GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTURE. 



Hives Nos. s iiini ".i-A very rteoided advar.tajre over 

 no beo-i'scape. 



Hivo No. 10 -About the same as the average of 

 those havinjr no space above. 



Nos 11 to It) showed a smaller percentage of pop- 

 holes. 



OKNEHAL HEMARKS. 



One fact was very conspicuous, viz., that the pop- 

 holes in sei-tions with .!j-inch bee-escape were small- 

 er than in those wit liont. Tliis re|ioit tallies with 

 results olitaineil ffoiii experiments coiulucleil in 

 previous years. l)ut not before reported. The prol)- 

 able reason for there being: fewer and smaller poj)- 

 lioles with the bee-spact' above the sections, is, that 

 the bees appear to require a space to pass from sec- 

 tion to section, and a bee-space above facilitates 

 this passage. 



The result of the e.\-i)erinient with two or more 

 bee-spaces between the side of the super and the 

 face of the section ne.xt the side, is as follows: 



Two bee-spaces and divider at one side of the su- 

 per and only one bee-space at the other. 

 Hive No 1— The outside of sections with the two 

 ; bee-spaces and divider were better finished and 



cleaner than tlie side with only one. 

 Hives Nos. 2 and 3— Same as number one. 

 Hives Nos. 4 and 5— No perceptible difference as to 

 ► finish of comb, but the sections were cleaner. 

 Hive No. 6— A difference in favor of the two bee- 



spiices. 

 Hive No T— A marked difference in favor of the two 



bee-spaces. 

 Hive No. 8— The side with two bee-spaces decidedly 

 i jcleaner and better finished. 



Hives Nos. P and 10— Two bee-spaces on each side of 

 Gthe super, both sides clean and perfect. 



The dividers were differently constructed. One 

 set had holes bored fg inch in diameter and 3% inches 

 wide, and material was i inch thick. The other set 

 were made of strips the entire width of the divider, 

 SJi inches, and seven strips Is inch wide with ,'4 -inch 

 spaces between. The dividers with the holes gave 

 the best satisfaction. With the strips there were 

 more burr-combs and the comb opi osite the space 

 between tlie strips was ridged, giving the entire 

 section a ribbed and uneven appearance, a modifica- 

 tion of what we find in the common washboard. 

 Five other hives were supplied with two sjjaces on 

 one side and one on the other. In three there was 

 no marked difference; in the other two there was a 

 difference in favor of the two bee-spaces. Two 

 hives were provided with qucf n-excluding metal as 

 dividers. The result was as good as with any other 

 divider: but owing to the limber and pliable nature 

 of the zinc and the importance of having the bee- 

 space neither more nor less than H inch, we would 

 not recommend this material. 



The results of the above test and those obtained 

 from other hives in the apiars', show a marked dif- 

 ference in favor of the two bee-spaces. The reason 

 would appear to be that, with two bee spaces, the 

 extra layer of bees on the outside keeps up day and 

 night the normal heat necessary for comb-building 

 and capping. With more than the regular bee- 

 space and no divider, the bees would, as is well 

 known, extend the comb until, before the point of 

 capping is reached, the space would be reduced to 

 the regular size. Several tests were made compar- 

 ing a still larger number of bee-spaces and dividers, 

 but no additional advantage was shown, and pos- 

 sibly they furnished too much loaflng-space for the 

 bees. The one divider and two bee-spaces, during 

 the past se;ison, showed a great advantage in this 

 method of taking comb honey. 



Engravings from photos reproduced show a 

 marked difference in favor of the Pettit system. 

 These I would reproduce here; but for lack of 

 time I bring it before our readers at this time, 

 as^just DOW is the time to tix up supers in order 

 that the experiment may be tested. 



By the old plan these outside rows of sections 

 had to be sold at a considerably lower price; 

 and the little expense^uecessary to make this 

 experiment is so trifling that every comb-honey 

 producer can well afford to try it, as it can be 

 adapted to any hive or super. 



In brief, Mr. Pettit's- system is a scheme to 



get the bees to seek the sides and ends of the 

 hives after they come in loaded with honey, 

 rather than to crawl up throtigh the center of 

 the brood-nest, thence into the center of the 

 super. By dispensing with one row of sections 

 Mr. Pettit uses a divider or separator perfo- 

 rated and bee- spaced on both sides, between 

 the outside rows and the sides of the super. As 

 there is only a bee-space on each side of this 

 divider, bees will not utilize this room for 

 building comb; but there will be a double row 

 of bees here on each side. The consequence is, 

 additional warmth is secured— at least, enough 

 it is said to make it eqtial to the center of the 

 super. This extra warmth, and the fact that 

 the bees find it easier to seek the sides of the 

 hive than the center, induces them to fill all 

 the sections simultaneously, and to make the 

 outside faces of the combs of the outside row 

 of sections as perfect and as nice as those of 

 the center comb. 



Although theoretically, at least, this scheme 

 of Mr. Pettit's seems to be good, and although 

 it has worked well in his hands and at the ex- 

 periment station, Ontario, it may not prove to 

 be equally successful with bee-keepers at large; 

 but nowadays, in consideration of the low price 

 of honey, we should all grasp at every idea 

 that promises to give us more and better honey. 



EXPERIMENT IN WINTERING. 



This experiment related to the advantage of 

 having a horizontal open space through the 

 center of the brood-nest during the winter so 

 that, when the cluster contracts by reason of 

 the cold.it could draw, up toward the center. 

 The experiment seems to show that a divisible 

 brood-nest with a horizontal space between the 

 two sets of frames allowed the bees to contract 

 to better advantage than in a deep brood-nest 

 made up of one set of frames. Mr. Holtermann 

 calls attention to the fact that "as long as 

 many bees are together they do not easily chill; 

 but when one or more become separated they 

 soon chill and perish. The natural direction 

 for the bees to travel when the cluster con- 

 tracts is toward its center; and it will be found 

 that the bees which, by contraction, become 

 detached from the main body of the cluster, 

 perish, owing to their inability to travel around 

 the top and bottom of the combs. With a 14- 

 mch space between the two sets of combs the 

 swarm can expand or contract without break- 

 ing the cluster, the bees passing between the 

 two sets of frames." 



Mr. Holtermann states that "an experiment 

 will be made during the winter of 1896-'97 to 

 test the value of winter-passages cut in ordina- 

 ry combs." The experiment has now probably 

 been made, and the results determined, but not 

 yet published. Mr. Holtermann expresses him- 

 self as believing that " if these passages prove 

 as advantageous as the space in the two sets 

 of frames, they will be much more desirable." 



