THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



15 



sliallow frames above the brood nest for 

 tlie double purposes mentioned and to 

 encouraj^e tbe bees to occupy space above 

 ibe brooil nest before tbe main honey sea- 

 son opens, and not below it, as some have 

 wronglv adviseil. The hives should be 

 warmly packed when this system is used, 

 or failure may result. At some future 

 time, and after some future apicultural 

 experiments, I hope to fully describe the 

 system, but will do so in connection with 

 a system of management of bees during 

 the spring and summer, of which it is a 

 part. Probably others have made use of 

 the same principle in building up colo- 

 nies. If -SO, it would be interesting to 

 know their opinion of it. 



It seems to me that we are not learning 

 as much about "fences" and other per- 

 forated or open separators as we should, 

 considering the advantages claimed for 

 them befoils the last honey season open- 

 ed. I fear they are not going to be the 

 panacea for that ill of bee-keeping that 

 tliey were claimed to cure. I never look- 

 ed favorably on such separators. The 

 whole matter seemed to me like this: If 

 separators with openings through them 

 were better than closed separators, then 

 wire cloth separators would be still better, 

 for they would give freer communication 

 between the combs, and no separator at 

 all would be best of all, for there would 

 then be no obstructions between the 

 combs. Now, wire cloth separators were 

 one of the features of the Betsinger supers 

 introduced by ¥ . A. Salisbury in his cat- 

 alogue for 1 .887. Besides this feature, 

 these supers were made to take tall plain 

 sections 3 9-16 by 4 5.S inches. I have se- 

 cured comb honey both with and with- 

 out separators, but I have never noticed 

 that the comb was any better attached to 

 the wood of the sections when secured 

 one way or the other. It stands to reason 

 that if closed separators discourage the 

 bees from properly altin hing the combs 

 Itj the sections, that the less of them we 

 have the better; and if we have none at 

 .ill, still better. 



The filling out of the sections next to 

 the wood in sections where open separa- 



tors have been used is due, I think, to 

 other causes than the open character of 

 the separators. It seems to me that clos- 

 ed separators would be best when only 

 starters are used in the sections, for they 

 would aid in taking away the empty ap- 

 pearance of the supers, and they would 

 help the bees to keep up the necessary 

 warmth for comb building; in fact, I am 

 convinced that bees would build comb 

 better if supers were divided into narrow 

 cavities by thin partitions, and the cavi- 

 ties were open only at the bottom; provid- 

 ed, only starters are used in the cavities. 

 It is to be hoped that we will be able to 

 arrive at the truth of these things in the 

 near future. 

 White Hoitse Sta., N. Y. Nov. 19, 1898. 



Department of 



riticism 



R. I,. TAYI^OR. 



Blame where you must, be candid where you can, 

 .\nd be each critic the Good-natured Man. 



GOLDSMITH. 



TRUSTS AND COMBINES NOT WHOLLY UN- 

 MIXED EVILS. 

 In the Review, page 362, Doolittle, 

 after settling old scores with me, proceeds 

 to point out the ridiculous character of 

 the loud claims that have been made in 

 regard to the "facing" of comb honey- 

 having done more to lower the price of the 

 same than have all other evils. Moreover, 

 he has his own ideas as to the causes that 

 have lowered the price of honey to such 

 a degree as he claims as to "rob bee- 

 keepers." Aslgalherhis view, itis that 

 luiuey is not too low, strictly speaking, 

 but too low com])aratively. In other 

 words, the price of honey has taken its 

 natural course downwards while the 

 price of many of the necessities of life 

 have been preveuteil from taking that 



