FEBRUARY 15, 191 I 



129 



very essential indeed. ]t would be well 

 to strive toward this end rather than be con- 

 tinually adding- a greater number of new- 

 fangled articles to the already large number 

 catalogued. 



HIVES FOR EXAMPLE. 



The longer I study the question of the 

 size of hives the more convinced I am that 

 the ten-frame width of hive is the nearest to 

 if not the proper size for all parts of the 

 country. The prevailing opinion years ago 

 was that the ten-frame hive was better 

 adapted for the South, but that the eight- 

 frame was better suited for northern local- 

 ities. It has long been apparent, from the 

 fact tiiat the ten-frame hives have become' 

 more popular in the North, that this is a 

 mistaken idea. The further fact that ev..n 

 larger hives, and those of gi-eater width, are 

 used successfully by some beekeepers in the 

 North, is an indication that the ten-frame 

 liive is not too large. 



My own experience has taught me that, 

 on the average, a colony in a ten-frame hive 

 is usually just so far ahead of one of eight- 

 frame capacity as the difference made by 

 those two extra frames after the combs are 

 built out. This provides the bees with addi- 

 tional room for winter and spring stores to 

 begin with, and it enables them to spread 

 out their brood-rearing operations so mucli 

 more that more powerful colonies of bees 

 may be obtained, and these with a lessei 

 desire to swarm on account of the additional 

 room. Such rousing colonies will also do 

 better work in ten-frame supers, especially 

 after they are tiered up several high on the 

 hive. Since the work is over a larger sur- 

 face, the super work is kept closer to the 

 brood-nest where the bees do better work. 



THE EIGHT-FRAME TOO SMALL. 



The eight-frame liives proved too small 

 for good results in my yards yeare ago, and 

 T am sure that those who advocate and use 

 tliese small hives, even in the North, could 

 obtain better results with the ten-frame 

 hives properly handled. This item alone 

 would be worth something, and in favor of 

 the ten-frame hives if the eight-frame size 

 could be discarded in time. Such a move 

 would be in the direction already suggested 

 — that of decreasing the number of different 

 sizes and also the different styles of hives. 

 It would be more eoonomical, in our opin- 

 ion, to have only the one size, all ten-fram.e 

 hives and supers, covers, and bottoms, and 

 such other things as are used with the hives. 

 Besides, there would be less confusion in 

 ordering new goods, and less trouble on this 

 score in the apiaries if only one size of liives 

 were kept. 



THE HIVES I USE. 



It may be asserted that I am deviating 

 from the very thing that I am advocating 

 in this article because I use a hive that is 

 altogether different from the standard hives 

 in use. Most of the readers know that I am 

 a strong advocate of tlie shallow-story hives 

 or divisible-brood-chamber liives. But I get 

 better results with this kind of hive, espe- 

 cially since I depend upoir a large number 

 of apiaries. With over thirty apiaries scat- 

 tered over the country, and visited only at 

 what most beekeepers would term long in- 

 tervals, it has been possible to keep up with 

 the bees, especially during the swarming 

 season, just because certain maniiDulations 

 were ]:)ossible that enabled us to reach the 

 end desired. 



It must be remembered also that our hives 

 are composed of entirely standard parts. 

 Nothing but supers of the Ideal ten-frame 

 size are used throughout for brood-cham- 

 bers and all. The regular ten-fram.e bot- 

 tom-boards and covers fit every hive made 

 up of these sim^Dle supers, and the size of 

 the hives can be enlarged or decreased with 

 the greatest ease. There is only one style 

 and size of frames, and only one kind of 

 foundation is used in all of them, whether 

 they are used in the brood-cliambers or in 

 the supers for comb or extracted honey. 

 Neither are any of the frames wired, which 

 is another item in saving in both time and 

 expense. 



Since we have tried many styles of hives 

 during over twenty years of beekeeping, 

 testing a number of each kind side by side, 

 we have found that there is quite a differ- 

 ence between the results that may be obtain- 

 ed from the several kinds of hives. The 

 shallow-hive system, incorporating the di- 

 \'isible-brood-chamber hive that we have 

 tried most thoroughly for over fifteen years 

 right beside other styles, both eight and ten 

 frame, gave us the best results ; and its very 

 simplicity of construction throughout, to- 

 gether with the interchangeability of the 

 various stories of the hives, has prompted 

 me to make the suggestions for more simple 

 hives, supers, and other beekeepers' supplies, 

 with a view of lessening complications and 

 confusion, and lowering, if possible, the 

 price of our necessities. 



Not in the Queen Trade 



Will you allow me to state through your columns 

 that I am not in the queen trade? I gave it up 

 twenty years ago. Since I gave my opinion on what 

 constituted a good queen in Gleanings I have had 

 a large number of inquiries for queens, and it will 

 save my time and correspondents' if you will publish 

 the fact that I have none to sell. 



Major Shallard, 



South Woodburn, N. S. W , Australia. 



