THE RCE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



245 



The time required for concrete to set 

 depends npon tlie character of the 

 cement, upon the amount and tempera- 

 ture of the water used in mixing', and 

 upon the temperature of the air. Con- 

 crete mixed ilry sets more (luiclvl}' tiian 

 if mixed wet, and tiie time required for 

 settinj;- decreases as tlie temperature of 

 the water rises. Warm air also 

 hastens the settiny. 



Lumber used in makin*^ forms for 

 concrete should be dressed on one side 

 and both edijes. The expansion and 

 distortion of the wood due to the ab- 

 sorption of water from the concrete fre- 

 quently make it difticjlt to produce an 

 even surface on the work, and unless 

 the forms are accurately fitted tog'ether 

 more or less water will find its way 

 out throuifh the cracks, carryinj^ some 

 of the cement with it. A method some- 

 times adopted to minimize the etfect of 

 expansion is to bevel one edge of each 

 board, allowing this edg'e to crush 

 against the square edg-e of the adjacent 

 board when expansion takes place. In 

 the case of wooden core or inside mold, 

 expansion must always be taken int-:.. 

 consideration, for if neglected it may 

 cause cracks or complete rupture of the 

 concrete. Sharp edges in concrete are 

 easily chipped and should be avoided 

 bj' placing- triang^ular strips in the 

 corneis of the molds To prevent 

 cement from sticking to the forms they 

 maj' be given a coating of soft soap or 

 be lined with paper. This greatly 

 facilitates their removal and enables 

 them to be used ag"aiii with but little 

 .scraping. A wire brush ansswers best 

 for cleaning- the forms. 



REQUEENING COLONIES. 



How it May be Done at Little Expense 



After the Close of the White 



Money Harvest. 



Thus far I have never killed off old 

 queens and substituted younger ones 

 in their places; I have allowed the bees 

 to do their own superseding. Whether 

 I shall always follow my presept 

 practice I don't know. My home yard 

 this year was stocked mostlj' with 

 young queens, those of last year's 

 rearing, consefiuently there was no 

 lack of laying powers on the pai t of 



the (pjeens, but I do think that the 

 honey crop in some of the out-apiaries 

 was lessened from old queens. All of 

 the colonies will be looked over this 

 month, and everj' queen that shows 

 signs of failing will be replaced with 

 a young queen. Some of these queens 

 will be reared and some bought. 



If colonies are to be requeened, I 

 think after the harvest is better U-nn 

 in the spring, as the leaving of a col- 

 ony queenless a few days at this time 

 of the year does no great harm. 



If a man is to rear his own queens, I 

 know of no simpler or better plan the 

 one described in Gleanings by Mr. G. 

 Mr Doolittle in the seventh chapter of 

 liis interesting series articles entitled 

 "A Year's Work in an Out Apiary. " 

 Brief!}', the plan is that of killing the 

 old queen and giving the colony a ripe 

 cell, but Bro. Doolittle g-ives the de- 

 tails so graphically that I can't resist 

 the temptation to copy that part of liis 

 article. He says: — 



Having found the queen and k'lled 

 her, the next work is to give them one 

 of the ripe queen-cells I li tve brou-.,'ht. 

 In taking them from the hrooiiing col- 

 ony at home, eacn one w is placed .n 

 one of the West cell-protectors, soth.it 

 the bees would not destroy the queen 

 by chitting into the cell before tliey 

 were aware that their old motlier was 

 g-one. Each cell-filled protector was 

 partially imbedded in a sheet of cotton 

 wadding-, cut to fit into the bottom of 

 a paste-board thread-box, easily ob- 

 tained at an}' drygoods store. Having 

 the number required in the box. an- 

 other right-sized sheet of wadding is 

 put over all, the cover to the box put 

 on, and a rubber cord sprung around 

 the whole to keep all in a secure posi- 

 tion so that the cells cannot roll around 

 when the box is handled. One end of 

 the box is marked iup, and tiie base of 

 each cell is placed toward this end of 

 the box so that I may always know 

 that the cells point down when carr}-- 

 ing- the box in my inside ves* pocket, 

 or '(WcUet in my shirt, whe'"e cells are 

 a]\v;>vs carried at ah times except 

 »' I u-icd ii; *'.e bee-yard where they 



A ''i.ie'' cell !s one from which the 

 quee" \K.'\ emeige in from twenty to 



