“novice’s” gleanings in bee culture. 
51 
CHEAP HIVES. 
OIINCE first describing the cheap form 
of Langstroth hive in the American .. 
liee Journal , in onr “Gleanings,” many 
comments have appeared in regard to it, 
and most of them, we believe, take the 
ground that because it is cheap, it must 
necessarily be small and inefficient; we 
think our readers, however, have under- 
stood that by using two or more as may- 
be needed all the room can be furnished 
that is required, and it can be done also 
simply and expeditiously. For large 
amounts of box honey it had better be 
made double width as we have explained 
before and this also admits of spreading 
the frames out horizontally. The covers 
in this case will be better, made of two, 
three, or even four boards ; and instead 
of matching we would saw in the edges of 
the boards to be joined, with the buzz 
saw about half an inch, by- raising the 
table to the proper higlith, if the guage 
be set properly, by reversing the board 
we can by two or three saw cuts make a 
nice groove 3-1 G by A inch in debth. 
Now saw a strip from our | lumber 3-1 (> 
in thickness flVbe driven in the slot thus 
formed between the boards of the cover, 
and we have a joint much less liable to 
leak than the one formed of matched 
lumber. 
The objection raised that the “Simplic- 
ity" or “dollar" hive is not ornamental 
we shall perhaps be obliged to admit, yet 
where they are painted some light color 
and grapevines be trained to shade each 
one, as we have advised, we think them 
pretty enough. (They should always ■ be 
painted and the color if not white 
should be light enough to prevent their 
absorbing too much of the beat of the 
sun in hot weather, ns dark colors always 
do. With our arrangement of the apiary 
we should also have them all one color). 
So many seem to think a projection of 
the cover necessary-, and almost entirely 
on account of the "looks” that we will 
enumerate our reasons for preferring none. 
First and formost it would add considera- 
bly to the weight of each hive ; and we 
particularly wish our hives for facility in 
handling to weigh not otic ounce more 
than is absolutely necessary. Secondly, ]i 
they would occupy more room, in the 
house, in shipping (by wagon especially) 
or when piled away full of empty combs, 
or when put aside for any purpose until 
wanted. We presume most bee keepers 
have had experience in shipping hives or 
bees of the annoyance caused by the pro- 
jectingcovers “jostling" each other, knock- 
ing tops loose, etc., etc. Thirdly, the 
tendency to warp is much greater with 
the projection, and twould be quite dif- 
ficult to “let the cover in” to the frame 
that holds it to “cross nail” as we do, and 
thus prevent the possibility of warping. 
Fourthly, the expense for projections on 
fifty or oue hundred hives is quite an 
item, and further we should finfl it diffi- 
cult to get boards of such width that a 
single one would make the cover as it 
does now easily, for either the Langstroth, 
Gallup, or American hives. Fifthly, wo 
could not well have them made bottom 
and cover one and the same thing and so 
that the bevels fit exactly, close and 
tight, no matter how- they are piled up, 
hives alone, covers alone, or both to- 
gether. 
We have just sent Mrs. Tapper an 
American hive made “Simplicity” fash- 
ion or rather a Simplicity hive made with 
frames just one foot square, and she 
writes us she is so well pleased with it that 
she has a man at work making twenty 
like it. 
This hive is even easier to make than 
the Langstroth because all the boards 
used are of one width, viz: 1-1 inches 
finished, and cover and sides are of the 
same dimensions, so that we simply cut 
off from a board 15 inches wide or about 
that, three pieces 16 inches long for sides 
and cover and two pieces 13$ inches foi- 
ends. Now make all to an equal width 
(14$) and rabbet out ends of side pieces 
(frames in this hive go crosswise) and 
cut off strips to go around the cover with 
machine as described and illustrated in 
our March number. 
Hinge the cover on one end and make 
the entrance on the same end, and we 
should advise having the entrance with 
this hive fronting the south and let the 
bees go out directly under the grape vine 
trellis, thus giving them unobstructed 
(light even while we are making examin- 
ation. 
With a circular saw and power, ami 
nice, well seasoned pine boards dressed 
just i thick, we know of no nicer and 
more profitable “fun” than making just 
such hives for $1.00 each, but if you want 
really to enjoy it, please be careful in ad- 
justing your guages and don't make mis- 
takes. “He sure you are right then go 
ahead.” The above hive takes ten frames 
just 12 inches square outside dimensions, 
and when the hive is worked two story, if 
we have a prolific queen, it. works beauti- 
fully, better than the “Gallup” hive to 
our notion, and wc used both last season, 
but wc hope both Mrs. Tapper and Mr. 
Gallup will excuse us for disagreeing 
with them in preferring the standard 
Langstroth frame for rapid brood rearing. 
However, had we an apiary all of Ameri 
can hives, that is, frames one foot square, 
we presume we should use them so, but 
we would certainly transfer them if we 
had the old kind of frames which are still 
deeper. 
So great is the inconvenience of using 
more than one sized frame that wc have 
this present week transferred both our 
Gallup and American hives to onr Lang- 
stroth frames; not that these hives did 
not do well, but that we were obliged on 
their account to keep an extra extractor 
standing around. ’Tis true we might use 
one that would take any sized frame like 
