132 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb 25, 1904. 



the hive, and the further improvement is not so much a matter of 

 evaporation as a matter of influence caused liy the presence of the 

 bees, an influence subtle, but positively Icnown to every experienced 

 apiarist, whereby the honey slowly hut surely attains that degree of 

 body and flavor that makes the consumer who samples it wish for 

 more. 



The experiment stations would be doing good service if they 

 would decide for us just how much can be gained in weight by ex- 

 tracting unripe honey, but a little thinking outrht to convince any one 

 that the amount must be very small compared with the large amount 

 of mischief caused by placing such honey on the market. On any 

 good honey-day, take out a brood-comb and you can shake out easily 

 the nectar — not honey — therein contained; but go the next morning 

 before the bees have had time to do any gathering, and no nectar will 

 be found. 



It can hardly be too strongly emphasized, that the gain to the man 

 who puts unripe honey on the market, if in any sense a gain at all, is 

 overbalanced by the resulting loss to himself, besides doing an irrep- 

 arable mischief to all other producers. 



Some Expert ODinion 



■ In the multitude of counsellors there is safety." — Bible. 





Thickness of Brood-Frame Top-Bar. 



If for some reason you were to start in anew to keep bees, and 

 were obliged to get an entirely new outfit — 



Ques. 6. — Would you use a frame with thick top-bar? If so, 

 why? If not, why? 



N. E. France (Wis.) — Ji-inch top-bar; Xx?^ inoli for the rest of 

 the frame. 



P. H. Elwood (N. Y.) — Yes, a half-inch, to make it solid enough 

 not to sag. 



Eugene Secor (Iowa)— Yes. If properly spaced they almost 

 prevent bridging. 



Wm. Rohrig (Mo.) — Y'es. They do not sag, and burr-combs are 

 not so troulilesome. 



Mrs. L. Harrison (111.)— No. The regular Langstroth frame is 

 good enough for me. 



R. L. Taylor (Mich.) — No. Because it takes room, and its advan- 

 tage is no advantage to me. 



Dr. C. C. Miller (111.) — Y'es. No sag; makes whiter sections to 

 have them farther from the brood-combs. 



J. M. Hambaugh (Calif.)— Yes; at least % of an inch thick. 

 Obviate the liraee-corab nuisance largely. 



Adrian Getaz (Tenn.) — Y'es. Sufficiently thick and wide to 

 practically prevent burr and brace combs. 



Jas. a. Stone (111.)— I have never used the thick top-bar till this 

 season, and am not ready to give my preference. 



Geo. W. Bkodbeck (Calif.) — Yes. Not so apt to sag, and the 

 bees are not so inclined to extend their combs, etc. 



C. P. Dadant (111.) — Yes. Because it makes a strong frame, and 

 in a great measure prevents the building of burr-combs. 



O. O. POPPLETON (Fla.) — No. I use close-fittiug top-bars which 

 does away with all of the supposed need of thick top-bars. 



Pbof. a. J. Cook (Calif.) — Y'es. It is proof against sagging; is 

 strong, and with such we are not so much in need of queen-excluding 

 honey-boards. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE (N. Y.) — 7-16 of an inch is the thickness I use 

 for the top-bar to a Langstroth frame. Some call that thick ; others 

 thin. I think it just right. 



Dr. J. P. H. Brown (Ga.) — I would use a top-bar 5-16 thick, with 

 a triangular comb-guide. Such bar will not sag, and has advantages over 

 a thinner bar and over a thicker one. 



C. Davenport (Minn.) — I would nse a frame % thick, 1 1-16 

 wide. A thinner top-bar is liable to sag, and a thicker one is a waste 

 of lumber and hive-space, in my opinion. 



E. E. Hastt (Ohio) — Thick enough to make sure against sagging, 

 but not so thick as some would choose. Have got used to my burr- 

 combs, and do not dread them as much as some do. 



C. H. Dibbern (111.) — I use frames with >V-inch top and bottom 

 bars, and think they stand the wear and tear of handling better than 

 thinner bars. There is also much less burr and brace comb built 

 when such bars are used. 



E. Whitcomb (Nebr.) — Yes. First, they are stronger for extract- 

 ing. There is more to begin with and to end up at in wiring, and they 

 should, if thick top-bars, be self -spacing, which is a great saving of 

 time in replacing the frames. 



J. A. Green (Colo.) — No. In a double brood-chamber hive a 

 thick top-bar would separate the two divisions of the brood-chamber 

 too much. If I were to use a frame of the Langstroth depth, I would 

 use a thick top-bar. Because it would largely prevent the building of 

 burr-combs. 



