6V- 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



spikes at each opposite corner, as shown in 

 the photo. 



Fasten the wire at each end with 3 cz. 

 cut tacks driven about an inch from the end- 

 bars. Drive the tacks -3 in, wind one end 

 of the wire around one nail; drive it home, 

 then draw the wire fairly taut and ^ive it 

 a turn or two around the other nail, and 

 drive it home; cut the ends off, and the add- 

 ed strensfth will be quite a surprise, and 

 quite sufficient. 



But, after all, perhaps for the average 

 specialist a )^-inch or Mr. Doolittle's 

 choice, a {g inch, is preferable. Either 

 one I's inches or near that width will be 

 found strong enough. 



Right here, perhaps, I had better say 

 why: Years ago I fixed upon a ;s top bar. 

 My covers were large, and purposely made 

 heavy to keep in place in windstorms. 

 They all rested upon cushions placed upon 

 the tops of the hives; and to support these 

 a strong top bar is needed. Two 's birs 

 can be made of one % bar; but any size be- 

 tween 4s and /s will generally cost more to 

 make than a % bar, because many top-bars 

 are made out of odd pieces ys thick, and re- 

 quire no extra cutting down. In other 

 words, the manufacturer generally would 

 prefer to make /s bars to any thickness 

 down to 4s • 



Aylmer W., Ont., Can. 



[You estimate 4250 cells more f jr the 4s 

 top bar than for the /&. This, of course, 

 takes for granted that a yi bar is practicil 

 to use. Assuming that it is, for ai gument's 

 sake, it does not seem to vm that this extra 

 number of cells would materially increase 

 the honey crop or the bee-keeper's profit. 

 Why, there are some who prefer an 8 frame 

 to a 10 frame because the latter is too large, 

 they say. Then there are others who say 

 a 10-frame hive is not nearly big enough — 

 that it shouM have a capacity of 12 frames; 

 and a few others argue in favor of 16. I do 

 not, therefore, see that a mathematical cal- 

 culation of only 4000 cells makes very much 

 difference one way or the other — it is too 

 small to cut any figure in the profits. 



Let us now examine the other question; 

 viz. : Is it practicable to make a top-bar 4s 

 inch thick that will not sag, of the width 

 shown in your illustration? If you will try 

 a f e V of those I think you will be f/ioroug/i- 

 ly disgusted with them. We used a plan 

 exactly the same in principle quite exten- 

 sively 15 or 20 years ago. While the top- 

 bars did not sag, perhaps, very much, they 

 had a strong tendency to bow upward. Un- 

 less the wires were drawn taut, the center 

 support would drop out. In order to hold 

 it ia place there had to be a tension put on 

 the wire, and this had a strong tendency to 

 bow the top bars upward, which is just as 

 bad as having them bow downward to the 

 same extent. 



The Vs is not practicable, as you sur- 

 mise. The ordinary standard lumber is 

 one inch thick, which, when planed down, 

 is /s. To cut it down to 4s requires setting 



the planer-knives where they will take off 

 a full '4 inch; so that from the standpoint 

 of the manufacturer, the "s bar is not quite 

 so cheap as the '/% ; but we could make a '2- 

 inch and a V-inch bar out of a Js, leaving 

 's for saw cut; the J2 inch piece we can 

 use for a top-bar and the % inch for a bot- 

 tom-ba». The Root Co. has been consider- 

 ing the advisability of reducing the thick- 

 ness of the top-bar, but find that the frame 

 made thus is very much weaker, for the 

 reason that the shoulder which stiffens 

 and supports the end-bars is nearly all 

 sawed away, leaving only jV inch. This 

 affords very little opportunity for good sub- 

 stantial nailing, and a weak brood-frame 

 is an aggravation. If a '2 -inch top- bar 

 were made at all it would have to be made 

 on the plan shown in the illustration; and 

 even that has objections, and serious ones, 

 from the standpoint of the manufacturer. 

 The only way to make a ^s-inch top-bar 

 is to cut away the surplus stock, leaving a 

 molded comb-guide in the center in relief: 

 but when we were making them thus a few 

 3'ears ago there was a strong demand f om 

 many quarters to make the top-bar full y% 

 deep at the sides. — Ed.] 



BEES AND FRUIT. 



Bee-keepers Welcomed by the Fruit-mea. 



BY TRANSIENT. 



Here is the apiary of the up-to-date Mr. 

 Albert Lane, of Vorden, Sacramento Co., 

 Cal. This gentleman is engaged in the 

 production of comb honey, his apiaries be- 

 ing located in the adjacent orchards. He 

 raises bees for sale, and each year increas 

 es his bees twofold, and still gets his crop 

 of honey. Being in a kcality overstocked 

 he places his bees in yards of 30 to 50 each. 

 His neighbors are all engaged in raising 

 fruit, principally peaches, cherries, and 

 apricots. So eager are they all to have the 

 busy bees visit their fruit-trees that they 

 furnish him all the locations he needs. One 

 orchardist makes stands for him to place 

 his bees on; another furnishes stands and 

 a spacious well made shed of lumber. In 

 another orchard a large barn is given over 

 to his use and he has a veritable house 

 apiary. 



Still another apiary we visited had the 

 hives painted red, blue, white, yellow, and 

 so on, and all under a good shed near the 

 orchardist's house. When we inquired 

 about so much display in colors, Mr. Lane 

 said that the owner of the orchard furnish 

 ed him paint, e'c , and desired the hives to 

 be ornamental as well as useful to him. 



In another instance, bees were placed in 

 three Iccalities in the sjme orchard. The 

 fruit-men on the Sacramento River realize 

 that, to get sure and full crops of early 

 fruits, they must have the aid of the honey- 

 bees, so they are sought for and welcomed. 

 Mr, Lane has the faculty of getting on well 



