290 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1 



spaced (or, rather, not self-spaced) frame; 

 the Hoffman frame with a wide side-bar the 

 full distance down; your improved Hoffman 

 frame; then the staple with its rounding 

 terminus. I sent to Germany for every 

 thing I could find in the nature of a spacer, 

 but saw nothing that I could use for a spacer 

 better than the staple. But when I went to 

 Chicago I saw your new metal spacer, and I 

 think I should prefer it to any other, as it 

 strengthens the lug. I find with heavy 

 combs of honey, as I shake, so as to have 

 but little brushing, if the wood is cross- 

 grained I sometimes split off the lug. Jacob 

 Alpaugh has also a spacer, but it is not 

 strictly a self-spacer. / think the Hoffman 

 frame can be improved; but it was an ad- 

 vance in apiculture. At the end of even as 

 shallow a frame as the Langstroth, there 

 should be a spacer, a staple. The rounding 

 corner is an aid to manipulation, preventing 

 the crushing and rubbing of bees between 

 the side- bar and side of hive, and helps to 

 preserve the temper of the bees. I have 

 not this arrangement, but have completed 

 plans to put it in. I want to be able to use 

 super combs in the brood- chamber, where, 

 once put, they remain; but to do the above 

 there must be uniformity in size. I have 

 never seen sufficient advantages indifference 

 in size in these two to compensate for the 

 inconvenience. 



Let me say right here that the hive which 

 has all the advantages and no disadvantages, 

 and the same of frames and other appliances, 

 is unknown; it is merely a matter of what 

 design will give me the greatest number of 

 advantages. So much for the frame and the 

 number. 



THE HIVE I USE. 



Where comb foundation is used, and I feel 

 quite sure not to use it is extravagance, and 

 where accurate spacing has been adopted, 

 there is no need of a follower or the space 

 for a follower. My hives are 17 inches in- 

 side. For an entrance (D) we should have 

 it the full width of the hive, ordinarily | 

 deep; but it can be dropped another i inch, 

 thus giving a large amount of ventilation in 

 warm weather, and, in cellar wintering, ca- 

 pable of contraction however. It is also 

 surprising how, with the 1 J-inch-deep mouth 

 to a hive the field bees fly right into it and 

 save themselves much dropping short of the 

 entrance, and therefore delay in unloading, 

 as with the small entrances. In extremely 

 and exceptionally hot weather, the bottom- 

 board which slides into a rim at the back, 

 but is not attached to the rim, can be pulled 

 partly out, and ventilation given from below 

 at the back. The bottom-boards should be 

 well primed with oil, and painted. From 

 the illustration it will be seen my hive has a 

 portico with a groove, C, at either side. 

 The sides project slightly beyond the top 

 piece of the portico. The side pieces come 

 out even with the bottom board in front. 

 This portico can be a part of the hive-body, 

 or attached by means of screws or nails. 

 As formerly used I see no use for a portico; 

 but, as here designed, it becomes a valuable 



factor in management. During spring the 

 front of the hive can be made double- walled 

 by means of a bridge under which the bees 

 can pass; then a double door (A), the back 

 shown in E with the adjustable sides moving 



1 



holtermann's twelve-frame l. hive. 



A.— Double door for spring entrance, with adjustable 

 entrance slides. 



B. — Wire screen for portico entrance. . 



C— Grooves in side-posts of hive for screws B or A 

 to slide in. 



Z).— Entrance to hive proper. 



£■.— The baok of A, showing slides. 



i<". — Enlarged details of slide in A. 



G.— The slide-piece. 



H H. — Thin edges which s'ide in grooves C. 



J.— Sliding tin, covering ventilator into super.. 



if.— Hole in back of hive for cell-detection, and into 

 which L fits. 



Af.— Frame opposite K in hive, with side-bar cut 

 away, wherein L goes. 



A^— Cavity in comb, with tin lining Vi in. from L. 



O.— Hole or slot in end-bar of frame for L. 



to either side with its details as shown in F 

 and G. H, H shows the thin pieces which 

 slide in grooves C. The entrance to the dou- 

 ble door is I inch higher than the entrance 

 to the hive proper, and this, in addition to 

 the advantage from a thick wall, acts as a 

 wind and light break, as well as making the 

 hive warmer; and bees in bright but cold 

 days are less likely to be drawn to the en- 

 trance and out. One bee-keeper in New 

 York, with 600 colonies of bees, said to me 

 that that idea alonp was worth hundreds of 

 dollars to him. This front and a warm cov- 



