I have experimented some with the Adair-Gallup long idea hive, or rather “New Idea” long hive. I used two hives three feet long, one with large frames 13 square—the other with my standard narrow frames. I gave them the strongest colonies I had, and I must confess that neither of them gave as much satisfaction as the plain two story hives. They may not have been long enough (?) they did not swarm and did not fill the few empty frames I gave them.
I am aware that these experiments do not conclusively establish any particular fact or theory in bee-keeping but they may throw a little light on some points, and I find them useful in my own practice.
Thaddeus Smith, Point Peelee Island, Ont., Can.
Friend S. it seems, has the rare good sense to see that single experiments do not settle a matter by any means. We are quite taken up with the old hat idea. Get one just large enough to hold your colony, and keep plenty of sealed honey below them, and they will be in the best possible wintering trim, if we know aught of bees. We once wintered a colony without any honey board. We supposed they had been given the ordinary allowance with the rest but may have been mistaken. They were out of food before March, but they had commenced to rear brood briskly—rather in advance of the rest.
SECTION HONEY BOXES.
It is at least too bothersome for me to make the Harbison frames, as per Gleanings; I have made some very nice frame boxes, top and end pieces all 1½ inches wide, ends are 5 inches long and top and bottoms 6¼ inches long and nailed to end pieces, which are ¼ thick and top and bottom ⅛ inch thick; outside sections are 1¾ wide with a groove to receive a glass 5×6. I place the pieces in a long bottomless box or frame, wedge them up together and nail them, and then fasten strips of stout paper across them. I forgot to say in the proper place, that for an entrance I cut a notch in each side of the bottom pieces ¼×2 inches. I leave the bottom pieces wide because it makes a better box and is more convenient, one box can be raised up and another placed under it without much danger of killing bees, use a wax guide in each frame.
R. S. Becktell, New Buffalo, Mich.
[As it is a little inconvenient to cut the notches in the Harbison frame with our circular saws, we think they may be omitted and the stout paper used as above. In making these light frames, perhaps it would be well to fix on a size that would allow of putting 4 or 6 inside our large frames. Quinby advises this with his new hive, and illustrates it in Am. Ag. for Feb.—Ed.]