1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



375 



tainly it looks that they are the right thing for him. But 

 then some one will arise next and show that small hives are 

 away ahead. I very much doubt whether any amount of con- 

 troversy, possibly whether any amount of experimenting, will 

 ever deSnitely settle the question so that one can make the 

 broad statement that one or the other is best in all cases. But 

 much that has been useful has been brought out in the discus- 

 sion, and for one I should be sorry to see the discussion closed. 

 I think one thing is shown to be true, and that is that in many 

 cases more room has been needed than supposed. And it looks 

 also a little more than it did, that what is true in one case 

 may not be true in another. 



Doolittle's Old Man. — "I arise " to a point of order. I 

 move, that that man Bevins be put out. On page 344 he pre- 

 tends to commiserate Doolittle's old man, but after studying 

 the matter over, and taking a long look at the picture on 

 page 356, I cannot resist the impression that Mr. Bevins is 

 making fun of him. He says he is " handsome-visaged, well- 

 proportioned." I'll not deny the "handsome-visaged," but as 

 to the " proportioned," he's quite too short for his thickness, 

 or else too thick for his shortness. He says, too, that he has 

 " a persuasive, expectant look." " Persuasive " certainly, 

 very persuasive — his very hands are eloquent with persuasive- 

 ness, but the droop in his mouth shows that expectancy is 

 dying out, and despair setting in. 



Instruction for Beginners. — Beginners certainly cannot 

 complain that nothing in the American Bee Journal is in- 

 tended for them. If they did, the lack is now being supplied 

 by Dr. Brown in the "Southern Department;" and Northern 

 beginners will find what he says well suited to their needs, 

 and well said. 



Color of Bee-Keepers' Clothing. — That idea Dr. Brown 

 gives, that red is especially obnoxious to bees, is new to me. 

 I know that white is ever so much better than black for bee- 

 keepers' clothing, but I never had experience with colors. Red 

 takes black in a photograph, doesn't it? Has that anything 

 to do with the case? I suppose white is the best, and every- 

 thing wooly or hairy should be avoided. 



Giant Bee of India. — I wouldn't like to discourage any- 

 thing looking to improvement, but so long as all the testimony 

 regarding Api^ dorsata is of such a discouraging character, it 

 would be well to limit investigations to inquiries that would 

 cost very little. If Apis dorsata can bo domesticated at all, it 

 could be done more easily nearer its own home. If the gov- 

 ernment is willing to do anything for bee-keepers, let it be 

 something that is more sure to be of benefit, such as that sug- 

 gested by the editor on page 349. 



How to Tell Robbers. — It may be a little dangerous to 

 get in between Messrs. Abbott and Heddon, on page 350, but 

 a suggestion might do no harm. The beginner who cannot 

 tell a blue heron from a smoked herring might make a sure 

 thing of telling whether a bee brings honey out of a hive by 

 the simple process of catching the bee and tearing it apart. If 

 he is of a very humane turn he might catch it, squeeze gently 

 the abdomen to see whether honey will be ejected by the 

 mouth. I don't vouch for the last plan only by hearsay, for I 

 always kill the bee before examining. 



Marengo, 111. 



Spacing-Tacks on Frames — Other Things. 



J. M. MOORE. 



I notice on page 317 Gleaner's remarks on my former 

 communication concerning spacing-tacks, and also his request 

 for further explanation concerning the absence of burr and 

 brace combs in the hives in which I have used the above-men- 

 tioned device. As I had no motive in writing on this subject 

 other than to make known a simple device that had contrib- 

 uted to make the work among the bees more pleasant to me, 

 and if I judge by their actions, less obnoxious to the bees, I 

 cannot do better than to write a description of my hives and 

 my management of the same, and let some other contributors 

 with more experience, if they think it worth their while, tell 

 wherein lies the cause of burr and brace combs in the one 

 kind of hive, and their almost entire absence in the other. 



I had in operation in 1894 three dovetail hives, two of 

 which contained eight V-edge Hoffman frames, and the third 

 had 10 frames of the same make. I had a follower in each, 

 but they were not keyed up, as no key came with my hives, 

 and I had used them one year before I learned that keying 



the brood-nest was recommended. Those three hives were 

 full of brace-combs half way down the combs, and each had 

 more or less burr-combs — one was so bad I had to pry the sec- 

 tion-holders loose from the brood-frames when taking off the 

 surplus. 



