> Reversing inner covers to different depths is as archaic as Women's
bustles.

Those of us who have been reading for a long time understand the limits of
such arbitrary statements, but new readers may well be lead astray.

I've noticed that we have also been drifting back to general statements that
are only very generally true, and which may, in fact, be very *untrue* in
specific situations.  Some recent general and unqualified comments extolling
ventilation seemed to me to be subject to misunderstanding, and the
statement quoted above is of the sort that can discourage those who had thus
far seem potential in such items and had been finding them most useful.

I think the one thing we have all learned here on BEE-L is that there is
tremendous diversity in beekeeping from region to region, and that there are
many different objectives -- and many diverse and valid methods of achieving
them.  Because of that diversity, there are many designs and many various
pieces of equipment and practices that may be essential to one such system,
but may be totally inappropriate for another.

Although some may not find any use for the rims in question, in their
specific management systems, in their specific region, in their finite
number of yards, many other very good beekeepers may very well find them
indispensable at times, whether for formic application, patty feeding, or
for other purposes.

It sems to me that there is not benefit in dismissing items or practices,
except in specific contexts, for specific purposes.  Personally, I have no
use for an Imrie shim, and consider them totally useless for my management
methods, yet I would not tell someone else not to use them, and I benefit
from hearing others explain their use.

I hope we can avoid disparaging one another's equipment or methods, assuming
they are legal and not dangerous.
Let's keep our minds open.

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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