266 



THE BEE-KEEPERS u^/-^ 



than is Mr. Benton, but it is the uncertainty 

 as to whether we need them that makes me 

 doubt the wisdom of the step. English 

 sparrows were imported into this country, 

 and in some places they "oust" the native 

 birds, and are no good themselves. Of 

 course, Apis Uorsata might never increase 

 sufficiently to rob our domestic bees of their 

 pasture, and it may be that it would be pos- 

 sible to domesticate them, but when we don't 

 know what to do, don't let us do we don't 

 know what. 



HONEY BOARDS VEKSUS BIG TOP BAKS. 



In this issue of the Review is to be found 

 an article in which Dr. Miller combats my 

 views regarding the use of honey boards. 

 The editor of Gleanings also takes issue 

 with me in the last number of his journal. 



Yes, I know Dr. that accurate spacing has 

 been secured, but not by any method against 

 which objections cannot be brought. 

 The old system of driving nails into the side 

 bars, to which you refer as having been in 

 use for years, has seen but little improve- 

 ment. I have used the nails, and they are 

 always catching upon something, and in 

 uncapping, the honey knife will get onto 

 these nails and become knicked and dulled 

 in spite of all one can do. 



It is asked if the muss attendant upon the 

 removal of the honey board can be avoided 

 should it not be done? Unless we sacrifice 

 too many other advantages in securing this, 

 yes. Right here comes in a vital point that 

 has not been settled in this discussion— per- 

 haps it cannot. Do the wide, accurately 

 •spaced top bars prevent the building of 

 brace and burr combs to such an extent that 

 it is practicable to dispense with the honey 

 board? Both the Dr. and the editor of Glean- 

 iugs assume that they do. In the main api- 

 ary at Medina but little if any surplus 

 honey is secured. I know something of the 

 kind is done at an out-apiary but how much 

 I do not know. Unless 1 am mistaken, 

 the Dr. has raised but little honey since 

 beginning the use of this style of top bar. 

 At the World's Fair convention this subject 

 was up for discussion and there was great 

 diversity of opinions; varying all the way 

 from those as enthusiastic as the Doctor 

 and our Medina friend, to those who said 

 that the top bars were of but little hindrance 

 to the building of burr combs. That the 

 honey board does prevent the building of 

 such combs no one disputes. It is a fad. 



It is possible that quite a number of bee 

 keepers using the ordinary loose-fitting, 

 hanging frames have dummies in their 

 hives, but the Dr. is the first one that I ever 

 knew who indulged in the practice. I see 

 no use for them. Self- spacing frames are, 

 of course, easily handled after one frame or 

 a dummy is out. I used self-spacing frames 

 several years when I first began bee keep- 

 ing. They are a great aid in preventing 

 bulging, but I should many times hesitate 

 about pulling out a comb of the Langstroth 

 pattern from the center of the brood nest, 

 after pressing the frames apart only one- 

 fourth of an inch, as the editor of Gleanings 

 says that he does. He also says that he 

 doesn't take so much ' stock " as formerly 

 in " outside diagnosis ; " thinks that we 

 often lose by trusting to it too much. I 

 presume we do, but don't we lose by spend- 

 ing our time in looking for imaginary trou- 

 bles? For instance, I used to always exam- 

 ine colonies having young queens to see if 

 they had successfully mated and commen- 

 ced laying Once in a great while I would 

 find that one was lost and I supplied a 

 queen. I don't do this any more. Suppose 

 a queen is lost, the hive, combs and honey 

 ( that would have been converted into bees ) 

 are left, and there is a better chance in the 

 fields for the other bees. It is the same with 

 other things. As a rule I don't open a hive 

 unless there are some external iridications of 

 trouble, and I am sure that I am the gainer 

 by the practice. 



I should be glad to hear from my sub- 

 scribers on this subjectof honey boards ver- 

 sus accurately spaced, wide top bars. If I 

 am wrong no one is more anxious to know it 

 than is myself. 



Crimson Clover— It is not a Success in 

 Michigan. 



The Micliigan Exiierimeutal Station has 

 gotten out a bulletin on crimson clover. It 

 describes the clover as follows: — 



"This clover is an annual, living but one 

 year. If sown in the spring it makes a small 

 growth, comes rapidly to maturity, ripens 

 its seed the same season, then dies. If sown 

 during the summer or early fall it develops 

 more slowly and, where the winters are not 

 too severe, lives over, completes its growth 

 and matures its seed the next year. Sown 

 late in the season it attains a larger growth 



