1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



179 



hausen some two or three years ago, but he 

 had his doubts about the young queen invari- 

 ably killing the old one ijelow: but she does, 

 practically. I have had bvat two cases where 

 the old queen, still reigning supreme, killed 

 the young one. Otherwise I work just as 

 Mr. Chambers does, .only I shake enough 

 bees with the old queen to make them con- 

 tented, just as he works forcoml) honey; but 

 it works equally well for extracting. 

 Pomona, Cal. 



THE HIVE QUESTION. 



One Deep Body vs. Two or More Shallow 

 Sectional Bodies; Sectional Hives Right- 

 ly Managed, the Same as Deep Hives; 

 Mr. Dadant's Article Criticised. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



[The two articles here yiven on the same subject, 

 one by J. E. Hand, of Ohio, and the other by another 

 (J. E, Chambers. Texas), in widely separated locali- 

 ties, with very different climatic conditions, show a 

 remarkable asjreement all through. They will, there- 

 fore, be read by the advocates and opponents of the 

 system with more than ordinary interest. They form 

 about as strong a plea for the double-brood-chamber 

 hive as any thing we have yet read.— Ed. 1 



M7\ Editor: — In your footnotes at the close 

 of Mr. Dadant's article on sectional hives, p. 

 1115, you say, "We shall be glad to hear 

 from our sulascribers, particularly those who 

 use the split-up or double brood-chambers." 

 We don't understand your meaning of the 

 terms "split up." If you refer to those we 

 split up for kindling-wood we will say that 

 they were Jumbo hives and not sectional 

 hives. However, if you mean the sectional 

 hive we fail to see the appropriateness of the 

 expression. But as we are sul:)scribers, and 

 also users of the sectional hive, and as Mr. 

 Dadant's article is really a reply to a former 

 article of oui's, we will endeavor to meet 

 some of the arguments that he has advanced 

 in opposition t<j the sectional hive. 



In the tirst place, we do not wish it under- 

 stood that we are advocates of a shallow 

 frame, except as used in connection with the 

 sectional hive, which admits of manipulation 

 by hives instead of by frames. Mr. Dadant 

 has made the same mistake that every one 

 has, who has ever criticised the sectional 

 hive, in failing to separate these two systems. 

 The change from frame manipulation to hive 

 manipulation is as marked as was the change 

 from the box hive to the movable frame. 

 While we as American bee-keepers can just- 

 ly point with pride to the Langstroth inven- 

 tion, we should remember that many years 

 have intervened since that time, and much 

 progress has l)een made along other lines. 

 Are we as bee-keepers to be content to con- 

 tinue along in the same old ruts, or shall we 

 adopt those methods that will lessen our la- 

 bor, and, by so doing, reduce thei cost of 

 honey production? 



1 agree with Mr. Dadant, that time is mon- 

 ey, perhaps never more so than now, and, 

 therefore, labor cuts a greater ligure in the 

 cost of honey produt-tion than capital. There 

 are thousands of dollars' worth of time wast- 



ed every year in the useless handling of 

 frames. I say ?iseless, because it is useless to 

 handle frames singly, except in rare cases. 

 The system of manipulation by hives will 

 enable the apiarist to care for twice as many 

 colonies of bees with the same amount of la- 

 bor and time, thus doubling his income from 

 the bees. 



Mr. Dadant says, "1 can see no chance of 

 handling only hives when hunting for queens, 

 looking for queen cells, etc." Again, he 

 says, " With the sectional hive we have twice 

 or three times as many frames to handle, 

 proving conclusively by these statements that 

 he does not yet fully understand the work- 

 ings of this system. Not only do we tind 

 queens without removing frames, but all 

 queen-cells can quickly be found without 

 even removing the cover. 



This rapid manipulation by hives enables 

 the apiarist to work with his bees at a time 

 when it would be impossible to handle frames, 

 on account of x'obbers. Mr. Dadant esteems 

 it a great privilege to be permitted to build 

 up the brood-chamber by adding one frame 

 at a time, closing up each time with a dum- 

 my, and a little further on he says time is 

 mcmey to the honey-producer. It is hard to 

 reconcile these statements. 



It is claimed that the queen, in her rounds 

 of egg- laying, when coming to the top and 

 bottom of these shallow frames, will hesitate, 

 lose time, and lay less regularly. These are 

 only theories which fade into thin air in the 

 actual use of these hives. In no hive can be 

 found more perfect frames of solid brood 

 than in these very shallow frames. There 

 being no space at the ends of frames, the 

 queen will lay eggs clear out to the ends of 

 the combs. It is further claimed that, with 

 these hives, the brood-chamber is cut up into 

 small sections. While this is true to a cer 

 tain extent, it must be evident to the think- 

 ing apiarist that this space through the cen- 

 ter of the hive is a great advantage in many 

 ways, aside from hive manipulation. It per- 

 mits of the free passage of the queen to all 

 parts of the hive from the center of the hive 

 each and every way through the warmest 

 part of the hive, enabling her to build up her 

 colony during cold and unfavorable weather 

 in early spring. It allows the cluster to con- 

 tract through the center of the hive during a 

 cold snap, without the loss of bees which are 

 caught on the outside of deep frames, and 

 perish. It permits of the passage of the bees 

 through the center of the hive to reach stores 

 at the other side during extreme cold, when 

 it would be certain death to pass over deep 

 combs. I have had scores of colonies die of 

 starvation on deep combs, simply because 

 they could not move over those deep combs 

 to reach stores in zero weather. It causes 

 the queen of a small colony to establish her 

 brood-nest in the top section of the brood- 

 chamber close to the top of the hive where 

 the heat of the cluster is best conserved, while 

 the cluster in the center of deep ciombs is 

 further removed from the heat-center, and 

 can nut buikl up so fast in cold and unfavor- 

 able weather in early spring. 



