1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



417 



price for their extracted after their trade 

 has become acquainted with the quality of 

 their honey. —Ed.] 



THE DANZENBAKER HIVE VS. THE CON- 

 TRACTED BROOD-CHAMBER. 



Explanation of the Article on Page 26, for the 

 Benefit of Dr. C. C. Miller. 



BY W. A. STEWART. 



That sub-caption, "Should the brood-nest 

 be crowded with brood?" which the editor 

 placed over my article on the Danzenbaker 

 hive, page 26, looked a little startling. I 

 was afraid a hasty readmg and that heading 

 might lead your readers to misunderstand 

 the article itself; but when I read Dr. Mil- 

 ler's comments, page 64, it almost took my 

 breath away. 



Say, doctor, did you suppose I was afraid 

 of getting too much brood in the combs? 

 We all know that Gleanings is a lively 

 journal; but it is 32 years old, and we don't 

 expect such antics as this— same old story. 

 Write briefly to get space, then write again 

 and explain the first letter so the experts 

 can understand it. Seriously spiking, the 

 problem with bee-keepers is how to get the 

 honey and pollen placed where we want 

 them, and enough room left for all the brood 

 we can possibly secure. This is so well 

 known that one would not think it necessary 

 to repeat it in every paragraph just to keep 

 from being misunderstood. I argued, not 

 for less brood, to make room for pollen, but 

 for a fall set of frames to make room for 

 both, because we now have a hive that 

 works automatically, securing the different 

 kinds of its contents in their right places. 



The question is, "Does the contracted 

 brood-nest, as described by Mr. Doolittle 

 and others, furnish room enough for all the 

 eggs a good queen can lay, all the pollen 

 that the bees will gather where good pollen- 

 yielding plants are plentiful, and a little 

 honey to be handy for the young bees?" I 

 think not. If I rightly understand Dr. Mil- 

 ler on page 967, October 15. he also thinks 

 not; and I do not know that any one claims 

 as much as that for it. On the other hand, 

 if we use a wide shallow hive with ten 71- 

 inch frames, the brood-nest is depressed to 

 the right extent out of its spherical form, 

 and the honey goes into the sections, be- 

 cause the natural place for it is near to and 

 especially above the brood. The pollen goes 

 into the frames because the natural place 

 for it is still closer beside the brood; and 

 with the pollen is a small quantity of honey 

 which, during the early summer, is mostly 

 unsealed, showing that it is being constant- 

 ly used and renewed for the benefit of the 

 larvae. 



The brood-nest, after reaching the bottom 

 and top bars, is extended laterally until it 

 includes a considerable part of the outside 

 combs, because the bees will make room for 

 it there, even if they have to uncap sealed 

 honey to do so. 



The plan of contracting the brood-cham- 

 ber has stood the test of experience for a 

 long time; but it has not always been satis- 

 factory—see page 33, 1904. Here is a new- 

 er method, which it seems to me is at least 

 worthy of a general trial. 



Elkin, Pa., Jan. 28. 



[We have since enlarged our journal so 

 that it will not be so necessary to be brief 

 as formerly. Regarding size of brood-nest, 

 Mr. Doolittle has an article on that very 

 subject in this issue. — Ed.] 



FASTENING COMBS IN FRAMES. 



Sticks and Bent Wires vs. Common White 

 String. 



BY G. C. GREINER. 



During all these years, especially during 

 the first three or four of my bee-keeping, I 

 have tried various different ways of fasten- 

 ing combs in frames, and have settled on 

 what I consider the most practical method I 

 am acquainted with. 



I have two different methods, one for 

 fastening whole combs or large pieces, as in 

 transferring; and the other to patch up, 

 like fastening a narrow strip at the bottom 

 between comb and bottom-bar, where the 

 bees failed to make the connection. To do 

 the former I use Uttle sticks aboiit |Xi in., 

 as long as the frame is deep, with -^^ pro- 

 jection above and below. They are fastened 

 in pairs with little pieces of stovepipe wire, 

 bent something like the reversed letter S 

 after the hook is bent. It takes about three 

 inches of wire to make these hooks, which 

 should be shaped over a form to make them 



Fig. 1. 



all alike. A little bench, made of a common 

 board as wide as the frame is deep, is a 

 great convenience to help do this work rap- 

 idly. When the comb is fitted into the 

 frame, which is done by laving the frame 

 on the comb and cutting around inside the 

 frame, one of the little sticks is slipped un- 

 der the comb wherever the support is need- 

 ed; another is laid right over it, and with 

 two hooks the projecting ends are clasped 

 together. It generally takes two pairs of 

 sticks if one large piece is to be fastened; if 

 more smaller ones, three or even four pairs 

 mav be needed. 



For patching up. little forks of tempered 

 fence wire are slipped over the frame; they 



