THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



3 



Corr^sp^onti^nce. 



Apicultural Notes and Comments. 

 Dr. Tinker. 



The best section for comb honey, if 

 we ma}' judge by the first premiums 

 awarded at the Buffalo and Detroit 

 International Fairs, is the open side 

 section, Mr. M. J. Biindy of Angola, 

 N. Y., being the exhibitor. It seems 

 that bees will fill out no other style 

 of section so plump and perfect as the 

 open side. 



Bees often attach the combs in sec- 

 tions to the adjoining separators. In 

 some seasons and often where the bees 

 get crowded for surplus room, a large 

 per cent of the combs will be so at- 

 tached causing no small loss to the 

 beekeeper, as broken and dripping 

 combs do not sell well. The cause 

 of the bees thus attaching the combs 

 is usually due to the use of a separa- 

 tor of less width than the section is 

 high. If the top and bottom bars of 

 the sections are made one-half inch 

 less in width than the sides and the 

 separators are made as wide as the 

 section is high, the bees never attach 

 the combs to either wood or metal 

 separators, if the starters are properly 

 fastened. Quite a number of noted 

 producers of honey are arranging to 

 profit by this fact the coming season. 



Wood separators are preferred to 

 metal ones. They cost less and if 

 well sawed will last many years. 

 Comb honey obtained where wood 

 separators are used will be found 

 whiter than where metal separators 

 are used. In the one case, the bees 

 travel freel^'^ over the wood in passing 

 back and forth to the brood-comb; in 

 the other, they prefer to travel over 

 the combs rather than the smooth sur- 

 face of the metal. 



in Gleanings for December 1, con- 

 cedes that it would be desirable, if it 

 could be safely done, but adds " that 

 no kind of cage can be made stout 

 enough and still light enougii, to make 

 it safe to risk by mail." Mr. Doo- 

 little, as the author of a book on queen 

 3'earing, can ill afford to endanger 

 the traffic in queen bees through tlie 

 mails by even broaching the subject 

 of mailing bees by the pound. 



" A Hallamshire beekeeper " claims 

 that bees " will truly hybernate " if 

 properly prepared for winter. (See 

 C. B. J. for November 27.) That 

 bees under favorable conditions do 

 hibernate in winter, is quite univers- 

 ally held at this tims, notwithstanding 

 the objection of some of our scientists. 

 The Rev. W. S. Clark has left a Iieri- 

 tage of ideas on this subject that will 

 survive him. 



Mailing bees by the pound is still 

 defended by Mr. Doolittle. See 

 A. B. J. for November 16. Mr. Root 



The width and thickness of top- 

 bars of brood-frames and their rela- 

 tion as affecting the building or the 

 prevention of building burr-combs, is 

 one of the live toj)ics presented in 

 Gleanings at this time. Mr. Alley 

 has been advocating for some time 

 the use of thick top-bars to prevent 

 tlie building of burr-combs. One thing 

 is certain, top-bars should be made 

 lieav}' enough so they will not sag and 

 be not less than one inch wide. It 

 appears that top-bars |- inch wide or 

 one inch deep will hugely prevent 

 the building of combs in the bee- 

 spaces ; while lessening the width to |- 

 wide or the thickness |- inch is favor- 

 able to such building. It may be pre- 

 dicted that cheap brood-frames of the 

 latter description will go out of use. 



The building of burr-combs may be 

 largely prevented by this management. 

 Placing a set of empty combs either 

 in brood-frames or sections over a 

 colony before the}- begin building new 

 comb is a preventive. So, too, the 

 hiving of two or more swarms together 

 in a brood-chamber of moderate ca- 

 pacity with a wood-zinc honey- board 



