664 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 17, 



with more room would seom desirable. But then the G. A. R. 

 gets lower rates than any smaller affair, and the reduction of 

 rates extends over a larger scope of territory. If I remember 

 rightly, there was talk of having the Washington convention 

 at the same time the G. A. R. meeting, with astonishingly low 

 rates, but for some reason it was held at another date, and the 

 attendance was very small. On the whole, I'd like to see the 

 experiment tried of having the North American shadow the 

 G. A. R. 



Suggestion number two may be all right, and it may not. 

 I'll leave it for the present for some one else to discuss. I 

 thoroughly believe in the wisdom of talking these things all 

 over in advance. Brethren, take the floor and speak your 

 mind. 



Blind Foli.owino.— On page G30, G. M. Doolittle says: 

 " There is too much blind following of those who write for the 

 bee-papers, amongst the rank and tile of bee-keepers, without 

 trying to originate some thoughts and plans of their own." 

 Yes, that's true perhaps with regard to too great a number, 

 and yet I'm not sure but the opposite is true with a still larger 

 number. In many a case there would be better success and 

 less lamentation if there was a greater willingness to follow the 

 lead of others. Large as may be the number of those who are 

 willing to " go it blind " in the footsteps of others, the number 

 is perhaps greater of those who think they must strike out in 

 a path not previously trodden, and the untrodden path too 

 often brings them to grief. Witness the number of hives 

 invented by those who are merest novices in the business. 

 The beginner with two colonies and a year's experience, has 

 an irresistible impulse to invent some new thing or plan of his 

 own, that very likely has been invented and rejected by a 

 score of previous beginners just like himself. 



Perhaps it would be a good thing to shake up in a bag the 

 blind followers and the headlong inventors, and average them. 



The Size of Dadants.— On page 631, in a paragraph 

 concerning "Dadant's hives," the writer says, "In the dis- 

 cussion as to 8 and 10 frame hives, the Dadants have had 

 very little to say, for they are both too small." I don't think 

 either of the Dadants are remarkably small men, and I've 

 seen them both. Neither are they small in mental equipment 

 —there's nothing small about them in any way. The man 

 who wrote that sentence must be small himself. Or can it 

 mean that the 8 and 10 frame hives "are both too small" for 

 the Dadants ? 



Quality of Sugab.-- I'm glad to see C. Davenport on 

 page 532 stir up a little the matter of pure sugar. I'd like to 

 know whether all granulated sugar is pure, and if it is not I'd 

 like to have some means of distiuguishin? that which is pure. 

 I've seen a very distinct sediment of blue at the bottom of a 

 hundred pounds or so of syrup. And I'd like to know whether 

 beet sugar is, or is not, the same in its results as cane sugar. I 

 think I've seen the statement that chemical analysis showed 

 no difference. But sometimes things that are chemically the 

 same do not produce the same results. Perhaps our good 

 friend, Taylor, of the ExperiraentJStation, could help us out. 



Marengo, 111. 



A Talk OH Hive Bottom-Boards. 



BV T. I. DUGDALE. 



As the subject of hive-covers seems to have been pretty 

 thoroughly discussed in the various bee-papers, I now propose 

 to take the dilemma by the other horn, and give a short talk 

 on bottom-boards, believing that this subject is one well worth 

 our careful consideration, if wo wish to obtain the best results 

 with any hive, and especially so if we winter our bees out- 

 doors. 



In referring to page 522, it is clear to me that A. A. D. 

 and Dr. Miller do not understand the construction of the hive- 

 bottom I use, hence I will try to explain it more clearly, and 

 also answer the questions asked in regard to it. 



I have been using this form of hive-bottom during the last 

 five years under upwards of 100 colonies run for comb honey, 

 so I have had a fair chance to watch results under nearly all 

 circumstances that would be likely to present themselves. 



These bottoms which I am about to describe, have no 

 hummocks built on them, and, aside from travel-stain, etc., 

 are nearly as clean as when first put in use. As stated in a 

 former article, this bottom has a space under the entire lot of 

 frames, % of an inch deep at the rear end, and slants towards 

 the front end till the space is i;^ inches deep, leaving, in my 

 liive, an opening 1)^x12 inches. Into this opening is fitted a 



block of proper size to be easy of removal, and has the entrance 

 proper cut in its lower edge 5/16x8 inches in length. 



