122 



THE AMERICAISf BEE JOURNAL. 



variety of adaptation, everybody 

 wouldbe crowding into the same line 

 of tilings, and that division of labor 

 which is necessary to the world's 

 work being well and faithfully done, 

 would not take place. There is no 

 honest business that pays so much 

 better tlian any and every other as to 

 justify a universal rush into it. The 

 lot of man is wisely equalized in this 

 world, and when in harmony with the 

 eternal titness of things a person finds 

 a place that suits him, and to which 

 he is suited, he had better consider 

 himself the right man in the right 

 place, and stay there. But if there is 

 a mislit, a square peg in a round hole, 

 or vice versa, it is well to seek a change 

 for the better, and there can be little 

 doubt that many would find it in bee- 

 keeping. That this business pays, in 

 the broad and high sense which has 

 been explained, is a fact, which is 

 respectfully submitted to all those 

 who are looking for a suitable voca- 

 tion. 



" The world is all before them where to 



choose, 

 And Providence their guide." 



Should they make choice of bee- 

 keeping, let us hope they will not get 

 out of their latitude, or find it an 

 uncongenial sphere, but that it may 

 prove, in their case, "the way to be 

 healtliy, and wealthy, and wise "— 

 above all, the way to be good, happy, 

 and useful. 



Guelph, Ont. 



For tlie American Bee JournaL 



Maliug Reversilile Frames. 



G. W. DEMAREE. 



In Query, No. 204, J. C. asks for the 

 " best and cheapest " way to make a 

 frame that can be inverted. lie also 

 asks if it will pay him to change the 

 frames in (iO hives. The answer to 

 the last question is short and will be 

 given first. It certainly will not pay 

 you. Try a half dozen hives first, and 

 find out for yourself that it will make 

 " fuss " on your hands without corres- 

 ponding returns. 



To make a frame that can be in- 

 verted at will, make the end-bars 

 %xl% inches, and as long as you want 

 your frames deep. " Inset " them on 

 their edges like the one-piece section, 

 and cut gains in their ends the right 

 size to receive the ends of the long 

 bars. Make the long bars (top and 

 bottom bars) X of an inch wide, and 

 of a thickness to be in accord with 

 depth or weight of the comb. The 

 two long bars are of the same length. 

 AV^hen ttie frame Is nailed togetlier it 

 has no projecting top-bar. Now nail 

 a block scanty of an inch thick, % 

 of an inch wide, and exactly 1 inch 

 long, to the outside of each end-bar, 

 exactly in their centre. 



If the work is accurately done, the 

 bearings of the blocks will he just i.^ 

 inch from the centre of tlie frame, u)) 

 and down. Xow nail a thin strip of 

 wood on the inside, to the front and 

 rear etids of the hive or case. You 

 will see that when the frames are 

 dropped into place, the end blocks 



will rest on the strips, and the frames 

 will work one side up as well as the 

 other ; and when the case is filled with 

 these frames and " keyed up " tightly, 

 there is no reason why the case might 

 not be turned upside down if one 

 should see any cause to do so. 



The above plan of adjusting frames 

 gives the bees perfect control of the 

 interior of the hive, the bee-spaces 

 being perfect all around the frames, a 

 feature that can never be dispensed 

 with where movable frames are used 

 — especially in a warm climate. The 

 central block device for supporting 

 frames, originated with myself so far 

 as I know, or care. At any rate it 

 works splendidly in my shallow- 

 frame cases, or sectional parts of 

 hives. 



Christian sburg, 5 Ky- 



For the American Bee Journal. 



My System of Using Sliallow Frames. 



T. F. niNGHAM. 



In response to the following which 

 was sent to me from the Bee Jouii- 

 NAL olSce for reply, I would offer the 

 following remarks. Here is the query: 



" EDIT0I4 Bee Journal :— I wish 

 you would persuade T. F. Bingham 

 to detail his management of his slial- 

 low frames — how he tiers them up, 

 what he puts between the tiers, what 

 he uses for an outer covering, etc. — 

 Turner Buswell, Solon, Me." 



While Mr. BuswelTs queries are in 

 order, and like many that have blen 

 sent to me from all parts of the coun- 

 try, I must, just now, be excused 

 from a lengthy answer to them. 



