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487 



BROOD-COMBS. 



Objeclioii8 to llic Wide Spacing 

 of Brood-Combs. 



Written fw the Amcrlain BceJinimal 



BY Z. T. HAWK. 



I have watched with great interest 

 for the replies to Dr. Miller's articles 

 on p,ages 214 and 365. relative to the 

 proper spacing of brood-frames. If 

 the Doctor holds himself in readiness 

 to be convinced by the reports of the 

 bo.x-hive men, I have no doubt he will 

 adopt the 1 J -inch spacing. The bees 

 evidentlv plan for a large amount of 

 store-room above the brood, and as a 

 consequence the combs in box-hives 

 and hollow trees will usually be found 

 to average 14 inches from center to 

 center. Thick combs above, necessi- 

 tate wide spaces between brood-combs 

 below, and I have no doubt that in a 

 state of nature this is the best possible 

 arrangement for safe wintering. But 

 when bees are wintered in the cellar or 

 in chaff hives, I am of the opinion that 

 this matter of close or wide spacing 

 cuts a vei-j- insignificant figure. 



I am fully satisfied that wide spacing 

 is "nature's way," and I am just as 

 fully satisfied that I cannot obtain the 

 best results in comb-honey production 

 by following it. 



Three years ago, when I adopted 

 the Van Deusen metal corner for 

 brood-frames, I adopted the IJ-inch 

 spacing with it, for the irons were not 

 then made any other width ; but the 

 stern logic of facts has compelled me 

 to go to the expense and vexation of 

 changing to a closer spacing. Now let 

 us see why : 



Since brood-comb is only about | of 

 an inch thick, the l|-inch spacing per- 

 mits a considerable thickening of the 

 upper part of the comb for storage 

 purposes. If the whole upper part of 

 every comb was equally thickened, no 

 great harm would be done, but such is 

 not the case. All conceivable varieties 

 of thickness and thinness occur, the 

 undulations of surface on each comb 

 conforming to those adjacent combs, 

 rendering it, in many cases, impossi- 

 ble to change the relative position of 

 combs in the hive. Such combs will 

 not fit anywhere, only where they were 

 built, unless they are shaved off, and 

 who wants to handle frames under 

 such conditions ? 



The next difficulty with the wide 

 spacing is a little more serious, for it 

 aft'ects the brood-rearing capacity of 

 the comb. Every bee-keeper knows 

 that worker-brood is seldom if ever 



reared in cells more than seven-six- 

 teenths of an inch deep, and it is evi- 

 dent that the greater the area of thick- 

 ened comb, tlu! smaller the brood area 

 will be. Colonies that have a ten<lenc3- 

 to store honey in the brood-chamber 

 will thicken an undue proportion of 

 their combs, thus restricting the (|ueen 

 to the lower ])art of the central combs. 

 It is useless to argue that the bees will 

 cut these cells down when needed 

 again for brood— they will not do it, 

 as I have learned from sad experience. 

 There are many combs in my hives 

 that b}' improper reversing were made 

 thick at both top and bottom. In the 

 center of these combs is an oval area 

 of brood-comb that comprises probably 

 one-third of the entire area of the 

 comb. This is the second season they 

 have been in that condition, and I can- 

 not determine that the bees have cut 

 down a single cell for the purpose of 

 brood-rearing. 



A third objection to the wide spac- 

 ing is, that so long as the bees are 

 amply provided with storage comb in 

 the brood-chamber, they are slow to 

 enter the sections. The reasons are 

 obvious. The limited brood area has 

 reduced their numbers, and an ample 

 supply of honey in the brood-chamber 

 has removed all anxiety to provide 

 further for the future. 



At my earnest solicitation, the width 

 of the Van Deusen metal corner was 

 reduced to one and eleven thirtj'-sec- 

 ond inches, and hereafter all my 

 brood-combs will be spaced that dis- 

 tance from center to center. Whether 

 that is just the right distance or not, 

 I do not pretend to say, but I know 

 from previous experience that it suits 

 me much better than the wide spacing. 

 Denison, Iowa. 



BURR-COMBS. 



Tliick To|>.Bars, Honey-Boards, 

 Brace-Combs, etc. 



Read at the Ohio State Convention 



BY ERNEST R. ROOT. 



Some years ago, at a convention of 

 the North American Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety held in Detroit, Mich., Mr. J. B. 

 Hall, of Woodstock, Ont., exhibited 

 some frames having top-bars plump 

 one inch square. Although these 

 frames had been in use several years 

 in strong colonies, the remarkable fact 

 was, that they never had had any burr- 

 combs built over them. But little 

 seems to have been thought of the 

 matter at the time, though it is pretty 

 evident that a good many went home 

 and experimented. 



In an essay read at the last meeting 

 of the Northwestern Bee-Keepers' So- 

 ciety, held in Chicago, Dr. Miller made 



Uh- statement tlial the ordinary slatted 

 honey-board, which was supposed to 

 be proof against burr-combs in the 

 ujiper bee-space, had, durirjg the past 

 season, failed to entirely prevent the 

 same. He further stated that it was 

 considerable labor to i-emove the 

 honey-board, to say nothing of the 

 trouble of removing the brace-combs 

 on the bottom of the honey-board, and 

 removing the same from the top of the 

 brood-frames. The Doctor then al- 

 luded to the fact of J. B. Hall's thick 

 top-bars jjreventing brace-combs, and 

 then asked the question if that might 

 not be the most feasible method of 

 obviating brace-combs altogether, if 

 not tlispensing with the honey-board. 



At the time, little was thought of 

 the matter ; at any rate it seemed to 

 be absolutely preposterous that the 

 honey-board so generally in use among 

 bee-keepers migiit be dispensed witlh 

 A similar article was sent to Glenimigs, 

 and at the time we called for facts. 

 You will remember that a score or 

 more of testimonies have been printed, 

 all or nearly all, testifying to the fact 

 that the thick top-bars— that is. bars 

 an inch wide or a trifle over, |-inch 

 thick, or a trifle less, not much, and 

 spaced five-sixteenths of an inch apart, 

 invariably prevent brace-combs. 



These facts are substantiated by a 

 large number of other testimonies, 

 which, for lack of space, we were un- 

 able to publish. To pi-event brace- 

 combs without a hone3--board, three 

 requisites are important : Extra width, 

 extra thickness, and a reduction of 

 space between the bars. Top-bars |- 

 inch square, but spaced J inch apart, 

 will not prevent brace-combs, although 

 they will largely discourage them. The 

 same may be said of top-bars 1 J inches 

 wide, but only } inch thick. It has 

 been shown pretty conclusively, that 

 the bars should be 'regulated in width, 

 so that a certain number of frames in 

 a hive will space five-sixteenths or | of 

 an inch apart. 



Now, then, if thick top-bars will 

 accomplish the results claimed, it 

 would seem that every bee-keeper, 

 after testing them for" himself, on a 

 small scale, might well feel that he 

 could afford to make the change. Let 

 us consider some of the important 

 advantages that would result from 

 their use : 



We will suppose th.at Brown is a bee- 

 keeper running for extracted honey. 

 He does not use honey-boards. When 

 he goes to one of his hives, preparatory 

 to extracting the upper story, he pro- 

 ceeds to lift ont the frames. About 

 every other one will lift the brood- 

 frame below it, on account of the burr- 

 comb attachments. The frame sticks. 

 but Brown resolutely pulls until it 

 drops down with a jar on the lower 



