490 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



but, owing' to the narrowness of the bellows, 

 and poor quality of leather, it eventually 

 becomes a miserable sniffer. 



A smoker which has no hook is unfit for 

 rapid manipulation of bees in an apiary of 

 painted hives, gable or excelsior covers, or 

 fiat painted ones; for where is one to put 

 the smoker if he does not wish his covers 

 scorched? Would you have a fellow put his 

 smoker on the ground, and stoop down aft- 

 er it every time the bees need a puff of 

 smoke? To follow that plan every day for 

 a week would not be conducive to friendly 

 feelings toward the manufacturer from the 

 bee- man. 



I have burned holes in my pants-legs mare 

 than once by holding hot Bingham smokers 

 between my knees to have them ready to 

 give the bees a puff of smoke just when 

 they needed it. I don't deluge my bees 

 with smoke upon opening a hive. I just 

 give them a few good puffs, and go ahead 

 with the manipulation; but I want the 

 smoker handy to give an additional puff 

 when necessary, and therefore a hook is 

 most essential to enable me to dispose of 

 my smoker quickly, and yet still have it in 

 easy reach when needed. 



Ie corporate the hinge, the iron legs, and 

 the hook into the makeup of the Bingham 

 smoker, and it will be all right, and soon 

 win the love and faith of every bee-man. 



If the manufacturers of Cornells would 

 put Bingham bellows on the Cornell it would 

 be just the thing too. Which of you are 

 awake to the needs of the fraternity? 



San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba. 



[I would hesitate to publish this article, 

 criticising as it does the goods of a competi- 

 tor; but inasmuch as the writer "wades 

 into" the goods made by ourselves 1 con- 

 cluded to let it go in. Mr. Bingham can, 

 of course, answer his part of this article. 



Regarding the Hoffman frames, it is true 

 there are ten of them used to one of any oth- 

 er among modern bee-keepers in Cuba; and 

 perhaps it will surprise you to know that 

 some years ago I formed the opinion that 

 the Hoffman would not be suitable for a cli- 

 mate like that of Cuba, and strongly urged 

 our agents to get their customers to use, in- 

 stead, the unspaced frame, or, as you call 

 it, the "Simplicity frame made stronger 

 and thicker at tops, sides, and ends." An 

 effort was made to make a substitution, but 

 the bee-keepers would not have it so. When 

 our Mr. Boyden went through Cuba he in- 

 terviewed quite a number of bee-keepers, 

 and found they were decidedly friendly 

 toward the Hoffman in spite of some of its 

 objectionable features. 



The Hoffman frame, like every other 

 good thing, is not perfect. Supply-dealers 

 have learned that bee-keepers are a pe- 

 culiar lot. What one uses and praises, 

 another will condemn; and the strange part 

 of it is, the " condemner " does not see how 

 the " praiser " can possibly use such a 

 useless device. We find examples of it in 

 the preferences for kinds and styles of sec- 



tions; styles of separators; kinds of smok- 

 ers; and, right here, if there is an}' one ar- 

 ticle that has ever been offered to the trade 

 that has given general satisfaction it is the 

 Bingham smoker that our correspondent 

 condemns. As a competitor of Mr. Bing- 

 ham, I am glad to offer this statement; but 

 especially since it illustrates how different- 

 ly people will look at the same article. 



You " deny heartily " that " the Hoffman 

 frame is proof against burr-combs," imply- 

 ing that some manufacturer or dealer had 

 claimed that such was the case. If you 

 will look at any of the Root Co. 's catalogs 

 you will see a statement that has been run- 

 ning for years, and is still going. In the 

 paragraph that refers to thick-top frames 

 we say "that there will be very few burr 

 or brace combs;" and this is literally true 

 from an extended observation I have made 

 all over the United States, when such 

 frames are compared with the ordinary 

 thin-top frames of years ago. There is no 

 thick-top frame that is proof against burr- 

 combs* entirely. They will accumulate to 

 some extent, especially where the brood- 

 nest is crowded and the honey seasons are 

 heavy, but nothing like what they will do 

 with the thin top-bar. 



You object to the shortened projection. 

 If you will refer to the catalog before men- 

 tioned you will see that Hoffman frames 

 are supplied with long and short projec- 

 tions. Then you will also find the old 

 Simplicity frame, which you say will be 

 perfect if made heavier, thicker, and strong- 

 er, is offered for Si 00 extra. 



You complain that the projections to the 

 top-bars are weak. That is true, but we 

 can't change this without changing all the 

 L. hives in use. If father Langstroth had 

 made his top-bar projections Yz inch thick 

 in the Jirst place, we would not have this 

 trouble now. But why handle the frames 

 by the projections? I have proved that for 

 myself there is no need of it. I always pick 

 up the frames by the corners inside of the 

 end-bars. When one gets used to it, it is 

 handier than the other way. It certainly 

 insures a firmer grasp for shaking. It is 

 sometimes better 1o unlearn old ways and 

 acquire new ones. W^e scarcely realize 

 how we are wedded to old practices until it 

 is suggested that we divorce ourselves from 

 them and adopt new. 



The reader will pardon what may seem 

 to be something like a trade talk; but there 

 are hundreds of people who wish to know 

 the truth on both sides, and we have given 

 both sides of the question. Let me empha- 

 size more strongly than 1 have done already 

 the fact that a device that is regarded as 

 simply perfect by one bee-keeper may be 

 condemned to the extent of absolute abhor- 

 rence by another one. Supply-manufactur- 

 ers have been compelled to meet the need of 

 various preferences by furnishing several 

 different kinds and styles of frames — 

 frames shallow, frames Langstroth depth, 



* When I use this term I mean combs built on top of 

 the bars. — Ed. 



