2 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



shape in which it was first given to 

 us. I believe that nearly all 

 admit that for summer use, the 

 standard L. frame is the best, and 

 if any do not admit it is the best, 

 they at least acknowledge it to be 

 as good as any ; the chief exception 

 to it being that its shallowness 

 makes it unsafe for a winter hive. 

 Now, how is this objection borne 

 out in practice? I cannot believe 

 that those who make this objection 

 have given it a fair and thorough 

 trial, for I myself, always winter- 

 ing on summer stands in seven- 

 eighths inch single walled hives, 

 without extra protection, have never 

 lost a colony in them as the re- 

 sult of cold ; and during some of 

 the winters I have kept bees, the 

 thermometer has shown the tem- 

 perature to be below zero for days 

 at a time, while with deeper frames, 

 during the same winters and with 

 equal protection, several colonies 

 have been lost. 



We must admit as a logical prop- 

 osition, that every cause is followed 

 by a consequence, and every conse- 

 quence has some cause. Now, why 

 should not our bees winter as well 

 in a frame nine and one-half inches 

 deep ? What is the cause that should 

 prevent them from so doing? I ask 

 these questions in all fairness, and 

 do wish some one would give a 

 logical and scientific answer. When 

 I see the claim made that bees will 

 not winter as well in shallow as in 

 deep frames, I am reminded of the 

 question once asked of a number 

 of scientists who were assembled 

 together; the question was, why 

 does a fish weigh more out of than 



in water?" Various reasons were 

 given, none of which proved at all 

 satisfactory, till at last some one 

 was led to ask, "does it? The 

 trial was at once made, and lo ! 

 there was no difference ; so in 

 regard to the wintering qualities of 

 frames. When the question is 

 asked, why do bees winter better 

 in deep, than in shallow frames, 

 the first thing to be determined is, 

 do they? My experience is, that 

 they winter better in a hive as 

 shallow as the L. frame, than in one 

 deeper. Mr. Hasty (a noted bee- 

 keeper and writer on apiculture) 

 claims that the L. frame is the safest 

 and best for out-door wintering of 

 any yet introduced. Mr. Bingham 

 (the inventor of the Bingham honey- 

 knife and bee-smoker) keeps his 

 bees on frames only six inches deep, 

 and informs us that they winter 

 successfully in them, with temper- 

 ature for many days in succession 

 far below zero. Having given this 

 frame a fair and thorough trial with 

 the simple desire to get for myself 

 the best, I have adopted it, and 

 do emphatically recommend it to 

 any and all, as the very best one 

 known. I have no hives to sell, 

 and no friend in the supply business 

 to bolster up, so that my opinion 

 may at least be admitted to be an 

 honest one, as I have no possible 

 axe to grind in giving or express- 

 ing it. 



I firmly and fully believe that 

 any unprejudiced person who will 

 give this frame a fair and impartial 

 trial, will come to the same conclu- 

 sion. If it were not a safe hive 

 for wintering, and to say the least 



