MAY 15, 1914 



373 



do I do tliatf Because the bees insist on 

 having" some drone comb, and 1 prefer to 

 have it all in one j^lace, and have that place 

 where it serves me best, which is at the back 

 of the hive. My hives are all with the combs 

 side to the entrance instead of end to the 

 entrance. Why "1 Because I can work more 

 easily with such arrangement ; because I can 

 remove most of the combs witliout disturb- 

 ing entrance conditions — usually a small 

 matter, but not always; because I can keep 

 a small colony across the whole entrance 

 where it can better defend itself, for I sel- 

 dom fuss with reduced entrances except in 

 extreme cases, and because my special drone 

 comb is at the back, where it is not used 

 until evei-y tiling else is full. The bees' con- 

 venience, or theory of warmth or cold, 

 enters not at all into the arrangement. I 

 use it because it suits me and serves my 

 ends best. 



The top-bar of that frame with the half- 

 comb of drone is painted white — a practice 

 I followed and advocated many years ago. 

 So designated, it does not get put into other 

 parts of the brood-chamber unless I pur- 

 posely put it there for getting drones early 

 or out of season, or from a special queen. 

 But the instant the tops of the frames are 

 \asible, the location of such a comb is 

 known. 



I think I may properly call my ten combs 

 so handled the perfection of comb efficiency 

 and economy. My results (operations and 

 colony conditions) are all that any beekeep- 

 er could desire, and T know that I do less 

 handling and overhauling than most bee- 

 keepers. 



There "s one other item in my use of 

 combs which has much to do with the results 

 I obtain. My hives have half an inch more 



width inside than the standard, and the 

 combs are offset from front and back walls 

 rather more than two full bee-spaces. Why 1 

 See the solid sheets of brood in the outside 

 surfaces of the outside combs and you will 

 understand why. Does it pay? Go and 

 examine the two outer combs in a standard 

 ten-frame hive and you will see. The outer 

 surfaces rarely have any brood, and the 

 inner surfaces are not usually well filled. I 

 cannot afford to lose the brood-containing 

 use of one comb out of every ten; so, after 

 I have obtained ten combs of the liighest 

 possible efficiency, I so place them as to 

 have every inch available. 



I think that the available worker-cell area 

 in the run of ten-frame hives as the inspect- 

 ors find them is equivalent to but six or 

 seven combs of the No. 1 and No. 2 type. 



If beekeeiDei-s would study their combs 

 more closely they might discover the reason 

 for some of the great differences reported 

 from use of hives of different sizes, propor- 

 tions, and protection. Poor combs are a 

 serious loss to beekeepers in more ways 

 than one, and it is the more grievous in that 

 it is easily preventable. 



I have said that it costs me less to pro- 

 duce my combs than it does the average 

 beekeeper to produce less perfect ones, and 

 in some future papers I will tell you how I 

 do it. I use old and well-known methods, 

 correcting a few errors, adding one or two 

 things which I have found superior, all of 

 wluch will be described and pictured, so 

 that you can do the same if you will take 

 the same pains. 



In the meantime, ponder on the quality 

 of combs, and the profit and losses arising 

 from the use of the diff(jrent kinds. 



Providence, R, I. 



I§ THE SUPPLY OF MONEY LKELY TO EXCEED THE DEMAND ? 



BY RAY MITTOWER 



Dr. C. C. Miller: — I am writing to ask 

 you for a little advice. I am a man in my 

 twenty-first year, and it is time I made up 

 my mind what my occupation will be. I 

 am a farmer's boy, and I have kept a few 

 bees for the last eight or nine years. I take 

 great interest in them, and have been suc- 

 cessful, as this is a good location. I have 

 always thought that I would make beekeep- 

 ing my business. This part of the country 

 is favorable for the production of comb 

 honey. Here is where I should like to have 

 your opinion. Is the supply of honey likely 



to become greater than the demand? Will 

 honey be so plentiful that it will be a drug 

 on the market, and the prices be so low that 

 beekeeping would not be a paying propo- 

 sition? You will find a little article on this 

 subject in the Feb. 1st issue of Gleanings, 

 page 89. by Wesley Foster. 

 West Lodi, Ohio, March 2. 

 [Dr. Miller replies as follows:] 

 All that Wesley Foster says is, unfortu- 

 nately, only too true, and he is doing good 

 service in trying to get beekeepers to face 

 the situation. Your question is an impor- 



