1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



533 



589 lbs. of unfinished sections were put on; 

 789 lbs. of honey fed; 1051 lbs. taken off at 

 the end. The increase of the weight of the 

 hives was 59 lbs. There were 7 colonies 

 rather weak since they had been reduced to 

 one Heddon section. The experiment lasted 

 four weeks, during which the weather was 

 cool and rainy. Assuming that the increase 

 of weight of the hives was altogether honey, 

 and that nothing was brought from the 

 field, we find a daily consumption of nearly 

 IJ lbs. per colony. See Bee-keepers' Review, 

 Nov., 1893, page 309. 



In 1894 the experiment was repeated on 

 only two colonies; weight of sections given 

 was 70 lbs. ; amount fed, 219 lbs. ; amount 

 taken off, 205 lbs. The colonies were all 

 weak. The experiment lasted, like the one 

 of the previous year, four weeks. This shows 

 a daily consumption of IJ lbs., not tak- 

 ing into consideration what the bees may 

 have brought from the field. The weight of 

 the colonies is not given. See Bee-keepers' 

 Review, Dec, 1894, page 321. 



In the experiment of 1895, three colonies 

 were used. Empty sections— that is, sec- 

 tions with only full sheets of foundation— 

 were given. The food was sugar instead of 

 honey. The colonies were two sections, 

 Heddon, and therefore stronger than in the 

 previous years. The experiment lasted four 

 weeks and a half. The three colonies gave 

 quite different results. Assuming that the 

 increase of weight of hives was altogether 

 honey, and that 4 lbs. of sugar equal 5 of 

 honey, the three colonies consumed respec- 

 tively 31, 38, and 84 lbs. of honey. Now, 

 why such a difference? No robbing was ob- 

 served. There was a honey-flow, and the 

 colonies not fed gathered enough for winter, 

 and some of them gathered some surplus be- 

 sides. The three colonies fed brought in 

 pollen regularly. If the difference is due to 

 the fact that the two first colonies may 

 have brought in enough from the field to 

 make it up we are compelled to admit a 

 consumption of about 2§ lbs. per day. Fur- 

 thermore, the increase of weight of the col- 

 onies, 76 lbs. for the three, was likely due 

 in part to an increase in brood. See Bee- 

 keepers' Review, Jan., 1896, page 7. 



The experiments of 1896 were conducted 

 on four colonies. One received 225 lbs. of 

 unfinished sections and 169 lbs. of feed; 318 

 lbs. were taken off, and the increase of 

 honey in the brood-nest was 10 lbs. The 

 experiment lasted from July 15 to Aug. 29— 

 that is, 45 days. Thus the consumption for 

 these 45 days was 66 lbs. , not counting what 

 may have been brought from the field. For 

 the reason given before, I should say this 

 must be little if any. The other three col- 

 onies received 227 lbs. of sections and 219 of 

 feed. The returns were 362 lbs. taken, and 

 an increase of 6 lbs. in the brood-nest. The 

 experiment lasted from July 15 to Aug. 6, 

 and was ended owing to the swarming of 

 the colonies. Daily consumption was nearly 

 \\ lbs. There was practically no increase of 

 brood in the three colonies. Sec Bee-keep- 

 ers' Review, Nov., 1896, page 325. 



The feeding back is always done in very 

 warm weather, and with a contracted brood- 

 nest. These two conditions minimize the 

 amount of honey used for brood-feeding and 

 production of the necessary warmth. Tak- 

 ing all into consideration, it seems to me IJ 

 lb. a day is a conservative estimate of the 

 amount consumed by a good colony during 

 the working season. In my locality that 

 means 4 months, or 180 lbs. Then during 

 the fall and latter part of summer the bees 

 are not completely idle; more or less brood 

 is raised, and some wax is produced. But 

 even taking a consumption of only ^ lb. a 

 day for the ensuing three months, that 

 would make an additional 45 lbs. remaining 

 the five months of November to March in- 

 clusive. I said once that it takes 49 lbs for 

 winter. That may not be strictly correct. 

 The bees here are flying very often, and 

 raise quite an amount of brood, some of 

 which is often chilled when the cold waves 

 come, and therefore consume quite an 

 amount of honey during the winter. But I 

 know that a colony ought to have that much 

 to be able to push brood-rearing to its ut- 

 most during the early spring, and be abso- 

 lutely safe from the danger of starving 

 should a week of raw rainy weather happen 

 in April or May. However, let us put down 

 25 lbs. for winter, and we'll have for the 

 year 250 lbs. 



Knoxville, Tenn. 



[The careful, conservative, and painstak- 

 ing manner in which our correspondent has 

 gone into this question, collecting and sift- 

 ing the data and weighing the evidence, can 

 not but win our admiration. If his conclu- 

 sion is correct, that the average yearly con- 

 sumption of honey per colony is 200 lbs. and 

 over, then we may well ask the question 

 whether it would not be possible to reduce 

 somewhat this fixed loss, for the amount 

 will be practically the same in a poor year 

 as in a good one. There are at least two 

 ways in which this maybe done— 1. By win- 

 tering indoors where practicable, and to 

 regulate the temperature so that the bees 

 will consume just enough and no more to 

 keep up their existence. A cellar too warm 

 or too cold will cause the bees to eat more 

 than they require. 2. To stop unnecessary 

 brood- rearing when that brood can not con- 

 tribute a force of bees of the right age to 

 secure a honey crop later on. If one has a 

 strain of bees that will breed out of season 

 he should get rid of them. In order to take 

 advantage properly of either means one 

 should study very carefully his locality; and 

 right here it will be seen that there is a 

 practical as well as a scientific side to this 

 question. — Ed.] 



»»»»««• • ■ 



THE HOFFMAN FRAME. 



The History of Its Invention. 

 BY JULIUS HOFFMAN, THE INVENTOR. 



Mr. Root:— As you wish me to write a lit- 

 tle history of how I came to invent a frame 



