Vol. XV. 



JAN. 1, 1887. 



No. 1. 



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SEPARATORS. 



FRIENU HUTCHINSON TELI.S US OF THE REASONS 



WHY THERE ARE SO MANY DIVERSE OPINIONS 



IN REGARD TO THEIR NECESSITY. 



rS\ ECAT'SE T am adopting Mr. Heddon's new 

 wL ^^^'^' •^'- Doolittle very naturally supposes 

 'f^ that I am also adopting- separators. Such is 

 •*^ not the case.i 1 was so well satisfied of the 

 advantages of Mr. Heddon's new nive that I 

 adopted it at once, except the surplus-apartment. 

 I was well satisfied with Mr. Heddon's old style of 

 surplus case (and am yet), and I did not think it 

 advisable to throw aside the 32.t cases that I had 

 on hand, and make those of the new style until I 

 had decided that the latter possessed sulBcicnt ad- 

 vantages to warrant the change. It was one of 

 those instances in which there are advantages on 

 both sides, and the ijuestion was, which had the 

 most and greatest? While I have about .^O colonies 

 in the new hive, ] have used only 10 of the new 

 style fif super; so Mr. Doolittle will see that, in- 

 stead of leaving that "better method" and "going 

 back to separators," I am only e.vperimenting with 

 a style of super that allows the use of separators, 

 and that about 97' of my crop is yet secured with- 

 out separators. And right here 1 hope Mr, Doolittle 

 will excuse me if 1 take him to task a little for his 

 disposition to "pick up" a man if he advocates any 

 views that he once condemned. There can be no 

 progression without change, and it will be readily 

 seen that new developments may lead a man to 

 adopt views that he formerly rejected. 



As to which style of ease I shall eventually adopt. 

 1 can not say. If I had a <|uantity nf either style I 

 should not throw them away for the sake of adopt- 



ing the other style. I certainly should not adopt 

 The new st.yle simpl.v because it allows the use of 

 separators; but if I used it I would then use separa- 

 tors; not so much for the sake of getting straight 

 combs, but rather because, with wide frames, sepa- 

 rators are a convenience. 



If sections are to be glassed, separators must be 

 used; but the indications are that this practice will 

 not long be in vogue. If Mr. Doolittle can not 

 abandon separators, and yet secure cratable sec- 

 tions, without entailing extra labor, then his hive, 

 fixtures, or system, is such as will not profitably 

 admit of discarding separators, and it would be 

 folly for him to change either, simpl.v to be able to 

 dispense with separators. There should be weightier 

 reasons; and if he can do no better than he reports, 

 he is wise to retain separators. 



I must take issue with him, however, in regard to 

 the advantage gained by putting on only a small 

 amount of surplus room at first, and very gradual- 

 ly increasing it. I would not be understood as ad- 

 vising the putting-on of an unusuaUu large amount 

 of surplus room at one time. The putting-on of a 

 section or two at a time, or even a wide frame or 

 two of sections at a time, involves too much labor. 

 In the production of honey there is no factor so ex- 

 pensive as labor, with proper fixtures, and there 

 never was and never will be anything gained by 

 putting on or taking ofl* less than a case of sections 

 at a time. The point made by Mr. Doolittle in re- 

 gard to getting off' sections before they are soiled 

 by the bees is a good one; and where the honey is 

 finished in proximity to the brood-nest it may be 

 necessary to remove it a section at a time, and then, 

 of course, separators are a necessity; but with the 

 tiering-up method, no combe arc scaled mcir the 



