164 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



find absolutely no connecting' combs above the 

 brood-frames; and why? "No place to put them." 

 Next. Now, I had better say, further, that these 

 top-bars appeared to have been made from common 

 lath planed down to what the builder of these hives 

 thought to be about the thing', and were but little 

 if any more than J4 inch thick; but on the under 

 side of these wide bars were triangular comb- 

 guides, fully J£ of an inch thick. Whether these 

 heavy comb-guidos had any thing to do with the 

 prevention of burr-combs, I am not able to decide 

 positively; but I place more stress on the close 

 spacing, and some on extra width of top-bars. 



I would have continued experimenting on this 

 problem; but some years ago I went out of the 

 production of comb honey, as I found I could pro- 

 duce in my locality twice as much extracted, which 

 is always sold at 15 cents per pound, making honey- 

 raising in this way doubly profitable to me. 



FRAMES HELD AT FIXED DISTANCES. 



The use of staples in the manner illustrated and 

 explained by Mr. Phelps, for the purpose of holding 

 frames at fixed distances, is ingenious, simple, and 

 inexpensive. I can not think that the use of 

 frames at fixed distances will ever become general; 

 and whenever any one begins to talk of a system 

 for holding frames at fixed distances I begin to get 

 uneasy. I suppose this feeling was engendered by 

 the use, many years ago, of the close-fitting top- 

 bars of the American hive, and from the temper- 

 trying experience of extracting honey from some 

 hives with their frames arranged at fixed distances 

 by the use of staples and nails. I want a sharp 

 knife for uncapping; and to see a staple or nail 

 about a frame when I am slashing hurriedly a 

 razor-sharp knife, starts my blood to crawling. 



I have a good deal of hauling to do every year, 

 moving bees from one point to another; and when 

 the frames look as though they might not stay in 

 place, I fix them down by putting stout pieces of 

 frame-stuff across each end of the frames, just over 

 the rabbets; and by the use of two or three pretty 

 good screws driven into the rabbets these pieces of 

 wood can be pulled down tight enough to keep the 

 frames in place. If thought necessary, staples 

 might be put into these strips to keep the frames in 

 place in moving bees; but, keep the staples out 

 of the frames. 



The end-boards of the upper stories of my hives 

 are rabbeted on both [top and bottom] inside edges, 

 which arrangement permits the placing-in of the 

 strip above alluded to, as well as permitting the en- 

 amel cloth or quilts to go out over the ends of the 

 frames. J. A. Buchanan. 



Holliday's Cove, W. Va., Feb. .3. 



You have made some good points, friend 

 B., on the matter of the prevention of brace- 

 combs ; and it is interesting to know that 

 you have had experience these years in the 

 same line. A multitude of testimonies 

 coming now, establish the fact almost be- 

 yond doubt that burr-combs can be dispens- 

 ed with without a honey-board. With the 

 latter we shall have them between the top- 

 bars and the slats of the board. With wide 

 top-bars there are absolutely no burrs, pro- 

 viding the frames are spaced f^. inch apart, 

 so that it is not only possible to dispense 

 with a honey-board, but we have a great 

 many less burr-combs. — The point you make 

 in regard to staples interfering with the 

 honey-knife for uncapping is well taken, 



and that alone would almost forbid its use 

 among those producing extracted honey. 

 But we can, friend B., drive these staples 

 into the rabbets, and space the fiames apart 

 that way, and yet do away with all hitching 

 and interference with the honey-knife. If 

 we have the top of the frames so that they 

 can not shuck about, we shall not have very 

 much trouble, ordinarily, from the bottoms 

 knocking together. What we want is a 

 staple i inch wide, driven into the rabbets 

 at such distances as will space the frames 

 just {\; inch apart. A quarter of an inch 

 would be better than staples i%, because we 

 need a little play on account of propolis ac- 

 cumulations. With this close spacing we 

 need accurate spacing ; and the staple will 

 not only keep the frames fixed, but accu- 

 rately spaced. Ordinary blind staples, which 

 can be had at almost any of the hardware 

 stores, will answer. E. R. 



In addition to the above, I would say that, 

 come to think of it, it was these blind- 

 staples in the way of the honey-knife that 

 was largely instrumental in inducing my- 

 self and others, nearly twenty years ago, to 

 pull them out and throw them away. And, 

 by the way, will not the Van Deusen metal 

 corner be open to the same objection? Will 

 friends Hawk and Hetherington tell us 

 about this? 



TOP-BARS OF BHOOD-FRAMES. 



FRIEND DIBBERN'S EXPERIENCK. 



I HAVE been very much interested in the discus- 

 sion of the wide thick top-bars for brood-frames. 

 If the question is not yet ruled out, I wish to add 

 my mite of information on this interesting subject. 



Some years ago I came to the conclusion that I 

 must have a new hive, and somehow none of the 

 standard hives suited me as a whole; so I went tO' 

 work and planned a hive after my own ideas. I 

 used tops and bottoms of my brood-frames 1 x 54 

 inch, and they have given very good satisfaction. 

 I adopted this size more on account of strength, to 

 prevent sagging, than as a preventive of burr- 

 comb. As my frames are 1% from center to center, 

 there is just ■;'« inch between combs. After reading- 

 the Jan. 15th Gleanings I had about concluded I 

 would order the next lot of hives with 1^^ wide x ^ 

 thick top-bars: but after examining some five or 

 six hives that have had bees in for the past two and 

 three years, and finding almost no burr-comb at all,. 

 I decided to leave the width at one inch, but make 

 the bars M inch thick. Still, after examining the 

 combs critically, and noting that the comb, where 

 sealed up with honey, projects about ^ beyond the 

 wood on either side, I have decided to make a part 

 of my hives for next season with IJg-inch top-bars,, 

 with 14 inch between combs. I shall then be able 

 to reach an intelligent conclusion on this point. 



While a great deal has been written about the 

 tops of frames, bee-spaces, and honey-boards, I am 

 surprised that something has not been said about 

 the hottom-bars. Are they " all right," and entirely 

 unobjectionable? How about the space under the 

 bottom-bars? and what about the width of the side 

 bars? Some of my old L. hives have given me as 

 much trouble from burr-comb at the side and bot- 

 tom as at the top. I am aware that most of the 

 trouble comes from faulty construction. But, 



