162 



TBE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



idea that it may be well for some of those 

 who are holding back, to think over and di- 

 gest a little. Instead of raising such a hue 

 and cry about the low selling price of honey, 

 let us pay a little attention as to how the 

 product may be lessened in co.s^,. We need 

 to exercise all reasonable means lo keep the 

 price up; but let us not forget that there is a 

 good deal of sense in reducing the cost of an 

 honest pound of honey.]" 



Deep Top-Bars Don't Prevent Burr-Combs. 

 Folded Tin-Bars Objectionable. 

 If the discussion that ran through the 

 journals a year and a half ago led any one to 

 believe that deep top-bars would prevent the 

 building of bnrr-combs, let them read the 

 following that appeared lately in Glean- 

 ings : — 



"Three years ago, depending upon the tes- 

 timony and advice of those who claimed to 

 know,! put into my apiaries several thou 

 sand combs with top-bars IhX%, the object 

 being to diminish burr-combs by the extra 

 depth of top-bars. Two years of practical 

 work with these has fully demonstrated that 

 at least twice as many burr-comlis are de- 

 posited between them as there are between 

 the old-style top-bars which are !^-lC)X%. 



Why should we expect any different re- 

 sult, since the vacuum to be plugged is }4:ii.% 

 between the former, whereas that between 

 the latter is only loX.^-lC), the spacing in each 

 case being IV from center to center? So I 

 am satisfied that extra depth of top-bars is 

 in no case a prevention of burr-combs be- 

 tween them. But if the spaces between 

 them are too wide, it has an opposite effect, 

 as it increases the unoccupied space, which 

 is the chief cause of burr-combs. If extra 

 depth ever has any effect in diminishing 

 them in the bee- space above the bars, I have 

 failed to notice it. But if they are ever de- 

 posited in a bee-escape of proper dimensions, 

 they do not originate there, but are simply a 

 continuation of those extending from the 

 combs below through the spaces between 

 the top-bars. If we make these spaces and 

 the bee-space above uniformly about I4 inch 

 there will be no burr combs deposited in 

 either if the top-bars are only 5-16 thick. 

 The use of a thousand or more wide top-bars 

 last season has settled me in this opinion, 

 and I fail to find any report that conflicts 

 with it. But we should not overlook the im- 

 portance of having the spaces between the 

 slats above the bee-space as narrow and as 

 accurate as the others. 



I now make my top-bars .^)-16xl 1-lG 

 throughout their whole length, and! space 

 them 11-32 from center by using an end-bar 

 that wide at the top. This form of frame is 

 much cheaper than the Hoffman, and it is 

 stronger, and I think equal to it in other re- 

 spects. Oliver Foster. 



Mt. Vernon, la., April 2. 

 [Your testimony, friend Foster, it seems 

 to me, does not conflict with the discussions 



on thin and thick top-bars that occurred a 

 year and a half ago, when the discussion 

 came up in our journal. It was not then 

 agreed that a top-bar % square would pre- 

 vent burr-combs (see Gleanings, Nov. 15, 

 1.S89; also Jan. 1, 1890, page 20). Mr. Hall, 

 and all the rest of those who spoke in such 

 high praise of the new top-bars, recommend- 

 ed extra width in addition to extra thickness 

 (see pages 20 and 131, 1890); besides that, a 

 small bee-space and accurate spacing were 

 later suggested as very important factors. 

 You may remember, in answer to your arti- 

 cle a year and a half ago, I told you that a 

 top-bar % square, alone, would not accom- 

 plish the desired result (see Gleanings, p. 

 12c, 1890); and your experience above is just 

 about what I should expect. Where did you 

 see in the journals, three years ago, that top- 

 bars % inch square would prevent burr- 

 combs? Three years ago was about a year 

 and a half before the discussion in Gleanings 

 came wp. Extra width, careful spacing, and 

 a small bee-escape, will prevent burr-combs. 

 You say, then, 'What do you want an extra 

 thickness for?' Because, on the Langstroth 

 frames, a 5-1(1 top-bar, a % — yes, even a ^^■ 

 inch top-bar — will sag; and just as soon as 

 the top-bar sags, the bee-space above is 

 changed, and away go the burr-combs again. 

 Let me repeat again: The extra thickness is 

 intended to prevent sagging, and so preserve 

 the very important factor—bee-space. You 

 say, use folded tin bars. In our apiary, on 

 L. frames it does not accomplish the result. 

 In order to keep it from dropping out, the 

 folded bar must be a little long. The result 

 is, it has to crowd up the top-bar, or push 

 down the bottom-bar a trifle. If the diagon- 

 al wires are drawn too tight, the trouble is 

 aggravated. We have several thousand of 

 such combs in our apiary, and there are very 

 few of them indeed that have level top-bars. 

 If you use a square frame, then a top-bar ^^ 

 inch will probably answer; but even then, the 

 folded tin bar is a thing the bees do not like. 

 I have just been out in the apiary looking 

 over some combs, and about half of them 

 have the folded tin bar naked on one side, 

 and the cells adjacent to it are practically 

 useless, either for honey or for brood. Now, 

 why not have these cells taken up by a top- 

 bar that won't sag, and one that won't have 

 to have a folded tin bar to keep things 

 straight? We have made our top-bars for 

 loose frames, for a year and a half back, 

 1 1-32 wide and % thick. We do not make 

 thick-top frames ''<< wide, because we know 

 there would be burr-combs, sure. Our fixed 

 frames have top-bars only % thick and 1 1-32 

 wide. Top-bars to the loose frames might 

 be also % thick, but the lumber comes in 

 such shape that it is about as cheap to make 

 the extra V4 inch as to make it only %. Af- 

 ter all, friend F., after taking all the facts 

 together, you see we do not disagree unless 

 it is in the use of the folded tin bar and the 

 extra thickness. I notice that you have 

 adopted the Hoffman widened end. We 

 tried them last year, but have abandoned 

 them and now use the top-bars widened at 

 the ends, as well as the end-bar, as Hoffman 

 has them.] E. R. R," 



