1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



175 



lumber with knots nailed into place, and 

 strips of tin nailed over holes where the 

 knots have dropped out; but a )nanufac/iirer 

 who would let such stuff go out to his cus- 

 tomers would be run out of business. 

 Years at(o we furnished hives with sound 

 knots in them; but the trade became so ex- 

 actinij that it demanded clear stock — a de- 

 mand that the large factories at least have 

 met. 



Bro. Hutchinson goes on to show that 

 hives made of knotty lumber, not including 

 frames nor allowing for waste (for no 

 waste could be allowed for, as every thing 

 goes), can be delivered at his door by the 

 planing-mill, for 37'-< cents per hive; but 

 the fact that he refers to buying lumber 13 

 inches wide, for covers and bottoms, shows 

 that he is figuring on a smaller hive than 

 the regular eight-frame Langstroth put out 

 by the factories, and one story at that. Bee- 

 keepers as a rule will not have a cover jus f 

 wide enough. It must project at least a 

 little on each side. But the Dovetailed hive 

 takes a little more lumber than one with lap 

 joints depending on nails to give the nec- 

 essary strength, because the lock corner 

 fingers pass by each other, and this makes 

 a difference of i^z inches. 10 inches wide. 

 Mr. Hutchinson also says he can get plenty 

 of 13 inch lumber at S30 per IflOO. True, 

 he can get sufficient for his needs; but the 

 different factories would not be able to get 

 enough of it — that is, of clear stock, 14 inch- 

 es wide, not 13 inches. As a natural con- 

 sequence it is cheaper to use the three-piece 

 cover, which uses slightly more lumber, 

 owing to the overlaping, and here again is 

 an increase in the amount of lumber called 

 for. 



Bro. Hutchinson has inadvertently left 

 a rather misleading comparison against the 

 manufacturer. One is almost led to believe, 

 until he looks into the matter carefully, that 

 he can make his own hives for 51 cents 

 apiece, as against factory hives at $1.25 in 

 lots of a hundred. Now, if we stop and 

 analyze these figures we shall see what 

 they cover. The 37 '2 -cent hive of Mr. 

 Hutchinson's is made of knotty lumber, 

 some of the knots loose, and the knot- holes 

 covered with pieces of tin; the boards are 

 probably roughly sawn, and possibly not 

 all accurately cut. The hive itself is only 

 about 13 inches wide, outside measure; it 

 has no tin rabbets — at least none are men- 

 tioned, and it has no division-board. The 

 all wood thin-topbar loose hanging frame 

 is considered good enough, and these are 

 purchased of a local dealer for \}i cents 

 apiece, or 14 cents for eight frames, making 

 the whole hive, one story, cost 51 '4 cents. 

 The manufacturer, according to the latest 

 list, in lots of 100, will furnish the standard 

 Dovetailed hive, one inch wider, with di- 

 vision board, tin rabbets, snund clear hun- 

 ber accurately made, with all-wood frames, 

 for 87 cents. Now, thi? same manufacturer 

 can furnish this same hive, if made of knot- 

 ty lumber, of the kind that Mr. Hutchinson 

 describes, for 60 cents, and make the same 



profit that he now makes on other hives. 

 Now, in saying this, do not get the impres- 

 sion that the Root Co. would at the present 

 time accept orders for hives at this price, 

 of the kind described, until after we get 

 through with our crowd of orders for high- 

 grade hives. We are now behind 30 car- 

 loads, and shall be compelled to see to our 

 regular trade first. The kind of hive that 

 I spoke of in our list, listed at $1.25 in lots 

 of 100, is a 1!4- story hive, and should not in 

 any sense of the word be compared with a 

 home made onestory affair m ide of inferi- 

 or material at 51 cents.* If there is a de- 

 mand for hives made of knotty lumber, at 

 less price, and if we can be assured that 

 cust( mers will not complain, we can furnish 

 them an accurately made hive at a price 

 that will ccmpete with the local mill. Even 

 if a manufacturer does have overhead ex- 

 penses, he is able to buy in hundred-car 

 lots, and put out hives made by machinery 

 that will turn out by the thousands in one 

 day the quantity purchased and the quan- 

 tity made. 



To make a comparison at all equitable, 

 it should be based on the same kind of lum- 

 ber, the same kind of covers, and the same 

 kind of frames throughout, with or without 

 tin rabbets, and with or without followers. 

 On that basis the inanufacturers stand on 

 about an even footing with the local plan- 

 ing mill when we consider the difference in 

 the workminship. 



A few years ago I went through a num- 

 ber of bee-yards where there were home- 

 made hives in use. There was not a cover 

 or bottom-board that fitted properl3^ The 

 baards were roughly sawn, and checked 

 and split. The factory-m ide frames would 

 fit seme hives and not others. I distinctly 

 remember watching the owner of one of 

 these yards as he stopped every little while 

 and whittled off the ends of his top-bars in 

 order to get the frames into the hive. I re- 

 member, too, something about the fearful 

 accumulation of burr-cciribs, due to the mix- 

 up in bee-spaces. They varied all the way 

 frrm ^s inch to >2. How he wasted precious 

 time in tearing loose his combs! and the 

 robbers! — all because the hives were im- 

 properly iTiade. 



The average planing-mill has not the fa- 

 cilities; and even if it does, its proprietor 

 does not understand the importance of ex- 

 treme accuracy in the construction of hives; 

 and where one might be able to save money 

 he might waste valuable time right in the 

 height of the season, when he could least 

 afford it. 



Now, do not let me be misunderstood, for 

 I fear that already it inay look as if I were 

 trying to grind my own ax. Perhaps I am 

 unconsciously biased; but I hive tried to 

 state the matter fairlj', as I know Mr. H. 

 has. Taking it all in all, Bro. Hutchinson 

 and I do not differ materially when we fig- 

 ure on exactly the same equipment. 



* It is fair to say that Mr. H. does nr t make this 

 comparii-on bnt a carelf ss reader taking his data is 

 liable to do this without considering all the factors. 



