998 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Aug. 1 



THE HIVE. 



My first attempt in that direction was to 

 make what we might call a chaff- hive 

 brood- nest with the outer walls extending 

 above high enough to protect the supers. 

 This did not work. With that arrangement 

 it is necessary to put in and take the supers 

 out at the top; and when they are propo- 

 lized and fastened down well it is nearly 

 impossible. Several times I had to take out 

 all the sections in order to be able to pull 

 out the supers. The next was to make the 

 outer case protecting the supers independent 

 of the brood-nest. For packing, there is 

 nothing better than rags or old clothes. 

 They can be put in and taken out rapidly 

 without making a muss. The outer case 

 furnishes a splendid place to put a feeder. 

 It is left in winter with as much packing as 

 is needed for protection. In very warm 

 weather the packing is omitted. 



That system works well, and it is very re- 

 luctantly that I am now giving it up. One 

 objection to it is that it affords a too con- 

 venient place for the ants, roaches, and 

 other "varmints." The other and most 

 important one is the time it takes to take 

 off the outer case and packing and put them 

 back, especially to put them back, because 

 the bees persist in getting in the way, and 

 quite a bit of time has to be spent to get 

 rid of them. 



I finally decided on making the brood- 

 nests, supers, and covers all double-walled 

 and packed. I have tried different systems 

 and sizes. For this locality a thickness of 

 two inches of packing for the walls and 

 three for the covers will meet all the re- 

 quirements. Of course, it would not be 

 enough for winter protection in more north- 

 ern latitudes, but it is enough here. The 

 lumber used is only half an inch thick. A 

 single- walled hive must be made of lumber 

 thick enough to keep the corners square; 

 but a double-walled one is kept square by 

 the strips at the top and bottom. With a 

 light kind of packing and half-inch lumber 

 walls a super is but little heavier than a 

 single- walled one. 



For packing I have used what I happen 

 to have on hand; and when that was not 

 enough I bought a bale of straw. Rags and 

 newspaper crumpled up will do. I prefer 

 straw, however, as it is light and warm. 

 Perhaps exceltior might do as well. The 

 planer shavings are too heavy— at least, 

 those that I could get here. The forest 

 leaves, apparently dry enough, contain too 

 much dampness, and are liable to cause the 

 walls to warp and pull out the nails. When 

 they are really dry they are so brittle that 

 they become unmanageable. 



This construction has the advantage that 

 hives, supers, and covers can be handled as 

 easily and rapidly as single-walled ones, the 

 only difference being in the weight; and, as 

 above stated for the supers, it is not con- 

 sidf rable. No preparation needs to be made 

 for winter protection, shading, nor any 

 thing. The objection is the cost, but, so 

 far as I am concerned, I prefer to pay a 



dollar or two more for a hive that is mors 

 suitable. It does not take long to make the 

 extra cost back in increase of surplus and 

 decrease of work. Remember that a hive 

 lasts practically a lifetime. 



Now that I have spoken for the best in my 

 * ' locality, " I should like to hear from others 

 differently situated, and learn why their 

 hives or management suits their localities 

 best. 



Knoxville, Tenn. 



[Mr. Adrian Getaz is preaching good sound 

 doctrine, not only for his own locality but 

 for many others. We use double- walled or 

 chaff hives in our bee- work at Medina. Our 

 apiarists tell me that in the spring the dou- 

 ble hives breed up very much faster; and 

 when it comes hot summer weather they will 

 stand the direct rays of the sun much better 

 than the single- walled. Mr. Vernon Burt, 

 our neighbor, has proved over and over 

 aga n that an outer wall protecting a super 

 when running for comb honey will give more 

 and better honey than the unprotected su- 

 pers. I should not be surprised if the day 

 would come when the great majority of 

 honey- producers in the region from the Ohio 

 River northward, at least, will be using pro- 

 tecting-cases set down over the hive. 



Mr. Getaz' observations in regard to the 

 thickness of the lumber, and the general 

 construction of the hive, are quite in line 

 with our own practice Years ago we made 

 the upper part of the hive double- walled, but 

 now make only the brood-nest double. The 

 super has a telescope cap that rests down 

 over it, which in our climate we find gives 

 sufficient protection.— Ed.] 



BEE-HUNTING. 



How to Get Bees and Honey out of Bee-trees 



Without Cutting or Mutilating the Tree; 



How to Get Bees out of Dwellings, 



etc 



BY RALPH P. FISHER. 



Comprehending that the following experi- 

 ences may not be new or undiscovered, the 

 facts in the case are offered concerning the 

 extracting of bees and honey from whatever 

 abode they may have possessed as being 

 surely profitable and very much easier than 

 the many ways and means followed by the 

 majority of the so-called bee and honey hunt- 

 ers. Those interested in the subject have 

 no excuse to fail if the more imjwrtant de- 

 tails of the system are followed out, and the 

 minor duties fully tried in every particular. 

 The succeeding statements are from actual 

 experiences of a year ago, not to mention 

 the cases successfully operated in seasons 

 before, so it is hardly probable one can get 

 much out of the way. 



Bees are found in various places, in swamps 

 or mountains alike, being either high or low 

 as circumstances compel, the conditions 

 causing the amount of trouble forthcoming 

 in their extraction and capture. Then, again^ 



