14 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



spaced apart from center to center. Extreme 

 width is undesirable. Iii that case you 

 would likely have the trouble of which Mr. 

 Heddoi) complains, page (iGi); yet Mr. Kil- 

 dow, page (j;!2, reports a success with only 

 3-10 inch space between the frames, while 

 Mr. Root's experience, as stated in his foot- 

 note to Mr. Kildow's letter, was about the 

 same as Mr. Heddon's. 



It seems to me the whole essence of the 

 thing lies in having top bars thick enough, 

 and spaced the regular bee-space apart; for 

 is it not reasonable to suijpose that the same 

 bee-space which so nicely prevents brace 

 combs being built between two supers tiered 

 above each other would also prevent their 

 being built between thick top barsV And 

 when they are not built between them there 

 are none built over them. Any one, of 

 course, can test these statements for himself; 

 and I will say to those who would test the 

 arrangement just mentioned, and it should 

 work as well as it has in my locality, there 

 can be no doubt of their being entirely satis- 

 tied with the results. — C. G. Looft, Forest, O., 

 Dec. f). 



There is a method to prevent brace combs, 

 without the use of thick top bars or honey 

 board, and I wish to emphasize it very 

 strongly. It is simply by properly adjusting 

 frames and supers. To prevent brace combs, 

 let us first ascertain why they are built. 



My answer is, to fill unrequired space. 

 Contract that space to the actual require- 

 ments of bees, and we shall find no brace 

 combs, which can be proved by any practical 

 apiarist by experiment. To illustrate: Place 

 the super so there shall l)e'an inch space 

 between the top bar and bottom of the sec- 

 tion, and a fine lot of brace combs is the 

 result. Now remove the brace combs from 

 the top bars, bring the super down to 34 inch 

 of toi) bar, and I have yet to find the first 

 brace comb. 



There is still another point of equal im- 

 portance with adjusting supers, that must be 

 managed in connection with it in order to 

 secure complete success; that is, in properly 

 adjusting the frames; for I consider that 

 just as much depends upon the latter being 

 properly spaced as does upon the super being 

 brought down to the required distance, for 

 brace combs are almost invariably started 

 on the side of the top bar, and for no other 

 reason than the one above given — too much 

 space. Mr. -J. E. Pond several years ago 

 wrote an article in regard to crowding 

 frames closer together in order to comi)el 

 bees to enter sections more readily. I con- 

 sidered the idea of so much importance that 

 I spaced my frames in all new hives scant 

 1% inches from center to center. At the 

 close of the season I found the result was 

 more than Mr. Pond had claimed. I not 

 only succeeded in inducing my bees to enter 

 sections more readily, but I found far less 

 brace combs than in any other hives. 

 Whenever any was found, the cause was 

 quite apparent — too much space existed be- 

 tween the top bar and bottom of section. 

 Following u\> that idea the next season, I 

 brought my sui)ers down so there was scant 

 % space between the top l)ar and sections. 

 At the close of that, the second season with 



the new method of contracting frames, I 

 was satisfied I had a preventive for brace 

 combs. 



Now, in regard to the best width for a top 

 bar: All things considered, I think the one- 

 inch wide is preferable. It allows a little 

 more stores for winter underneath than %. 

 With the inch wide bar spaced I'V from 

 center to center, we have taken the first step 

 toward preventing the building of brace 

 combs; and by bringing supers doivn so 

 there shall be scant ■'« space between the top 

 bar and bottom of section, we have the 

 whole matter of preventing brace combs 

 under our control. — F. L. Smith, Chittenan- 

 go, N. Y., Dec. C, 1889. 



About nine years ago I purchased 200 all- 

 wood brood frames of A. I. Root. These 

 were, I thought, very light; and with what I 

 had of my own make they gave me frames 

 enough for fifty colonies. In 1882 I made 

 about 700 more frames. These were like my 

 former make, top bars % wide by }o inch 

 thick. 



The season of 1882 was a good one; and 

 when fall came I was comi)letely disgusted 

 with light top bars for brood comb. The 

 light top bars had sagged, in many instances, 

 from ^4 to % of an inch; and the bees, in 

 their efforts to even up matters, had poked 

 bits of wax "all over" them. 



I have nearly all of these frames yet; and 

 although I have scraped the wax off from 

 them from year to year I have not become 

 reconciled to them. In the mean time I 

 have made several hives with top bars 1 

 inch, and some l^s inches wide; and so long 

 as these wide top bars were kept all in the 

 same hives, and properly spaced, and th« 

 space above the frames kei)t at ?8, or a very 

 little less than % inch, there has been no 

 trouble with brace combs. But just as soon 

 as these frames were interchanged with 

 those having ''s inch top bar, or from any 

 cause the space above the frames became too 

 large or too small, the brace combs appeared. 



During the past season I have used T 

 supers on about twenty hives without honey 

 boards. The top bars in these hives are ''g 

 inch thick by I^h inches wide. There were 

 no brace combs built between or on top of 

 these frames this season; and I feel confident 

 that, so long as the proper distances are 

 maintained between frames and between 

 tops of frames and supers, no more brace 

 combs appear than will appear between 

 supers and the upper surface of queen exclu- 

 ders. — S. A. Shuck, Liverpool, III., Nov. 21. 

 188!). 



On page 84 of his Bee-K»>pers' Handy 



Book, Mr. Alley says: 



The most serious objection to the narrow 

 top bar is the fact that the bees build the 

 combs between the bars, and fasten them to 

 the honey board, bottom of the sections, or 

 to whatever the franaes are covered with. 

 When this is the case it is very difficult to 

 reaiove the combs from a hive. Now, this 

 can be mostly if not wholly obviated if wide 

 top bars are used: and as there is no reason- 

 able objection to using such, I would strongly 

 advise the novice to adopt them at the be- 

 ginning. 



