894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



the basket, in the ordinary fashion, they are 

 set down in the machine, two on a side. A 

 strip of tin separates the two combs so that 

 the honey from the inner one, instead of strik- 

 ing the outside comb, flies against the tin, 

 draining down in the extractor. The cross 

 arm is made of wood, and even the bearings 

 are of the same material. 



As crude as this arrangement apparently 

 seems to be, I am not sure but, by the manner 

 they operate, they can extract as rapidly as 

 one could from an ordinary four-frame Cowan. 



It is certainly an advantage to set the combs 

 in the extractor in the same way they are tak- 

 en from the hive ; for I am satisfied they can 

 be picked out of the hive and set down in the 

 extractor more rapidly than the same number 

 of combs could be picked out and inserted in 

 a Cowan, because, in the case of the latter, 

 the frame is lifted out with one hand, and with 

 the other hand it is turned at right angles so 

 that it can be set down endwise in the machine. 

 On the other hand, the Cowan would save 

 time in reversing, so that, take it all in all, if 

 there were a race or contest between the two 

 machines they would run very even in the 

 actual product extracted. "But," you say, 

 " why not make Coggshall extractors? " For 

 the reason that the bee-keeping fraternity has 

 been educated the other way; and although 

 we have offered to furnish such extractors, no 

 one has called for them outside of Coggshall 's 

 immediate neighbors. 



The annual crop of honey produced by the 

 Coggshalls in good seasons can be measured, 

 not only by the tons but by the carloads. 

 When I was there I overheard (I wasn't eaves- 

 dropping) David say to Lamar that he had had 

 an offer of a certain figure on a carload, and 

 would he, Lamar, accept? The latter hesitat- 

 ed a moment, and then said, " Better wait a 

 little longer ; we can do better than that." 

 "Carload?" said I, interrupting. "How 

 many cars do you two produce ? " " Not very 

 many this season," was the reply. 



From one of his best yards David Coggshall 

 took as many as 60 2101b. half-barrels of well- 

 ripened honey; and Lamar, from all his yards, 

 took 78,000 lbs. in 1897, or an amount equal 

 to three carloads; or the two brothers, at this 

 rate, in a good season, might produce between 

 four and five carloads. 



Both of the Coggshalls make money at any 

 thing they undertake, whether it be at farm- 

 ing or at bees. They have beautiful farms, 

 and live in fine residences, one of which is 

 shown on the previous page, the home of 

 David Coggshall. They are finished off in 

 hard wood inside, and are equipped with all 

 the conveniences to be found in the best 

 homes in the land. 



COMB-HONEY SUPERS. 



The regular T super is a general favorite 

 with a large class ; but within a few years the 

 section-holder arrangement seems to be get- 

 ting the larger share of patronage, and very 

 recently that super which makes use of the 

 simple supporting slats has been gaining favor. 

 As the construction of the latter is not very 

 generally understood I give here a picture that 



will show very clearly how it is made. This 

 is what is called the Ideal section super. The 

 sections themselves are 3^ X5Xl,^ wide. 

 Five of them are used in each row, said row 

 being supported by a slat y% thick and \ x / 2 

 wide. Between each two rows of sections and 

 slats is inserted a fence — fences, slats, and all, 

 being held in the usual way by strips of tin 



nailed on the bottom inside edge of the ends of 

 the super. This super economizes space bet- 

 ter than any thing else that is now on the mar- 

 ket. 



The 4X section, owing to the fact that four 

 rows are hardly sufficient to occupy the whole 

 inside length of the super, and that five rows 

 would be longer than the length desired, re- 



quires a wide frame or a section-holder. The 

 % -inch ends of the section-holder, together 

 with the bee -space between ends of super, 

 plus the four sections, take up all the avail- 

 able space. The section-holder ends and the 

 bee-spaces are regarded by many as being su- 

 perfluous. If the Langstroth frame had been 

 a little shorter, so that the i% section would 

 have just filled out the length of the super, 

 we should then have had an " Ideal " arrange- 

 ment. 



THE DIVISION-BOARD FEEDER. 



During the past summer and this fall, our 

 apiarist, Mr. Wardell, was very enthusiastic 



