THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



41 



I think them a success, I will write 

 you again about them. I do not ex- 

 pect to trouble you often tliis way. 

 II. E. Holmes. 



[We have published many "com- 

 l)laints" about Mrs. Cotton's business 

 transactions, and there seems to be a 

 S'ood chance now for some one to get 

 •So back, by sending the proofs re- 

 (jiiired by Mr. Holmes. Mr. II. ad- 

 mits that it is a man who has not 

 " always been solvent or honest " that 

 is carrying on business in a woman's 

 name, and while persons have sent 

 uu)uey to him (or her) for articles ad- 

 vertised, and have not received any- 

 thing of value for the money, they are 

 sometimes swiiuUed even more than 

 they would liave been to have received 

 nothing, having heavy express charges 

 to pay on useless "Straps."— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee Houses; Are They Profitable? 



A. K. KOHNKE. 



Xow and then some one will inquire 

 whetlicr or not bee houses are prolita- 

 Ijle. Advocates of house;^ claim abso- 

 I'lte protection from changes of wea- 

 ther, which appears to be their main 

 object ; besides tluil, it is claimed that 

 they are quite secure from thieves. 

 I5ut the construction of a frost and 

 burglar-i)roof bee house costs a little 

 more tluin some may believe; its cost 

 will, of course, be governed by its size, 

 and, being double-walled, would cost; 

 about as much as a one-story hou.se of 

 the same dimension. That would be 

 an extra outlay, for the liees would 

 have to be in hives all the same. In 

 (iermany, bee houses are much in 

 vogue, and an observant reader can- 

 not help but notice the disadvanta- 

 ges. I will enumerate some of them, 

 gatliered from different (ierinan bee 

 periodicals of late : 



First. Mr. Ililbert lost his bees 

 lately, by lire ; his bee house burned 

 down, and to move tlie colonies, was 

 out of the question. This is a com- 

 mon occurrence in Germany. 



Second. Colonies infected with foul 

 brood infect tlu' whole liouse ; in sin- 

 gle hives, out-of-doors, they may be 

 cured, and the hive disinfected; not 

 so a house, where it is well nigh im- 

 possible. 



Thinl. Houses are wax-moth har- 

 bors. Such a frost-proof house is the 

 best place imaginable for them to 

 breed to their hearts' content, if I may 

 be allowed that expression. 



A celebrated bee-keeper in (Termany 

 advises bee-keepers to use hard wood 

 tor frames, because if made of soft 

 lumber, the wax-moth larva gnaw and 

 eat them, according to his experience. 

 Now imagine such an armv of worms, 

 that they even attack tlie wood of the 

 frames, being hatched, of conrse. in 

 all tlie cracks and crevices of a bee 

 liouse. 



Now. those reports of destruction 

 of bees by tire, foul brood and wax- 



moth, I found in different papers ; 

 not one of them alluded to the disad- 

 vantage of bee houses, but by putting 

 the above statements together, one 

 can easily see that these are results of 

 bee houses which are a nuisance, and 

 to be sliunned by every thoughtful 

 apiarist. If I remember correctly, 

 Mr. A. I Boot lost some of his bees by 

 his bee house getting on (ire. 



Mr. Ileddon built a bee house, but 

 discarded its use. as such, some years 

 ago. 



To sum up. bee housesare not desir- 

 able on account of expenses, danger 

 from lire, increased danger of con- 

 tagion of foul brood, when once pres- 

 ent, and the increased protection the 

 wax-moth enjoys, especially as the in- 

 side of a house "will not be frequented 

 by birds to eat them. 

 " Youngstowu, O. 



important in making up for winter. I 



have a box or case 4 inclies larger than 



the lirood-chamlier for packing, for 



winter. In making up, or dividing 



t in the spring, take 4, ■'>, or more, brood 



i frames, clamp them together and put 



I them on the bottom board ; cover the 



i top of the rack with cloth, or lioiiey- 



board, if you like. 



The above is a description of my 

 notion of a hive for winter combined 

 with large surplus room, etc. 

 Argenta. III. 



Fur tlio American Beo Journal. 



Foul Brood and other Matters. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Best Summer and Winter Hive. 



