December, 1916. 



American Hee Joarnaij 



told me he had 12 colonies he would 

 like for me to take care of during 190-1. 

 When I went to look at them I found 

 them sitting in a row facing south with 

 a little straw thrown over back of them 

 but otherwise not protected. 



As it was a little cool I would not 

 open them, but felt sure there were 

 live bees in all of them. However, I 

 noticed one with a cover so badly 

 warped I could slip my fingers under 

 one side of it. This one I fully expected 

 to find very weak if not dead when I 

 looked them over later. Judge of my 

 surprise at unpacking time when I found 

 my loss to be about 25 percent, and 

 what were alive very weak in bees 

 while all 12 of my neighbor's were 

 alive and the one with the defective 

 cover the best one of the lot. This 

 experience marked the beginning of 

 another set of observations that are 

 proving in my practice directly the 

 opposite of all scientific theory ad- 

 vanced at the present time. 



Is not man's intellect making slow 

 progress improving on bees' instinct ? 

 I consider all radical changes made in 

 the interior or outside location of a 

 hive of bees after they are through 

 ■work in t/it fall and before they begin 

 ■work in the spring, as interfering more 

 or less with their instinct and to be 

 avoided as much as possible. 



Theory might prove to most of us 

 that it would be better for the mourn- 

 ing dove to build its nest under cover 

 that it might be protected from the hail 

 storms during incubation ; but it would 

 be a difficult matter to convince the 

 dove of the fact. 



I am seeking no controversy with 

 any one, only stating matters as I see 

 them. 



Rocky Ford. Colo. 



Sections Plain or Beeway ? 



BY E. F. ATWATER. 



IN an article entitled, "Sections and 

 Dividers (Separators) — Are They 

 Perfect in Construction ?" page 19, 

 Mr. F. Greiner reaches conclusions 

 with which, so far as separators are 

 concerned, we are in complete agree- 

 ment. Among the first fence separa- 

 tors tested by the writer, were some 

 with upright cleats yi-'inch wide, and 

 there is no question whatever that they 

 gave better satisfaction than those with 

 cleats % to 5-16 inch wide, as usually 

 made for some years p?st. 



The "sealing at the edges drawn 

 clear to the separator and attached to 

 the cleat " is something that is found 

 in far too many cases where the usual 

 narrow cleat is used, while with the 

 wide cleats this does not occur, as use 

 will demonstrate to those who wish for 

 a uniform non-leaking product of sec- 

 tion honey. 



Mr. Greiner says "grave doubt still 

 lingers in my mind as to whether the 

 freer communication the fence gives 

 to the bees as compared to the solid 

 separator is of any advantage." The 

 writer has produced carloads of comb 

 honey, and is sure that the advantage 

 of the free communication given by 

 any open separator is but slight, either 

 to the bees or their keeper, while the 

 openings favor gnawing of the fence 

 by the bees and ridgy surface of the 



comb honey, while if there is any 

 crowding, the comb may be built out 

 and capped in the opening, or at least 

 attached to the fence. So for many 

 years past the fence has been discarded, 

 and we in common with nearly all of 

 the practical carload producers of 

 honey have turned to the old standard 

 two beeway 4'4x4/4xl% section, en- 

 tirely satisfied that we get as fine a 

 product, so far as actual tparketability 

 is concerned, as can be obtained. 



Through this part of Idaho and Ore- 

 gon where many thousands of colonies 

 are kept, and where the writer was one 

 of the few to first engage in extensive 

 beekeeping, and has had the best of 

 opportunity to observe the growth and 

 development of the industry, the plain 

 section and fence separator were tried 

 for several years, but are, I believe, 

 now discarded by all the extensive pro- 

 ducers (even their most enthusiastic 

 advocates of the past) with one excep- 

 tion. 



The same appears to be true in Colo- 

 rado as of the extensive producers 

 there the writer knows none using the 

 fence system. Not that the old stand- 

 ard beeway section is perfect, but none 

 other has yet been developed that has 

 as many advantages. 



