1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



561 



shaking the bees out in front of the new 

 hive. We now have our colony in one shal- 

 low brood-seetion, with a section-super above, 

 and separated from it by a queen-excluder. 

 This is allowed for a few days only, or until 

 the bees get well at work in the sections, 

 when it will be removed. 



Jn this way we force the bees to begin work 

 in the sections at once, and at the very be- 

 ginning of the honey-liow, and not only get 

 (til the honey in the sections, but at the same 

 time do away with all swarming. We gave 

 the two brood-sections at first to keep the bees 

 from swarming out, which they are quite apt 

 to do if hived directly into a contracted brood- 

 chamber. 



Having our bees nicely at work in the sec- 

 tions we will give them the brood-section 

 that we took away, placing it at the bottom 

 as before, and the work in the sections will 

 not be in the least slackened by adding this 

 room at the bottom of the brood-chamber. 



In two or three days after transferring we 

 will place the old hive close up beside the 

 new one, with its entrance in the same di- 

 rection, where we will leave it for a week or 

 more, when it may be removed to a new 

 s'and and allowed to build up for winter to 

 be treated in the same way another season. 



Or if the hives and comlas are old it is al- 

 lowed to remain beside the new hive for 21 

 days, or until the brood has all hatched out, 

 when the bees may be shaken down in front 

 of the new hive, and the now empty combs 

 be rendered into wax. In either case the 

 bees returning upon removing the old hive 

 will reinforce the new colony, thus keeping 

 it in excellent condition for work in the su- 

 pers. 



This is known as the Heddon system of 

 modern transferring, and was given to the 

 bee keeping public some 25 years ago. It is 

 also used and recommended as a means of 

 swarm control when working for comb hon- 

 ey, and for a fairly good location with a 

 sharp honey-tiow it will give excellent re- 

 sults. 



No matter what kind of hive your bees are 

 in, you can in this way force them to begin 

 work in the sections at the very beginning 

 of the honey-flow. However, it is not a com- 

 plete success unless used in connection with 

 the sectional hive, for which the system was 

 originally intended. 



Expansion and contraction are important 

 factors in successful comb-honey production 

 — expansion up to the time of the main hon- 

 ey-flow, so as to get a strong force of work- 

 ers, and then contraction in a new hive, so 

 as to force the bees to enter the sections at 

 the very beginning of the honey-flow, and at 

 the same time do away with swarming In 

 this way box hives and odd-sized hives may 

 be worked year after year, each season driv- 

 ing the bees into contracted hives as above 

 described, thus securing a flne crop of comb 

 honey. We do not advise the destroying of 

 good hives and combs simply because they 

 are of an odd size, for these hives are often 

 good wintering and breeding hives. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



BOTTOM STARTERS IN SECTIONS. 



The Advantage of Full Sheets of Founda- 

 tion: Producing Both Comb ami Ex- 

 tracted Honey in the Same Super. 



BY F. W. HALL. 



I never put a section on a colony unless it 

 contains a full sheet and also a bottom start- 

 er of extra-thin super foundation. Any thing 

 less than a full sheet proves to be false econ- 

 omy. 



Full sheets are not as good without the bot- 

 tom starter; and the quickest way to be con- 

 vinced is to try sections with and without, 

 side by side in the same super — not only one 

 super full, but hundreds of them; and long 

 before the first twelve supers are taken off 

 no magnifying-glass will be needed to tell 

 the difference. 



Full sheets of extra-thin foundation will 

 stretch or sag with the warmth and weight 

 of the bees from j^^ to I inch or more, which 

 brings the bottom and top stai'ter almost if 

 not quite together, resulting practically in a 

 stiaight full sheet in the section. If simply 

 one full sheet is used, too many will not be 

 attached to the bottom of the section all 

 the way across in a light colony or during a 

 light honey-flow. On the other hand, if the 

 foundation reaches to the bottom at first, the 

 sag causes it to buckle, and the wrinkle at 

 the bottom is far too often finished in an un- 

 sightly manner, and sometimes not finished 

 at all. On the concave side the cells keep 

 running closer together, and an occasional 

 cell will be left out, and still it will not be 

 greatly noticed; but on the convex side, the 

 cells get wider and wider until the limit of cap- 

 illary attraction is reached for holding the 

 honey in the cells, and the bees are then 

 obliged to build out the bottoms, and finally 

 cap the cells on the sides next above, giving 

 the lower part of the comb an appearance 

 not at all attractive. 



I am sure I have struck upon something 

 good in a bottom-starter fastener, and it 

 costs nothing save a little ingenuity in apply- 

 ing it to the foundation-fastener already in 

 use. For full description see page 552 of the 

 May 15tb issue for 1905. 



For four or five years I have been using, 

 in a limited way, the plan of producing both 

 comb and extracted honey on the same hive, 

 in the same super, and at the same time. 

 Small cleats, I inch thick by ^ inch wide and 

 4 inches long, are nailed on the inside ends 

 of a ten-frame super, at such point as will 

 admit two thin wedging boards, and five 

 section-holders with separators. The super 

 will then be ready for 20 sections and two 

 extracting-frames, one on each side. This 

 does away entirely with those outside unfin- 

 ished sections so often found when one is 

 working for a fancy grade of comb honey. 

 The sections should be removed as soon as 

 fully completed, and the unfinished ones put 

 together in two or three grades, placed in 

 these comb and extracting supers, and put 

 over a strong colony to be finished as quick- 



