518 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Aug. 15 



moisture. Drops of water were trickling 

 down the stone walls, even the timbers 

 above were wet, and drops of water were 

 hanging from them. In a short time the 

 ends of the timbers against the walls rotted 

 so one could pick them to pieces with the 

 fingers. The bees were damp, and many of 

 the combs moldy. 



Another objection to tile is that, in windy 

 weather, earth air will find its way through 

 the tile into the cellar instead of pure air 

 through the tube. Of course, in time I 

 closed up the entrance to the cellar, and 

 gave ventilation through dark passages 

 l^laced in the windows. 



I have not tried it, but am confident that 

 an iron pipe, not less than 6 inches in di- 

 ameter, will prove a useful ventilator. It 

 must be water-tight; then, as moisture will 

 not go through iron, the air in going through 

 the tube will be warmed and delivered into 

 the cellar dry and in condition to take up 

 moisture and give out heat. Then as the air 

 flows in at onie place and out at another the 

 cellar is kept sweet, dry, and at a fairly 

 even temperature. Glazed tile has been 

 suggested instead of iron; but it is a poor 

 conductor of heat. 



Lay of the land permitting, the ventilat- 

 or should extend from the cellar in a west- 

 erly to northwesterly direction. It should 

 be'well below the frost-line, and, I think, 

 about 100 feet long. Air being influenced 

 by temperature and winds is very fickle; so 

 I believe that, for best results, the pipe 

 should be about level from end to end. If 

 necessary, an elbow can be used to bring 

 the end of pipe above ground. The sub- 

 earth ventilator does not occupy the place 

 in bee-cellars that its evident usefulness 

 claims for it. 



Besides drying and warming in cold win- 

 ter weather, it can be used to cool, comfort, 

 and quiet the bees in warm spells in win- 

 ter. For this purpose a cowl can be used 

 at the outer end of the pipe to force air 

 through it into the cellar. Another thing, 

 its passage through the tube will raise its 

 temi)erature, which may have pollen too 

 near the freezing-point, and so make the 

 ventilator more useful when the next cold 

 snap comes along. 



It occurs to me that, during warm spells 

 in winter, there may be condensation in the 

 sub-earth ventilator. To get rid of the wa- 

 ter, one end of the tube must be lower than 

 the other. If, owing to the lay of the land, 

 it is necessary to have an elbow at the out- 

 er end, then the end entering the cellar 

 must be lower than the other. A vessel of 

 some kind can be placed to catch what may 

 come in. No water should stand in the 

 ventilator. 



Aylmer (W.), Ont., Can., June 30. 



[Our experience with wintering hives in 

 the bee-eellar under the machine-shop con- 

 vinces us that, when the bees get restless, 

 pure air will quiet them when nothing else 

 will. When the outside air is warm it is an 

 easy matter to ventilate with windows; but 



very of tenjsthe foulest air exists when it is 

 very cold outside, and here is where the 

 sub-earth ventilator would be a help. Is it 

 not possible that most of the failures of 

 sub-earth ventilators were due to the influx 

 of wet air? — Ed.] 



COMB HONEY PRODUCED WITHOUT SEP- 

 ARATORS. 



BY NELSON M. GOOD. 



I have tried to profit by every man's ex- 

 perience; and after giving separators a fair 

 and impartial trial I have completely dis- 

 carded them, using only one on each side of 

 the super. I set my hives level, and weight 

 them with stones so that a strong wind will 

 not shake them, and use a starter in the 

 sections that reaches about two-thirds of the 

 way down. This starter hangs straight in 

 the center. I am careful to fasten the start- 

 er so it will not fall down nor hang crook- 

 ed. This is the secret and assurance of a 

 nice super of honey with straight even 

 comb. Of course, there are exceptions to 

 nearly all rules; but I have a larger per cent 

 of straight marketable honey in this way 

 than I can possibly get by using separators 

 of any kind; and my honey is good stand- 

 ard weight — a little more than is required, 

 and yet this extra weight, I consider, does 

 not cost me any thing, for my bees work 

 faster, I believe, without the separators. 



My neighbor has nearly 300 stands of 

 bees, and he looked my honey over at the 

 end of the season and said that I had more 

 perfect comb honey on an average, without 

 the separators, than he had with them. 

 Yet it was no new thing with me. I have 

 proved it over and over until I am well sat- 

 isfied as to results. I will add that I took 

 first and second prizes year before last at 

 four different fairs, viz., Grand Jnnction, 

 Glenwood Springs, Aspen, and Grand Val- 

 ley, Colorado. 



Many times bees fasten their comb to sep- 

 arators, and thus make a break in the 

 comb, when, if the separator was not there, 

 the comb would be straight and sealed. 



Grand Valley, Colo., July 20. 



[Some bee-keepers are able to produce 

 fine comb honey without separators; but in 

 most cases, either owing to hives not being 

 properly leveled, or to some other cause, the 

 sections are found to be filled very uneven- 

 ly. That bees work better when no sepa- 

 rators are used, can not be doubted. — Ed.] 



Foundation 22 Years Old Accepted by the Bees. 



My experience fully aerees with that of Dr. Miller 

 as regards the comparative merits of old and new 

 foundation. I am now using some foundation in 

 sections that is over 20 years old, and bees do not 

 seem to discriminate against it in the least. It is 

 still in original packages, as it came from the man- 

 ufacturer 22 years ago this summer. Part of it I 

 used in Ohio, before coming .south, and I am now 

 using the remainder of it without any signs of det- 

 riment. Samuel Rau. 



Hendersonville. N. C, May 16, 1910. 



