Allen, Here is the information that I would like to include. I have edited it severely from the original text (will mail a copy so you can see the original). I will leave it up to you to decide if it is best to scroll or use links to jump to the different sections. Will also enclose logo. The type font that I usually use in letters and brochures is 12pt Century Gothic. I would like a font as large and legible as possible for the main text. I would like the first page to have the logo, firm name, address, phone and fax, the short "Thank you--- " paragraph, and the contents. At this point, I think I will omit an e-mail address as I am trying to disseminate information, but eliminate correspondence. Anyone seriously interested can contact me by fax or phone; at some later time I may add the e-address (and, when I have settled on an ISP!). The last section - "FRAME DIMENSIONS ETC" is not yet ready. Here I would like to illustrate a round section frame with dimensions, and a super drawing showing the follower boards and bee-spaces. Also, how to adapt some of the different supers in use in Europe. This will take some time, so please proceed without it but plan so it can be added later. I am open to any suggestions. Please let me know if this comes through OK. Will also mail US$300.00 for expenses. Many thanks ---- Tom ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- LOGO, Address etc. on front page: ROSS ROUNDS, INC. P.O. Box 485 Telephone 330-837-9778 Massillon OH 44648 Fax 330-837-9778 Thank you for visiting our Web Page. Here you will find some answers to your questions about Round Comb Section equipment, descriptions of the equipment, and information on its use. GENERAL INFORMATION PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS USE OF EQUIPMENT FRAME DIMENSIONS, & USE IN VARIOUS SUPER DESIGNS (Add this later) START OF NEXT SECTION GENERAL INFORMATION Our products are manufactured especially to help beekeepers produce beautiful comb honey sections with a minimum amount of labor. You can obtain our equipment at reasonable prices from dealers in the USA and several other countries, or directly from us in wholesale or commercial quantities. If you are interested in retail lots, we recommend that you obtain your supplies from your dealer, as we do not maintain a retail outlet. There is a substantial market for good quality round comb honey sections, offering excellent profit potential. Beekeepers in high yield areas should seriously consider commercial production of large quantities of round sections. Those in areas with average nectar flows can still produce substantial quantities of sections, but will need to pay more attention to management technique. With proper management, even beekeepers in poor nectar areas can produce some sections for personal use or local sale. We strive to produce the highest quality goods possible. We hope you will try our equipment, and enjoy using it. START OF NEXT SECTION PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS Ross Rounds Round Section Equipment & Supplies are designed to make comb honey section production easy and profitable for the beekeeper. Your success and satisfaction are important to us. ROUND SECTION FRAMES The regular frames are brown in color to contrast with the white rings, thereby eliminating costly mistakes from forgotten rings. We recommend using eight (8) Round Section Frames in a Langstroth 10-frame size section super, 4 1/2 inches high, equipped with blocking and a frame-rest board in each end, plus blocking and a fixed follower-board on one side and a loose follower-board held in place by springs on the other side. We recommend that Beekeepers using Langstroth 8-frame size equipment use seven (7) regular Round Section Frames plus thin follower-boards on each side. Each Round Section Frame holds four sections. ROUND SECTION RINGS Molded of natural white plastic to contrast in color with the frames. The inside of the ring is smooth - no projections to cut off with the honey. Each section requires two of these rings - eight rings for each frame. Open the two frame-halves like a book, insert a ring into each cavity, lay a piece of foundation on one half, place the other frame-half on top, and the frame is ready to be placed in the super. ROUND SECTION COVERS - CRYSTAL & OPAQUE Crystal-clear molded plastic covers fit on both sides of the finished section and are held in place by a wrap-around self-adhesive label. The covers protect the section, and with the label, form a complete and attractive package ready for sale. Two cover pieces are needed for each section. We also make a white translucent cover for those who prefer an opaque cover on one side of the section. ROLL LABELS We furnish an attractive self-adhesive round section label that has proven to be very popular and has wide product recognition - when people see this label, they know the package contains comb honey. The design provides a space for your rubber stamp or stick-on label. Labels now have permanent adhesive, are tamper-resistant and will not peel, but need to be placed straight the first time, as they are hard to adjust. These stock Labels are printed only in English, but others are available from sources in Canada or France printed in French, or French and English. Most commercial producers print their own labels, or sell without labels. ROUND SECTION SUPERS, FOUNDATION, AND BOOKS Round Section Frames, Rings, Covers, and Labels are Ross Rounds' only products. Wood Supers, Foundation, and Books for round section production are available from major bee supply outlets. Several good comb honey books are on the market; of these, Richard Taylor's New Comb Honey Book is said to be the easiest to read and follow. Although round sections can be produced in the usual 4 3/4 inch high comb honey supers, it is better to use a 4 1/2 inch high super made especially for round sections or cut down other supers to 4 1/2 inches, as this height reduces the opportunity for burr comb. Several manufacturers make a 4 1/2 inch high super just for round sections. The proper foundation is "thin super" comb honey foundation, size 4 in. x 16 1/2 in., thirty sheets per pound. Most honey supers or racks in use in other countries can be adapted to hold ROSS ROUNDS round section frames. AVAILABILITY & SALES POLICY Our products are available at retail and commercial prices through most major bee supply outlets in the United States and Canada, and dealers in Australia, Argentina, Chili, England and France. We do not sell small quantities at retail, and do not have a retail location. We sell direct to dealers and commercial beekeepers; requests for quotations are invited. We also invite inquiries on commercial quantities for export. START OF NEXT SECTION HONEY PRODUCTION USING ROSS ROUNDS SECTION EQUIPMENT We apologize for the length of the following instructions, but could find no way to tell you these things in fewer words. They also contain some tips that will save time and money, that we have learned the hard way. Round section equipment makes comb honey production easy and profitable for the beekeeper. It requires about one fourth of the labor of former methods, and produces a finished product that is attractively packaged and durable enough to withstand handling. Any