118 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,. 



can be quickly put in place, and you 

 have a neat job, with all outside spaces 

 nicely closed. 



After putting the rack or case upon 

 the hive, have a piece of enameled 

 cloth, cut the proper size, to smoothly 

 lay over the sections, and on top of 

 the cloth place a guilt or piece of bur- 

 laps, and cover all with a flat board, 

 fitted for the purpose. You now have 

 a chamber for surplus storing which 

 fully meets all the requirements of 

 warmth, so necessary for comb build- 

 ing, early or late in the season, and 

 violate no " scientific principles laid 

 down by Langstroth." 



In a case of sections thus arranged, 

 the combs are of evener thickness, 

 with a smooth face, which gives the 

 honey a much liner and more attrac- 

 tive appearance then when dented and 

 bulged, as is likely to be the case 

 where metal separators are not used. 

 As wood is warmer than metal it 

 economizes the heat of the hive whicli 

 is the first great principle to be taken 

 into consideration in making arrange- 

 ments for obtaining surplus honey. 

 Peoria, N. Y. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Was That Bad Advice? 



DR. a. L. TINKER. 



It is really bad advice, or rather, it 

 is impracticable to set a rack of the 

 thin sections down on the brood 

 frames V Mr. Heddon so implies, see 

 page 95 of the Bee Journal, and ex- 

 presses great " surprise " that I should 

 give such advice. Now, I am not less 

 surprised that a man of the experience 

 and ability of Mr. Heddon as a prac- 

 tical bee-keeper, should " warn all be- 

 ginners " against the advice, giving as 

 Bis objections to it that he had " been 

 through the mill and graduated," and 

 that it would be " violating the in- 

 stincts of the bees," and be resented 

 by "their glue and stings." Surely, 

 It is not against the instinct of the 

 bees to have continuous passage ways 

 from tlie brood combs into tTie sec- 

 tions. Neither can there be any 

 trouble of any consequence on account 

 of propolis, nor special danger over 

 any other plan because of stings. 



Several apiarists of large experience 

 have assured me that the plan sug- 

 gested on page 72 of the Bee Jour- 

 nal, is thoroughly practical. Not 

 only so, but it is quite possible that in 

 no other way can the half-i)ound sec- 

 tion be made to pay tiie producer. 



The writer has not taken a fancy to 

 the half-pound sections with a view to 

 using them by any of the ordinary 

 methods in use for getting comb 

 honey in the ] and 2 pound sections. 

 On the contrary, it seems to me that 

 lis failure as a hnancial adventure to 

 the producer by these ordinary meth- 

 ods, is already a foregone conclusion. 



There are other advantages from 

 placing a rack of sections down on the 

 brood frames than those already given, 

 and among the first of these is the 

 readiness by which the bees can be 

 got to work in all of the sections at 

 once. This Is accomplished by put- 

 ting on the first rack of sections with 



a narrow strip of foundation fastened 

 upright to tlie bottom of the section 

 instead of being fastened to the top 

 piece. The bees will so to work in 

 the sections the Instant there is 

 enough honey coming in, and build 

 the comb upwards, wliich tliey seem 

 able to do just about as fast as to 

 build it downwards. The next rack 

 of sections may contain full sheets of 

 foundation, if it is desired, and fast- 

 ened to the top of the section as usual. 

 New Philadelpliia, O. 



For the American Bee Journai. 



New Method of Wintering Bees. 



JOHN E. VAN ETTEN. 



Any one can get along with bees in 

 summer, but the great problem is how 

 to winter them successfully ; and for 

 want of appliances, if for no other 

 reason, out-door wintering must ever 

 prevail with the million. 



Some advise that bees should be 

 placed in a cellar and kept dark. I 

 tried this in a very dry, sandy cellar, 

 with a cement floor, and yet with 

 very disastrous results, arising from 

 dampness and mold, which I find to 

 be the greatest enemy of bees, es- 

 pecially in winter. 



Others advise that they should be 

 placed on the nortli side of a building 

 or fence, so as to exclude the sun, and 

 thus prevent them from flying out and 

 becoming lost. 1 have also tried this 

 with very fatal results. 



