144 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



colonies, nearly all of which are pure 

 Italians, reared from imported queens. 

 He says tlie highest type of the Italian 

 bee is not found in the imported or 

 foreign bred, but that when American 

 born and accustomed to our climate, 

 they exliibit all the desirable qualih- 

 cations. It is but just to say that he 

 has some splendid bees. Tliis section 

 of country seems admiralily adapted 

 to the bee industry. Andover is sit- 

 uated 2S miles south of Ashtabula, on 

 a branch of tlie Lake Shore Railroad. 

 Tlie country is moderately rolling, 

 largely timbered with hickory, maple, 

 ash and basswood ; the soil "is lieavy 

 and adapted to grazing, with a liberal 

 scattering of white clover. 



Mr. M. contemplates moving about 

 one-half of his bees, in the spring, six 

 miles away, to a piece of timber, com- 

 prising 600 acres, a large portion of 

 which abounds in basswood. 



The time of our meeting sped hur- 

 riedly by, and, before our programme 

 was completed, the trains admonished 

 us that we must kick the dust from 

 our feet and depart, and, as Provi- 

 dence would have it, I arrived home 

 on the morniug of the 16th, to witness 

 my bees, as they had an all-day ,cleans- 

 ing fliglit. Examinations, one week 

 previous, had shown my bees to be 

 somewhat uneasy, with abdomens ex- 

 teiided and symptoms of dysentery 

 about the entrances, with occasional 

 spots on the combs. The warm day of 

 the 16th was a God-send to my pets. 



North-East, Pa. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Section Racks for Comb Honey. 



T. E. TURNER. 



This is a subject of much impor- 

 tance, at the present time, to many 

 bee-keepers, and especially to those 

 who contemplate changing from broad 

 frames to some other arrangement for 

 holding sections in place, until they 

 are filled with honey. 



There are serious objections to 

 broad frames as section liolders. It 

 is with difficulty that the sections, 

 when tilled, are removed from them, 

 for the bees fasten them with propoiis. 

 The bees often stick propolis on the 

 edges of the sections in broad frames 

 that must be scraped off in order to lit 

 them in the shipping case. When an 

 upper story or surplus hive is tilled 

 with broad frames and sections full 

 of honey, it is hard to take them out 

 without spoiling some of the sections; 

 unless a movable side is used in the 

 upper story, which adds to the ex- 

 pense. That it is easier to make objec- 

 tions to that which is in use, than to 

 propose something better to take its 

 place, is sometimes true, but not in 

 the present case, as viewed by the 

 writer. At the Northwestern Con- 

 vention, some were desirous of chang- 

 ing from broad frames as supers, if 

 they only knew of something to use 

 that was better. It is important for 

 all who are beginning bee-keeping, as 

 well as for those who contemplate 

 changing from broad frames to sec- 

 tion racks, to knovv which is tlie best 

 to use, for changing racks, after com- 

 mencing their use, is costly. 



I have used broad frames in upper 

 stories, and at the sides of the brood 

 chamber and section racks, in the 

 same apiary for some years, and I 

 consider the racks about as far su- 

 perior to broad frames as frame hives 

 are to box hives. I have no interest 

 in the manufacture or sale of any 

 rack, for I purchase iny apiarian sup- 

 plies ready-made, but the Hodgson 

 Rack, that was illustrated and de- 

 scribed on page 96 of the Bee Jour- 

 nal, for Feb. 14, has been used by the 

 bee-keepers in this locality for four 

 years, and possesses practical merit. 

 As it is public property, any one can 

 make it who desires to do so. This 

 rack is regarded by those who have 

 used it here, less objectionable than 

 an upper-story super, with broad 

 frames, but perhaps some of the 

 greater lights in the bee world will 

 find objections to it, that we lesser 

 lights have not discovered. It does 

 not need to be turned bottom side up, 

 and the sections knocked out, with a 

 jar, as with some others, but by re- 

 moving the V-shaped beveled wedges 

 and the sides, any or all of the sections 

 can be removed without jarring or 

 danger of breaking the combs. The 

 expense of making it is about the 

 same as half-story super, with 7 broad 

 frames. The observing glass allows 

 the sections to be seen vvhen on the 

 hive, without disturbing the bees, but 

 it can be made with less cost without 

 glass, if desired ; and it will admit of 

 tiering up. There is a little board to 

 shut off the bees from a part of the 

 section space to concentrate the bees 

 on partially tilled sections, in case the 

 honey flow slackens up. It can be 

 used on top for chaff-packing, just as 

 well as any other, if desired, and has 

 no cross pieces to interfere with pack- 

 ing. With it there is no need of sep- 

 arators. I have used separators on 

 broad frames, but none on the rack, 

 and the sections are about as straight 

 for packing in shipping cases in ttie 

 one as in the other. Separators can 

 be used with it, if desired. 



