1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



915 



ing made with tin cleats as the sample I send 

 you. 



The season has been good. For three weeks 

 honey seemed as abundant as I have ever 

 known it. The slats in my fences were, I be- 

 lieve, one-third or more, ,'',. inch apart — i.e., 

 one-third of my fences were made with slats 

 j\ inch apart so bees could pass through them 

 as readily as if it had been }i, and yet not 

 one comb was ridged so as to be objectiona- 

 ble, and I should say that I did not notice 

 more than one in 80 or lUO where the ridge 

 was perceptible ; nor did one, that I remem- 

 ber, drip from the combs being built to the 

 cleats. I used, I think, about 400 fences with- 

 out cleats, with great satisfaction, the slats 

 having projections instead of deals to keep 

 the sections in place These gave entire sat- 

 isfaction. The bees evidently enjoy the pass- 

 ageways around the edges of the sections, as 

 they seemed to use them freely. 



I send you a sample of three styles of fence 

 vised the past season. The fence with tin 

 cleats I used only with old-style sections, 

 where it gives all the advantages of a fence 

 without change in sections. 1 was not able 

 to determine fully the relative value of each 

 style of fence the past season, nor the val- 

 ue of fences as compared with old-st}le sep- 

 arators. One thing seemed quite sure, and 

 that is, that the bees would finish off sections 

 near the close of the season more rapidly 

 where a fence was used than where the old- 

 style separator was used. 



I believe some one has reported his bees 

 more apt to bulge their combs at the bottom 

 than top. I know they will do it at either 

 point when too much room is given. 



Now another matter about which I do not 

 feel so sure. I have often wished, when pack- 

 ing my honey for market, that every box in 

 each case might weigh the same, or vary but 

 an ounce or two. As it is mostly sold by the 

 comb, and not by weight, when the combs 

 vary four or five ounces, and are all sold at 

 the same price, some get their honey very 

 cheap while others pay dear for it, and per- 

 haps they are the very ones least able to do 

 so. Yet if I were to pack my honey in this 

 way it would suit neither the wholesale nor 

 retail dealer, as some cases of L'O sections 

 would weigh but 17 or 18 lbs., while others 

 would weigh 21 or 22 lbs., perhaps, which 

 would not suit. I have given this subject a 

 good deal of thought, with the same result — 

 I could not make bees build combs just as I 

 should like, and could not help having un- 

 even weights. I have never been satisfied, 

 and still have been compelled to put up with 

 it. Yet this year, when putting up my plain 

 sections filled between fences I found thoughts 

 running through my mind like this: " If all 

 my honey would only run as evenly as thisrlot, 

 it would hardly pay to weigh it at all." Every 

 comb seemed so much like every other comb, 

 a solid Vjrick of nectar, that, after a few cases 

 were weighed, I could tell the weight about 

 as well before it was placed on the scales as 

 after. Was this the result of the use of the 

 fence, or was it because my sections were not 

 as thick as I have been using ? Heretofore I 



have used sections top and bottom 15-s with 

 sides lj4 inches wide. These plain sections 

 were but 1 '4 inches wide. I confess I do not 

 feel sure. If the even weights of these combs in 

 plain sections were the result of the use of the 

 fence it is a strong point in favor of its use. 

 If the result of a thinner comb, I should be 

 tempted to make plain sections 4ji(x5 '4x1/4^ 

 thick. Can you tell me if thin sections usu- 

 ally run more evenly, or are more evenly 

 filled than thicker ones? Any information 

 along this line will be gratefully received. 

 Middlebury, Vt, Oct. 31. J. E. Crane. 



DO FENCES RENDER SEI.LING SECTIONS BY 

 THE PIECE FEASIBIvE? 

 Shortly after the above was written, the fol- 

 lowing came to hand : 



Mr. Root: — In my letter to you of Oct. 31 

 I believe my statements were quite correct ; 

 but at least one of my conclusions that I drew 

 from them was, I fear, quite erroneous. I 

 stated that I felt sure that bees finished their 

 combs sooner near the close of the honey sea- 

 son when a fence was used than where a solid 

 separator was used, and gave as one reason for 

 this the thinner plain section rather than the 

 open fence, and this might be used as an ar- 

 gument for thinner combs. Indeed, I did not, 

 at the time 1 wrote, feel at all sure which was 

 the more important factor in the ripening and 

 sealing of the combs — the open fence or thin- 

 ner Combs. 



My old style sections are, top and bottom, 

 I's inches wide, with sizes XV^ wide, and the 

 plain sections were 1 )'2,and look to be not nmch 

 more than three-fourths as thick; and I thought 

 the combs were at least a full yk less ; but, 

 come to think the matter over more careful- 

 ly, 1 find that actual space between the fences 

 with plain sections is but .}^ of an inch less 

 than that occupied by the bees in the old-st} le 

 sections, which is quite too small to suppose 

 it would make any marked difference in the 

 time of ripening and sealing a comb of honey. 

 With old style sections the bee-space is all in- 

 side the edge of the section, while with plain 

 sections it is largely on the otvtside. More 

 than this, my old-style sections were finished 

 where a fence was used, as promptly as where 

 a plain section was in use, so far as I remem- 

 ber. J. E. Crane. 



Middlebury, Vt., Nov. 21. 



I take it, then, that it is not thickness of the 

 comb, but the fence, that made the difference. 



I do believe that it is more feasible to sell 

 fence honey by the piece than honey produced 

 with solid separator. Messrs. Morton and 

 Niver have sold their honey for years in that 

 way. The honey is graded according to qual- 

 ity and weight. Each shipping-case holds so 

 many sections. I looked over quite a number 

 of their cases, but I could not see that there 

 was any practical difference between one box 

 and another so far as the amount of honey 

 was concerned. Mr. Niver said the scales 

 showed little or no difference. Selling by the 

 piece is very much handier : and //' the fences 

 will enable us to get our sections of an almost 



