Feb. 14, 1907 



127 



American Vee Journal 



from Harmony and one from Canton. But 

 owing to a wide range in prices paid by the 

 men who gathered tliie honey up for car-load 

 buyers, and for other reasons, there was 

 <li86atisraction among the honey-producers. 



At this meeting the constitution was 

 changed, and an executive committee of 3 

 were chosen to act as financial agents in buy- 

 ing supplies and selling honey for the Asso- 

 ciation ; and a strong resolution was passed 

 binding its members to sell through this com- 

 mittee direct to car-load buyers. 



If the bee keepers would unite, and co- 

 operate in buying supplies and selling their 

 own honey direct to buyers of car-lots for 

 cash, many more such associations could be 

 formed throughout the country, and the mem- 

 bers would realize much more protit in bee- 

 ping. P. B. Ramer, AVr. 



Bee-Keepers 'Meeting at Yorkville, 



III.— The afternoon of Jan, 30, some 30 bee- 

 keepers held an informal convention for 

 about 2 hours, at Yorkville, 111., the discus- 

 sions being led by C. P. Dadant, ex-President 

 of the National Bee Keepers' Association. His 

 part was principally answering questions 

 along practical work in the management of 

 bees. The questions discussed were mainly 



these: Wlnterlni,', with special reference to 

 comparative merits of cellar and outdoor; 

 stimulative feodinj,'; prevention of the depre- 

 dation of bee-moth ; the use of shade-boards; 

 bee-pasturage, ami incidentally the distance 

 of bees' Uight; and other subjects of minor 

 value. The discussions were pretty generally 

 participated in by those present. There were 

 quite a number of ladies present also, some 

 of whom are, or have been, bee keepers. 



After the question-box It was found to be 

 the desire of some of those present that a 

 local association be formed, and 8 gave their 

 names. Ollicers were elected as follows; 

 President, Geo. KUiott, of Yorkville; Secre- 

 tary and Treasurer, Robert B. McCain, of 

 Oswego, 111. The time and place of the next 

 meeting was left in the hands of the ollicers. 



In the evening Mr. McCain delivered a lec- 

 ture on " Bees and Bee-Keeping." It was a 

 larger gathering, and all were interested. 

 There was also a program of music furnished 

 by the Yorkville people. 



No doubt more will be heard from this new 

 organization later on. 



Confrib 



flrficlc>$ 



Again the Wide Frame vs. The 

 T-Super 



BV F. GREINER. 



It had been my intention not to say 

 ally more on the subject of T-supers vs. 

 wide-frame supers, but since many of 

 my friends hold that, as matters stand 

 now, the wide-frame has received "the 

 black eye," I will once more defend the 

 super which I use. 



The wide frame consists of 4 pieces, 

 as follows : : 



1. The top-bar. It is of the width 

 of the narrow parts of the sections used. 

 A thickness of tk-inch is sufficient. It 

 projects over the ends of the frame like 

 a regular brood-frame and hangs in a 

 rabbet. 



2. Two end-pieces. They have the 

 width of the wide portions of the sec- 

 tions used, and shCuld not be less than 

 %-inch thick — perhaps V2-inch would 

 give a better chance for nailing, but in my 

 own supers I could not very well use 

 them thicker than %-inch, so I have 

 been content to have them thus, and I 

 can assure you that there is no trouble 

 about these frames giving out anywhere. 

 I should judge they might outlast 

 several generations of mankind with 

 fair treatnient. When getting out the 

 ends of wide frames, I select the best 

 timber — a medium-hard variety like 

 whitewood or chestnut, if possible, al- 

 though I have many in use made of 

 butternut, basswood. and pine. Bv care- 

 ful nailing with long cement-coated 



nails, the frames are inade as rigid as 

 if they were all in one piece. There 

 is no tinkering needed ever after; this 

 in answer to what has been said by ' 

 others as to the frailty of the wide 

 frame. Of course, a section-holder 

 lacking the top-bar must of necessity be 

 weak, or at least weaker. 



3. The bottom-bar is of the same di- 

 mensions as the top-bar, except being 

 shorter. 



