170 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



August. 



ble distinctiou, and it is interesting to 

 luiow who is really "it." By the way, 

 Mr. Raucbfuss is the American Be'e- 

 Keeper'g Colorado agent, while Mr. 

 Muth represents us in Ohio and adja- 

 cent territory. The Bee-Keeper Is 

 proud of these representatives. 



OBSERVATION HIVES. 



As a result of some correspondence 

 v.-ith our readers in regard to observa- 

 tion hives we reproduce in this num- 

 ber a photograph of one which occupi- 

 ed a place at the dining room window 

 of the writer's home for several years. 

 The hive was constructed to take 

 Quinby frames, of which it accomodar- 

 ed eight to the story. It is rather a mar- 

 ter of regret at this time that the hive 

 should not have been photographed in 

 its usual position at the window; but 

 ill order to include as much as we 

 thought necessaiy at the time upon 

 the photographic plate, the hive was 

 moved back from the camera. It does 

 not, therefore, give an idea as to the 

 arrangement Avhicli permitted the bees 

 to enter and escape, which was as fol- 

 lows: 



Placed with the floor-board on a 

 level with the window sill, and snugly 

 against it, the space between the win- 

 dow and the entrance was covered 

 with a thin piece of board to which had 

 been attached at each end a half inch 

 strip. Thus, Avhen the lower sash had 

 been lifted and blocked up even with 

 the surface of the thin board, it will 

 be understood that a passage-way Avas 

 provided from the hive to the open air. 

 Openings .-'t sides of entrance, below 

 sash were then closed with strips of 

 wood. 



The liive body was constructed by 

 simply substituting for the side-boards 

 two fraiu'.'s made of picture frame 

 moulding?!, the rabbets of which had 

 been reduced by ripping to the thick- 

 ness of a double strength gla,ss. These 

 were screwed to regular hive-ends, and 

 the whole secured to an ordinary bot- 

 tom, or floor board, around which was 

 mitered another strip of gilt moulding 

 to give a finished appeai-ance to the 

 job. The ends and flat lid were then 

 finished and grained in imitation of 

 oak. 



\A'hen a second story became neces- 

 cary, frames fitted also with glass were 

 used for ends as well as the sides there- 

 of. Later a large hole was cut 

 through the flat lid and over it was 



placed an inverted glass globe, which 

 had formerly been used for exhibitiag 

 confectionery or something of that 

 kind; and it served to impart the effect 

 of a crystal dome which, when tilled 

 with white comb honey was really the 

 most beautiful part of the contrivance, 

 which altogether was quite elaboratfe 

 and attractive. We regret now that a 

 photopraph of the hive was not taken 

 at this latter stage. 



If nothing more, the possession of 

 this hive, containing a strong colony 

 of bees for several years, proved the 

 fallacy of the popular belief that bees 

 are reluctant to store honey where it is 

 light, for, when crowded for room, and 

 in the glass dome, cells, half of which 

 the exposed glass really formed, were 

 readily used for storing honey as were 

 any others. j 



For several years this colony was ^ 

 one of the best in the apiary, and it 

 wintered perfectly in a room which 

 was kept, by means of natural gas 

 fuel, at the most comfortable tempera- 

 ture for the family. 



our readers whi> have 

 uarket, the "rabbit" is 



CUBAN COMPETITION. 

 Someone asked W. L. Coggshall whv 

 he located so many bees in Cuba. 

 Foreseeing the condition Avliich is now 

 upon us, and destined to become worse. 

 yU: Coggshall replied: "I Avanted to 

 be on the other side of the fence when 

 the rabbit got out." According lo in- 

 formation from 

 large crops to m'arl 

 out now. One correspondent recently 

 wrote that he produced this season 

 something over 200 32-gallon barrels ot 

 extracted honey. But. like Dr. Blan- 

 ton. he finds the market has gone to 

 smash; and a trip to New York, a dis- 

 tance of ovei' 1,000 miles, elicited no 

 other satisfaction than hearing long 

 iind strong Cuban honey talk on all 

 sides. Tlie largest buyer in the City 

 was, in fact, then in Cuba investigating 

 the honey situation. It becomes dally 

 more evident that The Bee-Keeper was 

 a prophet when it warned producers 

 of the seriousness of the West Indian 

 problem. Mr. Morrison's idea, and 

 that of so)ue of our contemporaries 

 that the American ])ro(bTcer h,is noth- 

 ing to fear from this source, is even 

 at this early date becoming buried be- 

 neath a burden of actual conditions 

 tliat are drepressing in the extreme. 

 With Cuba blocking the seaboard mar- 

 k(>ts and Mexico coming in on both 



