490 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



COVERS TO ONE AND ONE H VLF STORY HIVES. 



I see on page 451, Nov. No. of Gleanings, that 

 friend W. E. Flower complains that the cover of his 

 story and a half hive lea'ts. I am surprised at that. 

 I bought 'one of yon last winter, in the fiat though, 

 and put it up mvself, in a few minutes. The top 

 boards both work into a groove cut in ridge piece, 

 and I gave a good coat of paint (white lead, very 

 thick! inside the groove, and then drove the pieces 

 in tight. This top has never leaked one drop, and, in 

 fact, cati'i leak when put together in the manner 

 described above. 



CASE OF SECTIONS TO THE V/t STOKY HIVE. 



The case of 28 sections I like. 1 place a broad 

 frame upon each side of lower story, and watch 

 them below, as well as above, and as fast as one sec- 

 tion box is scaled over, I take it from the bees sub- 

 stituting another box with fdti. starters. I believe 

 that friend F. will be better pleased with them if he 

 does try them another season. I think, in future, 

 that I shall use the half story, exclusively, instead 

 of having two stones. I believe in fdn., Italian bees, 

 dollar queens, and Gleanings. K. C. Taylor. 



P. S. — I am fast becoming a convert of friend 

 Townley's. I "believe" in chaff packing, even in 

 th is climate! ft. C. T. 



Wilmington, N. C, Nov. 10, 1879. 



One is impressed with the idea that you 

 will soon get to be a believer in a good many 

 things, friend T. Thanks for your kind 

 words. Here is another friend who has 

 some good ideas on covers. 



COVERS TO l!i STORY HIVES; STILL MORE ABOUT 

 THEM. 



If you will construct the covers to your hives like 

 the sketch shown below, I think you will have no 

 trouble with leaking roofs. 



END PIECE FOR COVER. 

 HOW TO MAKE A COVER THAT CAN'T LEAK. 



The trouble with yours is (beg pardon), you have 

 no way of fastening the side covers to the ridge 

 board, and it is a fact that lumber cannot be so well 

 seasoned that it will not draw to some extent, when 

 exposed to the weather. As soon as your side covers 

 draw enough to break the paint, just so soon the 

 storm will commence to beat in. In this cover, a 

 rabbet is cut on each lower corner of the ridge board, 

 with a pitch to accommodate the sides, and wide 

 enough to admit a lap of % of an inch. The joint 

 should be painted when put together, and the sides 

 permanently locked to the ridge board, by means of 

 screws driven from beneath so that no portion of 

 them is exposed to the weather. I have not used 

 these covers long enough to give them a thorough 

 test, but so far they do nicely. I have not designed 

 this for publication but simply endeavor to aid in 

 producing for the public, a roof proof against storm, 

 and cheaper than tin. D. 13. Baker. 



Rollersville, O., Nov. 11, 1879. 



DRY FUEL FOR SMOKERS, AND HOW TO MAKE A 

 COLD-BLAST SMOKER BURN EVEN DAMP FUEL. 



I have ordered several Simplicity smokers for 

 neighbors and friends, though I furnished the smo- 

 kers at your prices to me, paying postage myself. I 

 have been anxious the goods should give satisfac- 

 tion. The following complaints of the cold-blast 

 smoker have been made: After the fuel was partly 

 consumed, what remained would shake about and 

 the Are go out; the fuel back of the tube would not 

 burn; the tube fills with soot, etc. Now, complaints, 

 no doubt, are the result of imperfect fuel. I find 

 tlie rotten wood must be entirely free from moisture 



to work well. Who of U9 has not almost lost pa- 

 tience to And, after the smoker is filled and we 

 ready for business, that our fuel has gathered damp- 

 ness by lying? A brother for whom I ordered a 

 smoker last spring, declared he would not " bother 

 with that smoker another time" I asked to be al- 

 lowed to try his smoker. Smoker and wood were 

 brought. He said the wood was "perfectly dry," 

 and so it seemed; but experience had taught me 

 that it is be3t first to put wood into the oven, and 

 when I lit the smoker he fairly laughed with delight. 

 Now, friend Root, some will be "careless," not- 

 withstanding the dry wood and printed instruct ons 

 that accompany each smoker. So I began to think 

 whit could be done. I took an awl, and made 2 

 small holes in the tube, close to the bottom of the 

 cup, nearly opposite the draft hole. I find it obvi- 

 ates all the above-named difficulties, and works 

 splendidlv, even if the wood is somewhat damp. 

 The small holes keep the fire alive by blowing in a 

 little air, and yet not enous-h to perceptibly affect 

 the cold blast. With very dry wood, the draft can 

 be very nearly, if not quite, closed. All T order 

 hereafter I shall certainly fix, if not already fixed. 



L. I). WOKTH. 



Reading Centre, Schuyler Co., N. Y., Nov. 12, 1879. 



Many thanks, friend W. Your idea is not 

 new, and I some time ago decided I did not 

 want such a hole, for direct draft ; but since 

 so many will not have their fuel dry, I pre- 

 sume we would best make our smokers, with 

 very small holes in the center tube, as you 

 suggest. Our friends will have to see that 

 these holes do not get clogged with soot and 

 ashes. 



One day later.— 1 have had a nice machine 

 made to prick two small holes in all the cold 

 blast tubes. The girl who puts the smokers 

 together finished up one of these nicely, and 

 brought it to me. Surely enough, it worked 

 splendidly— filled the room full of smoke, 

 and made everything " red hot," almost, in 

 no time. But there are two serious objec- 

 tions ; one is, that it draws smoke back into 

 the bellows, through these small holes. The 

 quantity is small, it is true, but I am sure we 

 do not want a particle of smoke to get into 

 the bellows under any circumstances. The 

 other is, that such a blast of flame blown 

 right against the side of the cup solders the 

 door fast. Said the girl, 



"Mr. Root, I do not see how anybody can 

 ever complain about not smoke enough with 

 any smoker we have sent out in the past (i 

 months, " and after trying them, I confess I 

 feel the same way. With any one of them I 

 can " smoke your eyes out 1 ' when you are 10 

 feet distant. However, w r e will prick holes 

 in the blast tube, for all who want them so. 



WANTED, A SPIRIT LEVEL, PLUMB, AND COMPASS 

 COMBINED, FOR FIXING UP HIVES. 



Friend Novice: -There is an implement I feel in 

 need of. and perhaps some of the rest of the frater- 

 nity may be like me; that is, a spirit level that will 

 go into the Simplicity hive and rest on the rabbets. 

 Then we can level our hives exactly, which is very 

 important. Have it fixed so we can plumb our trel- 

 lis posts, and have a compass set in the side so we 

 can set our hives all just right. The size of it you 

 can proportion according to the length. I leave it 

 for your decision. 



ITALIANS VERSUS BLACKS. 



My Italian queen I bought of you, the lot hot' June, 

 has now enough provision for winter, and some to 

 spare, and the hive is chuck full of golden bees, 

 while the black swarm, which I hived the same day I 

 received the Italian queen, has not half as much 

 honey, or bees either. The queen had three combs 

 to commence with, while the swarm had one comb, a 

 peck of bees, and frames filled with fdn. With the 

 same chances, the Italian will more than double the 

 blacks. C. M. Reed. 



Pocahontas, Hardeman Co., Tcnn., Oct. 16, 1879. 



