(October, 1908. 



307 



American I^qq Journal 



Bavi.kss Uncapping Machine- Si vle B. 



cog-wheels and leather-rope belting, 

 similar to that used on sewing machines. 

 The knives, made of good cast steel, 

 work backward and forward with a 

 good cutting motion, while the frame 

 moves downward or upward, as the 

 will of the operator may direct. The 

 knives are double-edged, and will cut 

 as the comb passes either upward or 

 downward. It is so adjusted as to cut 

 a very thick comb or a thin one, or a 

 comb the thickness of which varies. All 

 these variations are absolutely under the 

 control of the operator. 



The comb must be a little wider than 

 the top-bar in order to use style A 

 effectively. This is the machine that 

 cuts from end to end. 



Style B will cut any thickness of 

 comb, provided that the end-bars are 

 not too wide. But where top-bars and 

 end-bars are made with a view to the 

 use of this machine, it may be freely 

 said it will uncap anything in the shape 

 of a Langstroth. In fact, the machine 

 can be built to suit any particular-sized 

 frame which may be a special hobby 

 with any particular bee-keeper. To Mr. 



Baylcss belongs the discovery of the 

 " principle " and "action." This may 

 now be adapted to any size of frame. 



We desire to say that Mr. Bayless 

 has not written this article, nor dictated 

 it in any way. He is an e.Ktremely 

 modest man, and as yet has Ynade no 

 effort to place his device upon the mar- 

 ket ; in fact, we believe he scarcely real- 

 izes what a good thing he has. He 

 will, however, protect his machine with 

 a patent. When in the city a short 

 time ago, Mr. Wm, McEvoy, and Mr. 

 A. Comirc of Quebec, called upon Mr. 

 Bayless to see the machine. Mr. F. P. 

 Adams and the writer accompanied 

 them. Mr. and Mrs. Bayless received 

 the parly cordially. The machine was 

 shown and closely inspected. Mr. Mc- 

 Evoy was enthusiastic in his praises, and 

 ordered one on the spot. We unhesi- 

 tatingly declare that we believe the ma- 

 chine will be a success. — Canadian Bee 

 Journal. 



Look Out for Canucks at Detroit! 



Ho, for the "National" at Detroit! 

 As nearly as I can learn a large number 

 of Canucks will be present, and quite 

 possibly be in "the majority," and as a 

 matter of course, they will vote and 

 have the word "Mational" changed to 

 "International." See? 



Joking aside, this scribbler, for one, 

 is looking forward to a whole lot of 

 pleasure in meeting a host of friends 

 that he has never seen. With this 

 thought in mind, a glance at the clock 

 reminds me that it is past bed-time, so 

 I "ring off," with a "hope to meet you 

 in Detroit, October 13." 



RcflcctioiiiS' .^^ 



California Bee Keeper 'W*'' 



By \V. A. PRYAL, Alden Station. Oakland, Calif. 



Dahlias for Honey and Pollen. 



An old-fashioned flower that has al- 

 most suddenly come into popular favor 

 again is the Dahlia. We older folk well 

 remember in our childhood days that 

 our parents cherished those formal 

 flowers ; how stately they were and 

 how profusely they bloomed ! But the 

 advent of the cactus-flowered varieties 

 has added new interest to the flower, 

 and to-day we have some gorgeous 

 specimens — flowers of large size and 

 almost fantastic shapes. As a boy, I 

 liked the old dahlias ; to-day I like them 

 better than ever, and I think the newer 

 sorts vie with the rose in beautj'. They 

 are free from disease and few insects 

 prey upon them — and those only of the 

 "chewing" kind, which can be easily 

 de,«;troycd. 



The past season I have had quite an 



array of plants and colors galore grow- 

 ing in my garden. I am much pleased 

 to notice that bees seek the flowers 

 and work upon them the day through. 

 They gather both nectar and pollen. 

 With us the plants usually begin to 

 bloom in August and so continue until 

 December, thereby adding to our bee- 

 pasturage at a time when nectar-se- 

 creting flowers are much needed. Of 

 course, I do not advocate the planting 

 of these flowers for honey alone, but 

 there is no reason why every bee-keep- 

 er's garden should not contain a number 

 of these pretty and showy flowers. 



Outdoor Feeding of Bees. 



Do not encourage a bee to become 

 a robber ; better kill the bee. A few 

 davs ago I visited an elderly apiarist 



and to my surprise I saw a milk-pan 

 half full of honey sitting on an old 

 box under an oak tree close to his 

 colonies. Of course the bees were 

 swarming on the honey, and hundreds 

 were drowned in the liquid, as no pains 

 were taken to put floats in the honey 

 to protect the bees. Bees all bedaubed 

 with the sticky stuff were crawling about 

 the apiary, nearly all of which would 

 never reach their hives. 



To say nothing of such a method be- 

 ing a wanton destruction of bee-life, 

 it is also worse on the bees in another 

 way. The very smell of honey so easily 

 obtainable right in the apiary at once 

 starts the bees robbing, and woe to the 

 colonies when the bees get right down 

 to a genuine case of robI)ing in the fall 

 of the year. I venture to remark that 

 no bee-keeper, even of the most perfect 

 disposition, would long wear his best 

 smile when he found his bees at such 

 work in full tilt. How I should like to 

 see Dr. Miller amid a robbing crew ; if 

 I did not find him using language as 

 hot as the time the bees were making 

 for him, I venture that beautiful and 

 peaceful smile Editor Root so recently 

 pictured in Gleanings would disappear, 

 and the good Doctor would be wearing 

 another face ! But don't let it be sup- 

 posed for a moment that the Doctor 

 would say things unpleasant ; I feel 

 sure that he would let his face do the 

 talking. 



