54 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



Macch 



Open Letter to the Bee-Keep- 

 ers of the United States. 



Felloxv Bee-Keepers : — We have pre- 

 pared for circulation a petition asking 

 the Secretary of Agriculture of the 

 United States to take steps to secure 

 and introduce Apis Dorsata, the giant 

 bee of India, into this country. It is 

 a duty that the government owes and 

 is willing to render our industry. (See 

 Report of Secretary of Agriculture, 

 page 25). Owing to the rapid disap- 

 pearance of the bumble-bee the intro- 

 duction of these bees will soon be a 

 necessity in the successful growing of 

 red clover for seed, if for no other 

 purpose. That these are a distinct 

 and large race of bees there is no 

 doubt, but of their practical value we 

 know nothing, and never will until 

 we have thoroughly tested them. As 

 progressive bee-keepers and honey 

 producers we should not rest until 

 every spot on this earth has been 

 searched and every race of honey bees 

 have been tested. We should do it 

 for the advancement of scientific and 

 progressive apiculture, for ourselves 

 and for posterity. Our association 

 has taken hold of this with sincerity 

 and expects the united support of the 

 bee-keepers of this country. And 

 with their support the end of the 

 nineteenth century will witness anew 

 era in apiculture in which the bee- 

 keepers of the United States will take 

 a leading part. Yours fraternally, 



Executive Committee, Ontario Co., 

 N. Y.. Bee-Keepers' Association. 



Copies of thn-se petitions may be ob- 

 tained by anyone who will circulate 

 them by addressing 



W. F. Marks, 



Chapinville, N. Y. 



A New Super. 



BY ED. JOLLEY. 



"The construction of a super that 

 firmly and squarely supports the sec- 

 tions \ inch above the top bars, ad- 

 mits the tiering up, protects the edges 

 from propolization, that may be used 

 with or without separators, and from 

 whence the finished goods may be re- 

 leased without force, combining sim- 

 plicity and moderate cost, still affords 

 ample scope for the inventive genius 

 of the fraternity. "-^H. E. Hill. 



I made and tried a few supers as an 

 experiment last season that answered 

 about all the requirements of Brother 

 Hill, except the \ inch bee space. I 

 prefer f of an inch for bee spece as I 

 have less burr combs with ^ inch 

 space than any other that I have tried, 

 and I think I have tried everything 

 from a scant J to a full \ inch. 



As to the super, it is simply a rim 

 4f inches high and 17 inches long, in- 

 side measurement, and as wide as the 

 brood chamber of the hive it is to be 

 used upon. Mine were made for an 

 8-frame dovetailed hive. All there 

 was to it was the rim and following 

 board scant 17 inches long, and two 

 wedges. To fill this super with sec- 

 tions I place the rim on the table, then 

 put in the sections, allowing them to 

 rest on the table. Four sections will 

 be a neat fit lengthwise, and six rows 

 of four sections each, or 24 sections, 

 will fill a super for an 8-frame hive. 

 Having got the sections placed prop- 

 erly I put in the following board at 

 one side between the sections and the 

 rim, insert and tighten the wedges, 

 and the super is ready for business. 

 Separators may be used if desired. 



This super supports the sections as 

 firmly and squarely as a super having 

 bottom slats, section holders or T tins. 

 It admits of tiering up as well as any 



