1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



335 



but if I can dispense with them I surely do so. 

 My experience is, that by their use more hon- 

 ey is stored in the brood-chamber, the brood 

 is crowded too much, and the colony is too 

 weak when the honey- flow ceases. 

 Converse, Texas. 



SEPARATORS v. NO SEPARATORS. 



Advantages of Free Communication ; Facing Comb 

 Honey. 



BY M. A. GILI,. 



While the majority of honey-producers use 

 separators, the fact remains that a great many 

 do not. Many of the former class think that 

 it is at least impracticable, if not impossible, 

 to produce a nice gilt-edge article without the 

 use of separators, while many of the latter 

 class believe that the bees enter the supers 

 more readily without their use, and, further- 

 more, that the bees can cluster clear across 

 the super, which enables them to economize 

 better their heat ; consequently the construc- 

 tion of comb is carried on faster without the 

 use of separators than with. I myself believe 

 this to be true during a moderate honey-flow 

 and cool weather ; but with strong colonies 

 and a good honey-flow I confess I can see no 

 difference. However, I have no trouble in 

 raising a nice article by either method. 



But I think everybody should admit (wheth- 

 er he will or not) that honey raised with sep- 

 arators is faced up a little truer and neater 

 than without them. But other things have 

 led me to use a system between the two. 



The Colorado Bee-keepers' Association has 

 adopted 22 lbs. as the net weight of a 24-lb. 

 case of honey. Now, while this is, perhaps, 

 about right, I have thought that there should 

 be a difTerence between the weight of the sep- 

 aratored and the non-separatored honey — say 

 21 lbs. for the one and 23 lbs. for the other. 

 There are many colonies that will not store 

 quite 22 lbs. net where separators are used. 



Now, before I give my plan I wish to advise 

 every beginner to use separators (and many 

 who do not) as the looks of their honey crop 

 would be greatly improved ; and to the man 

 who puts up a nice honest article, always in 

 marketable shape, I have nothing to say. 

 Let him raise it as he will. 



The non-separator man is ahead on weight ; 

 but look at 100 cases of each kind piled up 

 side by side, and the separator man's honey 

 looks the nicer. Why ? Because it is the 

 most even in finish. 



Now I don't wish to start any thing, but I 

 wish to say emphatically that the non-sepa- 

 rator honey has the weight, has the value, is 

 just as good, but does not look as well. As I 

 said before, it does not have that even finish. 



In order to obtain the required weight, and 

 still have plenty of honey for facing, I have 

 been using two separators in an eight-frame 

 super. This divides the super into three equal 

 apartments, and allows the bees to cluster in 

 quite large clusters. A hive equipped in this 

 way with full-sized starters, a strong colony of 

 tees (have them strong if it takes all the bees 



you have got), and one thousand acres of al- 

 falfa within 1 Yz miles, will raise fine honey by 

 almost any method if ) ou will set your hive 

 laterally by a spirit-level. 



Before I go any further I must go back and 

 attend to that facing business or some one 

 might draw upon his imagination, and take 

 me to task for facing honey. First, I will say 

 I believe in and practice facing honey. I do 

 it, not only for my own benefit, but for the 

 benefit of the retailer. Every case of honey 

 is the retailer's " show-case." The customer 

 sees the honey, is attracted by its looks, and 

 places his order. He, perhaps, never again 

 sees it until it is cut from the section and on 

 his table. I will warrant that he will get any- 

 where, from a case of my honey, the same 

 grade and value that he would from one of 

 the face sections. But it might not look so 

 much like the rest of the face. 



In conclusion I will say to the separator 

 men in Colorado, try a few supers, with only 

 two separators, and see if you don't still have 

 nice honey and a little better weight. And 

 let the non-separator men try a few and see if 

 they don't still have good weight and a little 

 nicer honey. 



Longmont, Colo., Dec. 20. 



[In the East, nearly every producer seems 

 to be in favor now of using separators ; but I 

 was surprised to see there were some in Colo- 

 rado who still thought they could dispense 

 with them profitably, and yet be able to put 

 out good marketable honey. But one signifi- 

 cant fact was that some of those who once 

 advocated the non-use of separators, or only 

 one or two in a super, had gone completely 

 back on such advocacy, and now recommend- 

 ed separators between all the rows of sections. 



According to our own experience, we have 

 sometimes wished there were a law by which 

 every producer would be co^npelled to use 

 separators. Some of the very ones who claim 

 that their non-separatored honey was as fine 

 as any that could be produced — perfectly 

 cratable, etc, have shipped some of their 

 product to us, and such times as we have had 

 with it 1 One face would be bulging out 

 against the other, and a great deal of the 

 honey would be leaking. If the veterans 

 make bad work of it, what shall we say of 

 the beginner ? If one thinks free communi- 

 cation is a good thing, let him use the fence. 

 Thus he has a very nice compromise. — Ed.] 



AlKIN'S PLAN OF PRODUCING COMB HONEY. 



A Scheme to Control Swarming; Intelligent Expan- 

 sion Followed by Contraction ; the Use of 

 Double Brood-chambers. 



BY R. C. AIKIN. 



Here is a matter for you to try in your api- 

 aries. It is the system to be used with shal- 

 low divisible-brood-chamber hives. You have 

 eight-frame hives. Take two of these for a 

 brood-chamber through the spring. Manage 

 so as to have the brood as much as you can in 

 one of the chambers, say by having the brood- 



