280 



TMM MJIIERICMf* mmM JOXJRHMfc. 



"In 1874 I commenced with 100 

 colonies, and did not take any surplus 

 honey until basswood blossomed — July 

 20. During the next 40 days I secured 

 10,000 pounds of surplus,and increased 

 the colonies to 119, giving me an aver- 

 age of 100 pounds of surplus, from my 

 old colonies." 



In the spring of 1886 I had 33 colo- 

 nies in Dadant hives ; I extracted from 

 their surplus departments on June 8. 

 In just one week, or seven days, I ran 

 over the same surplus departments and 

 got from the 33 colonies 798 pounds of 

 honey. On July 3 I got 1,238 pounds, 

 a total of 2,036 pounds in 25 days, 

 being an average of 81 11-25 pounds 

 per colony. The gross product of the 

 season of these 33 colonies was 3,992 

 pounds, or 121 pounds per colony, and 

 this was obtained without a fall har- 

 vest, as it was almost an entire failure. 



I had 49 colonies in all in this yard, 

 and they increased to 56. The bal- 

 ance, or 16 colonies, were in 10-frame 

 Simplicity hives, and they did not 

 average as much bj' 15 pounds to the 

 colony as those in the larger hives, 

 notwithstanding the smallness of the 

 number. 



As regards my assertion, that we 

 must imitate natui-e by making our 

 hives after the style of log gums, etc., 

 I will say that my article is written so 

 plainly that a school-boy cannot fail to 

 understand its meaning. 



Now Mr. C. shows (by theory) how 

 the horizontal bars and bee-spaces, in- 

 stead of a detriment, become a benefit 

 to the queen's functions as an egg- 

 layer. He argues from the assump- 

 tion that the queen is obliged to pass 

 back and forth from each side of the 

 comb, and concentrate her brood in 

 the form of a ball or globe, with the 

 instinct of concentration of heat for 

 the protection of the brood. Very 

 well ; but let me ask if he ever ob- 

 served frames of brood in March, of a 

 colony in a normal condition. If so, 

 will lie not see 3 or 4 frames of brood 

 probably 6 inches in diameter ? 



What would be the condition of this 

 same amount of brood, were it placed 

 in a single section of combs, a la Hed- 

 don ? Would it not be spread more 

 in the form of a pancake, than a globe? 

 and would it be in a condition to get 

 the concentration of heat from the 

 cluster as it would in large combs ? 



Again, suppose two of the sectional 

 bodies togetlicr, have an equal amount 

 of brood in each, would it not be 

 spread over more surface, on the two 

 sets of combs, than on the one ? 

 Which would require the most bees in 

 the cluster, to nuise and protect the 

 same amount of brood, not taking into 

 account the air-space that has to be 

 filled in the centre of the cluster ? A 

 good qMcen can always keep her hive 



stocked with eggs in the early part of 

 the season, to the capacity of the col- 

 ony to nurse and protect the same 

 from cold, and the more unbroken and 

 compact the cluster and brood, the 

 more rapid will be the development of 

 the same in early spring ; and as the 

 colony increases, so does the animal 

 heat in the same ratio, and by the 

 time we are in need of the queen's full 

 power of egg-lajing, which is from 

 the middle of April to the middle of 

 May in this latitude, the hive is so 

 well stocked with bees, and cold snaps 

 less frequent and severe, that the 

 queen plys her vocation to the utmost 

 capacity of her surroundings, with less 

 regard for concentration of brood, and 

 the consequence is, the better inside 

 surroundings, to facilitate egg-laying, 

 the stronger and more powerful will 

 be our colonies ; and, on the other 

 hand, the more compartments into 

 which the brood-chamber is divided, 

 with the transverse bars, bee-spaces, 

 etc., in the same ratio will we realize 

 a loss, as the queen's time is taken up 

 in passing from point to point. 



