562 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



and we do not want any more of them, as I 

 explained to Dr. Miller some time ago, cov- 

 ered with tin. If the ends are let into the 

 grooves in good substantial cleats, there 

 will be no warping. It is true, there may 

 be, in time, a little winding; but if there 

 should be, the high corners can be leveled 

 up by putting the cover under a weight in 

 such a way as to bring them back to posi- 

 tion. With thick top-bars, and no enamel 

 cloths or other covers, to my notion we 

 shall have all that can be desired. Refer- 

 ring again to the winding, your cover will 

 not be entirely proof against it, I think. 

 Our old Simplicity covers that have been 

 used for some seven or eight years have be- 

 gun to show this undesirable feature some- 

 what, and I can not see how a cover cleated 

 all around is much better than one cleated 

 on two ends, in this respect.— I like your 

 improvement on the Keeney method of wir- 

 ing. I can not now imagine why I didn't 

 think of it before. In making the engrav- 

 ing I gave instructions to make the point 6 

 toward the top of the frame instead of to- 

 ward the bottom, as you made it in your 

 drawing. Six is very securely braced, and 

 will prevent the sagging of a thin top-bar. 

 It is at this point where most of the heavy 

 strain comes. The horizontal wire 1 and 

 2, when reversed so as to be parallel and 

 immediate to the top-bar, will not hold as 

 great a weight as the wire braced as at 3, 6, 

 4 ; 1 and 2, immediate to the bottom-bar, is 

 not required, usually, to support any weieht 

 of honey, so I should prefer to begin at No. 

 1 to bring point 6 next to the top-bar, rath- 

 er than to bring 6 near the bottom-bar. I 

 understand the reason why you prefer to 

 have the horizontal wire near the top- bar; 

 and that is, to keep the foundation from 

 folding over, which it is liable to do if wired 

 as shown above. But to prevent this, cut a 

 wide groove on the under side of the top- 

 bar, and push the end of the foundation up 

 into said groove. Then imbed the founda- 

 tion on to the wires. We have tried frames 

 wired as above, and they worked beautiful- 

 ly. Our thanks are due to you, friend H., 

 for suggesting the usa of one wire only. I 

 believe it will be strong enough for all pur- 

 poses ; and it is at a considerable saving of 

 time over the two-wire plan.— Let us hear 

 from you of tener, friend II., by way of criti- 

 cism or otherwise. Your pen smacks of 

 experience. E. R. 



ANOTHER METHOD OP GETTING 

 BEES OUT OF BOXES. 



NO USE FOR HONEY-BOARDS. 



I SEE quite a good deal in Gleanings about get- 

 ting bees out of boxes or eection-cases, bee-escapes, 

 thick top-bars, etc. I will try to tell you how I have 

 managed for some years past to get bees out of 

 surplus cases, not to have any robbing, and but 

 few stings. I commence to take off honey any 

 time when it is warm enough for the bees to fly 

 nicely. I start the bees down with smoke, then 

 take off the case quickly, turn it over on my left 

 arm, and brush them with goldenrods when in bloom. 

 The bees don't seem to get cross when brushed 

 with goldenrod tops. I brush the bees from the 



lower side of the case down in front of the hiver 

 then set the case on a stand near the hives I take 

 the cases off from, and pile them up as h:gh as con- 

 venient. I have an empty case with thin muslin 

 tacked on the top, which I keep on the pile of sec- 

 tion cases. I keep right on taking off cases until I 

 get off all I want at that time. If it is off from a 

 hundred hives it would be all the same. Then if 

 the bees are lively I can go to the first pile with 

 brush in hand, take off the muslin cafe and brush 

 the bees from the top of the honey-cases and give 

 the muslin case a quick thake and put it on the 

 cases and go to the next pile; and in a short time I 

 have the bees all out without any robbing or stings. 

 If there happen to be brace-combs, so much the 

 better, for the bees will go for the honey and sel- 

 dom uncap the honey in the sections. The same is 

 true of the frames I have been using lately. They 

 have thin top-bars plump 54 inch thick. That ac- 

 counts for the brace-combs on some hives. Now, I 

 have tried a number of different ways to get bees 

 out of sections; but the way I have described 

 above suits me the best. 



THICK TOP-BARS. 



1 wish to write a little about thick top-bars, so I 

 will go back a little. 1 have been keeping bees near- 

 ly 24 years. I was first attacked with the bee-grip 

 in 1866. While I was working on a farm near Da- 

 venport, Iowa, I happened to be at one of my 

 neighbors in harvest time. At dinner they had 

 some genuine clover honey on the table. He kept 

 30 or 40 hives of bees in Langstroth hives. He had 

 Langstroth's book on bees, which I read some that 

 noon. In the fall I was at Davenport at the county 

 fair. There I saw the Child's patent bee-hive. I 

 was taken up with it so much that I invested f30 in 

 rights, etc. I use the hive now to store bee papers 

 in. I should like to give you a little of my experi- 

 ence with that hive, if I had time. I made some 

 hives with frames that hung on hinges; and to han- 

 dle them (as there were no projections) I made my 

 top-bars % inch thick, with a groove on each side, 

 made with a round plane. I don't remember of 

 ever being bothered with brace-combs. My top- 

 bars were always clean. I had a plump j^-inch bee- 

 space between sections and hive. I have used 

 thick top-bars most of the time since I have been 

 keeping bees. 



I believe the queen-excluders are a good thing, 

 but T have no use for break joint honey-boards. 

 Perhaps I should have both on hand now if 1 had 

 not used up my surplus change in two trips to 

 Florida and one to Cuba. For the past three or 

 four years I have got the most honey with the 

 least work and the least stings I have ever got. I 

 have never failed in getting some honey to sell 

 since I have been keeping bees. I never have fed 

 10 lbs. of sugar to get one lb. of honey. This is a 

 poor section for white honey. It is a buckwheat 

 and goldenrod section. 



The honey-case I am using at present suits me 

 best of any thing I have ever had. I can put on 28 

 sections with separators, or 33 without, or half the 

 number if I wish. I used to dread to clean up sec- 

 tions for market, but the way I have them now it is 

 a pleasure. This year I have sent sections to mar- 

 ket that were nearly as clean as when they were 

 put on the hives. 1 have a wide frame that holds 

 four sections. When the sections are full they will 

 weigh exactly 1 lb., without glass. They are held 

 in the frames with a thin wedge or a couple of wire 



