isy7. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



181 



honey. The extractor I don't use. I run my bees for comb 

 honey entirely. I am not bothered with swarms. I find if I 

 keep on plenty of supers, and raise the hive one inch or so 

 from the bottom-boards, by placing small blocks under the 

 corners of the hives, there won't be more than one colony in 

 10 to swarm. 



Dr. C. C. Miller, on page 42, says he wants to put more 

 supers on when the first one is % or % full. Now I notice if 

 I wait until the first supers get that full, almost invariably 

 they will have queen-cells started, then out they go. Perhaps 

 lu all localities things don't work the same. I want the sec- 

 ond super on before the first one is half full; after that the 

 bees will stand a little more crowding. I don't want luueh 

 honey capt in the super next to the brood-frames, for I notice 

 the first day it is capt it will show travel-stain to a certain 

 extent. 



Another thing in the production of white honey is to keep 

 the bottom-boards clean. Clean them every spring, of all 

 burr-combs, bee-glue, old cappings, etc. To plane them is a 

 good thing. If the bottom-boards are covered with dead bees, 

 mold and filth, and the combs and frames are all daubed up, 

 the apiarist will not get anything very fancy, no matter how 

 white his honey would be. To get white honey we must keep 

 thiugs neat and right on our part, and the bees will do theirs. 



I have a colony of bees that I call my comb-builders. 

 I have known them to build about 860 square inches of comb 

 in 2-l! hours. I tried an experiment last summer, and if it 

 proves a success the coming season I shall report. It is on 

 comb-building. 



I will send a bee taken from the hive when the experiment 

 was going on, with the segments of wax highly developt. I 

 wish you would pass it around. Send it to Ur. Miller. 



Mecosta Co., Mich., Feb. 8. 



[Mr. Cole, we are sorry to say the bee you refer to never 

 reacht our office. — Editor.] 



Proceedings of the Colorado State Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Conveatiou. 



REPORTED BY F. L. THOMPSON. 



The I7ih annual convention of the Colorado State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association was held in Denver, Jan. 25 and 20, 

 1897. 



Pres. Aikin being absent, the chair was occupied by Vice- 

 Pres. W. L Porter. 



The following paper was read by Mr. D. L. Tracy, of 

 Jefferson County : 



TALL VS. SQUARE SECTIONS. 



When a change in any branch of business, article of 

 machinery, or manner of living, is contemplated, there is a 

 cause that leads to this desire for a change. If we go into 

 any business firm, we find, if they are prosperous, i.e., mak- 

 ing a little more than their expenses, that there is no desire 

 with the-n to change their manner of business. If we visit 

 the mechanic beside his article of machinery, we find that no 

 change is thought or talkt of unless an idea has been ad- 

 vanced that would make the machinery more perfect, there- 

 fore more valuable. This is the case generally in the business 

 world. 



Occasionally there is an exception to this rule. All busi- 

 ness, all classes of life, are composed of individual members, 

 and each individual has his individuality ; and while 95 per 

 cent, of these individuals may go about in their chosen voca- 

 tion with a sort of sameness, yet the other 5 per cent, sit, as 

 It were, upon a sort of an eccentric, and they balance or turn 

 according to circumstances. Notoriety, originality, oddity, 

 and rjaln are a few of the incentives that cause the eccentric 

 to turn one way or the other. 



I will ask the question. Is there a need of a change from 

 the square to the long section ? If so, what demands it, and 

 what would be gained by a change? Would there be an in- 

 crease in the amount of surplus honey (the question of all 



questions to the apiarist), and if so, how ? What would cause 

 the increase ? Would a chunk of honey two inches square 

 and eight inches long sell better in that shape than would the 

 familiar -1x4 section ? Or is It the idea to sell honey by the 

 inch rather than by the pound, and thus save the necessity of 

 buying a pair of scales ? Or is it a scheme of some manufac- 

 turing supply house, directly or indirectly, to open a way that 

 they may have an opportunity to remodel the hive super — in 

 fact, all that is connected with the hive, and thus create a 

 demand for new fixtures ? I may lack in charity, but the last 

 question is my belief what has caused the subject to be 

 brought out in some of the bee-papers of the land. To try to 

 make myself more plainly understood, please allow me a 

 broader range than what the subject, "Tall vs. Square Sec- 

 tions," would seem to allow. 



