46 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



I g"et two-thirds of my average crop of 

 the year from them. 



Hives shallower than the Langstroth 

 may be, and some kinds undoubtedly are, 

 all right for comb honey, but they do not 

 work well for extracted. Giving my col- 

 onies in deep and shallow hives equal at- 

 tention, and I will produce as many deep 

 bodies of honey as shallow ones. 



EIGHT-FRAME HIVES TOO SMALL. 



The eight-frame hive, so common in 

 many places, is not well adapted to the 

 production of extracted honey. It is not 

 roomy enough, and does not afford a good 

 queen sufficient room for the brood nest. 

 In actual practice I have found that col- 

 onies in them produce scarcely V as 

 much honey as in ten-frame hives. 1 

 always avoid them when 1 buy, and when 

 I sell I always give them at a discount. 

 I have also found well nailed plain bodies 

 the equal or superior to the dovetailed in 

 durability. 



Hives of whatever kind or dimension 

 should be as simply made as possible. 

 There should be no portico. The bottom 

 ought to be reversible, one side affording 

 the summer entrance, and the other side 

 affording space, when reversed, for proper 



ventilation in wintering. If the colony is 

 to sit in the shade, a single cover is suffi- 

 cient, but if in the hot sun, a double one 

 is better. There should be neither caps 

 nor honey boards; and tin rabbets for 

 frame-rests, in this locality, are generally 

 only a nuisance; as my bees seem to 

 especially delight in filling them with 

 propolis. Frames can rest on nails, or 

 the top bars can project as in the Hoff- 

 man frame. Top bars should always be 

 sufficiently heavy to prevent sagging. 

 The Hoffman has a fine top bar, and is 

 perhaps the best frame in the market. 



In this article 1 have spoken of a num- 

 ber of kinds of hives. 1 have also advised 

 the reader not to change his style of hives 

 without good reasons, but I have not 

 advised him to have more than one kind 

 of hive in a yard. Every hive and every 

 frame there should be of exactly the 

 same size; both for the lower, and all the 

 upper stories, and every frame in every 

 hive should be removable at will, and in- 

 terchangeable. You will thus be saved 

 time and worry and your profits will be 

 greatly increased. 



Preston, Minn., Jan. 4, 1907. 



^^^"^^y^'lS^-t^^^^^^^^i^ 



E. F. ATWATER. 



rn HE system of swarm control or non- 

 ^t^ swarming, that gave us the best 

 results, with a minimum of labor, with or 

 without increase, no absconding, very 

 little excitement or disturbance to the 

 colony, no shaking, no delay, will now be 

 described. 



Our bottom-boards are mostly plain, 

 flat and end-cleated, with, preferably, 

 ^-inch strips nailed on three edges of 



the top, on which the hive rests, like the 

 old, thick, non-reversible bottom-boards so 

 long supplied with the standard hives 

 As our hive-bodies are end-cleated at the 

 rabbet, with cleats )^x2xl6 inches, we 

 have our bottom-boards made one inch 

 longer than usual, so a bottom can be 

 used for a lid, in an emergency. 



Now take an expansion bit and brace, 

 and bore a 1^ inch hole through the 



