594 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



work in a hive. This is easily answered by 

 giving such average bee-keepers the advice 

 to go back to the old box hive. However, I 

 for one have a better opinion of the average 

 bee-keeper. I know many of them person- 

 ally who are not slovenly, but handle the 

 Hoffman frame all right, although not ex- 

 perts. 



DIVISION-BOARDS AND NUMBER OF FRAMES. 



Right here I will say that I find division or 

 spacing-boards essential with a spaced hang- 

 ing frame, and of much importance to me. 

 My hives hold eleven frames without the 

 spacing-boards, but as a rule I use two 

 boards and ten frames, which leaves space 

 enough in my size of hive between the 

 spacing-board and the hive-end for handling 

 boards and frames with ease. However, I 

 do not confine myself to giving a colony a 

 certain number of frames. When I put on 

 section-supers I regulate the number of 

 frames to give or leave a colony, according 

 to its sti-ength in bees, so that the weaker 

 colonies get 8 or 9 frames, and the vacant 

 space is filled out with more spacing-boards, 

 of which I always keep a surplus near by. 

 With wedges behind the follower or spacing- 

 board I do not bother, as the bees will fasten 

 things well enough if we crowd frames and 

 boards well together after working and 

 handling them. 



PROPOLIS. 



This brings me to talk about propolis, 

 which is generally held and talked about as 

 a great nuisance. An excess of propolis, of 

 course, is not desirable; but I consider it 

 only a necessary evil, and, would rather 

 have the frames glued together with pro- 

 polis than not at all. 



The V shape in the Hoffman frame is 

 condemned by quite a number, as they 

 claim too much propolis is used by the bees 

 to fill up the space between the beveled 

 edge where it meets the square edge of the 

 next frame. This the bees do with me to 

 such a small extent that^I certainly want 

 the V edge yet. 



It does not give me much trouble in my 

 locality, but the difference in breed did so 

 quite considerably. I imported the Cypri- 

 an and the Caucasian bees, and found them 

 to be excessive propolizers; they even would 

 close the hive entrances with propolis so 

 that only one bee could go through. I had 

 also Italians that would use wax in place of 

 ordinary propolis, packing it on their legs 

 wherever they found any scraps of it lying 

 round. 



NAILING TOGETHER WRONG. 



Another objection to the V edge is raised 

 by C. Davenport, Nov. 15, also by J. A. 

 Green, Oct. 1, 1904, about nailing the V- 

 edge frame together the wrong way, so that 

 they and the square edge will not meet right. 

 I will only say that I have had inexperienced 

 hands nail V-edged frames together by the 

 thousand, and would not make any mistakes 

 after showing them how to do it. I invent- 

 ed the main features of the Hoffman frame, 

 but I am tolerant enough not to find fault 



with those who have different ways and ap- 

 pliances; and although there is more in the 

 man than in the hive or frame he uses, I 

 am sure the best frame will give best re- 

 sults in manipulating, and consequently in 

 dollars and cents. 



Mr. Ernest Root, I believe, has the right 

 idea when he thinks of manufacturing both 

 the V and the square edge Hoffman frame, 

 so that all can have their choice, and so do 

 away with considerable grumbling and fault- 

 finding, which is often caused by difference 

 in climate and locality, and also by differ- 

 ence in the breed of bees. 



To wind up, I will say that many criticise 

 or find fault with a new thing which they 

 have not tried long enough. For example, 

 it was thought the Hoffman frame could 

 not be used in Cuba. How is it now? The 

 A. I. Root Co. sends carloads there and to 

 other hot climates. Louis H. Scholl, Jan. 

 15. 1905, states that he used the V-edge 

 Hoffman frame for a number of years, and 

 thought the V-edge unnecessary, but has 

 changed his views since, and decided in fa- 

 vor of it. 



Canajoharie, N. Y. 



PRODUCING BOTH COMB AND EXTRACTED 

 HONEY FROM THE SAME SUPER. 



How to Control Swarming when Running for 

 Comb Honey ; a Valuable Article. 



BY E. D. TOWNSEND. 



I think I have something good for the 

 readers of Gleanings. It did not originate 

 with me. so you see if I should get enthusi- 

 astic before I am through, and paint the 

 idea a httle rosy, I can not be accused of 

 lauding my own ideas. The credit belongs 

 to that veteran bee-keeper, Mr. 0. H. 

 Townsend, of Otsego, Mich. , and was given 

 to me between sessions of our Michigan 

 State Convention at Grand Rapids, in Feb- 

 ruary. You know, E. R., that, in produc- 

 ing comb honey, if we give a super of 

 brand-new sections with full sheets of foun- 

 dation to a colony of bees at the approach 

 of the honey season, likely as not they will 

 sulk, or at the best do only a little work in 

 the sections, and then swarm. To over- 

 come partly this tendency in the bees to 

 go above, probably the majority are "bait 

 sections," dirty things of the previous sea- 

 son's use. The honey in these dirty sec- 

 tions is always of an inferior quality. The 

 argument that is usually presented in fa- 

 vor of this use is that they cause the bees 

 to enter, the sections so much more readily 

 that really they do not cost the producer 

 any thing — that we get just as much or 

 more honey, exclusive of the bait sec- 

 tions, so the bait sections really cost us no- 

 thing; but I think most of them eventually 

 find their way on the market, though, and I 

 am sure these bait sections do not help the 



