240 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



Epilobium, the great willow herb, has 

 been found growing in small quantities near 

 Mr. Heddon's, and he is hopeful that it may 

 yet grow in sufficient quantities to be of 

 some benefit. 



the one convention that sails in without any 

 essays or even so much as a printed pro- 

 gramme ? 



"Handling Hives Instead of Frames" is 

 a topic that really deserves a more thorough 

 discussion than it gets in this issue. If what 

 has been said incites others with a desire to 

 write upon the subject, I shall be glad to 

 receive and publish their communications. 



Wheee the woed gallon appears in the 

 article of Mr. Wilkins, in the June Review, 

 it ought to have been pound. Mr. Wilkins 

 used that peculiar double cross that may 

 mean pound, or gallon, or yard, or what not. 

 There was not time to write him and I was 

 obliged to guess " gallon." 



HONEY DEW FOE WINTER STOEES. 



Mr. Heddon, in the Missouri Bee Keever, 

 says he thinks we have no reason whatever 

 to fear any disastrous results from wintering 

 our bees on stores of honey dew. He relates 

 an instance of where Dr. Southard, of Kala- 

 mazoo, once fed honey dew to five colonies 

 until they had no other stores for winter, yet 

 they wintered perfectly. 



IMPOETATION OF BEES NOT NEOESSAEY. 



A dozen or more leading bee keepers 

 answer the query, in the C B, J., if further 

 importation of bees is necessary, and the 

 majority say "nay." We certainly have as 

 good bees here as anywhere, and further im- 

 portation is really unnecessary. As Prof. 

 Cook wisely says, " Importation of new 

 blood if not better blood is of no use." 



THE NOETHWESTEBN CONVENTION. 



The Noethwesteen Bee Keepers will hold 

 their annual convention Nov. li» and 20, at 

 the Commercial Hotel, corner of Lake and 

 Dearborn streets, Chicago,. 111. This date 

 occurs when excursion rates on the railroads 

 will be one fare for the round ti-ip. I have 

 tried several times to analyze my feelings 

 and decide ivliy I always look forward with 

 unusually happy anticipations to these an- 

 nual meetings of the Northwestern Bee 

 Keepers. Can it be that it is because it is 



deep feames and close fitting cases. 



Mr, C. F. Thomas, of Dorchester, Nebras- 

 ka, writes as follows: — 



" I am a little surprised at your agreement 

 with ' E. R.' on page 212 in regard to his 

 theory on 'frames' and 'bureau drawers.' 

 It seems to me that a man with just a little 

 mechanical 'knack' ought to know that 

 the greater the depth or length of a drawer 

 or frame in comparison with the width of it 

 the less ' hitching ' in drawing it out. If 

 he don't know it he ought to think he does, 

 and that would amount to the same thing." 

 Mr. Thomas is correct, and I can only say 

 that in my former article I did not give the 

 matter sufficient thought. 



In connection with this subject I may say 

 that my editorial on this subject was copied 

 into Gleaninqs, and its editor defended his 

 position by saying that his Heddon hive was 

 made differently from mine— that lumber 

 does swell endwise, slightly— that the frames 

 are sometimes diamond shape and the cor- 

 ners touch the ends of the case— that propolis 

 works in and reduces the space— and, I be- 

 lieve that is all. 



In reply I will say that hives can be made 

 as I described them; that, if lumber does 

 swell endwise, the more it swells the larger 

 will be the hives; that frames made as I de- 

 scribed (sawed square and nailed, not dove- 

 tailed) are never diamond-shaped; if a 

 frame is diamond-shaped, a little lift on the 

 upper corner that touches the end of the 

 hive will bring the ends of the frames paral- 

 lel with the inside of the ends of the hive. 

 I have handled large numbers of these hives 

 that have been in use several years, and the 

 propolis has yet to accumulate in such 

 quantities that the frames will be swelled 

 fast in a damp atmosphere. It is not a 

 matter of theory with me but of actual prac- 

 tice with a large number of hives for several 

 years, and I know that my frames are not 

 swelled against the ends of the hive and 

 cannot, be swelled against them. 



Mr. B. Taylor in an article published in 

 Gleanings for Sept. 15, says that he has had 

 frames swelled fast in hives made on the 

 Heddon 2ilan, but just how they were made 

 he does not say, and that is all-important. 