I have used some of nearly all of the different styles of 

 frames for the inside — brood-chamber — of the hive, like many 

 of the up-to-date bee-keepers who have tried to be practical, 

 and have felt, when a new frame has been placed upon the 

 market, that there must be some merit in that frame, and 

 have laid in a supply for the next season's use, with the result 

 that after one season they were cast in the rubbish-pile. 



Any one who ever handled a comb and brood, be he the 

 most ignorant " Novice," would know that a frame with a top- 

 bar % of an inch thick would not bear the weight required in 

 a frame for the Simplicity or Dovetailed hive, yet they were 

 sent out by tens of thousands ! They were made to help make 

 the supply business pay. Many changes have been made in 

 the brood-frame, and while I admit that some of these changes 

 were for the better, yet in the main the frame of to-day is not 

 as practical as the old V-shaped top-bar frame, invented by, I 

 think, the Rev. Mr. Langstroth, years ago. Had this old 

 frame been made with a thick — say 3^-inch top-bar — then the 

 V-shaped bar added, it would have been, to my way of think- 

 ing, the best top-bar ever made. 



All along the skirmish line of the apiarist lay his experi- 

 ence in the shape of hives, supers, T-tins, separators and 

 frames, while his dollars have gone to build up the supply 

 dealer, and now a new hook, or perhaps crook, has come, and 

 this is in the tall vs. square section. You will see what my 

 idea of a change from the old common-sense section to a new 

 dimension is. You have the right to say that as I have had 

 experience with only the 4x4 section that I know nothing 

 about the matter whatever. I will agree with you in this, but 

 will add that there are a few thiugs that a person with half 

 horse-sense can stagger a good guess at. 



If I were in the supply business, I presume that I might 

 advocate the change, as it would necessitate the demand for a 

 new style of super, a number of changes in the inside furni- 

 ture of a hive, crates, etc. But as I try to produce a little 

 surplus comb honey to sell, I shall not advocate a change in 

 the shape of the section now used. 



There is one point that I wish to speak of, and that is in 

 regard to the handling of sections. The 4x4 section is as 

 near perfection, it seems to me, as could be arranged, as far 

 as the handling is concerned. It is about the right size and 

 shape for the adult hand to hold while scraping off propolis 

 and putting in shape for the crate ; then it will stand upon its 

 own foundation when set down. Contrast that with a 2x8 or 

 a 3x5 section, and you will find that that section will stand 

 " a-laying." Twenty-four of the sections of the style of to- 

 day make a convenient and desirable sized crate of honey to 

 be placed upon the market. I think that those who advocate 

 the tall section must profess to be gods, and they wish to kill 

 the bee-industry with that old chestnut, "Whom the gods 

 wish to destroy, they first make mad." 



My acquaintance with the members of the bee-fraternity 

 has been such that I do not think that Moses could hold a 

 candle to them in meekness, but, oh my! let them go to set- 

 ting up, or setting down, 2x8 section comb honey 1 Well, I 

 will not try to enlarge upon it, but I think if you were near, 

 you could see considerable blue floating around that Moses, 

 and it would not be ethereal blue, either. 



D. L. Tract. 



Mrs. Booth — The 4 '4x4 '4' section is good enough for me. 



Mr. Adams — I have concluded to stay with the present 

 style. I can see no advantage in the change. I think the 

 square section is just as beautiful. 



Mr. Rhodes — There is something in the suggestion Mr. 

 Tracy makes in regard to supply houses favoring changes 

 There were difficulties In the change from the 2-pound sectiou 

 to the 1-pound. 



Vice-Pres. Porter — I do not want to stand in the way of 

 any progress in our industry, but I think the originator does 

 not bring out any good reason for the change. 



