1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



807 



dozen colonies, without dreading that some 

 acknowledged leader in apiculture will hint of 

 kindling-wood when it is mentioned in his 

 presence. 



I have read somewhere that almost every 

 bee-keeper, at a certain stage in his experience, 

 invents a hive of his own. Is it any wonder ? 

 for, soonei- or later, he is sure to come to the 

 conclusion that in this matter there is no such 

 thing as an unprejudiced mind; or that, with- 

 in certain limits, it makes no practical differ- 

 ence what the size or shape of hive or frame is. 

 So. why should he not have his own ? 



As you will no doubt gues', I am drawing 

 very near that stage when either a hive of my 

 own get-up or a humiliating guess at what to 

 buy will be a necessity. E. J. Baird. 



Orlando, Fla., Sept. 28. 



[I have read your article with much interest. 

 and I do not much wonder that you are con- 

 fused when the doctors seem to disagree; for 

 who then shall decide? Surely not the begin- 

 ners. As I have said all along, beginners 

 should be careful about investing too much in 

 new things. In all cases it would be wise for 

 them to adopt the implements and devices that 

 hav(> given good satisfaction for many years. 

 To what I refer is practically the L. hive and 

 the L. frame. I would get this in a plain square- 

 edged hive with no porticos, movable bottom, 

 and a plain simple cover. It would be safe for 

 a beginner to adopt a loose frame, and equally 

 safe to adopt it with thick top-bars. While for 

 mv own use I should prefer something on the 

 style of the Hoffman frame for the production 

 of comb and extracted honey. I am quite cer- 

 tain that it would not please a good many oth- 

 ers. In oi'der to be progressive, advanced bee- 

 keepers ought to discuss advanced methods; 

 but begin)iers had better stick to established 

 methods: and if they can afford to, let them 

 try a few of the " new-fangled " devices. Of 

 course, they would like to adopt that which, in 

 the near future, would be accepted as the best; 

 but at the present stage none of us can decide. 

 I think we are safe in sticking to the eight- 

 frame L. hive with loose bottom and without 

 the portico: and if we wish tomake any change, 

 let it be in the matter of frames. But every 

 one should be very careful which one he pro- 

 poses to adopt. The advanced bee-keeper who 

 has tried all kinds of frames can decide for 

 himself which one he cares for. much better 

 than any one else can decide for him. A be- 

 ginner can not: and he had better (let me re- 

 peat it) stick to the established L. hive and a 

 loose frame until his advanced brethren come 

 to a little better agreement. The L. hive that 

 I would recommend is essentially the Dovetail- 

 ed. The same thing with both eight and ten 

 frames has been made and advertised for many 

 years by almost all supply-dealers; and it will 

 be a long while before the general principles of 

 this modified L. hive are changed — at least ten 

 years. Now, I hope that my fiiends who think 

 1 am going too fast on fixed distances will care- 

 fully read over the above, for it explains just 

 my position.] E. R. R. 



CLOSED-END FRAMES. 



JAMES HEDDOX DECLAKES AGAINST THE 

 UOFFMAN FRAME. 



I believe we all entertain a just pride in form- 

 ing correct conclusions. I am very glad there 

 have been bee-journals through which we may 

 aid each other, not only, but on whose pages I 

 might place my opinions, which I believe to be 

 advanced opinions, on record. You know. Mr. 

 Editor, that the man who really believes him- 



self a true prophet, really capable of laying 

 down such truths to-day as, although not ac- 

 cepted now, will surely be in the future, desires 

 to make his prophecies public. 



The above thoughts are suggested by the ar- 

 ticle of brother Stachelhausen, on page .^Di. 

 You know very well that the mechanical con- 

 struction and devices of apiarian fixtures and 

 implements, especially of the hive, have been 

 my hobby for twenty years; and probably from 

 the great importance of having a good hive 

 have flowed forth the bitter jealousies between 

 inventors. I desire to make this article short, 

 although devoted to a very long subject. 



While for fifteen years a user and admirer of 

 the laterally movable suspended L. frame, nev- 

 er a moment did I cease to study into and look 

 after the merits of close-fitting frames. I have 

 gone slowly and carefully, and made my exper- 

 iments on "a comprehensive scale; and I desire 

 now to go on record for the following: 



1. The Hoffman frame will never come into 

 general use, and lemain so. It is not as worthy 

 as the L. frame. If I must use a Hoffman frame 

 or a Langstroth frame, I will have the latter. 



2. A closed-end frame in a close-fitting case 

 is the only arrangement that will supersede the 

 L. frame" with practical honey-producers. As 

 you say in your footnotes on page 592, such an 

 arrangement works more perfectly in shallow 

 cases like those used in my divisible brood- 

 chamber: but. please place me on record, here 

 and now. as affirming that this same arrange- 

 ment in a case 10 inches deep makes a more 

 worthy hive than the L. hive with the suspend- 

 ed frames; and don't fail to record me as say- 

 ing that no other close-fitting style of frame 

 does. 



Some of your readers may say that some of 

 the above are strong statements, and savor of 

 conceit in the writer, to which I take no excep- 

 tion. I meant to make them strong; for, when 

 I go upon record. I desire to go squarely so, and 

 I think I know that every statement above is 

 true: and have I not a right to some conceit? 

 I think that, as long as ten years ago. and per- 

 haps longer, I foresaw that the practical money- 

 making bee culture of the future must desert 

 the rules laid down in text-books and bee-jour- 

 nals; that the future bee-keeper who would 

 succeed in honev-producing must abandon all 

 work except that absolutely necessary, and this 

 he must be able to accomplish in the shortest 

 space of time. This demanded a different sys- 

 tem of management, and that, in turn, different 

 implements, especially different hives. Then I 

 began making and advocating lighter hives, 

 recommending the manufacture of the brood- 

 chamber and supers of thinner material. Of 

 course, I was met with plenty of opposition. 

 My lumber was "'too thin for winter'" and "too 

 thin for summer." My recommendation of 

 eight instead of ten L. frames was also heresy. 

 Very few, at least, agreed with me. even if 

 Adam Grimm did use eight frames. " Handling 

 hives more and frames less" is also a part of 

 the reform above referred to, and was the title 

 of an article of mine published more than ten 

 years ago, and yet I did not get on record in 

 letters large enough and ink black enough. 



Let me refer you to many numbers of the 

 American Bee Journal and Gleanings, away 

 back as above mentioned. Please get me on 

 record strong, this time, Bro. Root, and record 

 me as saving that there is nothing superior to 

 or equal to the L. hive system except the close- 

 fitting frame as arranged in my late invention: 

 and that is so much better that any apiarist 

 who thoroughlv understands it and knows how 

 to use it can handle double the number of colo- 

 nies with the same labor required with any 

 other stvle of hive. Are the above statements 



