THU MMERICJEPi MMW J©Ui«ff®Er. 



821 



WIES 



Securing Clean Sections of Comb 

 Honey. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Ctuery 598 — Is there any method by which 

 honey can be secured in sections so clean as 

 not to need scrapinK ?— S. 



No. — M. Mahin. 



I have found none. — Mrs. L. Har- 

 rison. 



I do not know of any. — A. B. M.\soN. 



Not that I know of.— J. M. Ham- 



BAUGH. 



None that I am aware of. — J. E. 

 Pond. 



I think not, that woidd satisfy- me. 

 — C. C. Miller. 



There is no practical way of secur- 

 ing it so clean that it will not be the 

 better of some scraping. — R. L Tay- 

 lor. 



By using wide frames properly 

 made, the sections will need very little 

 scraping. — G. M. Doolittle. 



Yes, by using crates so arranged 

 that the entrance to the sections is the 

 only part exposed to the bees. — J. P. 

 H. Brown. 



By using clamps — the Manum, Fos- 

 ter or Heddon — there will be but little 

 propolis. But the principal require- 

 ment is to take off the sections as soon 

 as sealed. — Dadant & Son. 



Yes. I believe there has lately been 

 invented a section-case by somebody, 

 that pretends to accomplisli this feat 

 (?)._WiLL M. Barnum. 



I do not think that there is. It 

 makes no difference what kind of 

 criite, or how tight you put the sec- 

 tions together, there is always a little 

 scraping to be done. — P. L. Viallon. 



Yes. The " two-part super" with 

 wooden partitions and section shields 

 will do it, if care is used in tilling the 

 super. — J. M. Shuck. 



No, not invariably ; but with a slat- 

 ted lioney-board we get ver}' nearly 

 there. But the bee-spaces must be 

 just right. — A. J. Cook. 



Not all, at all times of the year, and 

 in all localities. There are places 

 where, at times, no propolis is gath- 

 ered by the bees, and when honey is 

 stored and finished then and there, no 

 matter what style of case you use, no 

 .scraping is needed. — James Heddon. 



No, not if 3'ou want to put j'our 

 honey on the market in fir.st-class con- 

 dition, and that is the only condition 

 you .should put up honey for market. 

 — H. D. Cutting. 



Mr. Shuck's method very nearlj' ac- 

 oomplislies it, but there is more work 

 in i)utting up the cases. I shall be 

 glad to know of one that will leave the 

 sections so clean that they need no 

 scraping, and yet can be manipulated 

 rapidlj'. — Eugene Secor. 



No, there is no method that is prac- 

 ticable in a large apiary, that will en- 

 tirely exclude propolis. I use a sec- 

 tion-case adapted to the tiering system, 

 and I only have to clean the edges of 

 the sections. Bees will spciv propolis 

 between the edges of the sections, no 

 matter how closely they join together. 

 — G. W. Demaree. 



No. There will always be some 

 propolis in the corners and edges of 

 the sections. No system is perfect 

 where the bees are allowed to come in 

 contact with the outside of . tlie sec- 

 tions. Carniolan bees use ver}" little 

 propolis, and sections filled by them 

 need but little scraping. — C. H. Dib- 



BERN. 



Perhaps no method will prevent all 

 propolis, but it can be reduced to a 

 minimum by the use of section protec- 

 tors of the same size and shape of the 

 bottom-bars of sections, then the edges 

 alone are exposed. To take away the 

 honey as soon as capped will prevent 

 much discoloration. But in all methods 

 the edges of the sections should be 

 scraped. — The Editor. 



Sawdust for Protection Around 

 tiie Hive§. 



Written for the Americnn Bee Journal 



Query 599.— I can get all the sawdust I 

 want by hauling it 300 yards. Will it pay me 

 to haul it and put it around three sides of my 

 hives on the summer stands, placing none in 

 front, lor winter protection ?— Kentucky. 



Not if you put it on loose. — Dadant 

 & Son. 



For myself, I should consider it of 

 no value whatever. — J. E. Pond. 



I think it would. It would in this 

 latitude, if kept dry. — R. L. Taylor. 



1 have had no experience. In sjme 

 locations it might pay. — C. C. Miller. 



Yes, if dry, with the extra precau- 

 tion of a good covering. — J. M. H.\m- 



BAUGH. 



I would not advise sawdust in the 

 apiary, since I had it to get on fire by 

 sparks from the smoker. — P. L. Vial- 

 lon. 



I should think it would, and by fix- 

 ing the entrance the sawdust could be 

 used in front also. — A. B. Mason. 



I am in doubt on the subject. If dry, 

 and kept dry, it might be all right. — 

 Eugene SECf)R. 



I think not. In Kentucky no pack- 

 ing is necessarv. A few inches of saw- 



dust over the brood-nest, with venti- 

 lation above it, would be an advan- 

 tage. — M. Maiiin. 



It would be a great help if the saw- 

 dust is protected and kept diy. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



It is doubtful, unless the sawdust is 

 dry, and can be kept so. Chaff' hives 

 would be much more preferable. — G. 

 M. Doolittle. 



No. It absorbs moisture, and pro- 

 motes the decay of the hives. It will 

 pay to place it around the hives to 

 keep weeds down. — J. P. H. Brown. 



In your latitude I do not believe 

 tliat it would pay to do this. Try a 

 few and determine for yourself. — C. 



H. DiBBERN. 



In a Northern latitude it doubtless 

 would, if covered so as to keep the 

 sawdust dry. In Kentucky I should 

 think that it would not pay. — Mrs. L. 

 Harrison. 



I am satisfied that it would pay me, 

 though it would have to be packed 

 down well. Why not put it in front 

 of the hive also, laying a thin board 

 before the hive-entrance ? — Will M. 

 Barnum. 



I do not know just what sort of a 

 cliinate you have, but I think that it 

 will pay you to do as you say. I would 

 put the sawdust between the hive and 

 an outer case, and keep it dry at all 

 times. — James Heddon. 



It makes it very easy to find a queen, 

 to have sawdust all over the ground, 

 but there is always danger from fire. 

 I have tried all the ways, and I settle 

 down on a close, smoothly-cut lawn. — 

 A. J. Cook. 



It will p.tj' well if intelligent and 

 faithful treatment follows through the 

 seasons. If the bees are to be " let 

 alone " during the gathering season, 

 and no profit derived, any expense 

 whatever is so much lost. — J. M. 

 Shuck. 



I think not ; ' our winters in Ken- 

 tucky are usually attended with a 

 great deal of wet weather, rain and 

 melting snow, and your bank of saw- 

 dust would become a wet heap about 

 your [lives, well calculated to rot the 

 under part of jour hives without doing 

 any good. Here in Kentucky, plentj' 

 of stores and some warm quilts over 

 tlie tops of the frames have ijroven 

 ample protection to my bees. Give 

 me a hive full of honey, and I will 

 show you rousing colonies in the 

 .spring, no matter if the winter 

 "howls."— G. W. Demaree. 



In your latitude it would hardly pay, 

 we think ; especi.illy if not kept diy 

 and well packed down. If you try it 

 for a few hives, you can better judge 

 of its utilitv. —The Editor. 



