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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



edition of "Advanced Bee Culture," now on the press, 

 the Heddon hive will not be placed at the head. In the 

 last few years new features havo sprung up in bee- 

 keeping, notably that of " shook swarming ;" and a hive 

 that might be desirable in one epoch is not so in an- 

 other. When I found myself drifting into bee-keeping 

 again, I noticed that I did not adopt the Heddon hive. 

 When I wrote the chapter on hives, it was quite a 

 wrench to change it over; but I made it conform to my 

 belief and practice. 



It is really a pleasure to have a discussion 

 with an opponent so fair as Mr. Hutchinson 

 always shows himself to be. So fair is he, 

 in fact, there is not very much left to say, 

 for it is simmered down to a mere difference 

 of opinion. But there are one or two points, 

 perhaps, that I should mention. 



My brother- editor, with considerable show 

 of reason, brings up the question whether or 

 not the lock-jointed (Dovetailed) corner in a 

 hive is not stronger than it needs to be. 

 Perhaps; but I have seen so many of the 

 old lap nail-cornered hives gaping or weak 

 in my travels among bee-keepers that it does 

 not seem to me that making them strong at 

 this very vulnerable point is a bad fault, if, 

 indeed, it is a fault at all. Better by far be 

 too strong than too weak ; and as the facto- 

 ries make them it adds but little to the ex- 

 pense. As to the durability, there are hives 

 in use that were made sixteen years ago 

 with this kind of corner that are still good 

 and strong, notwithstanding the paint-brush 

 has never touched them. Theoretically the 

 lock cornering might let in the weather 

 where the fingers cross, causing premature 

 rotting; but actual usage does not show that 

 such corners rot more than the lap joint, at 

 least that is my observation. I will admit 

 that some hives with lock corners, in a dry 

 climate like that of Colorado, might look the 

 worse for wear. But the old lap-nailed 

 joints, so far as I remember, looked far 

 worse and required much more careful han- 

 dling. 



Let me take one incident showing where a 

 strong joint has a distinct advantage. Sup- 

 pose I have to remove an upper story from 

 an extracting-hive. I have taken out all the 

 frames, and there are a good many bees 

 clinging to the inside of the story. If it is 

 dovetailed at the corners I can throw it up 

 in the air and let it come down in any old 

 way, dislodging the bees; but if simply nail- 

 ed, the thing is liable to ccme down ker- 

 smash, or so badly racked that it will re- 

 quire the vigorous use of a hammer and 

 more nails. 



In his last paragraph he refers to a state- 

 ment of mine that the Dovetailed hive with 

 Hoffman frames was no more complicated 

 than the Heddon hive with closed-end frames 

 and thumbscrews. In this he exhibits a 

 characteristic that is all too rare in the av- 

 erage correspondent, or, if you please, edi- 

 tor, of the day. There are very few men 

 who in an argument, even on the printed 

 page, will gracefully, if his opponent hap- 

 pens to land a good square shot, acknowledge 

 that he has been hit. I trust that I may be 

 as willing to do likewise. 



Well, it is my turn to "tell a little tale 

 out of school." When I visited Mr. E. W. 



Alexander I became convinced that, when 

 the hives are used exclusively for extracting 

 in one apiary, and seldom or never moved, 

 the old-style unspaced Langstroth frame has 

 many disunct auvantages peculiar to itself. 

 These may overbalance those of the Hoff- 

 man when used for extracting. The only 

 question with me, or ever has been, is, 

 which frame (the Langstroth or Hoffman) 

 was better adapted to the use of farmers or 

 beginners. I am still of the opinion that 

 the two classes mentioned should have a 

 frame that will space automatically and ex- 

 actly right. If Bro. Hutchinson had had the 

 same experience I have had in getting be- 

 ginners to space the frames right, and if he 

 had bought up as many colonies of bees 

 from farmers with the old frame as we have 

 done, he might, perhaps, "tell another tale 

 out of school." 



A FAIR ANSWER TO A FAIR QUESTION. 



At the Philadelphia meeting, held at the 

 Root Co.'s Jenkintown apiary, the question 

 was asked, ' ' Why does the Root Co. seek to 

 get the yields of bee-keepers all over the 

 country, and yet withhold its own?" This 

 is a fair question deserving a fair answer. 

 In the first place, we ask for reports from 

 producers all over the United States in or- 

 der to give to our readers some idea of what 

 the crop has been or will be. The value and 

 importance of this information, coming at a 

 time when everybody wishes to know wheth- 

 er the season has been good, medium, or 

 poor, can scarcely be overestimated, as it 

 has a direct bearing on prices. This ques- 

 tion does not admit of argument. But you 

 ask, " How about the latter half of the 

 question? Why does not the Root Co. re- 

 port its own honey-yield? " While it is true 

 we have apiaries located in different parts 

 of the country, those yards are devoted ex- 

 clusively to the raising of bees and queens. 

 Our whole aim and effort are to get increase 

 of colonies, and queens in large numbers. 

 This means that honey that is gathered is 

 converted into bees and queens; and even 

 then we have to buy largely to supply our 

 demand. While we sometimes secure from 

 50 to 200 lbs. from individual colonies, cases 

 of this kind are rare, especially at the Me- 

 dina yards, where the locality is poor. We 

 always have to feed after clover and bass- 

 wood, to prevent starvation, for we have no 

 late summer or fall flow. 



THE CHANGE IN THE PLACE OF MEETING OF 

 THE NEXT NATIONAL CONVENTION. 



It will be seen in Convention Notices that 

 the Executive Committee of the National 

 Bee-keepers' Association, owing to the prev- 

 alence of yellow fever in the South, the rig- 

 id quarantine in several of the States, and 

 the poorness of the season throughout Tex- 

 as, has decided to change the place of meet- 

 ing from San Antonio to Chicago, the same 

 to be held during the fat-stock show, Dec. 

 5, fi, and 7. 



I believe the action of the Executive 