beekeeper with moderate skills and a good nectar supply can produce round sections. If help is needed, a number of books are available that give detailed information on management; one of the best is Richard Taylor's THE NEW COMB HONEY BOOK which describes several procedures for section production. ROSS ROUNDS equipment consists of brown molded plastic frames into which are inserted white plastic section rings and a sheet of beeswax foundation. The frame is made in halves so that insertion of the rings and foundation is easy. These frames filled with rings and foundation are then placed in a wood super or rack, and are ready to be filled with honey by the bees. Plastic covers are made to fit the top and bottom of the sections, and a wrap-around label completes the package. Covers can be clear both top or bottom, or a clear cover on top and an opaque cover on the bottom. This last arrangement is preferred by some commercial beekeepers. The wood super itself is an important part of the system. It's height is four and one-half inches, and it is fitted inside with end and side follower- boards that are blocked out a bee-space away from the super walls, following the principle of the old Kruse or Killion supers. One of the side follower-boards is nailed in place over blocking to form a bee space, and the other is held in place with super springs. This super arrangement is important because it encourages the bees to fill and finish the outside combs, greatly reducing the possibility of cull sections. After the bees have finished the sections, the supers are taken off, and the frames removed and separated into halves. The sections are taken from the frames, excess foundation removed with a small knife, plastic covers fitted on top and bottom, and the sections finished with a wrap-around label. In most areas one additional step is necessary to protect the section from wax moth damage: the covered sections are placed in plastic bags, tightly sealed, and placed in a freezer at 10 degrees F or less (0 is best) for at least twenty-four hours. After freezing, the sections are allowed to come up to room temperature before opening the bag in order to avoid condensation on the sections. The sections may be left frozen indefinitely without crystallization, until removed for market. Here are some suggestions on assembling and using the equipment: The ideal height for a round section super is 4 1/2 inches. When converting supers to make round sections, it is helpful to cut the height down to 4 1/2 inches, which helps to avoid burr comb. Old style wood section supers 4 3/4 inches high can be used without cutting down, but to avoid burr comb, remove them from the hive as soon as the sections are finished. The thickness of the follower-boards and blocking can vary, but use blocking that gives a 1/4 inch to 7/16 inch bee space between the follower and the inside wall of the super. Adjust the end followers so that the round section frames fit snugly, but can still be easily moved from side to side. It is very helpful to buy a fully assembled Round Section Super first, so you can see how it goes together and use it as a model. Several USA bee supply manufacturers list the 4 1/2 inch high round section supers, and kits that contain the necessary interior follower-boards and super springs. The proper foundation size is 4 inch x 16 1/2 inch "thin super". There are different ways to efficiently place rings and foundation in the frames. One way is to insert a hive tool in the slot at the end of the frame, and twist slightly to separate the halves. Open the halves like a book and arrange a table full of the open pairs. Take a handful of rings, and place a ring on each cavity, positioning the ring with the notch side down, and the wide parts of the rings next to each other along the centerline of the frame. Do not bother at this time to seat the rings in the cavities - simply position them as accurately as possible while working fast. Continue until there is a ring on each cavity of all the frames. Then, using two hands, adjust each ring to fit down flush in the cavity. If the ring is positioned properly, it will fit down snug and flush without force - if resistance is felt, re-position the ring correctly. Visually inspect the table full of frames to be sure there is a ring in each cavity; you will be sorry later if you miss one! If all is in order, lay a sheet of foundation on every other frame half, close the halves together, and place the frames in the supers. Again inspect the work, looking down on the frames to see if there is a white ring on both sides of each cavity, and that the frame halves fit tightly together. If all is in order, the supers are ready for the bees. These inspections take only a few seconds, and save you time and money. The bees will put honey in the cavity, whether or not the section rings are in place. People have been known to put a super on the bees with no section rings in the frames, but seldom do it a second time; the second inspection mentioned above will keep you from doing it the first time. After filling the frames with rings and foundation, place them in the super. Insert the loose follower board, force the frames tightly together with a hive tool, then use three super springs to hold the loose follower in place and force the frames together. When harvesting, place the filled frame on a table, insert the corner of a hive tool in the end foundation slot, twist, and lift off the frame half. Turn the sections flat on the table and lift off the other frame half. When enough supers have been emptied, separate each section from the sheet of foundation, and trim excess foundation with a small knife. Arrange rows of sections, place covers on one side, turn over all sections, and place the other cover. The sections may be labeled at this time, or better, just before being sold, as some buyers want them unlabeled, or with their own special label. In any case, if you are in a wax moth area (and most of us are), seal the covered sections in plastic bags, freeze at 0 degrees F, and be sure to let the sections warm up to room temperature before opening the sealed bag. Some beekeepers refill the frames with rings and foundation immediately after they are emptied at harvest, and place them on the bees for a second or third filling. Even if your area will not fill a super twice, immediately filling the frames with rings saves some time in handling, but be cautious about inserting foundation a season ahead, as it would need be protected from wax moths, mice and dust. When harvesting, unfinished sections can be grouped in supers, and returned to a strong hive to finish, provided nectar is still available. This is a good reason to harvest as soon as sections are filled and sealed, as this usually leaves time to finish the culls into good sections. Some people have finished unsealed sections by placing them back on a strong hive, and top feeding them with liquid honey, but this does not always work, and it is probable that more have failed than have succeeded. It is much better to harvest promptly, and get any culls finished while nectar is available. START OF NEXT SECTION - TO BE ADDED LATER ALLEN: Please let me know if this transmission came through whole. © 1995 Ross Rounds, Inc.