512 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JUI.Y 1. 



newer styles of hives and supers. Friend 

 Perry is an advocate of the loose swinging 

 frame, but favors the half-story brood-cham- 

 ber. He wants his frames a full inch wide all 

 around — tops, sides, and bottoms. I have fit- 

 ted up 50 half-story brood-chambers with 

 spaced frames, using bUnd-staples for spacers 

 between frames and on the ends. I have used 

 some fifty or sixty T supers and 125 of Root's 

 combined honey and shipping case of twelve 

 years ago, but at present I use nothing but 

 wide-frame supers, which I may in time fit out 

 with fences, depending on the success we have 

 with them. 



In regard to the sections of the present day, 

 we decided that some manufacturers get them 

 out too thin. They should be yi inch thick ; 

 that is the least. When thinner the honey is 

 more apt to be injured in handling — quite an 

 object now, as we are about to use the section- 

 cleaner. The thin section, on account of less 

 shoulder, is not as firm of itself (as shown in 

 Fig. 1). Secondly, when a thinner .section is 

 used in connection with the slotted separator, 

 the danger of the honey being bulged out is 

 increased, as the space (as indicated by the ar- 

 row in Fig. 2) is slightly enlarged. 



M 



^ 



^ 



The third reason why we want a section not 

 less than ],i inch thick is this : Our sections 

 cost us now 62.50 per thousand. They weigh 

 about 60 lbs. We sell them as honey at ten 

 cents, which gives us a gain of .S3. 50 over the 

 cost. When sections are dressed so thin 

 that the weight is but 50 lbs., as now, then we 

 actually lose .^1.00 on ever}^ 1000 sections. 



The Cowan honey-extractor I received from 

 you is a very fine piece of furniture for a hon- 

 ey-house, and no mistake. However, it did 

 seem to us that some space is wasted at the 

 top of the can, that would be of great value at 

 the bottom, for storing. 



Naples, N. Y. 



[The idea of having a disk fitted out with a 

 metal rasp surface next to the periphery, and 

 sandpaper in the center, appears to me to be 

 very feasible. If it should get filled up with 

 propolis — that is, the metallic grating surface 

 — it could be cleaned with a little gasoline, 

 and by that time the sandpaper would prob- 

 ably need changing. I hope all our friends of 

 a mechanical turn of mind will give section- 

 cleaners a trial. Then do not forget to tell 

 the bee-keeping world about them. 



Yes, it is quite true that the style of frame 



or hive used by many bee-keepers has been 

 regiilated by "happenstance" rather than by 

 preference. Dr. Miller, for instance, bought 

 out an old apiary years ago, the frames of 

 which were almost Langstroth in dimensions, 

 and yet not quite. We do not and never have 

 advised bee-keepers to throw aside old im- 

 plements, but, for instance, in the case of a be- 

 ginner or where one is starting an out-yard, 

 and has to buy new goods, then we advise 

 buying the latest 



With regard to sections 8 and 9 to the inch, 

 the relative difference in size is not nearly so 

 great as that shown in the drawings herewith. 

 If both were drawn to a scale it would be very 

 difficult to tell which one was which ; and the 

 relative difference in strength is, I think, so 

 small as to be inappreciable. But there is a 

 difference of a dollar a thousand, no doubt, in 

 your locality, in favor of the pocketbook of 

 the bee-keeper after the sections have been 

 placed on the market, filled with honey. We 

 are willing to make whatever the trade calls 

 for. But many Western bee-keepers favor 9 

 to the inch because, in car lots, they have less 

 freight to pay, and, consequently, the sections 

 cost less. 



We are glad to have all these points discuss- 

 ed, even if they do make our goods appear at 

 a disadvantage in comparison with those turn- 

 ed out by some good competitor. Let the 

 truth come out, hit where it may. — Ed.] 



HOW QUEENS PIPE. 



BY H. LINDSAY MII,LER. 



In the last few numbers of Gleanings for 

 1897 there are several notices, letters, and 

 "Straws" about queens piping; and friend 

 Arwine, on page 846, talks about "notes of 

 defiance" and "wails of agony." No doubt 

 he is an expert at the language. 



I am afraid that bee-keepers have often an- 

 ticipated the queens, and made them say what 

 they (the bee-keepers) thought was appropri- 

 ate under the circumstances. I have often 

 heard a young queen pipe just after she had 

 left the cell ; but I have never been able to 

 make out that she was " spoiling for a fight." 

 Again, I have frequently seen bees ball their 

 queen, though I don't remember having heard 

 the queen make a remark during the opera- 

 tion. But if a queen did give expression to 

 her thoughts at such a juncture, I don't think 

 that even friend Arwine could expect her to 

 say, " Well, I am having a good time." 



What I want to say is that, in dealing with 

 this matter, or any other matter connected 

 with bees, what we have to do is to give up 

 speculating and theorizing, and come down to 

 facts. Let bee-keepers observe what happens, 

 and make a note of it. Don't expect to find 

 it out all at once. The facts you record may 

 be of no use to you at the time, but they may 

 be of immense use to some one who is working 

 at the same matter, or who will be working at 

 it in time to come. 



Some years ago I was rearing a lot of queens, 

 and making nuclei for them, and it nearly al- 



