1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



331 



with entrance left npm. The generated fumes soon 

 fill the hive, enter every crevice, and precipitate on 

 the walls of the hive, on the bees, combs, etc.; it 

 gets into the honey and the bee-bread and effectual- 

 ly and completely kills the spores of the foul brood. 

 The operation has to be done once a day for several 

 days in succession; then again after a week's time; j 

 then every two weeks, till cured. It is quite benefi- 

 cial to ieei the treated colonies with diluted honey 

 Or syrup, to which some salicylic acid has been add- ] 

 ed. If precaution is taken, not to heat the acid too 

 much atid not to use too munh of it at a time, it will 

 not injure the bees or the young- brood in the least. 



CHINESE OIL RADISH. 



This plant produces only nectar, no pollen, and 

 does best on very light, sandy soil. We tried the oil 

 radish in our section, but our bees did not care for it 

 any more than for common radish, when in bloom. 

 Since 1877, we have not made any more experiments 

 with it. The stalk of the plant makes fodder for 

 sheep and cattle, and the seed is valuable for the oil 

 it contains. Greiner Brothers. 



Naples, N. Y , March 15, 18S0. 



Thanks, friends G. Will those troubled 

 with foul-brood test the matter as given 

 above? It would seem that the fumes of the 

 acid must prove offensive, if not injurious, 

 to the bees, but, of course, Ilerr Hilbert 

 knows, if he has tried it. I should be very 

 glad of some seed of the oil radish. The 

 black flea is the great enemy here, of all of 

 that family. 



HOW MANY FRAMES SHOULD BE USED IN UPPER 

 STORY FOR EXTRACTING? 



Mr. Root: —Please let me know how many frames 

 for extracting you would use in the chaff hive. 

 Paterson, N. J., June 1, 1S80. Wm. Shinton. 



The upper story of the chaff hive is made 

 to contain 14 ordinary brood frames such as 

 are used below ; but, if I were going to work 

 exclusively for extracted honey, I should put 

 the frames farther apart, and get them built 

 out very thick, so as to have less uncapping 

 to do, and fewer frames to handle. I have 

 often taken a quart of honey from a single 

 comb, when they were thus built out thick. 

 For this purpose, drone combs are just as 

 good as any, and I am pretty sure the bees 

 fill them quicker, on account of the large 

 cells, than they do worker comb. I presume 

 10 of these thick combs would lill the upper 

 story of a chaff hive, but the number is not 

 material. If too close, the bees will stick 

 them together ; if too far apart, they will 

 build a thin comb between them. If they 

 are gradually moved apart, the cells will 

 soon become so deep that the queen cannot 

 lay in them, even if she should wander into 

 the upper story. 



"TEETING" OF QUEENS THE NIGHT BEFOHE SWARM- 

 ING. 



A. I. Runt: Have you noticed that through the 

 night before swarming, the queen is sounding her 

 notes at intervals? Some of our bee men arc in the 

 habit of watching or rather listening for the note at 

 nierht, and when they hear it they watch for the 

 swarm. I see nothing of it in the A I! < ', hence I 

 write about it. H. H. Thorpe, M. D. 



Liberty Hill, Tex., May 31, 1880. 



The matter is alluded to under the head of 

 "Queens' Voices," on page ISO, of the A 13 



C. It is not often this "teeting" is heard 

 before first swarms issue, unless they have 

 been kept back by bad weather, or some 

 similar cause ; for first swarms, as a rule, is- 

 sue before the young queens are old enough 

 to call. Second swarms cannot issue until a 

 young queen is hatched ready to lead them 

 off, and as two or more often hatch at about 

 the same time, they will be very likely to 

 call to each other, the evening before they 

 come out. Hence, you may tell almost to a 

 certainty when second swarms may be ex- 

 pected, by putting your ear against the hive 

 in the evening, a few days after the first 

 swarm has issued. 



QUEENS TO CANADA BY MAIL. 



A. I. Root: — I received the queens all right. The 

 selected queen came through the mails without any 

 extra charges. 



GIVEN'S FOUNDATION TRESS. 



I received one of D. S. Given's presses, and find it 

 just about as you reported in May Gleanings. The 

 bees commenced to work very readily on the fdn. I 

 used soap but washed the sheets after being 

 pressed. I leave the sheets large enough so that 

 there is a portion on the upper edge not pressed, to 

 give strength in lifting them. Jas. Moffett, Jr. 



Pendleton, Ont, Can., May 28, 1880. 



THE LILLIPUTIAN PLANERS. 



Mr. Ed.:— Sometime ago, I noticed an advertise- 

 ment of the Lilliputian planer, it being the same 

 you now advertise. I came to the conclusion that 

 it might be just the thing for me to dress my lumber 

 for hives with, so I ordered one. In about 23 days, 

 it came. I set it up, and was surprised to see how 

 fast and nicely I could dress my lumber. I think, 

 with a two hoise power, I can dress one side of 5,000 

 ft. of lumber in 10 hours. If I could not replace it, I 

 would not take $ 500.00 for it. I. B. Bray. 



Lynnville, Tenn., Mar. 15, 1880. 



COMB HOLDER FOR THE CHAFF HIVE. 



I have in use, on my chaff hive, a strip of wood V 2 

 inch x \i inch, and as long as the inside of the cover. 

 This is fastened in the center, by one uail, to the top 

 of the upright edge of the bive over which the cov- 

 er shuts, and at the front of the hive. Now, when I 

 stand at the side of the hive and take out one, two, 

 or three frames, I swing the end of the strip farthest 

 from me about two inches toward the middle of the 

 hive, and hang the frames across one end on the back 

 of the hive, and one end on the strip. This gives 

 room to look over the whole hive, and does not scat- 

 ter bees or queen. N. Clark. 



Sterling, 111., June 2, 1880. 



Thanks, friend C. Your device is Aery 



simple, and easily tried, and if the boys are 



careful not to pull it oft or break if, I do not 



know why it will not answer every purpose. 



SPIDER AND SIMPSON PLANTS. 



The spider plant seems to be very tender. Of the 

 first ")(• package I had of you, I only succeeded, with 

 all my pains and trouble, in getting about a baker's 

 dozen to grow. Of the Simpson plant seeds which I 

 scolded you about, after nursing them carefully and 

 tenderly from Feb. till May, I got 4 tine plants to set 

 out; but I don't know how many I pulled up for 

 noxious weeds before I knew what they were. Now 

 I see they grow spontaneously all over this country. 

 Why don't you call it "Carpenter's square?" Then 



