1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



263 



long and earnest discussion as to 

 whether the hive entrance should be 

 at the side or end of the hive, or, 

 more properly, whether the sides of 

 the combs should be toward the en- 

 trance or the ends towards it. The 

 arguments had wholly to do with 

 temperatures, the side entrance being 

 called the "warm" and the end the 

 "cold." Then some gentle and sym- 

 pathetic soul put a spoke in the 

 v/heel by saying that the bees could 

 reach any desired part of the hive 

 easier and quicker with the ends of 

 frames to entrance than the other 

 way, as if time or labor was of con- 

 sequence to bees. So the supply men 

 settled on the end way. But not so 

 all beekeepers, some wise ones stuck 

 to the side way. Some who were 

 wise or otherwise used two en- 

 trances, the second one being an inch 

 hole bored half way up the front of 

 the hive. 



To avoid raising the issue of rela- 

 tive warmth, let me say right here 

 that my present remarks have to do 

 with the condition of the combs and 

 position of stores as affected by loca- 

 tion of entrance. Size of entrance 

 also enters into consideration of the 

 case, as does the space below the 

 frames. For sundry reasons a space 

 of about one inch below frames is 

 pretty generally considered to be as 

 little as desirable. It is what I use 

 and the conditions I shall describe 

 are with such space. 



■With a full entrance it is the habit 

 of bees in the fall to cut away the 

 lower part of the combs adjacent to 

 the entrance, the wax secured being 

 used in capping and re-enforcing 

 combs elsewhere in the hive. After 

 the combs get old and leathery this 

 cutting is not so apparent, but the 

 mischief to the combs occurs long 

 before they get tough and black. 



Where the combs are end to the 

 entrance the lower front corners are 

 cut away, often for two or three 

 inches back and up. The following 

 spring that space is filled with drone 

 comb. 



If combs get turned end for end 

 the other corner gets cut away, and 

 it is not unusual to find both corners 

 filled with drone comb or 9 square 

 inches in each comb, which is 90 

 square inches of drone comb in a 10- 

 frame hive. This is equal to four- 

 fifths of an L-comb, and when we 

 add the drone cells found in other 

 places we get altogether too much 

 drone comb, often more than a whole 

 L-comb. 



Now, drones are not only costly to 

 raise and maintain, but they are also 

 an excitant towards swarming. Be- 

 sides the expense of the drones we 

 have the loss of foundation. We buy 

 it and put it in the frames and then 

 the bees cut it out. Not a very profit- 

 able procedure. So much for the 

 comb condition. 



Position of the stores is affected 

 by entrance location. Regularly we 

 hear the complaint that bees died in 

 winter with plenty of food on the 

 opposite side of the hive. They store 

 their food around the brood-nest or 

 cluster, usually forcing the cluster 

 down close to the entrance if fall 

 supplies are abundant. As they eat 

 back it may be towards one side or 



the other as well as upwards, and it 

 is not unusual to hear the remark 

 that the bees were found on the sun- 

 ny or sheltered or warm side of the 

 hive. Now, why permit conditions 

 which favor such misfortunes? 



When the combs are side to the 

 entrance, stores are still around the 

 cluster, but as they work back, it is 

 away from the side where the stores 

 are being, or have been, consumed, 

 and toward more stores. Where the 

 side entrance is used it is rare to find 

 dead bees on emptied combs with 

 plenty of food on the opposite side 

 of the hive. 



Then, when we are working over 

 the hives it is so much nicer to work 

 at the back of the hives, but if the 

 frames run from front to rear it is 

 awkward to handle them from the 

 back, so we stand at the side, where 

 we can, and we cannot do so on the 

 long row plan so often used and pic- 

 tured. Furthermore, on the end en- 

 trance plan we cannot move a comb 

 without disturbing the entrance 

 guard, attd if there is a scarcity of 

 nectar and robbers are about we are 

 not helping matters for either our- 

 selves or the bees. With the side 

 entrance, however, the guards are 

 not disturbed until the front comb 

 is removed, the last one we touch if 

 we are going through the hive as 

 when hunting for the queen. This 

 may sound a small matter, but just 

 work with both styles for awhile and 

 it will be found far from small. 



In harvest time and hot weather 

 all sorts of plans are resorted to for 

 increasing the size of the entrance, 

 such as putting a rim or blocks be- 

 tween floor and hive-body, but with 

 the side entrance and one inch space 

 below frames w"e have an entrance 

 1x18 inches instead of 1x14 inches, as 

 with the end entrance, an increase of 

 no small amount. 



To return to the matter of drone- 

 comb. With the side entrance the 

 only comb with drone-cells is kept 

 next to the entrance, where it is used 

 last by the queen and deserted first. 



Incidentally, at the beginning that 

 frame has only two-thirds of a sheet 

 of foundation put in it. The bees fill 

 the lower part with drone-comb, and 

 cut and refill to their hearts' content 

 and the beekeepers' satisfaction. The 

 top of such frame is painted a dis- 

 tinguishing color, so that it is not 

 misplaced in manipulation. 



Consider these factors, but for the 

 present ignore the "warm" and "cold" 

 notions. These have their value, but 

 are as nothing compared to the oth- 

 ers. 



Providence, R. I. 



Price Recommendations — The Chi- 

 cago Northwestern Beekeepers' As- 

 sociation will send out price recom- 

 mendations again this season the 

 same as last year. These price letters 

 are free to all members of the above 

 association, and to any beekeeper in 

 the States of Michigan. Indiana and 

 Wisconsin who has ten or more colo- 

 nies of bees. The Secretary would 

 like to have the names and addresses 

 of every beekeeper in the above 

 States to put on the mailing list. We 

 are depending on membership fees to 

 cover the expense of getting out 

 these letters and would like to enroll 

 as members at least 500 of the lead- 

 ing beekeepers in the above and sur- 

 rounding States. The beekeepers 

 who received these price recommen- 

 dations last year profited many thou- 

 sands of dollars by following the ad- 

 vice given. The first letter will be 

 sent out about July 20. Other letters 

 will follow every eight weeks or so. 

 The idea is not to boost prices but to 

 try and establish a more uniform 

 price for honey. The dues to the 

 above association are $1.50 per year, 

 which also includes membership in 

 the State Association, and a cloth- 

 bound copy of their annual report 

 which also contains the proceedings 

 of the Chicago Northwestern annual 

 meetings. JOHN C. BULL, 



Sec.-Treas. 

 1013 Calumet Ave., Valparaiso, Ind. 



