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THE BZE-KEEPERS R 



New Inventions, those of an important 

 character, are few and far between in the 

 bee-keping world, and it is likely that they 

 will be. This is an assertion that I made 

 some time ago, and it has afforded my 

 brother journalists an opportunity to give 

 me a pleasant little poke occasionally when 

 it looked as though some improvement was 

 about to be brought forth. I fear my 

 brethren don't use the word important in 

 the same sense that I did. The movable 

 comb hive, the honey extractor, the bellows 

 bee-smoker and comb foundatio-, are im- 

 portaut improvements in bee-keeping indus- 

 try, but, aside from these I don't recall any- 

 thing of a startling nature. The section honey 

 box comes the nearest of anything else to 

 having the right to be put in that class. 

 Perhaps it does belong there. Comb foun- 

 dation began to come into general use in 

 this country some twenty years ago. What 

 really important invention or discovery has 

 been made since ? I don't wish to discour- 

 age people. There have been many minor 

 improvements brought about since the ad- 

 vent of comb foundation. The bee escape, 

 for instance, and it is likely that we will keep 

 on making them, and possibly we will even- 

 tually have something that is really impor- 

 tant : such, for instance as discovering a 

 profitable method of preventing swarming. 

 Go on brethren, I am with you, even for the 

 small improvements, but, honestly, I don't 

 look for anything startling right away. 



SHAPE AND WEIGHT OF SECTIONS. 



.\^s most of my readers know, I spent five 

 weeks last fall exhibiting bees and honey 

 at the fairs, going to the State fairs of Mich- 

 igan, Indiana, Wisconsin. Illinois, and Mis- 

 souri. Many of the grocerymen and com- 

 mission men get out to these fairs, and be- 

 ing on the lookout for fine goods in their 

 line are ready to stop and talk with an ex- 

 hibitor of nice honey. I met and talked 

 with them at every fair, and almost without 

 exception the light-weight section is prefer- 

 red. I had no idea that sections were re- 

 tailed " by the piece " to the extent that they 

 are. In wholesaling, and in a jobbing way, 

 honey is sold by weight, but as soon as ii 

 reaches the retailer it is sold by the section. 

 I don't know as there is any deception 

 about it, any more than there is in selling 

 eggs by the dozen. A customer asks : " How 

 much is honey ? " " Fifteen cents, " is the 

 reply. A section is bought, wrapped up 



and delivered without weighing. The cus- 

 tomer knows it isn't weighed. He sees it 

 and buys it. paying so much for it. Perhaps 

 he thinks he is buying a pound : I can't say 

 as to that. If he has any thoughts on the 

 subject and wishes to know the weight of 

 his purchase he can easily have it weghed. 

 As the retailer buys by the pound and sells 

 by the piece, he, very naturally, wishes to 

 get as many pieces as possible for the money. 

 A thin section, that is, one having a large 

 comb surface, but a thin comb, will appear to 

 contain more honey than a smaller, thicker 

 section. Thin sections, that is, thin combs, 

 are more quickly drawn out, filled and seal- 

 ed over, and are less likely to be bulged or 

 crooked ; in fact they greatly lessen the need 

 for using separators. I know from experi- 

 ence, as I one year used 4,000 sections that 

 were only an inch and one- half in width. 

 They were used without separators. There 

 is another little point right here that per- 

 haps, has not been thought of, viz., that 

 sections filled without separators have a 

 plumper look than those used with separa- 

 tors. The rim of wood standing up around, 

 or above, the surface of the comb gives the 

 section a " lean " look. 



There is still another point that has been 

 talked about some of late, and that is, that 

 a section of comb higher than it is broad 

 has a more attractive look. It not only looks 

 as though it contained more honey, but it is 

 also handsomer, more pleasing to the eye — 

 more artistic. Gleanings suggests that 

 with the honey on a round plate, a square 

 piece of comb may be more artistic than an 

 oblong shaped comb, which may be true, 

 but the time at which we as producers are 

 most interested is when the consumer is 

 hesitating cs to '* whether he better buy it. " 

 It may not be worth while to change the 

 shape of our sections, but, under present 

 conditions, a section an inch and a half in 

 thickness, about three and a half inches 

 wide and about five inches in height, used 

 without separators, would be the one that 

 would bring the most money. With separa- 

 tors, the width ought to be one and three- 

 fourths, or seven-to-tho-foot. 



Then there is the question of right and 

 wrong. The whole thing is in line with the 

 making of bottles with the sunken sides 

 and raised bottoms, the bottles being used in 

 selling flavoring extracts, medicines, etc. ; 

 the making of berry boxes with raised bot- 

 toms ; the putting of the largest berries on 



