1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



319 



just as well be two feet or so longer at the back 

 end than the wagon box, so it will hold more 

 hives, and you can reinforce your frame at the 

 back end by nailing on pieces at the side; oth- 

 erwise the hives might break down the part 

 that proj. cts. Cleats after the usual style 

 must be nailed on the outside or inside of your 

 frame to keep it in place on the box. 



Now take fence-boards 6 inches wide, and 

 cut into lengths about 7)4 inches longer than 

 twice the length of the bottom-board of your 

 hive. If your bottom-board is 22}4 inches 

 long, as mine are, then your boards must be 

 cut 52yi inches long. The number of these 

 boards must be one more than the number of 

 hives you will have on each side of your rack. 

 Now distribute these boards on top of your 

 frame, spacing them at equal distances, so that 

 the space from center to center shall be 1% 

 inches more than the width of the bottom- 

 boards of your hives. Nail them on. Take a 

 board 4 inches wide and the whole length of 

 your rack, and nail it on the top of these 

 cross-boards centrally. That's to keep the 

 two rows of hives apart. On each side, to 

 keep the hives from sliding off, nail a strip an 

 inch thick and 1 *4 inches wide. To keep the 

 hives in their places sidewise, nail on the cen- 

 ter of each board, and, running in the same 

 direction as the board, a strip about 18 inches 

 long and Y% square. Of course, these strips 

 may be more than 18 inches long, but there's 

 no advantage in it. At the front end and at 

 the back end, instead of having this strip at 

 the center of the board place it on the outer 

 edge and space the boards accordingly. For 

 lighter handling the rack may be made in two 

 parts, as is the one in the photo. 



The hives are loaded in the wagon-box, run- 

 ning crosswise, and between each two is plac- 

 ed a stick % inch square, and as long as the 

 inside width of the wagon. Thus the hives 

 are held firmly in their places. Then the rack 

 is put on and filled. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111., Feb. 23. 



EATING A POUND OF HONEY AT A SITTING; 



4x5 vs. 3^x5 sections; a point for 



PLAIN SECTIONS. 



Mr. Editor : — Since reading what Stenog 

 says in Gleanings, p. 79, in regard to eating 

 honey, I have wanted to tell of a little circum- 

 stance that happened in this neighborhood. 

 Two fellows on their way blackberrying called 

 at my apiary and bought two well-filled 4x5 

 sections of honey, and took them along to 

 sweeten their noonday lunch. We afterward 

 found the pieces of the sections, and the fel- 

 lows admitted they ate it all at the one meal. 

 They said they would not if they had thought 

 before cutting into them ; but after cutting, 

 the honey leaked so they had to eat it to save 

 it ; and the strangest part of it is, they claim 

 to have felt no discomfiture from it. 



I was much surprised at Mr. Crane's finding 

 the 35/g X5 sections so poorly filled (p. 125), as 

 I tried a few of them last season, and they 

 were much better built out to the wood than 

 my 4x5 beeway sections on flat tins without 

 separators. They were all filled out almost 

 exactly alike, much better than the one shown 



on page 126, but I was disappointed in their 

 weight. One 12-lb. case weighed 11 % lbs. One 

 lot of about 70 lbs. averaged 14 J^ ounces. I 

 should much prefer to have sections weigh an 

 even pound. I find, in using sections without 

 separators during a light honey-flow, the bees 

 are very apt to fill all the sections one-half or 

 two-thirds full, while with fences they fill what 

 they do work in, and leave the rest compara- 

 tively untouched. Earl Y. Safford. 

 Salem, N. Y. 



[Most markets prefer sections weighing a 

 little under a pound. The 3^x5 is not in- 

 tended to hold quite a pound. — Ed.] 



PLAIN SECTIONS COME TO STAY. 

 I notice Doolittle gives you a " raking over " 

 in the Progressive, regarding plain sections, 

 etc. Never mind. "They laugh best who 

 laugh last," and you can afford to let them 

 laugh now. The plain sections and fences 

 are come to stay; and my regret is that I did 

 not order all of that kind last season instead 

 of some of the old kind. I wanted to go slow- 

 ly, as some would say; but I am going iaster 

 now. I took up 1500 of the old kind to the 

 mill, and cut them down so that they will 

 take the pi ice of no- bee way ones. I had 

 them done in the jointer, and it was not a 

 very big job either. Common sense is on the 

 side of the new section. G. A. Deadman. 

 ■ Brussels, Ont., Mar. 16. 



G. U. U., Mo. — Sometimes colonies under 

 very adverse circumstances will winter very 

 nicely, and those under favorable conditions 

 will winter poorly ; but as a rule, colonies in 

 double-walled protected hives winter far bet- 

 ter than those in single- walled. 



L. A. S., N. Y. — Stimulative feeding can 

 be practiced now at any time — the sooner the 

 better. In general, bees should not be fed 

 during cool nights. About half a pint of syrup 

 fed daily, or even a less quantity, wall start 

 brood-rearing going at a good rate ; but hives 

 should be well packed and well protected if 

 the weather is at all cool ; otherwise there is 

 liable to be a chilling of the brood during a 

 sudden change of weather. 



W. W. S. , N. Y. — We have no real prefer- 

 ence between the super for holding 4x5 and 

 that holding 35gx5. The preference will be 

 based somewhat on the fact of your using an 

 eight or ten frame hive. If the latter, then 

 the Danzenbaker super would be more con- 

 venient. If the former, then the Ideal would 

 be the one. The 4x5 sections in some markets 

 may be a little more salable because, for the 

 same weight, they look larger ; but either sec- 

 tion sells well. In New York, at least, tall 

 sections are coming rapidly into favor, and it 

 seems it will be only a question of time before 

 the A% square will be shoved out of the New 

 York markets. 



