260 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW, 



Bingham pattern, I availed myself to some 

 extent of the induced current. In the shield 

 there is a short tube, five-eighths of an inch 

 in diameter, the lower end of which had 

 been inserted in the hole in the old bellows. 

 The hole in the new bellows is three-eighths 

 of an inch. I raised the shield so as to make 

 a"cut-ofE" of about a quarter of an inch 

 between the bellows and the tube. There is 

 another "cut ofif " between the upper end of 

 the tube and the fire box. The hole for ad- 

 mitting air to the fire barrel is only about 

 the same diameter as the tube. This con- 

 struction is faulty because a part of the air 

 current is wasted between the upper end of 

 the tube and the fire box. Had I been at 

 the tinsmith's I would have had an inch and 

 one-eighth tube fastened in the fire barrel 

 into which the smaller tube would discharge. 

 To prevent fire and ashes from falling into 

 the bellows I would have the large tube 

 project into the fire box an inch or more. 

 But even as it is I have the strongest blast 

 I have ever used. The ordinary working of 

 the bellows now starts the fire into a blaze, 

 while before it would hardly give the requi- 

 ite quantity of smoke. It may be said that 

 such a very strong blast is unnecessary, but 

 is a very good thing to have in reserve the 

 power to deluge a vicious stock with smoke 

 on short notice, and that at a considerable 

 distance. If Mr. Bingham will study up 

 the work above referred to, and appropriate 

 what he may learn therefrom, he can place 

 in the hands of bee-keepers a smoker as 

 much better than his present Doctor as that 

 smoker is superior to the original Quinby. 



Of course to a slight extent the principle 

 of the induced current attains in the Bing- 

 ham, and other smokers of that kind. In 

 passing the current of air through the "cut 

 ofif " outside air is taken in with the current, 

 if the hole in the fire barrel happens to be 

 large enough. The only advantage Mr. 

 Bingham claims for the " cut off," which he 

 calls his invention, is that the bellows works 

 easier and that any kind of fuel may be 

 burned without blazing. But there is more; 

 the blast is stronger on that account, and it 

 may be made several times stronger by 

 using tubes, as already described. 



When the problem comes to be fully 

 worked out perhaps the place of exit for the 

 air in Mr. Crane's bellows may be the best, 

 because there is nearly the whole length of 

 the bellows in which to lay tubes before 

 reaching the fire box. The only objection I 



see to it is that the current of air has to turn 

 at a right angle, and this weakens its force 

 to some extent. 



It would be interesting to know the differ- 

 ence in temperature between a " hot blast" 

 and a "cold blast." This may be ascer- 

 tained, at least approximately, by directing 

 the currents against the bulb of a thermom- 

 eter. It would also be interesting to know 

 the difference in the force of the blast be- 

 tween a new Bingham and one of Mr. 

 Crane's smokers, the capacity of the bellows 

 in each case being the same. An arrange- 

 ment could be made for employing the bel- 

 lows of each in exactly the same time, and 

 the force of the blast could be accurately 

 ascertained by directing the currents against 

 the fan of an anemometer. If these experi- 

 ments were carefully made they would help 

 to show the progress we are making, and we 

 would have more definite ideas on these 

 matters. 



Lindsay, Ont., Canada, Aug. 24, 1892. 



Why Bee Cellars Need Veutilation. 



0. O. MILLEE. 



tN READING over 

 1 your leader in 

 last Review, I gave 

 a nod of approval to 

 everything until I 

 came to the place 

 where you say that if 

 there is any truth in 

 the statement that a 

 cellar will keep a 

 small number of col- 

 onies better than a 

 large number it is 

 because a large number of colonies cre- 

 ate too much heat toward spring. In my 

 house cellar I have wintered from eight to 

 200. The eight winter better than the 200, and 

 the difference is not all "toward Spring." 

 Did you ever spend a night in a small room 

 crowded with people with all doors and win- 

 dows shut? Were you uncomfortable be- 

 cause the room got too warm toward morn- 

 ing? Wasn't it rather because the air be- 

 came foul from so many pairs of lungs? 

 And isn't it the same thing in a bee cellar? 



Let me quote from my record book. "Feb. 

 17, 1891. — Bees very uneasy — warm in cellar- 



