THE AMERICA]^ BEE JOURNAL. 



428 



f 



proves of value, and throw away the 



rest. 



Thiidly. we want to examine all the 

 iniplenifiits. hives, etc., to see if any 

 of them, or parts of the same will 

 help lis in securing' our product in 

 better shape, or "ive us more than we 

 already secure with our lixtures- 



To illustrate : One little thins I 

 learned at a convention several years 

 ago has paid me for :ill I ever spent 

 attending conventions. It was this : 

 Formerly my shipping cases had al- 

 ways bothered me, leaking so that 

 when I piled them up on top of the 

 other, the top one would leak a few 

 drops, more or less, on to the case of 

 the next one. AVhen they were ship- 

 ped, the dust would settle and stick 

 to these places, thus spoiling the 

 beauty of the nicest case. I tried 

 halving the joints of the cases to- 

 gether, and numerous other ways, 

 but leak they would, till I learned at 

 a convention that a sheet of good 

 manilla paper folded around a board 

 so as to make a tray which would just 

 slip into the bottom of the cases 

 would catch and contain all the drip. 

 By putting little strips across the bot- 

 tom of the cases }X of an inch square, 

 the sections were held above the drip, 

 and thus all was kept clean and nice 

 for the retailer. 



I might give other things I have 

 learned and' other ways of making a 

 convention pay, but it would make 

 this article too'long. 



Borodino. X. Y. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



Deep or Shallow Frames. 



"WILLIAM HALLEY. 



A good deal has been said about a 

 standard hive. You will get people 

 to think alike on this or any other 

 when they look alike ; but if it can be 

 shown by" actual test that one is any 

 better than the other, it may have an 

 influence with some. With this end 

 in view I propose to give an old man's 

 experience, hoping that others may 

 test it fully. 



I suppose that, perhaps, I made the 

 fji'si Langstroth hives in Winnebago 

 county ; at least I knew of none at 

 that time. In the spring of 186-5, I 

 made a dozen hives according to Mr. 

 Langstroth"s directions ; before I filled 

 any of them, however, Richard Grif- 

 fiths brought some filled with bees 

 from Freeport. I bought Italian 

 queens from Mr. Langstroth 15 years 

 ago ; these were the first queens that 

 I know of being sent to these parts, 

 and Mr. Langstroth was the only per- 

 .son, as far as I know, thatsold queens 

 at that time. 



But to return to the hive ; I thought 

 after a time, that the frame was too 

 .shallow (ftijj inches) for successful 

 wintering. I think now the trouble 

 was more the fault of being a begin- 

 ner — a wish for too rapid increase, 

 accompanied with bad seasons, and 

 not knowing as well as I ought, how 

 to take care of them. In late years I 

 find no difference between wintering 

 bees in them and in the deeper hives. 



At any rate. I altered most of my 

 hives over so as to take a 11 -inch 



frame. I thought they would swarm 

 less and tlirow larger swarms. 1 

 found that the frames were difficult 

 to handle ; lieiug apt to break down 

 in hot weather. I did not gain much 

 in regard to swarming, and they are 

 verylieavy to cany into and out of 

 the cellar ; but last spring I had 5 col- 

 onies in the shallow hives, and 10 in 

 the deep ones, all in good condition. 

 I put on a nest of 8 sections, partly 

 tilled with comb. When white clover 

 bloomed none of them had much 

 honey ; unexpectedly I noticed, after 

 a time, that all those in the shallow 

 hives were working freely in the 

 boxes, and had stored, I think, an 

 average of 25 pounds each, before the 

 bees commenced in the deep hives ; 

 the difference was so marked that I 

 resolved to keep an account of tliem 

 separately. The result is, that from 

 the 5 shallow hives I got 401) pounds 

 of honey and 4 swarms; they did not 

 swarm so soon as those in the deep 

 hives, and I think the hives contained 

 more bees and gave stronger swarms. 



From the lO^^deep frames I got 8 

 swarms and 300 pounds of honey — 

 this is at the average rate of SO and 30 

 each. It will be seen that the deep 

 hives had more room to fill up below. 

 and several colonies in them did not 

 get up to full working force as soon 

 as they ou^ht, but there was none 

 that stored less than 15 pounds in the 

 sections. I liope to be able to test 

 this matter more fully another year. 

