146 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



nature supplies naturally all the fiecessafy 

 conditions far better than the averag-e bee- 

 keep)er can do it. If one has good cells the 

 rest is easy. 



Our own experience in the matter of rear- 

 ing cells is to the effect that a nucleus, or a 

 quart of bees, if you please, other condi- 

 tions being equal, would not do as good 

 work in cell-building as a strong colony. 

 Why? The latter is equipped with bees of 

 all ages — young nurse-bees and field-bees 

 — when the quart of bees may be supplied 

 with nothing but nurse-bees or nothing but 

 field-bees, depending on the way the divi- 

 sion was made. Then, moreover, it is dif- 

 ficult for a small cluster to keep the center 

 of its bro'xi-nest as warm as the center of 

 the brood-nest in a strong colony can be 

 kept; and this is another condition that I 

 regard as important. — Ed.] 



SOME AFTER-THOLQHTS FROM ONE WHO USES 

 THE DANZENBAkER HIVE SLCCESSFLLLY. 



Closed End vs. Open End Frames 



BY J. W. FAY. 



This last year has been one of experi- 

 menting with me in learning how to keep 

 bees for profit, so I will inform you of some 

 things I did during the summer. 



I use the Danzenbaker hive, because 

 trial with it against the Langstroth and 

 the eight-frame Dovetailed led me to believe 

 it was the best for me to adopt for comb 

 honey. 



I used the frames to some extent bottom 

 side up in the brood-chambers, to get them 

 filled full of comb. I found about the 

 first thing the bees would do would be to 

 build brace-comb all over the frames before 

 filling them up, and that caused me too 

 much trouble. 



I took ten frames, closed ends, and put 

 top-bars on the bottoms so the bee-space 

 would be the same either side up, and 

 found this worked to perfection. 



I did not notice any difference in the 

 queen laying in a frame, whether it was 

 right side up or not. When I reversed the 

 frames I would uncap any honey at the top 

 of the frame, and the bees would carry it 

 up. and the queen would deposit eggs in 

 nearly every cell to the bottom, and also fill 

 up the cells with eggs at top i formerly bot- 

 tom), nearly as fast as the comb was drawn 

 out. This makes a frame reversible, with- 

 out anj' trouble in handling. 



I had two weak colonies, both Italians, 

 last spring. I did not want to lose either 

 queen, so I put a queen-excluding honey- 

 board between the two hives and put both 

 on one stand, having alighting-board with 

 small entrance between the hives. The 

 queens seemed at once to take on courage, 

 and very soon built up the largest colony in 

 the apiary. Neither made preparations to 

 swarm, and this colony made me 150'2 lbs. 

 of section '^4x5) surplus honey; 106 lbs. No.l. 



I did not get a pound from 34 other colonies 

 in the apiary: 20 of them were spring count. 



The bees in the upper story of the double 

 swarm built their comb to the bottom of the 

 brood-frames. 



After trying the open and closed end 

 frames in the Danz. hive I prefer the closed 

 end. and use 9 frames, with follower both 

 sides. 



I did not have an3' natural swarms. 

 This year as soon as the colony built queen- 

 cells. I would set a new hive on the old 

 stand; remove from parent colon}' a card of 

 brood with the queen on, and place in new 

 hive, and take the other frames and shake 

 the bees off in front of the new hive, and 

 they would go to work like an\- natural 

 swarm I ever hived. I set the parent hive 

 L. shape from old stand, and in about five 

 days I set it b^- the side of a new colony, 

 and left for 12 da^'s; then in the middle 

 of a warm daj- I set it on a new stand. 

 This made m}- new colonj' good for honey 

 if there was any. 



I experimented with Danz. and other hives 

 by tiering up. and I am satisfied, for 

 my locality, that two hives, Danz. size, 

 doubled up. are worth more than the same 

 if set out single for surplus honej*. A sin- 

 gle hive can not give a prolific queen room 

 enough. I shall try two hives and have 

 strong colonies, if I have to work two queens 

 to get the bees. 



I should like to know wh}' it would not be 

 well to have Danz. frames with top and bot- 

 tom bar for the same, or bottom- bar the same 

 as the top, making it a perfect reversible 

 frame. I am satisfied it is all right for the 

 brood-chamber, and I see no objection to 

 using them for extracted honey. If neces- 

 sar3-the top could be marked. "Use the comb 

 the same side up for honey." 



If there were a groove on top of the bod- 

 ies of the Danz. hive so the^' would go down 

 V inch, making it air-tight, it would be 

 better when tiering up, provided the bees 

 would not put on too much propolis. Mj- 

 experiments run to two things ^strong 

 colonies, and tight hives to retain the bee 

 heat; then with the honey-flow the chance 

 for honey is good. 



I believe in the Danz. hive; and after 

 handling goods from four factories. Root's 

 goods are good goods, and well fitted — cut 

 out with sharp tools, and of good material. 

 This covers a great deal, and I expect for 

 myself to use their goods. 



Woodmere, Mich. 



[We had thought at one time of making 

 the bottom-bar the same as the top-bar, 

 and we can do it ^-et if the users of Dan- 

 zenbaker hives call for it. As the frame is 

 now, one can have narrow top-bars bj' sim- 

 ply reversing the frames, if he so desires. 

 But the narrow thin bottom-bar gives one 

 distinct advantage, in that it permits one 

 to get a fair idea of the brood-nest by look- 

 ing up under the frames, and at the same 

 time not touch one. A wide bottom-bar 

 shuts off the view to a great extent. — Ed.] 



