1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



929 



it is not a good practice. Much of our honey 

 candies in the comb. It is fine eating." 

 Brunswick, O. 



THE LONG-IDEA HIVE. 



How Constructed and How Used. 



BY o. O. POPPLETON. 



I am a beginner in bee-keeping, and have 

 the utmost respect for the opinions of Mr. O. 

 O. Poppleton. On p. 727, Oct. 1, is an item 

 regarding the Long-Idea hive. I should feel 

 very thankful to him if he would more fully 

 describe the hive, so that I could make and 

 try one or more, and I am sure others would 

 appreciate the article. W. Emory. 



Avondale, Fla., Oct. 21. 



[Mr. Poppleton replies :] 



The dimensions of the Long-Idea hive can 

 be varied to suit any style of frame one wishes 

 to use, keeping at least two points in view ; 

 viz., that the frames in use in them should be 

 at least two or more inches deeper than is the 

 standard Langstroth frame, and the hive 

 should be long enough to hold as much comb 

 in the aggregate as at lea^>t 25 Langstroth 

 frames will hold. These are the essential dif- 

 ferences between any simply made standard 

 hive and the Long- Idea. 



The hives I have in use are made of four 

 boards 13 in. wide, front and back ones being 

 36 in. long, and the ends 15 inches. When 

 nailed together the inside measure is 13 in. 

 deep, lo'4 wide, and 36 long. Entrance to 

 hive is ^4x12 in the center of the lower edge 

 of the front. The two sides have rabbets in 

 inside of upper edge >^X^, for ends of top- 

 bar of frames to rest in. I use a tight bottom- 

 board projecting in front lj4 to 3. Tight bot- 

 tom-boards are a necessity with me because I 

 practice migratory bee keeping, but are not 

 essential. Like the Dadants I prefer the old- 

 style telescopic cover. I couldn't be induced 

 to use any other kind; but these are not essen- 

 tial to this system. Any style of cover works 

 the same on these hives as on any other. 



The frames I use are 12 in. square, inside 

 measure ; but for Mr. Emory, or any one else 

 wishing to test this style of hive on a small 

 scale, I would advise his using the extra-deep 

 Langstroth or Hoffman frame now being made 

 by The A. I. Root Co. for use in the Draper 

 barns. In case he should ever wish to do so 

 they could be easily changed to the standard 

 size by cutting off bottoms of the end-bars. 

 The dimensions of the hives in case those 

 frames are used would be the same from front 

 to rear as in the Simplicity hive — enough 

 deeper to fit the deep frames, and not less 

 than 30 inches long, inside measure. 



One difficulty in testing a small number of 

 these hives in an apiary is in the fact that the 

 deeper frames may not fit in the extractor one 

 may have. 



In manipulating these hives I put the brood- 

 nest in the center, then use whatever combs 

 the colony needs on each side, using two divi- 

 sion-boards, one on each side of the combs. 



the hive a glance will let one know whether 

 the colony should have more or less combs, 

 and whatever is needed, whether one or more 

 can be added or taken away without having 

 to add or take away an entire story. Divi- 

 sion-boards should not be tight-fitting. 



I think the above gives the information Mr. 

 Emory wishes; but if not, I will cheerfully 

 reply to any questions asked through you. 



Stuart, Fla., Nov. 6. 



GREASY SECTIONS. 



Cauted by Hot, Dry Seasons, Not by a Poor Queen. 

 Errors in Bee-literature. 



BY WM. M. WHITNEY. 



Under the head of " Beedom Boiled Down," 

 on page 714 of American Bee Journal, the 

 first item that meets the eye is the following : 

 " Errors about bees are found in books of oth- 

 er countries as well as this." Well, that is 

 not at all strange; but there are enough in the 

 books and journals of our own country to 

 command the attention of the careful bee- 

 keeper during the time he may have to devote 

 to study and experiment. 



I believe a case in point is under this same 

 heading in the following words : " Then when 

 you find a super of greasy-looking sections 

 you know where to replace a queen next 

 spring." Now, my experience has taught me 

 to doubt the correctness of the position as- 

 sumed in the above statement. Allow me to 

 illustrate. I have colonies, over which, early 

 in the season, were placed cases of sections ; 

 later they were raised and others put under, 

 and iu due time I removed the first case, con- 

 taining nice white capped honey ; the second 

 case was raised, and a third put under. When 

 the second case was removed, many of the 

 sections through the middle of the case had a 

 greasy appearance ; but the last case of late 

 honey had white cappings. 



Now, I had read much that had been written 

 upon the subject of greasy sections, all of 

 which seemed to be along the same line of 

 thought ; viz , charging the grease up to the 

 queen, and pronouncing upon her the death- 

 sentence ; but why the same queen should 

 give me both beautifully capped sections and 

 greasy ones caused me to stumble at the above 

 theory, and set me to investigating the matter 

 for myself. 



Most of my colonies were very strong dur- 

 ing the entire honey season, the first and last 

 cases being filled rapidly during comparatively 

 cool weather ; but the cases which passed 

 through the dry hot part of August were sub- 

 jected to quite different conditions. The nec- 

 tar was necessarily very thick, although there 

 was a very good flow from sweet clover. The 

 bees filled the cells to the very brim, and 

 capped them; the honey, being very ripe before 

 capping, did not shrink as it often does ; the 

 hives being very warm, as a matter of course 

 the cappings absorbed a portion of honey — 

 hence the greasy appearance. 



You will observe that all such honey is much 

 heavier than white capped honey of the same 



