1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



931 



stormy, cloudy, and changeable, that bees 

 had very little opportunity to fly. During the 

 month our bees did not get a fair flight until 

 the 19th and 20th. On the morning of the 

 21st it looked very threatening, so I secured 

 help and put the bees in the cellar; and be- 

 fore we were through, light showers occurred; 

 and before noon the rain set in and followed 

 it up all day. The next night the blizzard 

 had struck us, and every thing was covered 

 with ice and snow, and was frozen fast, with 

 the wind blowing a gale. Our bees were in 

 the cellar in good shape, for which we were 

 grateful. 



I mention the above to show how well it is 

 for us to watch these important points, and 

 be on time in our apiary work. 



While in winter quarters our hives tip for- 

 ward, giving a pitch to the bottom-boards, so 

 if any moisture accumulates in the hive it 

 may, if condensed, run off the bottom-board 

 out of the hive. The sloping bottom-board 

 also makes it easier for the removal of dead 

 bees by the colony, which tends to keep the 

 hives sweet and clean during winter. In the 

 cellar our hive rows are placed so one can 

 pass between the several rows to examine the 

 bees and clear dead bees from the hives and 

 cellar-floor. This we do about once each 

 month, and with little disturbance to the bees. 

 We use a dim light while doing this — just 

 light enough so we can see to do the work. 

 The cellar should be kept free from mice, and 

 we prefer the temperature at about 42 to 50°, 

 and quite uniform. Bees thus cared for 

 should winter well. The cellar is kept dark. 



Milledgeville, 111. 



TALL VS. SQUARE SECTIONS. 



A Reply to E. D. Ochsner, Page 752. 



BY T. K. MASSIE. 



Mr. Editor : — In your footnote to my article 

 published on page 681 you say that part of Mr. 

 Vernon Burt's fine sections came from the 

 Danzenbaker hive, and the other part from 

 the regular Dovetailed hive. Then you say, 

 " Both lots, as I saw them, were equally well 

 filled. Indeed, it could hardly be otherwise ; 

 for under the same conditions a \% square 

 would be as well filled as one 4x5 tall." Will 

 you kindly tell us what those "conditions" 

 were ? Were they such as can not ordinarily 

 be had ? It is facts we want, without regard 

 to style or size of section. 



In one of Dr. Miller's Straws, page 709, he 

 says I should "keep things straight," etc. 

 That's what I tried to do. I meant to say that 

 I do not want a wired frame at all. I also 

 meant to say that I prefer what most people 

 term a shallow frame, without regard to wir- 

 ing. All the combs in my frames will stand 

 any amount of handling on the " slambang " 

 plan. They were built from starters only, and 

 are as straight and smooth as a board. 



Page 753 friend Ochsner says if I "think 

 the fence separators such a fine thing," I 

 " don't know what a good thing is." Don't 

 be irritated, brother. I have tried your 



plain tin separators and T supers, and dis- 

 carded them. It is/acts we are after. I am 

 not "trying to make money out of any new 

 hives and sections, ' ' for I have none to sell ; 

 neither did I try to " fool " my customers. I 

 simply set up the two kinds of sections side 

 by side, and gave my customers their choice, 

 the facts being as before stated, page 680. 

 For a complete reply to Bro. O.'s article I 

 would refer to pages 749 and 769 to 770 in re- 

 gard to what the most extensive bee-keeper 

 in the United States has to say. It is not 

 there stated that he uses the fence separator ; 

 but I venture the prediction that he does. 

 Tophet, W. Va., Nov. 1. 



[A part of Mr. Burt's 4x5 honey was pro- 

 duced over Langstroth frames. While the 

 conditions may not have been identical, they 

 were near enough so for all practical purposes. 

 I will say that the internal condition of the 

 supers for the tall and square sections was ex- 

 actly-identical, save in size. Capt. Hethering- 

 ton does not use plain sections or fences. His 

 4X5 are the ordinary beeway seven-to the-foot, 

 I think. 



As to the matter of trying to "fool" cus- 

 tomers, I can not believe that deception, un- 

 intentional or intentional, has been practiced 

 on any one. Such talk is a reflection upon 

 some of the best bee-keepers we have. The 

 fact that one's beliefs or practices may be dif- 

 ferent from some others' is not sufficient 

 grounds for declaring that that one is not hon- 

 est with his fellow men. If we can't agree 

 we should at least fight fair.— Ed.] 



TALL VS. SQUARE SECTIONS. 

 Another Reply to E. D. Ochsner, Page 752. 



BY S. D. MATHEWS. 



Mr. Root : — I see in your footnote on p. 754 

 you invite kind criticism in regard to hives, 

 smokers, and other articles. As Mr. Ochsner 

 criticises the 4X5 plain \y% section and fence 

 separator, I, being a practical comb-honey pro- 

 ducer, beg to differ with him. I think he goes 

 a little too far when he says that the G. B. 

 Lewis Co. has sold 10,000,000 \% sections and 

 only 25,000 of the 4x5 sections, and that they 

 consider the A% section the best. Doubtless 

 they have no practical experience with either, 

 especially the 4X5, only in the manufacturing 

 of them; and in a few years there will be more 

 of the 4X5 plain sections in use than of any 

 other make. He says, " What a waste it will 

 be to discard the old supers for new ones ! " 

 I have done that very thing, and it paid me 

 twofold the first season. I have used both the 

 square and tall sections in all of my apiaries 

 for five years, and I know from practical ex- 

 perience that it will pay to discard the 4X sec- 

 tion and use only 4X5 sections and the Dan- 

 zenbaker hive with the fence separator. They 

 have made enough more this season in the 

 same yard to pay for the hive. 



I have made more honey this season per 

 hive than I have any previous year in my 15 

 years of bee-keeping. Fifteen of my strong- 



