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85 



PROTECTING HIVES FROM 

 HEAT, AXn COOL. NICiHTS. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 513.— Will an outer shell, or cap, to 

 protect the sectioa-case from the sua and 

 cool nights, pay for the extra expense and 

 labor, with a section-6ase made of ?8-lnch 

 lumber?— New York. 



Yes.^J. P. H. Shown. 



No. — A. B. Mason. 



Yes. — M. Mahin. 



No. — Eugene Secor. 



Yes. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



No. I have u.sed such thin cases, 

 and the bees worked well in them ; but 

 perhaps the nights here are not as cool 

 as in New York. — G. L. Tinker. 



I think not. I consider it a waste 

 of material to make them. — J. M. 

 Shuck. 



I have never been able to discover 

 any advantage in such a shell. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



No. A case made of |-iuch lumber, 

 and painted, is all that is necessary. 

 Use shade-boards in hot weather. — C. 



H. DiBBERN. 



For the purpose mentioned, no. 

 But you will need a cap before it is 

 desirable to put the case on, and fre- 

 quently after it is taken oft'. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



I think it might ; but I prefer a su- 

 per made of |-inch lumber. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



I think it will ; at least it pays me 

 in this locality to use an outer case to 

 protect the sections. — H. D. Cutting. 



Yes ; for you can use it for years, 

 and it will be of advantage when the 

 sections are taken away for feeding or 

 for packing absorbents. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



I think it will pay well. I should 

 prefer thicker lumber in the section- 

 cases, if no outer case was to be used. 

 —J. E. Pond. 



It might be an advantage in cool 

 nights, but it would be no protection 

 against the sua. — W. Z. Hutchinson. 



I decidedly think not Such ah ar- 

 rangement is in the way of a handy 

 tiering-up system, and really does no 

 good if it was free from other objec- 

 tions. — G. W. Demaree. 



I doubt if it is of any use at all. I 

 want no such cap. Just the section- 

 case covered with a plain board. — A. 

 J. Cook. 



I should say not. I do not know 

 just the climate of all parts of New 



York, Init in this locality, latitude 42° 

 (no mountains), we use and prefer 

 from i to I of an inch, and an outer 

 cap is a positive injury, as we know 

 from repeated ('x])eriments. A shade- 

 Ijoard is always worth ten times its 

 cost of construction and manipulation. 

 — James Heddon. 



I think so, but many do not seem to 

 think tliat waj'. As I use wide frames, 

 I consider a cap a necessity. — G. M. 

 Doolittle. 



A plain board for shade against the 

 rays of the sun would be preferable. 

 It is very doubtful if the " shell " would 

 pay for the cost. — The Editor. 



DIMEIVSIOIMS OF HIVE AND 

 NlJJflBER OF FRAMES. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 514.— 1. What number of square 

 inches of comb-surface should there be in a 

 hive ? 2. What distance should brood-frames 

 be from centre to centre, the end pieces being 

 li of an inch, and the top-bars 1 inch ? 3. 

 What are the inside dimensions of the frame 

 you use ? 4. What number of frames in each 

 hive do you use ?— Maryland. 



1. That depends upon many circum- 

 stances. 2. One and f inches. — W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. 



1. Not less than 2,500. 2. They will 

 work well if but 1] inches. 3. Eight 

 and J by 16|^ inches. 4. Eight, but 

 prefer ten. — A. B. Mason. 



2. One and J inches. 3. The stan- 

 dard Langstroth frame. 4. Eight for 

 comb honey. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



2. From 1| to l.\ from centre to cen- 

 tre. 3. Nine by 13J inches. 4. Nine 

 frames. — H. D. Cutting. 



1. From 1.500 to 1,800. 2. As near 

 1 7-lt) inches as you can get them. 3. 

 Inside, 16|x8f inches. 4. Eight to 12, 

 depending. — J. P. H. Brown. 



