1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



819 



FIG 



1. —THE CORRECT WAY OF SETTING A SUPER OR UPPER STORY ON A COVER TO AVOID 



BEE-KILLING. 



HOW TO HANDLE HIVES AND FRAMES 

 WITHOUT KILLING BEES. 



Why the Bee-killing Practice Should be Avoid- 

 ed; Self-spacing vs. Unspaced Frames. 



BY E. R. ROOT. 



In our last issue our senior editor express- 

 ed pity and regret that so many bees are 

 maimed and killed in handling them. I my- 

 self have seen bee-keepers show an utter 

 disregard for the lives of their little pets. 

 One man told me once that when it was 

 cheaper for him to kill a few bees— that is, 

 when he could make more money by sacri- 

 ficing the lives of a few of his live stock- 

 he did not hesitate to mash and maim; that 

 he killed only a few hundred in a year, and 

 he considered his time worth many times 

 the lives of those bees. I suspect that 

 there may be some truth in this if we con- 

 sider only dollars and cents. But there is 

 an ethical and humanitarian side to this 

 question; and I am not so sure but that, if 

 we plan rightly, getting into the correct 

 habit of working, we can avoid killing any 

 bees and yet not waste any time. 



A good deal depends on the kind of hives, 

 frames, and other implements used. But 

 the kind of supplies does not make so much 

 difference as one would suppose. One who 

 is not familiar with handling a closed-end 

 frame will kill more bees than one who is. 

 It is probably true that one who is not ac- 

 custorried to loose unspaced frames will 

 maim not a few of the inmates of the hive 

 by carelessly drawing these same frames 

 out of the hive because they feel different 

 and handle differently. 



As we are now right in the midst of bee- 

 handling, a few suggestions to beginners 

 may not be amiss to even a few of the vet- 

 erans. The novice, at least, should begin 

 to form correct habits of working. He 

 should always have a tender heart, for, as I 

 shall try to show, a regard for the lives of 

 our little servants will save many a sting. 



HOW TO OPEN A HIVE AND TAKE OFF SUPERS 

 WITHOUT KILLING AND MASHING BEES. 



The accompanying illustrations give some 

 hints as to how this may be done. With a 

 screwdriver or hive-tool pry the cover up 

 gently. When a crack has been made abouc 

 iJg and not more than I inch wide, blow in a 

 few puffs of smoke. If the bees are gentle, 

 only one whiff will be necessary. If they 

 are cross, use just enough to drive away the 

 few bees that will be aroused by the break- 

 ing loose of the propolis between the cover 

 and the hive. Lay this on the ground, top 

 side down. We will suppose in this case we 

 wish to lift off the extracting-super or upper 

 story for the purpose of examining the 

 brood- nest. Remove this in the same way 

 the cover was lifted off. If the frames are 

 closed-end (or part closed-end Hke the Hoff- 

 man) the super may be stood up on end; or 

 it may be set down on the cover catercor- 

 nered; but before the super actually comes 

 in contact with the cover, give it a slight 

 side twist. This will serve to brush off any 

 bees that may be between the edges that 

 come in contact. I said, set the super down 

 on the cover catercornered. The purpose of 

 this is to reduce the edges of contact to the 

 smallest point possible. Let one corner 

 strike the cover cleat with a bearing surface 

 of not more than 1| inches. The other end 



