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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



" Well, what has that to do with the mat- 

 ter of which way the combs run?" 



•'Very much, for nature has so ordained 

 that the bees always build their combs per- 

 pendicular, or ' plumb, ' as we generally speak 

 of this matter; and so if we have the hive 

 tip or slant toward the entrance, in order 

 that the water may run out, and at the same 

 time have the frames run crosswise of the 

 entrance, the bees, in building their combs, 

 will start right at the top; but in going 

 downward in a perpendicular direction the 

 bottom of the first comb next the entrance 

 will strike the side of the hive before it comes 

 to the bottom of the frame, and all the others 

 will have their bottoms over in the next 

 frame thus making the combs not interchang- 

 able even should they be considered movable. 

 But where the frames run with the entrance, 

 the hives can be leveled crosswise of the en- 

 trance, no matter how great the pitch the 

 other way, and all combs will be built true 

 in the frames. " ' , j. • 



' ' I can see that part now you speak of it. 

 But the hive could be set level while the 

 combs were building, could it not?" 



"Yes. But if the hive is tipped toward 

 the entrance, even after the combs are built 

 the bottom of the first frame is liable to be 

 glued to the end of the hive from its swing- 

 ing against it, and other frames will be glued 

 to the bottoms of others on account of their 

 not swinging equally in accord to the tip of 

 the hive. And, even did they not do this, 

 there are other things to be considered." 

 " What are they ?" . 



"Most bee-keepers prefer to have their 

 sections run the same way that the combs 

 in the hives do; and, if so, the bottom of the 

 foundation in the sections is swung to one 

 side, where the hive is inclined toward the 

 entrance, which causes bulged and irregular 

 combs in the sections, with the prospect of 

 their being fastened to the separators, so 

 that they are torn in taking out in a way 

 that much of the honey is rendered unsalable. 

 And where only starters are used in the sec- 

 tions, matters are stilh worse, as then we 

 have the same trouble to contend with that 

 we did in the filling of the frames in the hive. ' ' 

 ' ' Well, surely there is more to this thing 

 than I had thought about. Have you any 

 other reasons for having the combs run to- 

 ward the entrance ? " 



" Yes. Where the combs run lengthwise 

 of the entrance the bees returning from the 

 fields can run up between any range of comb 

 they like; while where they go crosswise it 

 tends toward the massing of many bees on 

 the first one or two combs, so that the nurse- 

 bees have more trouble in taking the loads 

 of nectar from these field- bees as they come 

 in, thus massing a lot of bees right at a spot 

 where it is necessary to have the passage- 

 way clear, not only that the going and com- 

 ing bees may have plenty of room, but that 

 suflficient room be given for ample ventila- 

 tion of the hive. I have noticed that, where 

 the combs run crosswise of the entrance, 

 there were many more fanning bees at the 

 entrance trying to keep up a proper circula- 



tion of air (and that even on moderately 

 warm days) than there would be with those 

 hives which had the Qombs running the way 

 they usually do; and when it came so warm 

 that the bees were crowded out, these cross- 

 wise-frame hives were the first to show bees 

 on the outside." 



" Well, I guess I will not make my hives 

 for the crosswise frames this winter, as I 

 was intending to do before we had this talk." 



Now is a good time to clean up your old 

 slumgum and run it through some form of 

 wax-press. 



The wealth of illustrations that we shall 

 have in our Dec. 15th issue will more than 

 please our friends. 



In our Christmas number it will be explain- 

 ed why Mr. Alexander is able to run so many 

 colonies (750) in one place, and how it will 

 be possible for him to increase that number 

 to 1000 all in one locality. 



We have just devised a metal- spaced Hoff- 

 man frame which is pronounced by all who 

 have seen it to be the best self-spacer ever 

 yet brought out. It will retain all the fea- 

 tures of the Hoffman, and remove the very 

 last objection tha,t some of the critics have 

 named against the standard Hoffman. There 

 will be illustrations describing it shortly. 



CUTTING BEE-TREES. 



Lest some bee-keepers should forget to 

 ask permission before cutting down a bee- 

 tree on land belonging to a neighbor, we 

 wish to call the attention of our readers to 

 a newspaper clipping taken from The New 

 Era, of Hillsboro, Mo., that was sent to us 

 by one of our correspondents. This is a 

 timely warning, for it illustrates the folly of 

 the appropriation of property not our .own, 



H. B. Drake vs. V. E. Canepa ; trial by jury, and ver- 

 dict for $50 for plaintiff. 



The case of Drake v. Canepa, tried in the circuit court 

 here last week, resulted in a judgment for Drake. This 

 is a bee-tree case, and we have been requested to make 

 mention of it. W. A. Canepa located a bee-tree on land 

 claimed by Drake, and in company with five or six oth- 

 ers cut the tree down. Drake filed a complaint of tres- 

 pass ag^ainst Canepa before Justice Osterwald, where 

 the case was tried and lost by him. He brought it to the 

 circuit court on appeal, and the court insti-ucted the ju- 

 ry that if Canepa with others cut down a tree standing 

 on Drake's land they should find the issues for the 

 plaintiff, and assef=s his damages at whatever they 

 found to be the value of the tree. The law is plain : 

 and the cutting of any timber, standing or growing, on 

 the land of another, is trespass, for which the owner 

 may sue, and recover treble the value of the timber so 

 cut down. 