1. A hive too large one season may 

 be too small the next. 2. A little less 

 than IJ inches. 3. Nine and J by 11^ 

 inches. 4. Eleven usually ; but I have 

 hives as small as 7, and as large as 15. 

 — M. Mahin. 



1. That will depend much vipon the 

 construction of the hive, and the man- 

 ner in which it is to be used. 2. One 

 and s inches. 3. The brood-frame I 

 shall use hereafter has about the same 

 capacity as the Gallup frame, but it is 

 not so deep. 4. Eight frames. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



1. It depends upon circumstances, 

 and what you are working for. 2. One 

 and i inches, or slightly less. 3. I use 

 several sizes, but prefer the Langstroth 

 frame. 4. For comb honej' and cellar 

 wintering, I prefer 8 frames, and often 

 contract the latter to 6, when hiving 

 prime swarms. — Eugene Secor. 



1. From 2,880 to 3,000, if you meas- 

 ure both sides. We use still larger 

 hives, and prefer them. 2. We prefer 

 IJ inches. 3. Ten and ', by 18 inches, 

 old Qui n by style. 4. Nine frames and 

 two division-boards. — Dadant & Son. 



I use the 8-frame Langstroth, and 

 the 12-frame Gallup hives. The dis- 

 tance from the centre maj- vary a 

 little — about li inches. I use break- 

 joint honej-boards. I have a few of 

 the new Heddon hives. — A. J. Cook. 



I use mjself, and consider the ordi- 

 nary Langstroth hive 14] inches wide, 

 inside, and holding 10 frames evenly 

 spaced. The inside dimensions of my 

 frames are 8.}xl7, outside 17|x9J. The 

 top-bar is lOj inches long outside. — J. 

 E. Pond. 



1. A hive should be capable of hold- 

 ing from 8 to 10 square feet of comb. 



2. One and -;; inches, or a little less, 

 without reference to the size of the top- 

 bars and end pieces. 3. I use frames 

 17Jx4J inches, inside, and others 

 16jx8.i inside. 4. Sixteen of the former 

 and 8 of the latter. — R. L. Taylor. 



1. Perhaps from 10 to 16 square 

 feet, varying at difterent times of the 

 year. 2. One and } to If ; no matter 

 about the width of the top or end-bar. 



3. About 17Jx8g- inches, but I should 

 rather have the Standard Langstroth 

 hive. 4. From 4 to 8, according to 

 the time. — C. C. Miller. 



After long experience and many ex- 

 periments, I have adopted a hive con- 

 taining about 1,700 cubic inches, and 

 think that about right for producing 

 comb honey. 2. Frames should be If 

 inches apart from centre to centre. 3. 

 The inside, or comb measure of frames 

 in my new hive, is 6x20 inches, and I 

 use 10 frames to a hive. — C. H. Dib- 



BERN. 



1. I use a bi'ood-chamber containing 

 1,500 cubic inches, or near that. 2. I 

 use them 11 inches apart. 3. Ten and 

 J b}' 10:| inches square. 4. Nine, ex- 

 cept with new swarms ; with these I 

 use only from 5 to 6. — G.M.Doolittle. 



1. I use 10-fi'ame Simplicity hives at 

 my home apiary. Single body 2,600 

 cubic inches. In my apiary aljroad, I 

 use the 10-frame Quinby, a la Dadant, 

 hives. Single body 3,600 cubic inches. 

 2. Frames spaced l.V inches from cen- 

 tre to centre. Inside dimensions of 

 the Simplicity frame, 16^x8 inches. Of 

 the Quinby frame, 17J-xl0j inches. All 

 of my frames are cut ^ of an inch 

 thick. In the Quinby, the dimensions 

 are made for eleven frames, a division- 

 board to occupy the space of one. — J. 

 M. Hambaugh. 



1. The Standard Langstroth frame 

 contains 140 scjuare inches of comb. 

 Ten frames would give 1,400 square 

 inches of comb. By employing divi- 



