THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



317 



lower edges (in lien of holes), wliioh, al- 

 though a necessity ])revious to the adoj)- 

 tion of the separator, are now, through its 

 use. destined to heconie obsolete. 



With advancement both as regards the 

 .style and finish of .sections as well as the 

 product, the use of separators also be- 

 came imperative through the demand for 

 combs of a uniform thickness, they being 

 le.ss liable to breakage both through 

 handling and tran.sportation as well as l)e- 

 ing more imifonn in weight; all of which 

 are considerations of importance. So we 

 have been compelled by the demands of 

 competitive trade to acknowledge that. 

 " Nece.ssity is the mother of Invention. " 



What a beautiful contrast with the 

 rough, square and oblong boxes, are the 

 beautiful white polished sections of today; 

 and now. through the use of separators we 

 are enabled to dispense with the depres- 

 sions, and cater to the trade still more 

 fully by using, the plain sections. 



That there are atlvantages to be derived 

 from using the plain section is obvious. 

 The first con.sideration being one of cost, 

 shows that they contain 1-7 le.ss material 

 than those having depressions affording 

 passageways for the bees. As these latter 

 also require time and machinery in the 

 making, they cannot be sold as cheaply 

 as the plain ones. I have purchased the 

 plain sections for 52.00 per thousand 

 against the old style at $2. 50, the quality 

 being first class, in fact, the best I ever 

 used. The weight should also be taken 

 into consideration, it being quite an 

 object with purchasers who pay, for wood, 

 the price of honey. I find upon averag- 

 ing the weight of a number, that the 

 l)lain sections weigh -'? of an ounce each 

 against V for the old style. This in ad- 

 dition to its beauty is quite an induce- 

 ment to the jmrchaser. It may not 1)e 

 amiss to remark that the advanced price 

 obtained is also more than enough to cov- 

 er the advantage'gainefl by the purcha.ser. 



.\nother arlvantage which is well worth 

 our consideration is the saving in shi])- 

 ping cases. I use the no-drip, three-row. 

 twelve-lb. section case which vnll accom- 

 modate _Ay?<v« plain ones — a saving of 



one case to every 60 sections — four cases 

 l>eing required instead of five for the old 

 style of sections, a saving of 20 per cent. 

 I tlesignate the two kinds of sections as 

 the plain and old .style, terms which we 

 use here in Jackson. It may also be well 

 to note in this connection, that the plain 

 section al.so makes a nuich nicer package 

 and the wrapping paper is less liable to 

 break while being tied. 



I will state, parenthetically, that the 

 plain section also admits of the most per- 

 fect and rapid work in cleaning by ma- 

 chinery — that not only every vestige of 

 propolis is removed, but also the stain, if 

 care is exercised — in fact the sections 

 appear absohitely fietL' and bright, which 

 gives added beauty to the honey, thus 

 increasing its market value. As to the 

 machine and its work I \\-ill speak more 

 fully hereinafter. 



The transcendent point of excellence, 

 however, is the beauty and attractiveness 

 of the finished product in such sections 

 when filled between properly constructed 

 separators, and super sides. My honey has 

 thus far commanded the highest price, 

 and is sold exclusively by the best and 

 most reliable grocers here in Jackson 

 — one house having already spoken for 

 the sale of it another season to the e.x- 

 clusion of all others, notwithstanding, 

 hone}' has been sold by farmer bee keep- 

 ers at ruinous prices; but. being produced 

 without separators the sections are more 

 or less bulged, and lack the snowy white- 

 ness which characterizes clover honey 

 when removed as soon as well fill- 

 ed and sealed. Of course the sections 

 being ••machine cleaned" has added 

 nuich to the attractiveness of my honey. 



In adopting the plain section, addition- 

 al expense nnist be incurred by procuring 

 a good super and sejiarators. However, 

 the saving in cost of sections and ship- 

 ping cases annually, to say nothing of the 

 increased value of the i)roduct. will in a 

 vear or two largely if not wholly compen- 

 sate for the additional outlay. 



I am a believer in tin separators. They 

 are durable and can be readily cleaned of 



