1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



577 



only movable thing about the appliance is 

 the comb. 



While the machine is not suitable for 

 average conditions in an extracting-yard, 

 yet in our judgment it works very nicely on 

 a certain class of combs. Mr. Townsend 

 says that, when Langstroth frames without 

 spacing projections are placed in a super so 

 that eight of them will just fill a ten-frame 

 body, the machine uncapper will handle 

 them more easily and more rapidly than 

 the uncapping-knife. But even if it is no 

 more rapid it would certainly be an advan- 

 tage to use it on such " fat " combs, because 

 the surface of each comb is planed off as 

 smooth as a board. 



But having said so much, the machine is 

 very limited in its application. As con- 

 structed at the present time it can not be 

 used with Hoffman frames, nor with any 

 self-spacing frames, in fact. There is a pos- 

 sibility, and even a good prospect, that it 

 can be modified so as to take in such frames. 

 The ordinary extracting-combs as one finds 

 them in the bee-yard can not be run through 

 it with any degree of satisfaction. In order 

 to get good results with the machine as at 

 present made, one must have "fat " combs 

 of the unspaced tyjie; and very few bee-keep- 

 ers in the country can have all of these con- 

 ditions. 



In the hands of a person without experi- 

 ence, the Ferguson (if the combs are right) 

 will do twice or three times as much work, 

 and much better, than that same person 

 could do with an uncapping-knife; but in 

 the case of an old experienced extracted -hon- 

 ey producer, familiar with the art of uncap- 

 ping with a Bingham knife, the difference 

 in speed, says Mr. Townsend, will not be so 

 noticeable. Indeed, he was of the opinion 

 that he could work almost as fast with a 

 knife as with Ihe machine. But even if no 

 faster he likes it because its work is so jier- 

 fect. 



An ordinary thick-top extracting-frame 

 without projections can be used readily in 

 the machine; but unless the frames, no 

 matter what the type, are spaced wide apart 

 or eight to the ten-frame super, they will be 

 too "lean" to be cleaned up every time 

 with the machine. This will necessitate re- 

 handling with the uncapping-knife. In 

 that case it would be about as quick to use 

 the knife clear through. So far this con- 

 firms the experience of the Hutchinson Bros. 

 We shall have some illustrations a little 

 later that will show the machine in use, and 

 Mr. Townsend will tell his own story; but 

 the editor could not forbear giving the pub- 

 lic a little advance information on the pres- 

 ent status of an uncapper that gives promise 

 of being more of a success than any thing 

 we have seen. 



BEES AND fruit; SOME NEW AND IMPOR- 

 TANT EVIDENCE FROM DOOWTTLE. 



Attention is particularly drawn to the 

 article by G. M. Doolittle, in his regular de- 

 jjartment, p. 581, on the question of wheth- 

 er bees are the original despoilers of fruit. 



Our correspondent shows how birds and 

 mice make the original perforations in the 

 fruit at a time when they would not be ob- 

 served by any human being ordinarily. 

 The bees coming on later, during the mid- 

 dle hours of the day, receive the blame for 

 making all the* mischief. 



Some years ago, as our readers will re- 

 member, some neighbors of ours complained 

 that our bees were puncturing their grapes, 

 and it certainly looked like it. I^ater in- 

 vestigation showed that a little bird known 

 as the Cape May warbler (Dendroica H- 

 grina) came during the early hours of the 

 morning, and with their sharp beaks made 

 a perforation in every grape on the bunch, 

 liees coming on later were observed stick- 

 ing their tongues into the grapes, and, of 

 course, were accused of doing aU the dam- 

 age. The case Mr. Doolittle refers to is only 

 one among many others like this, showing 

 how bees are often falsely accused. 



While it is true that they are annoying 

 while hovering around broken fruit, it may 

 be said that lliey are appropriating the 

 juices of a product that was already dam- 

 aged, and which would be unmarketable, 

 even if the bees had never come near it. 



There is one point on which we would 

 take issue with our correspondent. Mr. 

 Doolittle seems to be of the opinion that 

 bees can puncture fruit, but asserts that 

 they never do. All the evidence that has 

 been presented shows, we believe, that bees 

 can not. They are not i^ossessed of cutting 

 jaws, like the wasps. That was conclusive- 

 ly proven at the famous letter trial, where 

 the bees were completely exonerated by the 

 jury. As the government expert, Frank 

 Benton, testified at the time, bees can gnaw 

 a piece of wood or make holes in cloth be- 

 cause they can grab small splinters or fiber 

 in their mandibles and pull them apart, 

 just as we can unravel a rope or a piece of 

 burlap with our fingers; but the skin of any 

 fruit is smooth and without fiber. The 

 fact, then, that bees can make holes in 

 cloth by no means proves that they can cut 

 the skin of a sound grape, a plum, or a 

 peach. Bees have tried repeatedly to make 

 incisions through the skin of fruit, as has 

 been shown repr atedly by various investi- 

 gators; but that beautiful balance in nature 

 that we see so often has provided against 

 this. 



We take the view that they would punc- 

 ture fruit if they coz</c// the fact that they do 

 not make incisions through the skin of fruit 

 is the best evidence that they can not. They 

 will lob, as we know, on the slightest provo- 

 cation. They will ap])ropriate any thing 

 sweet they can get during a dearth of hon- 

 ey; but no authentic evidence, so far as we 

 know, has as yet been produced showing 

 that bees have ever punctured sound fruit. 

 Many times they apparently are guilty of 

 the act; but extended investigation has ex- 

 onerated them m every case. While God 

 makes one set of animals prey on others, he 

 has not made a bee so that it can prey on 

 perfectly sound fruit. 



