Jann»r7 5, 1888. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
19 
from another part of the hive, and this applies to all times and 
forms of confinin" bees to their temporary hive. 
THE PUllGATOIlIAL ritOCESS. 
At page 527 “ A Hallamshire Bee-keeper ” asks if I can refer 
him to a publication containing information on the above. Beyond 
what I described, and that the most can be found in the Journal 
of Horticulture from 1862 and onwards, I do not know of any 
publication that will give the desired information. Previous to 
the first Crystal Palace Bee and Honey Show I wrote and entered 
an essay on the subject, along with other articles for competition, 
but the magnates would not admit them for competition, although 
they accepted the entry money and granted a receipt for the same. 
The essay contained my experience with the disease, and modes 
of cure, the most effectual being baking in a dry oven all hives 
affected, and putting the bees through the purgatorial process. 
As the exhibits were not so much as returned, I have not the 
MS., but I believe a portion of it at least was published in the 
British Bee Journal. 
At page 77 in my essay to the Highland and Agricultural 
Society, the following occurs. Although it is not so explicit as 
it might be, still there can be no doubt in the minds of unbiassed 
persons that two changes at least were intended to eradicate the 
disease, I have often changed the bees to clean quarters four 
times before giving them a permanent hive. “ Meanwhile the 
bees from affected stocks should be put through the purgatorial 
process—i.e., into an empty hive for at least forty-eight hours, 
then after that changed again, so that the impure honey carried 
along with them may be expended in comb building.” It will be 
observed, although the second change is not stated to be tem¬ 
porary, the closing words make it obvious enough. As to keeping 
them in confinement, although bees will build comb in confine¬ 
ment, still, when at liberty, they will do it more readily, and get 
rid of all infection, and to better purpose, than if the bees were 
confined. In one of the numbers of this Journal there is a letter 
of mine, describing the baking process, and the effects of the 
fumes from the stove upon the disease. 
THE STEWARTON HIVE. 
In answer to “ T. J. J.,” “ J. T.,” and others, on the merits 
of the Stewarton hive, I will now give the desired information, 
trusting the unavoidable delay will not lessen the interest in the 
much-maligned hive, that for producing honey of the greatest 
quantity, and of the finest quality, stands unsurpassed. The first 
query on my list is by “J. T.” “Would you advise me to use 
the Stewarton hive solely, and do you use it solely yourself ? ” 
It depends entirely upon circumstances whether the Stewarton 
hive may be_the only one used in the apiary. If the produce is 
for the bee-keeper’s own use it is the best hive, but if the bees 
are kept solely for profit, and the comb in the large supers found 
to be unsaleable, then it would be more judicious to use the square 
form, which is also the Stewarton hive, having been used through¬ 
out Ayrshire before the octagon form invented and introduced by 
“ Bee Robin.” But even the octagon form need not be a hindrance 
if small parcels are wanted. The Stewarton was the first hive to 
carry sectional and divisional supers. *• The sections used were half 
and quarter—i.e., the supers were made in halves and quarters, and 
the bars of supers were from the first moveable. If these half 
and quarter-sized supers, or the full-sized ones, do not suit your 
tastes, nor the market, then there is an alternative of using sections 
suspended to the top bar as recently described. The only objection 
to these is, the outer sections are of a different size from the centre 
ones, but as the outer bars are not too large, they form capital 
sections, as they did originally. Where dripped honey is in demand 
no better hive exists for the purpose than the Stewarton one. I 
do not use the Stewarton hive solely myself, having three or four 
sorts of hives. I have a per-centage of them, but would not 
hesitate to have the Stewarton only ; but the square ones, being 
cheaper at first, and better adapted for producing uniform small 
parcels, and being in reality the Stewarton hive, I tried most of 
the cheap square pattern. This hive, with its improvements, is 
perhaps as good for wintering bees as the octagon at first was, but 
I must admit that, on the whole, the Stewarton hive gives me the 
best returns, therefore can recommend it to others where equal¬ 
sized combs are not a desideratum. 
SUPERING. 
From what has been written on this subject of late it appears 
almost superfluous to extend the discussion, but as the query has 
been put by the same person, “ Which is the best system of placing 
supers on hives ? Should the empty ones be placed above or 
beneath the partly filled ones ? ” It is a law with bees, as it is in 
Nature, they abhor a vacuum ; therefore when an empty super is- 
placed beneath a partly filled one, the bees are, for the time being, 
thwarted in their natural order of working. It may, however, be 
advocated that supering is unnatural. So it is to some extent, 
but when an empty super is put on a hive, the bees, with favour¬ 
able weather, fill it by arranging themselves so that there shall be 
no space between it and the brood nest, in the most natural and 
comfortable way to themselves, and when a super or more has been 
filled in this way and left on the hive, it is the last honey that will 
be consumed by the bees. 
Should unfavourable weather set in while a Stewarton super is 
being filled, by judiciously regulating the slides its purity is pre¬ 
served, but not so in the' case of supers wrought on other hives of 
a different construction. When an empty super is put over a 
partly filled one, the under! one is not affected by the process, 
whether the weather keeps favourable or not. But if the empty- 
super takes the place of the full one, the latter becoming the 
super proper, should the weather become unfavourable at this, 
time, the bees will either^ remain in the upper one in a listless 
idle state, soiling and emptying the combs, or they will start in 
earnest and carry the honey down. They may commence, if the 
weather is partially favourable, fill the empty super with comb at 
the expense of the upper one, and in nine cases out of ten na 
supers will be had ; whereas, had the bees been allowed to nearly fill 
their first super before another was added, and it was placed over 
the one in progress, remaining there until the bees took possession 
of it, then, but not before, should the first super be raised 
over another one partially begun. This course followed, the bee¬ 
keeper will not disappoint himself, and secure more honey and 
purer comb than if the empty super had taken the place of the 
full one, which at all times is contrary to the natural working of 
the bees. 
The foregoing applies wholly to full sized supers, but where 
sections are used as I recommended, or small supers, by far the 
best plan to work them is to raise the one half of the partly filled 
ones on the top of the other half, and on the warmest side of the 
hive, if that can be distinguished, then put empty ones in the place 
of those removed. There can be no objection to this plan, and the 
bees will not desert any of the supers, nor remove any of the 
honey, and if the bees are numerous enough, and the weather 
favourable, a manipulation every two days will be necessary-, re¬ 
moving the supers when finished, adding empty ones as required, 
hut never underneath partly filled ones for the reasons given 
above. 
Supers are generally filled so quickly that it is impossible any 
discolouration can take place, or rather that any stain can be con¬ 
veyed to the combs by allowing the first super or supers to be 
nearly finished before changing their position Should there be 
any likelihood of that occurring, it can be prevented by the work¬ 
ing of the slides as stated above. During the Clover season of this, 
year the system of placing the partly filled super uppermost 
answered very well, but at the Heather it proved a failure in every- 
case tried. It may be many years before we have such a summer 
as the one of 1887 w-as, and I know that during more than forty 
years there has not been more than four or five favourable to the 
placing the partly filled super above an empty one ; and as there 
