THE AMERICAN EEE JOURNAL. 



199 



While this is very unpleasant to 

 me, I have never been able to dis- 

 cover that the bees are injured by it. 

 When there is a heavy cloud of smoke 

 above the hives, the incoming bees 

 will wait until it lifts a little, when 

 they will come in with a rush. Pos- 

 sibly during busy times there might 

 be some loss by the time spent in this 

 way, but I thiiik it is insigniticant. 



In regard to the jar of the trains : 

 Tliere is a heavy grade here, and 

 often a passing train will shake the 

 whole house. The jar, however, cer- 

 tainly does not injure the bees during 

 the summer, nor when wintered out- 

 of-doors. As I never have wintered 

 bees in the cellar, I cannot say in 

 regard to that. 



l)aytou,5 Ills. 



For tlie Amencan Bee JoumaL 



My Improyefl Section-Case, 



G. W. DEJIAEEE. 



I have tried nearly all kinds' of cases 

 and racks to hold sections, and have 

 invented several new ones, all of 

 which in their use revealed some 

 objectionable feature about them. My 

 last improvement, however, a descrip- 

 tion of which I give below, seems to 

 me to be well-nigh perfect. I will 

 describe it as I make it for my stan- 

 dard Langstroth hive, though it can 

 be figured to suit almost any hive. 



The case is simply a shallow box- 

 made of %-inch stuff. The sides are 

 nailed to the end pieces. It is 4% 

 inches deep, 14 inches wide, and ISJ-g 

 inches long, inside measure. It is 

 intended to hold 32 4i4x4>4xi;i£ sec- 

 tions without separators. Being the 

 same size of the top of my standard 

 Langstroth hives, it sets on them with 

 a square joint, and needs no over 

 cap or super. The case has two saw- 

 cuts all around it on the inside, the 

 lower one being 8-16 of an inch above 

 the bottom edges of the case, and the 

 upper one 3-16 below the top edges of 

 the case, si that the space between 

 the two saw-cuts is just 4LJ inches, 

 and will just take the sections be- 

 tween them. The saw-cuts are % of 

 an inch deep. Of course the saw- 

 cuts are made when the material for 

 the cases is being cut out by ma- 

 chinery. At the bottom of the case 

 strips of tin la-inch wide and 14 inches 

 long are slipped into the saw-cuts at 

 the ends of the case and nailed 

 through the wood and tin ; this holds 

 them firmly, and leaves the tin to 

 project }g of an inch as supports for 

 the sections at the ends of the case. 



The case is divided into three 

 divisions lengthwise, and pieces of 

 folded tin J^xl inch are nailed in the 

 saw-cuts at the proper places to sup- 

 port three partitions in the cases. 

 The partitions are scant % of an inch 

 thick, and each partition is made in 

 two pieces. I cut the bottom pieces 

 S% inches wide, and the top pieces ?4 

 of an inch wide, so that one wide and 

 one narrow piece, when put together, 

 makes the partition 414 inches wide. 

 Both the broad and narrow pieces of 

 the i)artitions have tin-rests % of n 



incfl wide nailed to one of their edges. 

 To lill the case with sections, place 

 the broad pieces of the partitions in 

 the case — tin rests down — the ends of 

 the partitions resting on the tin-sup- 

 ports at the sides of the case, at the 

 bottom. Pill the case with sections 

 and put the narrow pieces of the 

 partitions into place between the 

 rows of sections. Let these be a little 

 scant in width, so that the tin sup- 

 ports will come Hat down on the ends 

 of the sections. 



To make the case invertible, slip 

 pieces of folded tin in the saw-cuts 

 right over the ends of the partitions, 

 and a strip of tin in each of the saw- 

 cuts at the ends of the case. 



1 claim as new and original in my 

 improved case the following : First, 

 the saw-cuts extending all around the 

 case at the top and bottom of the sec- 

 tions ; second, the partitions made in 

 two pieces, each piece having a tin- 

 support nailed to one of its edges, 

 and the mechanical combination by 

 means of which the sections are con- 

 fined in a central position in the case. 

 The idea of a shallow space at the top 

 and bottom of the hive or case is 

 original with myself, though the 

 idea is original with others also. The 

 case I have described is the nicest 

 working thing I ever handled in the 

 apiary. 



