270 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



as honey-producers as Elwood, L. C. Root, 

 Heddon, and friend Green. Perhaps friend 

 Green has not produced the crops of honey 

 that the other three have, but he is a bright, 

 progressive young bee-keeper. I am a little 

 astonished at him because I didn't know 

 that he used the closed-end frames at all. 

 Were we in a convention I should be a little 

 fearful that we might have some speeches 

 in regard to this matter that would be a lit- 

 tle unkind. Perhaps not, however, tor con- 

 ventions of late years have got into a way 

 of being very courteous and charitable, 

 even though some few should have ways of 

 working, and ideas, that seem to the larger 

 number beyond comprehension. I can read- 

 ily understand why a bee-keeper should con- 

 sider the closed-end frames best ; and I can 

 readily imagine how Capt. Hetherington 

 saved 100 colonies by having closed - end 

 frames ; but I confess I can not understand 

 why our good friend Elwood can say the 

 closed-end frame ' l can be as easily and as 

 rapidly manipulated as any." Now, I do 

 not mean to dispute this statement at all, 

 mind you ; and I can readily believe that, 

 with his long practice with them, he can 

 get along faster himself than with hanging 

 frames ; but I very much doubt whether 

 those of us who have always used hanging 

 frames could ever learn to work closed-end 

 frames as rapidly as he does. I have long 

 been thinking of visiting our friends in 

 York State, in the height of the honey-flow ; 

 and perhaps I may some time have the plea- 

 sure of seeing our good friend Elwood work ; 

 not this season, however, for 1 have promis 

 ed to visit the basswood fields of Wisconsin. 



Question 117.— If you use all-wood frames, do you 

 prefer to have them hany on metal rabbets or on a 

 plain wood bearing, in the production of honey? 



There is little difference. 



Dadant & Son. 



On metal rabbets every time. O. O. Poppleton. 



I prefer them to hang on a metal bearing. 



L. C. Root. 

 I should prefer a metal rabbet, with Hoffman 

 frame, as next best to an all-cased end. 



P. H. Elwood. 

 On a plain wood bearing-. Then they are always 

 ready to haul, without fastening the frames. 



C. C. Miller. 

 I use the all-wood frames hanging on tin rabbets 

 —too much propolis to have frames on wood bear- 

 ings. P. L. Viallon. 



1 would never have metal corners, and on the 

 whole I think I would not have even metal rabbets. 

 1 have only wooc"en rabbets now. A. J. Cook. 



I use all-wood frames hung on wood bearings. 

 Metal rabbets are a source of constant annoyance 

 to me, and the few that I had I have discarded. 



Geo. Grimm. 

 We use all-wood frames, with wood bearings. 1 

 don't see how either way can make any difference 

 in the amount or quality of the honey. 



E. France. 



I use the wood-bearing. After years of experi- 

 ence along this line, I think there is little difference 

 in favor of either kind of bearing, when taking all 

 things into consideration. G. M. Doolittle. 



I use metal rabbets, and could not be induced to 

 go back to the wood-bearing. A. B. Mason. 



Metal rabbets, by all means— and I use metal cor- 

 ners too. If we believe in movable frames, let's 

 have movable frames, and no swindle about it. 



E. E. Hasty. 



With either hanging or fixed frames I always use 

 all wood; but when I use the hanging frames I pre- 

 fer a plan wood rabbet in the brood-chamber, and a 

 simple metal rest in the extracting supers. 



James Heddon. 



I use wood bearing, for the reason that I have the 

 bearings notched for spacing the frames; then my 

 frames are always the proper distance apart. 

 Frames hanging on metal rabbets are easier to 

 manipulate. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



There is not much difference between a rabbet of 

 wood or one of metal; but 1 prefer my all-wood 

 frame to rest on a metal rabbet, but not on the 

 sharp edge of the tin. I do not want my frames to 

 rest on a plain wood bearing. Chas. F. Muth. 



I prefer to have them on metal rabbets, especial- 

 ly in the upper story. I do hate to be prying 

 frames loose every time I have to move them; but 

 in lifting off the upper story I sometimes wish the 

 lower frames were held down by propolis. 



R. Wilkin. 



I always used metal rabbets with the ordinary 

 hanging frames; but with the closed-end frames I 

 find them unnecessary. The ordinary all-wood 

 frame in a wooden rabbet is not as readily handled 

 as a properly made closed-end frame, yet it is not 

 as secure as the latter. James A. Green. 



All the hives that I now have in use have the 

 metal rabbets; but I am almost tempted to say 

 that, if I had it to do over again, I'd have none of 

 them in my hives. It takes a long time to find out, 

 sometimes, the real value of an " improvement." 

 H. R. Boardman. 



This question, too, like the one before it, 

 depends much on what one is going to do 

 with his bees. If he is going to raise queens, 

 I feel quite certain that he will make money 

 by having metal rabbets and metal corners. 

 If he is going to raise comb honey, and have 

 out-apiaries, so that the bees are to be fre- 

 quently moved several miles, I think quite 

 likely he does not need either metal rabbets 

 or metal corners ; and it would not be sur- 

 prising to me if he ultimately decided on a 

 closed-end frame, especially if he is working 

 for comb honey. I have visited many bee- 

 keepers of late years, who say they have 

 hives in their apiaries from which the brood- 

 combs have not been removed in years. If 

 that is the way we are going to manage, we 

 can not only dispense with metal rabbets, 

 but we may have closed-end frames, and a 

 few have been bold enough to say there is 

 no particular need that we should have 

 frames at all— just have a shallow brood- 

 chamber, something like Ileddon's, and let 

 the combs be built in solid. So you see 

 that much depends on the habits of the 

 owner, and what he is working for. To tell 

 the truth, I, years ago, planned a box hive. 

 You will find it in the old volumes of 

 Gleaning*, and I have studied on the mat- 

 ter considerably at different times of late 

 years. 



