748 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



back to the old tinkering system of handling 

 frames. By this system more bees can be 

 kept, or the extra time saved can be put to 

 other and better use than to be wasted in 

 the useless handling of frames. 



That this system calls for a radical change 

 in hive-construction is perhaps the reason 

 why it has not come into more general use 

 among honey-producers. 



But any implement or system of manipu- 

 lation that does not help to cheapen the 

 cose of h^ney production is not worthy of 

 consideration by the honey-producer. 



Birmingham, O., Feb. 22. J. E. Hand. 



A METAL SIDE AND END SPACER COMBINED. 



The mention of metal spacers in the Dec. 

 1st Gleanings revived a recollection of an 

 attempt I made last season to accomplish 

 something to that end; but I soon found that 

 I lacked the mechanical abihty and tools 



necessary to accomplish the idea, though, 

 perhaps, not a very brilliant one. I send by 

 this mail a rather crude survival of the at- 

 tempt aforesaid. I think that, with the use 

 of a fine saw to make the kerf, and the tins 

 made by the right implements known to the 

 tinning trade, a neat and substantial frame 

 would result— metal sides and ends. 



It may not be new, novel, or practical; 

 but it will at least compare favorably with 

 some of the absurd things I see exploited by 

 some. John Heckson. 



Washington, D. C, Dec. 6. 



[Your form of spacer and its manner of 

 insertion in the end-bar is not a bad one. 

 There would be danger, however, that the 

 knife-edge strips of tin would get bent out 

 of shape, because one frame- spacer has to 

 reach the whole distance from one frame to 

 the other; while in the case of the Hoffman 

 or metal- spaced Hoffman the projection 

 reaches only half the distance. — Ed.] 



unfavorable report for the FENCE AND 

 PLAIN PECTrON IN COLORADO. 



Hold on. friend Ernest. Please remember 

 that Mr. Crane is possibly good authority on 

 his own location, and 1 notice that locality 

 has only recently been taken seriously into 

 consideration, and for this very reason it is 

 not policy to sit still. As you called for re- 

 ports, let it hit where it may, so here it is. 

 By ordering early my fence and plain sec- 

 tions arrived in due time. I loaded up 20 

 supers; and when the time arrived I carried 

 them out and placed them on just as they 

 happened to come. That was a very good 

 season, some hives filling 9 supers apiece; 

 but I got only three cases of plain sections. 

 The foundation was mostly drawn, so 1 said 

 to myself I will put these 17 supers away 

 and try again. The next year I got one 

 case of plain sections. The remaining 16 

 supers would average about 4 ounces of hon- 

 ey per section, while that season several 

 hives filled 8 supers apiece in beeway sec- 

 tions. The next season, with the same plain 

 sections, I got 4 supers that were full of 

 honey; but every section was fastened to 

 the fence, so I cut the honey all out and 

 burned the sections. But we were advised 

 to put the fence at the sides of the supers 

 for follower boards, so I fit up 100 supers in 

 that way ; but my bees absolutely refused to 

 work next to the fence, so I made another 

 bonfire. F. D. Andrews. 



Walsenburg, Colo. 



[That's right. Let the reports come in, 

 hit where they may.— Ed.] 



COMBS melting DOWN IN HIVES PAINTED A 

 DARK- BROWN COLOR. 



Some time ago there was some discussion 

 about light and dark colored hives. In 1904 

 I had white, red, blue (dark and light), 

 green, yellow, and dark- brown hives, and 

 some not painted. In No. 35. with one su- 

 per, seven sections melted; No. 39, with a 

 super and a hive- body on top of that, melt- 

 ed some of the honey in the frames in the 

 top hive so that they fell down. Both 

 were dark brown. In 1905, No. 28 melted 

 17 sections in the top super, which were al- 

 most all sealed. The bottom super was 

 about a quarter full at the time. So much 

 honey ran down that it drowned a great 

 many bees, and they dragged out about one 

 q^art of full- sized brood. That colony did 

 not do any more work that season. One 

 other started to melt, but I noticed it and 

 gave it air. Now all of those hives were 

 dark brown, and had dark- brown caps on 

 them. My hives are the old-fashioned Lang- 

 stroth, telescope caps, with room for two 

 supers under the cap. C. W. Sager. 



Belma, Wash.. Feb. 12. 



[It is my opinion that our friend Allen La- 

 tham would not find any thing in the fore- 

 going that conflicts with the principles he 

 enunciated in a recent article on dark color 

 for hives. He did not claim that such hives 

 should be out in the open, exposed to the 

 sun. — Ed.] 



