204 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



lleddon." He, however, does not like the 

 closed ends to the frames, ur^ng, as a 

 reason, that in connection with the thumb- 

 screw they will be subject to more or less 

 shrinkage and swelling, especially in the 

 moist climate of England. In proof of this 

 he cites a case where the Heddon closed end 

 frames, from shrinkage, have actually 

 dropped down , so as to close up the bee- 

 space between the two sections ; and that 

 in a climate less subject to change. He sug- 

 gests, as an improvement, Hooker's frame- 

 corners, made of metal. In conclusion, he 

 remarks as follows in regard to the Heddon 

 hive: " It would be both unphilosophical 

 and unfair thus to dismiss the Heddon with- 

 out noting that it has called our attention 

 to some points of great moment ; and that 

 it has, also, interwoven with old plans, 

 novel methods which will hereafter make 

 their mark." The author remarks further, 

 and wliich seems to be characteristic of the 

 book : '• It is narrowness, not patriotism, 

 that would deny to one of another country 

 his full meed of praise." 



Mr. Cheshire thinks it an advantage to 

 have the closed-end frames in the Heddon 

 spaced a full H inch instead of If. He says 

 the former spacing (adopted by D. A. Jones) 

 resulted somewhat apparently to Mr. Jones's 

 surprise, in the building of worker-cells to 

 the exclusion of drone-cells. No doubt this 

 would have the effect ; and we should judge 

 this would be quite an advantage in secur- 

 ing comb honey by the Hutchinson plan. 

 Some of our readers will remember, that 

 one difficulty encountered in working for 

 comb honey on empty frames with only 

 starters is the building of drone-brood. 

 Won't Mr. Jones's spacing somewhat correct 

 this V 



There are many other things that we 

 should like to notice, but our space is too 

 limited to do it in the present issue. We 

 will therefore reserve the rest until our next. 



SECTIONS MADE OUT OF SHAVINGS. 



FRIEND HARMER'S INVENTION. 



R. EDITOR:— Your publication and illustra- 

 tion of W. Harmer's shaving section ap- 

 pears to me like the thing- which is to sup- 

 ply a long-felt want among bee-men. I am 

 but a novice in the business, but have a 

 proposition to offer; to wit, T will be one of one 

 thousand or one of one hundred, or even of ten, 

 who wish to adopt the invention, to deposit one 

 dollar with the editor of Gleanings, for the use of 

 the inventor, which shall be considered as payment 

 for the royalty. Friend Harmer has, through the 

 enterprise of Gleanings, given us the shaving 

 idea, and the method of constructing the sections. 

 A test In his hands has demonstrated it to be a suc- 

 cess, both in their adaptation to the purpose de- 

 signed, and the preference given by the pviblic to 

 purchase small lot's of honey, easily and cleanly 

 handled. Is not the inventor as clearly entitled to 

 a royalty from those who adopt his invention as if 

 it were covered by letters-patent from the United 

 States? Herein is my dollar deposit. I wish he 

 had advised a better kind of wood out of which to 

 make shavings. John Cadwallader. 



North Vernon, Ind., April .5, 1888, 

 \ 



Many thanks, old friend. We gladly ac- 

 cept the dollar, and place it to friend Har- 

 mer's credit. Perhaps I should say that I 

 have already given him ten dollars for hia 

 ideas and his article ; and if any of the rest 

 of you feel like rewarding him for his exper- 

 iments and labor, you can send the money 

 directlv to him, and we will, if you wish, 

 print the names of those contributing. By 

 looking at some of the little sections now 

 standing on my table, I see they are made 

 of pine shavings. They are so solid and 

 substantial that, by wrapping them up in a 

 little paper, you can easily carry them safe- 

 ly in your coat-pocket. I think it is surely 

 a step in the right direction, to hand over 

 something to these friends who have made 

 valuable contributions to our industry. 

 Friend Harmer is not very well off in this 

 world's goods ; and whatever is given him 

 will not only give him timely help, but will 

 make him feel kindly toward his fellow-men. 



Here is something from friend Harmer 

 himself in regard to these small sections, 

 and some other matters : 



I wish to thank you very much for the trouble 

 and time you have taken. I know you will be will- 

 ing to make two or three corrections in your next 

 number. One is, that the foundation is not glued 

 in, and the gluing at the corners of the sections is 

 done with the point of a darning-needle instead of 

 a camel-hair brush. 



In regard to wintering my bees, which you spoke 

 of, I would say that I winter my bees in a five- 

 frame Langstroth box with loose top and bottom, 

 which are light, easily carried, and take up very 

 little room in the cellar, besides keeping the bees 

 more compact. Ordinarily I find five frames filled 

 with honey to be sufficient for a strong colony. I 

 find that, if a colony in one of these boxes with five 

 frames weighs 40 lbs. in October, it has plenty of 

 stores until the next May; and I find these boxes 

 very handy for building up colonies in. I put two 

 on one stand, facing different ways. I use the 

 eight-frame Heddon-Langstroth hives, with fixed 

 bottom, which I find are large enough for this part 

 of Michigan, by tiering up. As they are not in use 

 in winter, it gives ample chance through the win- 

 ter for being cleaned up and painted, which task I 

 have just completed for this season. I do not want 

 a tight bottom for wintering. This is one reason 

 why I adopted this box, so by having one extra 

 bottom I lift all my bees on to clean bottom-boards, 

 about three times at intervals through the winter. 

 This gives a good opportunity for knowing how the 

 bees are getting along, and is very easily done. 



Walter Harmer. 



Manistee, Mich., Apr. 5, 1888. 



Thanks for your corrections, friend II.; 

 but you do not even now tell us how you 

 fasten in the foundation. Is it with melted 

 wax ? I am still more interested in your 

 small light boxes for carrying bees into the 

 cellar ; and your idea of changing the bot- 

 tom-boards occasionally while they are in 

 the cellar, I like very much. Some may 

 urge that it may be too much disturbance ; 

 but your success this past winter is an ar- 

 gument in their favor. This gets rid of the 

 dead bees at different times during winters, 

 and is not very much trouble either.— I 

 agree with you, that five L. frames are suf- 

 ficient for almost any colony. 



