334 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



Some yoiuio- brood and eggs sliould be in the 

 comb or combs of brood i)liiced above. ]}e 

 sure that the queen is left in tlie lower sto- 

 ry. Let there be an entrance in the upper 

 story, not necessarily very large. In about 

 three weeks a young (jueen will be laying 

 above, and at the close of the harvest this 

 upper story will contain a strong colony, 

 which may be put into a separate hive, and 

 <i bottom-board may be put under it, so as to 

 stop all communication with the lower story. 



PAGE 30.— IJAKKELS. 



At present the square tin cans described 

 under Extracted Honey are i)refeiTed to 

 barrels for shipping, as being cheaper and in 

 some respects better. 



PAGJE 38. — HOW TO KPJEL' EJIi'TY COMBS. 



When combs are left in spring, after the 

 death of the bees in a hive, tiiere is no safer 

 place to put them than in the care of a good 

 strong colony. Brush off the dead bees and 

 put tiie combs in a clean hive on the stand 

 of a strong colony, and then i)lace the colo- 

 ny over this hive of empty combs, so that 

 they will be obliged to pass through the hive 

 of combs to go in or out. In other words, 

 give the bees no entrance, except that of the 

 lower hive, allowing free communication be- 

 tween the two. The comlis will be kept 

 free from worms and mold, with no care 

 whatever on your part, except to keep the 

 entrance so small for two or three days at 

 first that robbers shall not trouble. 



After the weather has become warm, three 

 or four st(jries of empty comljs may be piled 

 on the top of a hive containing a colony, 

 with a queen-excluder between, and a frame 

 of brood in the upper story to make sure 

 that the bees traverse all the combs. 



PAGE 0(3.— SWEET CLOVER. 



It is now well established, that cattle do 

 sometimes eat sweet clover green, althougli 

 some say it is objectionable as pasturage. 

 Prof. Tracy, of the Mississippi Agricultu- 

 ral College, speaks highly of it as a hay 

 plant, but says, as do others, that stock 

 must learn to eat it. Livingston's catalogue 

 says it is " quite valuable for soiling." Its 

 general character as a good honey-plant is 

 well established, and it may be well worth 

 wliile to give it a thorougji test as a forage- 

 plant. 



PAGE 64.— AVIRING IJROOD-FRAMES. 



If thick top-bars come into general use, as 

 now seems possible, the necessity for diago- 

 nal wires and center-bais of folded tin will 

 disappear. Indeed, even with a top-bar only 

 'i thick, the diagonals and folded tin have 

 been by some dispensed with. This saves 

 turning the frame over to fasten the wires 

 on the second side. 



X'MiK do. — STARTERS FOH SECTION ROXES. 



Many bee-keepers want the starter to fill 

 the section as nearly as possible, leaving a 

 sjiace of only i or t inch at the sides and 

 bottom. Even with so large a starter as 

 tiiis, the bees sometimes fail to fasten the 

 comb at the sides and bottom. It is espe- 

 cially desirable to have it fastened at the 

 bottom, to prevent Vireaking out in ship- 

 ping ; but even if long enough to toucli the 

 bottom, the bees do not always finisli it 



down. Perhaps a safer way is to fasten a 

 staiter at tlie bottom, I incli wide or deep ; 

 then fasten at the top a starter 3i- inches 

 deep. This makes a sure thing of having 

 the comb fastened to the bottom-bar. Siich 

 starters i)roperly fastened with a Clark fas- 

 tener have been safely hauled on tlie trot to 

 an out-apiary. If cut 3| instead of 3i, the 

 swing, and the consequent liability to fall 

 out, would be much greater. 



PAGE 66.— FASTi:XING FOUNDATION START- 

 ERS AVITII THE CLARK MACHINE. 



Instead of using a small paint-brush to 

 moisten the i»resser-tongue, make a little 

 paddle, say 8 or 10 inches long, i inch thick, 

 and 1 to 1^ inches wide. Nail upon one'side 

 of it a piece of felt, or two or three thick- 

 nesses of old soft clotli, equal to the length 

 of the presser-tongue, then whittle off the 

 handle end, saturate the cushioned part well 

 witli salt water, renewing it if it should get 

 dry. To moisten tiie tongue, lay your pad- 

 dle under it, ])ress witli the feet just as when 

 fastening in a starter, and then throw the 

 paddle in your lap till needed again. This 

 takes less time, and is more thorough, than 

 to use the brush. You may need to moisten 

 the tongue for each starter, or you may need 

 it t)nly after fastening several starters. It is 

 a good plan to have a little tin dish of salt 

 water in which the tongue may be so set as 

 U) keep in soak over night, so as to be in 

 good trim for next day's work. 



PAGE G8.— THICK TOP-BARS AERSUS HONEY- 

 BOARDS. 



The year 1889 started a very full discus- 

 sion of the means of preventing brace-combs 

 above brood-frames, and it transpired that 

 quite a number had for years succeeded in 

 preventing Inace-combs, without any honey- 

 board. .Some claimed partial or entire suc- 

 cess with toi)-bars I sciuare ; some with top- 

 bars f thick, but wide enough to leave only 

 I inch space between them, while some laid 

 great stress on the matter of keeping a very 

 small space between top-bars and sections. 

 In general, bees build brace-combs above or 

 between top-bars, if too much room is giv- 

 en ; and if too little is given, then the space 

 is apt to be closed entirely. Taking all the 

 evidence brought together, and sifting it 

 out, there is at least great reason to hope for 

 immunity from brace-combs by attending 

 to the following re(iuiiements : The top-bars 

 must be at least l tliick, and the space be- 

 tween the top-bars, as also the sjjace be- 

 tween top-bars and sections, or whatever is 

 immediately over the top-bars, must be, with 

 some exactness, ff.^ of an inch. ■ This neces- 

 sitates a top-bar of greater widtli than some 

 would otherwise prefer. If the toi)-bars are 

 spaced H from center to center, then, to 

 have the space between them j'V, their width 

 must be a little more than an inch. The 

 year 1890 will i)robably settle tlie whole mat- 

 ter very conclusively, for so much attention 

 has been given to it that doubtless thorough 

 tests will be made by a great many. Not- 

 withstanding the great usefulness of the 

 slat honey-board in the past, it will be quite 

 a step in advance if it can be laid aside. It 

 will save expense, time, and troul)le ; for, no 

 matter how clear of l>race-combs tlie honey- 



