1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



749 



kings" (Root, Doolittle, Dr. Miller, and oth- 

 ers). Here conies Pettit, in Ainciican Bee 

 Journal, crying for a thin-top-bar frame, but 

 advocating width as essential for the preven- 

 tion of burr-combs. Mr. Petlit, I believe, 

 speaks from the view-point of the conib-honey 

 producer — at least I can scarcely tolerate the 

 1 's inch-wide top-bar in exlracting-supers. A 

 few firms are pushing a thin-top-bar Hoffman 

 frame, " better and cheaper ; " believe it not ; 

 they sag, not a little, but too much. I have 

 had wired frames of this class sag fully }< 

 inch wiien heavy with honey. The old-style 

 molded top bar frame about fs inch thick has 

 never sagged, even when used as extracting- 

 frames, answering perfectly for combs weigh- 

 ing as much as 7 to 10 lbs. In our yard we 

 have in use hundreds of old-fashioned trian- 

 gular top-bar L. frames, 's inch wide; and 

 for extracting, and ease and rapidity of un- 

 capping, they are away ahead of the mod- 

 ern (?) 1^^ inch-wide top-bar abominations, 

 and my combs a; ^ built out thick, as I use 

 only 8 combs in most of the 10 frame extract- 

 ing supers. 



Now Doolittle, in Amer. Bee Journal, tells 

 us that he uses top-bars iVXli^e- U ^ top-bar 

 of this thickness will not sag, it would be a 

 little better than a thickness of y% inch or % 

 inch ; but the width would make it any thing 

 but a good frame for extracting. What, then, 

 shall we have? My answer, dictated by some- 

 what limited experience, is that, for the pro- 

 ducer of extracted-honey, a top-bar '/% inch 

 wide is the very best. The thickness must be 

 sufficient to prevent sagging, perhaps % inch. 

 Let us hear from the veterans in the produc- 

 tion of extracted honey, for dissatisfaction 

 with the 1 Yi inch top-bar is abroad in the land. 

 E. F. ATWATER. 



Meridian, Idaho, Aug. 12. 



[I would state for the benefit of Mr. Atwater, 

 as well as for Mr. Pettit, there is a large num- 

 ber, in the West especially, of extracted-hon- 

 ey men who will not have a wide top-bar. 

 They insist that their extracting-combs shall 

 have narrow bars so they can uncap easily. 

 If the combs bulge much, they not only un- 

 cap but cut off the bulges ; and these bulges 

 of wax, they contend, help to increase their 

 profits, as they consider wax production an 

 important part of the bee business. 



Another, who owns 500 colonies, Mr. W. L. 

 Chambers, of Phceaix, Ariz., wants his top- 

 bars 07ie inch thick. Yes, it is perfectly true 

 that we can not bring every one to our stan- 

 dard of m.easure. The fact of the matter is, 

 the Root Co. makes several different .styles of 

 frames, and we supph' for the Western trade 

 narrow top-bar frames almost by the carload. 

 —Ed.] 



A RELAPSE OF BEE FEVER TO AN OLD VETERAN 

 IN THE BUSINEJiS. 



BY MRS. I-. HARRISON. 



IMr. Editor : — I've had a relapse of bee fe- 

 ver. It appears strange, since it ha.s been so 

 many years since I had such a severe attack, 

 and it came on so suddenlv too. 



Last season I filled the second story of an 

 L. hive with empty combs to protect them ; 

 and in the fall, when I prepared the bees for 

 winter, I let this colony alone, excusing my- 

 selt by saying we have such near neighbors if 

 I stir them up by taking out those combs to 

 extract them, some one may get stung, and 

 run after the police. So I told the bees I 

 didn't believe they had much honey any way, 

 and that they were welcome to all they had. 



This colony verified the truth of this say- 

 ing, that bees build up stronger in spring when 

 they have a full pantry They knew that 

 there was no danger of their children starv- 

 ing, and reared a large family. They soon be- 

 came so strong as to hang out, and Mr. Har- 

 rison divided them, putting empty combs into 

 the upper story. 



One morning, while enjoying my rocking- 

 chair in the shade of a catalpa-tree, I said to 

 myself (I'm deaf, but she can always hear), 

 "I'll not let that colony have all the honey 

 they gather this year — so I'll not." I left my 

 rocking-chair, and went into the honey-house. 

 I tackled the extractor that had long remained 

 idle, took out the gearing, washed and oiled 

 it, and felt so good that I oiled the pump and 

 clothes-wringer. Spiders had taken posses- 

 sion of the inside of the extractor, and I en- 

 joyed slashing the water around ; washed the 

 tin bucket for carrying combs ; sharpened the 

 uncapping-knife, and scraped out the smoker, 

 all the time my enthusiasm growing, and 

 tingling in my finger tips. I felt youthful, 

 and full of love to God and man. 



I lighted my smoker, and paid my respects 

 to the bees. They were civil, and treated me 

 like a lady. I gave them a little smoke at 

 the entrance, and then on top of their combs, 

 and removed them to the honey-house. How 

 delightful to uncap and put into the extractor, 

 and see the honey running out into a jar cov- 

 ered with cheese-cloth ! And now we have a 

 nice jar of honey for our cakes another win- 

 ter. 



A friend told me lately that, during the 

 blooming, of his tulip-trees, there was a sound 

 as if a swarm were among the branches. These 

 trees are large forest-trees, and were trans- 

 planted many years ago from the Wabash Val- 

 ley, of Indiana.. It appears that they bear 

 honey in this locality. 



During the great heat and drouth, bees car- 

 ried much water, and appeared to gather some 

 honey. It may have been from the button- 

 bush, as the Illinois River lowered. White 

 clover is yet blooming in yards that are water- 

 ed from city hydrants, and sweet clover has 

 taken possession of all uncultivated land. 

 Residents call it weeds, and call on the police 

 to cut it down ; but, like the children of Israel, 

 the more it is persecuted the more it multi- 

 plies and grows. Bees work upon it much of 

 the time. 



I doubt if this locality will ever yield honey 

 in the future as in the past. Paved streets 

 and shingles yield no nectar. Lands that 

 were overflowed and left uncultivated are be- 

 coming valuable and drained ; where the plow 

 and reaper go, there is small chance for bees. 

 It appears to me that it would be for the good 