Others advise placing them low 

 down on the ground and letting the 

 snow drift over them. This is sure 

 death from the dampness generated 

 from the melting snow. 



Others advise covering with en- 

 ameled cloth, packing in chaff, etc. 

 These are all objectionable, because 

 they absorb and hold dampness, which 

 is dreadfully fatal to bees in winter, 

 while they are in a dormant state 

 and unable to ventilate the hive in 

 their own natutal way. 



After years of trial I became con- 

 vinced that all sucli tlieorles were 

 vicious and wrong in principle, and 

 contrary to the natural requirements 

 of the bee ; that cold was not so much 

 an enemy of bees in winter as damp- 

 ness ; tliat instead of being placed low 

 down on tlie ground or in some bank, 

 wliere all the dampness could be 

 thrown into the hive, the hive should 

 be elevated so that the winds could 

 sweep away such dampness as might 

 gather around it; that, instead of 

 being kept dark in winter, the bees 

 should have all the sunlight possible ; 

 that, instead of being placed in a 

 shaded spot on the nortli side of a 

 building or fence, they should stand 

 on the south side, where they could 

 receive the full benefit of the winter's 

 sun— which, of all seasons, the bees 

 most need in winter. 



Acting upon these ideas, I placed my 

 bees in the warmest spot I could find 

 on the south side of a high, tight- 

 board fence, where the full blaze of 

 the winter's sun could pour down 

 upon them. I elevated the hives 

 about 2 feet from the ground to avoid 

 the dampness, and gave them all the 



ventilation which the Quinby hive 

 will admit of. 1 discarded the enam- 

 eled cloth, and, instead, covered with 

 lath, which will not warp. On these 

 I laid a mat of woolen cloth. In front 

 of the fly hole, on flying days, I placed 

 a portable box 2 feet long, 14 inches 

 wide, and 7 inches high, covered with 

 wire cloth, and, since then, I have 

 never lost a colony. There is no damp- 

 ness, no mold. If the bees want to 

 fly, they fly around In the box, where 

 they void themselves and receive the 

 full benefit of the sun, and yet not a 

 bee Is lost upon the snow. 

 Kingston, N. Y., Feb. 2, 1883. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Short Articles Always Preferred. 



rev. A. SALISBURY. 



We live In an age of revolution and 

 progress. Revolutionary, in not using 

 many words to express a few ideas ; 

 progressive in using few words to ex- 

 press many ideas. Why do short 

 articles get the preference of readers 

 in newspapers and magazines 'i* It is 

 not supposable that any one will pen 

 an article without an Idea, so all who 

 have much to do in this busy world 

 read short articles first, where they 

 can glean ideas fastest, and where 

 " counsel Is not darkened by a multi- 

 tude of words." 



O, the horror, after having spent 

 the time to read a long article, and 

 the discovery is made, at the close, 

 that it was words almost without any 

 ideas. 



True, there is an apology for those 

 who labor under the conviction that 

 the world is depending on them for 

 light, so duty requires them to write 

 many and long articles. Words are 

 cheaper than ideas. Do not think 

 that reflections are only to be cast 

 upon the literary world, outside of our 

 profession ; like others, we are liable 

 to fall into certain channels, and write 

 and rewrite the same ideas, over and 

 over, and occupy a long time in ex- 

 plaining ourselves, so as to be under- 

 stood, and when understood, no one is 

 benefited. 



Camargo, 111. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Suggestions About Small Sections. 



JAMES F. LATHAM. 



To make a half-pound section, kerf 

 a one-pound section on the inside of 

 the top and bottom. Let tiie kerfing 

 be wide enough to admit two pieces, 

 each as thick as the sides of the sec- 

 tion, and deep enough to leave 1-16 

 inch of whole wood on the outside. 

 Cut two oieces, of a suflicient thick- 

 ness to fill the kerfs, and in width cor- 

 responding with the sides of the sec- 

 tion. Place the two pieces together 

 and push them into the kerfs. A brad 

 may be driven into the ends of each 

 piece, if thought necessary. Put a 

 piece of foundation In each half-sec- 

 tion, and after the bees have filled 

 them with comb and honey, they can 

 be handled and crated as expeditiously 



