18 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1 



and brood in all stages, the projection is slid 

 back until its end is flush with the end-bar. 

 They can then be inserted in a regular stan- 

 dard Langstroth frame, and oai'ly in the 

 season can be filled with drawn comb and 

 brood in all stages. When once so filled they 

 can be slipped out of the frame with adher- 

 ing bees, and two of them (when the metal 

 projections are slid out) inserted into one 

 side of the twin mating-box. When in posi- 

 tion they hang on rabbets like the unspaced 

 Langstroth frame. 



Tacked to the veneer division-board is a 

 small piece of enamel cloth. This is used on 

 these small hives because it will peel over 

 without disturbing the cluster; for experi- 

 ence has shown that it is desirable to handle 

 these small bunches of bees without smoke. 

 So small a cluster can very easily be scented 

 to an extent that it loses its body or indi- 

 vidual odor, when it will attack its own 

 queen — something that would not be likely 

 to happen with a large colony of bees. 



The twin mating box, instead of being 

 made up of § stuff, is constructed of boards 

 fully i thick. The object of this is to make 

 a warmer box, and at the same time provide 

 for feeding- troughs on each side, as at C and 



The whole combination makes a very 

 warni mating-box; and when we further 

 combine the heat of two clusters into one. 



BOA- 



sup I rye, T!„ — ^ 



'P^OJCCTIOly 11*^1 

 On TOP-B^Tf 



FIG. 1— THE ROOT TWIN MATING-BOX. 



and B, Fig. 1. These are mortised out 

 with a chain mortiser, and extend to the 

 dotted lines as shown in Fig. 1. To this 

 feeJing-trough a small hole is made, through 

 which bees enter to secure the food. A 

 small wooden lid is placed on top of the en- 

 amel cloth, covering both sides, and telescop- 

 ing over the whole is a cap of Neponset 

 paper. 



FIG. 2 — THE ROOT NI'CLEUS FRAMES FOR 

 TWIN MATING-BOX. 



we have what is to all intents and purposes 

 one cluster of bees, so far as heat units are 

 concerned twice the size it really is. There 

 is a ventilating- hole at A, and an entrance 

 at B. 



Experience has shown that these larger 

 clusters are better and actually cheaper, be- 

 cau.-:e they will maintain their strength 

 throughout the season. While it is perfect- 

 ly practicable to mate queens in smaller 

 boxes, yet we found last season that it was 

 necessary to renew this small force every so 

 often. This was not only a nuisance, but 

 actually resulted in the loss of more bees 

 throughout the season than would take place 

 from the larger box here shown. 



I learned one fact from Mr. A. K. Ferris, 

 of Madison, Wis., which may make it possi- 

 ble for even the smallest cluster of bees to 

 maintain itself and rear brood throughout 

 the season. Mr. Ferris says all that is nec- 

 essary is to space the frames further apart 

 than the regulation distance of \\ or If from 

 center to center; that when the frames are 

 very small it is necessary, in order to keep 

 up brood-rearing, to have the little bunch of 

 bees covering the brood twice or three times 

 as thick as it ordinarily is. He explains 

 that, when the frames are spaced wide, and 

 the box sufficiently large to accommodate 

 the spacing, a comparatively small cluster 

 will maintain itself throughout the season 

 by rearing brood and bees. 



But there are other reasons why the large 

 mating-box built on the dual plan will be de- 

 sirable; and, all together, the arrangement 

 here shown will prove to be more satisfac- 

 tory, mainly because it will stand cool weath- 

 er, especially cool nights. I found at the 

 National convention that two other bee- 

 keepers have been working along the same 

 lines — namely, the adoption of a twin mat- 

 ing-box of practically tne same size. One 

 box was exhibited by Mr. Arthur Stanley, 

 Dixon, 111., and the other by Mr. A. K, Fer- 

 ris, as above mentioned. 



