22 



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QmmES f Reflies, 



THE ENTRABICES TO HIYES, 

 AND VENTIEATION. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 503 — 1. What kind of hire en- 

 trance do you prefer— the dimensions, how con- 

 tracted, etc. ? 2. Does this entrance furnish all 

 the ventilation necessary ?— Goshen, N. Y. 



1. I use an entrance |xl4 inches, 

 contracted by entrance-blocks. 2. Yes. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



1. The full wdth of the hive and f 

 of an inch dee}). 2. Yes. — C. H. Dib- 



BEKN. 



1. The one usuall}' made in the 

 Langstroth hive — i inch deep and the 

 whole width of the hive, contracted by 

 two 3-coruered entrance-blocks. 2. Yes, 

 usually. — Eugene Secor. 



1. Eight inches long, and J inch 

 high. Contract by the use of blocks 

 similar to the entrance-blocks of the 

 Langstroth hive. Contracting the en- 

 trance is seldom necessary. I leave 

 them wide open in winter. 2. Yes. — 

 M. Mahin. 



1. The full width of the front end 

 of the hive, and f of an inch high ; 

 contract it with entrance-blocks. 2. 

 Usually it does, but not always. — ^A. B. 

 Mason. 



1. On the whole, I prefer it J-inch 

 by 8 or 10 inches, and contract the size 

 by the Langstroth triangular blocks. — 

 A. J. Cook. 



' l~One-half inch high and the full 

 width of the hive, to be contracted as 

 needed by a block or stick. 2. Yes. — 

 C. C. Miller. 



The full width of the hive and | of 

 an inch wide. Contract it with right- 

 angled blocks in the earlj' spring. In 

 the summer and winter have the full 

 entrance open, and furnish necessary 

 ventilation. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



One-half inch wide and the whole 

 width of the front of the hive ; con- 

 tractions to be made with the Lang- 

 stroth entrance-blocks. Such an en- 

 trance furnishes as much ventilation as 

 is needed, so far as I know. — W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



Ten inches wide and 5-16 of an inch 

 deep. Besides in the summer we raise 

 the hive from the bottom and give as 

 much as 2 inches room in depth, in 

 front. We leave the back closed. — 

 Dadant & Son. 



1. I prefer the entrance 10 or 12 

 inches long, J-inch wide, which I con- 

 tract as occasion requires, either by 

 slides or by triangular blocks. 2. It 

 will, if the hive is properly shaded. — 

 J. P. H. Brown. 



1. I prefer an entrance i-inch hj 11 

 inches, and to have it come beneath 

 rather than at the ends of ithe brood- 

 frames, as usually provided.' 'This kind 

 of an entrance is quite effectual against 

 robber bees, and with full colonies it 

 needs no contraction at any time of 

 the year. 2. On vei-y hot days I give 

 further ventilation at the top of the 

 hive. — G. L. Tinker. 



1. I use the Langstroth hive 14} 

 inches wide, and give an entrance the 

 whole width of same. 2. Yes, ordi- 

 narily, if shade of some kind is used to 

 guard against the sun. — J. E. Pond. 



The whole width of the hive, and f 

 of an inch deep, contracted by the en- 

 trance-blocks. 2. It will until it gets 

 very warm, then I raise the hive up on 

 little blocks J inch by 1 inch, placed 

 under each corner. That will raise 

 the hive J-inch from the bottom-board 

 all around, except in front, which will 

 be I of an inch. — H. D. Cutting. 



1. I use and prefer the entrance to 

 the hive to be on a level with the bot^ 

 tom-board of the liive. I prefer this 

 style of entrance for too many reasons 

 to be mentioned here. A slight pitch 

 to the front will drain the bottom- 

 board of all moisture. I make the en- 

 trance f of an inch high, and full 

 width of the hive. I contract it by 

 means of two blocks that can be moved 

 at will. I have had no trouble with 

 this arrangement in any way. 2. The 

 ventilation is ample except in exces- 

 sively hot weather, at which time the 

 hive-covers can be raised slightly, to 

 the comfort of the bees. — G. W. Dem- 



AREE. 



I use, and prefer, an opening of 

 from i to I of an inch, and clear across 

 the end of my hive, which is Hi 

 inches. I prefer the triangular Lang- 

 stroth blocks to the many devices that 

 I have tested, and all I have ever 

 heard of. These entrances, with the 

 aid of the bees, furnish all the venti- 

 lation needed ; all upward ventilation 

 in summer has proven worse than 

 useless with me. — James Heddon. 



I prefer an entrance made by cut- 

 ting a piece f of an inch deep out of 

 the front end of the bottom-board, ex- 

 tending clear across the front end, and 

 running to a point something like a V 

 about 4 inches from the front end. 

 Give a full entrance by pushing the 

 hive even with the front end, which 

 gives all necessary ventilation. The 

 entrance is reduced by sliding the hive 

 back. — R. L. Taylor. 



1. The entrance should be the full 

 width of the hive, and about f of an 

 inch deep. The triangular blocks of 

 the Langstroth hive are about as good 

 as we could wish. 2. The ventilation 

 secured at the entrance of the hive is 

 usually sufficient. — The Editor. 



EMPTY COMBS, OR WIRED 

 FRAMES OF FOUNDATION ? 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 504.— If bees are all ready to be- 

 gin worli in the supers, which would be preferable, 

 empty combs at $12 per 100, or wired frames of 

 foundation costing about 19 per 100 7— Sturgis, 

 Mich. 



Empty combs, every time, if you are 

 prodvicing extracted honey.— James 

 Heddon. 



Give me the wired frames at the 

 figures named, every time. — C. H. 

 Dibbern. 



I think that I should prefer the 

 wii-ed frames. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



If to be used for obtaining extracted 

 honey, I think that the combs, if good 

 ones, are preferable. — R. L. Taylor. 



The wired frames of foundation, if 

 you wish to get the surplus in the 

 supers. — A. B. Mason. 



At a rough guess I should not have 

 much choice. — C. C. Miller. 



I would prefer the empty combs, if 

 in good condition. — H. D. Cutting. 



If the combs are new, perfectly 

 clean and straight, take them ; but if 

 they are old and dirty looking, take the 

 foundation in preference. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



If the honey is to come in "show- 

 ers," the combs would be preferable ; 

 if otherwise, the foundation. — W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



I should prefer the empty combs, if 

 they are clean and bright, and not 

 filled with pollen. — J. E. Pond. 



I do not quite understand the ques- 

 tion. If the combs and frames men- 

 tioned are for the brood-nest, I would 

 take the empty combs. — M. Mahin. 



The empty combs, provided they ap3 

 worker combs. We suppose you speak 

 of producing extracted honey. — Chas. 

 Dadant & Son. 



At the present prices of extracted 

 honey, and given a prospective heavy 

 flow from basswood, I should take the 

 empty combs. — G. L. Tinker. 



If by "super" you mean upper 

 story for extracting, I would prefer 

 the empty combs. If working for 

 comb honey in sections, the foundation 

 would be worth the most below. I 

 fear that I do not fully understand the 

 intent of the query. — Eugene Secor. 



I should prefer the empty combs, if 

 I understand the question rightly ; but 

 I would prefer to have the bees build 

 them at times when it could be done at 

 a less expense. — G. M. Doolittle. 



The question is not clear. If they 

 are " all ready," they must have a set 



