300 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Sept. 



do not understand that I would advise you 

 to adopt it. If I were going to have two- 

 sized frames in my apiary, I would adopt 

 just these, without question— the large one 

 for honey and the small one for queen rear- 

 ing. But can we afford to have these two 

 sizes, even if they do both hang in the same 

 hive? Before answering, I would state that 

 I have worked for years with two or more 

 kinds of frames, in the same apiary, and 

 have multiplied, divided, and united again, 

 until I think I have had experience in near- 

 ly all the changes that come about, and each 

 year I grow more determined that I will 

 have but one sized frame in the apiary, and 

 no odd ones any more, under any circumstan- 

 ces. This one size shall be the L. frame I 

 have given you, and if I should sell all my 

 bees to-day and start anew, I would use this 

 without hesitation. If this is our determi- 

 nation, it behooves us to see what can be 

 done toward ameliorating the objections to 

 the long and large L. frame. Strong nuclei 

 will do it without question, and if one wish- 

 es to make his queen business a sure thing, 

 without the vexations of swarming out, rob- 

 bing, etc., there is nothing like strong nu- 

 clei, to take care of themselves. For queen 

 rearing, I would have the.jordinary Simplic- 

 ity hive, one story, with a division board, 

 and then the increase can readily be accom- 

 modated, and all that increase to a full 

 swarm are all right, without any changing 

 and shifting of hives. If desired, two nuclei 

 can be put in one hive, by using a tight di- 

 vision board, and making the entrances at 

 either end. This plan does very well, but 

 tliere is more danger of the swarms mixing, 

 than where separate stands are used for 

 each hive. The rustic chaff hive, given on 

 another page, seems nicely adapted to this 

 purpose, and from the fact that it gives pro- 

 tection in cold weather, it is much better 

 tlian a single walled hive like the Simplicity. 

 The bees will winter in a hive like this, al- 

 most as well as if the two were in one clus- 

 ter; for, if the division board is of thin 

 wood, they will cluster up against it on both 

 sides, on account of the mutual warmth felt 

 tlu'ough the board by each. In using hives 

 ■with a division board between two colonies, 

 great care should be used in making the di- 

 vision board tight. I do not know how many 

 failures have resulted from having the board 

 shrink or warp, and thusletthe bees through. 

 Althou,'>-h wire cloth has been made to do in 

 -a few cases, it will not do to depend on it. 

 Sooner or later, the bees will kill one of the 

 queens, and behave themselves as one colo- 



ny. I have raised queens, one in each side 

 of a hive, both nuclei using a common en- 

 trance, with no division board at all, but 

 such cases are exceptional. 



The above arrangement does very well so 

 far as queen rearing is concerned, but where 

 nucleus colonies are to be sold and shipped, 

 we must have a little 3 frame hive on pur- 

 pose. These are to be as light as possible, 

 consistent with strength, to save express 

 charges, and, for the same reason, should be 

 as simple as possible. 



3 FRAME NUCLEUS HIVE. 



A sheet of enameled cloth, hennned at the 

 sides and ends, is made to lay over the 

 frames, as in the large hives, but the cover 

 is made to shut over the hive. These hives 

 answer perfectly for rearing queens during 

 the warm months of July and Aug., and one 

 of them will be found on a shelf attached to 

 the trellis, in the engraving given under 

 QUEEN REARING. Nobottoui is used to the 

 hive, the shelf that it rests on being bottom 

 enough ; the front board is made i inch 

 shorter than the sides and back end, to form 

 the entrance. When the bees are to be ship- 

 ped, the cover is placed under the hive, clos- 

 ing the entrance, and a piece of wire cloth, 

 is tacked over the top, after liaving fastened 

 the frames by pushing sticks of proper size 

 between them. In these small hives, this 

 gives ventilation enough. For 3 frames, the 

 hive should be 41 inches wide inside. 



There is still another reason for using a 

 nucleus hive with full sized frames, and it is 

 that those who purchase valuable queens in 

 a nucleus, to save the risk of transferring, 

 usually wish to build them up at once, to full 

 colonies ; with an odd sized frame, this 

 would be very inconvenient. 



70£&£i3^. We are interested about pol- 

 len, because bees cannot rear brood to any 

 great extent without either it, or some sub- 

 stitute for it. Bees kept in confinement, 

 and fed on pure sugar and pure water, will 

 thrive and void little orr no excrement ; but 

 as soon as pollen, or food containing the hvc- 

 inaceous element, is given them, their bodies 

 will become distended, and instead of a 

 transparent fluid, they will void a fluid of a 

 darkisli tint, which will soil their hives, and 

 emit quite an unpleasant smell. I once kept 

 about 300 bees in a cage with a queen, and 



