AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



237 



bee-keeper, succeeded by having top-bars 

 an inch thick. Others claimed success, 

 by having a small space, hardly J^ inch 

 between the sections and top-bars. Fair 

 success may be had by means of this 

 small space in connection with a top-bar 

 not less than 5i-inch thick. A thick- 

 ness of %-inch may be better. Possibly 

 the space between each top-bar and its 

 neighbor may have some bearing in the 

 case. 



Smoking bees certainly stops their 

 work to some extent, but not for any 

 length of time, as you may readily see 

 by noticing how soon they will fly out to 

 work after the disturbance ceases. 



It probably makes no great difference 

 where the entrance to a hive is. Bee- 

 keepers in general prefer an entrance at 

 the bottom, one reason being that it 

 makes it so much easier for bees to carry 

 out dead bees, or other refuse. 



Which is the Best Hive ? 



I am very desirous to know which is 

 considered the best kind of hive for one 

 running a large apiary in this part of 

 the world. I got hold of Heddon's book, 

 "Success in Bee-Culture," and was en- 

 raptured with the descripiion, etc., of 

 his new hive, and at once wrote to three 

 or four bee-supply dealers in England 

 for estimates for some of the Heddon 

 hives. Imagine my astonishment (after 

 the way in which Mr. Heddon lauds his 

 hive, quoting the opinions of old and es- 

 tablished bee-keepers in America in its 

 favor) at receiving such replies as the 

 following : 



"We must refuse to make the Heddon 

 hive here ; it was such a grand failure 

 in this country when introduced, and so 

 many of us lost money by it, that we do 

 not care to touch it again." 



So says one of our English firms. 

 Another firm writes : 



"The Heddon hive, to my mind, is a 

 failure. I tried it. But give me the 

 orthodox brood-nest and surplus cham- 

 bers ; and so seemed to say American 

 and British alike, as I should say not 3^ 

 per cent, of those combined work a la 

 Heddon," 



What does Mr. Heddon say to this? 

 and what is the opinion, I would much 

 like to know, of the majority of api- 

 arists on your side of the water ? If not 

 the Heddon, what style of hive is most 

 favored in the United States ? 



S. A. Deacon. 

 Cape of Good Hope, S. A. 



Answer. — So far as we know, Mr. 

 Heddon has never expressed any change 



of opinion as to the value of his inven- 

 tion. Some others use it, and speak 

 highly of it. The great majority, how- 

 ever, seem to set no great value on its 

 peculiar features. 



It is not a safe thing to say what may 

 be the best hive for you, without some 

 knowledge of the difference between 

 your place and the States. 



Your last question is more easily an- 

 swered. Probably the great majority of 

 the bee-keepers of the United States 

 favor a hive not varying greatly from 

 the original Langstroth. Just at pres- 

 ent, what is called the Dovetail seems to 

 take the lead. It takes its name from 

 the dovetail corner-joints of the body of 

 the hive itself. This makes probably 

 the strongest corner-joint ever used in a 

 hive, more free than any other from 

 warping so as to leave open joints. 



The frame in greatest favor is 17^x- 

 8%, outside measure. A strong tide has 

 set in, in favor of frames with fixed dis- 

 tances, that distance being generally 

 1% inches from center to center. 



The popular idea is to have 8-frame 

 hives for comb honey, but there are not 

 wanting for those who insist that 10 

 frames are better. For extracted honey 

 the larger hive is preferred. 



After having said thus much, it is only 

 fair to say that there are different pat- 

 terns of hives almost without number, a 

 large number of bee-keepers seeming to 

 feel that upon them is laid the duty of 

 trying to invent something just a little 

 different from anything previously in 

 existence. 



Bee-Keeping: for Profit.— The 



second edition of Dr. Tinker's new book 

 is now ready to send out. It gives his 

 New Management complete, and three 

 years of added experience in its use by 

 himself and other bee-keepers. Several 

 new illustrations have been added, be- 

 sides much new matter in regard to the 

 use of perforated zinc. Price, 25 cents, 

 postpaid, or clubbed with the Bee Joub- 

 NAL for one year for $1.15. 



Amerikanische Bienenzucht is the 

 name of a bee-book printed in the Ger- 

 man language, which we now have for 

 sale. It is a hand-book on bee-keeping, 

 giving the methods in use by the best 

 American and German apiarists. Illus- 

 trated ; 138 pages; price, postpaid, 

 $1.00. It is just the book for our Ger- 

 man bee-keepers. We cjub it with the 

 Bee Jouknal for one year, for $1.75. 



