1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



227 



try this next time you are troubled by the bees 

 reliirniiiiJ, and you will see them do just as I 

 liave saitl. This method has saved me $20, 

 this summer alone. 



2. In extracting, instead of elevating the ex- 

 tractor on a box I have a box sunk in the floor 

 of my honey house (open side up, of course), 

 large enough to hold two 60-lb. cans or a three- 

 gallon pail, ?nd covered with a tight trap door 

 sunk flush with the floor. When ready to ex- 

 tract I remove the trap-door, place the honey- 

 gate of the extractor over the box, and set the 

 cans under it. This is very handy where one 

 has an extractor with a large space under the 

 reel (mine holds 200 pounds), because the ex- 

 tractor is just high enough to be handy when 

 standing on the floor. 



3. In preparing outdoor colonies for winter, 

 where the hives are on or near the ground I 

 proceed as follows : Rip out sticks from yi 

 lumber, 20 inches long and one inch wide. 

 Take 7 pieces of lath, each 2 feet long ; place 

 one of the sticks at each end, and nail the lath 

 to them, spacing the lath equally, and leave 

 the sticks projecting one inch above and be- 

 low. This makes a hurdle, or frame, 2 feet 

 long and 20 inches wide. To protect the 

 hives, take three of these lath hurdles and 

 place them on edge to form three sides of a 

 square. Tie the sticks together at the corners, 

 and fasten across the front of the hive (which 

 is to be left unprotected), by running strong 

 twine across at top and bottom. Fill the space 

 around and under the hive with leaves or straw 

 pressed in tightly, and also cover the top of 

 the hive eight inches deep ; or, better, put on 

 a superful of coarse sawdust, using burlap 

 over the frames. These lath protectors may 

 be taken apart and stacked up during the sum- 

 mer, or used for chicken-coops by putting in 

 another side and a cover. With hives facing 

 the S^uth, and thus protected, I seldom or 

 never lose a good colony This may be an old 

 method, for it is a very simple and good one ; 

 but I have never seen it described. 



4. Speaking of feeders, by far the best one 

 for me is made of a box about 7X9 inches in- 

 side, and 3 inches deep, with a single piece of 

 board, cleated, for a cover. An entrance is 

 cut in one end and placed tightly against the 

 front of the hive, so no bees can enter except 

 from the hive. A wooden butter-dish is placed 

 in this box, and filled with feed. Of course, 

 this feeder can be used only in warm weather. 



These little boxes can be very cheaply made 

 from scraps, if one has a foot-power saw, and 

 they are the most convenient feeder I ever 

 used. The division-board feeder is excellent, 

 but costs at least three times as much to make. 



5. The editor recommends hand-hole saw- 

 dust for smoker fuel. I used it for some time, 

 and liked it very well until I discovered by ac- 

 cident that the smoke from it is almost as pun- 

 gent as cayenne pepper Just make a hot fire 

 with it, and take a sniff at the nozzle of the 

 smoker. If you are a humane man you will 

 never use it again. This may seem like a 

 small matter to some, but I think it is wrong 

 to cause unnecessary pain, even to the lower 

 animals, and most especially to the bees. 



Newman, 111. 



THE ORIGIN OF WIDE AND THICK TOP-BARS. 



Width Essential, but Thickness Unnecessary and 

 Wasteful. 



S. T. PETTIT. 



In GivEANiNGS, page 798, Dr. Miller gives 

 the width of his top-ljars, and I am glad of it. 

 He and you have said so much about deep top- 

 bars that I had come to think you reckon on 

 the deep feature as the chief factor in prevent- 

 ing burr and brace combs, while in reality it 

 cuts no figure at all in that line. It is the 

 width of the top-bar, or, rather, the X'inch 

 space that does the work — governs the whole 

 matter, practically so. 



Mr. Root, I know you want facts, even if 

 they do seem to cut deep ; then don't be star- 

 tled at this statement, for I am telling you an 

 important fact that will stand the severest 

 tests. 



Years ago I wrote this matter up, but it was 

 passed over as a thing of naught, while deep 

 top-bars have been unduly lauded, and bee- 

 keepers have suffered. In order to secure the 

 necessary rigidity I make mine ^s inch thick ; 

 but I'd much rather have them only }i thick, 

 if it were possible to have them of that thick- 

 ness, or, rather, of that thinness, having the 

 necessary rigidity. 



I hope you will allow me to disabuse the 

 minds of your readers upon this important 

 matter, and possibly some one may invent the 

 top bar above indicated. Indeed, thin top- 

 bars, whether the space is right or wrong, will 

 have less burr and brace comb than thick 

 ones ; and then there are also other advan- 

 tages. Let us notice the gain in space. 



The difference between }i and Js is % inch, 

 which in the different kinds of hives row in 

 use amounts to from 1600 to 2000 or more cells 

 to each hive. The saving of that space in 

 each hive is a matter worthy our best consid- 

 eration. Another gain, the bees more readily 

 enter the sections and stick more closely on 

 cool nights. When I think of the thousands 

 of deep top-bars you turn out annually, and 

 the consequent loss to your patrons, I can not 

 help feeling troubled about it. You are wel- 

 come to the honor of evolving the deep fea- 

 ture, but you will hardly claim the wide fea- 

 ture. I have v/ritten the above in a dogmatic, 

 querulous style, in order to catch your atten- 

 tion and hope to succeed. 



And now, Bro. Root, let us step into the 

 20lh century with a top-bar possessing the 

 nearest approach to perfection ever used ; that 

 is, one wide enough to form a Xi^^ch space 

 between them, and as thin as possible, having 

 the necessary rigidity. Such is the top-bar of 

 the 20th century, whether you lead the way or 

 not. The deep feature must go. I wish to 

 say a word about bottom-bars, if you will. 



They should be V inch wide, and about % 

 thick. A wider one, when being lifted out 

 and replaced, is hard on the bees, and may 

 injure the queen ; and, besides that, the bees 

 are more likely to sting ; and, more : Wide 

 bottom-bars are more likely to catch and choke 

 the hive with dead bees in winter ; but if they 

 are narrower, the bees are more likely to build 



