518 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 28, 1904. 



gives me straig-ht, well-constructed combs to start with, 

 and as my frames are " movable," I can widen the spaces 

 between the combs by removing one of the frames, and re- 

 spacing the others. This plan enables me to accommodate 

 the varying conditions of the inmates of the hive. 



R. L/. Taylor (Mich.) — a. I's inches, b. The same. 

 c. ly^ inches is about the distance preferred by the bees. If 

 further apart less brood could be covered by the bees in 

 cold weather, and if naturally closer there would be evident 

 inconvenience often, unless the combs were very true. 



Dr. C. C. Miller (111.) — a. l;'s, except as propolis 

 makes it a little more. b. Probably I's. c. That distance, 

 or a little more, seems to be the distance used by the bees 

 when left to themselves. It's easier to get hives and 

 frames for that distance, and I don't know of any objection- 



C. Davenport (Minn.) — I do not pay much attention to 

 this. The larger part of my hives are the 8-frame dove- 

 tailed, and some of them have a division-board, and many 

 of them have not the 8 frames occupying the whole space. 

 So far as practical results are concerned, I do not see any 

 difference. 



Rev. M. Mahin (Ind.)— a. 1'2 inches. They are loose 

 frames, and I regulate the distance by sight and feeling, 

 generally using my fingers to determine the distance be- 

 tween the frames, b. I would not make any change, c. I 

 find that to be about the average distance the bees build 

 their combs when left to themselves. 



Adrian Gbtaz (Tenn.)— a. Some l^s inches and some 

 lyi inches, b. 1}4 inches, or nearly so. c. Easier handling. 

 Possibility of pushing the frames a little closer when queen- 

 cages are to be kept betwen two of the frames, which are 

 then farther apart than usual. More space between the 

 combs, thus giving room for a more compact cluster during 

 the winter. 



James A. Green (Colo.)— a. I's inches, b. The same, 

 c. Because I believe this distance suits the bees best. I 

 hope no one will be misled by those who advocate a much 

 closer spacing. I once made a lot of hives in which the 

 frames (fixed distance) were about 1'+ inches apart. They 

 were no better in any way, and the bees wintered much 

 worse than in similar hives with wider spacing. 



I/. Stachelhausen (Tex.)— a. l.'< inches, b. The same 

 distance, 1% inches, c. If a swarm of bees builds the first 

 two combs in a natural state, these combs have a distance 

 from center to center of 34.5 mm.; that is somewhat over 

 1' i inches. Combs which are started later from the same 

 swarm are distanced a little farther apart. This is proof 

 enough that this larger distance is no hindrance for the 

 bees. Combs distanced 1/4 inches are easier to handle that 

 closer distanced. 



E. S. EovKSY (Utah) — I am not very particular about 

 the distance from center to center. I use Hoffman self- 

 spacers, about l^s inches, and as my hives are 16 inches, 

 outside measurement, I usually put 10 frames in the brood- 

 chamber ; but when I put in frames that have been used be- 

 fore, I often fill up with 9, and I note little or no difference 

 as to results, only in wintering I prefer 9 to 10 frames. In 

 the super or top box I fill up with 8 or 9 frames, the less 

 frames the more honey, as the bees build them thicker and 

 heavier. 



E. D. TowNSEND (Mich.)— a. l^s inches for the brood- 

 chamber, and 1 ;4 for the upper stories, b. We are building 

 all our new hives as above, and see no reason for a change, 

 c. l;s inches is about as close spacing as is practical to 

 have in the brood-chamber. There are many reasons why 

 anything wider is worse than useless. We use 8 frames in 

 a 10-frame upper story to extract from, then run the un- 



capping knife deep, uncapping the whole side of a Lang- 

 stroth frame at one stroke, holding the comb in such a posi- 

 tion that the cappings fall direct into the uncapping tank, 

 noi bad on the comb. Then you get more wax without any 

 apparent loss of honey. Thick combs uncap much faster 

 than thin ones ; then there is 20 percent less to uncap to 

 get the same amount of honey. 



( 



Contributed Articles 



] 



Best Management for Section Honey. 



BY S. T. PBTTIT. 



ON page 439 Dr. Miller gives a friendly criticism and de- 

 fends his method of taking comb honey. Criticising, 



he says : " But the total trend is toward the advice 

 that in no case should the supers of sections be removed 

 till all sections are completely finished, so long as the har- 

 vest continues." 



My own advice is, that in no case should the supers of 

 sections be removed so long as the white honey harvest 

 continues, and then they should come off, finished or un- 

 finished. And I am fully convinced that my method will 

 have as few unfinished sections as any practice known to 

 the profession, and I and the bees are spared that sore 

 trial of overhauling and removing sections during the 

 honey-flow. 



You say. Doctor, "If I had followed such advice last 

 year I think it would be a moderate estimate to say that the 

 loss would have been flOO." Probably you are right, but 

 your fixtures are (pardon me, for I must say it) not what I 

 think are the best. My supers hold 36 4 '4x4 '4 sections, 

 and most of the bees go up the sides and near the rear end 

 of the hive, and are made comfortable at the sides by the 

 use of dividers, and the congested condition of the centers of 

 your hives and supers is abated in mine. (More about 

 dividers at some future time.) 



Any unfinished sections from the previous year I put 

 next to the super walls ; you put them in the center. I want 

 the bees evenly distributed throughout the supers ; I aim 

 at relieving that undesirable crowding of the center of the 

 hive and supers which causes, among other evils, travel- 

 stained sections. Of course, I must have strong colonies 

 for my system. 



Another thing, in your practice, with which I can not 

 agree, is putting new sections on top of sections instead of 

 under them. To work on these the bees must travel over 

 the partly finished sections, and we know what will happen 

 to them in that case. Farther along you say : " Soon after 

 that the white surface begins to be darkened — at least that 

 is the way it is here — probably caused by the bees bringing 

 up bits of black from the brood-chamber below." Thank 

 you, my good friend, for that cheerful confession, that the 

 % of an inch deep top-bars doesn't cure all the ills claimed 

 for it. But, after all, I don't think the bees go below for 

 old wax, so long as their sacs are full of new honey ; but if 

 they do, then let's adopt thin top-bars and excluders. You 

 may count on it that the drones help to destroy whiteness 

 of sections. 



I am glad. Doctor, that you admit that honey will be of 

 better body if left on for considerable time after being 

 capped ; that a section of honey taken from the hive during 

 a rapid flow, just as soon as it is scaled, unless properly 

 managed afterward, is in some dangi r of becoming watery 



