838 



GLEAN lJ«IGiS I:N BEE CULTUBE. 



Nov. 



allow me to put on the hive 5, 10, 20, or any dCBired 

 number of sections. Until the season of 1888 began 

 to draw to a close, it never occurred to me that this 

 might be accomplished witliout throwing- aside the 

 T super for some other arrangement; and then the 

 wonder was that I had never before thought of any 

 thing so simple. A single section, 3, 3, 4, or any 

 number up to the full super, can be used. To put 

 on 6, 12, or 18 is a very simple matter; but for other 

 numbers, some trouble must be taken. But it is not 

 often that 6, 12, or IS will not be all tliat is desired. 



First, let me tell how to put 18 sections in a super. 

 Fill the super as usual, only, instead of filling up 

 One of the rows of 6 across the super, put in the 

 bottom of super side pieces of sections, enough to 

 fill tlie space full, and thus make it bee-tight. If 

 necessary to make them fit right, one of the pieces 

 can be whittled to the right size. Understand, 

 there is nothing different from usual about the sec- 

 tions that are put in; and the pieces of sections 

 that fill out the one row are placed where the bot- 

 toms of the sections usually rest, on the T supports. 



The only reason for taking side pieces of sections 

 is because each side has straight edges, making a 

 close fit, which is not always the case with tops and 

 bottoms. If four-piece sections are on hand, then 

 tops, bottoms, or sides can be used. To put only 12 

 sections in a super, a second row is treated in the 

 way I have described; and if only 6 sections in a 

 super are desired, then three rows across are closed 

 up with section pieces. I have put the matter to 

 the test with only 12 sections to the super, and it 

 worked to my entire satisfaction. Separators are 

 used ,iust the same as if the super were full. Over 

 the tops of the sections 1 placed a single thickness 

 of cotton cloth. 1 used the plan to get sections 

 finished up, that were half or more full. They were 

 put on when bees were slowly storing a little sur- 

 plus, mainly, 1 think, from cucumbers. As 12 sec- 

 tions half full gave a capacity of only 6 pounds, 

 there was need of watching to sec that the bees did 

 not suffer for room. To make close watching less 

 necessary, I put, for the two outside sections on 

 one side, entirely empty sections with the usual 

 foundation. These empty sections, when honey 

 was coming in so slowly, would not be touched by 

 the bees until the other 10 sections were about seal- 

 ed over, so they acted as a kind of safety-valve to 

 show me whether more room was needed; and by 

 looking once a week at the two empty sections 1 

 knew all I needed to. 1 had on ;iO supers, I believe, 

 filled as described, with varying results. The cu- 

 cumbers lasted, 1 think, some three weeks, and 

 during that time some colonies needed a second 

 supply of sections to finish; some filled part or all 

 of the ten sections; and some supers, that were not 

 removed with sufficient promptitude when frost 

 came, probalily had less honey at the time of taking 

 off' than when put on. 



There is another time when it may be of great ad- 

 vantage to put ti or 13 sections in a super; and 

 that is, near the close of the clover harvest. Here 

 is a hive on which are two supers nearly full. The 

 season may not continue longer than to give the 

 bees just time enough to finish the two supers, in 

 which case no meddling is needed. But they may 

 be able to do a good bit more; and in that case, if no 

 more room is added, mischief will be done. My 

 practice hitherto, at such times, has been to give 

 them a full super; but instead of putting it UTider, 

 I put it over the nearly filled supers. Sometimes 



they have left this super entirely untouched, but 

 too often it has been taken off containing only un- 

 finished sections, and sometimes the bees have 

 made a good beginning on nearly every section, and 

 not five pounds of honey in the whole super. In 

 such case it would be much better to give a super 

 with only 6, or at most 12, sections. There can not 

 well be any tiering-up of supers partly filled, for 

 the only super having less than 24 sections must be 

 on top. Instead of using pieces of sections, I hap- 

 pened to have a lot of thin boards, 4J4 inches wide, 

 and by cutting them to a foot in length one board 

 ,iust filled the blank. 



To fill less than 6 sections in a super may seldom 

 be desired; but it can be done in this way: Put in a 

 single section (or more) and fill out the vacancy at 

 each side with pieces of sections. Upon these put 

 enough empty sections to fill out the row, and put 

 one or two separators, or pieces of separators, at 

 each side of the section, to which the bees are to be 

 confined, so that there shall be no entrance to any 

 of the empty sections. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111. 



Well, friend M., when you commenced 

 telling about your invention I thought I 

 would see if I could not guess what you had 

 struck on, before I came to your description. 

 I thought of separators cut up, and of thin 

 boards, pasteboard, and almost every thing 

 else except pieces of sections. Sure enough, 

 when everybody has them around in the way, 

 why shouldn't they be used for closing 

 spaces? Of course, a thin board just right 

 might be a little easier to handle; but then, 

 where separators are in the way, we are not 

 so sure of it after all. 



CUBA; HOW IT DIFFERS FROM OTHER 

 LOCALITIES FOR HONEY. 



AN EXCELLENT SUGGESTION IN REGARD TO BEE- 

 ESCAPES, ETC. 



§EVERAL subjects have been touched upon in 

 the pages of Gleanings in some of the late 

 numbers, that 1 will try and add a little to. 

 On page 598, friend Doolittle speaks of add- 

 ing combs to his colonies at the close of 

 white-honey harvest. I have practiced the same 

 method with the few colonies worked for comb 

 honey; that is, I have added combs enough so as to 

 obtain whatever dark honey may come in, in ex- 

 tracted form, instead of in sections, in case more 

 comes in than is needed for wintering. Your foot- 

 notes on the same page bring up a subject that can 

 not be emphasized too much, much as it has al- 

 ready been told ; and that is, that different locations 

 require radically different methods of manage- 

 ment to obtain success; and experienced bee-keep- 

 ers, when criticising, and beginners when trying to 

 follow friend Doolittle's methods, want to bear this 

 In mind. I judge, from the descriptions he has 

 written, that his surplus-honey yield usually com- 

 mences about the middle of July, while in the 

 large majority of locations in the Northern States 

 the yield commences from four to six weeks earli- 

 er, and is practically ended at the time his com- 

 mences. These extra four to six weeks in which to 

 prepare for the honey season make it necessary to 

 manage differently than would be best where the 

 honey season commences earlier. Changing my 

 location from Iowa to Florida, and then from 



