1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



vy2\ 



A THOUSAND-ACRE COTTOX-FIELD IN TEXAS. 



—See Bee-lcetving in the Southwest, paae lol3. 



gestions are not very commendable He 

 himself admits it by cautioning, "But don't 

 tell any one." Secrecy is always a hiding 

 place, and I would strongly object to any 

 manipulation that would in any way be det- 

 rimental to my business if made public. 

 I would not object — in fact, 1 should enjoy 

 to have a crowd of my customers follow me 

 up in every move I make in the produc- 

 tion of extracted honey, from the hive to 

 the retail package. I should consider it a 

 most helpful advertisement. 



Mr. Dayton's can and hood scheme, page 

 182, is all right providing our stock of gran- 

 ulated honey is in shape to be readily acces- 

 sible; but if we should wish to melt up honey 

 in 60-lb. cans and save the cans, we should 

 have to do it in some other way. It seems 

 to me the amount of work that is required to 

 dig out the granulated honey, and then have 

 so many dishes to handle when filling the re- 

 tail packages, would be quite an objection- 

 able feature to Mr. D.'s modus operandi. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



BOTTOM STARTERS IN SECTIONS. 



Is it Advisable to Do AVithout Them':' the 

 Proper Dimensions. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



A correspondent who has not made a suc- 

 cess with bottom starters in sections asks to 

 have some questions about them answered in 

 Gleanings. Before doing so it may be well 

 to say that bottom starters are not absolute- 

 ly essential. Indeed, a section may have in 

 it nothing moi'e than a triangular starter of 

 such small size that the cost for foundation 

 will be only a tenth as much as where top 



and bottom starters entirely fill the section. 

 But I am in company with many who think 

 it a loss instead of a gain to attempt to econ- 

 omize on foundation in that way. If sections 

 are not to be shipped any considerable dis- 

 tance, there is not the same need for bottom 

 starters as when long shipment makes it im- 

 portant that the comb be securely fastened 

 to the bottom-bar of the section. 



Some say they can find no need for bot- 

 tom starters If any one can have his sec- 

 tions filled out just as well in every way with- 

 out them, it may not be advisable to use 

 them. Still, it must be remembered that 

 there is no additional cost for foundation if 

 the section is to be filled any way. It costs 

 no more to fill it with two pieces than with 

 one. The only difi'erence is the labor of put- 

 ting in, and it would be a serious mistake to 

 suppose that it takes twice as long to put 

 two starters in a section as to put in a single 

 starter. There is no additional picking up 

 of the section or laying it down; the bottom 

 starter is put in, and then the section is quick- 

 ly turned over and the other starter put in 

 before the section leaves the hand. 



I'm not sure I understand how some can 

 get as good work done without the bottom 

 starters, unless it be by crowding the bees at 

 least a little in the supers. This I think ob- 

 jectionable on two grounds. One is, that 

 crowding tends toward swarming. The other 

 is, that it tends to make the bees use honey 

 to make burr-combs. On the whole I think 

 I should lose money to do without bottom 

 starters. And now let me answer specifical- 

 ly the letter of my correspondent. 



More than twenty years ago, when I wrote 

 "A Year among the Bees," I had had little 

 experience with bottom starters; and as 1 

 was the originator of the idea I had only my 



