732 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15. 



After doing my very best with tlioiii tlie second 

 year, thinking that I mifflit not have fully un- 

 derstood them at first. I was obliged to record 

 only 50 lbs. of honey from the six colonies whi&h 

 I had, while I had to feed them a large amoiuit 

 to get them prepartU ' for wintei-. taking combs 

 of sealed honey from the Italian (•(il((iiit>s To 

 feed them with, while the same nunibei' of Ital- 

 ians gave over 500 lbs. of surplus 'during the 

 same time and with .the same management. 

 With me the Syrian bees would increase but 

 little till the honey-harvest arrived, when they 

 would crowd every available cell with brood, 

 which brood would use up nearly all the honey 

 the few workers reared before could- gather 

 while the honey-harvest lasted. On the contra- 

 ry, when the honey-harvest opened, the Italians 

 would have a hive overflowing with bees, and ev- 

 ery conib filled with brood: and this brood would 

 gradually decrease till at the end of the harvesti 

 had lots of honey and few mouths to feed. Here 

 is an item which many bee-keepers seem to 

 ovei'look in following their profession. Bees 

 are of value only when they come in time to 

 take advantage of the honey-flow; and wheth- 

 er through the race of bees or the carelessness 

 of the apiarist we fail in this point, little profit, 

 or none at all, is sure to be the result. 



The same fault that I have spoken of in the 

 above exists to a considerable extent in the 

 Carniolan bees, or, at least, has done so in those 

 I have had. While they can be brought up to 

 rapid brood-rearing before the honey-harvest 

 is upon us, which is different from the Syrians, 

 yet they are determined to breed all through 

 the honey-harvest, and to a large extent after 

 it is past, so that, as a rule, unless they are 

 looked after, many colonies are apt to be short 

 of stores, to go into winter with, while the large 

 amount of brood reared during the honey-har- 

 vest takes away quite a quantity of what we 

 should receive as surplus. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., Oct. 4. 



Friend D., there is another objection to the 

 Syrians and Holy- Lands. I feel quite certain 

 that the same quantities of bees of these races 

 will not, as a rule, gather as much honey as 

 the same number of Italians. 



A REVERSIBLE EXTRACTOR. 



M INTYRE S I'i;oi>OSED MACHIXE PUT TO ACTU- 

 AL test; an intekesting experiment. 



I wish to say that I have been very much in- 

 terested in what Mr. J. F. Mclntyre has had to 

 say about reversible extractors (see page 626). His 

 article, published in the Nov. 1st Gleanings, 

 1889, was full of suggestions, and of great in- 

 terest to us who vise the extractor a great deal. 



Last spring I made up my mind that I would 

 make a reversible machine; and as I went 

 about my work, for days I thought of little else. 

 My line of thought finally took almost exactly 

 the same course traced in Mr. Mclntyre's arti- 

 cle that was published on page 626. I made a 

 wooden model, and experimented with that 

 until it was time to begin extracting, when I 

 sent to A. I. Root for a large can with a suita- 

 ble gearing, and had a tinner make the baskets 

 and inside frame. I made a two-frame ma- 

 chine, which takes a can 24 inches in diameter. 

 The Ijaskcts are hung as illustrated in Mr. 

 Mclntyrc"s article, and are simply connected 

 so tliat, when one is reversed, the other goes 

 with It. A small catch holds the baskets when 

 reversed, as In Fig. 2 (see Mr. Mclntyre's arti- 

 cle). When in the first position, as in Fig. 1, 

 the heavy side of the basket rests against a 

 projection from the cross-bar that holds the 



basket up. It is almost automatic, and is re- 

 versed by stopping and turning ■Wie other way. 



This extractor can .certaiiily be reversed 

 without shopping, but I have not betm able to 

 get a frame or baskets made stout enough to 

 stand the sti-ain. ^line accidentally reversed a 

 coupl-c of times while in motion, and I thought 

 it would tear every thing to pieces. I do not 

 believe it is {)jossib}e to make the frame and 

 baskets stout enoVigh to reverse while going at 

 full speed, without niaking the mfichine too ex- 

 pi'iisJNc: and even if the niachine would stand 

 the strain, I am afi'aid the coniljs of honey 

 would not, especially the tender new ones in 

 hot weather. 



I extracted about 3500 lbs. with my two- 

 frame reversible this year, and I am very much 

 pleased with it. I can do the work at least 

 thi'ee times as fast as I can with a non-reversi- 

 ble extractor, and just as easily. 



One advantage of this machine is, that the 

 baskets are hung and revolve quite close to the 

 center of the can; in fact, in my two-frame 

 machine the baskets, when reversed are a little 

 nearer the center of the can than they are in 

 the Novice. In a four -frame machine they 

 would have to be further out from the center, 

 in order to give more room for the baskets to 

 revolve in reversing, so as not to interfere with 

 one another. 



The baskets seem to revolve with a momen- 

 tum like a fly-wheel^at least, more so than 

 any I ever used before. There is nothing to 

 catch the wind, besides the baskets and the flat 

 cross-bars. 



AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE FOLDING TENT. 



I have been compelled to use the bee-tent al- 

 most constantly this summer when handling 

 the bees, though there were a few days during 

 basswood bloom when I did not use it. Each 

 season I renew the netting on my tents. With 

 the best of care they will get torn, and once in 

 a while the wind plays havoc with them. This 

 year I used light muslin half way up from the 

 bottom all around, and mosquito-bar only in 

 the top part of the tent. I also se^^' a piece of 

 light burlap, one foot wide, all around the bot- 

 tom. If the ground is uneven it hangs down 

 and prevents any bees from getting under. The 

 muslin is an advantage in two ways: It is not 

 so apt to catch on bushes, hives, etc.. and get 

 torn; and in the second place (and it is really 

 the more important), the bees can not see what 

 you are doing so well from the outside; and 

 when you set a comb down on the ground the 

 robbers can not see it at all. You who have 

 used the tent much will appreciate this point. 

 I have taken great comfort with min(^ while 

 preparing my bees for winter during September, 

 when the bees had nothing to do but to watch 

 me. 



WINTER PACKING 



above the frames in chaff hives, and also in 

 single-walled hives, to be successful, should not 

 be above six inches deep, of chaff or leaves 

 lightly pressed down, and the hive must be 

 provided with holes in the upper part to give 

 ventilation. If sufficient ventilation is not pro- 

 vided for, the i)acking will gather dampness. 

 If too much packing is used, or It is prc^^sed in 

 too solid, it will get wet. It is also essential 

 that the hive-roof be perfectly water-tight. 

 Some porous material, such as burlap, should 

 be put next to the frames. If these conditions 

 are complied with, the packing, bees, and 

 combs will stay perfectly dry. and there will be 

 no need ever to open out the hive to the sun, or 

 to dry the packing, as I have seen recommended. 

 The above is the result of several seasons' ex- 

 perience, not with one only, but with dozens of 

 hives. Our bees that were packed in chaff 



