NOVEMBER 16, 1814 



lesser half; for with the wintering problem 

 unsolved, no beekeeper in the North is com- 

 plete master of his profession, regardless of 

 his other qualifications. Outdoor wintering 

 of bees is rapidly and surely coming into 

 favor, and there is urgent need of a hive 

 that will provide perfect protection for its 

 colony 365 days in the year without extra 

 equipment; for equipment is but another 

 name for expense that lessens profits. To 

 demonstrate chaff-hive conditions, in a new 

 catalog issued by a Western firm, chaff hives 

 are listed at $4.25 without any summer 

 equipment except frames, which means that 

 we must pay that price for indifferent win- 

 ter protection, with an added expense of 

 several dollars for summer equipment in 

 order to make it an all-the-year-round hive. 



Regardless of utility, the one item of 

 " expense " is sufficient cause to relegate 

 present-day chatf hives to the scrap-heap in 

 favor of a hive that provides perfect pro- 

 tection for its colony 365 days in a year 

 with practically no extra equipment more 

 than is required for summer use. It is not 

 the purpose of this article to criticise pres- 

 ent-day methods without offering a remedy 

 for existing conditions; and were I not in 

 position to introduce a hive and system that 

 meet the exigencies of modern methods this 

 article would not have been written. I take 

 pleasure in introducing the new hive be- 

 cause it is the embodiment of valuable prin- 

 ciples. It is of 16-frame capacity in sum- 

 mer, and 8 in winter. It is named " the 

 Convertible hive " because it is converted 

 from a single-wall summer hive to a double- 

 wall wintering hive, providing the most 

 perfect protection in winter with practically 

 no extra equipment. To compi'ehend fully 

 its economical solution of the wintering 

 problem it is necessary to understand that 

 an ordinary 8-frame hive is 14 x 20 in., 

 while the Convertible hive proper is 26 x 20 

 in. Thus, when the frames are removed 

 from the latter hive it will take in an 8- 

 frame hive-body crosswise, and leave ap- 

 proximately two inches of space for packing 

 between the walls of the two hives; and the 

 top story provides for abundance of pack- 

 ing on top without the chaff-tray nuisance. 



To prepare the colony for wintering, 

 place the 8 combs, including the bees, in a 

 shell 12 inches wide inside and 12 inches 

 deep, made of any old stuff % thick. Place 

 the shell containing the combs and bees in 

 the center of the hive crosswise; bridge the 

 space between the outer and inner entrances ; 

 bridge the tops of frames for a winter 

 passageway ; cover with a quilt ; put on the 

 top story and pour in the packing, working 

 it down into the spaces with the hand, and 



907 



fill up the hive within an inch of the top of 

 the upper story. This space is for the cir- 

 culation of air under the cover, which keeps 

 tlie packing dry. This method provides for 

 2^/2 inches of packing on each side, 2 inches 

 at each end, and 7 inches on top, with a 3- 

 incli space under the combs — a very desir- 

 able feature not found in any other winter- 

 ing hive. It is superfluous to add that such 

 perfect protection as this will winter bees 

 safely in any location where they can be 

 kept with profit; and the best thing about 

 it is that no expensive or cumbersome equip- 

 ment is necessary, for every hive is a perfect 

 wintering repository. 



Every year bees are shipped from the 

 South by the carload to make up for winter 

 losses that would not occur if right methods 

 were practiced. So long, however, as the 

 demand for bees continues, increase of stock 

 sliould form an important part of the prof- 

 its of beekeeping. The Convertible hive 

 solves this problem, and explodes the theory 

 that increase is secured at the expense of 

 the honey crop. To demonstrate, it will be 

 noticed that the Convertible hive has 16 

 frames in summer and 8 in winter, and less 

 labor is required to place the extra 8 combs 

 covered with bees, in a separate hive at the 

 close of basswood harvest, than to brush off 

 the bees later in the season when bees resent 

 such a disturbance and store the combs, 

 faking chances on damage by mice. View- 

 ing it thus, aside from the extra queens, 100 

 per cent increase is a spontaneous produc- 

 tion that costs nothing, merely utilizing 

 brood, bees, and combs already on hand. 

 All except the combs would otherwise be 

 lost, for a 16-frame colony will be no 

 stronger in bees April 1 than an 8-frame 

 colony. The time to increase colonies with- 

 out interfering with the honey crop is right 

 at the close of the basswood and clover 

 harvest when the hives are full of brood and 

 boiling over with bees. With the right kind 

 of hive and system the number of colonies 

 can easily be trebled after July 20 without 

 materially affecting the honey crop. 



Queen-rearing is an important factor in 

 forming increase, and a part of the pro- 

 gram for which the Convertible hive is 

 especially adapted. To demonstrate, the 

 main entrance to the hive is in the side, 

 with a small one in one end, which is always 

 open, and is used in queen-rearing opera- 

 tions. When queens are needed a nucleus 

 is formed by placing two or three combs of 

 brood and bees next to the end of the hive 

 having the entrances, closing them up with 

 a close-fitting follower, covering them with 

 a cloth, thoroughly separating them from 

 the colony. Bees that have the habit of 



