152 



SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



hive full of eggs all at once, and then 

 later on perhaps were a little scant with 

 their brood. But I would like to heai 

 more of an expression, or, if the thing 

 was reliable, I would like to know just 

 exactly which the best bees are. 



Dr. Miller — That you will never learn. 



Pres. York — You will have to read the 

 advertisements, and then try yourself. 



Mr. Sewell — I have read the adver- 

 tisements. I have had queens from at 

 least 8 breeders; I do not know but 

 from more. It is a very interesting 

 study to me, the more different traits 

 from different breeders, what I can pro- 

 duce and what I can get from the dit- 

 ferent kinds of queens. I can not al- 

 ways get the same thing even from the 

 same man, of course. A golden queen 

 has very decided advantages on one 

 side, and perhaps the darker varieties 

 have advantages on the other side, and 

 it depends largely on the year, the 

 honey-flow, etc., just which kind is 

 wanted, and you can not always tell 

 just what it is going to be beforehand. 



Plain Section or Bee-Vvay? 



"Which is the better, the plain sec- 

 tion or the bee-way section?" 



Pres York — How many prefer the; 

 plain section? Raise your hands. None. 



How many prefer the bee-way sec- 

 tion? About 10, I think. Do you 

 want to say anything about this? 



Pres. York — Why do you prefer the 

 bee-way section over the plain ? I think 

 Mr. Taylor raised his hand on that. 



Mr. Taylor — Yes. One reason is that 

 they are at least as good as bee-way, and 

 I do not have to change. 



Miss Wilson — They are easier handl- 

 ed. 



Mr. Abbott — My reason is that you 

 have to have less traps. I do not use 

 separators. I could not use a no-bee- 

 way section without a separator. 



Dr. Miller — Why are they easier 

 handled? Miss Wilson has handled a 

 good many of both kinds. 



Miss Wilson — When the plain sec- 

 tions are filled right out plump to the 

 woo4 you are apt to break the honey 

 in scraping them and getting them ready 

 for market; and if they fall over, as 

 they tumble over easily, they are more 

 apt to break. 



Mr. Taylor — Let me ask Miss Wilson, 

 if they fall over, as they evidently are 

 bulged a little, and the comb strikes — 

 is that what you mean? 



Miss Wilson — Well, it may not be that 

 they strike that, but there may be a 

 little something on the board that may 

 fall on to them, just a little tiny bit. 



Mr. Taylor — In regard to cleaning 

 and packing them, if that was the case 

 the combs would touch. 



Miss Wilson — Yes, I think they would, 

 perhaps. You have to be very careful. 



Mr. Taylor — It always seemed to me 

 — I have never tried them, I don't want 

 to try them — but it always seemed to 

 me that there would be more or less 

 difficulty in that way, that they would 

 be slightly bulged and interfere in pack- 

 ing. 



Miss Wilson — But in handling them 

 and scraping them you are so apt to 

 put your finger in them. When you 

 handle a great many in one day it is 

 quite a drawback. 



Dr. Miller — You say when they fall 

 over. Do either fall over? 

 Miss Wilson — Yes, sometimes. 



Dr. Miller — Which one falls easier? 



Miss Wilson — The plain section. 



Pres. York — When I was in the honey 

 business I handled a good deal of honey 

 in plain sections, and they were put in 

 shipping-cases just the same as the 

 others, but I did not notice any scrap- 

 ing of the combs in pulling them out. 

 Of course, in a shipping-case they are 

 very close together, but you can begin 

 to take them out with a knife-blade. 

 They are put in without separators, 

 but I could put my knife-point in and 

 lift them out. 



Miss Wilson — ^I have often wondered 

 how they got them out. 



Dr. Miller — These differences refer to 

 the separator rather than the bee-way 

 sections. Those sections are first made, 

 and as I used them, were the same 

 width as those that had a bee-way or 

 notch at the sides; but the difference 

 was made by making the separator — 

 a wood separator — 3-16 of an inch. 



Pres. York — A slotted separator: 



Dr. Miller — No, a wood separator 3-16 

 of an inch thick, which left room for 

 the bee in at the bottom. 



Pres. York— Slatted then? 



Dr. Miller — Yes. The section was a 

 plain section, but in order for the bees 

 to get into it they must be spaced apart, 

 and the spacing was made in the separa- 

 tor. You could not use them without 

 the separators. As you use them now, 

 as I understand it, and I think I am 



