200 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The question arises, is there any 

 way to obviate this difficulty V for at 

 the bottom should lie the desire to 

 gather for the general public the most 

 honey for the least money. There 

 may be difficulties in the way that I 

 have not seen, but it appears to me 

 that some way might be devised 

 whereby each bee-keeper should own 

 his territory, just as a man owns the 

 territory on which he farms, the ter- 

 ritory for nectar being considered an 

 entirely separate affair from the farm- 

 ing territory. 



Instead of going into any additional 

 reasons why this course would be 

 wise, I may as well say right here 

 that I think it is not best to take up 

 any more space with the subject. If 

 bee-keepers do not want anything of 

 the kind, that ends it. And, Mr. 

 Editor, if you will kindly print this 

 article, I will promise never again to 

 send to you anything in the same line 

 so long as I stand entirely alone in 

 my views. I thought those views 

 were right, and in the line of the 

 greatest good to the greatest number. 

 I still think so. I venture the proph- 

 ecy that if ever the time comes when 

 all the nectar of the country is gath- 

 ered, and honey becomes a' regular 

 article of diet upon every table, it 

 will be when such provision is made 

 that a man may feel secure in his own 

 field against intrusion — secure that 

 no one else may gather the nectar 

 from fields of artificial pasturage of 

 his own planting, and that no one 

 may sit down beside him with bees 

 that liave the foul brood, or a strain of 

 bees that will spoU his. 



With thanks to all, for the kindly 

 spirit shown, even when opposing 

 me, I have done. 



Marengo, 6 Ills. 



For tbe American Bee Jouni&. 



Sayini their CatecMsm, 



WM. F. CLARKE. 



The following burlesque of page 52, 

 is meant as a harmless bit of pleas- 

 antry, and 1 hope will be received in 

 the same merry mood in which it is 

 written. I have never admired the 

 catecbismal method of teaching api- 

 culture, and though invited to do so. 

 have never joined in it. Catechisms 

 were the horror of my childhood. 

 We had a series in vogue then called 

 " Pinnock's Catechisms," and geo- 

 graphy, history, grammar— even re- 

 ligion— were taught in this way. I 

 conceived a dislike for catechisms 

 which I shall never get over. I do 

 not consider them a good method of 

 instruction. It is like taking a drink 

 of water by tea-spoonsful, each tea- 

 spoon held by a different hand. I 

 prefer to take a draught of water in 

 copious mouthfuls and abundant 

 swallows, and to hold the cup myself. 

 I saw a templing chance for a '• shot 

 at folly as it flies," so I loaded and 

 fired off my little poetic pop-gun. I 

 hope the discharge will hurt nobody. 



TEACHER. 



First class in bee-keeping will rise, • 

 And listen, while I catechise. 



In tiering-up with section-cases, 

 Between them should we leave bee- 

 spaces y 



A. J. COOK. 



Yes, certainly, dear teacher, I'm 

 Quite sure we ought to, every time. 



DR. MILLER. 



No special reason I assign. 



But I leave spaces between mine. 



H. D. CUTTING. 



In my bee-practice, I endeavor. 



To bring the sections close together. 



C. W. DAYTON. 



And so do I, I think it best 

 That sections on each other rest. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



We always ought to leave bee-spaces 

 Between the tiers of section-cases. 



DR. TINKER. 



For them I see no earthly need. 

 Save to manipulate with speed. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



To my mind, needless is such space, 

 Though some great stress upon it 

 place. 



DADANT & SON. 



We most respectfully suggest 

 That sections on each other rest. 



DR. J. F. H. BROWN. 



Sections are easier to keep clean 

 When there is no bee-space between. 

 But I allow a quarter inch. 

 So bees can pass without a pinch. 



J. E. POND. 



" This question is a mooted one," 

 And must be argued just for fun ; 

 I'm for continuous passage-ways, 

 And don't approve of a beespace. 



