150 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



CorrcspontXencje. 



This mark © indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near tne center of the State named ; 

 5 north o£ the center; 9 south; O east; 

 K5 west ; and this d northeast ; "o northwest : 

 o, southeast: and 9 southwest of the center 

 of the State mentioned. 



For tUe American Bee JOHrnal. 



Sections Filleil witli ComH. 



C. H. DIBBBRN. 



In 1884 1 wrote an article in the Bee 

 Journal strongly condemning the 

 use of sections filled with combs from 

 the year before, expecting to stir up a 

 "hornet's nest;" but beyond receiv- 

 ing a card of thanks from several 

 prominent bee-keepers, little more 

 was said about it, at the time. When 

 in recent numbers of the Bee Jour- 

 nal 1 found such bee-keepers as 

 Messrs. Doolittle and Thielmann, and 

 Mrs. Harrison, still advocating a 

 policy that had proved so objection- 

 able to me, I concluded to write again. 

 I am very glad Mr. Doolittle has 

 finally concluded to knock this "chip" 

 off my shoulder. I am both interested 

 and aroused, after reading his criti- 

 cisms on page 37. 



Many years ago— perhaps following 

 the advice of Mr. Doolittle, who 

 claimed, I believe, that combs saved 

 from years before were worth their 

 weight in gold— 1 carefully saved all 

 sections or boxes containing comb, as 

 well as every particle of comb that 

 could be used for surplus boxes or 

 sections. As this was before the ad- 

 vent of good comb foundation, this 

 was perhaps the best that could be 

 done then. When I began to use 

 sections and foundation I continued 

 the same course, saving every section 

 that contained comb that was at all 

 fit to use. I soon noticed, however, 

 that there was a marked difference 

 between sections that contained the 

 combs, and those filled with the 

 Dadant thin foundation, after the 

 bees had finished them, although side 

 by side on the same hive. Those that 

 had contained the empty comb would 

 almost invariably grade " No. 2," 

 while the honey in new sections built 

 on foundation was just " too nice for 

 anything," and would just as surely 

 grade " extra No. 1." 



Nor was the above the only differ- 

 erence, for I found that after these 

 sections of honey built from old comb, 

 had been on the racks a month or 

 two, they would show a sweaty ap- 

 pearance with indications of souring, 

 such as bulginK off the caps, and the 

 honey running out. This disap- 

 pointed and disgusted me greatly. 

 The room was as dry as could be, and 



1 also noted that the sections with 

 foundation were in perfect condition. 

 Of course when 1 came to crating the 

 honey for market, a re-grading would 

 be necessary, and much of my " No. 



2 " comb-filled sections would now go 

 into " No. 3," while some even had to 

 be extracted to save it, and the empty 



combs would again be carefully 

 saved ; for had not Mrs. Harrison said 

 they were worth $5 per pound ? 



I had this experience eight or ten 

 years ago, and it puzzled me greatly. 

 Still thinking that so great a bee- 

 keeper as Mr. Doolittle could not pos- 

 sibly be wrong, I concluded that the 

 fault must be mine, in removing the 

 honey too soon after it was capped by 

 the bees ; and I then tried leaving it 

 on the hives two or three weeks after 

 it was finished. Of course this was 

 objectionable in several ways, but I 

 could see no other way out of the 

 difficulty. I soon found that the bees 

 themselves had trouble with it from 

 souring, and were removing great 

 patches of it after it had been sealed, 

 and I was obliged to leave many sec- 

 tions until fall, when I had a kind of 

 speckled honey. 



Still not willing to " cut out the old 

 combs and burn up the sections," I 

 continued to save the best, and used 

 them to some extent; even last year, 

 although very dry, the result was little 

 better. 



I do not put on surplus cases until 

 the honey -locust blooms, which with 

 us is the'commencement of the white 

 honey harvest. I care little for fruit- 

 blossom honey, as it is rather dark, 

 and it is then too early to greatly in- 

 crease the bee-space. I have no 

 trouble whatever in getting the bees 

 to take possession of the sections at 

 once. Now, if Mr. Doolittle cannot 

 get his bees into the surplus arrange- 

 ment, without all the puttering and 

 coaxing described by him, I would 

 advise' him to change his hives at 

 once, or procure bees that have some 

 " get up " to them. 



