October, 1915. 



American Hee Journal 



general that bees begin work much 

 more readily in an extracting super 

 than in a section super. 



If both the extracting super and the 

 section super are filled with founda- 

 tion, or if both are filled with drawn 

 combs, then there will be no percepti- 

 ble difference as to the promptness of 

 the bees in beginning work, although 

 it is quite possible there may be a 

 slight difference in favor of the extract- 

 ing super, since the bees may not like 

 so well the separators and the smaller 

 compass of the sections. 



But let an extracting super be filled 

 with foundation and the section super 

 with drawn comb, and the bees jc/// 

 prefer the section suAer eTery time. 



Neither is it necessary that the super, 

 no matter which kind, be lilled with 

 drawn comb to attract the bees. If a 

 single comb be present, no matter 

 whether in a frame or in a section, you 

 may rely upon the bees to begin work 

 in it just as soon as there is lack of 

 storage room in the chamber below. 

 More than once it has been shown in a 

 poor season, when a single bait section 

 (a section containing drawn comb) 

 was given in each section super, that 

 throughout the whole apiary the baits 

 were filled and nothing more done in 

 the supers. It is very doubtful if work 

 would have begun any sooner if the 

 whole super had been filled with combs. 



From all this it is easy to see that 

 when an extracting super was first 

 given, and afterward a section put un- 

 der it, the bees would begin work more 

 promptly than if a section super with- 

 out any bait had been first given, and 

 also that more honey would be obtained 

 in a super filled with combs than in 

 one filled with foundation, resulting 

 satisfactorily //' that amount of ex- 

 tracted honey were desired. But if the 

 desire were to have all the sections 

 possible, then it can be seen that the 

 bees would have begun work just as 

 promptly in the sections without the 

 extracting combs preceding, provided 

 a bait were used, and that it is all 

 moonshine to think that a super of e.x- 

 tracted honey was obtained without 

 lessening the crop of section honey. 



Some have thought that if a frame 

 of foundation be put at each side of a 

 super, the remainder of the super be- 

 ing filled with sections, and all sup- 

 plied with foundation, the bees would 

 commence work first upon the frames 

 at the sides. If such persons put the 

 matter to actual trial, I think they will 

 find that the bees will begin first on 

 the sections, not because they prefer 

 sections to frames, but because the 

 sections are in the center. 



[This is one of the rare instances 

 where the two editors do not fully 

 agree, or at least where I find it neces- 

 sary to emphasize a part of Dr. Miller's 

 statement, while not fully agreeing 

 with the rest. 



/'here is "a difference in favor of 

 the extracting super, since the bees 

 may not like so well the separator and 

 the smaller compass of the sections." 

 This is where emphasis, to my mind, 

 is necessary. From actual tests made 

 a number of times. I have ascertained 

 that the bees do not like so well the 



separators and the smaller compass of 

 the sections. For an explanation of 

 the reason why the bees do not like so 

 well the small compass of the sections, 

 it is necessary to refer to the explana- 

 tion given in paragraph 741 of the 

 "Hive and Honey Bee," where Oliver 

 Foster, now deceased, is quoted. He 

 said : 



" When we take into consideration 

 that the object on the part of the bees, 

 in storing up honey in summer, is to 

 have it accessible for winter consump- 

 tion, and that in winter the bees col- 

 lect in a round ball, as nearly as possi- 

 ble, in a semi-torpid condition with but 

 little if any motion, except that grad- 

 ual moving of bees from the center to 

 the surface and from the surface to the 

 center of the ball, we may imagine how 

 unwelcome it is to them to be obliged 

 to divide their stores between separate 

 apartments, each of which is four 



inches square " 



The use of the separator still in- 

 creases the bees' dislike of this storage 

 room. 



At several different times I have 

 tried giving to a strong colony sections 

 with separators in the center of the 

 super, with extracting frames on the 

 sides, all supplied with strips of foun- 

 dation, and in every instance the bees 

 began at both sides, in the extracting 

 frames — although the sections were 

 nearer to the brood — and filled the ex- 

 tracting frames almost entirely before 

 beginning in the sections. Emphati- 

 cally, the bees do not like so icell the 

 small compass of the sections. I can 

 imagine but one condition in which 

 the bees might begin in the sections 

 first. This would be if the extracting 

 frames were so remote as to be out of 

 the part kept warm by the cluster. 



