8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



Vugust, or 7.) (1-1.VS. As there are 50 calls to every square 

 iich of roinb, the fiucen must l:iy 10,000 everyai days, or 

 1 Iri.SOO in tlio 75 d;i,> s. Now all pood colonies will have 

 )rood by Cliristma-, and by taking: the avera<?e increase 

 <.f eggs laid t'roni then to tlie first of June, and from the 

 middle of .\iigiist to the time of ceasing to lay, which is 

 about t lie lirst of Oct. witli us, we have at least 100,000 

 more or 24o,000 for the year ; and this for the smallest 

 brood chiunber in use. Wliat .\dair and Gallup claimed 

 for a queen would be 3 times this. Oui queens will aver- 

 ige good and jjrolilic for 3 years, or are good for 729,000 

 ::ggs. Why so small a statement is given we cannot con- 

 •eive, unless it is to sell short lived queens. Friend Cook 

 •n his manual gives from 20,000 to 40,000 workers in every 

 jood colony, and their age as three months. He also 

 slates in said manual that a good queen m:iy liy 3,000 eggs 

 iier day. How can we reconcile these statements ? Will 

 Novice tell us ? — as he says this is the book for beginners. 

 'I'hree tliousand eggs for tliree months would be 270,01 0, 

 ■ustead of from 20,000 to 10,000. Will the readers of 

 (tLkanings read 133d page for description of mud hut in- 

 sti Md of l.i2. With proper attention this hut need not 

 ^al•y mdre than two degrees during the winter. Ours 

 scauds just the same although at writing the mercury ont- 

 Nide stands at 8° below zero. G. M. Doolittle. 



Ijorodino, N. Y., Dec. 12, 1876. 

 Wf sliull be very ranch obliged indeed toany of 

 nuv Irioiids who will call attention to errors 

 that may creep into Gleanings, for it is the 

 very btst way to teach us to "look sharp." 

 Where we have snch a multitude of new be- 

 ginners ihir&ting for knowledge, it is not only 

 iinsat'e, but often positively dangerous to allow 

 :!ross triors to pass uni-ebuked We always 

 intend to give the average life of the worker 

 i)ee at ninety days; less in summer, and more 

 in winter. 



m^ •^^ "^m^ 



€HAFF HIVK, HOW TO JTIAKX: THE IjS~ 





LE.\sK tell more about your chafl'hive; I un- 

 der.'siand how the outside is made but not the 

 '^^^ in.si(le< Do you use the same corner pieces in- 

 side? Is chalf the only thing you use to separate 

 the inside from outside, or to keep the inside from 

 wettiing on tlie bottom with the weight of honey, 

 ;,tiut you "'siiect" to have in "'em-'*' I do not un- 

 lierstand !iow you can lift the brood combs out with- 

 viit removing tiie upjier story. Don't j'ou have to 

 rumovo the frames or section boxes first? 

 .Saiilhviiie, N. Y. L. Heine. 



If our friends wili (-arefully go over tlic de- 

 scription given in our Nov. No., we thiiik they 

 cannot l-iil to get a correct idea of the way in 

 whicli ihf chalf hivf" is made. The inside is 

 made ot tlie same kind of siding witli the 

 smooth side inward. Xail it together as cheap- 

 ly and roughly as you please ; the more cracks 

 there are, the better will the bees get the bene- 

 1U of tilt' cliaft"; and if the frames are well sup- 

 jiorled and no space is left for them to build 

 combs except in the frames, we have all that 

 is needed. The inside is unconnected with tlic 

 outer sliell, except at the top and bottom ; at 

 the bottoiu a stout strip is put across under 

 each end, tvnd the upper story rests linnly on 

 the lower, to sustain the 100 lbs. of honey we 

 "exjiect.' Bear in mind that yon can let the 

 nuls of the l>oar(1s project any way you like, 

 ,so you aie careful to ^et the inside dimensions 

 .lust right. Be especially careful to have the 

 l! nglh of the liive exact, and to give tlse \ in. 



space at the ends of the frames ; to make sure 

 on this very important point, and preclude the 

 possibility of any of the "boys" nailing the 

 ends of the hive too near or too far apart, we 

 rabbet the side boards, or rather halve them, 

 so that the end boards mvfii come just right. 

 The siding for tlie inside is cut out with square 

 edges, not on a bevel as for the outside, and 

 the width is such that 3 pieces make the side 

 of one story. The ends of the hive are ^i( in. 

 narrower tiian the sides, that we may nail the 

 tin rabbet directly on the top — the back of the 

 rabbet being in contact with the chafl"; now by 

 using siding 3 in. wide for the ends, and S^^ 

 for the sides, we come out just right, and the 

 upper story is made in the same way, except 

 that we use longer ends— 10 frames above and 

 14 below. We have to remove the frames or 

 sections above to get at lire brood comb, to be 

 sure, as you do with any upper story hive, but 

 you do not have to remove the upper story, it 

 being larger both wavs than the lower one. If 

 we could have frames run the same way iu 

 both stories, so that by removing 3 or 4 combs 

 we could lift out a brood comb below, it would 

 be quite desirable. But after long and anxious 

 study we decided it to be one of the impossi- 

 bilities, unless we brought iu loose pieces, or 

 machinery that could never be tolerated in a 

 bee-hive. 



HONEV ; now TO GET IT AWAY EKOM THE BEES 

 IN A "I.UMP." 



A one story Simplicity hive can be set m the 

 upper story of the chaff hive without any 

 trouble, thus enabling you to lift all the upper 

 frames or a full set of sections at one operation, 

 but if you undertake it with a set hi led with 

 honey, unless your taste for heavy lifting is 

 greater than ours, you will prefer to take it in 

 a or 10 lb. installments, — a frame of 8 sections 

 at a time. The single story Simplicity vfill 

 probably be the cheapest shipping case that 

 can be made, and at- it shuts clo^e and tight 

 will be quite handy for retailing. In fact, the 

 case, if entirely liUed, may be removed iroiii 

 tin. hive, set in front of it over iiight to let the 

 bees go out, and then sent to tiie store to bo 

 sold without even removing a section. Weigli 

 it when carried to the store and agai.'i when 

 taken away, and you know exactly how much 

 honey you are to be paid for. For convenience 

 in lifting we make handles to these single sto- 

 ries. 



SECTION BOXB-:)*, AND HOIV TO MAKE 

 THEM. 



A "SHORT CUT," KOR MAKING FRAMES, BOXES 

 AND LOTS OF THINGS. 



EAIJ readers, I have something pleasant 

 to tell you, and I rather expect it will 

 set some of you crazy that have buzz saws, and 

 may have the same eftcct on some that have 

 none — it may make them crazy to get a saw. 

 It looks very simple and easy now, but you 

 can scarcely think how I exjierimented and 

 blundered, before I got so far along. 



Weil we want some well seasoned pine lum- 

 ber, and it may be of any width or thickness, 

 in fact if the boards are all widths, it will do 

 HO. hurt. First saw tlie boards up into lengths 

 of about 3S inches. When you have got quite 



