1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



11 



UNFINISHED SECTIONS. 



VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS FROM SAMUEL CUSHMAN. 



T WAS very much interested in your account of 

 1^ the Chicago convention, and especially in 

 ^l your explanation of why we should use 

 ■^ foundation in sections, instead of drawn-out 

 combs. 1 have been slow to accept the idea 

 advocated by various writers in the bee-journals, 

 that unfinished combs in sections should not be 

 again used. Previous to the present season, my 

 experience led me to believe their use a great 

 help. Two years ago, by doubling up I secured 

 a choice lot of apple honey in sections. Every 

 other frame of sections given contained drawn- 

 out combs. These combs were left over the 

 pi-evious season, and had been cleared by the bees 

 before they were put away, and were nice and 

 white. Some were partly, others fully drawn out. 

 The comb honey obtained was as white and clear, 

 and as well finished as that built on new founaa- 

 tion. We could generally tell which was new and 

 which had been used before, by the wood or sec- 

 tion itself. This was the only difference seen. If 

 there was any difi'erence in thickening or ripening it 

 was in favor of that in the drawn-out comb. This 

 honey took the first prize at the Rhode Island State 

 Fair; and some that was kept until midwinter was 

 just as fine in appearance— no sweating or leaking. 



I then believed that, without those empty combs, 

 I should not have received such a crop. In this 

 belief I extracted in the fall all partly filled sec- 

 tions, that I might use them the next season; but 

 as it was done late they were not placed where 

 bees could clean them, but were stored as they 

 were, sticky with honey. 



Last spring the season was unsuitable for 

 securing apple honey, and the sections were not 

 used until supers were adjusted for the clover 

 crop. I then put in each super from one to three 

 wide frames of these sections of comb. Clover 

 was a failure, but basswood yielded well for this 

 location. Our strongest colonies filled their 

 supers, but many of the drawn-out combs were 

 poorly capped, and, when finished, were inferior in 

 appearance to that built on foundation. 



Fair colonies filled the brood-nest and the empty 

 combs in sections, but did not cap them, and did 

 not work on foundation. We have been troubled 

 by some of these combs sweating. Was it becausS 

 they were not cleaned by the bees before they were 

 stored, or is basswood honey so much thinner than 

 apple honey that it could not be so well ripened 

 in drawn-out combs? Your conclusion of the 

 question is just about what I have settled on. I 

 shall put on the hive three or four drawn-out 

 combs, for a bait, in the center of the first super, 

 using those partly drawn out in preference to full- 

 depth combs, and only those which are white and 

 cleaned of honey the season they were built. All 

 ^other sections will contain full sheets of thin 

 foundation. Supers placed underneath, when 

 tiering up, will contain only foundation. When 

 working for goldenrod and aster honey in sections, 

 it is cool, and bees do not build comb or work on 

 foundation readily. We shall then fill the supers 

 with drawn-out comb. By this plan, and by giving 

 but very few brood-combs, we secured this fall a 

 limited amount of aster honey in sections, which 

 was delicious and very handsome. 



Now, friend Root, I should like to ask you a few 

 questions relating to this matter. 



Do you believe it is better to use foundation in- 

 stead of combs in the extracting supers, for the 

 same reasons? Did any one ever know of honey, 

 stored above or below in thick brood-combs, to 

 sweat or be unripe when well sealed, and left on 

 the hive through the season? If it applies to one, 

 why not to the other also' To be sure, ordinary 

 brood-combs are about 7a inch thick, and that in 

 sections sometimes 1'4 inch; but many use ex- 

 tracting-combs 2 inches thick. I have some my- 

 self that thick. If bees ripen honey in brood- 

 combs, why not in sections? Can it be because the 

 sections cut them up into small clusters, resulting 

 in less heat, al^o causing less circulation of air, 

 while on brood-combs they can cluster in more 

 compact masses, generate more heat, and the cir- 

 culation of air is less restricted? If this is the case, ' 

 then perhaps the side-slot section (or, as the Eng- 

 lish bee-keepers call it, the " four-bee ■^^ ay sec- 

 tion " is just the thing. 



I have thought that bees often ripen honey in 

 the brood-combs first, then take it up above and 

 store it in sections, and this view was strengthen- 

 ed by the following: 



In preparing the colonies for apple bloom, instead 

 of uniting all with other colonies I filled the brood- 

 nest of one with ten combs of capped brood from 

 other colonies, and above I placed an odd crate 

 containing a lot of narrow sections, lU inches wide, 

 filled only with foundation, 32 in all. The weather 

 was poor, and there were but three or four good 

 days, just' as the bloom was almost over. After 

 the blossoms were all gone I found the super was 

 over two-thirds full; and of that, more than half 

 was nicely capped. I left it on, and in a few days 

 'more all were full and well capped, except the 

 outer half of the outside sections next to the 

 glass. On examination of the brood-nest I found 

 half of the brood-combs were empty of both brood 

 and honey— the remainder partly filled with brood 

 and honey. What would be your explanation of 

 the case? Samuel Cushman. 



Pawtucket, R. I. 



Friend C, we are much obliged for your 

 report, for we want to get all the truth 

 there is in regard to this matter. Your 

 first experiment seems to indicate that per- 

 fectly clean empty comb is better than 

 foimdation. Your last experiment, how- 

 ever, does not seem to tell the same story. 

 I do not know how it will be in regard to 



! working for extracted honey. It would 

 seem that shallow combs, or even combs 

 with foundation not built out, would be 

 best for getting a nice article of thick, well- 

 ripened honey. Some years ago the matter 

 of using very thick combs, produced by 

 spreading them a good way apart in the 

 upper story, to be used especially for the 

 extracting season, was considerably talked 

 about. The matter was brought up at the 

 Chicago convention. I believe friend Board- 

 man did say that he had used such very 

 thick combs for extracting;, but that he 

 felt sure the bees did not ripen the honey 

 as rapidly as in ordinary depth of brood- 

 combs. In regard to sections made with 

 four entrances, see Question 25 in this issue. 

 Your suggestion, that the bees store the 



I honey and ripen it in the brood-combs be- 



