American bee journal. 



141 



if other bee-keepers would only take 

 hold and help by reporting the condition 

 of the growing plant, it would hasten 

 the time. If I am reasonably sure of a 

 crop, I can go ahead and feed every 

 year, take more pains, and work with a 

 great deal more energy than if there is 

 an uncertainty in it. 



All the honey-dew must be gotten out 

 of the hives, to insure safe wintering, 

 and moving to the Spanish -needles is 

 almost a necessity this year, in order to 

 secure safe Winter stores. 



1 can go at it with all the energy there 

 is in me,for I am sure of a Spanish-needle 

 crop this Fall, and almost equally sure 

 of a clover crop next Spring. 



If I had reasons to be doubtful in 

 regard to a good flow, I could only work 

 in a half-hearted way, but being sure of 

 a crop, I can work with a vim, and get 

 things in shape, so that when it comes 

 I can get out all there is in it. This is 

 one of the good things to be derived 

 from being able to tell what the crop 

 will be in advance. 



Upper Alton, Ills., July 18, 1891. 



Qneen-EiclBlers, Hiyes, Hoiiey-Boards. 



DR. G. L. TINKER. 



Bee-keepers know that Father Lang- 

 stroth invented the only honey-board, 

 that has been invented. He also in- 

 vented the bee-space, as well as the 

 partitioned honey-board, the latter being 

 illustrated in Quinby's book. 



After Father Langstroth patented the 

 bee-space and commended it to bee- 

 keepers in the strongest possible terms, 

 we do not consider the making of his 

 bee-space in a honey-board an act of 

 invention. The merest tyro in mechanics 

 would know enough to do that, if he 

 wanted to storif y the parts of his hive. 



Mr. Heddon "invented" the Moore 

 crate. That is, he widened the parti- 

 tions, and thereafter called it the 

 "Heddon case." It was the same with 

 Mr. Howe's reversible frame. Mr. 

 Heddon made a slight change, and 

 claimed it all, without credit. The same 

 easy style of inventing gave us the 

 " new Heddon hive." But in the latter 

 instance Mr. A. I. Root compelled him 

 to admit in Qleanings that his patented 

 hive was only a new combination of old 

 ideas ! It was, after all, nothing but the 

 old sectional hive fitted up with movable 

 frames. 



When Mr. Doolittle gave us his ideas 

 on contracting brood-chambers, he un- 



consciously laid the foundation for the 

 resurrection of the old sectional hive. 

 The invention of the queen-excluder 

 quickly followed, and I had myself 

 determined, by many experiments, the 

 proper size of the contracted brood-nest 

 in working for comb-honey before Mr. 

 HeUdon's hive came out, and have used 

 that size of brood-chamber ever since. 



My hive and system are radically 

 different from Mr. Heddon's, and it is 

 quite too late to lay claim to it. 



1 have no desire to take just credit or 

 just reward from any one, and have 

 never denied to Mr. Heddon his right to 

 the break-joint feature o^ his honey- 

 board, though I consider it of no value 

 in a queen-excluder as I use it. 



Originally, the partitions in the 

 Langstroth honey-board were made of 

 various widths, according to fancy. Mr. 

 Alley, as I understand it, made them 

 narrow, and to run the same way as the 

 brood-frames more than 20 years ago. 

 Some ten years later, Mr. Heddq^i made 

 them narrow and "break-joint." He did 

 this to prevent burr-combs from being 

 attached to the sections in the Moore 

 crate, and has had due credit for it, yet 

 he complains because, to avoid verbiage, 

 I have called my invention a "queen- 

 excluder." 



I have so termed it because it sub- 

 serves no other use in my hive, and if I 

 could control the queen without it, I 

 would discard it entirely. Mr. Heddon 

 cannot give one sensible reason why I 

 should call this invention the "Heddon 

 honey-board." 



As to hives, I may have written to 

 some one that I desired to test Mr. 

 Heddon's new combination of old ideas 

 now styled Mr. Heddon's " new princi- 

 ples." I did so, having confidence in 

 Mr. Heddon's word as to his experience ! 

 For, forsooth, had he not tested the 

 new hive for three years ? (See page 96 

 of his book.) Had he not kept the thing 

 a precious secret, and watched in vain 

 all the bee-periodicals for some account 

 of a similar invention all this time ? 



Yes, sir; he had three whole years' 

 secret experience in the use of "the 

 greatest hive on earth." We were 

 charmed, we were captivated ; of course, 

 we must try it, and, with many others, 

 did so to our sorrow. 



His attempt at combining old ideas 

 into "new principles" began in April, 

 1884. (See Gleanings for that year, 

 page 336, where he tells us all about it, 

 how he had " slept and drempt, and laid 

 awake," inventing a reversible hive.) In 

 March, 1885, he had perfected his 

 invention, and applied for a patent. In 



