44 ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 



gives the finished product a more attractive appearance, and greatly 

 lessens the danger of breakage in shipment. Another point, 

 although it maj^ be a minor one, is that a plain section is filled fuller 

 of honey; that is, the edges of the wood do not stand out so far above 

 the surface of the comb as they do in the bee-way sections. A filled 

 plain section has a plumper look than a bee-way section, the latter 

 having the appearance of being only partly filled. A tall, plain sec- 

 tion may not contain any more honey than a square section of the 

 bee-way type, but it appears to contain more, and has, withal, a more 

 attractive appearance. There is still another little point, and that is 

 that a plain section offers special advantages in the matter of clean- 

 ing it of propolis, as there is no inset to work into with the scraping 

 knife. I do not, however, consider the advantages of the plain sec- 

 tion sufficient to warrant any expensive change of fixtures in order 

 that it may be adopted. 



While I have produced tons of comb honey without the use of 

 separators, and could do it again in this locality, I think I should use 

 them were I again to engage in comb honey production; I know of 

 no objection to their use, except that of cost, and I certainly would 

 advise their use by the great mass of bee-keepers. In many locali- 

 ties there are bee-keepers who can, without separators, produce sec- 

 tions of honejr that are tolerably perfect, straight enough to be 

 crated with a little care, but there is another end to the business — 

 that of the retailer and his clumsy clerks who are not bee-keepers. 

 Nothing discourages and disgusts a retailer more than a lot of 

 dauby, dripping, damaged sections. 



Perhaps I am a trifle old-fashioned in some respects, and one is 

 that if I were to adopt the old-style, bee-way section, I should also 

 adopt wide frames and tin separators. I may be notional, but the 

 so-called section holders (wide frames minus top bars) seem like an 

 incomplete affair to me. When a wide frame is used the sections are 

 protected on all sides, and come off the hive in all their virgin white- 

 ness. By the addition of a top bar, thus making a wide frame, a tin 

 separator can be used, when fussing with separators (by their 

 breaking and splitting) is done with for all time. To my mind, 

 wide frames with tin separators furnish the most perfect method of 

 adjusting bee-way sections on the hive; and, before closing, let me 

 tell how to put the tins on in such a manner that they remain taut. 

 Nail two blocks of wood upon the top of the work bench at such a 

 distance apart that the top and bottom bars of a wide frame (after it 

 has been put together) can just be "sprung" in between the blocks. 

 This shortens the distance between the end bars. While held in 

 this position, nail on the separator. Upon removing the frame from 



