1888 



GLEANINGS m BEE CULTUKE. 



929 



Absconding swarms are pretty apt to seek 

 abodes previously habited by bees. There 

 must have been something peculiarly at- 

 tractive in that bee-haunted house, to in- 

 duce so many swarms to seek it, and at such 

 long intervening periods too. It no doubt 

 was cool, much cooler than a hive outside 

 would be, subjected to the rays of a tropical 

 sun. It would seem from the incident 

 which you relate of those bees, which 

 swarmed out so persistently as often as they 

 were hived, that their domicile, which you 

 had so carefully provided, was " too all-fired 

 hot.'' Next time give them plenty of shade 

 and a wide entrance, and see if they will 

 not stay content. 



SIZE OF SECTIONS. 



C. C. MILLEK FIGURES OUT THE RELATIVE SIZE 

 AND THICKNESS OF COMBS IN SECTIONS. 



IIp correspondent writes me as follows: 

 gil^i Dr. Mille}-:—! wish you would g-ive me 

 j^ your opinion as to the best size for sections. 

 _^^ Of course, to those who have a stock of su- 

 pers for tlie 4^4 .\ 4^4 section, a change would 

 not be thought of ; but to one just starting 

 on a new hive, the change to a new size of section 

 would involve no extra loss. The 4J4 x 41-4 section 

 has ahvays seemed too small. In ordinary seasons 

 they will not hold enough. If 7 to the foot, they 

 weigh only about 14 ounces. Even those that were 

 lis wide would go only from 14 to 1.5 ounces when 

 filled. 



It seems to me that a general-purpose section 

 should be of such a size as to hold from 1 to 3 lbs., 

 according to width — at least this would suit me 

 best, for my market seems to demand large pack- 

 ages. I want to tell you all about it, so you can see 

 better as to my needs. I have been using two sizes 

 of sections, 4J4 x 414, and 5 .x ."), having on hand now 

 some 60 or more supers suited for the smaller, and 

 about 2.5 f<n' the larger size; so you see I can con- 

 tinue the use of the 5 x 5 without extra loss. How 

 wide should a .5 x 5 section be to weigh, when filled. 

 1 lb.. IV2 lbs., and 3 Ibs.V Perhaps the 3 lbs. could 

 not be reached; but I know that a 5 x .5 x I^'b will 

 hold IVi, or a little more. Would a 5 x .5, 7 to the 

 foot, used without separators, weigh more than 

 1 Ib.v M. A. Kelley. 



Milton, W. Va., Nov. 7, 1888. 



You start out, my friend, with a wrong impres- 

 sion. You say, " To those who have a stock of su- 

 pers for the 414 X 4^ section, a change would not 

 be thought of." Why, my dear sir, I had wide 

 frames for thousands of sections, and threw them 

 aside for something better, and I would to-day 

 throw aside the T super for something better; or, 

 if 1 found a section considerably better than the 

 414 X 414, I would at once adopt it, even if I had to 

 make anew all my supers. 



If your market demands a large section, that 

 goes a long way toward deciding what that market 

 should have. If you have tried 1-lb. and 2-lb. sec- 

 tions side by side, and find that the 3-lb. sell more 

 rapidly, or at a higher price, the question is pretty 

 well settled. I would rather raise 3 lbs. than 1 lb., 

 if one brought the same price as the other, I think. 

 Unless you have tried the matter thoroughly, how- 

 ever, you may be mistaken in your market. Why 

 .does the 4^4 x 4>4 section seem to you too small? 

 I have never heard any one object to it as being too 

 small to look well on the table. So far as that is 

 concerned, the best size would be that which would 

 be eaten up at one meal, for I think a section nev- 

 er looks so well after it has been on the table once 

 and partly used. Those who use pound sections 

 can have a fresh one, free from muss, just twice as 



often as those who use two-pound sections. Any 

 one who thinks a pound section too small can take 

 two of them ; but if he thinks a 3pound section too 

 large, he can not so conveniently buy half of one. 



Please remember that you can not settle upon 

 any size of section that shall always be uniform in 

 weight. One season they will average heavier than 

 another; and even during the same season those 

 filled in the flush of the honey-flow may average 

 more than those filled near the close. More than 

 that, sections in the same super, filled at the same 

 time, will vary. 



The general rule is, that market quotations show 

 a higher price for 1 lbs. than for any thing larger- 

 It is possible that a one-pound section larger than 

 414 X 454 might be desirable, at least in some mar- 

 kets. It would, of course, be thinner, but it would 

 make more show on a plate. It would take more 

 capping for the same weight of honey, but it would 

 be easier ripened in shallower cells. Without actu- 

 ally trying it, you can not tell how thick or wide a 

 5 X 5 section should be to weigh 3 lbs.; and after 

 you have found exactly what it is for this year, 

 you may And it very different next year. I will, 

 however, make a rough estimate, basing it some- 

 what upon your statement, that 5 x 5 x 1% will hold 

 IVz or a little more. If this latter was without 

 separators, you can hardly hope to reach 3 lbs., for 

 If you make sections much wider you will find the 

 bees commencing extra combs between the sec- 

 tions. 



We may figure on it in this way: If we allow f for 

 bee-space between sections (although this bee- 

 space is by no means a fixed quantity), the IJs sec- 

 tion less ^8 will be I'i inch; and as it weighed 1!4 

 lbs., we have a pound weight for an inch of comb in 

 thickness; so for 3 lbs. weight we need a comb 2 

 inches thick; and if we add to this the § bee-space, 

 we find we need a section 5 x 5 x 3i?^ to hold 2 

 pounds. Even with separators, I am afraid the 

 bees would insist on additional combs built be- 

 tween. By the same course of reasoning, a section 

 5x5 x l-'a ought to weigh about 1 lb., and this va- 

 ries only .,'4 of an inch from 7 to the foot. 



One year I found 4=4 x 414 sections of different 

 widths gave the following results: 



Sections measuring— 



10 to the foot weighed 9.56 oz. each. 

 9" " " " 10.47 " " 



8" " " " 11.76 •' " 



5x5 sections give a net surface about i\ more 

 than 414 X 414 sections, according to which we 

 should find 5 x .5 sections measuring— 



10 to the foot might weigh i;^.38 oz. 

 !( " " " " " 14.66 " 



8 " ■' " ■' '• 16.4 " 



But none of these things can be entirely relied on. 



Marengo. 111., Nov.. 1888. C. C. Miller. 



We believe, friend Miller, you have cover- 

 ed the ground thoroughly. We have just a 

 little grain of doubt, however, as to wheth- 

 er Mr. Kelley may not be deceived as to 

 what sells best in his market. With scarce- 

 ly an exception, the one-pound sections, 4i 

 S(|iiare, command a higher price in the cur- 

 rent reports. If he should desire to ship his 

 fy X .5 honey to an outside market, he will 

 find that it probably will not bring as much 

 as honey in tlie regular 4i square sections. 

 It will not do to depend too much upon one 

 niarket near home. We can not tell at com- 



