694 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 13. 1904. 



famous Salt River region of Arizona. The heat is very 

 great, and the dryness of the atmosphere is probably equal 

 to that of any section of our country. Both of these re- 

 gions, especially Imperial, are certain to become very noted 

 for their growth and extent of alfalfa fields. 



If the alfalfa plants of the coast region, with its very 

 cool nights and refreshing fogs, do fail in the secretion of 

 nectar, I doubt if any study or possible change of method 

 would make this plant valuable for bee-pasturage. Surely, 

 the whole matter needs most thorough study and investiga- 

 tion. 



CLEOMB INTKGRIFOLIA. 



I have been interested in reading of this bee-plant in 

 the late bee-papers. It will also be remembered by our 

 older apiarists that, in the 80's, I was very interested in the 

 matter of bee-forage, and was quite sanguine about plant- 

 ing for bees with great profit. At my suggestion, the 

 United States Government arranged for extensive experi- 

 mentation in the matter. I was appointed to conduct this 

 experiment. After as careful study as I could give, I de- 

 cided upon extensive planting of this Rocky Mountain bee- 

 plant as likely to give good results as any that I might 

 plant. I also planted several others, especially the famous 

 Chapman's honey-plant. I kept these experiments going 

 for several years. Several acres were used. The experi- 

 ment was attended with no success whatever, except to 

 prove that planting for honey alone would probably never 

 be successful. 



We all know that even the best honey-plants are likely 

 to fail. I knew such failure in Michigan for three succes- 

 sive years. California has given only three good years — at 

 least first-class years— in the last eleven. With these facts 

 in view, we readily see that cultivated plants must have 

 other value to warrant their planting. Thus, while I would 

 discourage any one from planting, especially for honey, I 

 would urge all bee-keepers to work for the planting of orna- 

 mental and field and garden crops of such plants as are 

 known as good honey-producers. 



The roadside planting of the linden in the East, and of 

 eucalypts in; the West, and of the tulip-tree wherever it will 

 thrive, is always to be stoutly recommended. The growth 

 of alfalfa, where it secretes nectar, is so desirable that the 

 bee-keeper would be more than warranted in furnishing the 

 seed if he could thus induce farmers to plant this more ex- 

 tensively in the neighborhood of his apiary. 



I have no doubt but that such excellent honey-plants as 

 mignonette in the cities of Chicago and Cincinnati, is what 

 has made apiaries in those cities so profitable. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Foote's Machine for Folding Sections. 



BY A. F. FOOTK. 



THIS is the machine that Foote built. (See first page.) 

 A — This is the plunger that fastens the sections in the 



machine that Foote built. 



B— This is the lever that forces the plunger that fastens 

 the sections in the machine that Foote built. 



C — This is the bow that presses the lever that forces 

 the plunger that fastens the sections in the machine that 

 Foote built. 



D— This is the pedal that is fast to the bow that presses 

 the lever that forces the plunger that fastens the sections in 

 the machine that Foote built. 



E— This is the (coiled) spring that lifts the pedal that is 

 fast to the bow that presses the lever that forces the plunger 

 that fastens the sections in the machine that Foote built. 



At the request of the Editor, made some time since, I 

 send a picture and description of my machine for folding 

 honey-sections. It can hardly be called a " section-folder" 

 because the folding is done with the hands, and the machine 

 fastens the ends. 



I place the machine beside my work-bench at my left, 

 and while the left hand is putting a finished section away 

 the right hand picks up another from the brackets on the 

 right-hand side of the machine. 



It requires a good deal of practice and quick motions to 

 put up 10 in a minute, but I have done 10 in 59 seconds. 

 The " plunger " plays in grooves on top of the machine 

 next to the operator; the " lever "' is between the legs on 

 the front, and does not show well in the picture. The other 

 parts show plainly, and all is explained in the parody on 

 "The House That Jack Built ". 



The sign hanging by the window is like those I made 

 to be kept in the stores where my honey is sold. 



