62 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



cloudy. Here in the lake region, the latter 

 condition is the rule, yet we iind the heavy 

 sawdust packing preferable. 



I suppose I was the first person who placed 

 the rim of a box over a hive, letting the 

 packing rest upon the ground, as you men- 

 tion in your leader. At least I was the first 

 to publish this plan. This was some fifteen 

 or sixteen years ago, but I do not practice 

 this method now. I use and prefer bottoms 

 iu my boxes. 



You say a queen excluder must be used if 

 the surplus cases are put right on at the time 

 of hiving, when starters only are used in the 

 brood frames. I don't find it so here. Be- 

 fore I ever had a queen-excluding board, or 

 used foundation, I had practiced this method 

 with large swarms, and do not remember 

 a single instance where the result was brood 

 in the sections. I think the reason why the 

 queen does not go into the sections is liecause 

 of their smaller capacity. She knows they 

 are not fit for a brood nest. She knows the 

 lower brood case is fit. If she doesn't, the 

 bees do. Whatever controls her action, 

 teaches her to make a brood nest in a larger 

 comb than can be built in a pound section. 



In regard to the kind of bees to keep, you 

 may keep me on record as advocating judi- 

 cious crosses between the best strains of 

 Italians and Germans. A few days ago I 

 received a letter from one of America's 

 bright bee-keepers, asking if I did not think 

 that, had I started twelve years ago with the 

 pure, brown, German bees, and kept them 

 pure instead of crossing them with the best 

 of Italians, that, aft§r all these years of 

 careful breeding, I would not have had a 

 better strain of bees than I now have after 

 mixing the Italian blood with 'them ? No, I 

 think not. The Italians possess some valu- 

 able traits peculiar to themselves, and I 

 have succeeded so well in retaining said 

 traits, while disposing of the undesirable 

 ones in both races, that I am glad I took the 

 two races as a foundation for my work of 

 systematic breeding. 



As regards sections, I use only the white 

 poplar, four-piece. The dovetailing at the 

 corners, when the workmanship is such as I 

 get, is an ornament to the package. Such 

 sections are stronger, safer and, in fact, bet- 

 ter in every way. I would not use a one- 

 piece section as a gift. I cannot sell them 

 at all to my customers who have used the 

 four-piece. 



Where separators are used, I prefer, for a 

 cheap case, the T super with wood- separa- 

 tors ; and the wide frames with tin separa- 

 tors where the cost can be afforded. They 

 are certainly the best but the cost is consid- 

 erable. Where no separators are used, my 

 old case is superior to any other. It is more 

 solid and duralile than the T super : holds 

 the sections firmer and in better shape ; 

 and there is no difference between it and 

 the T super as regards the safety or time in 

 removing the sections. 



As your readers well know, my preference 

 in hives is radically for my new hive ; some 

 of the advantageous points of which you 

 have mentioned in your leader ; but, as it is 

 patented, and I am still owner of a large 

 part of the territory, I will leave to other 



writers the mention of its special merits. 

 I suppose, before long, you will be asking 

 us to a " quilting " of "The Production of 

 Extracted Honey," when, if you do not an- 

 ticipate me iu your introduction, I will try 

 and point out not only the tact but the rea- 

 sons why my new hive has fully as many 

 points of superiority in the i:)roduction of 

 extracted as of comb honey. I think I 

 know that you know that no mercenary mo- 

 tive will cause me to write one word differ- 

 ent from what my experience has taught me 

 is true in regard to hives, or, in fact, any 

 other implement or method connected witti 

 apiculture. 

 DowAGiAc, Mich., April, K, 1890. 



Modern Improvements — Close Watching — 

 Chaff Hives — Uniting Swarms- 

 Weak Colonies. 



E. A. MANUM. 



[jRIEND Hutchinson, as you are pre- 

 paring another " soup " with which to 

 feed ttie many readers of the Kevievv, 

 I will comply with your request to 

 furnish a poitiou of its compounds. Inas- 

 much, however, as you have furnished the 

 main ingivdients. I can be expected to fur- 

 nish only a small portion of its component 

 parts. I hope that some of your many 

 si)icij writers will furnish the seasoning 

 with which to flavor said soup. 



The production of coml) honey is a brancli 

 of apiculture requiring much experience and 

 skill. The apiarist should be capable of 

 successfully managing affairs even though 

 conditions change on sliort notice. He must 

 be ever on the alert, continually watcliing, 

 in order that he may grasp every opportuni- 

 ty, for assisting the bees, arising from 

 clianges in the weather or the flow of honey. 

 There was a time when, owing to the high 

 price of honey, bee-keeping was very profit- 

 able even with crude methods ; but the time 

 has now come when, to succeed, the apiarist 

 must have the best modern improvemenis 

 and conveniences. 



If the much-talked-of Carniolans will give 

 large yields of "gilt edge" honey wit ii nut 

 little attention, and few modern improve- 

 ments, they are the bees for me. But, even 

 then, how long would it be before the price 

 of honey would be so low that it would not 

 be worth the transpoitation to u^arketV But, 

 my bees being all Italians, 1 will give you 

 my method of securing comb liouey with 

 them. 



As you well know, I use a chaff hive, the 

 sfde packing remaining in place the year 

 round. I believe this to be a great help by 

 preventing any sudden changes from affect- 

 ing the bees injuriously. As my clamps sit 

 inside the outer case of the liive, they are 

 protected from the extremes of heat or cold. 

 The packing becomes warm during the day 

 from the heat of the sun. This heat, which 

 is largely retained through the night, aided 

 by that generated by the l)ees, keeps up so 

 even and high a temperature all night in the 

 hive that comb building is not retarded even 

 on cold nights. 



