34 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Jan. 19, 1899. 



clincht. Bevel the top edg-e of the cover all around, as this 

 will admit the super rim to rest down and not catch on the 

 feed cover. 



A box made from 'X or ys inch lumber, 3 inches deep, 

 10 inches wide, and 15 inches long-, is set over the center 

 and tackt fast. From the bottom of the feed-cover a rim 

 made from fs-inch lumber is made 10x15, and little strips of 

 tin tackt across the corners on top to hold the frame in 

 square, then cover the frame by tacking- on a cover of wire- 

 cloth, after folding the edges of cloth ; then hinge the 

 frame to the box by a strip of cloth or thin leather. On the 

 inside of the box, close to one end, bore six or eight J^-inch 

 holes, and when not in use lay over the holes a little strip 

 of board, and at the opposite end of the box tack two little 

 cleats, then tack on a thin strip of board, making a pocket 

 to keep j'our slate or diary for recording dates of swarm, 

 and amount of surplus of that colony. 



The end strips that were clincht on the end of the feed- 

 cover, when placed on the hive or super, rest in or over the 

 rabbets, making a bee-space over the top of the frames and 

 supers. Two other strips X-iuch thick and J-.s or one inch 

 wide is fitted over the top of the side-entrances in the hive- 

 body, then place the feed-cover on the brood-body, and pass 

 a couple of screw-eyes down through the feed-cover and 

 strips into the division-board on each side. This is used 

 thus for wintering, making- the side-entrance a complete 



Combined Hive-Cover and Feed-Receptacle. 



dead-air space. Those strips are taken off in the spring 

 and laid one on each side of the feed receptacle and screwed 

 fast to the feed-cover, ready for use when desired. 



This combined cover and feed receptacle is always to 

 remain on the hive, or on the supers when the latter are on 

 the brood-body — always ready for its use. 



A 5-inch super rim (which is shown back of the food 

 receptacle) is placed on over the combined cover, then an 

 outside cover. Let me note here, during the hottest 

 weather, should there be any fears of combs, either brood 

 or surplus, melting down, slip a little stick under the out- 

 side cover, raising it )i or !< inch, and I will guarantee no 

 combs to melt down, either in the brood or surplus I care 

 not how hot Old Sol shines, for the passage-ways encircle 

 the entire colony — above, beneath, and between — and he 

 that hath an eye to see please take notice that ventilation 

 controls the heat and hastens evaporation ; and if the prob- 

 lem of ventilation, not drafts, is better or more perfectly 

 solved than as set forth in the Golden hive and method, I 

 kindly ask for its publication, for in these latter days api- 

 culture keeps pace with all the industries of progression, 

 and will continue so long as time is extended to mortals 

 like bee-keepers of the present generation ; and he who says 

 apiculture has reacht its highest attainments surely is not 

 wise. Morgan Co., Ohio. 



Emptying Unflnisht Sections — Honey of Italian 

 Bees vs. that of Blacks. 



BY EDWIN BEVINS. 



WITH editorial permission I will poach on Dr. Miller's 

 preserves to the extent of telling "New York " (see 

 page 711, 1898) why his bees failed to clean out those 

 unfinisht sections. 



If I were in the babit of betting I would stake a pint of 

 cider that all the unsealed honej' in those sections was car- 

 ried downstairs in a small fraction of the two weeks. " New 

 York " left the sections on the hive. Then the bees were 

 too lazy to uncap the sealed portions of the hone3-, and so 

 long as it was close at hand the?' did not care a continen- 

 tal whether this sealed honey was in the brood-frames or in 

 the supers, and they did not know anything of "New 

 York's " intention to take it away. 



When he found that this sealed honey was not going 

 below, he should have used theuncapping-knife on it. Then 

 his sections would have been cleaned out in short order, if 

 the weather had been warm enough. It is best not to delay 

 this work too long. If you do, however, you can get the 

 sections cleaned during the sunny days of early. spring. 

 The cappings with the adhering honey can be saved in shal- 

 low boxes. If these boxes are placed in empty supers over 

 the brood-frames, and the cappings occasionally stirred, 

 the bees will clean them nicely, and nothing is lost. 



DO ITALIANS STORE BETTER HONEY THAN BLACKS? 



- In answer to the question of Mr. Bartz, on page 718 

 (1898), I will say that I cannot tell why Italian bees store a 

 better quality' of honey than do other bees. It has been mj' 

 belief and contention all along that there is no appreciable 

 difference when all bees store from all sources alike. This 

 would be plain to Mr. Bartz, if in printing my last article 

 on this subject, somebod)- had not supprest the first half of 

 one of my sentences, and printed the other half as if it be- 

 longed to the preceding sentence, thus rendering mj- mean- 

 ing very obsctire. Mr. Bartz would not then have askt me 

 to account for a thing which I believe has no existence. 



When it is once an understood and accepted fact that 

 Italians store their honej' from different and better sources 

 than other bees, there will be no need of asking why this 

 honey is of better quality than that of other bees. The an- 

 swer is obvious. 



It is most natural for one who has not been a close ob- 

 server of the habits of the different kinds of bees for a long 

 period of time, to suppose that all bees store from the 

 sources within easiest reach, and that one kind of bees will 

 get about as much honey from any one source as another 

 kind. If observation has demonstrated the fact that Ital- 

 ians neglect those flowers which secrete the poorer grades 

 of nectar, and store only from the flowers which secrete the 

 better grades, then we know whj' the quality of Italian 

 honey is sometimes better than that of other bees. But let 

 all kinds of bees be confined to one source of supply — say 

 white clover or basswood — and who is able to affirm that 

 the honey of Italians will be any better than the honey of 

 blacks or hybrids ? 



The superior quality of Italian honey (if it is superior) 

 must be accounted for by the fact of selection (if it is a fact) 

 when liberty of choice can be practiced. In this way only 

 can J answer the question of Mr. Bartz. 



Decatur Co., Iowa. 



New Device for Closing- Hive-Entrances. 



BY I,. KREUTZINGER. 



EFFORTS to facilitate preparations of bees for transpor- 

 tation have led me to bring before the bee-keepers an 

 entirely new fixture. It is a device by which the hive- 

 entrjinces can be closed at a rate of 100 per hour, without 

 disturbing the bees in the least, and without the use of a 

 hammer or any other kind of tool whatever. 



As it is solely designed for the purpose of closing up 

 hive-entrances, we may call it an " Entrance Closer." 



The accompanying illustration shows its position when 

 attacht to the hive" The Closer consists of two parts made 

 of perforated zinc sliding against each other by means of 

 the framed enclosure thereof. Thus, when slid together, 

 the "Closer" has a length of a fraction less than 12 inches, 

 and adapted to the 8-frame hive. For 9 and 10 or larger 

 hives, it needs only to be extended the desired length. For 

 the old " box hive," where the entrance is but 8 inches or 



