304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15. 



except being a little shorter. The bottom- 

 board is the same as the old one, with the addi- 

 tion of the small blocks, E, put about 1>2 or 2 

 Inches back from the end of the frame for it to 

 rest on. The staples, G, are made of -ir^n. x IM- 

 Inch hoop iron, and can be made very cheap 

 where one is prepared for it. 



Well, it is not necessary for me to explain all 

 the working parts and advantages of this hive, 

 because the sketch I send you will explain it- 

 self: 



Shelbyville, Tex., March 10. 



[I believe I should prefer Elwood's string (see 

 page 178), because it would be cheaper and less 

 work to handle.— Ed.] 



SAWYER'S COMPRESSION SECTION- SUPER, 



By T. R. Sawyer. 



rl thought I would venture to send you a 

 rough drawing of my section-case. This case I 

 got up seven; years ago, and I have some 300 of 

 them in use. You will notice one end of' the 

 case is adjustable, and by those thumb-screws 

 you can move up the end to comoress the hold- 

 ers, sections, etc., solid. The end can be moved 



off from the inside, and also from the outside. 

 I usually move the end off about >^ or ^s of an 

 inch when I wish to examine the case to take 

 out a bait section-holder or to see how far 

 advanced the case is; but in warm weather, 

 when the bee-glue is soft I separate the holders 

 at any point with a screwdriver between two 

 holders, giving a quarter turn that moves out 

 the end of the case by a simple turn of the 

 wrist. In filling the case with new sections, if 

 the end strikes the joint, put in an extra sep- 



arator at the opposite end. My section-frames 

 and separators were made by Dr. Tinker, but 

 the cases I made myself (as I am a mechanic). 

 I have no machinery, but I got up an outfit to 

 make them rapidly and correctly, so there was 

 no fitting to be done when put together; and it 

 is the best-working case that I have ever han- 

 dled, in more ways than one; and the sections 

 are as clean when taken out of the holders as 

 though just out of the box; but, of course, it 

 wants a form to take the sections out of the 

 holders rapidly. 



I have used for the last seven years almost 

 altogether the white-poplar dovetailed open- 

 side sections; and to work the open-side section 

 satisfactorily they should be worked in a holder. 

 It sometimes happens that bee-escapes are too 

 slow, or too much work to put the escape-board 

 on; and with open-side sections in holders we 

 can brush the bees off a case in about no time 

 We use a nine-frame L. hive. 



Muscatine, la., March 10. 



[Our artist failed to get the drawing just 

 right. The sections should be shown running 

 the other way of the case. Compression, if ap- 

 plied at all, should be on the edges or sides of 

 the sections, the object being to close up the 

 spaces or interstices where the bees have a ten- 

 dency to propolize; and then, too, the tighten- 

 ing-rods should run along grooves in the end- 

 boards, and not holes. The latter would 

 be all right, but it would be impracticable to 

 bore them. There is no doubt that such a case 

 will compress, but it is much more expensive 

 than a solid super with a follower and wedge, 

 such as are ordinarily used.— Ed.] 



FLORIDA SINCE THE GREAT FREEZE OF 1895. 



I must say a few words to our northern api- 

 culturists through your columns. Florida, 

 though disfigured, is still in the ring, and will 

 stay there too. Here on the Indian River, in'a 

 few favored localities, are orange-trees that 

 have borne a fair crop of fruit since the freeze 

 of 1895; and those that were killed to the 

 ground have since grown a small top, and are 

 now putting on bloom, while our bees are now 

 storing surplus, where colonies are strong, from 

 pennyroyal; and weaker ones are building up 

 to reap the rich harvest. The saw- palmetto 

 promises to yield in May and June. All nature 

 is alive and astir, for February, March, and 

 April make our spring— the prettiest time of all 

 the year in this latitude. 



Grant, Fla., March 13. L. K-. Smith. 



HONEY IN ERYSIPELAS. 



[We copy the following from the Amei'ican 

 Homeopathist:— 'Ed.] 



Dr. Hayward, of Coopsey, 111., calls attention to 

 honey as a remedy for erysipelas. It is used Ideally 

 by spreading- on a suitable cloth and applying to 

 tlie parts. The application is renewed every three 

 or four hours. In all cases in whicli the remedy 

 has been employed, entire relief from the pain fol- 

 lowed immediately, and convalescence was brought 

 about in three or four days. 



