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TfHlt MMERICSK BE® JO'lOlillfKlL. 797 



Proper IVullli and IMulcrial for 

 !i>e|turators. 



^Vritten for the American Dee Juiirtial 



ftuery 675.— 1. What width of separators 

 would you advise for sections 4'-4X4L4x2 

 inches ? 'Z. Of what material should thev be 

 made V— Iowa. 



I do not use separators. — M. Mauin. 



1. Three and ■% inches. 2. Wood. — J. M. 



H.VMBAUlin. 



1. Three and 3a inches. 2. I prefer tin. — 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



1. Three and }^ inches. 2. Of wood. — J. 

 M. SuucK. 



1. Three and J.2 inches. 2. I prefer tin. — 

 R. L. Taylok. 



1. Three and '^ inches. 2. Some prefer 

 wood; I ijrefer tin. — A. B. Mason. 



1. About 3 'o inches. 2. Wood has work- 

 ed very satisfactorily with me.^J. P. H. 

 Shown. 



1. As wide as the sections.viz : il'^ inches. 

 2. Wood, planed smooth. — C. H. Dibbehn. 



1. Three inches. 2. Bass wood or poplar 

 — very white wood. — A. J. Cook. 



1. About 3'., inches. 2. If nailed on, 

 tin; if loose, wood. — C. C. Millek. 



I never used separators, for my local 

 trade does not demand them. If I did, I 

 should prefer tin. — Mrs. L. Hakkison. 



1. Three and 3< to S^-i inches. 2. Wood 

 or tin, plain, no holes through them, nor 

 corners, angles, or other costly theories, 

 that are of no practical use,— Jas. Heddon. 



1. I use 3'^-iuch tin separators. 2. I 

 have seen them made of wood, which 

 worked nicely. The kind would depend, 

 with me, largely upon the price. — Eigene 

 Secou. 



1. There should be room both at the top 

 and bottom of the separator for the free 

 ingress of the bees — say }{ inch. 2. White 

 poplar makes a good separator ; but tin Is 

 perhaps the cheapest in the end. — Will M. 

 Barni'.m. 



1. Allow about }4 inch at the top and at 

 the bottom of each separator. 2. I have 

 used both tin and wood, but I find tin the 

 easiest to manipulate, and so I use it. I do 

 not think that any difference in results will 

 be found, whichever is used. — J. E. Pond. 



1. Three and }4 inches. 2. I have used 

 many tin separators, and they work well; 

 but wood is so much cheaper, and works 

 just as well, that I prefer the wood. I pre- 

 fer some hard wood to basswood. I have 

 had basswood separators eaten |^ of an 

 inch down from the edge. — H. D. Cutting. 



1. Separators should be made as wide as 

 the section is high. There is not space here 

 to give the reason, but it will be forthcom- 

 ing. 2. I believe that wood makes by far 

 the best separator. Yellow poplar is the 

 best wood, and should be sawed, not sliced, 

 into separators. — G. L. Tinkek. 



The separators that I use in my section- 

 cases are made of Coke tin, and are cut 3% 

 inches wide ; this leaves ample openings at 

 the tops and bottoms of the sections for the 

 bees to pass freely, and yet it is close 

 enough to prevent the combs from being 

 l)ulged. I prefer tin, because it is thin, and 

 takes up less room than any other material 

 fit for separators.— G. W. Demakee. 



1. About S14 inches. 2. Tin is generally 

 preferred, but wood has some advantages ; 

 and some apiarists like it as well as tin — 

 others prefer it. — The Editor. 



Having €onib§ Built, »r Buying 

 Foundation. 



Written for the Amerirnn Bee Jourtial 



Query 676. — In changing from the produc- 

 iuffofcomb to o-vtriicled houoy, is it best to 

 liave the bees (weak colonies) build their 

 combs, or buy foundation ?— Ark. 



Buy comb foundation, — M. Mahin. 

 Buy foundation. — G. M. Doolittle. 

 I would use foundation. — J. P. H. Brown. 

 I .should use foundation. — Eugene Secor. 

 Buy foundation. — J, M. Hambaugh. 

 I think that I should buy foundation. — C. 

 C, Miller. 



I should prefer to buy foundation. — H. D. 



Cutting. 



I should prefer to use foundation — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



I would advise the use of full sheets of 

 foundation. It is the cheapest in the end. 

 — Will M. Barnum. 



