1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



19 



space between the top-bar and bottom of the sec- 

 tion, and a fine lot of brace-combs is the result. 

 Now remove the brace-combs from the top-bars, 

 bring- the super down to within k inch of top-bar, 

 and I have yet to find the first brace-comb. 



There is still another point of equal importance 

 with adjusting supers, that must be manag-ed in 

 connection with it in order to insure complete suc- 

 cess; tliat is, in properly adjusting the frames; for 

 I consider that just as much depends upon the lat- 

 ter being properly spaced as does the super being 

 brought (Joit'd to the reciuired distance, for brace- 

 combs are almost invariably started on the side of 

 the top-bar, and for no other reason than the one 

 above given— too much space. Mr. J. E. Pond, sev- 

 eral years ago, wrote an article in regard to crowd- 

 ing frames closer together in order to compel bees 

 to enter sections more readily. I considered the 

 i<lea of so much importance that I spaced my 

 frames in all new hives scant 1% inches from cen- 

 tci' to center. At the close of the season I found 

 the result was more than Mr. Pond had claimed. I 

 not only succeeded in inducing my bees to enter 

 sections more readily, but I found far less brace- 

 combs than on any other hives. Whenever any 

 were found, the cause was quite apparent — too 

 much space existed between the top-bar and bot- 

 tom of section. Following up that idea the next 

 season, I brought uiy supers down so there was 

 scant '^a space between the top-bar and sections. 

 At the close of that, the second season with the new 

 method of contracting frames, I was satisfied I had 

 a preventive for bragecombs. 



Now, in regard to tlie best width for a top-bar: 

 All things considered, 1 think the one-inch wide is 

 preferable. It allows a little more stores for winter 

 underneath than the h. When we have the inch- 

 wide bir spaced \^» from center to center, we have 

 taken the first step toward preventing the building 

 of brace-combs; and by bringing supers down so 

 there shall be scant '■>» space between the top-bar 

 and bottom of section, we have the whole matter of 

 preventing brace-combs under our control. 



Chittenango, N. Y., Dec. t>, 18^9. P. L. Smith. 



S. A. 8huck writes : 



THICK TOP-BARS PREFERRED; THEV PREVENT 

 BRACE COMBS!, AND WHY. 



I wish to offer a few thoughts concerning heavy 

 top-bars. About nine years ago I purchased :iO(l all- 

 wood brood-frames of A. I. Root. These were, I 

 thought, very light; and with what I had of my 

 own make they gave me frames enough for .')0 col- 

 onies. In 188;i I made about 700 more frames. 

 These were like my former make, top-bais 's wide 

 by ii inch thick. 



The season of 1882 was a good one; and when fall 

 came I was completely disgusted with light top- 

 bars for brood-comb. The light top-bars had sag- 

 ged, in many instances, from !i to 2 of an inch; 

 and the bees, in their efforts to even up matters, 

 had poked bits of wax " all over" them. 



I have nearly all of these frames yet; and al- 

 though I have scraped the wax off from them from 

 year to year I have not become reconciled to them. 

 In the mean time I have made several hives with 

 top-bars one inch, and some I'a inches wide; and so 

 long as these wide tojj-bars were kept all in the 

 same hives, and properly spaced, and the space 

 above the frames kept at '«,or a very little less 

 than '« inch, there has been no trouble with brace- 

 combs. But just as soon as these frames were in- 



terchanged with those having 'a -inch top-bars, or 

 from any cause the space above the frames be- 

 came too large or too small, the brace-combs ap- 

 peared. 



Dr. Miller says: " I wonder if it is not the simple 

 matter of distance that prevents the bees from 

 starting brace-combs." That is, undoubtedly, the 

 sequel to the whole thing. And this, too, is the 

 very reason that Heddon and others place so mu(;h 

 stress on exact measurements and distances. 



DISPENSING WITH HONEY-BOARDS AND BRACE- 

 COMBS. 



During the past season I have used T supers on 

 about 'M hives without honey-boards. The top-bars 

 in these hives are 'ti inch thick by 1% inches wide. 

 There were no brace-combs built between or on 

 top of these frames this season; and 1 feel confi- 

 dent that, so long as the proper distances are main- 

 tained between frames and between tops of frames 

 and supers, no more bi'ace-combs appear than will 

 appear between supers and the upper surface of 

 queen-excluders. 



As for distance of sections from brood-chamber, 

 let us reckon a little. With top-bar |-inch, space 

 between top-bar and queen-excluding slat-zinc or 

 break-joint honey-rack "B-inch, thickness of honey- 

 rack "s inch, space between honey-rack and section- 

 case ?i-inch,in all 154 inches. With "^s-inch-thick top- 

 bar and if'g-inch space between top-bar and section- 

 case we have but 1,4 in.; and with all-zinc exclud- 

 ers it is only IJs inches; so the best that can be done 

 with i^ii-inch top-bars and all-zinc excluders, not al- 

 lowing any thing for the thickness of the zinc, is 

 only \ inch less than with %-inch top-bar and no 

 honey-rack. It appears to me that '« of an inch is 

 not enough to make any appreciable difference in 

 the amount of honey obtained, and but very little 

 to boast of, if we take Into consideration the frail- 

 ty of frames with only 'a-inch top-bar. 



Liverpool, 111., Nov. 21, 1889. S. A. Shuck. 



HENRY ALLEY AND BRACE-COMBS. 



In the December number of the ApicuUu- 

 rist, page 18;^, I noticed the followinj>- para- 

 graphs on the subject before us : 



The Bay State beehive is one of the best in use, 

 as no brace-combs are ever found between the sec- 

 tions and the top of the frames. Nor was a queen 

 ever known to enter and deposit eggs in any of the 

 sections, notwithstanding the fact that no slatted 

 honey-board or other device is used to exclude the 

 queen. 



A hive which permits the bees to build brace- 

 combs in any part of the brood-chamber is a nui- 

 sance in any apiary. Convert such hives iato kin- 

 dling-wood, as that is the most proper use to which 

 to put them. If you have frames with a 'a top-bar, 

 destroy them and adopt the wide top-bar, and thus 

 take some comfort in keeping bees. 



And again on the same page, in answer to 

 a correspondent, Mr. Alley uses these 

 words : 



Where a .'a-inch-wide top - bar is used, and the 

 space between the top-bar and the sections is % of 

 an inch, one needs a heavy bar with which to piy 

 up the section-cases when they are to be removed 

 from the hive. 



Having a curiosity to know exactly what 

 frame Mr. Alley uses, I next consulted his 

 book— the ' Bee-keeper's Ilandy-book.'' On 

 page 84 1 hnd this : 



OB.IECTION TO NARROW TOP-BARS. 



The most serious objection to the narrow top- 

 bar is the fact that the bees build the combs be- 

 tween the bars, and fasten them to the honey- 

 board, bottom of the sections, or to whatever the 

 frames are covered with. When this is the case it 



