228 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



April 13, 1899. 



the number of combs in use can always be adapted to the 

 size and needs of each colony. When working- with my 

 bees, I almost always have empty combs within reach, and 

 to every colony I find with too few combs I add as many as 

 are needed, be it one or more, and take away from any that 

 have more than they need. 



My colonies occupy all the way from 3 to 24 combs each, 

 according- to their strength, but I consider one that needs 

 only 16 combs during- the hone3- season as not being up to 

 standard. 



If I were again to keep bees in Iowa, and not practice 

 migratory work, I should use hives that would hold three or 

 four frames more than do the ones I am now using. 



The Long-Idea hives were referred to in " Beedom 

 Boiled Down," in your issue for Nov. 10, 1898, also a state- 

 ment from Mr. Gallup that the t%vo he tried were compara- 

 tive failures. See article in Gleanings, page 13, of last 

 year, for a history of these hives, origin of the name, and 

 also reason why Mr. Gallup failed with them. The Gallup 

 frame is not suitable for working in that manner, his own 

 method of using that particular frame being the best. 



Dade Co., Fla., March 28. O. O. Popplkton. 



[The article in Gleanings, to which Mr. Poppleton re- 

 fers, reads as follows : — Editor.] 



On page 634 of Gleanings for Sept. 1, Mr. Doolittle 

 gives a version of the history of •' Long-Idea " hives, and 

 some remarks on their use. While the history of the origin 

 of any of our implements or ideas may be interesting, thej- 

 are, of course, not of practical value ; but I feel very much 

 like trying to correct the historical part of Mr. Doolittle's 

 remarks. 



About 1870, Gen. D. S. Adair, of Kentucky, devised and 

 (I think) patented what he named the " New-Idea " hi%-e. 

 This hive was a long single-story one with the entrance in 

 one end, at the side of tlie frames, instead of the ends, as 

 commonly practiced. The " new idea "' of the General was, 

 as I understood it, having the combs containing brood all 

 in the back end of the hive, with surplus honey arrange- 

 ments all between entrance and brood, compelling tlie bees 

 to pass thru the surplus honey part of the hive to reach the 

 brood, instead of thru the brood-nest to the surplus honey, 

 as in tiered-up hives. 



I do not know who first changed from Gen. Adair's end 

 entrance to having an entrance in the side of hives, and 

 brood-nest in the center instead of in the back end ; but I 

 think the change was made and experimented with by a 

 good many of us at the same time. It was not Gen. Adair, 

 who gave the name '"Long Idea" to the hive. I have 

 always thought the name was first g-iven to it in derision ; 

 but as no other yet used describes the hive so well, it has be- 

 come the recognized name. 



The discussion over these hives occurred when I was 

 first starting- mj- apiary in Iowa ; and after trying both 

 styles for a year or two, I adopted the long single-story 

 hive, and still use it, not having a single double-deckt hive 

 in my apiaries. I used about 500 double-story hives for two 

 years in Cuba, and was verj' glad to return to mj- own style. 

 _ i would no more think of using a two-story hive for ex- 

 tracted honey than Mr. Doolittle would think of using- the 

 single story. 



The truth is, Mr. D. probably has no knowledge of a 

 properly made single-story hive. Neither the Langstroth 

 nor Gallup frames can be successfully used in such manner. 

 To use the right amount of combs in either of those frames 

 will spread them out too much — doesn't leave them in as 

 compact a form as they should be for successful use. I have 

 told a great manj' bee-keepers who askt my advice, not to 

 attempt to use shallow or small frames in such a way. Some 

 of the foreign bee-journals, according- to a review of them 

 by Mr. Thompson, have lately been discussing this matter 

 quite fully, and the conclusions thej' arrived at were similar 

 to my own — that only deep frames were suitable for use in 

 such hives. 



Let me review Mr. Doolittle's objections very briefly. 

