36 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1 



without legs is almost like flying without 

 wiugs. What couldn't ive do if we only tried"? 

 On page 22K of last year we gave a picture 

 of Mr. Stephen Hill, a'blind bee-keeper who, 

 not to be outdoue on account of entire 

 lack of sight, goes at the business and 

 makes a success of it. There are many par- 

 allels in history, but perhaps the most nota- 

 ble, in apiculture at least, was the blind Hu- 

 ber. Certainly the world is richer and wiser 

 for his work. No man with two eyes ever 

 gave to the world more facts about liee life 

 than Huber. All honor and praise to such 

 men. I feel like taking otT my hat to them; 

 and as I look at these pictures of Mr. Cock- 

 ram I wish I could shake his hand. — Ed.] 



TIERING UP COLONIES DURING A 

 POOR SEASON IN MICHIGAN. 



The A(lvanta£:e.s of a Shallow Brood-nest. 



BY T. F. BINGHAM. 



At the l)eginning of the apple l)loom I had 

 about 100 colonies. The spring was cold and 

 windy. I lost all the tree bloom, and we 

 came up to apple bloom with empty hives 

 and about one-third the brood and bees we 



It became evident that, for section honey, 

 there was little hope if, indeed, there was 

 hope in any course. I had an al)undance of 

 empty comljs, and they had to be saved at 

 all hazards, honey or no honey, bees or no bees. 



As soon as the honey came from clover 

 and raspberry the hives of empty combs were 

 put on as fast as they were needed. Some 

 colonies wanted few, some more, and, on the 

 whole, all said empty combs were filled with 

 honey. It was simply clover and raspberiy 

 — not a basswood blossom could be found. 

 The bees gathered honey al)out two weeks, 

 and sent off four prime swarms. There is 

 about twice as much honey in the apiary as 

 will be required to carry them through till 

 June 1, 19o7. At the time the photo was 

 taken, all the hives were full as shown — not 

 a set of frames to spare. I now have about 

 150 colonies to select 100 winter stocks from. 

 The season was the poorest I ever knew. 



Farwell, Mich. 



[Mr. Bingham, of smoker fame, uses the 

 shallowest brood-chamber of any bee-keeper 

 in the country, and he has been using them 

 for well-nigh forty years at least, with suc- 

 cess and satisfaction. This shallow hive en- 

 ables him to make a xqvj gntdual expansion 

 of the hive, just enough to keep up with the 



T. F. BINGHAM S AFIAHY, 



FARWELL, MICH., SHOWING THE VALUE 

 NESTS FOR TIERING UP. 



OF SHALLOW BHOOD- 



usuallyhave; and the cold frosty period dur- 

 ing the apple bloom destroyed that also. I 

 had no honey; not half the usual number of 

 bees in a colony, and they slowly increased, 

 or, perhaps, more accurately speaking, held 

 their own. We fed a few that were starving, 

 and doubled those not likely to weather the 

 doubtful period preceding the clover and 

 raspbeiTy bloom. 



increased demands of the colony. The illus- 

 tration shows how nicely this works out. 

 Just notice that some colonies retjuired only 

 two extra brood-sections while others towered 

 up to the height of their owner. There are 

 great possibilities in tiering up, nor is the 

 practice nece?sarily limited to shallow hives; 

 but such hives are better adapted for the 

 purpose. — Ed.] 



