1034 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



(on top, at the edges^ to raise the hive from the bottom- 

 board, and just the plainest kind of plain joint at the 

 corners of the hive, just as a common box is nailed 

 together, is all right for the bod}- of the hive. A plain 

 rabbet for the frames to hang in is all right here. 

 Such a hive as that can be cut out at an\- planing-mill. 

 or may be cut out with a foot power saw, and the veri- 

 est t\ ro can nail it up and paint it. 



As for fiames I a.'-k for nothing better— in fact, pre- 

 fey simple all-wood frames, the stuff cut from the edge 

 of a Js board, the end-bars and boitombas being ?3 

 thick and th- lop-bar J4 inch thick, the piei es being 

 nailed together with the right size of cement-coated 

 nails Such frames all uaihed up ought not to cost 

 over 81. 0() a hundred. 



With the p'ices in view that bee-hives are likely to 

 reach, it will be well for bee-keepers to be rigging up 

 or buying a buzz .saw, building a horse power, putting 

 up a windmill, or buying a gasoline engine. Foot 

 power will answer if there are not loo many hives to 

 saw out. 



These appeared almost simultaneously, 

 and both are the free expressions of the ed- 

 itors themselves. There is no direct con- 

 flict of opinion, and yet in one way there is. 

 It would almost look as if Mr. York had 

 written this editorial from the standpoint 

 of the supply-manufacturer; but the fact 

 that he sold out his supply business because 

 there was no great mone}' in it, but an im- 

 mense amount of hard work and small 

 profits, puts him in a position to know what 

 he is talking about. 



As a suppU'-manufaclurer, and editor of 

 a bee paper, perhaps I should not say any 

 thing on this question, for I realize that 

 whatever I saj' is liable to be misconstrued 

 as an opinion based on the almightj* dollar; 

 but I will try to give the facts as I know 

 them from the standpoint of the manufac- 

 turer. 



Part of what Mr. Hutchinson says is 

 true. There are times and places where 

 some bee keepers can go to their nearest 

 planing-mills and get their hives made, and 

 perhaps save some money. This is conced- 

 ed ; but in the great majority of cases it 

 will be a money-losing venture, I think. 

 The large manufacturer of bee-hives can, 

 as a rule, supply hives ready to put togeth- 

 er in lots of 100 at a price equal, or nearly 

 so, to what the bee-keeper would have to 

 pay for the same grade of lumber at the 

 average planing-mill without any work put 

 on it. This seems like a broad statement, 

 but let us see how it works out in fact. 

 Good clear first-class lumber, such as the 

 manufacturers are now putting out in their 

 hives, with few or no knots in, will cost at 

 the planing-mill bet;veen S50 and ?60 per 

 1000 feet; but we will say it is 5 cents a 

 foot. A standard eight- frame Dovetailed 

 •hive has 20 feet of lumber in it. including 

 waste necessar3'. This makes the lumber 

 in that hive cost SI. 00. At h cents a foot it 

 will cost Si. 20. Let us now look at a 1904 

 catalog. We find that the price of an eight- 

 frame hive in lots of 100 is Si. 25 (for it would 

 be folly for any one to make less than a 

 hundred hives). If a bee keeper goes to a 

 planing-mill he will pa\-, then, almost as 

 much for his lumber, or perhaps just as 

 much, as the regular supply- manufacturer 

 would charge for the hive all cut ready to 

 put together without any waste. But labor 

 has advanced, and the mill-man will not 



charge less than 40 cents an hour, and pos- 

 sibly 60. He is not familiar with hive-mak- 

 ing. His saws are coarse toothed, and his 

 men do not realize the importance of extreme 

 accuracy fn hive-making. The hives at the 

 ends will not be lock-cornered, for the mill 

 has no machinery' for that purpose. The 

 boards when put together will have to de- 

 pend entirely on the nails for the strength 

 of the corner. 



Perhaps it might be said that the bee- 

 keeper will have to paj' freight on his facto- 

 rj' hives, but they will be accurately cut 

 and standard in every respect. I have seen 

 a lot of planing-mill hives, and heard some 

 of the bee keepers who had hives made in 

 that way tell their experiences. The stuff 

 was irregular, the frames would not alter- 

 nate, thej' were very rough, and the work 

 was altogether unsatisfactory. 



But perhaps some one does not see how a 

 manufacturer can furnish a bee keeper a 

 complete hive at the bare cost of the lumber 

 in the open market. The supply-manufac- 

 turer can buy by the cargo and a compar- 

 atively cheap grade of lumber, and cut 

 around the knots. Here is a board that is 

 12 or 16 feet long. We will say it has four 

 or five knots in it. Out of this board he 

 may be able to cut out of the clear stock 

 two or three ends or two or three sides. 

 There will be several boards that have 

 knots in them. The manuf.icturer, who is 

 in the business, can use these for a great 

 v^rietj' of purposes, and not lose money on 

 them. Some of them will go into the ends 

 of square (can) boxes; others will be used 

 for crating; some will be used for a great 

 variet\' of purposes too numerous to men- 

 tion. The bee-keeper who desires to have 

 his hives made in a small wa3' would have 

 to buy clear stock at a price of S50 or S60 

 per 1000, for the planin=j-mill could not af- 

 ford to throw awa^' short boards having 

 knots in them, for it would have no use for 

 short knotty boirds. Its business is mak- 

 ing sash, doors, blinds, door-cases, win- 

 dow-frames, etc., and it can use ow/y Ion 

 stuff. It will, therefore, be necessary for 

 the bee keeper to buj' clear stock, which is 

 expensive, as he can not afford to have 

 hives with loose knots in that are liable to 

 fall out. He maj* argue that he can use a 

 cheap grade of lumber; but experience with 

 thousands of customers shows that the av- 

 erage customer won't have such lumber in 

 hives at any price. 



It is true there has been a sharp advance 

 in prices on bee-supplies; but the marked 

 advance in lumber, in labor, and in all 

 common commcdities, has made this all 

 necessary. Prices on bee-goods have hard- 

 ly kept pace with other commodities. 



As to the Baptiit friend in the first quo- 

 tation, Mr. York might have added that 

 three of the large suppU'-manufacturers 

 have offered to sell out, as they could make 

 more money in seme other business. Bee- 

 hive making is no sitiecure for anybody*. 



Mr. Hutchinson suggests that, with the 

 prices in view that hives are apt to reach. 



