THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



23? 



First, I fumigate the honey to kill ^any 

 bee-moth and eggs that may lodge in the 

 comb. To do this 1 pile the supers up 

 carefully, three high, and place a small, 

 shallow dish on top (save the lids of 

 Lewis lye cans for this purpose.) This I 

 fill with Bisulphide of Carbon, which 1 

 get at the drug store at 25 cents per can. 

 Then, three more supers and another 

 dish, and so on, until the pile is as high 

 as I can comfortably make it, putting 

 two little dishes of carbon on top, cover- 

 ing with several thicknesses of news- 

 paper, which are weighted down tight by 

 putting a super or heavy board on top. 



I now use mostly wide frames and 

 plain sections. Until within the last few 

 years, I used T supers exclusively, but I 

 have gradually discarded them. The T 

 super is a good super, but, in a locality 

 where there is much propolis, it requires 

 too much scraping. The wide frames 

 protect the tops and bottoms of the 

 sections so they are as clean as when 

 first put on the hive, except for a little 

 bit along the edge; for, as my supers are 

 five inches high, I have to use one-fourth 

 inch slats in my frames. This is hardly 

 thick enough; it allows them to sag a 

 little and thus gives the bees a chance to 

 crowd in a little bee-glue along the edge. 

 Three-eighths inch would have been 

 better. 



When scraping and grading sections I 

 have a long, low table about 4x10 feet, 

 and about two feet high, at my right on 

 which to place the cases and empty 

 supers, into which 1 sort the sections as 

 I clean them. In front of me is a low 

 table (which is really a box) on which 1 

 place the super to be emptied and 

 cleaned. Strips of wood tacked along 

 the edge of the table keep the propolis 

 from falling on the floor, and several 

 sticks placed on top to hold up the super 

 and allow any bits of wax or bee-glue 

 to fall below. 



To save my dress, an apron, which is 

 nothing more than an old gunny-sack, is 

 tacked to the table by its lower end, 

 while a string is attached to the other 



end to form the strap that goes around 

 my neck. 



For scraping, 1 have used a case knife, 

 carpenter's scraper, sandpaper, broken 

 glass, but I like best a little triangular- 

 shaped, sharp-edged piece of steel, hav- 

 ing a handle set in the center. It is a 

 little wider than the width of a section 

 and is a little awkward to use at first, 

 but, with a little practice, it works better 

 than a knife. I also have a tack ham- 

 mer, case knife, lead pencil, paste, some 

 tooth picks to pick out a dead bee or ant 

 or a lump of propolis from the cells, and 

 a glass of water and a small artist's 

 brush to wash off any spotting on the 

 nice comb. A cloth and pail of water to 

 wipe up any dripping honey and a pail 

 or jar to hold the broken pieces of comb, 

 completes my outfit. 



To put the paper tray in the case, I use 

 a push board just fitting inside the case. 

 This is not made of one solid board but 

 of two boards set a little apart, so that 

 the paper does not cling to the board 

 when it is withdrawn. 1 also use a kind 

 of frame which exactly spaces the strips 

 at the bottom of the case. 



Many bee keepers tack the strips to 

 the bottom, but I like paste, or even 

 honey, better, to fasten them with. Flour 

 paste is good, but it sours soon. A 

 library paste, which I make myself, does 

 not sour and will stick every time. Here 

 is the way to make it: Wheat flour, 8 

 oz.; powdered alum, V oz.; water, \ }4 

 pt ; glycerine, 1 '2 oz.; oil wintergreen, 

 js oz. (1 teaspoonful.) Mix water, flour 

 and alum to a smooth paste and boil till 

 it thickens. Be careful not to let it boil 

 or cook too much. Take from fire, add 

 oil and glycerine and mix thoroughly. 



If too thick, thin with a little water. 

 To paste on tin, add about a teaspoonful 

 of muriatic acid. 1 make it without the 

 acid, as 1 wish to use it on other things 

 besides tin. To paste on tin, just scratch 

 the tin a bit with a knife or a piece of 

 sandpaper. 



In grading, I try to let the sections at 

 the glass give an idea of what there is 

 in the case; and, as I put in each section, 



