344 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1. 



sample in a stout tin box. I think I could de- 

 termine whether it were the same as has been 

 found in New York. — Ed.] 



CLOSED-END FRAMES. 



OUR OWN APIARY AS IT IS SEEN IN THE 

 EARLY SPRING. 



BY ERNEST R. ROOT. 



We have given our readers two or three 

 views of our home yard when the grapevines 

 were all in leaf. But such views necessarily 

 obscure the hives, almost completely hidinj^^ 

 them. Thinking that our readers would like 

 to see how many hives we have (or, rather, a 

 part of them) we took a view from a roof of 

 one of our buildings, and the same is repro- 

 duced in half-tone on another page. This is 

 the old original apiary, the hives being ar- 

 ranged on the hexagonal plan as originally 

 laid out in 1879 — just about 21 j-ears ago. 

 While it presents a verj' pretty appearance, 

 yet if we could do it over again, that is, change 

 the grapevines, we would arrange the hives in 

 groups, either in pairs or fives, for the sake 

 of economizing space, economizing steps, and 

 economizing labor in general. Then if I could 

 have my way I would have basswoods about 

 20 or 30 feet high, and under each tree I would 

 put about five hives ; each group of five would 

 be placed 16 feet apart, so that a wagon could 

 be driven down between the rows whenever 

 necessary. 



The photo shows only about three-fourths 

 of the home yard, the rest of the hives being 

 out of view. The out-apiary ( which is not 

 hauled away until just at the approach of the 

 honey-flow) does not show in the view. This 

 is arranged on the group plan, and our men 

 all unite in saying that in this portion of the 

 yard they can do more work, and more com- 

 fortably , than they can in the main apiary 

 where each hive has a stand by itself. The 

 grapevines, our people all voted as a nuisance. 

 The young shoots with their tendrils will 

 sprawl all over, catching in clothing and veils 

 while one is working the hives. While vines 

 afford fairly good shade they need a great deal 

 of care, and then it is practically impossible 

 to work with bee-tents, which we consider so 

 necessary in queen-rearing, during the robbing 

 season. 



In our next issue I will give you a view of 

 an apiary in a grove that looks so delightfully 

 cool and pleasant that one almost envies the 

 owner the privilege of working in that 3ard. 

 If trees are trimmed high so that the sun can 

 strike the hives up till about 9 o'clock, and 

 again about 3, there will be no trouble from 

 too much shade ; and during that portion of 

 the year when the bees need all the sun they 

 can have, the trees will not be in leaf ; and 

 just so soon as the sun begins to get too hot, 

 nature provides automatically the necessary 

 shade during the heat of the day. Nothing, 

 to my notion, equals a good tree properly 

 trimmed ; and nothing anywhere near so 

 economizes labor as having the hives in groups, 

 because one can use one hive to sit on while 

 he is working at the other, or he can use them 

 as benches. 



How they should be Constructed ; how to Keep 



Noxious Insects from Hives: a New Method 



for Introducing ; Perforating Separators. 



BY W. B. RANSON. 



[The following letter, addressed to Dr. C. C. Miller, 

 was by him sent to us with the remark, " Some good 

 things in this." Ou reading the same I found myself 

 of the same mind, and I therefore take pleasure in 

 placing it before a larger circle of readers. — Ed.] 



My bees wintered last winter without the 

 loss of a colony, and came out strong in the 

 spring. All wintered on summer stands, as I 

 abandoned the cellar years ago, and have not 

 lost a colony of bees in wintering for six or 

 seven years. My neighbors lost many last 

 winter. I will give later my method of pack- 

 ing. I am using over 200 closed-end frames, 

 and like them much for outdoor wintering. 

 Right here it is surprising how little trouble 

 with propolis I have when bees are shut out 

 from the rabbets and from the outside of the 

 end-bars of the closed-end frames. Practice 

 for years here in the Rockwood apiary con- 

 vinces me thoroughly that the best way to 

 keep propolis off is to shut off the bees from 

 all parts of the brood-frames except the inside, 

 and that the bee-space outside of the end-bars 

 is a mistake. The first Hoffman frames sent 

 out with the wide ends of the top-bars closing 

 up the rabbets are best for this practice ; and 

 a wedge-shaped strip across the ends of the 

 hive at the bottom, so that the closed-end 

 frames fill at bottom, and the wide ends of the 

 top-bars close up the rabbet, the propolis gives 

 less trouble than one would expect. 



Last season, although a very light honey- 

 flow, my bees gave us an average of 50 lbs. of 

 comb honey per colony, of very superior qual- 

 ity, and for which I received 12^^ and 15 cts. 

 for the two grades here at the yard, and empty 

 cases returned. So much for home market. 

 The management outlined in my letter, given 

 in Gleanings, p. 260, 1899, gave the best re- 

 sults, and kept down increase admirably. Now 

 for a few notes. 



To keep ants, bugs, roaches, grass, etc., 

 from hives, take a common sprinkling-pot 

 filled with coal oil, and at night sprinkle the 

 hive-stands and grass, but don't let it touch 

 the bees. 



To get the bees to finish the outside sections 

 in the super, place a piece of tin over the mid- 

 dle brood frames so the bees will pass to the 

 super at the sides and rear end. 



To introduce a valuable queen, take a large 

 Benton cage and provision it, and put the 

 queen in it all alone. Take out the queen 

 from the colony to be requeened, and at the 

 same time pick off from the combs 12 or 15 

 young bees just hatched ; put them in a cage ; 

 wait a moment for these ba'^vies to crawl over 

 the queen and scent her with their damp feet 

 and wings. Now pick off another lot, a 

 little older, and put them in, and in another 

 minute pick off a dozen still older, say those 

 old enough to shed their veils. Now close up 

 the hive for an hour. Take the cage with the 

 queen and 40 or 50 bees, and notice them care- 



