22 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



thick, and ;4 inch wide, inchiding the end cleats, are 

 glued on at our factory by automatic machinery much 

 more cheaply and accurately than it can be done by 

 hand. The cleats, it will be observed, do not reach 

 quite to the top of the fence. The object of dropping 

 them down thus is to give the bees pa.s.sageways 

 around the corners of the .sections, thus doing away, 

 to a considerable extent, with holes in the corners of 

 the sections. 



The .section-holders are the same width as the sec- 

 tions (1% inches), and, like them, have no bee-ways 

 or awkward scoring;s in the bottom-bars. The ends 

 are only l{ inch thick (instead of f's, as were the old 

 ones), leaving a bee-space betwten them and the end 

 of the super. To prevent end play a wedge-shaped 

 strip at the bottom secures the holders to the proper 

 position. 



Instead of making vise of a follower we use a fence 

 on each outside row of sections, thus in a measure car- 

 rying out the Pettit system of producing comb honey, 

 the special feature of which consists in having the 

 outside rows of sections as well filled out as those in 

 the center. When the last fence is in, the whole is 

 wedged up with a thin wide strip. 



THE fbncf: and section for the old-style super. 

 There are many who, hav- 

 ing purcha.sed our supers of 

 older pattern, desire to use 

 the fence and plain section, 

 and thus keep up with the 

 times. Sections they would 

 have to buy, as a matter of 

 course, so that all the ex- 

 pense will be for fences 

 enough to supply supers 

 they desire to so equip. The 

 fence for this purpose dif- 

 fers a little in construction 

 FIG. 7/2. from that shown in the su- 



per in Fig. S14. but only in the form of the end cleats. 

 In.stead of being grooved to receive the ends of the 

 .slats, as in ihe other, they are plain, and the same as 

 the middle cleats, only a little narrower and longer. 

 As the section-holder of the old-style .super is 1 's inches 

 wide, the plain section with the cleats of the fence, 

 one on each side, ju^t nicely fills up the space: and, as 

 the horizontal slats project teyond the end cleats, 

 these projecting ends fill up the space between the 

 section-holder ends the same as the old plain separa- 

 tors did. This fence is designated as the S fence. 



TALL sections FOR EIGHT-FRAME SUPERS. 



Within the last > ear or so tall sections, taller than 

 broad, have been growing more and more into favor, 

 and it is argued that they look more symmetrical, 

 since in appearance they are more in harmony with 

 surrounding objects with which we are familiar (such 

 as doors and windows, for instance), and to which our. 

 tastes have been educated by long as.sociation. Again, 

 it is argued that the tall box of honey .standing right 

 beside a square one of the same superficial surface 

 and weight tipprai s to be larger. Whether these ad- 

 vantages are apparent or real, it is certainly true that, 

 in .some markets at least (not all), notably in the East; 

 the tall sections sell more readily, and bring a higher 

 price. In recognition of this fact some bee-keepers 

 actually oppo.sed to them have been forced to adopt 

 them after they saw that the oblong boxes would out- 

 sell their square ones on the .same counter. It is 

 equally true that, for a given hive surface (that is, 

 over the top of the frames), more of the tall boxes can 

 be accommodated. For instance, our eight-frame hive 

 will take on top 30 of our 3-5-8x5x11/4, as against 2-1 of 

 the regular 4^x45<(Xl'/4, and holding exactly the same 

 amount of honey. Of course, a deeper super would be 

 required to take a deeper section, but fewer supers 

 would be needed to produce a given amount of honey. 



If a deep section, then what size .shall it be? Tlie 

 4x5 seven-to-the- foot is a nice size, but it can not be 

 used to the best advantage in the eight-frame width of 

 super, which comes nearer beiiie standard than any 

 thing else. Our SSfXOxUi holds exactly the same 

 amount of honey as our regular 4]{ when used with 

 the fence; and, moreover, five of them in a row just 

 exactly fill out the length of the super. 



IDEAL SUPER WITH TALL SECTIONS. 



This super is equipped with fences and plain sec- 

 tions, the same as our other up-to-date supe' s; but the 

 sections are SS'sxSxl^, and the super is 5^4 in. deep, or 

 enough to accommodate the five-inch depth of .sec- 

 tions. The sections themselves are supported on 

 plain slats ^a in. thick, and the same width as the sec- 

 tions — the slats resting on a tin strip nailed on the 

 bottom inside edge of the ends of the super. The 



fences are supported in the same manner: and as 

 they rest between the slats on this tin support, the bot- 

 tom of the secti'ins and the slats will a ways exactly 

 match; i. e., be in exact alignment— a matter of no 



FIG. (tyo. — Designated as I. 



slight importance. Five .sections are supported orr 

 each slat — the five just exactly taking up the entire 

 length of the -uper; and six slats, each with its five 

 sections, or 80 in all, with the seven fences, fill up 

 the super. It will be noted in this connection that 

 these slats, unlike .section- holders which are used in 

 the other super, have no uprights at the ends. While 

 they are a convenience in shifting the several rows of 

 .sections, they are not es.'^ential. and are omitted, as 

 they can net be used in this super. 



The style of this supe- is no experiment. Some- 

 thing very .similar to it has been used for years by 

 that practical c ee-keeper Miles Morton, Groton, N. Y.,. 

 after whom we have copied much. 



N. B. — The -Ix5xli:i plain sections may al.'^o be used 

 in the eight-fr.tnie deep super, but the supporting 

 slats, a^ well as the sections, will have to run cro.sswise 

 of the super — an arrangement we can not recommend. 

 We can .so arrange our eight-frame ofi-inch-deep su- 

 per for these sections, when so ordered, without extrai 

 charge. Designated as L,. 



SUPrORTIN(;-RACK FOR TALL SFCTIONS. 



Desigiiatei 



Some (and perhaps many) of our old customers wilt 

 •wish to test the tall section in their markets at as lit- 

 tle expense as possible. For such we have arranged a 

 rim to go on the bottom of their regular eight-frame 

 dovetailed super. This rim is made if stuff "s, inch 

 square, and on the two ends, on the bottom inside 

 edge, are nailed strips of tin to support the slats 

 which are furnished with the riin. With this arrange- 

 ment and fences one can u.se our 3' sxoxl'j-inch sec- 

 tions in his regular super on exactly the same plan as 

 is described under Fig. iMj. Indeed, in connection with 

 the fence it makes a super, to all intents and pur- 

 poses, that is identically the same as our Ideal super, 

 and can 1 e used in exactly the .same vrny. If the five- 

 inch-deep sections take well in the local market, the 

 rim may be nailed on to the bottom permanently. 



This same suppf)rtiiig rack may be made to take the 

 4x5xl3'8 plain sections, but the .sections and slats will 

 have to run crosswi.se of the frame, and will be desig- 

 nated bv RL,. 