I had five colonies in Iiives containing nine frames lOj^x- 

 13% inches, inside measure, with top-bar ^xfg inch thick, 

 end and bottom bars % wide, spaced Jg inch between top-bars, 

 with spacing-tacks mentioned on page 286. While there 

 were a few brace-combs between the top-bars there were none 

 lower down between the combs, and in most of the five hives 

 they are entirely absent ; but it is not in this alone that I 

 claim the greatest advantage for the spacing-tacks, but in the 

 rapidity with which I can handle those frames, and the quiet- 

 ness of the bees while doing so. Perhaps I have not acquired 

 the right knack of handling the Hoffman frames, but I am 

 unable, with the greatest care, to pry them apart without 

 some of them coming apart with a jerk, to be answered by 

 several bees flying viciously in my face and at my hands, and 

 frequently using their stings on the latter ; while I can take 

 hold of the frames spaced with tacks and lift them out so 

 quietly that the bees scarcely ever become excited. 



I note what Gleaner says about frames moving lengthwise 

 so the heads of the tacks would not touch exactly in the cen- 

 ter, thus making uneven spacing. Well, I have just made 

 careful measurements in my empty hives thus spaced, moving 

 the frames back and forth endwise as much as the hive would 

 permit, but could detect no variation in the spacing. 



I also note what he says about a nail being better than 

 the tacks. Well, some time after I visited Mr. Smith's apiary 

 I wrote him, to learn if I could procure the tacks of him, as I 

 could not find any in the stores with heads large enough to 

 give % spacing, and he answered that he was then using a 

 small wire-nail, owing to the difficulty of getting tacks of the 

 proper size, which he said answered as well as the tacks ; but 

 as I feared that the nail might get bent, or driven in too far, 

 I procured a hollow belt-punch, and cut a washer out of paste- 

 board to increase the size of the heads. 



I also note with pleasure what Gleaner says about '4 inch 

 being better between top-bars. As I intend to experiment in 

 that direction the coming season, would Gleaner kindly give 

 me his opinion as to the feasibility of Vi inch spaces between 

 my % inch width top-bars. The assurance from such an au- 

 thority, that it would work, at this season, would be worth 

 many times the price of the Bee Journal. 



This is my third season in bee-keeping. In the spring of 

 1894 I had two colonies, and lost one the previous winter. I 

 increased to eight, and took 80 pounds of comb honey. My 

 bees are stronger to-day than they were last year in the mid- 

 dle of June, all having come through the past severe winter, 

 but one colony was queenless, which I united with another 

 that had become somewhat weakened by dysentery. I winter 

 my bees on the summer stands, and can notice no difference 

 in the strength of the colonies on my deep or shallow frames. 

 The colonies in the single-walled dovetail hives, with winter 

 case were certainly drier than those on the deep frames in 

 hives with lower story packed in one inch of chaff, with single 

 bottom-board and single upper story, and 3-inch sawdust 

 cushion on top. The one-inch space between the dovetail 

 hive and winter case was packed with sawdust, and a two- 

 inch sawdust cushion on top. The thermometer ranged from 

 20° to 28° below zero for about three weeks. 



An Sable, Mich., May 20. 



Reasons for Preferring the S-Frame Hive. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



I prefer the 8-frame size of hive, but I am a specialist — 

 that is, I make a living (such as it is) by producing honey; 

 and from quite large and extensive experience I know I can 

 make more money with a large number of frames in 8-frame 

 hives than I can with the same number in 10 or 12 frame 

 hives. But in order to do so it is necessary to feed in some 

 seasons in order to keep brood-rearing up. I employ a man 

 for each yard the entire season. These are cheap men ; that 

 is, one of them who has been with me for a number of sea- 

 sons, is a man who has one wooden log ; another is a man who 

 is not able to do a hard day's work. But they can feed bees 

 all right. 



I believe the majority of bee-keepers, though, keep bees 

 as a side-issue only, and many of these do not wish, or have 

 not time, to do much feeding in the spring and early summer, 

 if necessary. For this class, as a general thing, I think the 

 10-frame hive the best ; for the honey those two extra combs 

 will contain, will, in a poor season, enable brood-rearing to be 