G. W. Demaree (Ky.)— No. That is, I would not have the top- 

 bars of my frames any thicker than is necessary to keep the top-bar of 

 the frame from " sagging." Why? Because a too-thick top-bar is a 

 waste of room, and invites the bees to increase the nuisance known as 

 burr-combs between the top-bars. 



L. Stacdelhausen (Tex.) — No. Thick top-bars are not neces- 

 sary in shallow-frames ; wide and thick top-bars are a hindrance for 

 bees and the queen. I estimate more wood as 'sX\ inches in the top- 

 bar as an intolerable nuisance, diminishing the development of the 

 colony, and reducing the honey crop considerably. 



Mrs. J. M. Null (Mo.)— I prefer to have the top-bar of just 

 sufficient thickness to secure the strength needed. I prefer jioney in 

 the broodnest or super to wood. I practice outdoor wintering, and 

 want all the honey along the top of the combs I can secure. Under 

 peculiar conditions it might mean the saving of a colony. 



E. S. LovEST (Utah) — I would not want a very deep top-bar. I 

 use one consistingof a strip °^' scant by 1 3-16cut the required length, 

 then I nail a Irianglar strip in the center of the first strip or top-bar, 

 each angle being about ■'■j of an inch, and cut the required length to 

 form a shoulder for a self-spacing end. This makes a good frame, 

 and at small cost. 



Rev. M. Mahin (Ind.) — I would not. I have always used top- 

 bars only i.j inch thick, and burr-combs and all that sort of thing 

 give me no trouble. If the bees build bits of comb between the top- 

 bar and the sections, or the extracting frames, I shave them off with a 

 putty-knife, and it is quickly and easily done. A thick top-bar takes 

 up too much valuable room. 



S. T. Pettit (Ont. )— No. Because, 1st, they cost more; 2d, they 

 add unnecessary weight; 3d, they unnecessarily occupy valuable space 

 in the hive; 4th, bees winter better on thin lop-bars, because they will 

 more readily pass over a thin one than a thick one; 5th, there will be 

 much less burr-combs and brace-combs between thin top-bars than 

 between thick ones. More than 30 years of observations and severe 

 experimentations have removed every doubt of my position from my 

 mind. Although I have admitted the necessity of care against old, 

 black wax from the brood-chamber, finding its way into the comb- 

 honey supers, I never have suffered from that cause. I was influenced 

 by the writings of others ; but if in reality there is any danger, I 

 would use other means than thick top-bars. 



R. C. AiKiN (Colo.) — I do not use the thick tops ; here I am again 

 ferninst the hive-makers, and have to have my frames a special order. 

 I am speaking of Langstroth frames now. The very fellows that will 

 jump onto my divisible brood-chamber hive, roaring about the bees' 

 "brooding sticks and spaces," will put a great lot of wood in a top- 

 bar, 1 inch, a space above that, and '-'^ more for the pattern-slat be- 

 tween the brood and sections ; then kick when we say honey-board to 

 them. Well, a honey-board added to all that would make it a long 

 way up to the sections. 



I use top-bars, in Langstroth frames, 3,,' inch thick (deep), and 

 without any kerf or groove for foundation, putting starters on with 

 melted wax. Those saw-kerf- wedge things are a nuisance; the 

 wedges shrink and fall out, even when they have been pounded in. 

 The melted-wax plan is almost as speedy, it not fully so, and better, 

 and leaves a smooth top-bar to scrape clean of wax if one ever wants 

 to scrape it. An additional half-inch depth to a top-liar is so very 

 trifling more protection against burr-combs that it does not pay at all. 

 Put that halt-inch into a honey-board, and it will do ten times as much 

 good against burr-combs. A honey -board is an absolute necessity 

 sometimes, and always valuable ; no hive should be without one. 





Contributed Articles 





Reappearance of Foul Brood— Preventing It. 



BY C. H. W. WKBER. 



IN 1875, Hilbert discovered that bacteria are the origina- 

 tors of many infectious diseases. 

 In 1854, Cohn proved the vegetable nature of bacteria, 

 and showed that foul brood was caused by those bacteria. 



Dr. Kolbe advocated salicylic acid for curing foul brood. 

 Since then, it has been proven, that the treatment of foul- 

 brood colonies with antiseptics is insufficient, and that a 

 successful cure is only to be expected of the colonies of bees 

 themselves, and of their natural treatment and development. 



In 1883, the creator of foul brood was described by Che- 

 shire and Cheyneasa thin bacillus slightly rounded on each 

 end, having a length of 3-5 to 4 thousandths millimeter, and 

 only colored with difficulty ; they named it " Bacillus alvei." 

 The temperature most favorable for its development is 

 37.S degrees R., or 115 degrees F. (Maximum 47 degrees R., 



