146 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



''AilTlce to Beginners" Answered. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



If a periodical devoted to bee-culture 

 can be purchased at the rate of 52 copies 

 for $1 (less than 2 cents per copy), after 

 we consider the knowledge we gain from 

 a year's sut)scription, let us candidly ask 

 the question, what is one bee-keepers" 

 convention worth, so far as the gather- 

 ing of apicultural wisdom is concerned ? 



We hold such conventions, and propose 

 to. Why ? Because, 'through them we 

 become acquainted with each other, 

 adding largely to any acquaintance we 

 may have, or fancy we have, through 

 the pages of our bee-periodicals. Some 

 one (I think it was Bro. Hutchinson) 

 wrote that after he had formed the 

 acquaintance of a prominent bee-keeper 

 and writer (meaning personal acquaint- 

 ance by meeting him), that writer's 

 articles, thereafter, were worth much 

 more to him. 



True ; but why ? Is it not because we 

 all make statements which we cannot 

 afford the time, nor the editor the space, 

 to prove by logical deduction ? We ask 

 our brother bee-keepers to take our word 

 for many important statements, and by 

 mutual consent it is so taken. 



In the light of the above it is certainly 

 important to know something of the 

 character of the writer; especially is it 

 important to beginners. 



The matter of how much passageway 

 is needed by a strong colony, is one of 

 great importance to practical honey- 

 producers, and one the discussion of 

 which arose between Dr. Tinker and 

 myself, and while it seemed from the 

 discussion at one of our late conventions 

 that an Inch hole would furnish the 

 requisite passageway, the practical dis- 

 cussion is between two rows of holes in 

 the strip of zinc slipped in between the 

 slats of my honey-board, as advocated 

 by Dr. Tinker, or one row in said zinc 

 strip, as advocated by myself. In other 

 words, do our bees need more than 8 

 rows of queen-excluding openings to 

 offer them ample passageway between 

 the brood and surplus apartments ? 



That is the question really under dis- 

 cussion. I say, "No; half of it would 

 be sufficient." There is another serious 

 objection in the fact that the workman- 

 ship must be very much more accurate — 

 painfully and tediously accurate — and 

 also tending to increase the building of 

 brace-combs between the top surface of 

 the honey-board and the surplus sections 

 above, while it in no way benefits the 



bee-keeper. The reasons of which I 

 have fully explained heretofore. 



With regard to the second paragraph 

 of Mr. Draper's article, page 81, wherein 

 he quotes from Mr. Tunicliff, I wish to 

 state that, although 1 originated the use 

 of the thumb-screw in a hive, and have 

 done nearly all that has been done to 

 introduce it, I found, to my surprise, 

 incontrovertible evidence that Mr. 

 Manum had previously used it for a part 

 of the purposes for which I employ it; 

 consequently, in my patent, my claims 

 are limited to the uses for which I em- 

 ploy it, and Mr. Manum did not. 



The above is the only instance wherein 

 we have the least positive evidence, such 

 as would be required in court, where any 

 part of the construction of my hive 

 claimed to be new, can be shown to be 

 antidated. 



Mr. Draper's quotations from " Suc- 

 cess in Bee -Culture," surrounding his 

 one word, "nonsense," contains all the 

 argument that it contained when writ- 

 ten, and I am willing to stand by it. 



I thank Brother Draper for calling 

 .the attention of bee-keepers to the fact 

 that in my book I described the new hive, 

 extra fine four-piece dovetailed sections, 

 together with ray method of producing 

 large quantities of extra-fine white 

 comb-honey. I hope Brother Draper 

 will forgive me for trying to explain in 

 the publication of a book how to accom- 

 plish certain results which I previously 

 had done. 



But the next paragraph is a stunner, 

 as I do not now remember ever penning 

 a lie for publication in a bee-periodical, 

 nor selling any comb-honey to farrders 

 for 20 cents per pound, I shall have to 

 ask Brother Draper to find the page 

 where it is published in the Bee 

 Journal. 



Again, I will have to thank my friend 

 for publishing the fact to bee-keepers 

 that I am continually offering to them 

 choicest extracted-honey at low prices, 

 for cash with the order. It is a fact, 

 and whatever blame there is to be 

 attached to it, I must bear. 



The reference to Barnett Taylor's 

 remarks at the convention at Madison, 

 Wis., so far as I am able to see, has 

 nothing to do whatever with my advice 

 to beginners, nor with my invention. In 

 that statement Mr. Taylor claims noth- 

 ing that I do. 



The time will come when Bro. Draper 

 will see the difference between a divisible 

 brood-chamber, constructed as described 

 and used for new and specific purposes, 

 and the piling of one old brood-chamber 

 on another. The latter is a very old 



