500 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



fleasant to stem the tide so often; but I find 

 either have to do it or keep still. I have 

 only to recall the result of some feeding we 

 did two years ago to show you why I am so 

 much interested in spring feeding. We fed 

 one half our apiary (250 colonies) about 40 

 cents' worth of syrup apiece, shortly after 

 taking them from the cellar, and, although 

 these were the lightest and weakest colonies 

 we had, we extracted during our clover har- 

 vest over seven tons of nice clover honey 

 from the 250 colonies fed, and only about 

 four tons from the 250 colonies not fed. But 

 during the basswood and buckwheat flow 

 there was no difference in the amount of 

 surplus these two lots of bees gathered. 

 That three tons of additional honey that the 

 bees that were fed gathered, brought us 6J 

 cents per lb., or $390, for about $100 expense 

 in feeding, and I might cite other cases of the 

 same kind. And then last season, in order 

 to test this subject still further, we did not 

 feed an ounce to any colony in the apiary, 

 and our whole surplus was but little more 

 than half what it was the year before. 



You can make the syrup very thin after 

 they get used to it, especially for Italian bees, 

 as they will take it if it is but little sweeter 

 than good maple sap. They require consid- 

 erable water in the spring, and I think it is 

 much better to give it to them in this way, 

 for it saves many from being lost in search 

 of it outside during those cool changeable 

 days of early spring. 



My friends, in the above I have tried to 

 show you as best I could how you can feed 

 your bees in early spring easily, and at but 

 small expense, so you will be able to secure 

 not only a much larger surplus, but also a 

 much surer one than you otherwise would; 

 and when this is accomplished it goes a long 

 way in placing our business on a more solid 

 and reliable foundation than it has ever 

 been before. 



Delanson, N. Y., Feb. 24. 



IF I WERE TO START ANEW, WHAT 

 STYLE OF FRAMES, SUPERS, AND AP- 

 PLIANCES WOULD I ADOPT? . _^ 



Argiunent in Favor of Wide Openings to Sec- 

 tions. 



BY R. C. AIKIN. 



Mr. Editor, I am going to answer this 

 question straight, and without the bias "that 

 I would use standard goods because they are 

 standard." I have convictions that are not 

 and have not for some time been bound by 

 things standard. If you do not believe it, 

 read this. My sections, fence separators, 

 supers, hive-bodies, inner covers, outer cov- 

 ers, frames, and honey-boards tire made to 

 order. Even my shipping-case is too. Do 

 you suppose I would be to all this trouble if 

 there were not a faith behind it all? 



I am adopting, have been for several years, 

 supplies different from all others. May be 

 crankiness in me causes it; but I have always 



been possessed with a spirit of investigation 

 and a burning desire to be original, and not 

 simply follow the crowd without a reason 

 for so doing. I will tell you some of the de- 

 tails of what I have practically adopted. 



FIG. 1.— RIGHT AND WRONG WAY TO MAKE 

 HIVE RABBETS. 



However, before describing my pet bive I 

 will briefly tell of my ideas about some of 

 the more standard goods as I have them^ 

 made. 



First, the dovetailing on hive-body ends 

 used to be as at A in Fig. 1 ; and, when nail- 

 ed, the best we could do, there stood up that 

 thin § flange from the frame-rest rabbet, 

 supported simply by its own strength. The 

 top edge of both ends and sides tends to 

 warp outward. Then, too, those thin edges 

 would split off, exposing the frame ends as 

 at B. I protested, but to no effect until I 

 took Mr. Lewis, of the G. B. Lewis Com- 

 pany, and showed him how. He went home 

 and changed his machinery, and they are 

 now made as at C; thus that thin upright is 

 nailed into the full heavy thickness of the 

 body side. This is a decided improvement. 

 The idea was original with me, and I direct- 

 ed Mr. Lewis' personal attention to it in the 

 State House at Denver. I believe others, 

 too, had mentioned the idea, but I made it 

 stick. * 



When getting Hoffman frames I have 

 them special too. Yes, I use lots of them— 

 almost have to when other people do, and I 

 can't throw away all standard hives— too 

 expensive. I have these frames made ' ' full 

 length ' ' top-bars and said bars a plump half- 

 inch thick only; and instead of the groove 

 and wedge for foundation, the under side is^ 

 simply a plain surjace. The "full length" 

 is to keep them from standing on the bot- 

 tom if a hive-end warps out a little. It takes 

 just a little warp to let the short frames 

 drop, and to be able to use them in all makes 

 of Langstroth hives. 



Now about that groove and wedge. It is 

 an out-and-out nuisance. Pound the wedges 

 in— yes, take a follower- stick and drive thero 

 till they almost burst the bar; and if they 

 stand in the dry awhile before using you will 

 find the wedge and starter both lying on the 



• The A. I. Root Co. has also been making the hive 

 rabbet as shown at C for months. — Ed. 



