472 



GLEAKINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



August, 1918 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



taint in so doing, any more than a lamb rais- 

 ed on goat 's milk would be influenced by it, 

 changing it to part goavt. Again, queens 

 do mate more than once, bixt never if ferti- 

 lized at the first mating. And here is an- 

 other thing: they mate the second time (or 

 have done so every time for me) just three 

 days from the first mating. 



In closing let me say: breed from your 

 best breeder; if not, then from your best 

 queen, for thus you will be gaining; but 

 faster and more surely by breeding from 

 the best breeder. Geo. B. Howe. 



Black Eiver, N. Y. 



A V-SHAPED SUN EXTRACTOR 



One That is Bee-proof and also Practically Air-tight 



In the past I have experimented a good 

 deal on different kinds of sun extractors. 

 First I made the flat kind so commonly used. 

 Then I made a curving dip at the center. 



SA5H20-'36 SA5M3rr.iQR 



with three different degrees of slope, which 

 extractor worked better than the flat one; 

 but still it was not just what I wanted. 

 Next I made the V-shaped sun extractor. 

 I irst the V liad too great an angle, then it 



\'i( 



shdwinu- til 



■It ill- 



v.as not euougli. Finally 1 mad;' tlic one 

 shown ill the illustrations. 



These sun extractors can be made in anv 

 size. The one I have now is ."'> x 8 x 2 feet, 

 inside measurement. The two larger glasses 



are 3 feet square, and the smaller one is 

 20 X 36 inches. The glass frames I made 

 lighter than the real frames. The glass win- 

 dows are flush with the top of the railing. 

 The galvanized-bottom melting surface is 

 3 X 6 feet, each half being 1% feet to center, 



Exter 



Kir vit'W 



if the Sun Extractoi 



and soldered down where the lapping takes 

 place. This V-shaped sun extractor has a 

 one-inch slope to three feet, as can be seen 

 in the drawing. It is important to have the 

 slope just right. Too much slope spoils the 

 pudding, and not enough is nearly useless. 



I use a wax-pan holding 25 pounds of wax. 

 This pan needs no separator, and leaves all 

 of the dirt after the honey and wax have 

 left it. I always keep a two or three-inch 

 ( hannel open for the honey and wax to run 

 down to the wax-pan. 



This kind of sun wax-extractor has a dou- 

 l)le slope to the melting (running) surface, 

 there being an inward slope to the channel 

 and the longitudinal two-inch sloj^e to the 

 wax-pan. No s<^reen nor cheese-cloth is 

 used. 



I do not believe in long narrow strips of 

 glass, such as I have seen some use, as it re- 

 sults in too much wasted heat, and attracts 

 too many bees. My sun extractor is bee- 

 proof and nearly air-tight. If a sun ex- 

 tractor is made right, your worrj^ is at an 

 end ; but if not, <lo not keep it in a foul 

 brood apiary. F. J. Severin. 



Imperial, Cal. 



PIIEFERS SUPERSEDURE QUEENS 



Why Old Queens Secure a Much Superior Breed- 

 ing Stock 



Last year there apjieared in C41eanings an 

 iinj)ortant article by J. W. Nichols in which 

 he stated that one of his queens was at her 

 best when eight years old. I believe that 

 this is the the only kind of queens to keep 

 for breeders, if a long-lived stock of bees is 

 ever to be secured. How can such a strain 

 lie pro<luced, if all i(ueens are replaced each 

 year? Or why re))lace a queen capable of 

 supi)lying sevt'ral iiiillions of eggs when she 



