1903 



GLEANIXGS IX BEE CULTURE. 



485 



The mere difiference in the depth of brood- 

 chamber (only 2 inches in this case) could 

 not account for the phenomena j-ou describe. 

 If you were to repeat the experiment it is 

 very likely 3'ou would get just the opposite 

 in results. — Ed.] 



THE HOFFMAN FRAME CONDEMNED FOR EX- 

 TRACTING. 



Too Much Trouble from the Ears or Projections 

 Breaking Off. 



COGGSHALL. 



After reading what Mr. Alpine McGregor 

 and Dr. C. C. Miller and the Editor saj' on 

 page 243, March 15th Gleanings, I was 

 prompted to say a word. 



The Hoffman frame has its advantages 

 in moving bees — thej' are alwaj'S fast, and 

 always fast when j-ou want them loose, and 

 they "are a weak frame for extracting. I 

 have one apiary with Hoffman frames; and 

 every time we empt}- the honey, 10 to 15 of 

 the top-bars are broken off; one end of the 

 top-bar is split three or four inches, and 

 the support is gone. You cut the ears off, 

 and that weakens the frame very much; 

 so thej- will soon give out. 



Dr. Miller saj-s he can handle spaced 

 frames faster than those that are not spaced, 

 and that for rapid work a spaced frame is bet- 

 ter. I beg to differ with the doctor. When 

 a man tries to loosen up a Hoffman frame 

 where the bees have been in two years, and 

 pry off the top-bar. which I have done re- 

 peatedh". and then not get out the frame — 

 well, I won't saj'. 



^ 



the Coggshall "rramc 







For the good of the order I will describe 

 the " Coggshall " frame — one that 5'ou can 

 drop 3 or 4 inches, full of honey, and the 

 top-bar will not break off. Top-bar is 1 in. 

 X.5s (li**X-'s is still better to prevent burr- 

 combs); end, JsX'2 inch; bottom, ^4 X '4 • 

 Rabbet the top-bar out as shown. Nail 

 with six-penny nails in the top-bar; three- 

 p. in the bottom-bar; put a wire staple in 

 each lower end, and let it stick out '4 inch. 

 You can shake bees without killing them. 

 It is not necessary' to have a 's-inch top- 

 bar. The width is what prevents burr- 

 combs in New York. 



WIRING FRAMES. 



Take a thin board three or four inches 

 longer than twice the length of the wire for 

 wiring the frame. Put a mitten or glove on 

 the right hand after fixing the spool of wire, 



so it will run off" the wire. Then wind on 

 the board 160 or more times around length- 

 wise. Tie with string or wire around the 

 shears or knife and cut the wires at one 

 end. Hang in a handy place, and pull one 

 wire out and put it in the frame. I put only 

 two strands across the frame, putting a 

 tack in the end-bar, and winding the wire 

 around, and driving down the tack, cutting 

 off the surplus wire, if anj'. 

 West Groton, N. Y. 



[As you are operating, friend Coggshall, 

 it is possible that the Hoffman frame is not 

 as well adapted to your needs as some oth- 

 er; but did I not see 3'Ou work on the 

 "lightning" order — that is, didn't I see 

 you kick the supers off the hives and rip 

 the frames out? Then you extract with the 

 frames just as the}' hang in the hive. In 

 j'our rapid wa}' of working, the frames are 

 picked up and often dropped into the 

 comb-pockets, with the result that the force 

 of the dropping comes on the ears of the 

 frames. I do not mean to saj' that j'Our 

 method is not the proper one; but I have 

 been in dozens of extracting-v'ards where 

 no trouble at all arose from the breaking cf 

 the projections or ears. Then the frames 

 should not be pried at the ears. Thej' are 

 strong enough for all ordinary support, but 

 of course they will not stand prying. In 

 the great majoritj- of localities I have been 

 in, there is no trouble in separating Hoff- 

 man frames. Hooper Bros, of Jamaica ex- 

 tract hundreds of thousands of pounds of 

 honey from Hoffman frames, and they will 

 have" no other. We have tried to introduce 

 the metal-spaced frames, but our customers 

 insist that thev want the Hoffman instead. 

 —Ed.] 



A PEEP INTO MY BEE-HOUSE. 



A Home-made Affair. 



BY SWARTHMORE. 



The building is about 5X8 feet, ground 

 floor, and ten feet to the tip of the roof. It 

 has a wide window at one end and a broad 

 door at the other. The door is provided 

 with glass but does not open, for of all the 

 nuisances about a bee-house an opening in 

 the door is the very worst imaginable to me. 

 Both windows are provided with balance- 

 shades, such as are used in my home. 

 These shades are green; and, when drawn, 

 the operating-room is as dark as a pocket. 

 I make a distinction between "honey- 

 house" and "operating-room." A honey- 

 house is totally unfit for an operating-room, 

 because of the everlasting lumber and clut- 

 ter, to say nothing about the sticky mess 

 from the extractor, combs about, and the 

 danger of admitting bothersome robbers on 

 all occasions. I want my operating-room 

 clean and clear, free of honey, combs, bees, 

 and mess. But I digress. In my window 

 is a tilting pane which can be quickly 

 thrown open to rid the house of bees after 



