46 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



February 



wires are used mainly to prevent the 

 breaking of combs in extracting and 

 in moving bees. Experience has 

 shown me that they are of minor im- 

 portance in the extractor, for if the 

 comb-baskets are not well braced, 

 wires will not save the combs, and if 

 they are, wires are not necessary. It 

 is entirely up to the manufacturer of 

 the extractor. Wires will help pre- 

 vent breakage of combs in moving, 

 but the shells left by two or three 

 generations of brood are worth more. 

 I have used thousands of combs with- 

 out wire in all parts of the hive, and 

 for most kinds of migrating, and can 

 say from wide experience that the 

 main and perhaps only advantage of 

 wires is to hold the comb in shape 

 until it can be used at least once for 

 brood. 



It may be that the metal comb is 

 the answer to this hard and very im- 

 portant question. Aside from that 

 some system of wiring seems the 

 most practical way of bringing the 

 young comb through formative 

 stages to a safe maturity, after which 

 it may hope for a long and useful 

 life, barring accidents and disease. 



Vertical wiring looks good from 

 the one standpoint, and has some 

 strong advocates who are able to show 

 beautiful combs. It has the objection 

 of being different from what we are 

 accustomed to and of requiring a 

 heavier bottom-bar, or some system 

 of reinforcement. Other devices, like 

 Dr. Miller's splints, probably require 

 more skill than the commercial bee- 

 keeper can expect from his helpers. 



In the Pettit apiaries a special 

 frame has long been used with the 

 greatest of satisfaction. The top-bar 

 is plain on all sides and only five- 

 eighths inch deep. As no groove is 

 used and the light top-bar has suf- 

 ficient strength, the extra space is 

 saved for comb. On the under side 

 a small staple is driven in the middle 

 before the frames are nailed up. 

 The horizontal wires are placed 

 closer together near the top than in 

 the stock frame, and an extra wire 

 comes just one-quarter inch below 

 the top-bar being threaded through 

 said staple for middle support. All 

 wires are carefully strung as taut as 

 can be without cutting into the wood. 

 When foundation is put into the 

 frame every wire is carefully em- 

 bedded from end to end. If any 

 wire happens to be slack in the frame 

 it is sprung down in the middle. 



hammock-shaped, and carefully to 

 avoid stretching of the foundation 

 from slackness on the one hand, and 

 buckling from too much tension on 

 the other. The foundation is not 

 fastened to the top-bar in any way. 

 The bees make that their first duty. 

 Now what happens when the heat 

 and weight of bees come on the foun- 

 dation in the hive? As there is clear- 

 ance between each sheet and its bot- 

 tom-bar, the whole sheet may spring 

 down slightly under the added 

 weight of clustering bees. This does 

 not cause stretching tension in any 

 part as all wires can give slightly 

 and to about the same extent. No 

 rigid top-bar fastening has it by the 

 nose. One, or possibly two rows 

 of distorted cells may be built next to 

 the top-bar, but that is all. The 

 sheet of foundation is drawn out with 

 cells quite as perfect as the manu- 

 facturer made them. 



We believe that this system of 

 wiring without fastening foundation 

 to the top-bar gives a much higher 

 standard of combs than the stock 

 frame. But to our way of thinking 

 the advantage does not stop there. 

 In fact in designing the frame it was 

 of secondary consideration. Having 

 no groove and wedge to fuss with we 

 can put in foundation twice as fast, 

 and that is a job for the busy season. 

 When foundation in frames has to be 

 carried over winter, frost usually 

 breaks it loose from the top-bars, or 

 when supers of wired foundation have 

 to be carried to outyards vibration 

 often breaks it. This never happens 

 in our case as it is loose from the 

 top-bar already and the spring of 

 the wires takes up the vibration. 

 Even if we did not get better combs 

 we would much prefer our system of 

 putting foundation into frames. While 

 acting as Provincial Apiarist I sent 

 sets of these frames out to a number 

 of Ontario beekeepers as one of a 

 series of co-operative experiments 

 and they were very favorably rec- 

 eived. 



But do not let the beekeeper fondly 

 think his new combs are out of danger 

 when all cells are safely built to nor- 

 mal length. The common practice of 

 spreading combs in the extracting su- 

 per, leaving it eight or nine instead 

 of ten, is a fruitful source of stretched 

 comb. Especially when they are new, 

 the undue weight of honey this treat- 

 ment requires them to carry, while 

 also subjected to the weakening ef- 



fect of extreme heat which usually 

 prevails during a good flow, often 

 causes the best wired combs to sag 

 out of shape and be completely spoiled 

 for brood chamber use. 



From the stand point of getting 

 good combs, another important point 

 is to never place or leave foundation 

 in a hive e.xcept during a good honey 

 flow, and never place foundation in 

 a broodchamber. The former state- 

 ment will be generally accepted, the 

 latter may cause exclamation. I re- 

 fer to the space which is so common- 

 ly found vacant or filled with drone 

 comb next the bottombar. Combs 

 built on foundation cut the right 

 size and placed in supers under right 

 conditions do not have this objection- 

 able feature. It is probably caused 

 by light or cool air or both coming 

 in at the entrance. These improper- 

 ly admitted will cause combs to be 

 cut away; but that is another story. 



In conclusion then, the remedy 

 for stretched combs is a proper 

 system of wiring whereby all parts 

 of the sheet are adequately supported. 

 We think best not to fasten it to the 

 top-bar. Then avoid overloading 

 new combs and if at all convenient 

 have a few generations of brood 

 reared in them under conditions 

 whereby the cells would be used right 

 to the top-bar. Finally use a rule 

 graduated to show the size worker 

 cells ought to be on the surface of 

 every comb and reject from brood- 

 chamber use all which have more than 

 two or three rows of spoiled cells, ex- 

 cept that a total of drone comb equal 

 to about one-half a Langstroth comb 

 might be allowed in a broodchamber. 



Ontario. 



The Brown system of wiring has proven successful, though it means much more work. 



New National Organization 



As a result of the resolution 

 passed at the Chicago convention of 

 the National Beekeepers' Association 

 at the 1919 session, calling for a con- 

 ference of delegates for the purpose 

 rvi fo. mulating a plan of operation 

 and adopting a constitution for a na- 

 tional organization of honey produc- 

 ers, a group of representative men 

 met at Kansas City on January 6. • 



The following States and organiza- 

 tions were represented: 



Prof. George H. Rhea, of Ithaca, 

 N. Y., representing New York and 

 Rhode Island. B. F. Kindig, of East 

 Lansing, Mich, State Apiarist of , 

 Michigan, and President of the Na- 

 tional Beekeepers' Association. Co- 

 lin P. Campbell, Grand Rapids, Mich, 

 representing the Michigan Beekeep- 

 ers' Association. Clifford Muth, of 

 Cincinnati, Ohio, representing Fred 

 W. Muth & Co. Jesse D. Warren, 

 Medina, Ohia, representing A. I. 

 Root Co. E. S. Miller, of Valparaiso, 

 Ind., President of the Chicago North- 

 western Beekeepers' Association. F. 

 J. Rettig, of Wabash, Ind., repre- 

 senting the Indiana Beekeepers' As- 

 sociation. Dr. A. C. Baxter, of 

 Siiringfield, 111., President of Illinois 

 State Beekeepers' Association. L. C. 

 Dadant, of Hamilton, 111., represent- 

 ing Dadant & Sons, Hamilton, 111. H. 

 L. McMurry, Chief Apiary Inspector 

 of Wisconsin, representing the State 



