INVERTING
THE BROOD-NEST.
Prof. a. J. Cook. <
Your J. Cook has already described the turning of the honeycomb.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/20072987#page/12/mode/1up
It's just that it's work similar to construction, if it's a honeycomb, it must be cyclically strengthened and should have an inclination.
As a rule, every insertion of the base of the honeycomb means work, it just depends on how much work it will be if the foundation is accepted by the bee colony.
The second main advantage was hygiene and a very broad solution to bee diseases. That was why I was wasting my time with this idea.
Gustav Palan
INVERTING
THE BROOD-NEST.
Prof. a. J. Cook.
One of the late innovations in
bee-keeping which has gained favor
so rapidly that we must think it
has come to stay, is that of invert-
ing the frames or hives. In either
case the brood-nest is turned upside
down. This was first accomplished
by so arranging the frames that they
could be readily inverted. Instead
of the old Langstroth frame with its
single top-bar, which bad project-
mg ends, a perfect rectangular
frame, with no projecting bars, was
made to swing in a larger frame
with projecting top-bar and end-
bars which reached a little below
the middle point of the end-bars
of the inner rectangular frame. By
use of wire nails tlie inner frame
is pivoted to the outer half-frame,
so it can swing in and be iuA-erted
in a moment at any time. I have
used these frames now for two
years, and like them so well that I
am changing all my combs into
these reversible frames.
Within the last two years an at-
tempt has been made to improve
upon this plan b}' inverting the en-
tire hive, which is about the size of
the common Langstroth hive, and
consists of two horizontal sections,
which can be used either independ-
entl}^ or together. Thus it will be
seen that the frames in this hive
are only about half as deep as those
of the usual Langstroth. These
frames have close-fitting end-bars,
and when put into the hives, rest
on tin projections, which are tacked
to the bottom of the end-boards of
the hive. When all the frames
are put into the hives, a wooden
thumb-screw, which is set in the
side-board of the hive opposite the
end-bars of the frames, is screwed
up. This holds all the frames
firmly, and so when these screws
are thus turned the frames are all
held securely, and the entire hive
can be turned bottom up in a mo-
ment.
The advantages of inverting are :
1. Combs are built and fastened to
the frames on all sides. Every
beekeeper knows that bees alwa^ys
fasten combs firmly at the toj) and
along the upper half of the edges.
When this is once done we have
onl}^ to remove the frames, when
the union is made complete about
the whole margin of the comb.
The advantages of such entire
union are, that the combs are held
securel}', and are V no'd^ger of
falling out when exCj^c^ng oi-^ip-
ping bees. V^-^ .^
2. The spaces between ^omb and
frame, which serve as hidino-j)]accs
for queens, are removed, ^^hi4^jast
is a great gain, as any one who
has sought for queens is aware.
3. Reversing frames places the
honey below the brood, which is
unnatural. Hence, if just as the
season opens, when we place the
sections on the hive, we reverse
the frames, the bees at once carry
the honey above the brood, or in-
to the sections, where we wish it,
and once employed in filling the
sections they make no halt till the
season closes. If, when we reverse
we uncap some of the honey, we
shall hasten this rush to the sec-
tions, Ma,\\y who have been an-
noyed at the persistent refusal of
their bees to work in sections, will
appreciate this argument in favor
of reversible frames, though to the
expert apiarist this is the weakest
argument.
4. When a beekeeper has all the
bees he wishes, he can preclude
swarming by this simple work of
inversion, which, in case the hive is
reversible, is but the work of a mo-
ment. Curious as it may seem, the
bees at once cut away or remove
all queen cells as soon as the combs
are turned upside down. Thus by
inverting the hives each week
swarming is prevented, and all but
the work of a moment.
Of course this last, and indeed all
the points, argue loudly in favor of
the reversible hive. To invert a
hive takes a moment ; to reverse
all the frames is the work of sev-
eral minutes. — Rural New Yorker.
Agricultural College, Ulich.
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