94 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb 1. 



Noah see to it dat 'noiigh bees got into de yark 

 for seed." 



niPKOVEMENTS ON BEE HIVES AND APPLI- 

 ANCES TURNED OUT AT THE HOME OF THE 

 HONEY-BEES FOK 1897. 



Our policy has all along been to keep fully up 

 with the times, and generally a little ahead of 

 them. We point with pride to some of the in- 

 novations that we have introduced in the years 

 gone by. For instance, dovetailing the hive- 

 corners; self-spacing frames; Cowan extract- 

 ors; new process of comb-foundation making, 

 besides a long list of minor features, all of 

 which have come to stay, and on not one of 

 which have we had to take a "backtrack." 

 Before introducing them we have taken a deal 

 of pains to investigate and test thoroughly, 

 and the result is that I believe our bee-keeping 

 friends have come to look upon us as rather the 

 leaders in apicultural progress. 



During the last two or three years we have 

 made no very great changes; but during this 

 year, 1.S97, we shall announce in our catalog 

 some improvements in hives and appliances 

 that we feel very sure will be accepted at once. 

 Our new 1897 list will be out, probably, within 

 ten days. It will contain cuts and descriptions 

 of the new features. Among the first is the 



NEW 1897 HOFFMAN FRAME. 



When we first introduced this frame, some 

 years ago, it took like hot cakes, and the con- 

 tinued and increasing demand for it ever =;ince 

 shows plainly enough that it is a practical la 

 bor-saver. It had, however, just one fault, 

 namely, that the bees would stick the ends of 

 the top-bars to the contiguous parts of the hive- 

 rabbet, so that, in order to remove one frame, 

 it sometimes became necessary at some seasons 

 of the year to break this top-bar propolis con- 



CALLBKEATH S END-SPACER. 



nection of several other frames before the 

 frame in question could be removed. We have 

 been studying on this problem for a couple of 

 years. We have recognized the fact that a 

 bee-space around the ends of the top-bars 

 would solve the trouble. The next difficulty 

 was, how to prevent end play. We had thought 



of a number of devices, and finally Mr. John S. 

 Callbreath, of Mongaup, N. Y., sent us a frame 

 with furniture-nails under the top-bar, as 

 shown in the accompanying engraving. 



I must confess I was at tirst delighted with 

 the idea. During the summer we tested several 

 hives with these end-spacers on the frames; 

 and to say that I was pleased with them after 

 manipulation was putting it mildly. During 

 the very worst part of the propolis season, and 

 even when it turned cooler, so that the bee- 

 glue would snap, 1 could handle Hoffman 

 frames with these end-spacers, with my fingers 

 alone. Such a thing as a screwdriver or a pry 

 was unnecessary. The reason will be appar- 

 ent. The metallic head of the furniture-nail 

 striking against the tin rabbet would offer the 

 bees no chance to propolize; and even if they 

 did attempt to stick it, the points of contact 

 were so small that it practically amounted to 

 nothing. You can set it down as a rule that 

 bees will never attempt to daub up with propo- 

 lis a point of metal when it comes against a 

 flat surface of metal. 



But we met one serious difficulty— the cost. 

 After a good deal of inquiry we were forced to 

 the conclusion that we could not get these fur- 

 niture-nails cheap enough without tucking on 

 another dollar or two per 1000 to the cost of the 

 frames. Then our thoughts turned to nails, 

 staples, strips of sheet metal, iron buttons, and 

 every thing else in fact. The staples seemed to 

 be the most feasible. But the question was, to 

 devise some simple and cheap way so they 

 would be driven just so far and no further. 

 That problem. Mr. E. B. Weed, of foundation 

 fame, solved for us very nicely, and which I 

 will refer to further on. Well, here is a set of 

 Hoffman frames with staple end-spacers: 



THE NEW 1897 HOFFMAN FRAME WITH STAPLE 



END SPACERS. 



These staples, providing they are driven the 

 right depth, are as good as furniture-nails, and 

 cost only one-tifteenth as much. The expense 

 is so trifling that we have d<^cided to put them 

 on all of our 1897 frames, without additional 

 cost. Of course, it will be understood that top- 

 bars on all such frames will be a bee-space 

 shorter at each end, making them K inch 

 shorter than the last year's top- bars. The 

 staples are fully as strong, and present as little 

 surface of contact as the furniture-nails; and 

 by the method which I will now describe they 

 can be driven to an exact depth, without any 

 variation. 



