518 ^HE 





Mils % MEFLmS, 



Size of Cells in the Sheets of 

 Comb Fouiulatioii. 



Written for the. American Bee Journal 



Q«ery 648.-0ught not comb foundation 

 sheets to have a top and bottom, witb smaller 

 cells at the top, and grow larger nearer the 

 bottom ?— Moliue. 



No. — M. Mahin. 

 No. — A. B. Mason. 

 No.— J. P. H. Bkom'n. 

 Why ?— C. C. Miller. 

 I think not. — Eugene Secoe. 

 I see no reason for it. Why' ? — A. J. 

 Cook. 



I cannot see what woulR be the ad- 

 vantage. P. L. VlALLON. 



I would prefer the cells all worker. — 

 Mrs. L. Harrison. 



No. No more than a cart should 

 have live wheels. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



See answer to querry 647. My ex- 

 perience says, always put brood-foun- 

 dation on wires. — R. L. Taylor. 



I know of no particular necessity for 

 it ; or. having the cells of diflerent 

 sizes ! — Will M. Barndsi. 



Why not reverse the thing, and make 

 the larger cells at the top, where they 

 belong ? The foundation as made at 

 pi'esent suits me H. D. Cutting. 



No ! if j'ou are afraid of sagging, 

 use plenty of wires, or use foundation 

 six or eight months old, as it sags less 

 than fresh-made. — Dadant& Son. 



I have never found anj- such need. 

 It would be impractical to make such 

 foundation, except on a press. — James 

 Heddon. 



I do not see why they should. Wir- 

 ing frames does away with stretching, 

 and is but little trouble or expense, 

 compared with an attempt to graduate 

 the size of cells in the rolling mill. 

 — J. E. Pond. 



No ! No ! Buy good foundation. It 

 is not a new thing. Most bee-keepers 

 know where to get good foundation. 

 The trouble with foundation arises 

 from two facts — it is either not good, 

 or it is badly used. — J. M. Shuck. 



I can see no need of such an arrange- 

 ment. No one can calculate how much 

 a sheet of foundation, under all circum- 

 stances, will or will not stretch. With 

 a little exjjerience, it is not an insur- 

 mountable difficulty to get good, 

 straight combs from good sheets of 

 foundation without wiring. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



No. I have practiced, however, 

 making foundation with a thick and a 

 thin edge ; tliat is, running it througli 

 the rolls with one side pressed thinner. 



using the thici Quii'n the upper part of 

 the frame, and xnv^nd thatit stretched 

 very little. — C. H. Dibbern. 



No. The smaller cells would be of 

 no use to the bees, no matter if they 

 were stretched twice their width the 

 other waj'. If you use foundation at 

 all, use it in connection with wires run- 

 ning through it, unless you can find a 

 kind which will not sag or stretch. — 

 G. M. Doolittle. 



I think not. Comb foundation as 

 now made by leading manufacturers, 

 is entirely satisfactory. I am strouglj- 

 opposed to wiring foundation in brood- 

 frames, but I do not approve of the 

 above plan to prevent the evils of sag- 

 ging. It will be found that a brood- 

 frame about 7 inches deep, will obvi- 

 ate all difficulties. ^-G. L. Tinker. 



Certainly not. It would land us all 

 in confusion to attempt any such thing. 

 — The Editor. 



Is it JVeeessary to Shade Hives in 

 the Apiary i 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 649.— 1. Is a portico (or its equiva- 

 lent) to shade the entrance of a hive, csscnltall 

 2. It not essential, i&it dtsirahlc ?— Wis. 



1. No. 



1. No. 



1. No. 



1. No. 

 Miller. 



I. It is 

 desirable. - 



No. — M. Mahin. 

 No. — R. L. Taylor. 



No. — Eugene Secor. 

 I hardly think so.— C. C. 



2. It is un- 



not essential. 

 -J. M. Shuck. 

 It is neither essential nor desirable. 



— P. L. VlALLON. 



I deem it both essential and desir- 

 able. — Will M. Barnum. 



1. No. 2. I think not. See my 

 "Bee-Keepers' Guide." — A. J. Cook. 



It is not essential nor desirable. — J. 

 P. H. Brown. 



I use no such thing, nor do I consider 

 it essential. — G. M. Doolittle. 



