214 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



needed. They were needed that the myste- 

 ries of the hive might be 1 id jare, and they 

 are needed yet that beginners may observe 

 tliese mysteries, but how seldom are they 

 needed in the brood nest in an apiary man- 

 aged for honey by an experienced' apiarist. 

 If a colony needs feeding it is a great con- 

 venience to be able to give it a comb of 

 honey ; aside from this it is possible with 

 suitable hives to perform nearly every need- 

 ed manipulation without handling a frame. 



I well remember how I handled frames 

 the lirst year I kept bees. To one who lias 

 been an enthusiastic beginner it would be a 

 waste of words to tell all that I saw— I act- 

 ually became acciuainted with each comb in 

 my eight hives. As I soon drifted into queen 

 rearing, the handling of frames was contin- 

 ued, but when the production of comb 

 honey began to engross my attention the 

 handling of frames was largely dropped. 

 Later, when the Heddon hive allowed me to 

 practice contraction of the brood nest with- 

 out handling frames, my handling of frames 

 in comb honey production was practically 

 over. I presume that in two-thirds of my 

 hives, not a frame has been taken out the 

 past three or four years. There has been no 

 necessity for it. In the production of ex- 

 tracted honey, surplus combs must be han- 

 dled, but, thanks to the bee escape, there is 

 no longer any necessity for handling them 

 singly when freeing them from bees. 



In the spring, a lifting of the hive, togeth- 

 er with a peep down between the tops of 

 the combs, driving the bees out of the way 

 with smoke, will usually show if the bees 

 have sufficient stores. By driving the l^ees 

 down with smoke the operator can also see 

 if the colony is the possessor of a queen — 

 the sealed brood disclosing the fact. If 

 possessed of a queen and plenty honey a 

 colony needs no internal manipulation in 

 early spring. There is no doubt that, when 

 rightly managed, more brood i)er comb may 

 be secured by what is termed " spreading the 

 brood " just before the opening of the clo- 

 ver honey harvest ; but to do this by frame- 

 manipulation is too slow, when by simply 

 transposing the sections of a horizontally 

 divisible brood chamber hive, the brood 

 nest may be turned " inside out." Just stop 

 and think a moment. Here is the brood nest 

 in the shape of a big round ball. Now slice 

 it in two horizontally and put the lower sec- 

 tion at the top, the upper at tlie bottom. 

 Don't you see that the outside or spherical 

 parts of the brood nest are brougiit together 



in the center of the hive, while the broad, 

 flat surfaces are thrown to the outside — at 

 the top and bottom ? In their endeavor to 

 again bring their brood nest into the spheri- 

 cal form, the bees fill with brood the brood- 

 less comb that was brought into center. If 

 this transposition is performed at the right 

 time so that all the combs will be full of 

 brood just as the main harvest comes on, it 

 is a great big advantage, and it can be se- 

 cured without handling a frame. 



In hiving swarms, this same kind of hive 

 (divisible brood chamber) enables the apia- 

 rist to contract the brood nest without han- 

 dling a frame. The different methods of 

 preventing increase, allowing a moderate 

 increase, or securing abundant increase, 

 without the handling of a frame, have been 

 so recently given in these columns that it is 

 not necessary to repeat them. 



To find queens it is not necessary to handle 

 frames. With a little practice with the 

 Heddon hive queens can be shaken out and 

 found at the rate of one in three minutes ; 

 or they may be found just under a queen 

 excluder as has been several times described 

 by R. L. Taylor. Queens can be introduced 

 without handling frames. Simply lay the 

 cage over the frames, or press it up between 

 the combs from below and allow the bees to 

 release the queen by eating candy out of the 

 entrance. I have often introduced queens 

 in this manner. 



Weak stocks in hives with shallow combs 

 may be united in the fall by simply setting 

 one over the other — no handling of frames. 



Again I say, why handle frames ? Why 

 cling to those hives, fixtures and methods 

 that compel the handling of frames ? Care- 

 fully, thoughtfully, honestly give the rea- 

 sons and allow them to be published in the 

 September Rkview. 



Hiving Bees in a House Apiary: Its Ad- 

 vantages When Escapes Are Used. 



In 188;) Mr. .1. A. Golden, of Reinersville, 

 Ohio, contributed the following article to 

 Gleanmgs: 



" Friend Root: — I enclose you a picture of 

 my plan of keeping bees, also how I hive 

 them. If you look at the further house, and 

 at the lower right-hand bee-entrance, you 

 will observe what we call a feed-board. On 

 each side there is a wire hook that fastens 

 into two small staples placed in the alight- 



