1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



151 



Is right. If sheets crack in coolin;?, your wax is tfio 

 hot. By the above plan the sheets will bo tappring. 

 If started witli the tliui end of the slicet in the mill you 

 will have no trouble, and the sheet will be long 

 enough to cut olT the thirl end. 



Thiti paste made of rye Hour makes the best lubri- 

 cator for the rolls that I know of. Sheets should be 

 made at k-ast two weeks before milling. 



We will fiunisli clipping -plates, as de- 

 scribed above, made t'roiii clear straicrbt- 

 grained basswood. for any width, for 3 cents 

 per inch in width. If your tank is wide 

 enough to take a l:i-incli dipping-board, you 

 can dip l-inch strips for starters, (i at a 

 time, by having a similar board divided into 

 three parts by broad saw-cuts. Each board 

 will then be iibout ;>J in., and every dipping 

 makes 6 narrow sheets. 



THE COLOR OF WAX FOR FOUNDATION. 



Now a word in regard to the color of wax: 

 It is well known. 1 believe, that very dark 

 wax is just as good for brood-combs as any 

 thing else; but for all that, some will com"- 

 plain, unless all the fdn. is of a bright yel- 

 low. To lix this all pleasantly, Ave will, in 

 the future, furnish fdn. for brood-combs, 

 made of the darkest wax, for from ;> to o cts. 

 per lb. less than our regular list prices. Jf 

 you want to take advantage of this offer, 

 give us a little time ahe ul ; for we do not al- 

 ways have dark wax on hand. If you want 

 to see samples of the nicest fdn. for all pur- 

 poses, including the extra-thin tlat-bottomed, 

 send for our free box of samples. 



Just as we close our forms, comes the fol- 

 lowing in regard to the rubber plates : — 



After having tried the rubber plates thoroughly, I 

 pronounce them a success, inasmuch as they make 

 good fdn. that runs 4 ft. to the lb., and that answers 

 my purp.ise fully. It took me about two days to 

 learn to make full-sized sheets that would not crack. 

 Getting the wax the right temperature is the main 

 point, it should be just melted, and no more — about 

 120° is the right temperature; if hotter, itwill stick. 

 The water should be about bO^orVO". lean not do 

 good work to slap the plates together, but succeed 

 best to exert mi e\'en pressure on the middle of the 

 upper plHte. keeping the hand on till ready to open 

 the plates. If the pressure is removed sooner, it ad- 

 mits the air, and causes the sheet to crack. This was 

 the point that gave me more trouble than all the 

 rest. The plates must be kept wet all the time. I 

 use a Common clothes brush, and brush off all the 

 surplus water before applying the wax. I find it 

 easier to get sheets of an even thickness if the holes 

 in the fountain are made smaller in the middle than 

 at the ends, as some wax runs off at the ends. 1 can 

 not do a very large day's work at it yet. but consider 

 3Jlbs. a fair dav's work. C. B. Thwing. 



Hamilton, Mo., Feb. 22, 1882. 



GlEAWmC S m BEE CULTURE. 



EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, 



MEDINA, O. 



TERniS: $1.C0 PER YEAR, POST-PAID. 



FOR CLUBBING RATES, SEE FIRST PAGE 

 OF READING MATTER. 



IVTESXDXlN'.if^, 3VE ^^IFl. X, 1882. 



God is our refuge and strength, a very present 

 help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though 

 the earth be removed, and though the mountains be 

 carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters 

 thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains 

 shake with the swelling thereof.— Psalm 4ii: 1—3. 



We are told Mr. Burch's residence has been de- 

 stroyed by Arc, but that it was fully insured. 



The Kawas Bee-Keeper is a very fair little journal, 

 for only 60 cts. a year; but the print is poor, and so 

 far it has been rather slow in getting out on time. 



A GREAT amount of matter I should have been 

 glad to have printed is again left out for want of 

 room, and much of it has now become unseasonable, 

 unless some special need should call it up again. 



If you wish to deal with some one who always has 

 every thing right, every time, and never makes a mis- 

 take, don't send to us. If however, being always 

 ready to make good every error, the minute it is dis- 

 covered, will do, send along your orders, and we will 

 be glad to serve you. 



We have 4072 subscribers, and 196 colonies of bees. 

 Don't you think we have a right to be happy? Only 

 two colonies are lost up to date, and one of them 

 swarmed out. We have already sold a number of 

 queens this spring, and united, but as 6 of the above 

 are still queenless, we are ready for some queens 

 from the South. 



The Elwood & Co., who advertised in last No., it 

 seems have left Starkville, N. Y., without filling or- 

 ders. As I have advertised and sold their ink pow- 

 ders for some time, with quite general satisfaction, 

 we had no reason to suspect any thing wrong. If 

 all who seiit them money without any return will 

 notify us by postal card, we will fill the order from 

 here. 



The British Bec-Kecpcr's Guide-Bnok, by Thomas 

 W. Cowan, second edition, is at hand; and as it dis- 

 cusses and illustrates- improvements clear up to 

 Nov., ISSl, it will prove quite an addition to our bee 

 libraries, in this country as well as England. The 

 price is given as " one shilling and sixpence," and I 

 presume we could get it so as to be sold for about 

 half a dollar. 



That bees do in health void their excrement in 

 the form of a comparatively dry powder, is, I should 

 think, fully proven by the reports that have been 

 sent in. The statements made have called to mind 

 facts from my own experience, enough to satisfy 

 me, unless something more be brought forward to 

 the contrary, that Mr. Quinby was right in his posi- 

 tion. Doubtless some of our friends think those 

 who have reported have been needlessly definite; 

 but I think it won't hurt us, if we succeed in having 

 the controverted point settled. 



A PAMPHLET on foul brood, by Albert A. Konke, 

 of Youngstown, O., is on our table. It treats prin- 

 cipally of the salicylic-acid remedy, and I should 

 judge friend K. to be well capable of handling this 

 remedy in a truly scientitic way. The price, 25 cents, 

 I should object to, for 1000 such pamphlets could 

 easily be printed for $20.00. A 23-cent book ought 

 to contain all that is valuable that has ever appeared 

 on the subject. Besides the high price of the pam- 

 phlet, the winding-up seems to result in an adver- 

 tisement of a $5.00 " medicine-chest " for the cure of 

 foul brood. Isn't this a little out of the spirit of 

 modern bee culture? 



Conventions.— A meeting of the bee-keppers of 

 New .lersev will be held at New Brunswick, March 

 15, 18.S2.— The (^hamplain Valley Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation at Middlebury, Vt.,Mav II.— The Texas State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association at McKinney, Collin Co., 

 April 35, 1882. 



