456 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



know that, when they have to, they will not en- 

 ter the sections as readily, nor work as willing- 

 ly, as when there is a large opening. I think 

 that, with me, zinc between the brood nest and 

 supers reduces the amount of section honey 

 stored, by nearly a fourth. With T tins, possi- 

 bly I'a'^j is enough for sections to be scalloped 

 out. Still, I much prefer to have a larger open- 

 ing so that, when using T tins, I can have the 

 separators wide enough to reach clear to the 

 top of the section. I never use any thin strips 

 between the rows. Before using T tins I lay 

 them on a square-edged iron, and, with a ham- 

 mer, pound the folds of the tins so tight togeth- 

 er that there is no need of strips between rows. 

 But I prefer section-holders to Ttins for a num- 

 ber of reasons, and believe I can fill two supers, 

 fitted with section- holders, with sections quick- 

 er than any one ever did or ever can fill one su- 

 per fitted with T tins, either nailed or loose; 

 but section- holders— or, at least, mine— have 

 one serious fault. Mine are all made of bass- 

 wood, and they warp, some up and some down. 



About the most satisfactory supers, all things 

 considered, that I have ever used, are some I 

 had made about like the dovetailed T supers 

 you sell, only mine are the same depth as the 

 regular section-holder super; and in these I use 

 the regular section holder, bottom slats loose, 

 without the end-blocks or bars. If these loose 

 slats warp, by turning the bow up after the su- 

 per is filled and wedged up tight, the sections 

 can all be pressed down perfectly even, and the 

 wedge can then be driven tight enough to hold 

 them in place. Thumb-screws would be nice 

 for this. With these supers I use plain separa- 

 tors, but wide enough to reach clear to the top 

 and bottom of the sections, which were scallop- 

 ed out full, or over 34' inch. The bees work in 

 these supers very readily. The sections are 

 kept the cleanest, and the combs are built 

 straighter and nicer than they are in any other 

 kind of super I have. 



From quite a good deal of experience in the 

 matter, I believe that bees will work much 

 more readily in sections, no matter what kind 

 of super is used, if the sections are scalloped 

 out full 54 inch at both top and bottom. I be- 

 lieve thai, if the merit of the super I have just 

 described were generally known, it would large- 

 ly supplant all others. It has all the merit of 

 the regular dovetailed super, and some decided 

 advantages. The slats are much easier to clean 

 and handle, without the end- bars; and, being 

 shorter, they are not so liable to sag or warp; 

 and if they do, then, by the method I explained, 

 the matter can be easily remedied, especially if 

 the supers were lilted with thumb-screws. They 

 are fully as easy to empty when full. There is 

 no space whatever between the sections end- 

 wise and the regular slotted or scalloped sepa- 

 rator; but shorter ones could be used, I think. 

 I shall fit up all those Hilton T supers I got of 



you, in this way; for to make them the right 

 size, it will be necessary only to nail quarter- 

 inch strips on the upper edges. 

 Southern Minnesota, May 7. 



[The openings in our sections are intended to 

 be 3% of an inch; this would make f^ for the 

 two openings. There was a time when our- 

 selves and many others made them narrower 

 than this; but we were among the first to in- 

 crease the width. If you look over more of 

 of these sections I think you will find they 

 measure more nearly ^%. I have just been down 

 and looked over our stuck, and measured quite 

 a lot, and find they are all exactly of this mea- 

 surement. A very light shrinkage, however, 

 in your case — that is, of sections that were kept 

 in stock at our Chicago branch — might account 

 in part for the difference in measurement. 



We can just a'^ easily as not make the open- 

 ings --^.T, or wider if necessary; and I am sure all 

 the manufacturers would as soon make it one 

 width as another. 



Your super, if I understand you, is not aT 

 super at all. but is simply a case long enough 

 to take in four rows of sections, and deep 

 enough to take in the sections and pattern- 

 slats, and yet allow a bee-space. Where there 

 are no end blocks or pieces the pattern-slats 

 are liable to get out of skew; and the conse- 

 quence is, openings in some cases, not coming 

 together in exact alignment, are made very 

 much narrower— the very thing you do not 

 want. 



We have made for years supers having mere 

 pattern-slats to hold up the sections, but finally 

 abandoned making them the lai^t year or two 

 because nobody wanted them. The objection 

 seemed to be on account of the slats not coming 

 in alignment with the sections, as I stated; 

 but in the case of the sectinn-holder arrange- 

 ment, the separators drop down between the 

 slats, and are held in position by the end pieces 

 so the sections must necessarily come squarely 

 over the slats.— Ed ] 



HOW ADULTERATION AFFECTS CALIFORNIA. 



ITS BANEFUL EFFECTS ON THE HONEY T RADE 

 IN PARTICULAR ; ADULTERANTS THEM- 

 SELVES ADULTERATED. 



By C. H. Clayton. 



DThe government scientists tell us that almost 

 every article of food in use is adulterated with 

 some inferior substance which is either posi- 

 tively harmful or merely of inferior value. In 

 looking over their reports one is astonished at 

 the lengths to which this shameful business is 

 carried. Much of the communion wine which 

 is used throughout the country is made by fer- 

 menting moldy raisins and decayed currants. 

 Sugar and sand are familiar mixtures. It is 

 said that there is a substance on the market 

 sold as powdered cinnamon, consisting entirely 

 of pulverized cigar-boxes, flavored with an essen- 

 tial oil. Of 200 samples of chocolate tested, only 

 20 were found to be pure. And so the list con- 

 tinues, embracing hundreds of articles of daily 

 use. That adulteration is wellnigh universal 

 is a known fact; but it is very difficult to fix the 

 guilt upon the culprits. In order -to receive at- 

 tention in a court of law, charges must be spe- 



