1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



431 



must be stitched opposite the face and neck, withinside, leav- 

 ing two inches and a half free, opposite the eyes." What a 

 comfortable head-dress ! Tied with " a broad tape, ctosc 

 round the neck," what luxury it must be to wear it on a swel- 

 tering July day ! 



" Besides the hood, a thick pair of tanned-leather gloves 

 will be necessary, or other leather oiled only once, ; a portion 

 of old stockings to be sewed to the extremities, to draw tight 

 over the cuffs of the coat. The legs must be defended by a 

 thick pair of yarn stockings, drawn over those in common 

 wear. The greatest care should be used in putting on 

 the hood, that no hollows or chasms be left under the chin or 

 about the neck ; and for better security, it will be proper to 

 tie a handkerchief over the gathering round the neck beside 

 that of the tape. An apron before will be useful, to prevent 

 these prying insects from tickling the belly. Thus appareled, 

 defiance may be given to millions of bees or wasps, and all the 

 operations may be executed without dread or danger." 



I think I see Dr. Miller thus arrayed, clipping queens' 

 wings with a delicate pair of scissors ! 



One more extract: "Women should not meddle with 

 bees, without this bee-dress ; nor then, without the addition 

 of a man's coat, and, I had almost said, breeches also." 



/Kn)or)Q H)c Bee-Papers 



Gleaned by Dr. Miller, 



ADVANTAGES OF THE LONG HIVE. 



It is more shallow, hence less liable to blow over. It 

 takes narrower boards in construction, and consequently is 

 less apt to season-crack. Combs are less liable to break down 

 by high temperature. I have seen dozens of hives with Amer- 

 ican frames, where every comb in some cases would collapse 

 at a high temperature, but never one with shallow combs. 

 Combs being shallow, they are easier removed from the hive — 

 you don't need one side of the hive knocked out. Combs being 

 shallower than in square hives, the bees enter the supers more 

 readily. We all know that bees will work above quicker if a 

 one-tier super is used instead of a double-tier, and still a shal- 

 low hive with two tiers of sections is but very little taller than 

 friend Boardman's ; consequently it stands to reason that bet- 

 ter results may be expected from a long, shallow hive than a 

 square one which, in consequence, is taller. — J. R. Markley, 

 in Gleanings. 



THE ASPINWALL 8UPEB. 



It is thus described by P. L. Thompson, in Gleanings : 

 " Two sides, the rods connecting them, and the separators, 

 are all there is of the super. The separators are turned to a 

 right angle at the bottom, and have insets corresponding to 

 those in the sections. The distinctive feature, which makes 

 possible this simplicity, is the four round sticks which are 

 used when the super is being filled, and afterward withdrawn. 

 These pass through holes in the ends of the side-boards, and 

 keep the sections to their proper place lengthwise until 

 screwed up by the thumbscrews on the rods, while giving 

 ample play for inserting the fourth section in each row. When 

 the sections are all in, they can be temporarily wedged at the 

 ends with a strip of the proper thickness, to keep them square 

 until fastened. A flat board is then laid on top, to which a 

 little pressure is applied, and the thumbscrews are tightened. 

 On removing the board, sticks and wedge, the result is a homo- 

 geneous and smooth block of sections, which is conducive to 

 cleanliness, as I can testify from having used another super in 

 which the same result is achieved in a different manner." _ 



CZH^ C^ ^ TEN FRAMES VERSUS EIGHT FRAMES. " ] t j 



cr~- W. S. Hart says in Gleanings : " I mide a lot of S-frame 

 Langstroth hives, but found they did not give room enough 

 for brood-rearing in the spring, so I left the top sections (the 

 same size as the bottom sections, but supplied with but seven 

 frames) on the year round, and put on extra ones during the 

 honey-flow. This arrangement curtailed the swarming im- 

 pulse to some extent, but there was a good deal of unneces- 

 sary work to be done, and the second-story combs had about 

 as much brood and pollen in them as those of the body of the 

 hive. I would occasionally find brood in every frame, except 

 the outside ones, and, sometimes, some even in them in both 

 stories. This left me no clean, bright combs in the two-story 

 hive for surplus honey, and no room for storing without a 

 third story — a hand-to-mouth condition that I do not want in 

 my apiary at any time. I concluded that there was little 



danger of getting hives too large, so I made 10-frame hives 

 for the Langstroth frame, and with top sections on the year 

 round, and used them side by side with the 8-frame hives for 

 some years. Through what seemed to me indisputable proofs 

 of their superiority, I was led to increase the number of the 

 10-frame hives, while the 8-frame hives have gradually found 

 their way to the attic of my honey-house, where now all but 

 one are nicely tiered up awaiting a purchaser in some one who 

 prefers a small hive. 