In the face of these facts, wherein 

 are the sectional brood-chambers an 

 advantage in brood-rearing ? I will 

 challenge any bee-keeper to disprove 

 the statement by actual test. We want 

 facts — no fiction ; and though some 

 would try to make it appear that the 

 prolificness of the queen is a minor 

 consideration, I will state, that the 

 hive best suited to the production of 

 bees, is best suited to the production 

 of honey, either comb or extracted, if 

 the surplus receptacles are properly 

 constructed and manipulated. 



Mr. Hutchinson, in the Review, criti- 

 cises my article on " Large vs. Small 

 Combs," with an admission that, " In 

 many instances, larger colonies are 

 secured by using larger hives ;" but 

 continues, "What is gained? We 

 simply have our bees and combs in 

 fewer hives, and get larger yields per 

 colony, but no larger per comb or per 

 bee. Successful bee-keeping does not 

 depend upon large yields per colony, 

 but upon securing the greatest amount 

 of honey, with the least expenditure of 

 capital and labor." 



Very good ; and as the smoke has 

 barely cleared away since the " wordy 

 war" on small rs. large hives, in the 

 Bee Journal of 1885 and 1886, by 

 Messrs. Heddon, Hutchinson, the Da- 

 dants and others.any thing that I might 

 say would probably shed no more light 

 upon the subject, than has already 

 been given ; yet I was tempted to in- 

 vestigate a little for myself, and here 

 is the result : 



Mr. H. says, " We simply have our 

 bees and combs in fewer hives, and 

 get larger yields per colony, but no 

 larger per comb or per bee." Since 



learning the above, I sent to a supply 

 dealer for estimates on 8 and 10 frame 

 hives, without inside furnishings, and 

 I here quote his reply : 



" EighWrame hives would be worth 

 just as much (as 10-frame hives), as 

 we do not keej) them stock. We would 

 have to make them to order, and the 

 extra trouble of making them would 

 be worth all that we would save on 

 the lumber." Now taking the regular 

 catalogue-prices on 100 10-frame hives, 

 with discount, would be $61.75 ; this 

 includes single bodies, platforms and 

 covers. Now these 100 hives will hold 

 1,000 combs, and should we wish to 

 put the same amount of combs into 8- 

 frame hives, we would have to pur- 

 chase 125 hives, which would cost us 

 $77.18 ; in other words, it would be 

 nearly 6} cents per comb for privileges 

 in our 10-frame hives, and nearly 7f 

 cents per comb for privileges in the 8- 

 frame hives. Or, it costs us IJ cents 

 more per comb to work our bees in 8- 

 frame hives than it does to do so in 

 10-frame hives. 



Now if we can harvest more honey 

 per colony, as Mr. Hutchinson admits, 

 in 10-frame hives, and it is more ex- 

 pensive to work the same amount of 

 combs in 8-frame hives, where is the 

 economy in " securing the gi-eatest 

 amount of honey with the least expen- 

 diture of capital and labor," with the 8- 

 frame hives ? 



As regards the idea of " making our 

 hives so small that an ordinary prolific 

 queen could lay two eggs in each cell, 

 and 'loaf half the time at that," it is 

 too ridiculous for comment ; and as my 

 former arguments cover this subject, 

 we will await the verdict of a dis- 

 criminating public. 



Spring, Ills. 



BEES IN" SPRING. 



Results in AVintering — Immense 

 Country. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY T. F. KINSEL. 



I put my bees out of the cellar on 

 April 3, and found brood in all the 

 colonies except 1, which was queen- 

 less ; 3 colonies died, 1 was queenless, 

 1 starved, and 1 had an abundance of 

 buckwheat honey of tine quality, and 

 yet it died. I would be glad to say 

 what ailed it, but I do not know the 

 cause ; nor could I discover any ma- 

 terial difierence between it, and some 

 of the living colonies. There was some 

 mold throughout the entire lot, but not 

 more in the dead colony with plenty of 

 stores, than in others that were alive, 

 and had brood. I have finally come 

 to the conclusion that where human 

 patients, in the prime life take sick 



