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GEORGE W. YORK, Editor. 



"•f$e1»i 



39th' YEAR, 



CHICAGO, ILL, JANUARY 19, 1899, 



No, 3, 



No. 2.— The " Golden " Method of Producing- 

 Comb Honey Described. 



BY J. A. GOLDEN. 

 [Continued from paj.'e 4.] 



IN order to fully understand this method, I herewith pre- 

 sent a cut of a hive-body, one super, bottom-board and 

 queen-caj^e. 



First, then, if you will notice, the bottom-board has 

 what we call a " rim " lying- on it. This rim is V-incli 

 thick on the outside edg-e, and beveled down on the inner 

 side, and is a little wider than the edg-e of the side-board 

 space and division-board. The side-body is }s thick, space 

 J-s, and a division-board or inside board yi, making 1^ inch ; 

 the rim 1'4 wide, the beveled edge giving- a js-inch space to 

 the side passage-way. Then when preparing- hives for win- 

 tering this rim is turned upside down, and when the hive is 

 set on it, it completely shuts up the side entrance, making 

 it a dead-air chamber from below. (I will note the tempera- 

 ture further on.) 



To form the side entrances in a new hive, take strips ^s- 

 inch square, and tack one in each inside corner of the hive- 

 body : then a '+ inch or js board as long as the inside of the 

 hive is tackt on the js corner strips, letting the board be 

 flush or eveii with the side-body of the hive at the bottom, 

 and even with the top of the brood-frames, or within '4 inch 

 of the side-body of the hive. (See engraving for side en- 

 trances and division-board, showing- the bottom of brood- 

 chamber.) 



Now, reader, can you Tiot see wisdom in this construc- 

 tion of a hive ? Suppose there were two stairways leading 

 up to a gallery— one was crowded with people and the other 

 was comparatively free, and you had a load of honey to 

 carry up, which of the two ways would vou choose ? Your 

 answer would be, " The one that was not crowded, every 

 time." And think you that the busy honey-bee is void 

 of wisdom ? Nay, verily, the honev-bee possesses largelv 

 of instinct, for the Creator has made" it so. 



I will now describe the super, which you will notice in 

 the engraving. It differs from the general super in use 

 only by cutting a "4 -inch rabbet on the top of the end-board 

 (see engraving), and the side passage-wav is made the same 

 way as in the brood-chamber. The >s-inch strips are tackt in 

 the inside corners, then tack on the same thickness of board 

 as in the brood-chamber, letting it come even with bottom, 

 and within '4 inch of the top of the side-body of the super, or 

 as high as the top of the sections. Thus when the super is 

 placed on top of the brood-chamber, the side passage-ways 

 come opposite each other, and thus you seethe side entrance 



is continued from the bottom to the uppermost super ; also 

 the 'I inch bee-space entering each super is continuous. 



On the bottom of the end-boards of the super a 1/16 

 inch groove is cut '4 inch wide, to receive a strip of sheet- 

 iron 1 '+ inches wide, reaching across the super and letting- 

 the ends in the super sides 1 / 16 inch, then tacks are driven 

 in, thus leaving the bottom of the super level. This apron 

 is for the section slats and separators to rest on when placed 

 in the super. And when slats are placed in the super, a 

 wedge strip is dropt down at each end of separators. When 

 the sections are in, two more wedge strips are pusht down, 

 one at each end, which tightens the sections (see illustra- 

 tion) ; also a side-wedg-e, if necessary. 



The ,'4; -inch deep rabbet cut on top of the super end- 

 board is to be as wide as the rabbet on the end-boards of the 

 brood-chamber, which will be noticed farther. (See illus- 

 tration.) 



The queen-cage which you will observe extending in 

 the super, is made 'Lt-inch narrower than you use, having- a 

 partly-drawn comb or foundation in it. and is covered on 



Hive-Body. Bottom-Board, Super and Queen-Cage. 



both sides with wire-cloth, cutting the cloth '2 -inch larger 

 all around, then folding the '2 inch over, tacking on the 

 prepared cage with !4-inch wire tacks, leaving one corner 

 to spring back, to let the queen run in or out, as desired. •« D 

 I here present a view of my combined cover and feed 

 receptacle, and I am here to say that it is one of the essen- 

 tials to have in all apiaries. It is made from % or y% inch 

 lumber, and fitted to the inside dimensions of the hive-body. 

 A strip % inch thick and 1 ■/< inches wide is laid under each 

 end of the cover, then tackt fast to the cover and tacks 



