38 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



I St of July, and again about the ist 

 of August it comes forth the second 

 time in bloom so also the other two 

 plants first named, the former in 

 Oct. and the latter Sept. ist and con- 

 tinues till Christmas. But Oct. 20 

 comes what we have dubbed broom 

 sage, but it is not a sage at all, but a 

 shrub or bush, which is almost equal 

 to basswood for honey ; also a large 

 variety of wintergreen, and many 

 other minor honey plants too tedious 

 to mention, all of which are indepen- 

 dent of fruit blooms. Then we have 

 all varieties of the cactus, every 

 member of which family is a good 

 honey producer. From a single 

 flower of the mammoth cactus I 

 have poured a teaspoonful of nectar 

 or unripe honey. 



Tempe, Maricopa Co., Arizona. 



HINTS FOR BEGINNERS. 

 No. IV. 



By J. E. Pond, Jr. 



A FEW REQUISITES OF A PERFECT HIVE. 



To ensure complete success, 

 either to expert or novice, the best 

 hive that can be found is the one 

 thing needful. So great a difference 

 of opinion exists, however, among 

 experts, as to what form of hive is 

 the best, that the novice " is all at 

 sea " in regard to this question of 

 vital importance, and can hardly 

 make a choice without more aid than 

 he can obtain from the books. I 

 need not say a frame hive of some 

 kind is absolutely necessary ; for this 

 fact is generally understood "the 

 world over." I do not propose at 

 this time either, to give all the points 

 in regard to the make-up of the best 

 hive, but will give my individual 

 opinion on the subject, and a few 

 reasons for that opinion. 



A hive should be so constructed 

 as to allow the bees to travel into 



every nook, crevice and corner there- 

 of, in order that they maybe able to 

 drive out the bee moth or drag out 

 its larvae. It should allow of being 

 contracted or expanded in size, in 

 order to accommodate a large or a 

 small colony ; and at the same time 

 should be large enough to hold the 

 largest colony the apiary contains. 

 It should allow ample room directly 

 over the colony for surplus comb, 

 and admit of being tiered up to any 

 desired height when working for ex- 

 tracted honey. It should also allow 

 use of the amplest means for winter 

 protection, and of perfect ventilation 

 both in winter and in summer. 

 There are many other points that 

 could be mentioned, but they are 

 all given in the text books, and 

 I need not enumerate them here. 

 I have experimented with all the so- 

 called "best hives, "and given them 

 each a careful test, and I have made 

 choice of the one / deem the best ; 

 and not only myself, but a majority 

 of our ablest beekeepers have made 

 the same selection. The fact that / 

 have made choice of a certain hive, 

 might not be considered weighty evi- 

 dence in its favor ; but the fact that 

 the majority of our most successful 

 honey gatherers have made the 

 same choice is evidence in its favor 

 of the strongest kind. I refer to the 

 regular " Langstroth hive," full size. 

 I make no criticisms on other hives ; 

 all frame hives are valuable, but the 

 " Langstroth" seems to " fill the bill" 

 more completely than any other. 

 I believe in a " standard " frame, but 

 at present it is impossible to make a 

 selection that will be adopted as such ; 

 the beginner, however, in selecting 

 the " Langstroth," will " wheel into 

 line " with the majority, and come 

 as near a standard as is possible at 

 present. The best results yet 

 attained (1000 lbs. from a single 

 colony in a single season) came from 

 a Langstroth ; and wherever it is 

 used it is found at least the equal of 

 any other, whether used for surplus 



