1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



555 



same amount of water. It didn't take the bees 

 long to find out which were the sweetest feed- 

 ers, and these were quickly emptied, while on 

 those that were sweetened just a little they 

 made very slow work until a little more sugar 

 was sprinkled on, when it was fun to see them 

 hustle. As soon as the feeder was empty we 

 would pour in more cold water and then sprin- 

 kle the sugar on without paying any attention 

 to the bees, although the feeders were full of 

 them. We rather thought they would look out 

 for themselves. 



We thought we had struck a big thing in the 

 way of feeders, for a dish of any kind could be 

 used; but when we came to take the hay out of 

 the feeders we found a good many dead bees in 

 the bottoms of two or three of them. Just what 

 the trouble was I don't know; but I rather sus- 

 pect they were drowned when we filled the 

 feeders. If we were doing it again I think we 

 would fill the feeders at night after the bees 

 had stopped Hying. 



White clover commenced to bloom pretty 

 freely, and we began to put on supers the 29th 

 of May. To be sure, the colonies did not show 

 many signs of harvest; but we concluded from 

 the looks of the clover that it wouldn't be many 

 days before they would be needed; and as we 

 had time then, we would put them on then and 

 not be worried about it. But we would better 

 have left them off; for, although the white clo- 

 ver is fairly abundant, there does not seem to be 

 any nectar in it — at least, our bees are doing 

 nothing at the present date, June 11. 



We have fed a ton of granulated sugar since 

 last September, and the prospect is that we 

 shall have to commence feeding again. We 

 have not had rain for weeks, and are suffering 

 severely for want of it. A good rain might 

 help, but I fear we need not expect any thing 

 from clover. I am in hopes we may get a little 

 from basswood. Dr. Miller never counts much 

 on basswood; but I believe there may be more 

 of it than he thinks. 



We received from Medina one of the new 

 Cornell smokers. The first time we used it, 

 about one of the first things I did was to burn 

 my fingers; and while they were smarting I 

 concluded I didn't like that smoker very well. 

 I had used the Crane smoker with asbestos for 

 so long that I had become rather reckless as to 

 how 1 handled it. However, I have used the 

 Corneil smoker a good many times since, and 

 have not burned my fingers any more. 



One very good feature of the new smoker is 

 that it will burn for so long a time without go- 

 ing out. One morning lately we had a little 

 work to do in the home apiary before starting 

 for the Hastings apiary. 1 lit the smoker with 

 a few shavings; and as the shavings were al- 

 most gone I rolled up a piece of an old hive- 

 quilt, with a good deal of bee-glue on, and put 

 it in the smoker. This must have been about 7 

 o'clock. We worked for about half an hour at 



home, then started for the Hastings apiary, 

 which is about five miles away. When we went 

 to use the smoker after getting there, we found 

 it burning all right. We worked there till about 

 3 o'clock in the afternoon without refilling or 

 relighting the smoker; and when we were al- 

 most home Dr. Miller picked up the smoker and 

 it was still burning all right. I meant to keep 

 watch to see how long it did burn, but forgot 

 all about it after we got home, so " I don't 

 know." Now, I think it was partly the smoker 

 and partly the fuel that kept it burning so long. 

 It is lighter than the Crane, which is another 

 point in its favor. The manner in which the 

 fire-box is fastened on to the bellows makes it 

 stronger and better than any thing we have had 

 before. I have not had a chance to try it with 

 a very hot and long-continued fire such as is 

 used in smoking bees out of sections, but I im- 

 agine the Crane, with the asbestos, will then be 

 ahead. 



Marengo, 111. 



[I am sorry to know that you have had an- 

 otner poor season, or probably will have, from 

 present indications. I can almost imagine that 

 i see the season with you just as I saw it a year 

 ago. 



Using hay or grass over the syrup is a good 

 idea, and not altogether old, I apprehend. A 

 great many times, common pans may be put 

 into the upper story of the hive, filled with 

 syrup, and all that is necessary will be to pick 

 up a good handful of grass anu strew it over the 

 surface of the syrup. I assume that, if it 

 would do the work outdoors. It certainly would 

 in the hive, where there would be less scram- 

 bling and crowding, resulting in the possible 

 drowning of the bees. 



Now with regard to the Corneil smoker. We 

 have been experimenting with this smoker, the 

 Corneil, for over a year; and 1 might explain 

 that, along last winter, 1 sent one to Dr. Miller, 

 telling him to test it thoroughly; and in Stray 

 Straws for July 1 you will see he indorses it 

 most highly. So you will see the smoker is no 

 experiment; and, indeed, the principle has been 

 tested thoroughly in Canada, and has, I believe, 

 made a good showing on this side. 



While the Clark is a most excellent imple- 

 ment for the money, we have heretofore had 

 nothing between it and our very best smoker, 

 the Crane. We have therefore devised a modi- 

 fication of the Crane and the Corneil. The 

 method of supplying the blast to the fire-cup is 

 Corneil's. The construction of the nozzle, 

 hinging, legs, and fastening to the bellows, are 

 improvements of the Roots and others, adapted 

 to the Crane smoker and are now incorporated 

 in the new smoker. In appearance the new 

 Corneil resembles greatly the justly popular 

 Crane. But you will observe the double-tube 

 blast arrangement under the fire- cup, and next 

 to the pair of hind legs, instead of the Crane 

 valve. The bellows is not quite so highly fin- 

 ished as that of the Crane; but in another 

 respect, with the exception of the shield, which 

 is plain, and the Corneil blast arrangement, the 

 new smoker is much like the Crane. This 

 smoker will be sold at a medium price, and will 

 meet the want of a very large number who do 

 not care to go into the very best, but still want 

 a little better than the cheapest. Its blast is 

 not quite equal to that of the Crane, especially 

 when crammed with fuel. 



Now about the name—" Corneil." We have 

 always, and more especially since his death, 



