388 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 15. 



led me to feel that the same space might better 

 be taken up with something else. Of course, it 

 might be said that the subject-matter as a 

 whole will get out of date too. That is very 

 true ; but if one follows implicitly the meth- 

 ods recommended in any old bee-book, he 

 will meet with a reasonable amount of success. 

 The only difference is, he will not be in posi- 

 tion to compete as well with his brother bee- 

 keeper who has been reading a later volume, 

 giving later methods and describing later de- 

 vices having for their object a greater product 

 with the minimum of labor in the production 

 of the same. 



Third, I have attempted to write book no- 

 tices, but found that I was liable to give offense 

 to some, especially the younger ones aspiring 

 for journalistic honors, because I did not give 

 their productions as extended, careful, and 

 flattering notices as I had given some of those 

 longer in the field, with larger experience. 

 In the case of new bee-journals, one in justice 

 to his readers is compelled to ignore them al- 

 together or else give them very meager men- 

 tion. 



In the fourth place, ciirrejit literature is so 

 much better for the mention of books and 

 periodicals that it has rather seemed to me 

 that that matter should be delegated almost 

 entirely to that class of reading rather than to 

 the kind that is put away on shelves, and pos- 

 sibly does service for ten or twenty years. 



I am heart and soul with you in believing 

 that the financial argument should have noth- 

 ing to do with what should appear in our 

 books. The truth should be told, no matter 

 where it cuts— Ed.] 



PLAIN AND BEEWAY SECTIONS. 



Comparative Filling in the Same Super. 



BY JOS. HANEY. 



I notice there is still some harping about 

 those fence separators. Those who think they 

 are not right, let them try them themselves, 

 giving both kinds an equal show. That's 

 what tells. I herewith send you a photo of 

 some, all produced from one hive. The supers 

 I use are in halves, each holding 16 sections 

 each, or 32 to cover brood-nest once. One di- 

 vision of one of these supers was filled with 

 plain sections and fences, and the other divi- 

 sion, or half, with beeway sections and plain 

 separators. As both sets were on one hive 

 they were each given an equal chance. Now 

 for results : 



The 16 sections on the left in the photo I 

 send you are the plain sections, and speak for 

 themselves — even the end boxes were filled. 

 The 16 on the right are the beeway sections. 

 This is all buckwheat honey. The swarm was 

 a very weak one — the boxes being put on the 

 10th of June for light honey ; but they were 

 so weak they did not start in sections till dark 

 honey came. The super was not molested till 

 after dark honey was over, so all had an equal 

 chance. Sheets of foundation were of all 

 sizes in both divisions or halves of the super, 

 and were put in on purpose to see how they 



would use it. The experiment satisfied me, 

 and I thought it might some others experi- 

 menting. 



I should like to know about rendering bees- 

 wax by steam. I have the steam, and have 

 rendered with it for five years, but do not feel 

 satisfied : that is, I can not get it out clean 

 enough. 



Hayt Corners, N. Y. 



[This experience of yours in the case of the 

 one super seems to indicate very strongly that 

 plain sections are not only better filled, but 

 entered more quickly than those of the bee- 

 way kind ; but, as you know, one swallow 

 does not make a summer. I have noticed my- 

 self that bees will sometimes commence on 

 one side of the super for no apparent reason, 

 notwithstanding there were the same kind of 

 sections and the same kind of foundation used 

 all through the super. I can give no explan- 

 ation except that they just happened to do so. 

 In this connection it might be well to state 

 that Dr. Miller has had experience quite as 

 positive, but just the reverse — that is to say, 

 he divided several supers, putting beeway and 

 plain separators on one side and plain sections 

 and fences on the other. I do not remember 

 whether in all of his supers so prepared the 

 plain sections suffered by comparison, but we 

 have had a good many other cases just like 

 this, where the plain sections were better filled; 

 but up till this time I have been able to ex- 

 plain them all in this way: A weak colony 

 would enter beeway sections with plain sepa- 

 rators more quickly than it would those of the 

 other kind because the first named are like so 

 many little rooms ; the separators being solid 

 to a certain extent, shut off the air currents ; 

 but weak colonies are not in a normal condi- 

 tion for honey. When colonies are strong, 

 then the plain sections will be entered first, 

 and be filled better. But in your case you say 

 the colony was weak. I give it up. 



But in all this we must understand that the 

 only difference between beeway sections and 

 plain sections is in the matter of separators ; 

 and, again, the question hinges, shall the sep- 

 arator be solid, or composed of slats? The 

 very fact that a great many are ordering slat- 

 ted separators for beeway sections because 

 they consider them an advantage after having 

 given a preliminary trial, goes to show that 

 separators with openings, under normal con- 

 ditions, are probably better than those that 

 are solid. 



I said that the only difference between the 

 plain section and beeway is in the separator. 

 That needs qualification slightly. In the case 

 of the plain sections, the beeway (as provided 

 by the fence) reaches clear across the width 

 of the section, a quarter of an inch down from 

 top, and the same distance up from the bot- 

 tom, thus making them partly open-corner. 

 There is quite an amount of evidence to show 

 that even beeway sections of this kind will be 

 better filled at the corners because the bees 

 can pass from one section to another without 

 going up and around, as in the case of the old- 

 style sections. If my supers were all adapted 

 for beeway sections, and I felt satisfied that 