 If I can get 25 pounds of white honey 

 in sections, it will be worth more to 

 me than the entire contents of a well- 

 filled hive in the fall, as I do not ex- 

 tract, and I have to use brimstone to 

 keep down the surplus colonies. 



I will say that there are now about 

 800 Langstroth hives in use within 

 my acquaintance in some of the north- 

 ern towns of this county. I do not 

 know of but one bee-keeper who uses 

 any other. This does not look much 

 as though the Langstroth hive was 

 being abandoned. 



Rockton. 111. 



Prairie tanner. 



Why Bees Swarm— Hiving. 



MRS. L. HARRISON. 



This question is often discussed at 

 bee-keepers'' conventions and else- 

 where. The why always appears to 

 me to be, that the Creator ordained 

 that they should, for the multiplying 

 of their species. When a hive is 

 teeming with population, and honey 

 is coming in freely, preparations are 

 made for swarming. Scientists tell 

 iis that when drones are flying in the 

 open air, bees construct queen-cells ; 

 but I have opened many a hive, from 

 which an Italian colony had just is- 

 sued, in search of cells, and could 

 find none. 1 am not able to say 

 whether the common bees issue with- 

 out building queen-cells or not. 



It is impossible to determine the 

 exact time when a swarm will issue: 

 the bees may have capped their queen- 

 cells, and may have their haversacks 

 packed for their journey, and a sud- 

 den rain cause them to suspend oper- 



ations for the present, and destroy the 

 <pieen-cells. xV sudden check in the 

 honey flow may cause them to do the 

 same thing. I'lives may be so full of 

 bees that the outside is nearly covei-ed 

 with them, and their owner watch 

 them for days, a week, or even a 

 month, and tliey not even issue at all. 

 No bee-master, worthy of the name, 

 in these days of advanced bee-culture, 

 allows his bees to nianceiiver thus. 



There is nothing that delights the 

 ear of a bee-keeper more than to 

 hear the slogan, " the bees are swam- 

 ing." They pour out of the hive in 

 steady columns, not one looking be- 

 hind, but pushing straight ahead, ris- 

 ing, circling around until the air 

 seems alive with them. They sing a 

 peculiar tune, while swarming, which 

 is never heard at any other time. 

 When they are all organized in the 

 open air, 



" Round ttie tine twitj;, like cluster'd grapes they 



close. 

 In thicltening wreaths, and court a short repose." 



It is best to hive swarms as soon as 

 clustered, for they immediately send 

 out scouts in search of a home, and if 

 these remain until they return, no 

 amount of persuasion " will induce 

 them to tarry. The peculiar hissing 

 sound they "make while swarming, 

 agitates other colonies, and they may 

 issue and unite with the first, until 

 there is a monster meeting, resulting 

 in vexation and loss to owners. Hives 

 and conveniences for speedy coloniz- 

 ing should be in readiness, and as 

 soon as the bees are fairly clustered, 

 remove them to the home they are to 

 occupy. Sometimes it answers best 

 to place the hive where it is to re- 

 main, and have a smooth board or a 

 sheet, whichever is preferred, in front, 

 and carry the bees to it ; this can be 

 done nicely when the limb or twig 

 upon which they have clustered is re- 

 moved from the tree. If placed in 

 front of the hive, and slightly jarred, 

 tlie bees will enter, uttering'a joyful 

 note that a home is found, and calling 

 to their companions to come on. 



When a swarm is large, and rich in 

 honey and wax, bees frequently fall in 

 large bunches on the ground ; in 

 such cases bring the hive to them, 

 but as soon as tliey are all in, put it 

 on the permanent stand before the 

 scouts retiu'n. 



A lady who is engaged in bee-cul- 

 ture, writes me she fears being unable 

 to hive her swarms. She says : " I 

 have supplied myself with all neces- 

 sary dress, and with hiving-box, hook 

 ancl poles, also with a hiving-bag, 

 with a hoop in the end, and if neces- 

 sary can climb a tree." Some apiaries 

 are" supplied with large baskets, lined 

 with muslin, and have a burlap cover 

 or flap, which can be turned over 

 when full of bees. When many 

 swarms are issuing, the bees can be 

 left covered up for a short time, with- 

 out detriment. Fountain pumps are 

 a convenience in wetting absconding 

 swarms, and in preventing swarms 

 from uniting. Newly hived swarms 

 slionld not he left inthe sun ; neither 

 should hives be used that have been 

 exposed to its rays. Bees are excited 

 and hot while swarming, and if not 



