646 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



place them in the center of the surplus ar- 

 rangement. But I shall beg to take exceptions 

 to this method. I use T supers in double-wall- 

 ed chaflf hives. My method of using them is as 

 follows : As soon as all the boxes are sealed ex- 

 cept the outside ones, I remove all finished box- 

 es, returning the ones on the outside row with 

 sections having starters in the middle. The re- 

 sult is, that next time I remove boxes I find eve- 

 ry box filled and capped at the same time. Now, 

 I have tried both ways, and know that I get a 

 full super of sealed honey as soon as I can one 

 full, excepting the outside boxes with unfinish- 

 ed sections in the middle. The result is, that 

 the bees commence working in all the boxes at 

 the same time; and the next time I remove I 

 find every box capped over at the same time. I 

 have given both ways a thorough trial, so that 

 I know whereof I speak. F. L. Bradley. 

 Charleston, Me., Aug. 3. 



[There is no regular rule among bee-keepers 

 as to where the unfinished sections shall be put. 

 Much depends upon the season and the locality. 

 If the bees need coaxing, and the colony is not 

 strong, it is advisable to put them in the middle 

 row. If the season starts out strong, and the 

 colony is populous, then the outside rows should 

 be used.— Ed.] 



MULTIPLE-EXIT BEE-ESCAPE NO ADVANTAGE 

 OVER SINGLE. 



When the Porters first introduced their es- 

 cape I thought, like a great many others, that 

 more escapes would be an improvement. I 

 put four in one board, but the bees did not 

 leave any quicker than with one. It seems to 

 take the bees some time to find out that they 

 are shut off from the brood -chamber; and un- 

 til they discover the change they will not make 

 any great effort to leave the super. I had the 

 pleasure of sharing my roomduring the World's 

 Fair convention with one of the Porters, to- 

 gether with the Larrabees. andwe discussed the 

 matter very thoroughly. 



The idea is, not to give them plenty of room 

 to get out, but to get them in such condition 

 that they want to get out. They will reach 

 this condition quicker if they are shut off from 

 the brood-chamber entirely for a short time. 

 A larger number of exits seem a detriment 

 rather than a help, after they get started to 

 leave. I am satisfied that all the bees in a 

 super would leave in a few minutes through 

 one escape if they wanted to get out. 



I am devoting one hive entirely to experi- 

 menting on sugar feeding, and will let you 

 know the result if I have time, although you' 

 may not want to publish what I find out. 



Harvard, 111. Tiios. Elliott. 



DIAMETER OF CYLINDER FOR EXTRACTOR. 



I notice in "Guide Book" that the cylinder 

 of the extractor referred to is 18 in. diameter; 

 would it not work as well if the cages were in a 

 square of 9 in. (to take a standard frame) ? 



This would require a cylinder of only 16 in. 

 diameter, which reduces the size very greatly; 

 the speed to be regulated by gearing at top.— S. 

 Scarlett, Stafford, July 17. 



Reply. — No, the extractor will not work so 

 well if diameter of cylinder is less than 18 in., 

 for the reasons given on page 77 of "Guide 

 Book" (fourteenth edition). The farther you 

 can get the face of the comb from the central 

 spindle the more easily and efficiently is the 

 honey extracted. If a drawing is made of the 

 cages with a section of comb in position you 

 will find the cells, with the exceptiou of the 

 central ones, at different angles to the radius 

 of cylinder. When the angle becomes too 

 great the honey on the outer edges of the comb, 

 following line of rotation, is not extracted at 

 all, and so much extra speed is required to ex- 

 tract even the other edge that the comb may 

 be damaged. The nearer the walls of the cells 

 are to being in a line with the radius, the more 

 easily is the honey extracted.— Ed.] -BrirtsTi 

 Bee Journal, July 23. 



white honey IN THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST IN 

 YORK STATE. 



The bees are still gathering white honey, 

 though buckwheat is in bloom. I shall need 

 my honey-cans badly by the time they get here. 



Kendaia, N Y., Aug. 13. C. J. Baldridge. 



No honey yet, but a good prospect for a crop 

 from white aster. It is making a splendid 

 growth, but won't bloom until Sept. 15. White 

 clover is regaining what it lost the two last dry 

 years. M. L. Williams. 



Maysville, Ky., Aug. 15. 



T. P. L., Md. — If you have honey coming in 

 from crimson clover and buckwheat both at the 

 same time, we do not see how it is possible for 

 you to avoid having a mixture in your surplus. 

 As a general rule, one follows the other; and 

 by taking off the sections or extracting-combs 

 at the right time there will will be no mixture. 



T. O., Col.— From what you say, it is possible 

 and even probable that the colony which you 

 think has no queen, and which refuses to raise 

 cells, has something that they call a queen — 

 very likely a fertile worker. What you need to 

 do is to get rid of the fertile worker first. A 

 better way would be to scatter the bees and 

 brood among your other colonies, and give up 

 the idea of trying to make a colony direct. 



J. N. P., Pa.— A house-apiary 9 x 12 would 

 make you a nice building, well adapted to all 



