816 



fJLEANINGS IN BEE CIM^TTRE 



June 15 



IF I WERE TO START ANEW, WHAT 

 STYLE OF FRAMES, SUPERS, AND AP- 

 PLIANCES WOULD I ADOPT? 



Would Adopt 8-frame Lock-cornered Hive, Sta- 

 ple-spaced Frames, 4x5 Plain Sections. 



BY J. E. CRANE. 



This reminds me of the question that oft- 

 en comes to us all: If I were to begin life 

 over, how would I live? If we could only 

 begin with all the experience of the years 

 that are past, how much greater might be 

 our success! It is just forty years this very 

 winter since I bought my first hive of bees. 

 How many different styles of hives, frames, 

 supers, boxes, etc., I have used I can not 

 tell. Could I have begun with my present 

 experience it would have made a difference 

 of many thousands of dollars, I am sure. 

 Were I to begin again I would doubtless use 

 a single-board hive of size to hold eight 

 Langstroth frames, with improved bottom- 

 boards, for comb honey; or for extracting, 

 ten frames. I would have them lock-cor- 

 nered too. Such have always had a very 

 substantial look; but within a few days I 

 have come to have a respect for lock corners 

 I never had before. It was on this wise: 



Wishing to use the sides of an old tea- 

 chest I tried— yes, and after a time succeed- 

 ed in knocking it to pieces. It was of soft 

 lumber, f thick, and nailed with small (I 



think) one-inch nails; had been transported 

 half around the earth with merchandise, 

 and since its arrival in the Occident had been 

 used for various purposes, and yet every 

 corner was perfect, and came apart with 

 more difficulty than an ordinary box hive i 

 thick nailed with heavy nails. 



As we have a good deal of propolis in this 

 section I think I should prefer a plain Lang- 

 stroth frame. A staple below the ends of 

 the top- bar to keep the frame from slipping 

 endwise, and staples both at top and half 

 way down at sides, to keep them properly 

 spaced would be preferred. I don't think 1 

 would care to have the sharp edge of sheet 

 iron or tin for ends of frames to rest on, as, 

 in a yard I bought last spring, where these 

 are used, I find with many the space back 

 of the metal so filled with propolis as to 

 make them a nuisance. I forgot to say that 

 I would have all frames for brood- chamber 

 wired, or a thin strip of wood for an upright 

 in the center of the frame from the top bar 

 to bottom. These strips are more easily put 

 in, and just as good, so far as I can see, to 

 prevent sagging and do little if any harm. 

 Top-bars should be at least § inch thick. 



For a super I would use a shallow box five 

 inches deep, with corners locked the same 

 as a brood-chamber. It should be 20| inches 

 long, and 12 inches wide inside, and hold 30 

 plain sections 4x5. 



The bottom should be covered with slats 

 the proper distance[apart for the sections to 



FIG. 2.— BOX-HIVE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN PREPARATORY TO DRUMMING THE BEES OUT. 



