1238 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



change localities with me they too, iu a few 

 seasons, would surely be brought to realize 

 that, of all the plans'yet presented, only the 

 application of some very i-adical manipula- 

 tion will give that sure swarm control adapt- 

 ed to a large business. We have progressed 

 to this point — one manipulation in May will 

 control until the arrival of the flow in June, 

 in normal seasons. Then one or two manip- 

 ulations in June will prevent all colonies not 

 having cells from getting the desire to swarm, 

 and cure all colonies having queen-cells un- 

 der way. Our new system (a com1)inatiou 

 and varying of old ideas) keeps bees, l)rood, 

 and queen all on the old stand — no cessation 

 of laying, yet the desire to swarm is satisfied. 

 During this present week we expect to apply 

 this treatment to at least half of our yard of 

 125 colonies, 36 miles from home. 



"Horizontally contractible " hives — say, I 

 have been all through that theory, in practi- 

 cal use too. and I doubt if I shall again >ise 

 many brood-coml)s less than 9^ inches deep. 

 While it is true that a large hive does not 

 "always contain a large colony of bees," yet 

 it is just as true that such is tar oftener the 

 case, than when small hives are used, and 

 .such colonies are just as liable to swarm, if 

 not more certain to, than colonies in small 

 hives. 



If Mr. Hand's system ilemands that he 

 "carry around '■ his little Heddon or eight- 

 frame'hive "during the whole year"' I would 

 as soon be a porter and handle satchels and 

 trunks. We do not "migrate" to that ex- 

 tent here. After an extensive use of divis- 

 ible-brood-chamber hives (I use some yet) I 

 am quite sure that Dadant is correct! when 

 he says that large deep frames will allow a 

 colony to ilevelop greater strength than a 

 brood-nest i-ontainiug too manj" sticks and 

 spaces. 



As to swarm control, I hope I violate no 

 confidence when I tell you that one of Mr. 

 Holtermann's fellow-i^ountrymen, w^ho uses 

 the twelve-frame hive with super-ventilators, 

 similar to the Holtermann system, wrote to 

 me that the only way he could control swarm- 

 ing was by a weekly examination of brood- 

 nests, and giving room and ventilation as re- 

 quired — italics mine. How much does that 

 say for large hives as non-swarmers? Again, 

 we are gradually introducing a little more 

 Carniolan blood into our yards; but if they 

 can swarm any worse than the Italians we 

 shall be surprised. 



As they average uniformly stronger, an 

 apiary of a given size would, if left to itself, 

 cast more swarms than an apiary of Italians 

 of the same number; but which is better — a 

 strong colony of part Carniolan blood, or a 

 weak colony of pui-e Italians? We can well 

 afford the little time required for a positive 

 swarm control if we have strong colonies — 

 colonies with 8 to 20 L. frames well tilled 

 with brood when the How opens. 



Nearly every thing else in Mr. Holter- 

 mann's splendid articles on pages 3(55 and 

 503 receives my hearty endoi'sement; yet if 

 one wishes very large hives I am not sure 

 that a twelve-frame L. is large enough. 



Frank Benton says that the thirteen-frame 

 L. hive is a better one. 



May 12 myself and assistant spent at the 

 apiary of W. H. Pennington, of Oregon. 

 For years Mr. P. has had in use hundretls of 

 ten-frame L. hives, and 80 thirteen-frame 

 Dadant hives, the latter eiiual in (capacity to 

 two eight-frame L. hives, and they always 

 averaged the best crops — never had to lie 

 fed, yet would sometimes swarm. Surely 

 this is about the limit in size for a single 

 brood-nest, yet ineffective as a positive means 

 of swarm control. By stacking up the regu- 

 lar ten-frame hives, Mr. P. thinks that he se- 

 cui'es most of the advantages of the "huge"' 

 brood-nests, and avoids some of the faults. 



Now let us consider Mr. Aikin's toy hives 

 with the little stubby unmanipulatable 

 frames of the Heddon type. Some one will 

 be advocating a hive composed of two-inch 

 shallow frames, I suppose. This hive has 

 been tleveloped to fit a special system of 

 management — a system of partial or com- 

 plete swarm control, requiring excessive 

 handling of shallow cases — a system, to give 

 my guess, that will soon be a thing of the 

 pasr. The Aikin, Alexander, Holtermann 

 idea of a telescope lid shows one point on 

 which men can agree. 



^leridiau. Idaho. 



THE ONE-POUND SECTION, AGAIN. 



A Kejoinder to J. A. Green: in Favor of 



Tall Sections because they Kun Close 



to the One-pound 3Iark. 



BY G. C. GREINEK. 



After taking up so much space with the 

 one-pounil-section affair I almost feel guilty 

 to mention it again; but as Mr. Green may 

 take it that )uy ammunition for the defense 

 of my position is all exploded, I will, with 

 the permission of all concerned, comply with 

 his request and try to set liim on the right 

 track. 



Properly speaking we have no one-pound 

 sections; but for convenience' sake, to dis- 

 tinguish them from the smaller denomina- 

 tions, or from the olden-times bulk-honey 

 chunks, and the 6, 8, or more pound glass 

 boxes of a later period, we will call them 

 that. 



Mr. Green wants to know, page 725, the 

 size of the one-pound section. That depends 

 very much, as the editor would say, on loca- 

 tion and season, and I would add that mucli 

 more ilepends on the ability of the individu- 

 al. Even in a less bountiful honey-tlow, 

 with the proper management in the way of 

 strong colonies, judicious adjustment of 

 storeroom, feeding back, etc., we need not 

 have many very light sections unless we aim 

 to have them for next year's baits. So, the 

 size of the one-pound section evei-ybody 

 must decide for himself according to his 

 skill. However, I can give Mr. G. the rule 

 that will work with everybody and under all 

 circumstances. It is this: If our light sec- 



