PUBUSHEO EVERY WEEK 



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AT $1.00 PER ANNUMi 



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35th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., AUG. 22, 1895. 



No. 34. 



Coj;)tributed /Vrticles> 



Oa Important AplarJaa Subjects. 



Best Capacity and Shape for Brood-Chaitibers, 

 and How Obtained. 



BY C. W. DAYTON. 



In 3 882, in my apiary in Iowa were 120 brood-chambers 

 3,466 cubic inches in capacity, and carrying 16 Gallup 

 frames 11 Kxl 1 Ji inches. The inside measure of this hive 

 was one foot in depth and width, and 24 inches in length. 

 It was designed to run the whole number of combs for brood- 

 rearing up to the opening of the honey harvest, when an upper 

 story was supposed to be necessary for the accommodation of 

 eitractlng-combs. Or, where the colony was operated for 

 comb honey, the least occupied combs were taken out and the 

 space in the ends of the hive filled with 2-pound sections. 

 Two-pound sections being six inches square, four of them ex- 

 actly Otted theend of the hive when set upon the bottom- 

 board. I have often wondered why the Gallup hive or frame 

 was devised. Because the hive could be constructed of 12- 

 inch lumber, or because the hive was the width and depth of 

 two 2-pouud sections, or what ? 



Well do I remember the failure of the queen to fill to my 

 satisfaction all the 16 frames. Then I thought the brood 

 needed spreading. Ths result of much spreading was brood 

 scattered and thinly disposed in many combs, so that much of 

 It chilled in the cold nights. After three years' use it was 

 found that not more than one-half of the colonies would be- 

 come populous enough to require an upper story, if the honey 

 was extracted and not allowed to accumulate in the lower 

 story. At this time the ends of the hives were sawed off to 

 reduce the number of combs to 12. After a couple of seasons' 

 use, the brood-chambers were decided to be still too large. 

 There continued to be from three to six combs of honey in- 

 stead of brood in the lower story. The honey was wanted in 

 the upper story. Again the hives were sawed off, reducing 

 the number of frames to nine. This brood-chamber contained 

 2,088 cubic inches. That sized brood-chamber was continued 

 for several seasons following, with perfect satisfaction, so far 

 as slie was concerned — the lower story contained the brood In 

 compact form, and the super story caught nearly all the honey 

 whenever the honey-fiow was of consequence. Yet attention 

 was required to provide sufficient winter stores. This was 

 done by the insertion of full cOmbs of honey reserved at ex- 

 tracting time. This procedure causes a little more labor at 

 thetinieof preparing the colonies for winter, but it is far 

 more than balanced by our being able to avoid unnecessary 

 combs of honey in the hives during the busy season. About 

 one queen in 40 appears to want two stories for brood, but I 



believe that such brood when compactly disposed can nearly 

 always be contained in the lower story. 



In 1889 I began to look favorably toward the production 

 of comb honey in 4}<x4^ sections, and the dimensions of the 

 Gallup hive was deemed exceedingly unfavored to the adapta- 

 tion of the standard one-pound section. I was compelled to 

 adopt the Langstroth measurements. For two seasons I 

 handled 40 colonies, followed by one season of 250 colonies, 

 on Langstroth frames in both 8 and 10 frame hives. Asa 

 10-frame colony is examined, it seemed as if the same amount 

 of brood could be reared in an Sframe hive ; yet when a col- • 

 ony has been brought up in an 8-frame it seems to possess less 



Mr. IV. A. Chrysler — See paye S36. 



available strength. The 8-frame colony does not enter the 

 super in greater force than does the 10. But when a 10- 

 frame colony is contracted down to 8 frames, there is a per- 

 ceptible increase of energy. I account for it in this wise: 

 There Is seldom any brood in the two outside combs. This 

 leaves 8 combs for brood in a 10-frame hive. Take away 

 one more comb for the pollen, and there remains 7 combs 

 with brood in. Apply the same conditions to the 8-frame 

 hive, and only 5 corabs remain for brood. Allowing IK 

 inches to the comb, the lateral diameter of the brood sphere 

 Is 7}4 inches, while if the whole length of the comb was to be 

 occupied, it would be 17 inches. The 10-frame hive exceeds 

 the 8-frame not by two segments at the sphere's edge, like 

 the slabs which are sawed from a log, but it corresponds to 

 two perfect and complete planks from the heart of the log. 

 This would enhance the strength of the colony one-half In- 

 stead of one-fourth, as may be supposed. 