As this matter is of interest, and as 

 conditions might cause a difference in 

 results, we would like to have experi- 

 enced apiarists make tests of this mat- 

 ter and report. — C. P. D.] 



This criticism having been presented 

 to Dr. Miller, he replied in his inimit- 

 able style, as follows: 



Again I'm the victim of misplaced 

 confidence. Trusting to an acquaint- 

 ance of some years with bees and their 

 habits, I decided what they ought to 

 do, and with the confiding innocence 

 of youth and inexperience trusted they 

 would do what they ought to do, and 

 gave my verdict accordingly. Now 

 comes the higher court and makes a 

 reversal of my decision. As between 

 the two decisions, I decided what the 

 bees ought to do, or at least what I 

 thought they ought to do, and you de- 

 cide by what they actually have done. 

 I've tried — tried hard — to think up some 

 sort of way to explain that your experi- 

 ence is exceptional. Can't think up 

 anything that will pass muster. So I 

 must ruefully admit- once more — that 

 I don't know as much as I thought I 

 did about bees. But I'm learning, and 

 59 not utterly discouraged. If you will 



formulate into words in a proper man- 

 ner an expression of deep humiliation 

 at the exposure of my ignorance, I'll 

 return it signed. 



And now will some one be good 

 enough to tell me whether in all cases 

 bees will begin first on an outer ex- 

 tracting frame, said frame being filled 

 with foundation only ? If thty will, it 

 certainly appears to be a good thing. 

 That frame will be all right for extract- 

 ing or for bulk honey, and we will be 

 rid of the outside row of unfinished 

 sections that we generally are more or 

 less troubled with. 



Other things being equal, I think we 

 would all expect the bees to begin on 

 the central part of a section super. In 

 the cases cited, the only thing, appar- 

 ently, to make the bees depart from 

 this rule is the absence of the three 

 partitions made by the end-bars of the 

 sections. Has the strength of the col- 

 . ony anything to do with the case ? 

 Dadant colonies have a habit of being 

 strong. In the case of a very strong 

 colony, in a very heavy honev flow, 

 bees work pretty much alike all over 

 a super of sections. In such a case it 

 is not very hard to imagine that a very 

 little preference for the less confined 

 outer part might make the bees start 

 there a little sooner. The question is 

 whether the same would hold with a 

 weaker colony, or in a poorer yield. It 

 will be interesting to have testimony 

 from any one who may have experi- 

 ence on this point. 



The thing now learned is that bees 

 dislike having their storing room cut 

 up into small compartments so much 

 that they will begin on the outside 

 rather than the inside if the outside be 

 less divided, and I suppose this holds 

 true whether the super be filled with 

 foundation or drawn comb, so long as 

 both frames and sections are filled with 

 the same thing. This, however, is a 

 matter independent of the fact that bees 

 have a strong preference for drawn 

 comb as compared with foundation, so 

 strong that the drawn comb will be 

 first accepted, whether the compart- 

 ment in which the drawn comb isfound 

 be large or small. 

 Marengo, 111. 



The Hamilton and Keokuk 

 Meetings 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 



THE dates selected for the Hamilton 

 field meet and the Keokuk confer- 

 ence were very fortunate. Favor- 

 able weather this unusually wet season 

 was hardly to be expected, but the 

 weather was lovely. The attendance 

 was gratifying since beekeepers came 

 from long distances to attend the meet- 

 ing. Iowa was especially well repre- 

 sented, many coming from one to three 

 hundred miles. Not only did they 

 come from the three States of Iowa, 

 Illinois and Missouri, but a number 

 came from several other States as well. 

 Automobiles were furnished to convey 

 the party immediately to the home api- 

 ary and factory of the Dadants, where 

 the forenoon was spent in informal 

 visiting, getting acquainted and in- 

 specting the plant. To many the pro- 

 cess of foundation making was some- 