Now let us examine the expense 

 account, of which Mr. D. tries to 

 make so much. Good white- wood 

 two-pound sections can be had for 

 about ^4 cent each ; and the wax in 

 the comb in a well-filled section to be 

 cut out, will buy a nice sheet of comb 

 foundation, so that the actual loss is 

 only % cent for each section burned. 

 On the other hand I have a nice sec- 

 tion of No. 1 honey, that I can sell 

 more easily, give better satisfaction, 

 and sell for 2 cents per pound more 

 than the sections produced on th» 

 Doolittle plan. 



I naturally conclude that I am more 

 than 1}^ cents per pound better off; 

 thatl am not "throwing away my 

 money at the birds;" nor that my 

 f aaiilv is likely " to come to want " by 

 pursuing such a course. I do not ad- 

 vise burning all the sections ; if any 

 are nice and clean they may be used 

 again, after cutting out the combs ; 

 but if Mr. D. can make any money 

 scraping propolis glazed, honey-be- 

 smeared sections, his time must in- 

 deed be of little value. 



I consider this subject of vital im- 

 portance to producers of comb honey. 

 I have reasons for my conclusions, 

 which I have not the space to give 

 now. I want all bee-keepers to pro- 

 duce the very best honey in the most 

 marketable shape, and tnat cannot be 

 done by using old sections filled witji 

 comb. 

 Milan,~o Ills. 



e'er tbe American Bee journal. 



ForceilResiiiration,Bee-LeEislatioii,etc. 



G. W. DEMARBE. 



Dr. Tinker's reply to my article, 

 found on page 808 of the Bee Jour- 

 nal for 1886, presents views so nearly 

 in accord with my own observations 

 that I would feel inclined to let the 

 matter rest, so far as he and I are 

 concerned, if he had not attempted to 

 support that monstrous error about 

 bees "exercising" to "warm up" 

 when suffering from low temperature. 

 The Doctor admits that bees do not 

 "kick up their heels, or get on a 

 tear," but he would have us believe 

 that they "blow!" That is, when 

 they wish to " warm up " they " sim- ■ 

 ply begin a forced respiration, the T 

 opposing force coming from the effect 

 of low temperature." Amazing phil- 

 osophy I The fact is, a rising tem- 

 perature outside of the hive is the 

 only " force " that bees can utilize to 

 raise the temperature in the hive, or 

 " warm up," as the Doctor puts it. 

 The " opposing force " to the respira- 

 tion of the bees must be warmer air 

 than that with which they are sur- 

 rounded while they are clustered un- 

 der a temperature too low for their 

 safety, for an unlimited time. This 

 fact alone explains why it is that a 

 cellar kept at a low temperature for a 

 great while becomes a very sepulcher 

 to the bees. 



What Dr. Tinker brings forward as 

 evidence is the very opposite of the 

 facts so well understood in connection 

 with all warm-blooded animals. 

 " Forced " or involuntary " respira- 

 tion " is nature's own method of lower- 

 inq the temperature of the aninaal 

 body; the "opposing force" coming 

 from the effects of cool air drawn in, 

 and expelled from the lungs by force 

 of respiration. Bees, as well as all 

 warm-blooded animals respire (or 

 " pant " as we sometimes say) with 

 forced rapidity when " over heated, 

 but never when they are oppressed 

 witli low temperature. The reason 

 that I can winter my bees in single- 

 walled hives without any loss, if the 

 bees have plenty of stores, is because 

 we have intervals of warmer weather 

 which rouses the bees from their con- 

 finement in the cluster, and enables 

 them to take food and recuperate 

 strength for the next cold snap, and 

 so on through the winter, until re- 

 turning spring calls them to active 

 labor. 



I once thought that because bees 

 store food for winter, and because 

 they would starve if their stores 

 failed, that the bees must continue 

 active at all times. But later observa- 

 tion has changed my views on this 

 subject. I have found that during 

 very cold spells of weather my bees 

 in single-walled hives appear like 

 dead bees between the combs, and 

 when the temperature begins to rise,. , 

 the bees gradually feel the effects, 

 and arouse themselves in proportion 

 to the rising temperature. These are 

 litteral facts drawn from ocular dem- 

 onstration, and are destructive of Dr. 

 T's theory. 