I would buy foundation; then I would 

 have liglit combs, that would not color 

 white honey. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Buy combs, if you can, and if not, get 

 foundation, by all means. —James Heddon. 



I would buy foundation, eveiy time, even 

 if I had to borrow the money to do so. — 0. 

 H. Dibbekn. 



I prefer foundation ; though in some 

 cases it pays to have bees build combs. For 

 extracting, wired combs are very excellent. 

 To obtain these, we must have foundation, 

 — A. J, Cook. 



I would not try to produce comb honey 

 with weak colonies. The bee-keeper's golden 

 rule, " Keep all colonies strong," is espec- 

 ially valuable in producing comb honey. — 

 A. B. Mason. 



If the bee-keeper is prompt, diligent, 

 painstaking, persevering, accurate, skillful 

 and level headed, buy foundation. If he 

 is not all these things, he would better not 

 have the bees. — J. M. Shuck. 



According as the bee-keeper could afford. 

 I would prefer the frames half filled with 

 foundation, but full sheets tnay be used to 

 great advantage between old brood-combs, 

 if straight. — G. L, Tinker. 



Use comb foundation, by all means. In 

 my locality, to set the lieesto building their 

 combs in the surplus cases, with a view to 

 obtain combs for extracting, would lie the 

 worst sort of management. The foundation 

 will pay 200 per cent, on the investment, 

 the first season. — G. W. Demaree. 



I find the best results from the use of 

 foundation ; and then again, complete con- 

 trol is had by its use, both in the matter of 

 getting straight combs, and all-worker cells 

 if desired. There is a difference of opinion, 

 however, on the subject, and localities may 

 be the cause. — J. E. Pond. 



By all means give them comb foundation. 

 Weak colonies are very poor to depend on 

 for building comb, — TuE Editor. 



Essays on Extracted Honey. 



We offer Cash PRIZES for the best essays 

 on "Extracted Honey," each essay not to 

 exceed 2,000 words in length, and must be 

 received at this office before Jan. 1, 1890. 

 The first prize is $5.00; the second, $3,00; 

 and the third, *2.00. All essays received 

 on this offer will become the property of 

 the American Bee Journal, and is open 

 for competition to its subscribers only. 



BEE-ESCAPE. 



Description of a Simple and 

 Efl'cctivc Bee-Emeape. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY C. H. DIBBEKN. 



The engraving is that of the under- 

 side of a solid honey-board, with bee- 

 spaces to match the hive and supers. 

 The illustration tells the story, and 

 any intelligent bee-keeper could make 

 it without further explanation. The 

 cones are doul)le, and fit in the bee- 

 space on the underside, presumably 

 5 of an inch, though 1 have them for a 

 }-inch space. 



They are easily made of green wire- 

 cloth, by shaping them with the fingers 

 over a wooden form. It is surprising 

 how nicel}' a piece of green wire-cloth 

 can be shaped over a block ! 



A little explanation may be neces- 

 sary to enable any one to make it. 

 The dots are holes J-inch through the 

 board, and the board itself may be of 

 any thickness. The outside cone is 

 just enough larger to easily admit of a 

 bee running around it. Now when 

 this escape board is placed with the 

 cones fitting nicely in the bee-space 

 under it, above the hive or case of 

 sections, and the full case of sections 

 and full of bees is placed on it, they 

 will at once find themselves compara- 

 tively cut off from the queen and 

 brood-combs, and become greatl}' ex- 

 cited. Of course they readily find the 

 holes, and down they go, and out at 

 the escape into tlie hive. 



Should any try to return after pass- 

 ing out of the inner cone, they will be 

 very likely to run around it, and out of 

 the outer one. The exit from these 

 cones is just large enough to nicely 

 allow a bee to pass out, but as the wire 

 in the edge of the cone points outward, 

 it is not so easy for a bee to return ; 

 but should one occasionally get into 

 the outer cone, it would very likely 

 take the passage around the inner 

 cone, and out again into the hive. 



Suppose, however, that a very few 

 bees should regain the super — they 

 would soon find themselves rather 

 lonesome, and be glad to rejoin the 

 great company below. 



Of coui'se the form of this escape can 

 be varied ; for instance, the holes may 

 be cut in the middle, or any other part 

 of the board. Tlie form of tlie wire- 

 cloth cones can also be changed, to 

 make two or more outlets. It could 

 also be changed to the form of a star, 

 and placed over one hole in the center. 



