July, 1918 



G L E A N I N (1 R IN B ]<: K C U L T U R E 



407 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



the combs. An apiarist who uses shallow 

 frames can drive the auto truck right into 

 the beeyard and load up the honey after 

 smoking and jouncing out the bees, the 

 jouncing part being impossible with large 

 combs. The frames should be self-spacing, 

 with projections wide enough sO' that eight 

 frames will fill a ten-frame super. It is im- 

 practicable to have wider spacing for the 

 Langstroth frame than the regular equip- 

 ment, as they would make all kinds of trou- 

 ble by getting mixed with the brood-frames. 

 There can be no hand-spacing in a well- 

 equipped beeyard. A great saving is in the 

 foundation that can be used. Full sheets of 

 section foundation fill the bill, cutting the 

 cost nearly one-half, if you take the time of 

 wiring into account, wiring not being need- 

 ed in shallow frames. 



I find that queen-excluders can be dispens- 

 ed with, as the queen is crowded out during 

 the honey- flow; and if there should be any 

 brood left it is usually capped. By using 

 an extractor with large pockets, the extract- 

 ing may be done nearly as rapidly, since two 

 shallow frames may be placed in each pocket. 

 The great argument against shallow frames 

 is the extra handling, which is only in un- 

 capping and extracting, as no separate su- 

 per frames are handled at the beeyard. If 

 you have your extracting-house arranged 

 right, they can be handled very rapidly. 



Hamburg, N. Y. Elmer Gressman. 



[Many beekeepers do not recognize this 

 last objection, believing they can uncap two 

 shallow combs in fully as short a time as one 

 deep one. We think shallow frames should, 

 however, be wired to prevent the combs 

 breaking when extracted. — Editor.] 



WHY WIDE SPACING 



Saves on Investment and Time and Makes the 

 Colony Strong 



Altho most of us agree that 1% inches 

 from center to center is correct spacing for 

 our frames before they are filled with comb, 

 in my practice after they are filled, I find 

 so many advantages of wider spacing that 

 enumerating them may be of service to a 

 few readers of Gleanings. 



Wide spacing eliminates at least one comb 

 from each story, thus saving at least 10 per 

 cent to 12 per cent on the investment for 

 combs, and in no case have I observed any 

 necessity whatever for the missing frame. 



It makes one less frame to handle per 

 story, which in a day 's work amounts to a 

 considerable saving, and, in a season, to a 

 great deal. Also, it is nearly always much 

 easier to get the first frame out. 



It gives just the right amount of new 

 tender wall between the old cocoons of the 

 brood and the cappings to allow the capping 

 knife to work to best advantage. What is 



nicer than uncapping good, thick, well-filled 

 frames of honey? 



One frame less per super affords quite a 

 little more storing room. There is one less 

 bee-space to be left vacant. This is a slight 

 advantage with strong stands. 



Many beemen think thej^ obtain more wax 

 in the cappings by wide spacing. I never 

 could satisfy myself that it amounted to 

 much, one way or another. Below the cap- 

 pings the walls of a cell are extremely thin 

 — like the thinnest tissue paper. Leaving 

 out one frame gives just 1% inches more of 

 this thin wall distributed over the different 

 combs. I can 't make myself believe that it 

 amounts to very much — at least not much 

 more than the cappings would from the 

 frame that is left out. 



Some beekeepers claim that wide spacing 

 reduces swarming. I firmly believe that it 

 does myself; and I have a number of good 

 reasons for believing it. 



A brood-nest spaced wide requires a larger 

 number of bees to maintain the same sized 

 cluster. That is, the cluster must be com- 

 posed of more bees and less comb, and the 

 difference is quite appreciable, particularly 

 in the spring. This tends to prevent chilled 

 or overheated brood, and allows a considera- 

 bly larger force of nurse bees to care for a 

 given quantity of brood, as well as a larger 

 proportionate number of field bees to procure 

 pollen, water, and nectar during the early 

 Isrood-rearing period. I notice, in spring, 

 the bees frequently have a tendency to ex- 

 tend their brood-nest beyond what they can 

 properly care for, which results in chilled or 

 partially starved brood. I notice this con- 

 dition most frequently among bees of poor- 

 er hereditary habits or tendencies. I find 

 that my best stock nearly always have lav- 

 ishly fed brood, and it is their habit of 

 properly caring for their young, keeping 

 them warm, and giving them plenty to live 

 and grow on, to which I attribute their bet- 

 ter working qualities, individually longer 

 lives, and general excellence. We do not 

 expect good results from any kind of poorly 

 raised stock — why expect bees to break the 

 rule. This habit of being "good mothers" 

 is almost entirely hereditary, (altho of. 

 course influenced largely by weather and cir- 

 cumstances) but it is very largely encourag- 

 ed and helped by the wide spacing, and may 

 be controlled to a considerable degree by 

 contraction of the brood-nest. 



In putting your bees away for the winter, 

 give them plenty of good stores and nice, 

 wide spaces to cluster in. They can main- 

 tain their temperature much better, and, it 

 seems to me at least, that they come out in 

 noticeably better condition in the spring. 



Of course, the bees, and beemen, like the 

 1%-inch spacing for getting combs drawn 

 out, but hereafter, for my part, I want my 

 combs IY2 to 1% inches apart. 



Overton, Nev. T. W. Eiggs. 



