398 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



all the sections are worked at once. I 

 long ago decided that I would use sec- 

 tions without separators rather than use 

 straight-sided sections with separators, 

 which diminish the surplus fully one- 

 third. — G. L. Tinker. 



In my experience separators have no 

 such influence. In fact, close observa- 

 tion has led me to believe that the very 

 opposite is true. Bees finish sections 

 better without separators for me, and 

 therefore I never use them. — Emerson 

 T. Abbott. 



You are sure to have a great many 

 unfinished sections, any way, but the 

 separator has a tendency to shorten the 

 depth of the cells — that is, prevent 

 bulging — and of course the honey is more 

 quickly ripened and ready to cap. — Mrs. 

 J. N. Heater. 



I have not observed that the above is 

 true. If more supers are put on before 

 the first is finished, and nectar is not 

 abundant long enough to fill them all, I 

 think any one will find unfinished sec- 

 tions, whether he uses separators or not. 

 — Eugene Secor. 



My experience in this matter has not 

 been large, but I have not found that 

 the use of separators makes any particu- 

 lar difference. I do find that hand- 

 somer combs are produced by using sep- 

 arators, than are found where they are 

 not used. — J. E. Pond. 



It is bee-nature to deposit their sur- 

 plus as near as possible to the brood. 

 Now, the more obstructions you place in 

 the way, the more reluctant they are to 

 go into the supers. Hence, I don't use 

 separators, but foundation ivell fastened 

 to the sections.— J. P. H. Brown. 



I think that separators tend to make 

 the bees build their combs closer to the 

 center of the super, for the reason that 

 the outer divisions are somewhat cut off 

 from the others. A few poor seasons, 

 such as we have had, are excellent for 

 observing this. — J. H. Larrabee. 



If separators are used as wide as the 

 sections, and especially if of wood, they 

 greatly lessen the number of unfinished 

 sections. If H inch narrower at the 

 top and bottom, they do not do so well. 

 In the first case, each section forms a 

 little separate box, and the bees usually 

 finish all that they start, or nearly so — 

 C. H. Dibbern. 



Writers some times give their own ex- 

 perience and conclusions based on very 

 narrow premises. The only way for 

 " Ind." to settle these matters is to try 

 the experiment for himself. In my own 

 experience separators do not lessen the 

 number of unfinished combs. I have 



always been able to find the cause when 

 I have been caught with an excess of 

 unfinished sections. The most fruitful 

 source of an extravagant number of un- 

 finished sections is a rapid flow of nectar, 

 with a premature "shutdown." A hot 

 wave or excessive rain may bring on the 

 relapse. — G. W. Demaree. 



We have never noticed this, but the 

 cause of it is probably in the fact that 

 the combs are thus more remote from the 

 brood than withaut separators, and for 

 this reason they probably hesitate in 

 building additional combs. We believe, 

 for the same reason that less honey is 

 produced with separators than without 

 them. — Dadant & Son. 



I can't see v/hy separators should 

 cause less unfinished sections than where 

 none are used, unless they are a hin- 

 drance to the bees making an early start 

 in the super. If such is the fact, they 

 probably prefer to store all the honey 

 they have room for in sections already 

 started, than pass the barriers of sep- 

 arators to get more room. — S. I. Free- 

 born. 



With wide frames and tin separators, 

 with me, there are perhaps not more 

 than half as many unfinished sections as 

 without separators. The reason is, the 

 separators act as a sort of fence so the 

 bees do not spread out sidewise before 

 they actually need room for their honey 

 — without separators they move with 

 equal facility in all directions. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



Bees seal their 'Ombs as soon as the 

 ends of the cells come within 3^ to 8/16 

 of an inch of any surface, be that sur- 

 face another comb, the side of the hive, 

 or a separator ; hence sections are often 

 filled, sealed and finished between sep- 

 arators before the bees commence work 

 on other combs, while were it not for the 

 separators not a cell would be sealed in 

 the whole surplus arrangement. All 

 who have used " bait sections " in a poor 

 season know this to be a fact. — G. M. 

 Doolittle. 



This is often true. To explain when 

 and why this is the case, would require 

 more space than this Department can 

 allow. As a rule, we may say that when 

 for any reason the bees are a little shy 

 about working in the supers, they are a 

 little more inclined to finish the combs 

 they are working on, instead of starting 

 new ones, if separators are used. This 

 result would be greatly varied by a 

 variety of circumstances, such as sea- 

 son, temperature, kind of bees, style of 

 super, character of honey-flow, etc. — 

 Jambs A. Green. 