Christiansburg,5 Ky. 



For tbe American Bee Journat 



Tk National Bee-Keeiiers' Union, 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



Mr. Editor:— Your remarks, on 

 page 131, in regard to what has been 

 done, and willbedone,by the National 

 Bee-Keepers' Union, reminds me of 

 something that I ought to have said 

 long ago. At the Detroit Convention 

 some member (I think that it was Mr. 

 Barber), in open convention, said that 

 the reason why more did not join the 

 Union was because of Article IV "of 

 the Constitution. No one seemed to 

 take notice of what he said, and no 

 explanation was asked or given. 



At the noon intermission I ques- 

 tioned several as to what was meant 

 by the objection, and learned that 

 they objected to the clause which 

 stated that the officers should " cause 

 such assessments to be made upon all 

 the members as may become neces- 

 sary for their defense." Said they : 

 " We do not propose to give the offi- 

 cers power to assess us for any 

 amount. We are able to pay the 

 assessments to the amount of perhaps 

 thousands of dollars ; if we are not 

 willinq to pay some large assessment, 

 it can be collected of us, and we do not 

 propose to give the officers any such 

 power to claim our property, especially 

 so when A, B, and C, who join the 

 Union, and enjoy its protection, are 

 perhaps possessed of no property that 

 can be claimed by law.'" 



I explained to them that, as I un- 

 derstood the matter, the payment of 

 assessments was entirely at the op- 

 tion of each member, and their non- 

 payment simply excluded him from 



the Union and the enjoyment of its 

 protection; that the joining of the 

 Union, the payment of dues and as- 

 sessments were all voluntary acts ; 

 and that the joining of the Union did 

 not give it any legM claim upon the 

 property of its members. So long as 

 a man pays his dues and assessments 

 he is a member, and entitled to pro- 

 tection ; when he tires of paying he 

 can stop, and is no longer a member, 

 and that is all there is to it. " If this 

 is true," said my hearers, " then there 

 should be an explanation given of the 

 matter, as hundreds are kept out by 

 reason of this very clause." Was I 

 correct i* 

 Rogersville, (5 Mich. 



[You were quite correct. The 

 Union is a voluntary affair. To re- 

 main a member requires 25 cents a 

 year annual dues, and to pay the 

 assessments called for. If the assess- 

 ments or dues are not paid within the 

 specified time — membership ceases ; 

 all claims against former members are 

 lost, and all claims to the protection 

 of the Union are dissolved. Annual 

 dues will be called for on July 1, 1886, 

 and probably another assessment of 

 $1 at the same time. It is not in- 

 tended to have more than one assess- 

 ment a year, unless some ui-gent case 

 should make it necessary, and then 

 there are but few who would not 

 cheerfully respond to a call for an 

 extra dollar.— Ed.] 



For tbe American Bee J*umaL 



Patents on Bee-Appliances, 



J. E. POND, JR. 



There is a feeling among bee-keep- 

 ers generally that patents on bee- 

 hives and appliances savor somewhat 

 of humbuggery ; this is perfectly nat- 

 ural, as there has been in days past, 

 fully as many swindles perpetrated in 

 this direction as in any other branch 

 of trade, and any mention of patents 

 in connection with the apiary is viewed 

 with suspicion. This being the case, 

 it should not be considered strange, 

 that when a newly-patented hive is 

 offered to the public — coupled with 

 the claim that it is so far superior to 

 all others in use, as to leave them 

 completely in the shade— that such 

 hive, and its claims to both merit and 

 patentability should be discussed and 

 criticized ; and I seeno reason (though 

 some others seem so to do) why the 

 Heddon hive— so-called — should not 

 be submitted to such a test ; and I 

 propose to discuss this hive, not as 

 regards its claims to merit, for of 

 that I know nothing ; it has yet to be 

 tested by use, and by such use only 

 can its merits be ascertained. Its 

 claims to originality and newness, 

 therefore, will form the subject mat- 

 ter of this article. 



In the first place, in orderto discuss 

 the matter intelligently, it is desirous 

 to know what Mr. Heddon's hive is. 