If this imperfect description of sec- 

 tion racks will aid some progressive 

 apiarist to greater success in his 

 " sweet pursuit," my object will be 

 accomplished. 



Sussex, Wis. 



For tlie American Bee Jonrnai. 



The Adoption of a Standard Frame. 



H. D. EDWARDS. 



On page 21 of the Bee Journal, 

 for Jan. 10, is an article by J. B. 

 Mason, advocating the adoption of a 

 standard frame. The writer does not 

 tell us why we should throw away our 

 present frames and adopt one of a 

 different size. The advantages he 

 omitted to state ; they are so few, and 

 the difficulties so many, that the day 

 is very distant when we shall see the 

 same sized frame used by all the bee- 

 keepers of the country. The incon- 

 venience occasioned by the different 

 sized frames, is easily overcome, by 

 transferring to the one you are using. 

 He admits that some of our most suc- 

 cessful bee-keepers are using different 



sized frames, according to his partic- 

 ular notions of the size and shape 

 required ; and as it has not been dem- 

 onstrated that a frame of any particu- 

 lar size is any better than a frame of 

 some ottier size, it will be very diffi- 

 cult to get men to discard the frame 

 and hive they are using for one of a 

 different size, thereby incurring an 

 outlay of time and money, for which 

 they are to receive no adequate re- 

 turn. Locality, the manner of win- 

 tering bees, and the production of 

 comb or extracted honey, will always 

 have an influence in determining the 

 size and shape of the frame used. In 

 the extreme Northern States, where 

 bees are wintered on tlieir summer 

 stands, it is generally conceded that a 

 deep frame is best ; while a sliallow 

 frame, having the advantages for the 

 production of comb honey, is the one 

 most likely to be adopted in the South, 

 where there is no danger from cold in 

 wintering. In the intermediate lati- 

 tudes, wYiere bees are usually win- 

 tered on the summer stands, a frame 

 of medium depth is the one most 

 likely to be selected, as combining 

 more advantages than any other. 



I think it a good subject for discus- 

 sion, in conventions, as it may bring 

 out facts, and help to suggest a frame 

 best adapted to the locality in which 

 members of the convention reside ; 

 thereby assisting those who have as 

 yet but few colonies, and those about 

 to engage in tlie business who are un- 

 decided, what frame to adopt. 



Delhi, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Enemies of Bees. 



F. THIAVILLE. 



In the summer of 1878, when bees 

 were working on mint, cotton and 

 other low brushes, the bee killers were 

 as numerous as the bees, playing de- 

 struction. They were also thick in 

 the apiary. I tried to chase them with 

 my net, but with little success. 



In this latitude, from the hist of 

 May to the middle of June, is the time 

 they are mating ; they make a shrill 

 noise and can be heard at 30 paces. 

 Then go around fence corners, and 

 you find them, male and female, hang- 

 ing to some low bushes, such as sumac 

 and blackberries. They can be caught 

 easily with the hand, and killed. If 

 too high, have your mosquito net and 

 catch them. One day, hunting, in 

 mating time, is sufficient for me, and 

 I am no more troubled with them. 

 We have here 4 varieties, but the most 

 ferocious are the large, black ones, 

 which also catch grasshoppers and 

 other bee killers, in the same manner 

 that they catch bees. 



King birds, ants and toads, are little 

 trouble ; spiders are more destructive 

 here. Lizards, snakes and scorpions 

 are always hovering about the hives. 

 I have the apiary nice and clean, and 

 keep a good supply of cats and kit- 

 tens; they catch and eat them. Some- 

 times scorpions will make cats sick, 

 and, occasionally, kill them. 



The bee moth is very troublesome, 

 and puts the bee-keepers on the look- 