The fastening which I use is an 

 oblong link or loop made of small, 

 soft iron-wire the length of the width 

 of the hive used. Each end of each 

 of the two movable sides of the hive 

 contains one 10-penny nail, the head 

 of which is left out about i|-inch ; 

 over these nails the wire link passes 

 loosely. When the frames and sides 

 are to be fastened togther, a short 

 piece of soft wood, square ateach end, 

 is put between the two sides of the 

 link, and turned so as to hold them 

 apart. The power is simply immense. 

 Frames and sides thus bound together 

 may be handled like a shallow box. 



The division-board used between 

 the sets of frames when tiered up any 

 number above another, I call a " strip 

 bottom -board." It is like the bottom - 

 board that I use, except that it is 

 made of strips Jf of an inch thick, 

 having li-inch bee-passages between 

 them. The outsicle cover is a box 

 open at the bottom, the end pieces of 

 which are wider than the sides and 

 reach below the bottom-board when 

 only one set of frames is used. The 

 sides of the box rest on the top of the 

 sides of the hive on a cleat, while 

 the ends of the box pass loosely down 

 by the ends of the frames and bottom- 

 board, which protects the frames, 

 etc., from storms, etc. The spare 

 honey chamber, of course, is one of 

 the objects of this box or cover, and 

 is 6 in. high and of the size of the hive. 



Abronia, 9 Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Ventilating Hives in Winter. 



R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



It appears to me that the proper way 

 to ventilate hives may largely depend 

 upon the place our colonies are in. If 

 the colonies are in cellars or reposi- 

 tories, with the temperature suffi- 

 ciently high, as Messrs. Barber, Hall, 

 etc., have them, there is no necessity 

 for upward ventilation, as the heat 

 either drives off the moisture, or on 

 account of the high temperature the 

 atmosphere is able to hold more 

 moisture. Should the temperature 

 fall, the moisture would condense. 



Whilst now it may be perfect wis- 

 dom to permit of no upward ventila- 

 tion (or practically so) under these 

 circumstances, it might be, and is, in 

 my estimation, a great mistake to 

 give bees wintered outside or in cold 

 repositories, no upward ventilation, 

 for the moisture condenses upon the 

 interior and contents of the hive. I 

 have frequently, even late in the fall, 

 found moisture condensed in great; 

 drops upon the under side of enameled 

 cloth of a propolis-covered quilt, and 

 I never permit them to remain upon 

 the hive after cool weather comes on. 



But whilst 1 would under the above 

 circumstances strongly condemn any- 

 thing that would prevent a passage of 

 moisture, I would as strongly advo- 

 cate putting upon the top of the hive 

 flannel, chaff, etc., to hinder the pas- 

 sage of the heated air as much as 

 possible. True, if the moisture passes 

 upward and out, the hot air must to a 

 degree, but we have above the bees a 

 substance which is practically known 

 as an absorbent of moisture and a 

 repeller (or continer) of air. In our 

 Canadian climate, from experience 

 and observation, I would say, for out- 

 door wintering a clamp appears to me 

 to be the best way to winter bees 

 above ground. Chaff hives are ex- 

 pensive, unwieldy, inconvenient for 

 manipulation, besides possessing 

 many other disadvantages which more 

 than cover the advantages. 



Brantford, Ont. 



t^~ The New Jersey and Eastern Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold their ninth 

 semi-annual convention at Cooper Union 

 (Room '2'2} in New York City, on Wednesday, 

 March 10, 1886, at 9:30 a.m. All who are 

 interested in bee-culture or honey are re- 

 spectfully invited to attend. We e.vpeet a 

 larji:e delegation from the Philadelphia 

 Association to meet with us, and it promises 

 to be one of the most interesting" as well as 

 instructive conventions that this Associa- 

 tion has ever held. A special invitation is 

 e,\tended to ladies, well knowing that they 

 are by no means a small factor in our in- 

 dustry. Beginners, it is well known, will 

 learn more liy attending one good conven- 

 tion than a year of practical e.xperiments 

 will teach them. All are requested to bring 

 something to exhibit, and if you cannot 

 come, send us an essay to read on some live 

 subject. W. B. Treadwell, See. 



Are you Entitled to a pension ? You 

 may be and may not know it. If you ex- 

 amine the Guide and Hand-Book you will 

 soon find out. Thousands of things worth 

 knowing will be found in it. The Bkb 

 JonRNAL for 1886 and the Guide Book will 

 both be sent for $1..30. 