G. W. DEMAREE. 



" According to my practice, yes," 

 And I am always right, I guess. 

 I smash my bees, if there's a crowd, 

 Unless bee-spaces are allowed. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



Bee-spaces " every time," and when 

 The dawn of beelight comes to men, 

 No one will ever think of placing 

 Sections together without spacing. 



TEACHER. 



You all are right, my scholars wise. 

 And each, whichever mode he tries. 

 Will be successful, less or more. 

 In getting all his bees may store. 

 Guelph, Ont. 



For tiie American Bee JoomaJ. 



Sections Filled witli Comli. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



It is with much interest that I have 

 read the articles that have lately ap- 

 peared in the Bee Journal on this 

 subject. Mr. Heddon has several 

 times told me that he preferred sec- 

 tions filled with foundation, early in 

 the season, to those containing combs 

 of the previous season. He said the 

 bees would begin work sooner upon 

 the foundation, seal it over more 

 quickly, and smoother. Mr. R. L. 



Taylor expressed similar views at the 

 late convention at Bay City, Mich. 

 Mr. Dibbern goes still further, and 

 says that honey stored in these half- 

 finished combs of the previous season 

 was imperfectly ripened, and hence it 

 kept very poorly. 



I believe all of the above bee-keep- 

 ers to be truthful, but I am at a loss 

 to understand why their experience 

 with empty combs in sections should 

 be so diametrically opposite to that of 

 Mr. Doolittle and myself. Perhaps 

 this assertion will bear a little qualifi- 

 cation. I can think of one reason why 

 honey stored in drawn comb might re- 

 main longer unsealed than that stored 

 in foundation that was drawn but 

 slightly in advance of the filling, t. e., 

 the drawing out and filling were both 

 in progress at the same time. The 

 opportunity for ripening is greater 

 when the honey is not very deep in 

 the cells ; aside from this, I am unable 

 to account for so widely different 

 results. 



My experience is very nearly like 

 that of Mr. Doolittle. When the flow 

 of honey is bountiful, and the body of 

 the hives well filled with bees, brood 

 and honey, and the brood-nest is shal- 

 low, but little coaxing is needed to 

 induce bees to make a start in the 

 supers, let them be filled with founda- 

 tion ordrawn combs ; but, sometimes, 

 the honey-flow starts out very slow, 

 and the bees, especially if Italians 

 and in a deep brood-nest, hesitate to 

 make a start in the supers. Honey is 

 stored in the brood -nest until there is 

 not room for another drop, then brace- 

 combs are built and filled with honey, 

 and, as a last resort, the sections are 

 entered and work begun. In my ex- 



gerience, a case of sections containing 

 alf-finished combs of the previous 

 season, is worth nearly as much early 

 in the season as a case of finished 

 sections of honey. 



In my apiary, these empty combs 

 just over the brood-nest are very at- 

 tractive to the bees. Almost as soon 

 as put upon the hives the bees will 

 begin crawling over them, and as 

 soon as there is a drop of honey to 

 spare it is placed in these combs. The 

 bees really seem anxious to fill them 

 with honey, and in doing this the 

 brood-nest is relieved of all pressure, 

 i. e., it is not crowded with honey, 

 and, as a consequence, there is more 

 room for brood. 



Another thing, this empty comb 

 above the brood-nest acts as a sort of 

 stimulus to the bees— it puts them in 

 a mood for storing honey. While a 

 colony with foundation only in the 

 sections is hesitating about making a 

 start, one with empty combs in the 

 sections will have commenced storing 

 surplus ; by the time the one with 

 foundation has begun work in the 

 supers, the one with empty combs 

 will be ready for another case of sec- 

 tions ; and by the time the one with 

 foundation is ready for a second case, 

 the one that had empty combs in the 

 first case will also need another case, 

 while the first case will be ready to 

 come off ! 



I will admit that there is not al- 

 ways so great a difference in favor of 

 empty combs in the sections ; but 



