Dec. 1, 1911 



been three-inch glass. So, as I have said, 

 the object of the glass is not primarily to 

 exhibit the honey, but it is to notify the 

 handler that the box contains honey and 

 not soap. 



Xow, a three-inch glass would perform 

 this function as well as a two-inch, but no 

 better; and against it, it must be said that 

 there is, as it seems to me, a marked mis- 

 proportion between the amount of glass and 

 the amount of wood — a want of symmetry, 

 a straining for effect, and therefore not ar- 

 tistic; and in another way it violates a canon 

 of art; and that is, in the appearance of lack 

 of strength. I would not affirm that the 

 box is not, as a rule, sufficiently strong for 

 practical purposes, but there is no denying 

 that the narrow strips of wood suggest frail- 

 ty, and that is an unpleasant blemish in the 

 appearance of the box. 



Finally, the doctor propounds as a poser 

 this question: "If two-inch glass looks bet- 

 ter than three-inch, why does any one pre- 

 fer the wider glass in single-tier cases?" I 

 must try to answer it, and my answer is 

 this: Because men who are supposed to know 

 a good deal about bees and honey persist in 

 preaching with persevering energy the doc- 

 trine that the wider glass looks the better. 

 False doctrine seems often to be imbibed 

 more readily than sound teaching. 



Lapeer, Mich. 



729 



much trouble with moisture condensing on 

 the walls of the hive? Surely moisture 

 would not condense on the inside of hive- 

 walls and cover if it were only one or two 

 decrees warmer inside than out, for mois- 

 ture never collects on windows in the house 

 when the temperature within and without 

 are nearly equal. It is only when the room 

 is warm and the atmosphere cold outside 

 that water drips down or forms a coating of 

 frost on the glass. _ 

 Winsted, Conn. 



A NEW FORM OF OBSERVATORY HIVE. 



Semi-closed-end Frame. 



BY WALTER CHITTY. 



THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE A HIVE IN 

 WINTER. 



BY O. S. REXFORD. 



I have just been reading Mr. A. C. Mil- 

 ler's article, Nov. 1, page 663; and the fact 

 that there are several statements which I 

 doubt, because of my exper- 

 iments along this line, does 

 not make it less interesting. 



Mr. Miller says, p. 664, 

 "In winter the tempera- 

 ture within the hive and 

 outside the cluster is within 

 one or two degrees the same 

 as it is outside the hive." 

 While he has good author- 

 ity to back him in the state- 

 ment, my experience has led 

 me to draw a different con- 

 clusion. 



In packing my bees I have 

 always followed the princi- 

 ple that an effort should be 

 made to retain in the hive 

 as miich as possible the heat 

 which I believed radiates 

 from the cluster. 



Well, I experimented with 

 thermometers in a hive with 

 a glass cover, and proved to 

 my full satisfa<-tion that, in my yard, and 

 packed as my bees were, the cluster of bees 

 did warm the space inside the hive and 

 away from the cluster. 



If his statement regarding the slight dif- 

 ference in temperature is correct, why so 



My observatory hive consists of two circles 

 of inch wood made exactly the same size, 

 and with a three-inch hole cut out of the 

 center of each. At the bottom of one of the 

 circles a bee-eutrance is made which reaches 

 as far as the center hole. The bees can run 

 along to the center, and then ascend. Four 

 pieces of wood, about three inches wide, are 

 firmly fastened wuth screws, as shown, and 

 three grooves are cut in each of these pieces, 

 and corresponding grooves in the two large 

 circles. The center grooves are for founda- 

 tion, and the other grooves for glass. The 

 foundation could be wired if desired; but if 

 good thick foundation is used I find wiring 

 is not necessary. 



The hole at the top may be used for feeding 

 or supering. Special supers could easily be 

 made, another hive of the same sort put on 

 top, or a bell-glass, as fancy dictates. I find 

 this a very useful and handy hive for obser- 



vation purposes, and the making and ma- 

 terial are not at all expensive. 



All the doings of the bees and queen can 

 be seen; and to keep them in the dark I 

 merely put corrugated paper around it. and 

 keep the paper in its place with a piece of 



