdomens, and long 

 ovipositors, and so are easily known. The ovi- 

 positor of this one is four inches long. This 

 species, which is beautifully marked with yel- 

 low and brown, is very much like another 

 species, T7(a?e.s.'<rM/frato, in form and size, but 

 the latter is black. As these bore into trees 

 they sometimes get their long auger fast. I 

 have caught them thus enti'apped several times. 



Mr. W. calls this the McKinley wasp, and an 

 enemy, or vicious thing. Is this suggestive 

 that the "McKinley bill," so often defamed, 

 may also prove oui- very good and helpful 

 friend? Many very wise and good men think 