No ; neither is it desirable. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



A shade is desirable, but we do not 

 like the portico. — Dadant & Son. 



I do not know that it is essential, but 

 our hives all have porticos. 1 would 

 not like to do without them. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



No. If you shade at all, use a shade- 

 board on the top of the hive. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



It is not essential, and I doubt very 

 much if it is even desirable. — C. H. 

 Dibbern. 



1. No. The entrance to the hive 

 should not be shaded, except in the 

 hottest part of the day in summer. 2. 

 No. — A. B. Mason. 



1. No. 2. It is desirable with me, 

 as protection to the queen and drone- 

 traps ; but it also gives shade to the 

 entrance, and comfort to tlic bees. — G. 

 L. Tinker. 



1. No, not in my apiary. 2. No. 

 It is a nuisance. A hive, to be suscoj)- 

 tible of handy manipulation, should 

 have a loose bottom-board, and should 

 be made so tliat tlio sectional parts will 

 duplicate each other on the square- 

 joint principle. See my answer to 

 query No. 6-i(i. — G. W. Demaree. 



After mucli experience with ])orticos 

 on hives, I found them worse than use- 

 less, and discarded them. They were 

 never made to shade the entrance and 

 keep the bees cool ; they have just the 

 reverse effect. They were designed for 

 protection against wind in prairie coun- 

 tries. — James Heddon. 



It is not ; and for myself I do not 

 deem it desirable. Its greatest use is 

 for spiders to spin their webs, and for 

 millers to lay their eggs. Shade can 

 easily be arranged when needed or 

 required, much better than can be done 

 with a portico. — J. E. Pond. 



Upon weighing all the advantages 

 and disadvantages on the balance, we 

 conclude that it is neither essential nor 

 desirable — tliough porticos are quite 

 generally seen in small apiaries. — The 

 Editor. 



Convention IVotices. 



Z^~ The Northwestern Bee-Keepers* Society win 

 hold its annual convention at the Commercial Hotel, 

 corner of Lake and Dearborn Sts., in Chicago. Ills., 

 on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday, Oct. IH. 17 and 

 18,1^89. Arrangements have been made with the 

 Hotel for back room. one bed, two persons, $1.76 per 

 day, each ; front room. $"2.(_iO per day for each per- 

 son. This date occurs durine the Exposition, when 

 excursion rates on the railroads will be very low. 

 There has been a fair crop of honey in the West, 

 and an old-time crowd may be expected at tbis revi- 

 val of the Northwestern from its " hibernation." 

 W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. 



C^" The fifth semi-annual meetinff of the Sus(^ue- 

 hanna Bee-Keepers' A ssociation will be held at Isew 

 Milford, Pa., on Saturday. Sept. 14. 1889. at 10 a.m. 

 There will be essays on different subjects, and also a 

 question-box. Bring your wives along, and please 

 invite your neighbors who are interested in bee- 

 keeping, to come with you. If you have anything 

 new, or that would be of interest in any way, of im- 

 plements or fixtures, bring theui, so that all may see 

 them. H. M. SEELEf, Sec. 



ZW The International Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will meet in the court-house, at Brantford. Ont., 

 Canada, on December 4, 5, and 6, 1880. All bee- 

 keepers are invited to attend, and State and District 

 bee-keepers' societies are requested to appoint del- 

 egates to the convention. Full particulars of the 

 meeting will be given in due time. Anyonedesirous 

 of becoming amember. and receiving the last Annu- 

 al Report bound, may do so by forwarding $I.(io to 

 the Secretary. — K. F. Holtermann, Sec. Brant- 

 ford, Ont., Canada. 



ZW The Iowa State Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 meet at the tstale Fair Grounds during the State 

 Fair week, commencing on Sept. 3. at DesMoines. 

 The meetings will be lield in our large Tent, and an 

 invitation isgiven toall bee-keepers to meet with us, 

 bringing their families and friends, and help to 

 make our meeting one of interest to all bee-keepers. 

 Mhs. o. f. Jackson, Pkes. 



ZS~ The Northern Illinois Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will hold its ne.vt meeting on Aug. 20, 1889, at 

 R. Marsh's, in Guilford Township. 4 miles northeast 

 of Rockford, Ills. D. A. Fuller, Sec. 



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