370 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



and placed them in a box near by, for 

 that purpose. I then took my seat 

 again at the rear of the hive, took out 

 the end board of the breeding apart- 

 ment, took out a quantity of brood 

 combs, cutting them loose with the 

 knife at the sides, and found them 

 nearly all filled with brood; so much 

 so that the queen had little or no 

 room to lay. This would not do. 

 They would swarm and thus stop the 

 surplus honey gathering. Sol selected 

 thrfe combs with brood and bees, 

 examining them closely, to see that 

 the queen was not on them, put them 

 to one side, and filled the space they 

 occupied with new frames of founda- 

 tion, made on the Given press and 

 nicely wired in, not with wires from 

 upper corners to centre of bottom bar 

 crossing the upright ones as in Langs- 

 troth frame, but with upright ones 

 alone. 



All were taken out and put back 

 with one hand, holding the smoker in 

 the other, ready to give any bee that 

 showed fight a puff. Well, they were 

 put in, and the hive closed, by putting 

 in the end board. I then took the 

 three extra frames of brood and bees 

 in one hand, and the smoker in the 

 other, and w'ent to a hive where I had 

 put in half a dozen similar frames 

 before, put them in and gave them all 

 a good smoking, and then went back 

 to my stool, took up my bunch of 

 roses, and as I sat there noticing the 

 different speed with which bees leave 

 and return to the hive, and sniffing at 

 my roses, the supper bell rang, so I 

 gathered up my tools and started for 

 the house as happy as a president. 



One thing more and I have done — 

 persuading all to use one size frame 

 and the benefit of the same. I would 

 as soon undertake to unite all re- 

 ligions under one creed as to unite bee 

 men in using one size of frame ; and 

 anything so very improbable, it is 

 folly to undertake. It would be some 

 benefit to the dealers in supplies and 

 bees, but very little to the honey-pro- 

 ducer. For instance : A man hij,s 

 more colonies in the fall than He 

 wants. He, perhaps, could sell them 

 if his frames were right for S6, but it 

 is seldom he can. If he killed his 

 bees, his hive would be worth S2, the 

 combs $l,and the honey that would 

 go with them, when extracted, at 

 least S4 more ; so he would really lose 

 $1 in selling. But right here some 

 tender-hearted brother or sister will 

 raise their hand in horror at killing 

 the bees. Is it worse to kill them 

 than to let them die through neglect 

 or ignorance V I will relate a little 

 circumstance to illustrate. As I was 

 killing some bees I did not want, a 

 very good man was present. He told 

 me it was all wrong ; that after they 

 had worked for me all summer, then 

 to kill them, it was wicked, and the 

 sin of it would come up against me 

 hereafter. I said nothing, but waited 

 my turn. A few months after, I was 

 at his house. He was butchering a 

 cow. I asked him how old the cow 

 was. He replied that she was 17 

 years, and that she had been the best 

 cow he ever saw ; that she had fur- 

 nished his family milk and butter for 

 15 years— my time liad come. Says I, 



deacon, will you, after a cow has 

 helped you support your family for 15 

 years, now kill her and eat her up. It 

 IS awful ; it is wicked, and it will come 

 up against you hereafter. He said he 

 would have to give in to my " right of 

 might, for self-preservation." 

 Mendon, Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Square vs. Shallow or Deep Frames. 



G. W. DEMAREE. 



The movable frame is not a "fix- 

 ture " in the sense that the apiary 

 house, and the hive or tenament of 

 the bees, are fixtures. The movable 

 frame is simply an implement em- 

 ployed in the hive or tenement to 

 manipulate the inmates of tlie hive, 

 and to aid in the production of honey. 



Viewing the matter from this stand- 

 point, there is no great probability 

 that any one particular form or size of 

 frame will ever be accepted as a 

 " standard frame " by the great mass 

 of bee-keepers scattered all over the 

 American continent, so varied in 

 climate, as well as in other respects 

 bearing on the occupation of bee- 

 keeping. The facts show that there 

 is an unlimited number of sites of the 

 movable frame in use, yet there are 

 but two " forms " of this greatest of 

 all the implements of the apiary, viz. : 

 the Langstroth shallow frame and the 

 square or deep frame. The issue to 

 be described in this controversy is, 

 which of these two " forms " is best 

 adapted for all purposes in the culture 

 of the honey bee, and in the produc- 

 tion of comb and extracted honey. 



