1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



183 



The symposium loses a large part of its 

 value because of the fact that it is limited 

 to a comparison of the Hoffman with the 

 loose thin-top Langstroth frame. That 

 leaves it still an open question, so far as the 

 symposium is concerned, whether some one 

 of the several other frames might not be 

 preferred to the Hoffman, at least by some 

 of the writers. 



There is more than one frame in existence 

 which possesses all the advantages that I re- 

 member to have seen claimed for the Hoff- 

 man, without the objections that there are 

 in the minds of some against them. It might 

 make interesting reading to have a similar 

 discussion without having it so limited in its 

 scope. 



Marengo, 111. 



Mr. J. A. Green suggests using a spring 

 similar to that used m comb-honey supers, 

 but stiffer. Those who have used square 

 edges, and prefer them, probably are careful 

 about squeezing the end-bars together. 



You say there is more than one frame in 

 existence which possesses all the advan- 

 tages that you remember to have seen 

 claimed for the Hoffman, without the ob- 

 jections. You possibly have in mind as an 

 example the Miller nail-spaced frame, or 

 some of the staple-spaced put out by some of 

 the manufacturers. A serious and almost 

 fatal objection to any form of metal spac- 

 ing is the care that must be exercised in un- 

 capping, and the consequent danger of dull- 

 ing the keen edge of the knife. We are 

 anxious to know about those frames that 



THE A. I ROOT COMPANY'S BEE-CELLAR UNDER THE MACHINE-SHOP. SEE EDITORIAL. 



[Your scheme of having the length of the 

 contact edges of the end- bars of Hoffman 

 frames reduced would work beautifully for 

 only a short time. It would weaken the 

 projecting edges so that they would split off 

 worse than they do now when propolis is bad. 



Regarding the question of square vs. V 

 edges, I am satisfied that, after reading all 

 the pros and cons, the V edge ordinarily 

 should not be dispensed with, by the begin- 

 ner at least. I tried both forms very thor- 

 oughly years ago— first the square and then 

 the V. I finally came to the conclusion that 

 Mr. Hoffman was right— that the V was 

 better. If a square edge is used, frames 

 must in every case be crowded tightly to- 

 (jether; and I am of the opinion that some 

 form of compression should be used also. 



have "all the advantages " of the Hoffman 

 "without the objections." I can't help 

 thinking you are mistaken as to the exist- 

 ence of such frames. To say that you are a 

 comb-honey man, and therefore do not have 

 to bother with an uncapping-knife on your 

 nail-spaced frame, does not remove the ob- 

 jection to the three-fourths that produce ex- 

 clusively extracted or both comb and ex- 

 tracted. 



The instructions for putting the Hoffman 

 frames together are printed in the form of 

 a pamphlet, and sent out with each bunch of 

 frames. We used to have instructions incor- 

 porated in our catalog ; but that space had 

 come to be so valuable that we were obliged 

 to leave out all directions for nailing up stuff. 

 -Ed.] 



