1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



321 



knowing the method ? In the first place, I 

 wish to find out whether some one else has a 

 plan ; and in the second place I wish to draw 

 attention in advance to the importance of such 

 a discovery and its value to bee-keepers gener- 

 ally. A good thing should be heralded in 

 advance. 



NO-DRIP CLEATS FOR SHIPPING-CASES ; HOW 

 WIDE AND THICK SHOULD THEY BE? 



When we first put out what we called the 

 no-drip shipping-case — a case that has a paper 

 tray in the bottom, and cross-cleats just thick 

 enough to raise the sections off from the paper, 

 we made the cleats % inch thick by about %. 

 They were made thus for about a year ; then 

 there came a general clamor to have the cleats 

 made thinner. Accordingly the following 

 season, and even up to the present time, we 

 made the no-drip cleats 1 /&XH- Henry F. 

 Hagen, of Rocky Ford, Col., instead of nail- 

 ing these cleats in the bottom of the case, 

 smears a little honey on the under side of the 

 cleat, and simply lays it on the paper, spaced 

 a proper distance apart. Of course, it is well 

 known that honey is almost as good as glue 

 when used in this way ; and because of this 

 very fact arose the necessity of a cleat to raise 

 the section off from the paper. But very lately 

 one of the most extensive honey-buyers in the 

 United States, Byron Walker insists that it is 

 a great mistake to have the no-drip cleats less 

 than y% thick ; that those only l /% thick are 

 not thick enough to prevent honey from com- 

 ing in contact with the bottom of the sections 

 when there is very much drip. As he speaks 

 from the standpoint of a producer as well as 

 from that of a buyer, it may be well to con- 

 sider whether we were not wrong in changing 

 from thick to thin cleats. There is this to be 

 said in favor of the thinner cleat : It is quite 

 thick enough providing honey is attached to 

 the wood of the section as it should be ; but 

 much of the honey that was sent to market 

 early last season was in sections that were 

 only partly filled and poorly attached. In 

 consequence there is a large amount of drip, 

 an 1 this will not be taken care of by the ordi- 

 nary thin cleat. 



From the standpoint of a manufacturer we 

 desire to please our friends and customers ; 

 hut before we make a change again we must 

 have a general consensus of opinion favoring 

 either the thick or the thin cleat ; and this 

 opinion should come from both the honey- 

 buyer and the bee keeper, not forgetting the 

 ■commission man, who has unlimited opportu- 

 nity for observation. 



HOFFMAN FRAMES, AND HOW TO HANDLE 

 THEM. 



A very interesting article on this subject 

 appears in the American Bee Journal for 

 April 6, from the pen of our old friend and 

 correspondent C. Davenport, one of th^ most 

 practical writers in all beedom. He has come 

 to be recognized as such by the fact that his 

 •communications appear in nearly all the lead- 

 ing bee journals. In the article above referred 

 to he says : "I consider self -spacing frames of 

 some kind (if hives have to be moved to and 



from out-yards) as the only kind worthy of 

 being considered ; and even if hives are to 

 remain in one yard permanently, I think self- 

 spacing frames are far superior to loose-hang- 

 ing ones." Of Hoffman frames he says that, 

 after having tried a great many other kinds, 

 he greatly prefers them to all others. He says 

 further, "I do not think there is any locality 

 where propolis or bee-glue can be much worse 

 or more plentiful than it is here." 



The main reason for his success in the han- 

 dling of these frames he attributes to a simple 

 tool which he uses. It consists of a piece of 

 steel \ l / 2 inches wide by about % inch thick. 

 It is spread out and drawn down thin at one 

 end. The other end has the width reduced, 

 and is formed into a hook. 



In comparing the rapidity with which he 

 could handle colonies on Hoffman frames, 

 and those on loose or unspaced frames, a visi- 

 tor who timed him gave him a record of 1 % 

 to 2 minutes per colony on Hoffman frames, 

 and 3 to 4 minutes on loose-hanging frames. 

 He attributes this difference in results to the 

 fact that the self- spacing frames can be shoved 

 together en masse, while the other frames 

 must be placed carefully in position one at a 

 time. 



That was about my experience when I first 

 began to push this frame into prominence as 

 long ago as 1890 — a frame that was then well 

 known, and was some twelve or fifteen years 

 old at the time I began to tell about its merits. 



At one out-yard, in 1891, I had about half 

 the colonies on hanging frames, and the other 

 half on the Hoffman. I ran both sets of 

 frames together until I made up my mind 

 that I could save time by transferring all the 

 remaining combs in hanging frames into the 

 Hoffman. 



One feature that Mr. Davenport does not 

 touch on is the facility that one has in han- 

 dling Hoffman frames in groups, three or four 

 at a time. I scarcely ever manipulate a colony 

 on these frames without handling the frames 

 in pairs or trios. I may possibly remove one 

 frame of the division-board ; then if I desire 

 to form a nucleus I lift out three frames, leav- 

 ing them stuck together just as they were in 

 the hive. If I wish to get at the brood I may 

 lift out a pair of frames from the center of the 

 brood nest ; scan the brood surface exposed, 

 and as soon as I have satisfied myself I insert 

 the frames in their position. Two shoves 

 with the pry or tool crowd all frames back 

 into their exact position, there being no fin- 

 gering of individual frames. But this result 

 can not be achieved without a good tool ; and 

 the one that Mr. Davenport describes is the 

 one that, according to my experience, is prov- 

 ing most satisfactory, all things considered. 

 Early last fall we intended to list such a tool 

 in our catalog, but we overlooked it ; but we 

 hope to have some r^ady very soon now. 



Mr. Davenport seems to favor Hoffman 

 frames with square edges. I tried the frame 

 the first season with such edges ; but after I 

 had tried them with a plain V edge I decided- 

 ly preferred the latter ; but I should like to 

 see reports from those who have recently test- 

 ed the two side by aide. 



