l887 



tHjEA_NlJSJGS iN BEE (JUliTUKE. 



S4H 



PABTLY FILLED BECTIONS. 



DISPENSING WITH THE SLATTKD HONEY-BOAKD, 

 AND ilESULTS. 



T HEARTl LV agree with Mr. Green as to the val- 

 M ue of unfinished sections for the coming- season. 

 ^[ We have always practiced placing them on col- 

 "*■ onies needing feed in the fall; and after being 

 cleaned out we pack them nicely away for use 

 the following spring. Wc find it much better to 

 place only Iwo or three of these partly filled sections 

 in a case, instead of full cases of them, as formerly 

 practiced by us, for we find our poorest honey 

 comes from these partly filled sections, as they will 

 not add to and fill out these equal to sections filled 

 with newly made foundation. It is quite common 

 to have them filled with dark honey from the brood- 

 combs below. 



Although a large majority of our prominent hon- 

 ey-producers vote in favor of the use of slatted 

 honey-boards in the production of comb honey (in 

 last issue of Gleanings) lean not agree with them. 

 One of our yards of 38 colonies filled 1440 sections 

 perfectly the past poor season; and I will venture 

 to say that a nicer, cleaner lot of honey can not be 

 found anywhere; and I am confident that 1 did not 

 consume one-fourth the time in cleaning off burr- 

 combs that others would in cleaning up slatted hon- 

 ey boards. We use the T super, as made and used 

 by A. E. Manum, and have our sections run cross- 

 wise of brood-frames; and if the space is just right, 

 there will be no stickers to speak of, we not having 

 a quart measure full, from 1800 sections filled in our 

 yard. 



As to the use of slatted honey-boards pi eventing 

 tlie queens from laying in the sections, 1 will say 

 we have no trouble on that score, not having brood 

 in one from over 5000 filled the past season. Our 

 success may be partly due to our having the native 

 bees, for I do notice that the Italians are much 

 better at building where they ought not to. 



Our bees are in the finest condition for winter, 

 having had the best fall for honey we have ever 

 seen here, in four years' residence. H. W. Bass. 



Front Royal, Va., Nov. 3, 1887. 



Friend B., you and friend (Jreen and 

 others are unconsciously bringing out another 

 great point in favor of foundation. Jf I am 

 not mistaken, friend Doolittle said, years 

 ago, that starters made of good-sized pieces 

 of white comb were ever so much better 

 than a strip of foundation, or even founda- 

 tion enougli to till a section ; and I do not 

 know that anybody ever contradicted him, 

 for we all accepted his statement as indis- 

 putable. The only point we made our de- 

 fense on was, that good-sized pieces of clean 

 white comb were much harder to get. and 

 more trouble to put in than foundation. It 

 now transpires, however, and I confess a 

 good deal to my surprise, that foiuidation is 

 not only cheaper, and easier to put in, but 

 that it is really ever so much better to start 

 the bees quickly to get uniform, nicely filled 

 sections, and to make the whole appearance 

 of the case of honey more taking. Only 

 yesterday we received 22 cases of comb 

 honey, containing IH sections each. The 

 honey is exquisite in quality, but the sec- 

 tions are very poorly made, four-piece, and 

 much too wide to be used without sepa- 

 rators ; and the consequence is, that three- 



fourths, if not more, of the honey was 

 broken out in shipping. T do not know 

 wiuit kind of starters our friend used, who 

 shipped us the honey ; but many of the cakes 

 of honey seem to have been attached mainly 

 to the top-bar, some little attachments to 

 the side-bar. and almost none to the bottom. 

 Full sheets of louiuhition for starters would 

 have saved ns the price of them ten times 

 over. As it is, wn have a dauby, nasty, 

 sticky muss. It will lake three good women 

 a whole day to make it lit even to offer for 

 sale. 1 caii not see why anybody should 

 use four-piece sections when one-piece sec- 

 tions are so niucli stronger and neater. We 

 have just been handlintr honey put up by 

 neighbois JSliane and Chase, of our own 

 vicinity, and in handling their \vht)le crops 

 we did Hot get a single comb broken out of 

 a single section. The conti-ast between 

 these two crops of honey and the one just 

 sent in to us is wonderful. When neighbor 

 Shane drove up witli his wagon-load it 

 didn't take me five minutes to decide I 

 would give !(> cts. a pound for it ; but had 

 this other shipment been offered to me as it 

 came in on the cars, I should have refused 

 it at 8 cts. a pound ; and all tliis difference 

 comes in the way of managing, and in the 

 trifling additional expense in the way of 

 sections, and thin foundation enough to fill 

 them. 



■ -•- ^ 



PRESENT PKICES OF HONEY. 



AI,SO SOMETHING ABOUT THE BEVELED EDGES. 



fRIEND ROOT:—! heartily agree with the valu- 

 able points made by Dr. Miller regarding 

 changes in the running of our conventions, 

 etc. I think the election of officers should be 

 the very last thing on the programme. Per- 

 haps 1 am wrong, but it looks that way to me now. 



GIVEN PRESS. 



I notice what friend Good says regarding the 

 Given press, on page 828. Isn't it strange how we 

 all differ in our theories and experiences? T can 

 readily make the very choicest of surplus founda- 

 tion with the Given press. As regards making brood 

 foundation within wired frames, T have on hand 

 about 3000 frames so made, and they are certainly 

 " a thing of lieauty and a joy for ever." More per- 

 fect combs T never saw, and they are made very 

 rapidly. As it is a fact that putting foundation in 

 wired frames by hand is a practical and quite 

 speedy performance, there is no need of buying a 

 Given press for the purpose, especially where one 

 has no great number to prepare. 



BEVELED EDGES. 



It seems strange that so many people will mis- 

 understand this question of beveled edges. I 

 have no objections to beveled edges for outer 

 covers, nor to any edges that do not come in con- 

 tact with the bees when being adjusted. Beveled 

 edges do not admit of that lateral motion which is 

 so very advantageous in adjusting edges of supers 

 and eases, with bees rolling out around said edges. 

 1 could not be induced to use bevels in this place, 

 •even if it cost nothing or less than nothing to cre- 

 ate them. They could do me no good. We use the 

 weights on our hives, not to prevent the wind from 

 blowing them over or apart, but to keep the broad 

 shade-board on the hive. Now, were I using your 



