July 13, 1905 



THf; AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



48 7 



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 Special Clrttcles 



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I 



Advantages of Bottom-Starters in Sections 



BV DR. C. C. MILLER 



ON page 424, our affable Aftertliinker refers to ray saying 

 sections look better with lock corner down, and says, 

 '• Wish you had been a little more explicit as to the w/iy 

 of that." Well, Mr. Hasty, I'll try to be I'xplicit, and as you 

 make some strong points against having lock corners at the 

 bottom, which show that it is a somewhat important matter 

 to have them the right way, we may as well talk the whole 

 matter over. 



First, as to being more explicit as to the why of sections 

 looking better with lock corners down. They look better that 

 way because — because — why, because they look nicer so. The 

 matter of look^ is a matter of taste, and I don't know enough 

 to tell w/iy a peach tastes better to one man and an apple to 

 another. One thing, however, might be said, and that is that 

 there is more symmetry in the appearance of a section with 

 both visible corners alike. If both upper corners were lock 

 corners, then it would be a question as to whether a lock 

 corner or a plain corner looks better, and upon that question 

 there might be a division of opinion. 



I don't dispute the truth of all you say. Been through it 

 all years ago; but much that you say is not true in this 

 locality it the present time. Aiid the things you say would 

 not be true with you if^you — used — bottom-starters. I'm not 

 sure that I ever so fully realized the value of bottom-starters 

 as I do since reading what you say. 



You say that sections filled with lock corner up " are 

 much less inclined to be pulled apart in handling." That was 

 true with me before I used bottom-starters, because the bees 

 did not build the comb down to the bottom. But it isn't true 

 now. The comb is well built to the bottom, and you would 

 often have to examine closely to tell by the comb which was 

 bottom and which top. 



" Both in pile and in case I want a section to stand the 

 other side up from what it did while being built," you say 

 further. Most emphatically that's what I don't want, and 

 what you wouldn't want it both top and bottom of the comb 

 were well fastened to the wood. 1 want the sections to stand 

 always (unless for a very short time) exactly as the bees had 

 them standing. The honey stays in the cells best that way. 

 Sometimes there's quite a slant to the cells. 



" If the honey is all sealed how can it make any difference 

 which side is up?" Yes, but it isn't always sealed, every sin- 

 gle cell. .Sometimes there will be one or more cells next the 

 wood unsealed ; at least in this locality. To be sure, if that 

 honey is thoroughly ripened, as it ought to be, it is not likc^ly 

 to run out of the cell when upside down. But it is a little more 

 sure to stay all right in the cell if left just as the bees placed 

 it. Even the honey that is sealed will stay in the cell with- 

 out running down against the capping at the lower side, just 

 a little better, if left just as the bees placed it. 



" Along the top-bar the honey is pretty sure to be 

 plumped out fuller than along the bottom-bar; and finger- 

 bruises would start little leaks else." There's where you have 

 the advantage over me. When you turn a section upside 

 down, you have a place to take hold. I haven't, because the 

 comb is plump full at the bottom as well as at the top. But 

 although yours is safer to handle, it doesn't look nearly so 

 well ; and what is of more importance, it doesn't ship so well. 

 (But, say, we don't put finger-bruises in our sections.) 



" And when the honey-yield is poor some sections are not 

 attached to the bottom at all, and lots of them only attached 

 an inch or so at one side of the bottom." I know all about 

 that; have had them so they'd almost swing like a pendulum 

 when turned on the side — not fit to ship at all. I don't have 

 that sort of thing now. When the bees attack a section, 

 about the first thing they do is to fasten top and bottom 

 starter together, and at any time during the progress of that 

 section it could be taken out and shipped with perfect safety 

 without the danger of breaking out. 



