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98 



EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



whose names have been mentioned. 

 In Gleanings in Bee Culture, Dec. 1, 

 1907, p. 1503, Mr. Hand says: 



"We have had the pleasure of a 

 short visit from W. K. Morrison of 

 tropical fame, and of the many inter- 

 esting subjects relating to bee-culture 

 that were up for discussion before the 

 convention of two, and the one that re- 

 mained with us the longest after Mr. 

 Morrison's departure, and is with us 

 yet, is the non-use of separators in 

 the production of comb honey." 



After referring to other matters, 

 Mr. Hand says: 



"Mr, Morrison also assured us that 

 he was able to produce sections of 

 honey, with perfectly straight and 

 even comb, without the use of sepa- 

 rators, by using full sheets of foun- 

 dation in the sections." Again he 

 says: "About this time there seemed 

 to be a demand for a light-weight 

 section to sell by the piece, and this 

 resulted in the introduction of the 

 seven-to-the-foot section, as it is call- 

 ed, and the same becoming quite pop- 

 ular. It was claimed that honey could 

 be produced in these without the use 

 of separators; * * * some went 

 further and used a section still thin- 

 ner, and, it was a notorious fact, every 

 decrease in the thickness of the sec- 

 tion, the necessity for the use of sep- 

 arators iwas correspondingly lessened." 



After referring to the difference in 

 the size of the sections, comparing the 

 tall with the square, without disput- 

 ing the claim made by many that the 

 former is the better seller, he says: 

 "The argument that appeals the 

 stronger to the producer of honey in 

 favor of the thin section of the great- 

 er comb surface, is the fact, as stated 

 by Mr. Morrison, that, if they are thin 

 enough, no separators will be required 

 to produce combs perfectly straight 

 and even." 



I most emphatically endorse Mr. 



Hand in what he says, as follow^s: "I 



consider this the best argument in 



, favor of the thin section that has yet 



appeared." 



I quote further from Mr. Hand, for 

 I do not know how better to present 

 ithe case under consideration. He says: 



"The question that arises at this 

 time is, are separators a hindrance to 

 the bees? Separators are an expen- 

 sive luxury in more ways than one. 

 In the first place, they cost money, 

 and not only take up valuable room 



in the super, and valuable time in 

 handling them, but they are a posi- 

 tive hindrance to the rapid building 

 of comb, by breaking the cluster up 

 into thin slices, for it is a notice- 

 able fact that bees will build 

 comb more readily wihen they can 

 cluster in a compact body, and the 

 larger the cluster the faster will the 

 comb grow. It is claimed for the 

 fence separator, a better filling of the 

 sections as a result of a free passage 

 for the bees through the fences be- 

 tween the slots, and, also, that the 

 woven-wire separator affords a still 

 better means of passage for the bees, 

 and, therefore, sections of honey built 

 between these separators will be still 

 better filled than will those that are 

 built between the fences. Admitting 

 that this is true, whioh we cannot 

 deny, yet does not this have a ten- 

 dency to prove that, without any sep- 

 arators at all, the sections would* be 

 better filled? Even admitting, for the 

 sake of the argument, that just as 

 many pounds of honey can be pro- 

 duced with separators as without, 

 then, if straight and even comb 

 can be secured without them, what 

 excuse have we to offer for their use?", 



August 1, 1908, on page 947, Glean- 

 ings, Mr. Sherburne says: 



"The reading of Mr. Hand's article 

 in December 1st issue, page 1503, on 

 the size and shape of sections, prompts 

 me to give something of my experi- 

 ences. I have produced tons of comb 

 honey without separators, in fact, I 

 have never used them. It is to be 

 hoped that some one will find a better 

 plan than any we now ihave; but if I 

 had to use separators to produce 

 good comb honey, I would give 

 it up and run for extracted en- 

 tirely. I make it a rule not to 

 put on a super of sections until 

 the colony is strong enough to 

 fill all or a greater part of it with 

 bees at once. They will soon be 

 working in all the sections, and these 

 will grow naturally and evenly. This 

 is the secret of success in using sec- 

 tions without separators." 



November 15, 1908, on page 1372, 

 Gleanings, Mr. Gately says: 



"During a season of our prolonged 

 flows, the bees, if rightly managed, 

 will store as much honey as can be 

 secured in the average locality; but 

 seldom is the flow suflRciently heavy 

 for bees to work in supers as they 

 will in a good basswood region. Dur- 



