THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



Review, so long as topics can be found that 

 are worthy of such discussion, and it does 

 not seem that there need be any apprehen- 

 sion upon this score. — Ed.] 



Why Separators Increased the Yield — 3est 



Weight for Foundation and Widths for 



Sections. — Working Bees to Death. 



C. W. DAYTON. 



^j|?N replying to your foot notes to my arti- 

 5w) cle on page 215, the reason I did not ex- 

 ""^^ plain more in detail my experiments 

 with foundation and separators, was because 

 when the arrangement of the brood chamber 

 had been explained the article was as lengthy 

 as I care to read. 



In each of my experiments care was taken 

 to have the conditions of each colony alike ; 

 but there were numerous other things to in- 

 terfere with the test besides " were the bees 

 allowed their liberty ? could they gather any 

 honey ? " etc., which you ask. 



None of the colonies were confined ; nor 

 could they find honey to gather, but were 

 arranged in darkened rooms where they 

 must travel a long distance, on foot, to reach 

 the open air, and the feed was placed along 

 the route. In time these bees that had not 

 much brood to care for remained contented- 

 ly at work and flew out very little. 



There is a vast difference in the comb 

 building and honey storing qualities of dif- 

 ferent colonies ; also the disposition to work. 

 Some colonies would not work with so little 

 as one or two combs of brood, while another 

 having not any brood would astonish by its 

 work. It seemed worth while to have one 

 colony draw foundation and another fill it 

 with honey. Often a colony will work vig- 

 orously for a time and then utterly refuse to 

 labor at all. 



The foot notes say "these statements ap- 

 pear very unreasonable without a more com- 

 plete explanation," as " arguments have 

 been that separators lessen the honey yield " 

 while, in my experiments, they increased the 

 yield. 



There are two ways to understand this 

 point. 



It is well known that bees with several 

 combs of brood are loth to go behind parti- 

 tions to work upon foundation. Having 

 one comb of brood in the center or one on 

 each side and the sections sandwiched be- 

 tween them there is so small loafing space 



that the sections are always occupied. If 

 the combs in a colony are put an inch apart, 

 the space will be filled with comb even in a 

 dearth of honey, and it is the same with the 

 sections if they are arranged to occupy the 

 center of the hive. 



Separators increased the amount of honey 

 obtained by preventing the leugthening of 

 the honey cells after the wax in the founda- 

 tion had been used. 



Probably 'J-feet-to-the-pound foundation 

 is drawn into cells about one-half inch deep ; 

 this produces comb one inch thick. Heavier 

 foundation may cause deeper cells and thick- 

 er comb, but the base also remains thicker 

 so that 9-feet-to-the-pouud produces as much 

 "fish bone" as consumers care to buy. 



The most economical width of sections is 

 that which, when the foundation has been 

 drawn and tilled with honey, will be full 

 enough to cap, and the combs are not capped 

 until they approach within a bee space of 

 each other or there come^ a dearth of honey. 

 My expariments point toward a trifle less 

 than 7-to-the-foot sections with separators, 

 and 9-to-the-foot sections without separators, 

 and I prefer separators because it renders 

 the section a better protection to the comb. 



In the case of thick combs considerable 

 quantity of wax is literally piled upon the 

 short cells next to the wood which is not the 

 case with the lighter comb. 



Some of my deductions were made from 

 feeding honey of different kinds and colors ; 

 the amount required to draw out the founda- 

 tion ; to fill the same with honey ; and how 

 much to have the comb extended and filled 

 with honey ; and how much to cap : and the 

 periods of building were measured lineally 

 by the different color of honey or comb. 



It took about 1% pounds of feed to get % 

 pound of honey in sections with separators. 

 Where the separators were left off it took 

 more than 2^., pounds of feed for II4 pounds 

 of honey in the sections. There was thirty 

 per cent margin in the first case but none in 

 the last. 



The experiment was tried to find a way to 

 work to death the great force of bees ratlier 

 than brimstone them in the fall. 



We had no honey in my locality, conse- 

 quently the hosts of brood and bees which 

 had been raisui became idlers and consum- 

 ers if a way was not found to utilize them. 



Clinton, Wis., Dec. 2i), 1890. 



[If I understand the matter, the use of 

 separators enabled friend Dayton to place 



