94: 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



honev is being adulU'rated— at least, by the 

 '• hundreds of tons," as averred by Mr. Tweed. 

 We should glad to have bee-keepers all over 

 the country give us the I'acts, where they have 

 good reason to believe that packing-houses are 

 adulterating. AVe may not be able to accom- 

 plish anything: but if we do this much we shall 

 find whether there is iveu a belief among bee- 

 keepers as to the adultiMalion of our product. 

 It just occurs to us that, if there is any adul- 

 teration at all. it is lu'cause the newspapers 

 have been trying to make us believe that it was 

 done on a gigantic scale, and therefore a few of 

 those who are inclined to adulterate would 

 argue that, if they were not in good company, 

 they were in a large one. There may be a few 

 concerns that would stoop to such low busi- 

 ness. 



CLOSED-END FRAMES IN AUSTRALIA. 



A SUCCESS WHEKE I'KOPOLIS IS THE WORST. 



In your issue of Sept. 1.5, p. 729, appears a let- 

 ter from J. A. Green, giving his decision to use 

 half-depth frames closed -end. You express 

 great interest in his letter, in your footnote, so 

 perhaps another on the same subject, although 

 somewhat late in appearing, may be of interest 

 to you and others dissatistied with the loose 

 hanging frame. 



As one of the chief objections raised against 

 closed-end frames has been that of propolis. I 

 should like to say, first, that, in thi^s district, 

 there is an abundant supply of it lying around 

 on the ground and under the remains of the 

 grass-tree, or yuccas, and the bees bestow a lib- 

 eral share on every crack and joint in the hives. 

 It would compete favorably. I fee] contident, for 

 tenacity when cold, and stickiness when warm, 

 with that of Cuba, described in your issue of 

 Oct. 1,' p. 7(5U. by Mr. T. O. Somerford. I have 

 tested some 100 hives, with closed -end frames 

 5t^ deep, alongside of some .50 Simplicity loose- 

 frame hives in this apiary for two years. The 

 frames have 1^^ end-pieces, KX]^ top-bars; (sX 

 J^ bottom-bars, with bee-space back and front 

 of the end-bars, frames hanging, top-bars liHg 

 long. With these frames closed up by two iron 

 thumbscrews and a dummy. I have no more 

 difficulty individually than in moving any indi- 

 vidual frame in the Simplicity hiv(;. One tuin 

 of the screws gives about >« to tk side play; the 

 frame neai' the center is pried apart from its 

 two neighbors with the fingers easily, in warm 

 weather, and lifted vertically up. and replaced 

 as Mr. Green describes, the adjacent frames be- 

 ing close, l^.j inches apart at most. There are 

 no bees caught between end-bars as the frame 

 descends. Contrary to what Mr. Somerford 

 says, these combs can be put into any position 

 in the hives when replaced, and 1 take no par- 

 ticular care to put them back, except for other 

 rea.sons that hold good for every kind of hive. 

 I never have to ''emove the dummy: and while 

 I can handle a single frame of either kind, out 

 and in. in about the same time I can handle a 

 set of frames of the closed-end type in any mat- 

 ter that involves disarranging and arranging 

 (or spacing) them again quicker and easier than 

 loose fi'ames. Besides this, many operations, as 

 set forth by Mr. Heddon and others, can be per- 

 formed upon a whole colony at considerable 

 gain in time over a similar one upon loose 

 frames. One occurs to me just now with double 

 force, as I jiainfully learned the difference to- 

 day. Go to one of these hives in the apiary just 

 now — swarming time — and a nice honey-flow 

 till to-day. The (lueen has possession of three 

 brood-cases of eight frames each (before swafm- 



ng). With a chisel the lid is loosened, and the 



cases over the queen-excluder are lifted off; a 

 few jars and shakes, and a light tap of one cor- 

 ner on the ground, and four-fifths of the bees, 

 Cyprian and Italian crosses, are out before rob- 

 bers (of which yesterday there were none, but a 

 plenty to-day) can well dive in: the cover is on, 

 and the supers are piled up with others near the 

 honey-room, with a Dibbern horizontal escape- 

 board on top of the pile, 'to drain out the re- 

 mainder of the bees. Now open a Simplicity 

 two-stoi'y hiv<^ of twenty frames. Ten times 

 combs have to be lifted -and shaken; ten times 

 the bucket has to be opi'ued, and ten times the 

 robbers dive into the sticky bucket and still 

 open hive, kejjt open for. say, four or five times 

 the period of the former hive. 



But this is not all. The real superiority at 

 this time is proved when the empty combs are 

 being replaced later on. If there is the least 

 slack in the honey-flow with us, the first comb 

 put back, sticky and odorous, means bees bent 

 on stinging. By the time ten are put back and 

 spaced properly, the uproar and stings are to be 

 deplored. On the othei' we lift the cover with 

 one hand: with the other we put on the case of 

 eight combs, all ready spaced, and close up. In 

 less time than it takes to space two loose frames 

 it can be done. And their advantaged have 

 not seen it mentioned) is, that full sheets of 

 foundation, about 7 feet to the pound, can be 

 safely used, even in our hot climate, in frames 

 only 5 in. deep; nor do I now wire these frames. 

 Tlie frames in the brood-cases and supers are 

 all alike, as described above. As a recent writ- 

 er pointed out in the Bee-keepers' Review, the 

 fjiU advantages of handling hives vs. " frame- 

 handling " can not be realized where foul brood 

 is prevalent. As we have ever to be on the 

 alert here for that enemy, there is considerable 

 advantage that our closed-end-frame hives pos- 

 sess lost to us through the necessity of con- 

 stantly examining combs. 



There are only two advantages that I know 

 of in the loose-frame Simplicity hives. They 

 are made up more quickly from the flat, and 

 cheaper, and the frames are turned a little 

 quicker in the extractor than two small frames, 

 though there is less difference here when used 

 to the small frame than might be supposed. 

 The smaller frames are more speedily capped 

 over, and uncapped too. I find, which compen- 

 sates for the former advantage. 



For building up. disposing of brood at swarm- 

 ing time, without increase, and at all times 

 where hive-lifting and comb-carrying, full or 

 empty, is to be done, my testimony is in favor of 

 the shallow cases of closed-end frames, as being 

 less laborious, tedious, and painful, and more 

 economical of time. 



It may be thought an additional commenda- 

 tion when I state that, from W hives, spring 

 count, I took 11.000 lbs. of honey, mostly ex- 

 tracted, last season, mostly taken in January 

 and February last. T. Boi.ton. 



Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia, Nov. IS. isni. 



[Propolis is apt to be much worse in warm or 

 semi-tropical countries. It has been stated by 

 some of our coiTcspondents. and no doubt with a 

 good deal of truth, that it is very bad in Cuba— 

 so much of it, in fact, being deposited on the 

 frames and other parts of the hive that fix(xl 

 distances in the shape of Hoffman or closed-end 

 frames would b(^ out of the question. But sev- 

 eral correspondents have stated several times, 

 yoiu'Self among the number, that propolis is 

 probably as bad in South Australia as anywhere 

 else on "the face of the globe, and yet you say 

 fixed frames are a success notwithstanding. You 

 have stated quite forcibly and clearly why fi.xed 

 frames are superior to loose frames that require 

 to be spaced. We feel (luite sure that bee-keep- 



