1882 



GLEANINGS i:^ 13EE CUETUllE. 



221 



Our readers who are conversant with our 

 back volumes will recognize friend Martin as 

 one who has contributed not a few novel in- 

 ventions to the cause of bee science ; but the 

 one described and illustrated above is per- 

 haps the most novel of all. You know I 

 have rather held to the idea, that by breed- 

 ing from the best honey-gatherers, without 

 regard to tongue measurements, we should 

 have reached just what we wanted, by a 

 short cut. no matter where it came from. 

 Well, even granting this, it will certainly be 

 quite an object to tind out whether the long- 

 tongued bees are the ones that get the most 

 honey, and this instrument will do it to per- 

 fection. It occurred to me at once, that 

 something better than wire cloth was wanted 

 for close, accurate measurements, and so I 

 wrote friend M. on the matter, sending him 

 some samples of perforated zinc I had re- 

 ceived from England. Here is his reply : — 



I have tried to get wire cloth3-32of aninch mesh, or 

 a little less than ^s of an inch, for I think the mandi- 

 bles ought to work through the mesh. Dr. Brown 

 advised 's inch; but that will let in a bee's head 

 clear up to the eyes, and that would be a little more 

 than the tongue. How can I get some of that per- 

 forated metal? If you order any other goods from 

 the parties who sent you the samples, put in an 

 order for several sheets of the metal with ^J-inch 

 holes. J. H. M. 



The instrument will be furnished at $2.00. 



BEES VOIDING DRY KXt'RKMKXT. 



BV THE EDITOR OF THE BUITISH BEE JOUUNAL,. 



f' AM rather amused at the apparent uncertainty 

 which seems to exist in America, if we may 

 judge by the reading of the various journals, 

 as to whether bees void dry excreta, but I do not 

 think there would be much doubt about it if any of 

 your people would take the trouble to examine a 

 swarm-box in which a swarm has traveled for 2-1 

 h^urs without comb. I have seen hundreds of in- 

 stances where, in these boxes — about 15 in. square 

 and 8 or 9 deep, covered with perforated zinc so that 

 the bees could fly — in which there have been thou- 

 sands of grains of bee excreta, about the size and 

 color of coarse gunpowder, so I have not the least 

 doubt on the question. When bees travel with 

 combs the case is different; they appear to be too 

 cleanly to foul them, and hence protracted confine- 

 ment produces what, tor want of a better term, we 

 call "dysenteric Fymptoms." C. N. Abbott. 



Fairlawn, Southall, Middlesex, Eog., Mar. 27, 1883. 



Many thanks, friend Abbott, for your 

 timely suggestion. I have often noticed the 

 gray powder found on the table, or wherever 

 our cages of bees are set down, even a little 

 while ; but as they are always gnawing and 

 biting at the wood of the cage, their candy, 

 and whatever else they can have access t(>, I 

 had dropped the matter, thinking it was lit- 

 tle bits and shreds they had bitten off. 

 While you speak of it, however, it occurs to 

 me that bees that have been sent in to us al- 

 most invariably show something on the bot- 

 toms ol the boxes that both sight and smell 

 would have little difficulty in pronouncing 

 excrement. 



KLOGR'S BEE.FEEDSR. 



AND A FRIENDY CRITICISM ON THE KENDEL FEEDER. 



S" HAVE just finished reading the article on Ren- 

 ders bee-feeder, page 174 of Gleanings; and 

 ^ as I invented the same feeder over two years 

 ago, with the only difference of having a square tin 

 cm soldered on the base, instead of the Mason jar. I 

 will warn j'ou and the readers of Gleanings that 

 Render s feeder will not feed, just as little as mine 

 did. It is a failure, notwithstanding you indorse it 

 so strongly. Undoubtedly, friend Rendel's enthusi- 

 astic description of it is only theory, and I do not 

 believe he had, at the time of writing said article 

 for Gleanings, yet made or tried the feeder. If 

 you look at the picture again, you will observe that 

 there is a space several inches in width by % of an 

 inch deep between the jar and the perforated part 

 of the base. Well, my experience says, the bees will 

 not get one drop of honey out of the feeder, beyond 

 what runs out under the perforations when first 

 righted up, the solid column of honey preventing 

 any air from going up into the vacuum and letting 

 down more honey. The feed ivill stay in the jar. I 

 write this to save the friends from loss, who may 

 intend to make this feeder. If you make it for sale, 

 as I conclude from your remarks on the feeder, you 

 have, no doubt, by this time, found to be true what I 

 say. I modified my feeder by leaving off the per- 

 forated tin and admitting the bees into the base, so 

 they could go up to the very mouth of the can, and 

 it worked very satisfactorily then. Adjoined is a 

 drawing of my feeder. 

 Push it into the entrance 

 up to the bridge, one side 

 against the side of the 

 entrance, and an en- 

 trance block moved 

 close against the other 

 side, and no outsider can 

 interfere in the least, and 

 the bees can get the last 

 drop of honey out. Come 

 to think of it, I will just 

 mail you one of my old i 

 feeders. You will see it" 

 was made of an oyster-can; but never advise any 

 one to use oyster-cans, as the tin is of the poorest 

 grade, and soon rusts so tbe feeder is worthless. I 

 will hereafter always take the best new tin for 

 them. The bridge might be left off entirely, and the 

 feeder would work just as well by pushing it snug 

 up against the hive; but it assists in filling the feed- 

 er, acting almost like a funnel. By laying the feed- 

 er on its back, and elevating one side a little, so that 

 the air can escape from the can as the syrup enters, 

 it can be filled quite rapidly, and without immer- 

 sion, which latter is objectionable for an entrance 

 feeder. It will feed on top of the frames just as 

 well, and is, I think, one of the best and cheapest 

 feeders made. I would never have published this, 

 were it not that I am afraid some of the friends will 

 be led to invest in Rendel's feeder, which is utterly 

 worthless. I think some of the friends ought to put , 

 their theories to practical tests, before making 

 them public. T. H. Rloer. 



Terre Haute, Ind., April 18, 1883. 



Many thanks, friend K. ; but if you will 

 excuse, I think you are a little uncharitable 

 toward friend Kendel. Without question, 



