AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



259 



tuted in its place. The frames stand in 

 the box, upon a strip of galvanized 

 sheet-iron ; and they are made flush with 

 the top of the bee-space, so as to form a 

 bee-space above and below for reversing, 

 and to keep the propolis off the hive box. 

 And it keeps the propolis off so well that 

 I find that I can easily start the frames 

 loose, in most cases, with my fingers. 



The hive box is nailed on one side, and 

 the ends are placed outside. The other 

 side is fastened in by means of common 

 round-head screws and washers. The 

 screws are set two in each corner, just 

 the same as the nails in the opposite 

 side; and they pass through a slot cut 

 into the end-piece, and draw down upon 

 it and a washer. This makes a firm, 

 strong joint, while it leaves the side- 

 board movable ; so that by loosening the 

 screws just a little, it can be taken right 

 away. 



Thus, on one side, I have nearly all 

 the practical advantages in manipula- 

 tion, which are obtained by the other 

 plan ; and escape a lot of loose traps to 

 handle whenever the hive is unkeyed. 

 The arrangement, on the whole, pleases 

 me much better, after a trial of three 

 seasons, than the other hive does. 



Now, as to the spacing : The narrow- 

 est spacing that will allow the bees to 

 extend the cells beyond the cocoons 

 enough to allow of the free use of the 

 uncapping knife, will give the best sat- 

 isfaction. From what I have observed, 

 I think that is as near 1% inches as you 

 can get at it. But that does not work in 

 a 12-inch hive (inside). It is, however, 

 just the thing for a 14:-inch hive, allow- 

 ing a cleat, or fillet, ^ inch thick, upon 

 each side of the hive, to preserve the 

 correct bee-space around the frame. 

 And, for those who wish to use a 14-incli 

 hive, I believe such an arrangement will 

 give as good, or better, satisfaction in 

 the end, than any other that I know of. 

 I will state, further, that this is some- 

 where about the twentieth form of hive 

 that I have tested within the last eight 

 years. 



Bonfield, Ills. 



AdTantages of Honey Statistics. 



GEO. H. KNICKERBOCKER. 



I suppose by honey statistics that your 

 Secretary had in mind a collection of 

 facts and figures embracing the increased 

 or diminished number of colonies going 

 into Winter quarters, loss in Winter and 

 Spring, conditioii of bees at the beginning 

 of the season, proportion of full crop of 



honey gathered — both white and dark, 

 comb and extracted ; the quantity of 

 honey remaining unsold in the different 

 markets, with price, etc., as all this in- 

 formation is essential in obtaining a 

 reliable and accurate report of the honey 

 crop. 



. Their advantages to the bee-keeper are 

 many and varied, and, besides the ad- 

 vantages, it is something of a satisfaction 

 to know, as soon as the crop is harvested, 

 about how much you will receive for it. 



The Northeastern Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation (now New York State) made the 

 first attempt to collect statistics of bees 

 and honey in 1873. But I believe that 

 the best and most practical plan yet de- 

 vised originated with the formation of 

 the United States Honey Producers' Ex- 

 change, Jan. 19, 1888. 



By having a good corps of reporters irt 

 each State, we are enabled to tell, almost 

 as soon as the crop is gathered, whether 

 it is a short or a heavy one ; and by com- 

 paring the reports of the present with 

 those of the past year, members can ob- 

 tain quite a clear idea of what the mar- 

 ket will be, and thereby sell their honey 

 intelligently, and if the crop is a short 

 one, at better prices than they otherwise 

 would have been able to obtain. 



It also posts the commission-houses 

 and buyers as to the extent of the honey 

 crop throughout the United States. 



One of the largest honey-producers in 

 America remarked, during the past sea- 

 son, that the Exchange was the best 

 thing that ever came from a convention 

 of bee-men. It has already saved many 

 a dollar for a large number, if not all, 

 of its members, and I believe that if the 

 work is properly carried out in the 

 future, it will do more to help the honey 

 market than anything yet devised. 



I am fully assured that, a year ago, 

 the New York and Boston markets 

 opened two cents per pound higher for 

 comb-honey than they would, had it not 

 been for the Exchange, and that price 

 would have been sustained had the 

 dealers in the different markets (es- 

 pecially those in the West, where there 

 was a good crop) had sufficient confi- 

 dence in its reports. 



It was not the intention of the origina- 

 tors of this plan of gathering informa- 

 tion to make a corner in the honey mar- 

 ket, or raise prices as high as they were 

 some years ago, but that we may obtain 

 better prices in years when there is a 

 scarcity. 



For instance, there was no honey car- 

 ried over from 1889, and, with a de- 

 cidedly short crop this year, the bulk of 

 choice white comb-honey, in x)<5und sec- 



