42 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
sider tlie no-separator plan a move in tlie 
wrong direction. Otlier wide frames are filled 
with sections containing comb left over from 
the season previous, which combs I consider 
of great value in getting the bees at work 
quickly in them. One or two are claiming 
that these combs should be cut out and melted 
into wax, the sections being burned, but it 
seems to me 'a person advising such a pro- 
cedure cannot be in his right mind, for with 
me they are of great value, and when tilled are 
in no way inferior to that built from foundation 
the same season it is put on the hive. 
Having all in readiness X take one wide 
frame of sections containing the empty comb 
and place it over tlie centre of the brood nest, 
when two wide frames of section filled with 
foundation are placed on either side of it, thus 
giving a capacity of about 20 lbs., which I 
consider ample for the largest colony at first, 
for if too much room is given on the start it 
seems to discourage the bees. On either side 
of the wide frames two thin boards are placed 
to close the whole like a box, the boards being 
held in place, and the wide frames as well, 
being clamped together by coil brass wire 
springs. It takes but a few moments to put 
them on as a whole load is wheeled right into 
the apiary alongside of any hive you desire. 
In a week or so, as soon as the bees are well at 
work in what sections have been given, un- 
clamp them and put in two or four more wide 
frames of sections, putting them where four 
are used, in each alternate space after spread- 
ing the five wide frames apart, when the whole 
nine are again clamped together as before ; 
when a colony is not strong enough to work to 
advantage in so many, put in Only one or two, 
putting these oil either side next the one filled 
with comb. In this way the bees are coaxed 
to work with all the " energy possible, and I 
much prefer the plan to tiering up, because 
only so few as two wide frames can be used on 
the smaller colonies while my hive room allows 
twelve for tlie largest, or about GO lbs. 
capacity, which is as large as I ever wish to 
use, for often the second time putting on tiler 2 
are wide frames full of honey coming off every 
time more is put on. I formerly used side 
boxes, but since I have adopted chaff hives, I 
find that the bees work to just as good or a 
a little better advantage when the sections 
are spread out laterally, and to much better 
advantage than when tiered up. As the 
season draws to a close the empty sections 
are placed at tlie outside of those partly I 
filled, so that when the season closes there 
are few unfinished sections and but few inch 
frames on each hive. After two years’ test- 
ing of this lateral movement of wide frames 
of sections, I consider it far in advance of any 
plan yet devised for comb honey, as you can I 
accommodate the size of the hive to suit the 
size of the colony, in a very few moments, 
from a two-frame nucleus up to a powerful 
colony. Some seem to think that bees will 
not work in sections that spread out beyond 
the brood, but Father Langstroth gave us the 
real facts when he said bees would work to 
advantage anywhere, when the heat and odour 
from the hive reached. 
The sections being all on, and the bees well 
at work in them, the next thing we may expect 
will be swarming. It will be remembered that 
for years I have called foundation in the brood 
chamber an “expensive luxury,” for I could 
get comb built below, while the bees w ere at 
work in the sections at apparently no cost 
whatever. For thus opposing foundation in 
I the brood chamber I have been ridiculed and 
called a fanatic for years, but now I am glad 
to see that Brother Hutchinson and others are 
adopting my plan, so they will help bear some 
of the criticisms I have borne all alone for 
years. 
Before a queen-excluding honey board was 
used I hived my swarm in a hive containing 
ten frames with a division board in the centre, 
under which the bees could run, so that in 
whichever side the queen chanced to go there 
the bees commenced work. In twenty-four 
hours after the brood nest became established 
I put on the sections from the old hive, which 
were immediately taken possession of, thus 
securing the five frames filled entirely with 
worker comb, for if any drone comb was built 
it was built in the sections, but since 1 use 
foundation in the sections I get little drone 
comb built anywhere. When the queen-ex- 
cluding honey board was thought of I adopted 
the following while the swarm was in the air : 
a frame of brood and the few 'adhering bees 
were taken from the hive and put in an empty 
hive, and five empty frames having starters in 
them (of foundation) were put in where they 
came from, the rest of the hive being filled out 
with dummies. The queen-excluding honey 
board is now put on, the sections replaced and 
tlie swarms returned.* In these two ways I 
have worked for more thau ten years securing 
two objects, lots of comb lioney, and all worker 
comb built without the use of foundation. If 
the beekeeper wishes to keep these swarms for 
winter lie will spread the combs apart after 
*[This paragraph is somewhat incompre- 
hensible ; there must be misprint or error 
somewhere. How five frames with starters 
can go in the place of one brood frame we 
cannot understand. Our interpretation is — 
“ a frame of brood and the few adhering bees 
were taken from tlie hive (whence tlie swarm 
issued), and put into an empty hive with five 
frames having starters of foundation in them 
(a single frame with starter being pint in place 
of the brood comb in the parent hive) ; the 
remaining space in the new hive being filled 
with dummies. This gives the contracted 
brood chamber advised for swarms. The 
writer thus intends the honey board and 
sections to go in the new hive into which the 
swarm is then housed. — Ed.] 
