1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



233 



provide three pieces of board "s inch square, 

 as long as you desire the width of the cover, 

 one at each end and one in the center. If 

 your cover is to be 12 inches wide, nail three 

 shakes, crowding them close together, to the 

 end and center pieces. Then nail another set 

 over the first, breaking joints. This will ne- 

 cessitate splitting a shake. When these are 

 nailed on firmly, turn the cross strips up and 

 nail another set on that side, single layer, but 

 breaking joints with the ones below. This 

 makes a light durable cover ; and I am told 

 by J. H. Miller, of Los Angeles, who uses 

 them, that they do not get out of shape. 



The cover is much in appearance like Brod- 

 beck's, but it is cheaper. This cover also acts 

 as shade-board as well as cover ; and in Cen- 

 tral California, although the heat is sometimes 

 great, there are practically no shade-boards 

 used ; and in the location where I spent the 

 summer there are no stones on the hives. A 

 very suflScient reason is in the fact that there 

 is not a stone large enough to throw at a dog, 

 in an area of many square miles. 



[All through Colorado I saw the effect of 

 the dry climate and the dazzling sun on hive- 

 covers and hive-bodies. Even the very best 

 of hives, made in the best factories, would 

 have a fashion of pulling apart, nails sticking 

 out, and boards checking and warping in a 

 manner that would make one who had seen 

 these goods before they left the factory almost 

 weep. One can scarcely realize the effect of 

 such a climate until he has seen the work of 

 the elements with his own eyes. 



In a warm climate a good dashing rain will 

 do very little harm to a colony of bees, even 

 if the water pours right down through on to 

 them ; and 1 suppose the purpose of a hive in 

 California is not so much to keep out rain as 

 it is to shut out the direct rays of the sun, and 

 to afford a receptacle in which the bees may 

 be held for the purpose of moving from one 

 place to another. At such times it is impor- 

 tant to have the hive reasonably strong and 

 tight. The few bees that might escape from 

 a hive loaded, with a lot of other hives on a 

 wagon, en route over the mountain roads, 

 would be apt to make a bad mess of the whole 

 load in case they should get at the horses. 



In the department of Special Notices in this 

 issue will be found a description of a new hive- 

 cover that The A. I. Root Co. has recently 

 adopted for excessively hot climates, or cli- 

 mates that are severe on lumber, causing it to 

 shrink and swell badly. A paper protection 

 to cover up the big cracks in cover-boards 

 will, I believe, come more and more into gen- 

 eral use. 



We have made covers on special order for 

 various bee-keepers, on the plan of the Brod- 

 beck and " shake " hive-covers. These cov- 

 ers, when covered with a special grade of roof- 

 ing paper, will prove to be very serviceable in 

 any locality ; will be proof against extremes 

 of heat from the sun, and the cold of our 

 northern States during winter. This question 

 of cover is something that will have to be de- 

 cided largely by conditions and locality. It 

 may be said, however, that a cover that will 



stand a hot dry climate would also be service- 

 able for any other climate. — Ed.] 



SWARTHMORES GLOSSOMETER. 



How to Measure the Tongues of a Whole Colony 

 of Bees. 



BY SW.iiRTHMORE. 



It is a sort of meter that I have devised, 

 constructed as follows : A dish of tin is bal- 

 anced in a box just like a compass, by use of 

 wire nails and solder, strips of Israss, etc. 

 The top of the dish is covered with hard wood 

 nailed on firmly. In the middle of this cover 

 is bored a one-inch hole, which is covered on 

 i's under side with wire cloth Off to one 

 ^ide is a float of cork having a piece of strap 

 steel attached to its under side, in the middle. 

 A small hole is pierced through the pan cov- 

 t r, and a knitting-needle is pushed down into 

 1 he cork until it strikes the steel plate. A 

 dial is constructed above the pan-cover, upon 

 which is adjusted a recording hand, and the 

 knitting-needle then fits into a little impres- 

 sion close to its center in such a way that the 

 rise and fall of the cork will force the needle 

 up and down, and, being at such a long lever- 



PER FRAME — 



age, the hundredth part of an inch will make 

 an eighth or more at the end of the hand. 



Fill the tin pan with thin honey and allow 

 it to stand long enough to soak the cork 

 thoroughly, then place the instrument on top 

 of the frames of the colony to be measured, 

 and cover all with an upper story. The bees 

 will suck up the syrup through the meshes of 

 the wire, and the cork will gradually srnk. 

 The needle will, of course, follow ; and by 

 lines on the dial the hundredths may be plain- 

 ly seen. Move the instrument from hive to 

 hive. 



I have found among my golden-all-over 

 stock, reared this season, bees with extreme 

 length of tongue — from .23 to .2.0%. By re- 