I'll tell you another thing that puzzled me for some time : 

 Like you, I'm addicted to poor seasons; and often when the 

 bees were storing very slowly I've had them fill honey faster 

 on the part of the starter toward the middle of the super than 



on the outer side of the starter. The result was that the bot- 

 tom of the starter would swing over toward one side, and then 

 the bees would fasten it to the separator. All at once they 

 ceased doing that sort of work, and I wondered why, till It 

 occurred to me that it couldn't swing over, because I had be- 

 gun using bottom starters, and as the bees fastened top and 

 bottom together there was no chance for swinging over to one 

 side. 



Now don't you come back at me, Mr. Hasty, by saying 

 that you rfo use bottom-starters and have the troubles men- 

 tioned in spite of them. In that case, I can only say they 

 work all right "in this locality." McHenry Co., III. 



i«i 



Simple and Safe Way to Get Increase 



BY F. GREINER 



IN practicing the so-called "shook swarm" method, or 

 when following the Heddon plan to prevent afterswarms, 

 the mother colony cuts no figure in the production of comb 

 honey. It is this mother colony which can be utilized advan- 

 tageously to swell the number of colonies without incurring 

 any risk, providing we can depend upon a fall honey-flow, and 

 we have combs enough at our command to fill the hives. With 

 comb foundation alone we can not increase as fast, although 

 we will succeed in a measure. 



On the seventh day after a colony has swarmed, following 

 the Heddon plan referred to, we move the hive to a new loca- 

 tiojn, and after the bees which have marked their location 

 have left it, which will be after a few hours, we proceed to 

 divide the bees and brood-comb, forming two or three nuclei. 

 We observe that each division has a queen-cell or a virgin 

 queen. Queen-cells are plenty at this time, and if we have 

 some cells from choice stock, all the better. It is not very 

 difficult to obtain choice cells if we manage rightly. Almost 

 any good colony will finish up stocked-up cells in an upper 

 story over an excluder at swarming-time or during the honey- 

 flow. It is not the purpose of this article, however, to show 

 how it may be accomplished. So I only say, each nucleus 

 colony must be provided with a ripe cell, and combs added 

 from time to time. A nucleus thus formed seldom fails to get 

 its queen, and it is surprising how quickly the colony builds 

 up when honey is coming in. 



A year ago last winter one of my out-yards was almost 

 wiped out of existence, and I did not make much of an effort 

 to populate the empty hives. This season I am increasing on 

 the nucleus plan explained above. A number of young queens 

 have already commenced laying, and I find these nuclei are 

 just the place to dump the many brood-combs obtained by 

 " shaking." 



All these early made-up colonies will be brought up in 

 this manner to a state of populousness, not only to enable 

 them to gather their winter stores, but also to give a fair sur- 

 plus from buckwheat. I am now viewing the many fields 

 oeing put into buckwheat in the locality around this out-yard 

 with some anticipation. In localities without a fall honey- 

 flow perhaps as good results may be obtained by f.eeding. But 

 I am not partial to this kind of work, and do not recommend 

 it Ontario Co., N. Y. 



The Season-Shooting Down High Swarms 



BY WM. STOLLEY 



LAST winter my bees wintered well without any loss, but I 

 have united with others several (rather medium) colonies 

 Laving very old queens, thus reducing the number of col- 

 onies from 42 to 36, all of which are in the very best working 

 condition now. 



In .January we had 8 zero days, and on 3 days. during that 

 month bees had flights. 



February brought us, from the 1st to the ISth, IS zero 

 days, and the temperature dropped as low as 26 degrees below 

 zero during that cold spell. During the remainder of Febru- 

 ary bees were out more or less on 12 days, and in March the 

 zero mark was not reached again, while bees flew on 21 days 

 in that month. 



Our spring was anything but favorable for bees— it was 

 too cold and wet. The valley of the Platte River has been 

 flooded several times, and but yesterday we had another 

 down-pour of 2)4. inches, floodinj: all lowlands once more. 

 Many fields on low land are waier-soaked, and farmers are 

 still at it, trying to plant corn— 4 weeks late. 



White and red clovers are in bloom now, and bees are 

 busy at work on them. 