Of course, the merits of the machine can be judged 

 only by seeing it work. In the picture it is like " a painted 

 ship upon a painted ocean ", but its work has been pro- 

 nounced perfect by a good many bee-keepers and others. 

 The machine is perhaps ungainly compared with those 

 advertised in the bee-catalogs, but I made it only for my 

 own use, as I have many other very handy tools that I use 

 about my small apiary. 



As shown in the picture, my heel rests on a piece nailed 

 at the proper height to the legs of a stool, and a simple 

 pressure of the toe on the pedal does the rest. 



Mitchell Co., Iowa. 



A Successful Wintering Repository Above 

 Ground. 



n 



BY H. R. BOARDMAN. 



Y^ EFERRING to my bee-house [see p. 695.— Ed.], it was 

 built 25 years ago ; and I have used it for wintering my 

 bees, with entire satisfaction, during all of these years 

 since. It was built in a permanent manner, has been kept 

 well painted, and is in a good state of preservation now. 



DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION. 



It is entirely above ground ; is 50x12x7 feet high, inside, 

 with double walls 12 inches thick, filled with sawdust, and 

 sawdust on the floor overhead. It is divided into three 

 rooms, two of which were designed to be used in winter for 

 winter repositories for the bees. A room in the middle, be- 

 tween these two, is 10 feet square, inside, leaving the bee- 

 rooms each 19x10 inside. There are two doors in this mid- 

 dle room, front and back. The windows all face the bee- 

 yard on the east ; they tip on pivots in the center, to let out 

 the bees, and fasten at the top with spring stops. They are 

 fitted with shutters inside to make the room dark as well as 

 warm for winter. The floor is cement. 



The middle room furnishes an indispensable ante-room 

 to the bee-rooms in going in and out during the winter. It 

 also answers an excellent purpose for a ventilating room 

 through which the bee-rooms may be ventilated without 

 admitting the outside air directly to the bees. 



For a considerable time after the bees have been put in 

 winter quarters they are not disturbed by the outside air, 

 nor even by the light, if the weather continues moderate, 

 but after a while it becomes necessary to darken the bee- 

 rooms to keep them quiet ; and for the same purpose I care- 

 fully exclude the direct drafts of outside air. 



The room contains a stove used for various purposes, 

 besides furnishing heat and ventilation to the bees in win- 

 ter when needed. The advantage of two rooms instead of 

 one is apparent in setting out the bees when they have be- 

 come restless. A part of them can be kept quiet and under 

 control while the rest are put out. 



SPECIAI, VENTILATORS UNNECESSARY. 



When I had my bee-house built I thought that ventila- 

 tion was the coming solution of the wintering problem. I 

 had two ventilating tubes or pipes, 14 inches square, one in 

 each bee-room, reaching from near the floor inside into the 

 chamber, which I ventilated by a cupola mounted on the 

 center of the house, where the chimney now appears, and 

 connecting with the chamber. This elaborate system of 

 ventilating was all properly controlled by valves and traps, 

 and designed to carry out the vitiated air somewhat as a 

 chimney carries out smoke, so that the bees would keep in a 

 healthy condition. It did not meet my expectation. The 

 draft was the wrong way, and I abandoned the whole 

 scheme as worse than useless, with no little disappointment. 



FRESH OUTSIDE AIR TOWARD SPRING NOT DESIRABLE. 



I used to open the outside door to admit the fresh, cool 

 air at night to quiet the bees down when they became rest- 

 less, but I am sure it is a mistake to ventilate in that way. 

 The bees will surely become quiet after admitting the fresh 

 air, and lowering the temperature, but they will not stay 

 quiet. It only increases the impulse to rear brood, just the 

 diflficulty that already exists. I have been able to keep the 

 bees in better condition by excludiii),' the outside air until 

 the bees can be set out. I have never been able to maintain 

 a uniform temperature in the bee-rooms, nor have I found it 

 essential to successful wintering. ,-\ high temperature I 

 find much safer than a low one, especially after the brood 