"The reason I did not adopt a 12-frame hive is that they 

 are too heavy for one man to handle. When Mr. Olaf Olsen 

 came to this country he asked my opinion as to the best size of 

 hive, and I told him that, except for the awkwardness in 

 handling, I preferred the 12-frame. He made a few of that 

 size, to test my conclusions, and from them secured some as- 

 tonishing yields." 



WHICH WAY SHOULD HIVES FACE ? 



Question. — Should a hive face north or south? Would 

 east or west be preferable to either '? 



Answer. — Nearly all bee-keepers agree that a hive should 

 never face north of an east-and-west line, the majority favor- 

 ing a southerly direction. The reason given for this is, that 

 the morning sun entices the bees out to work earlier in the 

 day, while a northern exposure keeps them in later, and in 

 winter is almost sure to result in the loss of the colony in 

 northern latitudes, from our rigorous north winds blowing in 

 at the entrance, and the confinement of the bees, caused by 

 the entrance being in the shade on mild, sunshiny days, when 

 the bees in hives facing south fly freely. In southern latitudes 

 it might not make much difference which way hives face ; 

 still, I have the impression that even in Florida and Texas the 

 most of the hives are faced as a'bove. — Doolittle, in Gleanings. 



EARLY SWARMING AND SWARMING OUT. 



Editor Root describes a condition of things that I suspect is 

 not confined to Medina. At any rate, in this region bees seem 

 to make preparation for swarming without any reasonable 

 justification. He says : "Although there has been very little 

 honey coming in, our bees have swarmed earlier than usual. 

 They swarmed out, notwithstanding there is plenty of room 

 for the queens, and for the bees to store honey. The only 

 reason the apiarist and I can assign for this is the extremely 

 hot weather that made the bees think other quarters might be 

 more desirable." 



DO WE WANT THE APIS DORSATA ? 



In our previous issue appears a petition having in view 

 the importation of the Apis dorsata, from India. The editor 

 of the American Bee Journal does not seem to "tumble "to 

 the idea, believing that, if the government has any money to 

 expend in that way, it would be better if applied in developing 

 the known good races we have. Another writer thinks such 

 bees could not be domesticated in a cold climate, and that 

 they would not take kindly to hives, and they would not breed 

 with our common kinds. He fears, furthermore, that, even if 

 successfully introduced, they might increase so as to utterly 

 run out the smaller bees, just as the miserable English spar- 

 row has encroached so much on our useful birds — giving us in 

 his own person nothing pretty, good to eat, nor pleasant to 

 listen to. If my own enthusiasm for the Apis dorsata is not 

 up to the boiling-point it is because I do not think it would 

 pay for the trouble, even though they might not prove to be a 

 nuisance. — Gleanings. 



THE UNION OF THE BEE-KEEPERS' UNION AND THE NORTH 

 AMERICAN. 



The editor of Gleanings says : "I have long thought it 

 would be a good idea to merge the Union and the North Amer- 

 ican Into one society ; and I am glad that Brother Hutchinson 

 has set the ball a-rolling. Then the North American could 

 offer substantial advantages for becoming members of the 

 same. While it would have its annual meetings as before, the 

 fraternal handshakes, etc., the members would be entitled to 

 protection from unjust legislation, and perhaps from swindles 

 of all kinds. I do not know that I am prepared to say just 

 yet that such a merging of the two societies would be wise ; 

 but I think the matter should have the earnest and careful 

 consideration of bee-keepers. It is a good time now to discuss 

 it, preparatory to the meeting that is to be held in Toronto." 



Xhat !\ew Song— " Queenie Jeanette"— which is being 

 sung everywhere, we can send you for 40 cents, postpaid, or club 

 it with the American Bee Journal for one year— both for only 

 $1.10. Or, send us one new subscriber for a year (with *1.00), and 

 we will mail you a copy of the song free. 



