FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 133 



a common garden-hoe, an assistant smoking the bees out 

 of the way while the top-bars were hoed. 



CORRECT BEE-SPACE. 



It was a great step in advance when we learned that 

 instead of a space of }i of an inch there should be only 

 • }i inch, or perhaps a shade less. In other words we 

 learned that a bee-space, or that space in which bees were 

 least inclined to put either comb or propolis, was a scant 

 quarter of an inch. With a correct bee-space between 

 top-bars and sections, we can dispense entirely with any- 

 thing in the shape of a honey-board. There will be a lit- 

 tle trouble with the building of bits of comb under the 

 sections, but not enough to make it worth while to use a 

 honey-board. But that trouble will be greatly aggravated 

 if there be any beginnings of burr-combs on the tops of 

 the frames when supers are given. So the tops must be 

 cleaned off wherever there is anything to clean off 

 before the supers are put on the hives. 



THICK TOP-BARS. 



Another thing that may help to keep down burr- 

 combs is the thickness and width of top-bars. My top- 

 bars are }i thick and ij4 wide, leaving a space of J4 

 inch between them. There are more burr-combs than I 

 like built between them, and I have wondered whether 

 any other space would be better. If the sides as well as 

 the tops of the top-bars were cleaned ofif at the time of 

 giving supers, it would help to keep the bottoms of sec- 

 tions clean, but I doubt its paying. 



THICK TOP-BARS FOR WHITE SECTIONS. 



Even if the % thichness of top-bar were of no other 

 advantage, I should want it for the sake of keeping the 



