1 S'.fJ 



(;m:axin(;s in hek cui/niRE. 



noddiilil tliiit llif •^t;il)lis alii'adv ii'lVtifd id hy 

 other cori't'spomlcnts would answer vci'y iiii-cly; 

 lull ilie I'ommon run of l)eo-l<(>ept>i"s would not 

 drive iluMii in just far enoufrh to Rive exaet 

 spai'iiiii: and. of i-ourse. iliefe is that old objec- 

 tion of tlieii' beinj; in the way of the honoy-knife 

 in uneappini?. 



In repaid to the lioffnian ffames in our own 

 apiai'y. we would say that we have just been 

 out in the apiary and manipulated them in 

 eoloiiies that are the worst propoli/.ers — llie 

 hybrids. We found no special difliculty in 

 handJini; them, but we nnilize that tliere are 

 som<' who would not like them. e\(Mi in our own 

 yard. 



In resiii'd to the burr-coiuhs on the new HolT- 

 inan to|)-bars, your experience is at variance 

 with our own. and with the reported experience 

 of others. Altliough we had a very heavy 

 honey-flow, and the bees crowded every bit of 

 available space, the top-bars were left intact 

 so far as the wax acrumulations were con- 

 cerned.] 



SPRAGTJE'S AUTOMATIC HIVER. 



now IT WOKKS, KTC. 



My hiver has proved to be a perfect success. 

 I send you a drawing and explanation of it as 

 you requested. The tin slide is a very impor- 

 iant adjunct. 8lideitin place, and it changes 

 the hiver into a bee-escape from the old hive to 

 ihe new. 



I have just placed a new hive with one frame 

 of brood and two empty combs by the side of 

 an old one, and put on the hiver with the tin in 

 place. In two days nearly all the bees from 

 the old hive were in the new one. with five 

 queen-cells started. You see that it will be a 

 success so far as yetting the bees is concerned. 

 If some of them should return to the old hive 

 when the swarm comes back, they can be got- 

 ten with one minute's labor. 



I want it called a hi\er and not a swarmer. 

 Wlu'u the bees are caught I want them hived, 

 and not caught in a tra|) for me to hive. It is 

 cheaper for me to keep the required number of 

 Dovetailed hives and use them than to keep 

 around a stack of bee-traps. 



SPRAGl'E .S AUTO-MATIC ItlVlUi. 



Fig. 1 shows the old hive moved two-thirds 

 its width to the right. Fig. 2 is the new hive 

 occupying two-thirds ol the space where the 

 old one stood. Fig. 3 shows the hiver in place. 

 F'ig. 4 is a hiver leaning against the hive, giv- 

 ing an inside view. This should be three inches 

 square, inside measure. Fig. ."» is a square tin, 

 to be placed against the square zinc in the 

 hiver after the swarm bus returned. The hole 



is to lit, the mouth of the cone, changing the 

 hivei' into a h(>e-escape. 



The zinc in the fronloflhe liiver is placed 

 diagonally from liie fi-ont, uppei- edge to the 

 back lower edge, the end of which (its closely to 

 the little S(|uare zinc, leaving one half of the 

 square zinc for the b(^es to work through with- 

 out having to pass through the large zinc which 

 is to catcli tlie swarm. (A)is the (sn trance to 

 the old hive; (ui is the. entfance to the new 

 hive. The hiver is held in plac(> by means of 

 one nail driven into the hive and another into 

 the bottom-board, and connecting these with 

 stovepipe wire. 



My method of using it is, to catch the swarm 

 in the new hive; place the super from the old 

 one on the new one; slide the tin in place to 

 drain it of bees and prevent further swarming; 

 also to make the new swarm strong. I then 

 move th(! old hive to a new stand, and all is 

 done. 



The cone should be 33.; inches long, with an 

 apex ^4 of an inch in diameter. This allows 

 them to carry the dead bees through it without 

 clogging, and it works all right. 



While I can see no improvements to be made 

 upon this now. some one else will. Let such 

 have a chance. 



Haskinville, N. V. (Jeo. H. Spkague. 



THE QUALIFICATIONS OF AN APIARIST. 



SOME (JO()l> IILNTS FROM (i. M. DOOI.ITTI.K. 



As the labors of the season draw to a close, 

 and the long winter evenings are soon to be up- 

 on us, I thought that I might be excused if I 

 were to say aiew words on what I consider the 

 duty of the apiarist along the line of spending 

 these evenings in such a way that we may be 

 gaining in knowledge regarding the pursuit we 

 have chosen in life. Having once chosen a 

 pursuit in life, it becomes all to look after that 

 pursuit with all diligence; and in no business 

 engagement is this more imperative than when 

 the culture of the honey-bee is to be the occu- 

 pation; and in no way can this be done to better 

 advantage than in reading the bee-literature 

 of the day. How often have I tried to get cer- 

 tain persons to take a bee-paper, or to send for 

 a good book on bees, only to be met with cer- 

 tain excuses which went to show that the per- 

 sons addressed would not make a success In 

 bees. A man who is not willing to put a few 

 dollars into the liee-reading of to-day shows by 

 that very thing that he will not make a success 

 of it; for if he has the right kind of lov(^ for the 

 little busy bee he will devour all the reading on 

 the subject which comes in his way, as eagerly 

 as a hungry man eats his dinner. It is just this 

 hungering and thirsting after knowledge re- 

 garding the practical part of bee-keeping that 

 insures success; and unless a person does so 

 hunger and thirst after knowledge along some 

 specuil Utic of the many industries of the world, 

 he or she will never make a success at any 

 thing. One of the reasons why there are so 

 many ■■ calamity howlers " in the world to-day 

 is because there are so many who are more 

 interested in loafing around and listening to 

 idle gossip than tht^y are in thcMr chosen pur- 

 suit in life, and take more interest in sitting 

 around the saloon or the store than they do in 

 studying on something that will lift them up 

 financially and morally, or make them of use in 

 the world. Besides Gleanings, take all the 

 other liee-papers which you possibly can: and. 

 before any of these, be sure to get at least one 

 good book on be(>s. Why 1 say procure the 

 book or books lirst, is. that no man is ready to 

 understand the bee-papers till they are ac- 



