THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



size, depth, etc., seem to forget that 

 this is a great country, not only as 

 to dimensions but it is greater on ac- 

 count of its variety of climate, flora, 

 etc. How is it possible that any man 

 could lay down rules and regulations 

 applicable to bee-culture from one 

 end of this great country to the other? 



Still we have many writers who in- 

 sist on knowing just what is best for 

 us all, no matter what may be our 

 surroundings. 



The pollen theorist knows that his 

 bees are liable to be afflicted with 

 diarrhoea, and hence concludes that 

 the whole country is in the same pre- 

 dicament. Some one else takes a 

 fancy to a " deep hive " and at once 

 beheves that the world would be bet- 

 ter off if it would come to him and 

 accept his views. The same may be 

 said of chaff hives, and other forms 

 of hives. I have often wondered if 

 those who have advertised " chaff 

 hives " all over the south, are really 

 ignorant of the fact that chaff hives 

 are unsuitable to a southern climate 

 both in summer and winter, or is it 

 a fact that they are utterly indifferent 

 on the question of right and wrong. 

 Thousands of chaff hives have been 

 sold to persons who have not been in 

 the business long enough to take care 

 of their own interests ; simply looking 

 at it, like the old toper who claims that 

 whiskey is good when it is cold, to 

 warm him, and good when it is hot 

 to cool him. The fact is the chaff 

 hive deprives the bees of the health- 

 ful influence of the sun's rays at 

 intervals in the winter months in all 

 southern localities, while they are so 

 oppressive to bees in the hot summer 

 months that they will roost on the 



outside, rain or shine. I have seen 

 half of the colony in a drowned con- 

 dition after heavy rains. 



The thinner the walls of the hives, 

 the better it is for the bees if they 

 are properly shaded in the heat of 

 the day. If the standard thickness 

 of lumber on the market was not in 

 the way, I would make all my hives 

 of half- inch boards. I only speak 

 for my own locality. 



I have long been of the opinion 

 that the " combined implement " is 

 a great mistake. The combined im- 

 plement for the fann or for the api- 

 ary has nothing to commend it to the 

 intelligent farmer or apiarist unless 

 it is cheapness ; and in a majority of 

 cases, the cheap implement is the 

 dearest in the end. No implement 

 can possibly supply the place of sev- 

 eral implements to the best advan- 

 tage. These facts apply to the 

 implements of the apiary as well as 

 to other pursuits. 



We have been taught from the 

 beginning of modern beekeeping that 

 all frames in the apiary must be of 

 the same size, etc. ; and, so reason- 

 able does this look to most people, 

 that the idea has been received with- 

 out any careful investigation. Let us 

 look at this old doctrine more care- 

 fully. When the movable frame was 

 first invented, no other idea seemed 

 to possess the mind than mere ma- 

 nipuiation. Bees had carried on 

 their labors and performed their han- 

 diwork away from the observation of 

 man in all past ages, and now the 

 movable frame was to lay open the 

 hidden wonders of the internal work- 

 ing of the bee hive. It was like a 

 new creation to the inquiring mind. 



