1010 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURF.. 



Aug. 1 



yet found any thing better. Having made 

 these experiments I was astonished when I 

 found in Gleanings that you selected the 

 Hoffman frame to improve (?) your hives- 

 a frame exactly like the Berlepsch frame, 

 which was abandoned in Germany thirty 

 years ago. 



When I for the first time saw a Langstroth 

 hive I observed at once that it was far 



ahead of the side-opening hive, because 

 any frame could be taken out without 

 even touching another frame. It is quite 

 impossible to construct a frame or hive 

 which could be easier handled. The hive 

 had only one disadvantage— the frames were 

 not always spaced correctly, and this spac- 

 ing took some time. Once in a while the 

 frames moved out of place by some unknown 

 cause. For moving the colonies, the frames 

 had to be fastened; consequently the prob- 

 lem was how the frames could be fixed with- 

 out losing the merits of the old Langstroth 



hive. Spacers on the frames were entirely 

 out of the question for me. You tried to 

 solve the problem in another way. At first 

 you were in favor of the closed- end frames 

 (a la Heddon), but changed soon to the 

 Hoffman frame because these frames have 

 less contact. Now you recommend a metal- 

 spaced frame with still less contact, and so 

 you are coming nearer to a frame without 



are spaced correctly and can't move during 

 transportation. This is the reason, I say. 

 The principle is all wrong if a spacer on the 

 frame is used in a top- opening hive. 



If we have a top-opening hive with the 

 spacer on the rabbet we can take out any 

 frame. If we lift it about J inch it is out of 

 the rabbet, and is now exactly as the loose 

 hanging frame. For shallow frames such a 

 spacer is sufiicient. For frames as high as 

 the Langstroth I would use a spacer on the 

 bottom- bar too. 



Now we take another hive with Hoffman 

 frames. To take out a frame in the middle 

 it must be broken loose from its neighbors ; 

 consequently a bunch of frames must be 

 moved sidewise (lateral movement). To 

 make this possible a division board is used 

 which must be taken out before any frame 

 can be moved; then an instrument like a 

 chisel is used to break loose the several 

 frames. All these operations are not neces- 

 sary at all with the old free hanging frame 

 and with a frame hanging in a spaced rab- 



bet, and these operations take considerable 

 time. In some localities there may be more 

 propolis, and the gluing will be worse; but 

 some propolis is found in every locality, and 

 space must be given for taking out a frame, 

 even with the new metal spacer. ;^ 



I will consider another objection. Frames 

 with spacers can't be used except with a di- 

 vision-board. In a ten- frame hive the only 

 practical way is to use a strong division- 

 board and nine frames only. This division- 

 board needs as much lumber as a side of the 

 hive, or nearly 28 per cent more lumber is 



any contact. Hereby you give up all the 

 advantages of the loose hanging frame, 

 gaining the only advantage that the frames 



needed; and by using nine frames in place 

 of ten the capacity of the hive is lowered 

 10 per cent. These are very high expenses 

 for a doubtful advantage. 



The idea of using a spacer on the rabbet 

 has been suggested very often, but you al- 

 ways had a footnote saying such a device 

 was not popular, or that it is objectionable, 

 without giving any reason why it is so. In 

 one of your private letters to me you said you 

 had seen such a device and tried it, but did 

 not like it; but you did not say why you did 

 not like it. You will excuse me if I call this 



