390 



The whole fraternity has been seeking for 

 years for a race of bees, or a particular hix^e 

 or some system of management, that will 

 eliminate swarming when working for comb 

 honey, and about so often some few declare 

 themselves " progressives," and will fly to 

 the journals that they have " the hive " or 

 " the race," and that the time has come 

 when all progressive apiarists should handle 

 hives instead of combs; and then the first 

 season something out of the ordinary hap- 

 pens, and all their hopes are shattered. In 

 my opinion the way to do is to reduce 

 swarming to the minimum by all the known 

 methods, and then handle the minimum by 

 the shaken-swarm plan when working out- 

 apiaries for comb honey. 



It seems to me that so much has been 



Gleanings in bee culture! 



written upon the mode of procedure during 

 the past ten years that the details are un- 

 necessary. Some complain of absconding. 

 Tliis will often happen if the operator fails 

 to give a frame of brood or shakes the 

 swarm into a hot hive and then leaves the 

 hive out in the hot sun. Temporary shade, 

 at least, should be provided at such times. 

 During the past season we shook 300 

 swarms, and I do not recall that a single 

 one absconded. Any one who thinks this 

 system will propagate a swarming race can 

 replace the swarm-cells with cells raised 

 from their non-swarming colonies. From 

 four to five visits every seven days will 

 practically cover the swarming season. 

 Hyrum, Utah. 



THE LET = ALONE HIVE? THE '^ LONG4DE A '' AGAIN 



Produciaig Wax and Honey 



BY A. W. YATES 



It is quite natural to assume that out- 

 apiaries are those operated by persons who 

 are in the business for the dollars and cents 

 there are in it, or who take as much from 

 their bees as they can with as little outlay 

 as possible. One motto of the late E. L. 

 Pratt was, " Make your bees pay their way 

 and a little more." Beekeeping as a hobby 

 and beekeeping as a business are two differ- 

 ent propositions. If we are in it for busi- 

 ness we must make them pay their way and 

 a little more or we shall soon go under. 



The great drawback in the maintenance 

 of outyards is the disposition of the bees to 

 swarm. If this could be done away with, 

 and the mass of bees held together, all other 

 difficulties could be overcome. The modern 

 hive as it is constructed to-day was never 

 built with this thought in view ; and if such 

 hives are used for this purpose they require 

 constant attention, and at times are the 

 source of a good deal of annoyance. If at 

 the same time some one bobs up with some- 

 tliing new in a hive our manufacturers are 

 skeptical, and very apt to look aghast at it 

 unless it presents something very striking 

 in its favor. 



It has been said that " Bees, when given 

 plenty of room, will spend less of their 

 energy in swarming and more to the pro- 

 duction of honey." 



A few years ago I constructed several 

 large hives holding 25 frames each. These 

 hives came so near filling the bill that I 

 made more, and am using one of similar 

 construction altogether at present. 



It will be seen by a glance at the illustra- 



tion that this is a double-walled hive; and, 

 being covered with a good quality of roofing 

 paper, it is both warm and dry, and at the 

 same requires no paint nor even lumber of 

 first quality in its construction. Living near 

 a city I am usually able to obtain shipping- 

 cases at the hat-stores for about ten cents 

 each, one of which contains nearly enough 

 lumber to build the body of a hive. The 

 hive 1 shall describe is intended for the "L" 

 frame; but it can be used with other styles 

 of frames. 



The side boards are 39 x 9V2 inches, four 

 for each liive, nailed together in pairs, as in 

 A in diagram. The inside board of the 

 j'ront end is 181/4 x 9^/^ inches, while the 

 outside board is six inches longer, and 

 nailed together, as in B, so as to lap by and 

 form the corner, as in C. The opposite end 

 of the hive, being used only in summer, is 

 of single thickness, as is also the bottom of 

 the surplus comj^artment. When the hive is 

 nailed together the walls are packed with 

 planer shavings or chaff. A naiTow board, E, 

 is nailed on the upper wall edge to hold the 

 shavings in place. The eight-inch telescope 

 cover gives plenty of room for a chaff tray 

 for winter, or two supers side by side in 

 summer. 



This hive, when so constructed, will hold 

 25 frames, ten of which answer for the 

 brood-chamber, and are separated from the 

 others by a perforated division-board, D, 

 reaching within half an inch of the bottom 

 of the hive. A. narrow strip of tin bent at 

 an angle of about 45 degrees is fastened to 

 the bottom edge of it, and this is placed in 



