26 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



I am no authority on comb honey. 



R. Wilkin. 

 Seven to the foot, 1?^ inches scant. 



James A. Green. 

 Those of about seven to the foot. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 

 1 do not know, for I always use separators. 



Dr. a. B. Mason. 

 I think mine are a little less than two inches. 



Geo. Grimm. 

 Not over 1?4 inches, and probably 'g or ^4 inch 

 less would be better. O. O. Poppleton. 



I don't think it advisable to dispense with sep- 

 arators. I prefer two inches in width, with sep- 

 arators. G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



I have never had perfectly satisfactory success 

 without separators, with any width. Without sep- 

 arators I should prefer seven to the foot. 



A. J. Cook. 

 I got the best result with seel ions IV2 in. wide, 

 although the 1% or 7 to the foot did well; but 

 none will do as well as when the separators are 

 used, and for that purpose the I's is the best, giv- 

 ing more space to the bees. P. L. Viallon. 



When left to themselves, bees build their combs 

 about 1% inches thick. The best width of sections 

 to be used without separators would be, therefore, 

 1% to 1% inches. We get straighter combs and 

 more honey by favoring the natural inclination of 

 the bees. C. F. Muth. 



Seven to the foot has many voices in its favor, 

 I believe; but unless you know you can succeed 

 without separators, let that whole job out. More- 

 over, the steady thinning-down of our combs looks 

 just a trifle to me like a desire to sell less than a 

 pound for a pound. E. E. Hasty. 



I use and prefer sections one seventh of a foot in 

 width. 1 coined the term " seven to the foot " 

 some years ago. Although it seems to be theoret- 

 ically false, after much experimenting I have 

 found it practically true that this width is the best 

 to use, both with and without separators. 



James Heudon. 

 It would seem from the above, that the 

 majority are rather in favor of something 

 pretty nearly seven to the foot, especially if 

 no separators are to be used. Our orders 

 during the past year or two have a pretty 

 strong bearing on this very subject ; and 1 

 should say that, out of orders for about a 

 million sections, as many as nine-tenths 

 have been for a width of 1[|. Perhaps 

 this is greatly owing to the fact that they 

 were first started of this width, and that so 

 many of the friends have so many of their 

 appliances exactly suited to them. It is in- 

 deed very important that we decide what 

 width is best ; that is, if something a little 

 narrower than 1|| is better. 



Question No. 27.— -Do you prefer the dovetailed 

 four-piece section, or the one-piece V-groove? 



The four-piece. 



The dovetailed. 



The four-piece. 



I use nailed sections. 



The one-piece V-groove 



I much prefer the one-piece V-groove. 



Db. A. B. Mason 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Dadant & Son. 



G. M. Doolittle. 



E. France. 



One-piece V-groove. C. C. Miller. 



After trying both thoroughly, I very much pre- 

 fer all dovetail four-piece. James Heddon. 



I am not very particular; but if as nice I think, 

 the one-piece suits me rather the best. 



A. J. Cook. 



The one-piece V-groove, even if it costs double 

 the amount of the four-piece section. 



Paul L. Viallon. 



Neither. I much prefer what is called the two- 

 piece section, such as G. B. Lewis manufactures. 

 O. O. Poppleton. 



My order of preference on sections is, first, the 

 nailed section; second, the one-piece: and, last, the 

 four-piece dovetailed. E. E. Hasty. 



Sides and bottom in one piece, with top separate, 

 and dovetailed in. The section is firm, and you can 

 see at a glance which is top or bottom. 



Geo. Grimm. 



The one-piece V-groove. In some of iny cases I 

 use a two-piece section which has nearly all the ad- 

 vantages of the tour-piece, and is more convenient. 

 The one-piece section, as made, is not well adapted 

 to use without separators. James A. Green. 



The four-piece sections are of the primitive order. 

 The fact of their being dovetailed makes them too 

 limber. They are held in shape by the strength of 

 the honey. The V-groove one-piece sections merit 

 the preference every time. They are substantial and 

 a good protection for the honey, as it should be. 

 Besides this, three or four can be put up to one of 

 the former. Chas. F. Muth. 



The above report is really a curiosity. Our 

 friend Viallon says one-piece, even if they 

 cost double the amount ; and our old veter- 

 an, Muth, calls the four-piece primitive ; 

 C. C. Miller and Dr. Mason also say one- 

 piece ; then follow Heddon, Hutchinson, 

 Mrs. Harrison, Dadant & Son, all in favor 

 of the four-piece. Surely, when doctors 

 disagree, who shall decide ? We might 

 give the above as an illustration of the dif- 

 ference of opinion ; but it can .not be that. 

 I am rather inclined to think that some of 

 the brethren have been disgusted with poor 

 workmanship. If a man should have some 

 poorly made four-piece sections, and next 

 time get some nicely made one-piece ones, 

 he might fail to consider the difference in 

 workmanship: or, if you choose, just the 

 other way. t know a good many of the 

 friends stick to the four-piece sections, be- 

 cause they say the one-piece are liable to 

 break ; but my experience is in favor of the 

 one-piece for this very reason. Some claim, 

 also, that the four-piece, when pressed up 

 square, will stay exactly square*; whereas 

 the one-piece will not ; therefore the four- 

 piece are better adapted to hives of such 

 construction, if the hive itself or the case 

 itself does not hold the section square. It 

 seems to me there is something wrong, 

 friends, when men of large experience de- 

 cide so differently in regard to a plain, 

 simple matter like this. In regard to de- 

 mand and supply. I might say we sell three 

 times as many one-piece sections as we do 

 of the four-piece ones ; but I know there 

 are other manufacturers whose orders run 

 just the other way. Perhaps, however, 

 they do not make any thing like the quanti- 

 ty that we do. 