I unhesitatingly take the grounds 

 that the Langstroth or shallow frame 

 carries with it more good " points," 

 and is, therefore, better adapted for 

 all purposes as an implement in api- 

 culture than any frame yet invented. 

 I regret that in presenting the evi- 

 dence in behalf of the Langstroth or 

 shallow frame, it does not go before 

 an impartial jury as a whole. Some 

 have already made up their decision, 

 while others are moved by self-inter- 

 est and prejudice, nevertheless there 

 are many fair-minded apiarists who 

 can appreciate facts and arguments, 

 and to such I appeal. In the first 

 place the size and sliape of the frame 

 used will necessarily govern the form 

 and size of the domicile in which the 

 bees must reside and carry on their 

 handy work. I regard this as matter 

 of much importance. The Langs- 

 troth or shallow frame is adapted to a 

 hive with alow, broad brood-chamber, 

 which gives a broad and firm base or 

 foundation to the hive, such a hive 

 sits firmly on its stand, is less liable 

 to be over-turned or shaken by high 

 winds, is less easily jarred, admits of 

 two or more stories without becoming 

 top tall and slender in proportion to 

 its base, as is necessarily the case 

 when a square deep frame is used. 

 Such a hive looks better ; proportion 

 is always pleasing to the eye, and is 

 better for all purposes for the reasons 

 given than the tall, slender, bee-gum- 

 ish looking hive which must be con- 



struced to accommodate the'square or 

 deep. 



MECHANICAL CONSTUCTION. 



The Langstroth frame being shal- 

 low, is more easily made square and 

 free from wind than a deeper frame 

 is. A little " winding " in the frame 

 does not effect its position in the hive 

 as is the case with a deep danggling 

 frame. The hive itself being shallow, 

 will vary less by slight mechanical in- 

 accuracy, and if the old-fashioned 

 porticos are left off, as I would advise 

 in all cases, the hive is the most sim- 

 ple in mechanical construction. 



THE BEE HIVE AS A DOMICILE AND 

 WORK SHOP. 



The bee hive answers the two-fold 

 purpose to its inmates, for a residence 

 and a factory or work shop. The 

 Langstroth frame as an imi)lement of 

 manipulation for the convenience of 

 the bee master, and to put the inter- 

 nal working of the hive under his 

 control, admits of a structure best 

 calculated for these purposes. Its 

 broad base admits of free circulation 

 of fresh air ; every part of the lower 

 floor is handy and convenient to the 

 work going on above. The stories of 

 the hive being low, less distance must 

 be traveled to reach the highest part 

 of them. The honey bee is the most 

 sensitive of all creatures to the 

 slightest jar, and no form of hive 

 protects them so well from this an- 

 noyance as the Langstroth hive with 

 its broad base and low stories. For 

 this reason the combs are less liable 

 to be fastened together With cross 

 ties of wax, and propolized at every 

 point. 



A low brood-chamber, if the cover 

 to the hive is double with an air space 

 between, as they should always be in 

 winter and summer, is less effected 

 by the heat of the summer sun than 

 a tall one is. I have never seen a 

 single comb that had been injured by 

 the heat of the sun in a Langstroth 

 hive, while I have seen, in transferring 

 from tall box hives, many outside 

 combs that had been melted down by 

 the sun's heat. A low brood-chamber 

 is best adapted to the "tiering up" 

 svstem of manipulation of bees tor 

 the best results. No one will deny 

 that the Langstroth or shallow frame 

 is best adapted for this purpose. Some 

 apiarists tier up the Langstroth hive 

 to three stories or more to accommo- 

 date large colonies. 



Now, let us take a practical look at 

 the two " forms " of hives which must 

 be used to accommodate the two 

 " forms " of frames. 



The Langstroth hive, if tiered up 

 to three stories, is 2OXI6I4 inches on 

 the stand, if made of 1 inch boards, 

 and 30 inches high if we allow 10 

 inches for each story. Of course I do 

 not pretend to speak accurately here 

 as to measurement. It will be seen 

 that the Langstroth hive, even when 

 three stories high, is quite well pro- 

 portioned as a building. Now, let us 

 look on the other picture. A hive 

 made to accommodate the square 

 frame in ordinary use, is about 14 

 inches square at the base, and if 

 tiered up three stories high, will be at 



