546 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



many bees as possible, then stack them up 

 five or six feet high. Over the top is then 

 placed one of these escapes, the cloth being 

 wet so as to hold it securely down all around 

 the hive-top, leaving the bees to escape by the 

 cone. 



This, I believe the doctor claims, works 

 more rapidly than the Porter and escapes of a 



like character, because it admits of a large 

 amount of light, owing to the eight inch 

 opening through the cloth. As the cloth is 

 wet, it hugs the top edges and corners of the 

 uppermost super, so as to render it practically 

 bee-tight except through \he cone. The es- 

 cape is easily made, and now is just the sea- 

 son for one to give it a trial. For out apiary 

 work where one wishes to take off the honey 

 at one and the same trip it may be better than 

 the Porter. 



But methinks I'd rather go down the night 

 before on a bicycle, slip 011 the Porter, and 

 then go the next day and take off the supers 

 without any shaking, smoking, or stacking 

 up of supers. 



THE DRAPER BARNS. 



IT was Dr. Miller who first gave the name 

 of "barn" to a ten-frame Langstroth hive 

 having frames and hive body 2 inches and an 

 eighth deeper. One would imagine that an 

 ordinary eight-frame Langstroth hive, having 

 frames of regular depth, would look small in 

 comparison with these barns ; but the differ- 

 ence is not so great as one would imagine. I 

 had two hives placed side by side — one of the 

 aforesaid barns and one of the standard eight- 

 frame Langstroth hives, each having a comb- 

 honey super on top. A photo was taken, and 

 the result is shown in half tone on page 537. 

 It will be apparent from the illustration that 

 the difference is not nearly so great as one 

 would imagine. The very word "barn," 

 when applied to a hive, is suggestive of some- 

 thing of monstrous size. 



Speaking of these barns calls to mind the 

 fact that they will take any of the ten- frame 

 standard Langstroth bottoms, covers, supers, 

 sections, extracting supers, and Langstroth 



bodies of standard depth. If there is any 

 thing in having a large hive, the ten-frame 

 Langstroth of extra depth would make really 

 less confusion than a tw r elve-frame Langstroth 

 of standard depth. The latter would require 

 a different bottom-board, different cover, dif- 

 ferent super, and could not be used inter- 

 changeably with other hives in the yard. 



Now, let it be understood that I am not ad- 

 vocating Draper barns, neither am I advocat- 

 ing twelve - frame Langstroth hives ; but if 

 there is call enough this season for the barns 

 we will catalog them for next year. 



A MODEL OUEEN - REARING APIARY ; NEAT- 

 NESS AND ORDER IMPORTANT REQUISITES 

 FROM A FINANCIAL POINT OF VIEW. 



Elsewhere in this issue, p 534, we present 

 a very fine view of one of the largest if not the 

 largest queen-rearing apiary in the southern 

 hemisphere. It is operated by Mr. H. L. 

 Jones, of Goodna, Queensland, Aus., a queen- 

 breeder who has sent us a number of interest- 

 ing and valuable articles on the subject of 

 cell-building and queen-rearing. 



This apiary contains about 300 colonies ; 

 and while it presents a remarkably neat and 

 orderly appearance, its owner says it w T as not 

 " got up for the occasion," as the photogra- 

 pher came along unexpectedly. It is very sel- 

 dom that one sees an apiary of such trim neat- 

 ness in its usual working order. On the other 

 hand, it is not uncommon to see hives in the 

 average yard more or less tipped sidewise, a 

 little out of square with the points of the 

 compass, weather-beaten, unpainted, besides 

 quite an array of old brood-frames, sticks, old 

 covers, old bottom-boards, and other things 

 too numerous to mention. I do not mean to 

 say that bee-keepers of this country are dis- 

 orderly ; but in the rush of the season, and 

 when every thing is "hurrah boys!" and 

 "any thing and every thing to get there 

 quickly," we are liable to find things in not 

 quite dress-parade style for a snap-shot photo. 



I am proud to say, however, that our own 

 queen-rearing apiary, just back of our factory 

 buildings, will compare favorably with the 

 Jones apiary shown on page 534 ; and for this 

 state of things our thanks are due to Mr. 

 Wardell, our apiarist, who has always been 

 used to having every thing in order. 



I believe that it was Mr. Hunt, junior, son 

 of M. H Hunt, who, in the Bee-keepers' Re- 

 view, said it cost no more to produce honey 

 (or queens, for that matter] when every thing 

 is kept neat and orderly than when the reverse 

 is true, and I suspect he is right. It is a great 

 aggravation to have tools and implements 

 scattered all over the yard, to say nothing of 

 the effect of the weather upon them. 



At our basswood yard, over which I have 

 direct personal supervision, the covers, bottom- 

 boards, supers, etc., not in use, are stacked 

 up in the center of the yard. Here, also, is a 

 barrel of fuel, some matches, tools, etc.; and 

 when I close up operations for the day I en- 

 deavor to have every thing back in its place, 

 so when I return I can go immediately to 

 work, knowing exactly where to find tools 

 and hive parts. 



