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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



to using a divisible-chamber hive it should 

 be larger than the common styles in use. 



Mr first experience, and it was not a very 

 limited one either, both as to years and 

 number of hives in use, was with a hive 

 about a foot square and 14 inches deep. I 

 even transferred from Langstroth frames 

 to this. Then I used a little deeper frame, 

 and later a shallower one only ten inches 

 deep. The largest frame I ever used was 

 about twelve inches wide, and fifteen deep; 

 then this cut to ten, then the Langstroth 

 frame. 



After this I made frames 4^ deep and 17 

 long— have used some of them for several 

 years, and still have one or two colonies on 

 them in ten-frame chambers two sections to 

 hive. Last of all I came to use my present 

 frame, 16 long and 5 deep, 8 to the body, and 

 as many bodies as necessary, as will appear 

 later. 



As to supers and their relations to the 

 brood chambers, I have used all the way 

 from 15 to 48 sections to the super. Before 

 the days of tiering up we wanted a large 

 upper surface over which to put section su- 

 pers, as we used only (ne section deep. 

 This called for a large hive laterally, and 

 the ten- frame hive was the comprornkse as 

 being broad enough to take a large super, 

 yet not so very broad but that the bees did 

 fairly well in wintering in it. 



DEPTH, NOT WIDTH. 



Since supers have been made to tier up, 

 the tendency has been to use smaller ones. 

 'Tis well. A 28 or 32 section super makes a 

 wide one, and naturally is not quite so well 

 worked at the corners and ends. The 24 

 size is better, and gives us an opportunity 

 to manipulate so as to have fewer unfinished 

 sections. I consider, as already stated, that, 

 in very many localities, a ten frame Lang- 

 stroth hive is not any too large. And, more 

 than this, I expect to prove that even a 

 larger hive can very often be made more 

 profitable than a smaller one. An eight- 

 frame is often too small. 



Supers now are so easily and satisfactorily 

 tiered that the old ten-frame Langstroth 

 hive is no longer in demand simply for su- 

 per-room surface; we place more supers 

 over or under those already on, and get all 

 the necessary storage room, and get it in 

 better shape too. Bees will store surplus 

 iDCtter in a pile of supers five or six feet 

 high than in the same space less than half 

 that high ; and if they will store honey they 

 will also brood in a like deep brood-nest. A 

 colony between two studs in a wall where 

 the space is but 4X 14 inches, and any depth, 

 possibly to ten or more feet, will string up 

 and down that narrow place and do well; 

 but just lay that same room down on its side, 

 and what can you get done in it? Yes, they 

 will work in it building horizontally, and do 

 fairly well in warm weather, but do not like 

 to do so; and when winter comes the perpen- 

 dicular hive is far ahead of the horizontal. 

 I think but very few will dispute these con- 

 clusions—possibly no one will. 



If my reasoning is correct, a hive may be 

 made narrow and deep and yet conform to 

 the habits and instincts of the bees, with no 

 loss in results. I claim that a hive a foot 

 square— yes, even so small as ten inches 

 square, and deep enough to supply all the 

 room a queen can use— will get just as much 

 honey stored above with the same effort on 

 the part of the apiarist as can be done in 

 the same number of cubic inches in a wide 

 shallow chamber. 



One of the great difficulties in a very deep 

 and narrow chamber is when storing begins 

 at a time when the colony is not strong 

 enough to get very far above the brood nest; 

 they fill a considerable space over the brood 

 until the store space yet above this is so far 

 out they will not cross it to reach space 

 above. 



FIG. 1, 



But such a condition does not or ought not 

 and will rot, with proper management, ob- 

 tain. Take, for instance, my divisible-cham- 

 ber hive. Suppose the colony winters in 

 and occupies three sections up to the open- 

 ing of the flow. Any honey in the hive is 

 almost sure to be at the top in section No. 3. 

 See Fig. 1. When the time comes to put 

 the super on, place No. 3 on the bottom and 

 you have the order 3, 1. 2, instead of 1, 2, 3, 

 and two should have the bulk of the brood ; 

 and this alternating leaves brood clear up to 

 the very top edge of the tipper set of brood- 

 combs Put a super on this; and when it is 

 filled, or nearly so, put another under. We 

 keep on raising the full ones, or taking them 

 off, and the bees are never required to pass 

 up over a great space of honey to reach new 

 store room. It is put close to the brood, 

 always. 



FACTS WORTH REMEMBERING. 



Keep in mind now that we started with 

 the hive three sections deep, and numbered 

 from the bottom 1, 2, and 3. As the flow 

 started we changed to 3, 1, and 2, putting 

 brood at the top and brood and honey next 

 the floor, with the middle probably brood 

 and empty comb. Arranged thus you put a 

 super on. Suppose there is one bait section 

 in the center of that super. Suppose, also, 

 the colony is strong, and can easily send a 

 force to the super, especially since brood is 

 immediately below that super. That honey 

 in No. 3 is too close to the entrance, and 

 must be moved, and will be in most cases. 

 Following nature (instinct) they hike to the 

 top of the hive with that honey, to get it 



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