1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



787 



sub-earth ventilator should also be below frost, 

 and from 100 to 150 feet long, so that the frosty 

 air may be heated so as not to send a chill over 

 the cellar when it enters. But let me whisper 

 *a word or two: After you have tried this sub- 

 earth ventilator, arranged as above, for a win- 

 ter or two, turning the regulator in the pipe 

 from one to ten times a day, you will soon find 

 yourself turning it off or shut the most of the 

 time, till finally you will leave it shut altogeth- 

 er; for all of ray experience goes to prove that 

 James Heddon was right when he said, " Keep 

 the temperature of your cellar up to 45° Fahr., 

 and you need have no fears of dampness or bad 

 air. If at any time the cellar gets too warm, 

 ventilate it at the top." I quote from memory, 

 as I have not time to hunt the matter up. This 

 and my own observation was what led me to let 

 my sub-earth ventilator fill up, and dispense 

 with the upper one entirely. But if any person 

 has fears in this matter, the proper way is for 

 him to test the thing till he is satisfied. 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



[Sixteenths and thirty-seconds are hardly 

 small enough to give the exact size best adapt- 

 ed for excluding queens, but not too small to 

 hinder workers. Our present zinc, by a mi- 

 crometer measure, is ^^^p^j of an inch wide. Our 

 first zinc had the perforations ^"^"^l but it was 

 found that occasionally a developed queen 

 would go through; but since we changed to 

 ^%-j the zinc has given universal satisfaction. 

 It has been pronounced right by such authori- 

 ties as P. H. El wood and Capt. J. E. Hether- 

 ington. Dr. Miller did report that he had a 

 queen go through this size; but the queen must 

 have been undersized around her waist or 

 thorax; for the doctor sent a strip that she 

 went through, and this measured ^'n^'iT- Smaller 

 than this size hinders the workers greatly, 

 especially when filled with honey. I tried, very 

 thoroughly, zinc tVinj — ^ difference, you will no- 

 tice, of only fiveoneihousandths — and it bother- 

 ed the workers not a little.— Ed.] 



A LEAD FRAME-SPACER. 



Mr. Root: — As Dr. Miller is anxious to have 

 some frame-spacers, I thought you might be 

 interested in my style of spacer. They are 

 made of lead — the softer the better; are 

 cone-shaped, and are satisfactory so far 

 as 1 have used them. The base is as 

 wide as the side-bar. and the top is a 

 little wider than the nail-head. In the 

 top of the cone the nail-head is sunk 

 into the lead by reaming it out for the nail. I 

 think you will understand from thecrude outline 

 I have attempted to draw, that you put the 

 head on the nail, and have the two separate. 

 The lead is the head, and you simply drive the 

 wire nail through it. 



The advantage of my spacer is this: The 

 head will not catch and hold fast in the wire of 

 an extractor. The nail being covered by a soft 

 metal like lead, if, by accident in uncapping, 

 the honey-knife slips and hits the spacer, no 

 damage is done to the knife. The lead may be 

 cut, but it does not damage the spacer either. 

 Only a very hard knock will cut deep enough 

 to hit the nail. They can be used on any frame, 

 and made any length. The ones I used I ran 

 in a mold of wood. A mold like a bullet-mold, 

 to run 10 at a time, could be manufactured by 

 your company, and sent out to the bee-keepers, 

 and they could run them themselves; or a 

 machine like a type-machine could make them 

 by the thousand. You could sell them by the 

 pound, like shot. Any bee-keeper could buy 

 his wire nails at home. The base of the cone 

 of my spacer should be a little hollow, to fit 

 down and have a bearing surface all around. 

 They could be made of pressed paper, and it 

 might be better than lead if it is not too ex- 

 pensive. J. R. ChaivKEr. 



Empire, Or., Sept. 29. 



[Your spacer is probably a good one, and no 

 doubt most bee-keepers can make them in the 

 way you describe. But a very much cheaper 

 article is a furniture-nail. These can be bought 

 with heads very much like your lead spacer. — 

 Ed.] 



maple-sufiar moth -worms ; how to get kid 



OF THEM. 



I have discovered something of interest to 

 maple-sugar makers and dealers. Honeycomb- 

 ing of maple sugar has been a problem as yet 

 unsolved by many of us. This is a term we 

 have applied to the soft holes that have ap- 

 peared in maple sugar, especially in summer. I 

 took two pieces of badly honeycombed sugar 

 out of a grocer's show-case, and with the naked 

 eye I saw the little fellow that does all the dam- 

 age, crawling about. He is a very lively little 

 rascal, and after a while he makes a chrysalis 

 and goes into the butterfly state; and I have 

 seen these silky houses and the webs they have 

 spun. So the cause of all the trouble is a moth 

 that lays eggs. They hatch into worms, and 

 they eat the sugar and burrow in it. 



Now for a remedy. I am informed that bi- 

 sulphide of carbon put into a saucer, and allow- 

 ed to evaporate in a tight box with the sugar, 

 absolutely kills all worms, etc., except un- 

 hatched eggs. This stuff is very inflammable; 

 and when buying you should tell the druggist 

 how you intend to use it, and he will give you 

 valuable information, and help you to avoid 

 accidents. On exposure to the air, the drug all 

 evaporates and leaves no smell. 



Chicago, 111. Herman F. Moore. 



[Mr. Moore has sent us, in a vial, one of the 

 worms. It is J:^ inch long and about ^ inch in 

 diameter, yellow in color, with a brown head. 

 In light-colored sugar it might very easily es- 

 cape notice. — Ed.] 



