1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



491 



much good, as it is very easy for the bees to 

 cut these combs down. If this thick-comb 

 idea would work, and keep our upper stories 

 free from brood, we could hardly afford to 

 adopt this system. One reason would be, 

 and a very good one too, is that honey stored 

 in these great thick combs would hardly be 

 equal, as to quality, to that stored in natural- 

 thickness combs. When I say "natural- 

 thickness combs " I mean those the thickness 

 of bi'ood-combs, or a little thicker, say H 

 inches, spacing from center to center. We 

 have an exhibition of honey, etc., at our 

 State convention each year, and we usually 

 have a little honey there to show. Now, to 

 pi'oduce this "show honey" we place full 

 sheets of foundation on some of our strong- 

 est colonies, and let them draw them out as 

 they fill them, then leave them on the hive 

 clear through the season, and as long after 

 as we dare to for fear of getting inferior hon- 

 ey mixed with it during our full How. Of 

 course, it has been capped over all this time, 

 but it is getting better all the time. 



I presume that, by this time, some one is 

 beginning to think that, as foundation for 

 our comb honey is always drawn out as fill- 

 ed — that comb honey ought to be much su- 

 perior to extracted. This is not so, as our 

 comb honey, to meet the demand, and bring 

 the top price, must be taken off the hive just 

 as soon as capped, or it will be travel-stain- 

 ed. This means a few cents per pound less 

 to the producer; while the extracted is left, 

 say a month longer, on the hive, it gets very 

 thick and delicious — much superior to comb. 



We use eight combs in our ten-frame up- 

 per stories to extract from, and we are mak- 

 ing all our frames i inch thick clear around, 

 otherwise the same as the L. brood-frame. 

 This is If inches, spacing from center to 

 center. When we uncap we use a long un- 

 capping-knife and cut deep clear down to the 

 l-thick frame. You see we have lots of ma- 

 terial to cut off — so much that there are hai'd- 

 ly ever any uneven combs but that are un- 

 capped the first time over; then we got lots 

 more wax; and then when we ai'e through 

 our combs are only an inch or so thick, which 

 thickness we much pi-efer to any thing 

 thicker. 



Dear Sir:—1 wish to bother you with another ques- 

 tion. That extracting-house pictured on page 1242— 

 please give me dimensions of, and some of the details 

 of building. Is that plank for outside wall tongued 

 and grooved, or plain plank? Is it planed, or rough as 

 first sawedv I see it says the building is not troubled 

 by mice. Does the tar paper prevent that by its odor, 

 or is the house made mouse-proof y Is there any ceil- 

 ing overhead, or is the roof made bee-tight and no 

 ceiling needed? Is It large enough to store all supers, 

 etc., during winter? W. M. Jane.s. 



Our 12X16 sectional honey-house is built 

 as follows: 



The foundation is in two sections, 8X12 

 feet, scant, in size, and is built of 2 X 6-inch 

 material, placed 16 inches apart, with a 2x6 

 spiked on the ends. The floor is of matched 

 material; the sides and the roof-boards are 

 planed on both sides. I suppose it could be 

 made of rough inch stuff, but it would not 

 work so well, neither would it be as light to 

 move as planed material. The sides and 



ends of the house are built separate, and are 

 held together at the corners by means of 

 bolts. The posts are 5 feet 10 inches. The 

 roof is one-third pitch. A part of our houses 

 are shingled, and part tarred roofing, and 

 each half of the roof is built separate. The 

 frame-work, except the foundation, is all of 

 2 X 4-inch material planed down to S^XH 

 inches, as this is heavy enough for this size 

 of building, and makes it lighter to handle. 

 The rafters are three feet apart. The frame 

 for the sides is three 16- ft. and two 5 ft. 10- 

 inch pieces of 2x4. When nailed up, the 

 three long 2x4's furnish a plate, a sill, and 

 a girth. Now, this girth is placed exactly 

 the right distance from the plate so that the 

 window will just tit in between, and slide, 

 on the shop-window plan. We used to buy 

 glass sash for these windows; but experience 

 teaches us that a board window is better to 

 move; and in the hot season, when the houses 

 are in use, we do not need them shut, only 

 night or rainy weather; so now we make 

 them without glass, and depend on opening 

 them for light, etc. Then the opening is 

 covered with wire cloth on the outside to 

 keep the bees from getting in. A window 

 of this description is built on each side, a lit- 

 tle in front of the center, which brings them 

 in the part of the building where most of the 

 work is done. This makes a light airy 

 room that is a pleasure to work in compared 

 to some of the small dark dungeons I have 

 seen some bee-keepers use. 



A 2 ft. 8 in. by 6 ft. 6 in. paneled door is 

 placed in the center of the front end. The 

 frames for the ends are built similar to the 

 ones for the sides, with the addition of a ga- 

 ble end built at one-third pitch. The end 

 rafters of the roof rest on the gable ends. 

 The siding is put on up and down, and pro- 

 jects down one inch below the sill, so that 

 the water will not crawl in under upon the 

 lloor. The siding on the gable end also pro- 

 jects up enough to cover the outside rafter, 

 so as to give a more finished appearance. 

 The corner posts are set in such a way that, 

 when the building is set up, the flat sides 

 come together. This makes it hold together 

 better. 



After the house is set up we paper the 

 sides, ends, and the roof between the rafters 

 with roofing-felt fastened on with lath, being 

 careful to cover all the cracks, etc., to exclude 

 bees. So far we have never seen a mouse or 

 ant in one of these tar-paper-lined houses. 

 This felt roofing is nothing more than a high 

 grade of tar-paper, and when flrst put on 

 has a sti'ong tar smell that disappears in 

 about 60 days. 



To Mr. Janes' last question, "Is it large 

 enough to store all supers, etc., during win- 

 ter?" I shall have to answer no if he means 

 a 200-colony yard. This size will do very 

 well for a 100-colony yard, and thei'e will be 

 room for every thing during winter, although 

 it's a little crowded when our upper stories 

 and every thing are in. We have one 200- 

 colony yai'd, and use two of these 12X16 

 houses at this yard, and get along all right. 



Remus, Mich. 



