1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



733 



help us in gathering statistics on this very 

 important matter. — Ed.] 



REPORTS ON PLAIN SECTIONS. 



Mr. Francis Danzenbaker, Washington, D. C: 



On p. 630 of Gi,EANiNGS, Aug. 15, you ask 

 for reports on plain sections. I used 10 hives 

 with plain Danzy sections, 4x5x1^, and 20 

 hives with old-style Danzy, open top and bot- 

 tom. In five of the first mentioned, triangu- 

 lar starters were used ; in the other five, full 

 sheets of foundation. Only starters were used 

 in the 20 hives with old-style Danzy sections. 

 The season here has been fair, the 30 colonies 

 averaging about 50 lbs. to the colony, the 

 largest yield from one colony being 128 com- 

 plete sections, 32 of which were plain, and 96 

 old-style Danzy ; the smallest from one colo- 

 ny, 17 lbs., old-style Danzy sections. The re- 

 sults from the ten hives, so far as the finished 

 product is concerned, is about the same. I 

 put sections together (as they came off the 

 hives) that had starters and full sheets, and 

 could see no difference ; but when I ate the 

 honey I preferred those with starters only. 



I found one very important thing — the out- 

 side rows of these plain sections were as well 

 filled and capped as those in the middle, while 

 this was not so with the others in any instance. 



Another item in favor of the plain : There 

 was less propoHs. In fact, in a uiajority of 

 the cases I put them right into the shipping- 

 crates without any scraping at all. I have had 

 no trouble with bulged combs. They were all 

 filled out nicely to the edge, and crated up all 

 right in cases, with or without separators. By 

 the way, I think separators a great improve- 

 ment, and I shall use them in all my cases an- 

 other season. 



I used some old-style 4V4x4V sections this 

 season, but obtained very little honey from 

 them. I am satisfied that the ten-frame Dove- 

 tail hives and Danzy sections, plain, and open 

 top and bottom, have increased my comb hon- 

 ey 50 per cent or more. I did not test any of 

 your Ideal sections this season ; but from my 

 experience with the plain Danzy sections, I 

 am sure they are superior to the old style. 



I shall use plain sections and fence on a ma- 

 jority of my hives another season, but in the 

 Danzy supers. I have never seen any thing 

 else in the way of a super that I like as well as 

 the Danzy. I have had but little experience 

 with the Danzy body. 



Those twelve-framers you made for me three 

 years ago are all right. I have used six of 

 them double story, 24 frames, for extracting. 

 Only one has swarmed in three years. The 

 average per hive this season was 135 lbs. We 

 have now a fine prospect for a heavy fall flow. 



Bristol, Tenn., Aug. 22. M. D. Andes. 



PI^AIN SECTIONS VERY SATISFACTORY. 



Mr. Editor: — I will give you the result of 

 the season's experience with the fence sepa- 

 rator. I have used them with plain sections, 

 also with the ordinary seven-to-foot sections. 

 Used with the plain sections the results were 

 very satisfactory indeed. Sections were filled 

 better and quicker than with the plain sep- 



arator, and look more neat and tasty. Used 

 with the seven-to-foot, results were still better. 

 I placed the section in such a way that the 

 plain edges would be at top and bottom, and 

 the insets at the sides, thus allowing free 

 comnmnication in every direction. I found 

 that, when arranged in this way, the bees 

 worked nearly as well, and stored honey almost 

 as rapidly as they did in the extracting- supers. 

 In fact, colonies in which sections were 

 arranged in supers, as per the preceding, 

 stored from 24 to 50 pounds more comb honey 

 than did those in which the ordinary arrange- 

 ment was preserved. 



I think making the fences in such a way as 

 to exclude the queen from the super would be 

 an excellent improvement. S. A. Craig 



Battle Creek, Mich., Sept. 16. 



PLAIN SECTIONS AND FENCES A SUCCESS. 



The hives with the plain sections and fences 

 and plain section-holders are "simply im- 

 mense." I got 360 well filled plain sections 

 of honey, 4>4x4'4xl>2, from the six hives, not 

 spring count. All new swarms. The S. 

 fences with the old slotted section-holder, the 

 sections I used with the S. fences, are not 

 filled out quite so full; but they are as full as 

 the bee-way sections without separators I used 

 on them last year. I have tried both eight 

 and ten frame hives, but the eight-frame is 

 the size for this locality. The section-holder 

 is all right for me. Edward Wilson. 



Whittemore, Mich. 



HONEY IN PLAIN SECTIONS A GOOD SELLER. 



I must say I had occasion to feel grateful 

 yesterday, as I was peddling my first crop of 

 honey, that I had learned so much about the 

 business from Gleanings. I started from 

 home about three o'clock p. m. with 08 lbs., 

 20 of which was 4x5 plain, which I got of you, 

 and was as nice honey as I ever saw. I got 

 14 cents for it. Well, when I returned at 

 evening I had !r7.69 for my trip. I might say 

 that one case of 24 sections was my poorest, 

 and I got 10 cts. for it. I took 48 lbs. from 

 each of three colonies. I had but 5 in spring, 

 and had two swarms. N. O. Jarvis. 



Kenwood, N. Y., Aug. 8. 



plain SECTIONS ALL RIGHT, BUT SHORT IN 

 WEIGHT. 



We are getting the best crop of honey in 

 quality and quantity that we have had for 

 several years. The 4'4x4>4xl)^ plain sec- 

 tions do not hold out in weight; they run 

 about 14 ounces, where the 3^x5 do a little 

 better — about 15 ounces. Otherwise I am 

 well pleased with the plain sections. It takes 

 16 ounces for a pound here in Aroostook. 



Caribou, Maine, Aug. 8. L. E. TuttlE. 



HONEY-THIEVES ; BRINGING THEM TO 

 JUSTICE. 



I had some of my honey stolen last winter 

 Three hives were destroyed Dec. 4th ; but I 

 set the deputy sheriff at it, and he got track of 

 it by the wires that were in the honey. We 

 procured a search-warrant and sifted the ash- 



