1116 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



it is too large. It is true that you may have 

 reeoui'se to Dr. Miller's method. I'eduee the 

 brood-chamber again when the crop comes: 

 but that is an increase of manipulations that 

 does not please me. With a very shallow 

 eke. or divisible brood-chamber in several 

 pieces, say three pieces, five inches each, 

 you have your breeding-space cut into a 

 number of apartments. Such were the ekes 

 my father used. We fovmd in practice that 

 the bees often would desert one of them en- 

 tirely; sometimes it was the lower story: and 

 when we thought we had a strong colony we 

 found all of a sudden that the bottom tier 

 was empty. The queen, finding all the 

 stories equally shallow, would just as readily 

 breed in the upper as in the lower — a thing 

 she rarely does with our deep brood-chamber. 

 These ekes were not movable-frame hives. 

 But I can not see that there would be any 

 gain in using thirty shallow frames in place 

 of ten deep ones, or even twenty instead of 

 ten. True, it is held that we can hantlle 

 hives instead of frames: but I can see no 

 chance of handling only hives, when hunting 

 for a queen, when looking for queen-cells. 

 when looking for brood, or for diseased 

 brood, or, in fact, for two-thirds of the nec- 

 essary manipulations. We must have frames 

 if we' wish to keep at the head of the proces- 

 sion: we must still have hives that may be 

 taken to pieces "like a puppet-show "" (Ham- 

 et). and with the horizontally divisible hives 

 we have twice or three times the number of 

 frames to handle that the original Langstroth 

 idea gave us. ft'^*^' 



For winter we have found, time and again, 

 that a small colony will winter far better in 

 live frames ten inches deep than in ten frames 

 live inches deep. I have no doubt that doz- 

 ens of instances may be given me where 

 shallow hives have wintered well, over and 

 over; but I nevertheless hold, for I have 

 tested it, that a shallow hive runs more risks 

 than a fairly deep one. The nearer we can 

 get our brood-uest to the shape of a ball, the 

 better will the cluster winter, for that chas- 

 ter is naturally made in the shape of a ball. 

 All who have examined the bees in cool or 

 cold weather have noticed it. 



If I have a brood-chamber with deep 

 combs, I can enlarge the room of a small 

 colony one frame at a time, two frames if I 

 see fit. But at any rate I need not, unless I 

 wish to do so, increase it faster than a tenth . 

 of its ultimate full capacity. If I use a di- 

 visible brood-chamber I miast increase it by 

 doiibling its capacity, or at the very least 

 add a half to its size. 



Before we make any radical changes in 

 our methods of bee culture, let us bear in 

 mind what has been repeated over and over, 

 by leading writers: It is because of the Lang- 

 stroth invention that American bee-keeping 

 has found itself so very far ahead of other 

 countries. 

 Hamilton, 111. 



[Mr. Dadant brings forcibly to the front 

 one argument that I do not remember he 

 has ever advanced, or any one else, quite so 



strongly: and that is. that the instini-t of the 

 queen is to lay in the form of a circle. When 

 she finds that this circle is broken up by 

 bridges or gulfs she hesitates, loses time, and 

 skips cells. As her time is the bee-keeper's 

 time, therefore, according to Mr. Dadant. 

 there is a distinct loss. This is an interest- 

 ing development of this discussion, and we 

 shall be glad to hear from our subscribers, 

 particularly those who ai"e the users of the 

 split-up or doul^le brood-chambers. 



The editor takes no sides in this discus- 

 sion: in fact, he is "'on the fence," and has 

 been for years — candidly, not knowing which 

 side has the best of the argument. It may 

 be that we shall have to reduce the whole 

 discussion to the point that localities, cir- 

 cumstances, and the man. will have to decide 

 this interesting question. — Ed.] 



AN ANCIENT BEE DEMONSTRATION 



Give Honor to whom Honor is Due. 



BY D. M. M. 



Your excellent article. Feb. 15, with the 

 admirable accompanying illustrations, should 

 do an immense good in showing a way in 

 which a knowledge of bees and their produce 

 can be bi'ought home to the general public. 

 The more extensively the virtues of honey 

 ai-e spread broadcast through the land the 

 better: and I know no more efficient plan for 

 disseminating this knowledge than open-air 

 demonstrations with live bees. Your refer- 

 ence on page 201 gives honor whei'e it is 

 due: but 1 Avrite you now to show that it is 

 no modern invention, as it has been practiced 

 in this country for over two hundred years 

 at least. 



Away back in August, 1678, an open-air 

 demonstration took place in the Royal Gar- 

 dens, St. James' Park, London, l>efore King 

 Charles II. and many of his courtiers, among 

 them being many noble and titled ladies. 

 The demonstrator in this case was Moses 

 Rusden, apothecary, and bee-master to the 

 King's Most Excellent Majesty (to give him 

 his full designation, as recorded on the title- 

 page of his book), and the exhibition was a 

 most decided success. Soon after, bee-keep- 

 ing became all the rage in high quarters. 

 The hives used were of the Gedde type, the 

 first genuine departui-e from straw hives, and 

 iindoubtedly the progenitor of all our modern 

 hives. They were in some cases made 

 "transparent." Mewe. their inventor, says, 

 "A gentleman in Pliny's time endeavored to 

 make their works transparent. I tried, and 

 finished the essay to the satisfaction of my- 

 self and others. * Every time I view them I 

 see something new. They serve to give me 

 an account of the daily income and expendi- 

 ture or their negotiations, so that, with half 

 an hour after dinner or supper I know what 

 hath been done all day. " ' Among others who 

 observed bees in these hives was Sir Chris- 

 topher \^''ren. 



Rusden claims for them in particular that 

 they enabled him to secure "right virgin 



