168 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 



April 



several thousand starters in sections with my own 

 hand?, and apprehend less difliculty the coming 

 season. I formeriy supposed that 1 could not well 

 put in starters in cold weather; but I now prefer 

 winter. Perhaps 1 had bettor tell you just how I do 

 it. I do the work in the liitchcn. The fastener is 

 screwed tight to a board which is clamped tight to a 

 table, the fast6uer being close to the edge of the 

 board nearest me, the length of the fastener run- 

 uiug- parallel with the board, and the handle at the 

 rig:ht side. The taljle without the board would be as 

 well, f)rbett<='r, only I don't want to drive screws in 

 the tal>le. Just beyond the fastener I put a pile of, 

 say, .51) starters, and at the left of the pile stands ii 

 hot tlat-iron, such as the women-folks use for iron- 

 ing, while another iron stands on the stove ready to 

 replace this one when it gets cold. Seated on a seat 

 6 inches higher than an ordinary chair (I put a chair 

 on a hive cover), I am ready for work. The edge of 

 the starter next the llat-iron is heated so that it is 

 quite soft; I care little Itow soft, so that none of the 

 starters are actually melted. This soft edge is the 

 one, of course, to be mashed down by the fastener, 

 and the object is to get iis small a "bite" as possi- 

 ble, only no that a little of the wax is actually 

 mashed the whole width of the starter. The ordi- 

 nary direction is to put the foundation under ^i 

 inch, which I think quite too much. Instead of 

 "turning the piece of foundation up against the end 

 of the lever," as usually directed, 1 leave it lying 

 Hat till I pick up the section; and on turning the 

 section ri>;ht side up, the foundation will, by its own 

 weight, bo found hanging right every time without 

 any attention. 



VENTILATION. 



The opinion seems to be rapidly gaining ground, 

 that for cellar wintering one very important point 

 is to have the cellar well ventilated. A few years 

 ago I was in the habit of putting a fire in the cellar 

 when the bees became uneasy, under the impres- 

 sion that they were too cold. A fire kindled in the 

 evening would raise the thermometer a little, and in 

 the morning I would flr.d the bees perfectly quiet, 

 but, to my surprise, the thermometer just as low as 

 the previous morning. I suspect that the ventila- 

 tion of the cellar was hastened by the fire, and that 

 thcinllowof fresh air, more than any thing else, 

 cuieled the bees. Latterly I have left the window 

 at one side of the cellar, and the door at the other 

 side, open a great many nights, especially toward 

 spring. Oil first opening the cellar at night, if it is 

 pretty warm the bees make a good deal of noise; 

 but by morning ail is quiet, and often the bright 

 rays of the sun shine directly on the hives through 

 the window, without disturbing them. To-day, 

 March 13, the door and window have been open all 

 day, till the present time, after one o'clock. 



Since writing the last sentence I have gone down 

 and closed the door, leaving the window open. 

 Scarcely a bee was stirring, although the sun has 

 been shining brightly all day. When I opened the 

 door this morning, the temperature in the cellar 

 wag U° ; outside, 16". Now it is 43^ in the cellar, and 

 4i° outside. If there had been any wind, the cellar 

 would have clianged more. This matter of ventila- 

 tion needs a great deal of ventilation, for very few 

 understand the Importance of it, either for their 

 bees or themselves. A year ago I was in a manu- 

 facturing establishment whose proprietor takes a 

 deep interest in the welfare of his emplojes. In his 

 ofDce he and his clerks were suffering for want of 



that cheapest of all luxuries, good fresh air; and on 

 his attention bslng called to it, a reform was inaug- 

 urated, or at least meditated; but if I am a good 

 guesser, I'll venture the assertion that £o-day they 

 are breathing air in which a hog would pine and a 

 sheep would die. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111!, March 13, 1883. 



It lias been mjMinpression, tliat all bees 

 let their children go " bare-headed " in the 

 hot months of the year, friend M. ; but I 

 shall be very glad to be corrected, if I am 

 wrong. Your suggestions in regard to put- 

 ting in sections are most opportune and val- 

 uable. I know sheets filling the section are 

 much better, for I proved it in the house 

 apiary years ago, to my full satisfaction ; but 

 how is it possible for lis to rig hives ready 

 for use, and ship them thus? The only way 

 we can do it is to fasten the fdn. in the sec- 

 tion clear around; and even then, I am 

 afraid the severe handling the hives get will 

 often break it out. This may not, however, 

 prove to be the case. You see, we can not 

 wire the sheets for comb honey.— In regard 

 to the ventilation, in part of your letter, 

 friend ^I., yon are all right, unless it be in 

 presuming no attention has been paid to 

 your instructiona given at that noon session. 

 The problem of getting ventilation in our 

 office, and not give the clerks dangerous 

 colds, is one that has not yet been fully 

 solved ; but I think we ate getting on. Sis- 

 ter Axtell gives us some strong facts, in the 

 Ladies' Department, in regard to the im- 

 portance of ventilating cellars ; and I hope a 

 good many who don't keep their bees in cel- 

 lars will make a stir as soon as this number 

 is out. My wife is often troubled with sleep- 

 lessness. A few months ago she made the 

 astounding discovery, that she always went 

 to sleep without trouble, when a window 

 was up on each side of the room, so that a 

 draft of air could pass right through. Many 

 a night has she declared some one must have 

 put one of those windows down, for sleep 

 wouldn't come. She was always right. A 

 badly ventilated church will give her a nerv- 

 ous twitching in the hands and feet; but 

 with plenty of fresh air, it is gone at once. 

 Do not these facts, coupled with those given 

 by Mrs. A.'<tell, indicate clearly the seat of a 

 great part of our aches and pains, and — 

 deaths? 



BOOIilTTIiE ANSWERS QUESTIONS. 



BEFORE proceeding, I wish to say that it would 

 seem, by friend Root's remarks at the close of 

 my last article, that he thinks I am writing 

 " to criticise the brotherhood," while such is not the 

 case. It was with reluctance that I said a word on 

 the subject of "Extra-pure Queens," and my first 

 thought, after reading friend Hutchinson's article, 

 p. 424, Gleanings, lS81,where he asked the questions 

 (M. B. Warner started the thing in motion) about 

 extra-pure queens, was not to reply to it, or even 

 notice the matter, as I knew I should be considered 



