392 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



& Co. were more honest, but because their 

 markets permitted them to realize better 

 prices. We have another case where it was 

 claimed the Chicago firm did not get as good 

 prices on a certain lot (divided in two lots) as 

 A. V. Bishop, of Milwaukee, and so it goes. 

 We are quite willing to publish transactions of 

 this kind, but we shall always feel ourselves 

 under obligation to allow the interested par- 

 ties to defend themselves. — Ed.] 



THOSE FENCE SEPARATORS. 



The Openings Should be Large enough for the Bees 

 to Go Through them. 



BY F. A. GEMMII,!,. 



I am not going to write much this time, but 

 I nevertheless want to say something. 



First of all, I will acknowledge the receipt 

 of the goods ordered, including the new B^gx 

 5x1)^ plain sections, and the fence separators 

 to be used with them. 



Secondly, I may state that, for material and 

 workmanship, they are Al, and quite satis- 

 factory. 



But, thirdly, I have a " crow to pick " with 

 you regarding the horizontal openings in the 

 fence separators, for the simple reason that 

 one of the great if not tlie greatest secret in 

 producing well-filled sections Diinus pop-holes 

 (and I want all my sections so filled, if possi- 

 ble, notwithstanding any and all arguments to 

 the contrary), is the factor of freer communi- 

 cation throughout the supers. To my mind, 

 therefore, the fences sent me are no better, if 

 as good, as a separator made of one piece, 

 because the bees can not go through the 

 openings; and as soon as they find they can 

 not, they vdll worry themselves, and lose time 

 in gnawing at the edges of the wood until the 

 openings are enlarged so they can do so. 



" But," you say, " if you make the openings 

 so wide, the surface of the comb will have a 

 ridgy appearance, and the sections can not 

 be crated properly," etc. 



Well, Mr. Root, if one can not secure the 

 end in view without sacrificing either the 

 beauty of the surface of the comb or the non- 

 freedom of the bees through the super, by 

 taking advantage of the openings referred to, 

 then I can not help concluding that a separat- 

 or made of one piece, and perforated with i% 

 or Y% holes, a la Pettit, will be much more 

 preferable, even at an increased cost. One 

 thing I do know is that the perforated dividers 

 used and recommended by Mr. Pettit for 

 securing well-filled sections at the sides of the 

 super are a success, for I have tried them; and 

 if I had my choice at a half more expense I 

 would certainly use a separator having the 

 perforated holes, instead of horizontal open- 

 ings; in fact, I shall not use a fence at the 

 sides of my supers, but, instead, a follower 

 containing the /',y holes, as stated. My reason 

 for this is because I prefer a wider space (a 

 full % inch between the follower (or, in due 

 deference to Mr. Pettit's wishes, I will here 

 call it a divider, notwithstanding I prefer the 

 name of perforated follower) and the side of 



the super than your ■ fence affords, and must 

 have sufficient holes large enough, and of such 

 a shape as to give the fret's/ access between 

 the sections and the side of the hive, even 

 when crowded. 



Stratford, Ont., Can., March 28. 



[I have no doubt at all that the Pettit di- 

 vider, double cleated, and used in every 

 way the same as our fence, would give good 

 results in comb honey; but one great objec- 

 tion to it is that it must necessarily be much 

 more expensive, both in construction and ma- 

 terial, than a fence made out of scrap — such 

 stuff as is ordinarily consigned to the boiler- 

 furnace. If the fence will give equally good 

 results, when properly constructed, then, of 

 course, it would have the preference on ac- 

 count of its cheapness compared with the di- 

 vider. — Ed.] 



. ■ . ■»»«>»««■ • ■ ■ 



THE SUNFLOWER. 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



The inventors are keeping on adding to the 

 already large number of apicultural appli- 

 ances; yet the greatest want of bee-men still 

 remains unsatisfied; namely, a good bee-plant 

 that will insure him a good crop every year. 

 The crop might be smaller one year than an- 

 other; but what he wants is a crop of some 

 dimensions. There are several plants that are 

 extensively grown in Europe as field crops, 

 such as beans, gram-peas, lentils, spurry, sain- 

 foin, and sunflowers, and still comparatively 

 unknown in the United States. 



Is it not remarkable that all the foregoing 

 are good honey-plants ? Whatever others may 

 do, there is no good reason why the American 

 bee-keepers should neglect them. Every one 

 of them is as valuable as buckwheat. Though 

 some of the aforesaid plants may be of greater 

 market value, this article is mainly intended 

 to set forth the value of the sunflower as an 

 economic crop. The expressing of oil from 

 vegetable seeds has assumed the proportions 

 of a national industry, especially in France; 

 and the cotton-seed-oil business of the United 

 States is not small; and peanut oil, too, is 

 coming along with great rapidity. The oil- 

 men say that they want more seeds to handle, 

 so here is an opportunity for us to do them 

 and ourselves a lasting good. 



It is not claimed that the industry is a new 

 one, for millions of acres are planted in Ger- 

 many, Russia, and the central European 

 States. The industry is growing; and, except 

 for the difficulty of transporting the crop 

 cheaply, it would soon reach very large di- 

 mensions. 



I know that some have experimented with 

 the sunflower, and dropped it. This is quite a 

 common fate for new industries. The trouble 

 with most experimenters in this line is to get 

 seed suitable to their locality and the end they 

 have in view. Especially is this true of the 

 sunflower, for it has many species — the Jeru- 

 salem artichoke being one. 



If we bee-keepers are to get any good from 

 this plant, uses for it apart from honey-pro- 

 'duction must be found; and the rule holds 



