1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



501 



fcottom. I am compelled either to nail them 

 in or fasten with melted wax. These plain 



[If the grooves are made considerably deeper than 

 the width of the wedge there should be no trouble. 

 The wedge should be driven below the surface of the 

 wood. — Ed.] 



top- bars are both better and cheaper than 

 the regular. I drop the frame over a board, 

 the top-bar resting on two stops so the 

 foundation is centered, the bottom-bar on 

 only one stop at its middle. (A three-legged 

 stool stands firm on any surface. Four legs 

 must have every thing even.) Cull wax is 

 put in a tin cup or old can, and set in a wire 

 frame over a common small lamp. The liq- 



FIG. 2.— AIKIN'S SECTIONAL-BROOD-CHAMBER 

 HIVE. 



uid wax is poured from a common teaspoon, 

 and forms a line of wax down one side of 

 the starter. Take this frame off and put 

 another on, and continue till you have stack- 

 ed up quite a bunch; then lay down the 

 board and pick up the frames one by one, 

 pouring more wax on the other side of the 

 starter just as you did the first side and it is 

 done. It is fully as quick and easy as the 

 groove- and- wedge plan, does not take any 

 more wax, and stays put. The plain bar is 

 cheaper, and can be scraped smooth and re- 

 startered nicely. Let all factory people 

 adopt the plain bar and this method of fast- 

 ening starters. Now for my pet hive. 



It is the sectional or divisible-brood cham- 

 ber style. The bottom- board is very similar 

 to the common dovetailed- hive bottoms; a 

 cleat is on the upper side, just like all com- 

 mon bottoms in use. The body parts may 

 be either dovetailed or halved at the cor- 

 ners, and there is not another mark, rabbet, 

 or cut on them save hand- holds— just the 



flainest simple box without top or bottom, 

 t is 5 J deep, 12 wide, and 16 ^V long inside. 

 A metal strip is used across each end for 

 supports, just as in the common dovetailed 

 supers, to support section-holders. 



The frames are the standing style (see 

 Fig. 2), just as plain as can be— end-bars 

 i X 1§ X 5 ; top and bottom bars scant § X 1 X 16. 

 When nailed it is If X 5X16. Each body 

 takes eight frames with a follower board, 

 and springs to take up slack. The follower 

 is very simple too, ana the springs the same 

 as commonly used in supers. An inner cov- 

 er of I lumber, cleated on the upper side and 

 flat on the under side, and as wide and long 

 as the body, covers all. 



But the outer cover— well, Mr. Root, my 



outer covers are cheaper and better than 

 your regular ones of either Excelsior or Col- 

 orado pattern. It is just a plain rim about 

 two to three inches deep, and large enough 

 to telescope the hive-bodies easily, about J- 

 inch play on one side and end when the other 

 side and end are shoved up snug to the body. 

 On this rim is nailed cheap lumber, and over 

 this any water-proof that suits the fancy of 

 the user. I have some of cloth and paint, 

 some of Neponset paper, some tin — don't 

 know yet which covering is best. I do know 

 such a cover is simple, cheap, and good- 

 used not to keep bees in or out, but is mere- 

 ly the sun and rain protection over all. 



THE SUPER. 



At present I am using a T-tin support. It 

 is just a brood-body with T tins added. I 

 make saw-cuts, and nail the T in. The sep- 

 arators used are fence style but special. 

 They are 5 inches deep, just the depth of 

 the sections. In other respects they are a 

 regular fence for T supers; and that the 

 reader may understand why the fence is full 

 depth— that is, 5 inches— I must describe 



MY SECTION. 



It is unique— none like it that I know of, 

 4X5, and made to order. It is IJ wide; the 

 scallop is I deep instead of I, and it runs 

 clear out to the V groove. It is 5 inches 

 deep, so is the fence. The J scallop, or bee- 

 way, in the section and the \ post strip on 

 the fence make a J beeway when the two 

 are put together; and this beeway runs 

 clear out to the side of the section. Do you 

 ask why? 



In the old four-piece nailed sections we 

 used to saw out of common pine lumber, the 

 top and bottom bars were the same width, 

 their entire length plump to the side-bar. 

 They were better finished to said tops and 

 bottoms, and fewer holes at the comers than 

 can be had with the common scalloped sec- 

 tion of to day. One of the reasons your 

 plain sections are better finished is you have 

 gotten back to the old idea, which was al- 

 most a necessity in the four- piece section. 

 In the common section, when the bees reach 

 the end of the scallop where it rounds out 

 they round in the comb, leaving a hole in 

 the corner. Do you see? I told you this 

 more than once before, but you did not heed. 

 Yes, my section is a 4x5, scalloped | full 

 length of both top and bottom. "It's a 

 dandy too." 



In filling a super, first put in a fence. 

 This gives the " Pettit idea" of allowing 

 bees to pass up freely at the sides, etc. 

 Then it is a row of sections and a fence, and 

 so on till full, with a fence next the last 

 side, and two springs put in to take up 

 slack. One- eighth-inch cleats are on the 

 inside of both super and brood-body, opposite 

 frame ends. This makes a bee-space out- 

 side that first fence to start with. 



THE HONEY-BOARD. 



This, too, must be made to order. Look 

 at that picture. See that a zinc strip is 

 next each side-bar— not only this, but the 



