Grey Eagle, Maine, Dec. 23, 1893.
Inventing New Things--A Frame.
I read Query 892, and was somewhat surprised at some of the answers
given by the 25 expert apiarists; and yet I am glad that the great
majority have not yet out-lived their day. The answers of some of them
sound like the arguments that I heard offered by old men (when I was a
very small boy) against the introduction and use of the double-shovel
plow, and the reaping and mowing machines, etc. Yet those that were
satisfied with the utensils then in use, soon fell in line, and were
as loud in praising the new as they had been in condemning them. But
we have to admit that there have been a great many bee-hives and other
fixtures patented that have proven to be detrimental, or an out-right
humbug, and, after all, this does not prove that there is nothing left
for the inventor to invent, that will be as useful as anything now in
use.
We have quite a variety of frames now in use; each one has its good or
bad qualities, according to the way it is used. Having this in view,
last spring I invented a frame that will always hang perpendicularly,
regardless of the position of the hive; will never warp or sag,
and cannot be eaten by the moth-worms. The queen cannot hide on it
anywhere. It will last a lifetime, and then will be just as good as
new. It can be used with or without comb foundation, the same as any
other frame. I tested nine of these frames the past summer, and got
nice, straight combs, with the center of the comb on the center of the
frame all the way around. I have extracted 7¼ pounds of honey from one
frame. The summer problem has been solved to my satisfaction. Now if
the bees winter on these frames all right, and I think they will, then
I will apply for a patent. I pack the hives in chaff under sheds 14
feet long, with nine hives in each shed.