66 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



carded the necessity of a press fortius 

 purpose, as I can run off a large 

 amount of work in a short time, and 

 in every respect satisfactory. 



Of course, there is no difficulty in 

 finding persons wlio will manufacture 

 and sell the very best samples of comb 

 foundation, and as long as such shall 

 be found in the market, there seems 

 no need of a machine, unless working 

 up wax is remunerative. I have been 

 really delighted with my success in 

 wiring my frames and putting on foun- 

 dation. 



I have also been trying some of those 

 condemned dollar queens. It was 

 very easy to see, on their arrival, that 

 they were /oreed— too small and feeble 

 looking, to insure much promise of 

 profit. They were introduced, how- 

 ever, and thus far have given tolerable 

 satisfaction. My experience has been 

 that queens from such, during the 

 swarming season, are all that may be 

 desired. 



We are strenuous in our praises of 

 the Italians, and consider them much 

 superior to the blacks in disposition 

 and honey-gathering qualifications. 

 The "Coming Bee " with me, thus far, 

 has been some Italians and as many 

 hybrids. I am disposed to agree with 

 Mr. Heddon, that the best bee is the 

 one that will produce the most honey. 

 Extreme gentleness is conceded to be 

 a characteristic of the Italians, a trait 

 of character which I very much ad- 

 mire, but fear we all are sacrificing 

 the honey-gathering qualities* too 

 much to secure it. I have no better 

 bees than some cross hybrids. 



North East, Pa., Jan. 9, 1883. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Comb Honey Surplus Arrangements. 



LEROY WniTFORD. 



I have taken great interest in the 

 half-pound section movement, as man- 

 ifested in the discussions of the con- 

 ventions, and especially in the Bee 

 Journal. The subject has been so 

 thoroughly ventilated that it has no 

 doubt already taken shape, to be car- 

 ried into practice in many apiaries, 

 and yet I can but regard it as an un- 

 warrantable extreme, and that who- 

 ever undertakes to run a large apiary 

 for comb honey in half-pound sections 

 will have occasion to swing back to 

 the golden mean. 



Its advocates teach that it must be 

 adopted or rejected in toto, as it never 

 will do to have two kinds of sections 

 in an apiary. Now, while it is ad- 

 mitted that the demand for larger sec- 

 tions will continue (even for the two- 

 pound), the idea seems to be that one 

 must produce the one-pound package 

 and another the half-pound. 



Dr. Miller says that if he knew that 

 all others were adopting these two 

 styles, he should continue to use the 

 two-pound sections. This means that 

 the retailer must keep in stock, honey 

 from three different apiaries, to meet 

 the wants of his different customers. 



It strikes me, that I, as a producer 

 of comb honey, should meet the de- 

 mand with different weights, as the 

 extracted honey-men have, with the 



pails of different sizes. lam the more 

 anxious to do this, when I remember 

 that the half-pound buyer this year 

 will, most likely, be the two-pound 

 buyer next year. 



1 have invented— do not be fright- 

 ened at the word, for it will not be 

 patented— a case wliicli is readily 

 adapted to the half-pound, jiound or 

 two-pound sections, or it mav be used 

 for two or three styles in the same 

 case, and separators are used more 

 conveniently than on any other ar- 

 rangement ; and I think I know what 

 I am talking about, having " tried all 

 things" and found nothing good 

 enough to " hold fast." 



I dislike the broad-frame and have 

 studied for two years to get rid of it, 

 and still retain the separators, for I 

 consider them indispensable. The 

 out-come is a surplus arrangement 

 which I have used on 20 hives during 

 the past season, with great satisfac- 

 tion, as it facilitates the manipulations 

 very much and does away with a lot 

 of bulky " traps," which clutter up the 

 shop and store-room. 



The improvement which gives me 

 these advantages I will call a " section 

 sill " made of tin. I take a strip of 

 tin ]i^ in. wide and fold it lengthwise. 

