846 



GLEAmNGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



Earth at Medina is very nearly that of Mammoth 

 Cave; but in order to get at the temperature here, 

 we must g^o down 40 feet or more. The well Mr. 

 Doolittle mentions must be very cold — only 11° 

 above the freezing-point in summer. Is this true 

 of other wells in the same locality? 



Now, I should like to know how nearly uniform 

 the temperature is in other places, at a depth of 50, 

 75, or 100 feet. If we are to advise sub-earth venti- 

 lators for bee-keepers and others, it is important to 

 know whether this advice is to betaken general)}', 

 or applied only to particular localities. 



BOTTLING UP HONEV FOR MARKET. 



Perhaps some of the friends are aware that we 

 are bottling some of that carload of California honey 

 in the 5-oz. Muth jars. These jars are to be sold to 

 Butler Bros., of New York, as a neat ten-cent arti- 

 cle of honey for their counter trade. A day or so 

 ago I noticed one of our men, while putting up this 

 honey, using an implement like the one figured be- 

 low. The corks to the jars were too large for the 

 mouths of the bottles, and, in consequence, they had 

 to be compressed by some means until they fitted. 

 The implement as shoAvu in the cut will explain it- 

 self. You observe that we grasp the handles with 

 the right hand, much in the way we do a nut crack- 

 er. Ne.vt, with the cork in the left band place it in 

 the hole as shown; then while twirling the cork 

 around so as to have it uniform, press upon the 



CORK-PHESSER. 



handles with the right hand. You notice that there 

 is nothing particularly new in this device; in fact, 

 it is the same thing that druggists use, only this is a 

 home-made implement that any one can make. It 

 is constructed as follows: 



Procure a pices of wood (hard wood preferred), 2X 

 3 by about 18 inches long. Near one end bore an 

 inch hole half through. On the other side bore a 

 similar I'/i-inch hole, suited for larger corks. Ne.xt 

 rip the piece through the middle of the strip with a 

 rip hand saw, in such a way as to cut the holes in 

 halves. Fasten the ends near the holes with a com- 

 mon door-hinge; the other ends, whittle off for the 

 handles. The implement is now complete, and oper- 

 ates like a nut-cracker. The cut shows the position 

 of the holes after the i)iece is ripped. You can now 

 fit corks to your honey-jars as well as the druggist, 

 and the whole expense is but a trifle. 



Ernest R. Root. 



BEVEKSING DEVICES. 



6HALI., WE ISE HEVEP.SIISLE HIVES OR REVERSI- 

 BLE FRAMES. 



N your reply to the article entitled, " Reversing 

 the Hives instead of the Frames," page 771, 

 Nov. Gleanings, you suggest that we "go a 

 little further and have frames made without 

 any projections at all to the top bars, in order 

 that the frames may be lifted out when the hive is 

 turned over." Now, if this were done, or even 

 could be done without the grave difliculties alluded 

 to, where would reversing the hive come in? How- 

 ever, we confess that we have lost some sleep try- 

 ing to get rid of a small piece of the top bar of said 

 frames, that seemed to stick out very prominently 



at times, and be in the way, while at so many other 

 times they wei-e "such a handy thing to have 

 about," as Toodles remarked about a second-hand 

 coffin he had purchased. Still, notwithstanding all 

 this, we have never been able to get along, as yet, 

 without the nice little projection at the ends of the 

 frames, and they must b? at the top at that. If you 

 are very an.vious to have a frame such as you men- 

 tion, you will have to get after friend Benton again 

 (see p.age 552, Aug. 15, 1885). May be he can help you 

 out of the difficulty. 



We have figured it out in our own minds, that his 

 reversible frame is certainly long enough to just 

 fit insid? of the hive, and slida down flush with the 

 end, resting upon strips attached to the bottom of 

 the hive in such a manner as to support the frames 

 and preserve the proper distance from the bottom- 

 board. Whether this is the way it is done, or, if so, 

 whether it is practical or not, remains to be seen. 

 Nevertheless, one thing remains certain; viz.: the 

 necessity and utility of reversing frames at the 

 proper time, and for certain purposes, seems now 

 to be generally conceded. The beekeeping friends 

 are ready for it, and the great question to deter- 

 mine is, not whether we shall reverse our frames 

 or not, but, how shall it be done, at the least trouble, 

 by the quickest method, and at the least expense? 

 Shall it be done by reversing the frames alone and 

 singly, or by reversing the hives, and by this means 

 turning all the frames at one operation? Now, 

 since this matter of reversing the hives, being still 

 in its infancy, has not been as fully brought out as 

 reversible frames, nor perhaps as well understood, 

 and because you, friend R., started the ball to roll- 

 ing when you told us about reversing the Simplici- 

 ty, let us fully investigate its claims, pro and con; 

 and if there is nothing in it, of course it will turn 

 out ditferently from " Banquo's ghost." 



Now, in order to bring out the matter in the 

 clearest light, let us suppose a case in practice. If 

 reversible frames should be decided upon, by some 

 one owning an apiary of 50 to 100 colonies in ten- 

 frame hives, and the bees all were comfortably in- 

 stalled on movable frames having the regular ortho- 

 do.x projecting top-bars, in order to convert them 

 into reversible ones, the necessity would arise of 

 purchasing or manufacturing lOCO to 2000 reversing 

 devices; the removal of 500 to 1000 frames of comb 

 from the bees, a few at a time, to a place suited to 

 work at them; the sawing or cutting off of lOOi) to 

 2000 projections, together with the fitting and at- 

 taching of the same number of said devices, and 

 then returning them to their proper places! Now, 

 the question is, Would this be a very easy and 

 practical undertaking at any other time than early 

 spring, or even then would it pay for the expense 

 and trouble? Who has done it? On the other hand, 

 suppose he should adopt reversible hives instead of 

 reversible frames, to accomplish said purpose. 

 How proceed? We answer, first have read}- a few 

 reversible hives to commence the work with. This 

 can be done by fixing over hives that are on hand 

 and empty, making them reversible; or if none are 

 on hand, making all the new ones on the new 

 plan that are going to be needed, then proceed to 

 set a colony in each one, then fix over those thus 

 emptied, and so on, until all are completed. 



Now for the questions. How easy is this plan? 

 how practical? how expensive? how much better 

 than the other method? We will presume to answer 

 as follows: Very much easier; much more practi- 



