1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



233 



In that Simplicity hive I bought of you last year, 

 I have a swarm of common black bees, for which, I 

 have been offered $12.00 this spring, so you must 

 know they wintered nicely. Bees died off here bad- 

 ly this last winter, but mine are all right, and have 

 been working hard for the past 3 weeks. 



D. S. BASSETT. 



Farnumsville, Mass., May 5, 1879. 



We have had a splendid flow of honey this spring. 

 The flow during the month of April was unprece- 

 dented, and, strange to tell, the bees were too busy 

 to raise queens and swarm. At present writing my 

 combs are all well filled, and I intend to have them 

 so during the summer. W. F. Roberts. 



Clinton, La., M ay 7, 1879. 



GOOD FOR THE "BLACKYS." 



On the 16th of April, 1879, 1 transferred a swarm of 

 bees from a tree to a Simplicity hive. They gave 

 me 75H>s. of nice white honey, and 8 L. frames filled 

 completely with brood. They can scarcely stay in a 

 single story hive, and gathered from fruit 

 bloom 25fos. of honey after they were transferred. 

 They keep all 10 of their frames nicely filled with 

 brood. Would you call this good work for black 

 bees? Wm. Parmerlee. 



Bean Blossom, Ind., May 7, 1879. 



[Yes, Sir !] 



PATENT HIVES. 



An agent visited me the other day, with the "Van 

 Horn Excelsior Hive" (moth proof). He and others 

 seem to be selling a good many "farm rights," at $10, 

 in this and other parts of the state. Please tell us 

 in Gleanings, if they have a patent. 



W. A. McPhail. 



Pleasanton, Texas, April 28, 1879. 



[I do not know of the hive you mention, nor can I 

 think it worth the trouble to hunt up patents. Past 

 experience in any neighborhood in our land will 

 demonstrate that the money paid out for patent 

 right bee hives is worse than thrown away ; will it 

 not ? Look about you and see.] 



ported only by the wires, they are embeded in the 

 f dn. If the fdn. is too warm or if too much pressure 

 is applied, the wires will pass entirely through. If, 

 after the wires are inserted, the fdn. bends between 

 them, it can be made straight again by placing the 

 frame over a board made to fit inside and passing 

 the roller over it. 



During the past week, I have filled a hundred or 

 more frames with fdn. wired in this way, and my 

 bees are now drawing out the cells. That you may 

 see how little they care for the wire, I send you a 

 portion of a frame which was placed in a hire at 4 

 o'clock yesterday afternoon, and taken out early 

 this morning. You will see that it is nearly drawn 

 out and partly filled with eggs. 



I also send you a "Foundation Wire Fastener." 

 It can be used when made longer or with greater 

 diameter, but I like the small size best, as you can 

 get nearer the top and bottom bars. I do not fasten 

 the fdn. to the top bar; I simply place it close to 

 the bar; the bees fasten it. A. H. K. Blood. 



Quincy, Mass. 



Many thanks, friend Blood, for so gener- 

 ously and promptly giving us the benefit of 

 your little invention. The comb is certainly 

 as perfect as one could desire, and I really 

 cannot tell by examination on which side of 

 the wire the fdn. was placed. Although 

 the wires are less than H inches apart, there 

 is not a single badly shaped cell on either 

 side of the sample sent. Below we give a 

 cut of the little roller. 



FOUNDATION ON WIRES. 



HAVE been experimenting for some time to in- 

 sert wires in my foundation. After considera- 

 ble thinking, the idea popped into my head, that 

 if I should sew the wire into the frames, as you have 

 suggested in Gleanings, and then place them In a 

 hot oven, the wires would sink into the fdn. when 

 placed upon them. I was quite sure this would 

 work, so the next day I roasted a frame well, and 

 placed the fdn. on the wires. Imagine my surprise 

 to find that the wires did not sink into the fdn. 

 enough to make a mark! The fine tinned wire (No. 

 36) cooled almost instantaneously, after being re- 

 moved from the oven. This was failure No. 1. 



Next, it seemed probable to me that, if I should 

 place the fdn. on a board large enough to fit inside 

 the frame, and then heat the fdn. until soft, I could 

 cause the wires to sink into it any depth by pressing 

 them upon it. The heat of the sun not being suffi- 

 cient to soften the wax, I placed it on the board in 

 the oven. As soon as it softened, I placed a frame 

 over it, and caused the wires to sink into it n icely. 

 I then attempted to raise the frame, when, behold! ] 

 out came the wires and fdn. stuck fast to the board I 

 This, certainly, was not a success. 



Seeing that the wires would go into the fdn., I 

 next tried to soften the fdn. with the wires under it. 

 This was easily done, but I found I needed some- 

 thing to press the fdn. onto the wires. After using 

 various things I made what I call our— 



FOUNDATION WIRE INSERTER. 



To U9e this, sew the wire into the frames, place 

 the fdn. on the wires, and set the frames in the sun 

 or above a hot stove (I use the latter), until the fdn. 

 is soft enough to sag a little between the wires, 

 then pass the roller over the fdn., and as it is sup- 



BLOOD'S FDN. WIRE INSERTER. 



It is made of hard wood, is 5i inches long 

 and I in. in diameter, and is held in a heavy 

 wire frame as shown in the cut. I will fur- 

 nish the implement for 20c, or 25c by mail, 

 if friend B. does not object, and 1 will pay 

 him $5.00 for his invention. 



Do not send any more Jan. and Feb. Nos. That 

 offer of 20c. each "fetched 'em." 



^ ■•■ ^ 



The Bee-Keeper's Exchange has now caught up ex- 

 cept the March No. The name is a good one ; it is 

 really an exchange of thought between real, live, 

 sharp bee-keepers. Some of them may be rather 

 young, and some of the plans given may need some 

 remodeling, but if your humble servant is not the 

 one to have a broad charity for such, I don't know 

 who is. Let us give friend Nellis and the Exchange 

 a lift, boys, for his paper is certainly worth the small 

 sum he asks for it. 



^ i » i *m • 



Although we have had some reports of dwind- 

 ling with chaff packing, we have had a far greater 

 number which point unmistakably, in favor of 

 chaff packing. Of bees that wintered nicely in cel- 

 lars, many suffered badly, if not packed in chaff 

 after they were taken out. Well made house apia- 

 ries seem to have given the best results. Although 

 it may be hard to tell in all cases, why the bees died, 

 it is very certain that frosty nights in the spring 

 had very much to do with it, and I know of nothing 

 that will so effectually remedy this difficulty, as a 

 warm, well made house apiary. 