J. A. WILLIAMSON. 



Nearly all admit that a hive with a 

 deep frame will winter bees better 

 than with a shallow frame. This is 

 absolutely true, because the honey is 

 mostly above the cluster, where the 

 heat from the cluster warms and per- 

 mits tliem to ascend as they may, from 

 time to time, require more food ; but 

 for surplus comb honey, a shallow 

 frame is better so that the surplus 

 arrangement may be near the brood 

 and above the cluster. How shall one 

 manage so that the hive will conform 

 to Ut)th of these requirements y 1 

 will try to describe one that I have in 

 use that (ills the bill exactly. It con- 

 sists of '2 kinds of frames, one for 

 the brood and the other for snri)lus. 

 The latter holds (i 4l,x4i4 Mb. sec- 

 tions and the brood frame is of the 

 same dimensions, outside measure, so 

 as to be used interchangeable. 



The brood-frames hold a comb 

 about 8x13 inches ; Ki of these frames 

 are used in the brood-chamber, and 

 12 of the wide frames tilled with sec- 

 tions above, for surplus, and, if de- 

 sired, two or more below, in each 

 end. The brood-frames have tight 

 ends, ^}^ inches wide, and, when 

 clamped "together make the brood- 

 cliamber 24 inches long. Twelve of 

 the wi(ie frames are (damped together 

 for surplus and put on to)). hohling 72 

 1-11). sections on top and, if we wish, 

 12 or more in the lower story. Each 

 outside frame is covered with glass 

 or a thin board. In making up our 

 hive for winter, we take away all the 

 wide surplus frames, which iiold the 

 .sections, below as well as above ; we 

 have now left Iti brood-frames in the 

 lower story ; take 4 from each end, 

 clamp them together, put them over 

 the fS left in the lower story. 



Our hive now is about i:i inches 

 each way (nearly siiuare), and about 

 l.S inches high, we have them now 

 douiile. which equals a rack, the 

 combs of which are 17 inches deep. 

 We always linii more and better 

 honey at the ends or sides, on the top, 

 or over the cluster. The real brood- 

 chamber is undisturbed which is verv 



J. H. TOWNLET. 



" The difference of opinion as to 

 the probability or possibility of cur- 

 ing foul brood, as stated in the iiro- 

 ceedings of the Michigan State Con- 

 vention, I consider very damaging to 

 the bee-keeping public at large; the 

 more so, when noted bee-keepers disa- 

 gree on the subject. Mr. C. E. Muth 

 says it can be cured by the use of sali- 

 cylic acid, while ]\Ir. 1). A. Jones 

 asserts he has thoroughly tested it, 

 and found it of no use, indirectly hint- 

 ing that he has another and surer 

 remedy. From the nature of the dis- 

 ease, I doubt Mr. .Jones having liad a 

 case of genuine foul brood. Nor will 

 Mr. Tovvnley's remedy stay the pro- 

 gress of the disease among his re- 

 maining bees, if it has attacked as 

 many as CO or 70 colonies, for he could 

 not possibly know what colonies of 

 the remainder had caught the con- 

 tagion before the disease makes its 

 appearance among the brood." 



The above, taken from the Bee 

 Journal, vol. IS, page 8, has induced 

 me to give briedy some of my own ex- 

 perience with this malady. When it 

 lirst appeared in my apiary, .5 years 

 ago, there was no known case of the 

 disease, neither has there been since, 

 nearer than 10 miles. Its lirst appear- 

 ance was in a colony that had been 

 wintered in a snow-bank. (Digres- 

 sion — After having lost nearly S200. 

 worth of bees by trying to winter 

 them under snow, I know of but one 

 l>lace I would prefer a siiow-bauk to, 

 and that is a mill-pond). One end of 

 the hive was elevated, perhaps two- 

 thirds of the bees were dead and laid 

 ill a mass in the opposite end.wetaiid 

 rotten ; imt uioicthan onecell in 10 of 

 the brood would hatch; the remain- 

 ing cells containing brood, had been 

 capped, the capping was depressed, 

 usually with a hole through it; the 

 brood was dead and lay in the cells a 

 stinking, sickening, disgusting mass, 

 which, if one attemped to remove, 

 would "spin"' out in strings several 

 inches in length. This I think was in 

 Aiiril. In two or three months 

 several more colonies were found 

 slightly attected. 



At first I tried- to save what I could 

 of the affected colonies, by putting 

 the bees into clean, empty hives, ex- 

 tracting the honey, melting the combs 

 into wax. and cleansing the hives, 

 covers and stands with lire, as soon as 

 they were found. The bees were lirst 

 Iiutiiito an empty box, and after be- 



