246 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



a nice colony, if cold, rongh weather sets 

 in. Bees then concentrate, in order to 

 keep up the necessary animal heat, and 

 consequently the most outside brood will 

 chill. Feeding them, although they have 

 plenty of honey in the hive, will stimu- 

 late them much, so that they can stand 

 the cold snaps better, which we often 

 have in this climate duting the fore 

 part of the season. 



The best time to increase bees is 

 when there is an abundant supply of 

 natural forage, and colonies are very 

 strong. Under any other circumstances 

 it is dangerous. Sometimes it will work 

 to take a comb of bees and brood from a 

 hive about the first of June and let them 

 work up to a colony by winter; but it is 

 unsafe. Again, it will sometimes work 

 very well to divide after the main honey 

 crop is over, if they have honey enough 

 for both colonies. However, June is the 

 best time for increase, and by making 

 each part strong, we run no risk of failure. 

 — G. M. DooLiTTi-E, in Rural Home. 



Bee-Hives — Historic. 



The Langstroth hive was invented in 

 1861 by America's great bee-keeper, a 

 graduate of Yale and a very eloquent 

 and learned divine — the Rev. L. L. 

 Langstroth, now of Dayton, Ohio. 



Nearly all American bee-keepers use 

 this hive. In it frames, containing the 

 honey comb and honey, hang on rabbets at 

 the top of the end-board, so that, if ac- 

 curately built, the combs may be easily 

 and quickly lifted from the hive. 



All hives with these hanging frames, 

 no matter what the size and form of the 

 frames, are Langstroth hives. Such 

 hives are non-patentable, so the hives 

 used by the most and best bee-keepers of 

 America are free to all. 



The Golden bee-hive, sold now in the 

 South, is really a Langstroth. To sell 

 "rights," as some men are doing, is 

 rank imposture, and should be denounced. 



The Dzierzon hive, invented by a very 

 able bee-keeper of Germany, a Catholic 

 priest, simply has bars at the top. This 

 is a bar hive, and not a movable frame 

 hive. Here the combs are fastened to 

 the side of the hive and must be cut 

 loose to be removed. 1 can hardly see 

 how one who had ever seen a movable 

 frame hive could possibly think for a 

 moment of using a bar hive. Yet 

 Dzierzon always clung to this hive. 



The Huber hive consisted of frames of 

 comb, the ends of which formed two 

 sides of the hive. These opened like the 

 leaves or covers of a book, and so per- 



mitted the great Huber to make his 

 renowned and immortal discoveries. 



The Quinby hive, now used by the 

 Hetherington Bros., with their thousands 

 of colonies, by Mr. Elwood and others, 

 is a modified Huber hive. So is the 

 shallow Bingham hive, which Mr. Bing- 

 ham, one of our best bee-keepers, thinks 

 the best in existence. 



The new Heddon hive, perhaps the 

 best for the expert bee-keeper, is also a 

 modified Huber. Here the frames hold- 

 ing the comb are set in a close case and 

 firmly held by thumbscrews. 



To those who contemplate beginning 

 bee-keeping I unhesitatingly recommend 

 the Langstroth hive. If not the best, it 

 is very excellent and has stood the test 

 of long years of experience. — Prof. A. J. 

 Cook, in the New York Tribune. 



Bees Working on Red Clover. 



We have noticed bees working on red 

 clover this season more than usual, pos- 

 sibly because there is so mucli nectar in 

 it as to be easily reached by the bees, 

 for the heads are large and rank. Here- 

 tofore we have noticed them working on 

 it most when dwarfed by dry weather.-^ 

 Western Bee-Keeper. 



Daily Average of Honey Gathered. 



George W. Swink, a gentleman from 

 the East, has located near Rocky Ford, 

 Colo., and established an apiary, which 

 he is running on business principles. He 

 takes the weight of each hive at the 

 beginning of the season, and keeps a 

 record of the work done by each colony. 

 The record of one colony from June 23 to 

 July 6, this season, is interesting. The 

 weight of the hive on the first-named 

 date was 593^ pounds, including the 

 honey in it. The daily yield of honey 

 covering the period mentioned is given 

 in the table below : 



DATE. HIVE WEIGHT. 



June 24 68 .. 



26. 



HONEY. 



.... 8% 



.... 814 

 . .. 514 

 .... 7M 



July 



.... 8I1/2 



27 8914 



28 9614 



29 102M 1014 



30 113 61/2 



1 119 6 



2 I2614 714 



3 132 5% 



4 13794 5% 



5 1431/2 5^ 



6 148»/2 5 



Thii'teen days, total honey stoi-ed, 89 



This is an average of 6.84 pounds of 

 honey a day, to the hive. On June 30 

 the bees gathered 103^ pounds of nectar. 