Now, in regard to the depth of the 

 beeway in beeway sections, Mr. Greiner 

 favors beeways only Js-inch deep in- 

 stead of the usual depth of 3-16 or a 

 a little more. It is true that with the 

 beeway only Js-inch deep the surface 

 of the comb is a little better protected 

 from careless handling, but as most 

 supers in use are of the section-holder 

 style (section-holders resting on strips 

 of tin or iron nailed to the lower inside 

 ends of the super), and used with scal- 

 loped separators, and as occasionally 

 the end-support of the separator pro- 

 duced by the scallop along its lower 



edge will break off, the separator will 

 drop down V to Yi inch at that end, 

 and if the beeway into the sections is 

 only >s inch, the bees cannot enter the 

 section at that opening, now reduced 

 to Js inch by the separator. 



With the usual opening the bees can 

 readily enter, even though all the sep- 

 arators were so broken. Many of our 

 supers contain section holders, and 

 with them we long ago gave up order- 

 ing separators with scallops, as in 

 cleaning and use the projecting parts 

 become broken off, when the separa- 

 tors will drop down, often inviting 

 comb-building at the then enlarged 

 space above. 



We have our separators for section- 

 holder supers sawed 1-12 inch thick 

 for durability, with no slots nor scal- 

 lops to favor breakage. The slight in- 

 crease in thickness makes them far 

 more durable, and contrary to the fears 

 expressed by some, there is no appar- 

 ent difference in the readiness with 

 which bees enter or work the supers, 

 though with Mr. Greiner's Js-inch in- 

 sets the bees would be barred out. 



In our opinion, and the opinion of 

 nearly all .producers with whom we 

 have talked, it was a great mistake to 

 "boom "the newer styles and sizes of 

 sections, etc., as there is endless con- 

 fusion in loading cars made up by 

 several producers, while there is no 

 question that grocers prefer, in the long 

 run, a uniform product, and the con- 

 sumer actually prefers honey not 

 capped to the edge, after using enough 

 of both kinds to form an opinion. 

 With an "extra fancy" honey all 

 capped to the edge, if as ripe as ours 

 usually is, a hot knife must be used and 

 dipped and wiped twice for each side in 

 cutting such honey out of the section 

 or every cell will be broken. 



Meridian, Idaho. 



Bee-K£eping <^ FbR Women 



Conducted bT Miss Emma M. Wilson. Mareneo, III. 



The Goldens 



Now, now, now! You bee people are 

 shaking the very foundations of a pet 

 dream of mine. I had hoped some- 

 time to have a large number of the 

 beautiful golden bees. My experience 

 with them is small, but some of the 

 evils laid to them I saw no indication 

 of. They may not be as hardy as the 

 leather colored, but for gentleness and 

 energy I found them away ahead of my 

 other bees. 



I made a great mistake, for I pur- 

 chased a pound package of bees Sept. 

 1, hoping they would build up enough 

 to winter. It was not a good fall and 

 the stores were not good. I lost, not 

 only the goldens, but most of the other 

 bees as well with dysentery. 



The bees were in fine shape when 

 they arrived. They took possession of 

 their new home and the queen began 

 to lay. I fed the sugar syrup and they 

 were afield every fair day. Robbers 



from a neighbor's hives were plentiful, 

 but never a one got into the goldens' 

 hive and came out again alive. I could 

 easily tell, for the neighbor bees were 

 dark. They were hived on old comb, 

 which they proceeded to clean up, and 

 they stored considerable syrup and 

 honey. I could handle them fearlessly 

 notwithstanding their vigilance in pro- 

 tecting the hive from robbers. The fall 

 was cold. I put them into the cellar 

 Nov. 1. None of my bees seemed as 

 active and as sweet as in former falls, 

 and very soon dysentery developed. I 

 was too much of a novice to be sure, 

 but I am of the opinion that most of 

 the stores were from honeydew. Be- 

 fore Feb. 1 the bees were dead. The 

 frames were badly stained. 

 Glover, Vt. Helen M. Mathie. 



Some speak disparagingly of goldens, 

 while others praise them highly. More 

 than one reason may be offered for 

 this. One reason consists in the fact 



