934 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



" In all but the center tier of sections in the su- 

 pers. These should have baits in them." 



"What do j'ou mean by baits? Do you smear 

 the foundation in these sections with honey. !^" 



"No, not that. Nearly if not quite every one 

 working for section honey has more or less sec- 

 tions in the fall of every year which are not filled 

 full enough to be marketable. The bees are al- 

 lowed to take the honey out of the combs in 

 these sections, when they are placed in the center 

 of the supers so that the bees find drawn comb in 

 the first super put on, ready for them to store 

 nectar in as soon as any comes in from the fields. 

 And, beginning thus, they will at once begin 

 work in the other sections immediately surround- 

 ing these, and thus the bees are baited into the 

 sections before they would otherwise go." 



"I see. But suppose I or any one else does 

 not have such left-over sections." 



"Not having any left-over baits, the next thing 

 is to find, if possible, some pieces of white comb 

 as large as your hand, and fit them in the sections. 

 It will pay you to do this, even if it does make a 

 little extra labor. Yea, more. I would have at 

 least one section in the center of each super, or 

 the super first put on, even if I had to use old 

 black comb for that section, and four would be 

 better still. And if we have the sections filled or 

 partly filled with comb left over, 4 times 4, 16, is 

 so much the better; and if we could have the first 

 super on each hive filled entirely full of such sec- 

 tions containing combs all white and clean, left 

 over from the year before, we could almost bid 

 defiance to swarming if our hives were shaded 

 during the middle of the day,' and the wide-open 

 entrances given. If the eolony is strong, as soon 

 as it commences sealing honey in these combs a 

 second super of sections, all full of foundation, 

 should be given; and thus early in the season, 

 and under these conditions of keeping down 

 swarming, this super should be put under the one 

 the bees are already at work in, and a few days 

 later put another super on top of both, which 

 will almost insure no swarming of that colony." 



Borodino, N. Y. 



General 

 Correspondence 



FOUNDATION FOR SECTIONS. 



Split Sections vs. Hot-wax Methods; Per- 

 fect Filling Desirable; a Reply 

 to Mr. Atwater. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



Mr. Atwater, page 151, says, " With the Hand 

 method all sections must be rehandled," etc. He 

 seems to lose sight of the fact that empty sections 

 can be put into frames more rapidly than after 

 they are filled with foundation. 



Sections may be filled with foundation and put 

 into frames at one operation by my method. 

 The difference in the two methods is that, with 

 my method, four sections are filled with one con- 

 tinuous sheet of foundation at a single operation 



after they are half way in the frames, and with 

 the usual methods the sectiors are treated one at 

 a time, and the operation repeated if bottom 

 starters are used. It is easy to see which is the 

 most expeditious method. Again, while sections 

 with swinging sheets of foundation must be han- 

 dled with care, and kept right side up, frames 

 filled with foundation will by my method stand 

 any amount of rough handling, and may be piled 

 up like cord-wood. 



Mr. Atwater calls for proof that my method is 

 the most rapid. I am no longer young, and my 

 joints are somewhat stiffened by rheumatism; but 

 I can fill sections by my method at the rate of 

 500 per hour, and I can't do more than half that 

 many by anv other method that I know of. 



The fact that the split-section method is much 

 more rapid than either the hot-plate or melted- 

 wax plan is a very small item when compared 

 with the quality of the work as shown by the 

 finished product, which results in a higher per 

 cent of strictly fancy sections; and it is the fancy 

 article that brings the highest price. 



The manner of putting in foundation has much 

 to do with the perfect filling of sections, and per- 

 fect filling makes a difference of one to two cents 

 per pound in the selling price. 



Unless the foundation fills the section perfect- 

 ly, there will be pop-holes in the corners, and 

 these greatly detract-from the appearance of the 

 finished product, and it is the appearance that 

 makes quick sales. 



I can agree with all that Mr. Atwater and Dr. 

 Miller say regarding sections filled with founda- 

 tion, and fastened on all sides with melted wax. 

 I do not consider such a method as practical, for 

 reasons already given by these gentlemen, and 

 which I have proven to my entire satisfaction. 



These objections do not apply to the split sec- 

 tion, in which the foundation, though held in 

 position in the center of the section, whether the 

 hive is level or not, is not really fastened to the 

 wood at all imtil the bees fasten it, which is after 

 the stretch has been taken out of it. 



Thus the stretch is not confined to any one 

 section, but is equalized between the four sections, 

 which eliminates the sagging and warping nui- 

 sance which is so vividly illustrated in Fig. 2, p. 

 152. It is true that sections split on three sides 

 were patented in England, likewise sections split 

 on one side and also the whole length; but so 

 far as I can learn I am the first to use the con- 

 tinuous sheet in sections split on tluee sides.* 



Regarding the line of wax that shows on the 

 sides and top of split sections, I am not a prophet, 

 and can't say what may happen in the future; but 

 I am not going to lie awake nights for fear people 

 will think my honey is not the genuine article, 

 especially since I have sold tons of fancy honey 

 in split sections, and the only complaint has been 

 that there was not enough to supply the increased 

 demand. 



In figuring the relative cost of putting founda- 



"' Referring to this, if Mr. Hand will refer to Samuel Simmins' 

 " Modern Bee-farm," edition for 1893, page 91, and later edi- 

 tions, he will find tbat the author used long sheets of foundation 

 without cutting, which he put in three of these split sections at 

 one operation, the same as Mr. Hand. The> only difference was 

 that Mr. S. used three sections while Mr H. used four. This is 

 the language that Mr. Simmins used in the above reference: 



'■ My three-side cut sections can also be used the 



sheet of foundation being placed across the three sections with- 

 out cutting." — Ed.] 