When these 4 pieces are nailed togeth- 

 er properly by the help of a nailing- 

 block, such as I illustrated years ago in 

 different bee-papers, we have a frame 

 that is all right. 



A separator may be nailed to this 

 frame, or it may be so arranged as to 

 hang between the frames just like a 

 frame. The latter arrangement would 

 have some advantages. The Betsinger 

 wire-screen separator-super makes use 

 of this feature. 



The wide frame can also be adapted 

 to the no-bec-\vay sections. I use both 

 kinds. 



There must lie room enough in the su- 

 per so as to have a space at one side for 

 keying up. Wedges, springs, or screws 

 may be used to tighten the frames and 

 to take up the slack. The closer thev 

 come together the better. Of course, 

 proper bee-spaces must be preserved 

 where necessary. If there is room 

 enough a Pettit double bee-space may 

 be had at the sides of the super. The 

 separator should be as wide as possible 

 and still allow (he bees freedom to pass 

 from section to section. 



In the above I have given the essen- 

 tial features of the wide-frame super, 

 which may answer some of the objec- 

 tions raised. 



It is immaterial which way the sec- 

 tion is placed in the wide frame, the 

 lock-corner up or down. With the T- 

 super it must be used "up," although 

 Miss Wilson wants the weak corner 

 (lock-corner^ down. 



I infer that the bee-glue in Marengo 

 is of a greasy nature and cleaves off; 

 here it .sticks "to beat all." The trouble 

 and difficulty of taking the full sections 

 from the T-super lies in this stickiness 

 of the propolis. It cements the tin to 

 the section, and can not be persuaded 

 or forced to let loose. Usually the bot- 

 tom of the section comes with it, and 

 often the T's get out of shape. When 

 a T is used on the top and bottom, as 

 Mr. Armstrong prefers, then the trouble 

 is aggravated. I know of no more suc- 

 cessful method to cement a lot of sec- 

 tions together than by using T-tins at 

 top and bottom. Other bee-keepers here- 

 abouts seem to have found this out long 

 ago, judging from the cast-aside T-tins 

 and T-supcrs I have found in my travels. 

 The best use some could find for the 

 latter was as "Cucumber boxes" in the 

 garden ; for this use they are too ex- 

 pensive, although they protect the cu- 

 cumber plants, when netting is thrown 

 over them. 



No tnatter how badly a wide frame is 

 propolized, the filled section can be 

 pushed out. whether the propolis is hard 

 or soft. The section moves over the 

 wood of the wide frame as the two 

 blades of a pair of shears work, and the 

 glue is "cut." But when you attempt to 

 "lift" the T off from a block of sections, 

 as Aliss Wilson says, and does, it is like 

 pulling an adhesive plaster from one's 

 back. The skin lifts up with it, so also 

 does the bottom of the section when one 

 tries to lift the tin. For that reason I 

 want the lock-corner !//> in a T-super; 

 the strongest part is needed at the bot- 

 tom. In the shipping-case I may place 

 the sections as I please. If all honey is 

 sealed one may place them either side 

 up without bad result. I do not need 

 to use full sheets of foundation and 

 bottom-starters to accomplish well-fill- 

 ing, and sealing of sections, either. 



I^ am well acquainted with Dr. Miller's 

 Editor Hill's, and others' method of 

 taking the honey from a super en masse. 

 Even if we are not inventive, we read. 

 It is an old practice and we know all 

 about it. A great many things are not 

 mentioned by writers because they think 

 everybody ought to have sense enough 

 to do things in the best manner accord- 

 ing to existing conditions. What may 

 work well with one may not work at 

 all with some one else, and I expect 

 these discussions will bring out minor 

 points overlooked before, and not men- 

 tioned. 



Tlie different supers I have in use 

 which leave the tops of sections exposed 

 (including the T-supers) I have always 

 tried to clean on top with a scraper, like 

 the one mentioned by Miss Wilson and 

 Dr. Miller, and considered it a matter 

 of course. By the way, this scraper is 

 the very best thing to clean wide frames, 

 wood-separators, hives, and supers. I 

 have them in each bee-yard. One can 