 I can work a single-story hive much easier than a double 

 story. The extra depth of my frame, and a little higher 

 stand makes the top of the hive the same height from the 

 g-round as the top of a two-story Langstroth. I shake my 

 bees inside, not on top of mj' hives, and avoid the trouble of 

 crawling bees he speaks of. If I remember rightlj', I used 

 to be as successful as the average of bee-keepers in winter- 

 ing my bees in Northern Iowa, and I used the long hive en- 

 tirelj', Mr. D.'s non-success with only two hives to the con- 

 trary notwithstanding. O. O. Poppleton. 



bade Co., Fla., Nov. 18, 1898. 



Report of the Chicago Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



BY A SHORTH.\ND REPORTER. 

 [Coatiuued from page 214.] 



GETTING THE PUBLIC TO EAT HONEV. 



QuES. — What can be done to get the public to eat more 

 honey ? 



A Member — Sell them better honey. 



Dr. Miller — There is much in that. At one time I had 

 some very poor honey-dew — miserable stuff. I put it on the 

 market and insisted people ought to buy it because it was 

 honest honey, gathered by the bees. I liurt myself greatly 

 by that. If you want people to eat honey, you must give 

 them good hone}'. There is a great deal of very poor ex- 

 tracted honey put on the market ; I don't blame people for 

 not liking it ; if they get good, ripe honey they will use 

 more of it. The quality of the honey has a great deal to do 

 with the public consuming a large quantity. Give them a 

 good article and they will like it and use it. There is some 

 honey so poor that they ought not to like it ; then there are 

 other things, and we might take up the whole afternoon 

 arguing on this, and I would advise you to suggest thru the 

 American Bee Journal any time what you may have found 

 to help increase the consumption of honey ; but you will 

 find that a great deal lies in giving the public a good quality 

 of honey. 



Dr. Peiro — There is another reason for it ; the chief 

 reason is, people don't know anything about honey. Where 

 can you get it ? What does it cost ? Many such questions 

 are askt about honey. People don't read the bee-papers, 

 and they are the only journals that say ain'thing about it. 

 It needs some stirring up — some advertising. I don't see 

 many advertisements ; in fact, the honey is all right if the 

 people only knew it was all right. 



Dr. Miller — It is not all right. Some of it is unripe. 



Dr. Peiro — I mean honey ; I don't mean fraud honey. I 

 don't care what you have to dispose of, if you don't adver- 

 tise it in .some way you are going to "get left." I think 

 the problem to-day is, how to reach the public. You will 

 not sell it unless you interest the public in it. 



M.\INT.\INING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF COLONIES. 



QuES. — If you have a field that will normalU' support 

 100 colonies, and we call this a working capital — during a 

 series of years how near can this working capital be main- 

 tained ? 



A Member — If I understand the question, I should say 

 it can be entirely maintained. 



Dr. Miller — The question is, how nearly can it be main- 

 tained ? 



Pres. Beers — A hundred colonies ought to keep 100 col- 

 onies going. 



Dr. Miller — If it will normally support 100 colonies, how 

 nearly can those 100 colonies be maintained ? As I under- 

 stand it, how long will it take to run out this 100 colonies? 

 With proper management I should say those 100 colonies 

 ought to be kept up 3'ear after year. You hear it spoken of 

 sometimes as bees running out. Here is a man that had so 

 many colonies, and got along so and so for a number of 

 years, and then run out ; but I think with proper manage- 

 ment in breeding, 100 colonies, without any fresh blood 

 being thrown in, might be kept up. 



Mr. Moore — Dr. Miller, take the 100 colonies you had in 

 1888, how near has that 100 colonies maintained itself with- 

 out outside money of yours put in for any purpose up to 

 now, good and bad years ? 



Dr. Miller — I think I partU' understand you, it has 

 partly supported myself and family. 



Mr. Moore — That 100 has given a net income of .so much 

 a year ? 



Dr. Miller — They have given something, certainly. I 

 don't mean that the 100 colonies supported myself and fam- 

 ily — thej' couldn't do it ; but that 100 colonies as a working 

 capital will give an income. 



A Member — It will average for 10 years an income ? 



Dr. Miller— Certainly ; it has for 35 j-ears. 