 Then crimp the two edges at right 

 angles, }i in. each, giving it the form 

 of the letter T (sectional view) ; the 

 lower part being double and the top 

 single. Now, take another strip 13-16 

 in. wide, and put it into the T-shaped 

 piece, and settle them together solid, 

 with a hammer, and prick the sides 

 so that the middle piece cannot get 

 out. The case is simply a square box 

 without bottom, but an inch band 

 is nailed around • the bottom. For 

 pound sections a kerf is sawed into 

 this band 4ia in. from the sides into 

 which this sfll is pushed. It should 

 go tightly, and will, if a fine back saw 

 is used ; now, suppose you put in the 

 two outer rows of sections," the outer 

 ends will rest on the band and the 

 inner ends on the tin sills. Now, take 

 the tin separators, cut to the right 

 length to reach clear across the case, 

 and drop them in between the sections. 

 They will rest on the upper part of the 

 sill just right for the bees to work 

 under and over them in the usual way. 

 But the middle sections are not pro- 

 vided for. For two more tiers of sec- 

 tions you have only to take a strip of 

 tin \}^ in. wide, aiid bend the edges 

 down at right angles 5-16 of an inch, 

 and drop it into two saw kerfs at each 

 end, 4I4 inches from the sills. 



If it were desirable I could use sec- 

 tions in the middle 8^2 inches long, 

 holding 2 pounds, or I can space for 

 Heddou's 2 13-16 in. sections and these 

 sills can be moved in a moment to 

 accommodate one or the other. It 

 makes no difference what thickness 

 of section is used, the separators will 

 fit them, if you use 2 inches or one. 

 Of course, the tin sills rest on the 

 frames crosswise, and the bees have 

 the freest possible access to the supers. 

 You would be surprised to see how 

 easily they lift off, and how easy it 

 is to clean the tins in the wash boiler. 

 I have made a long storv, and yet I 

 fear I have not made myself under- 

 stood, so Mr. Editor, I will send you 



a sample of those tin sills which will 

 aid your comprehension. 



Fearing that I have already made 

 my communication too long, I will 

 only say in closing that I shall, the 

 coming season, offer my customer* 

 half-pound and pound sections of 

 honey in the same case, and htting, 

 mixed in the same shipping crates, 

 and test tlie market, but to produce all 

 half-pounds for hotels— my principal 

 market— I am sure would be a great 

 mistake. 



Stow, N. Y. 



[The samples of " tin sills " are re- 

 ceived, and, from the above descrip- 

 tion of their use, we have no doubt of 

 their utility. It is a matter, however,, 

 that must be decided by those who use 

 them. Two tin sills are sent to us ; 

 one with a rest to support the separa- 

 tors, and the other is a plain, cheaply- 

 made one for the middle sills. They 

 are placed in our Museum for the in- 

 spection of visitors.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee JoomaL. 



A Few Odds and Ends. 



T. r. BINGHAM. 



The report of the Northwestern 

 Convention at Chicago, 111., show.'* 

 that 70 members were present ; of 

 whom 32 took part in the discussions. 



By a careful review of the secreta- 

 ry's official report of the North Amer- 

 ican Bee-Keepers' Convention, there 

 is circumstantial evidence that there 

 were present at the meeting 18 persons. 

 Of these, 11 took part and said some- 

 thing. Twenty-seven reports appear 

 from different parties (seven of these 

 persons' names appear as a part of the 

 eleven as taking part in the discus- 

 sions). Judge Andrews, of Texas, 

 and Dr. Blanton, of Mississippi ; in 

 fact, all the far-off delegates do not 

 appear in the report as having taken 

 part in the discussions. 



On page 665 of the Bee Journal. 

 for Oct. 18th, is a letter giving circum- 

 stantial evidence that two others, not 

 elsewhere reported, were present. 

 These two added to the 18 reported by 

 the secretary would swell the report 

 of the North Attierican Bee- Keepers' 

 Convention, for 1882, to 20. The letter 

 above referred to gives some further 

 light, which may add to the number 4 

 ladies, who took the lead in a carriage, 

 in the trip to Mt. Healthy. By a strict 

 construction, this would add two not 

 elsewhere reported. Thus our bee- 

 keeping friends in England, Germany, 

 etc., when the'y read the report, saw 

 that there might have been 22 persons- 

 in convention assembled at Cincinnati, 

 Oct. 3, 1882. 



Mr. Muth must have written that 

 letter after the best spirits (of which 

 he speaks) had departed, or he would 

 not have so mixed up the sexes in the 

 " crowd," or construed what I said as- 

 reflecting on him. I merely said 

 "That the lingering of foul brood 

 about Cincinnati ten years, might be 

 regarded as evidence against curing 

 it by medication." 



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