Now, instead of having a thick cleat at the rear end, and 

 a thin one in front, to form the slant to the bottom, it is done 

 by the cleat being nailed on each edge, and forms what might 

 be called a sill. They need to be about three inches wide 

 and are the same length as the outside dimension of the hive 

 used. Also, one is required for the rear end the same width 

 as the ones on the sides. It will be observed that these sills 

 stand edge-wise when the bottom is under the hive. 



The slanting board is cut enough shorter than the length 

 required, to admit of being cleated on the front end to keep it 

 from warping. I put on a cleat %xlJixl2 inches, as all my 

 hives are made of %-inch lumber. 



Now comes the secret of no hummocks on this bottom- 

 board, for we havn't completed it yet; but supposing the 

 frames in the hives to run from front to rear, we get out 

 enough strips from %-inch lumber to make an open grate or 

 slat bottom. These strips are J^x% inch, and long enough to 

 reach across the slanting bottom, and are alternating — that is, 

 a 3^-inch space between each, similar to what a wash-board 

 would be like if the space between the ridges was left open. 

 These spaces are where the bees come up through from the 

 entrance. Then on top of this false, or slat, bottom we have 

 the regular bee-space, which is considered best for the bottom 

 of the frames, viz.. %-mQ.\\. 



In making this bottom there are several ways to accom- 

 plish the same results, but if I wished to avoid having combs 

 and hummocks built in the open space, the slats across it on 

 the break-joint plan are a necessity to secure success. 



Hoping that this description will make it plain enough to 

 be readily understood, I will now give a few reasons why I 

 prefer it to the ordinary flat board. 



It puts the colony of bees in better condition for winter, 

 as all dead bees drop clear of the cluster into the open space 

 under the slat bottom, and the entrance never fills us. All 

 water runs outside, and air can have free circulation under all 

 the frames. Dead bees are easy of removal ; no cappings stay 

 under the hive to harbor moth-worms; it is handy to intro- 

 duce queens in candy cages, by simply removing the entrance- 

 block if the colony is strong and queenless, and shoving the 

 cage under, replacing block, and the thing is done. In very 

 warm weather taking out the entrance-block gives the colony 

 air and helps to prevent swarming. It is handy to have a big 

 entrance when hiving swarms. 



The above are a few of the most important uses of my 

 style of bottom-board, although there are many other things I 

 find it handy for. West Galway, N. Y. 



Apis Dorsata and Other Things. 



BY W. R. MOKEISON. 



Apis Dorsata has had a hard time of it lately, according 

 some authorities, but I take little stock in"sich." Prof. 

 Cheshire's arguments have chiefly been relied on to give sup- 

 port to specious pleas. Now nothing can be more fallacious 

 than Cheshire's reasoning on this subject. He must have hur- 

 ried himself when writing on the races, otherwise I can't see 

 how he came to write it. Here is the obnoxious paragraph : 



"Flowers and bees have been constantly interacting. 

 The build of every floret is adapted to its fertilizer, and, could 

 we suddenly increase the dimensions of our hive-bees we should 

 throw them out of harmony with the floral v/orld around them, 

 decrease their utility by reducing the number of plants they 

 could fertilize, and diminish equally their value as honey- 

 gatnerers. Mechanics, physiology, economics, and botany, 

 alike show any craving after mere size to be difficult to find an 

 excuse." 



As there are 212 species of bees inhabiting the British 

 Isles, the readers of the Bee Journal can form their own opin- 

 ion of how much violence the introduction of one new species 

 would do, and I shudder to think of the terrible havoc that oc- 

 curred in America when Anis Meilifica was set loose by fool- 

 ish settlers ! American historians have neglected this subject. 

 As to the matter of size, even the British fauna is enriched by 

 the presence of bees much larger ( Bombus ), and which aro 

 more industrious than our own little pet Apis. According to 

 Cheshire, the British farmerought to abandon his magnlBcent 

 Shire and Clydesdale horses, and adopt the little donkey or 

 Shetlant pony. The work of Bakewell andMcCombie is not so 

 easily overturned. 



" Bee-Master," too, has " put his foot in it," in making the 

 astounding assertion that the earth has been ransacked, from 

 polo to pole, in search of new bees. Will " Bee-Master " inform 

 an anxious reader who did all the ransacking? If it's so, I 



