468 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CUIvTURE. 



June 1 



ter nicely. Again, we need the air-chamber 

 badly, on account of the summer heat, as 

 shade is not practicable here in many of our 

 out-apiaries, and for my part I don't want it. 



Last season I bought 100 of your Colorado 

 covers. They gave the best of satisfaction 

 during the summer, and every one of the 100 

 colonies under them has wintered nicely. 

 Last season, during the heat of midday, when 

 the bees would be driven out of the supers 

 under flat covers, the supers under Colorado 

 covers would be full of bees, and comb-build- 

 ing going on undisturbed. But there is too 

 much wood surface and too many nail-heads 

 for the sun to get at for them to last. Re- 

 member, there is no nail-puller invented like 

 the Colorado sun. No wonder the microbes 

 kink up their backs and quit when it strikes 

 them. Why, I heard a "lunger" from the 

 East say last summer that he dried out so that 

 his shin bones and short ribs rattled when he 

 walked. 



What we want is some kind of cover with 

 an air-chamber like the Colorado cover, and 

 that covered with something to keep it from 

 the sun. I have adopted a cover with a rim 

 nearly like the Colorado cover, so as to give 

 two inches of air-space, and covered with 

 roofing -paper (Neponset), and painted two 

 coats of lead and oxide of zinc. They are 

 neat and attractive, water-proof, and I think 

 they will stand, say, ten years, and perhaps 

 longer. I have a notion to send you one. 



I saw covers yesterday covered with old 

 second-hand duck, and painted well, that have 

 stood 12 years, and they are absolutely water- 

 proof yet. They are made with % -inch rim 

 and yz-xnch. thick top, and poor lumber can 

 be used. 



In wetting sections I use a fountain syringe. 

 Don't hang it too high ; take the " shut off " 

 in left hand to control the stream. In this 

 way I can wet a crate of 500 sections, ready 

 for immediate use in a moment, and can cut 

 500 (full sheet) starters with a miter -box and 

 a sharp scalloped bread-knife in the same 

 length of time. 



Longmont, Col. 



[I am well aware that many do not have ex- 

 tracting-supers. Perhaps the full-depth brood- 

 nest might answer the purpose of drawing the 

 bees above ; but if I did not have extracting- 

 supers I would get a few and use them exclu- 

 sively for getting stubborn colonies to working 

 upward. As fast as the combs are sealed I 

 would extract them and put them back into 

 use. 



The new cover that we have in mind for hot 

 or dry countries, and which we shall probably 

 put out for another season, will be a good deal 

 like the ordinary flat cover in appearance. It 

 will consist of two thicknesses of boards about 

 y% inch thick, separated by three narrow strips 

 of wood, one in each end and one in the mid- 

 dle. The top will then be covered with Ne- 

 ponset red-rope roofing-paper. On each end 

 will be nailed the ordinary grooved cleats such 

 as are used on flat covers that were sold so ex- 

 tensively a few years ago. The side edges of 

 the paper will be held in place with side 



cleats, and the top surface of the paper will be 

 kept from wrinkling by means of large-headed 

 tacks. When completed it vdll look very 

 much like a single-board flat cover, except 

 that it will be covered with paper. Such a 

 cover will have the advantage of being light 

 and strong, with dead-air spaces. 



All that you say about the ability of the 

 Colorado climate to pull nails out of hives and 

 covers is too true. When I came back from 

 your State I made up my mind that the covers 

 and hives would have to be of special con- 

 struction to stand such exacting conditions ; 

 and, as a consequence, we made a special cov- 

 er for our Colorado trade. But if the bee- 

 keepers of your State would be willing to pay 

 the price, it strikes me that drive-screws should 

 be used instead of nails — I mean screws that 

 are driven by means of a hammer. These, I 

 think, would hold their place, providing, of 

 course, the stuff had been properly seasoned 

 in Colorado before nailing together. Stuff 

 that is seasoned in the East, and then sent to 

 Colorado, will season still more. 



I am quite prepared to believe that a cover 

 of duck well painted would last for years on 

 hive-covers ; but I see no reason why good 

 roofing-paper like Neponset would not give 

 equally good results, and save money in the 

 investment. The perfect hive-cover for Colo- 

 rado is yet to be made, I believe — yes, and for 

 Cuba and all other countries that have special 

 conditions that are very different from those 

 of the northern part of the United States. — 

 Ed.] 



COMB HONEY— HOW TO LOAD ON WAGONS. 



Feeding Thin v. Thick Syrup in the Fall. 



BY H. D. BURREI^I.. 



I agree with Dr. Miller about the placing of 

 hives of bees on wagons for moving, referred 

 to on page 908, Dec. 1st ; that is, the combs 

 should extend across the wagon. On ordina- 

 rily good roads there is considerable side shak- 

 ing to wagons ; and if roads are rough or 

 much cut up by ruts the side-to-side strain on 

 combs is serious, as first one wheel and then 

 another drops into a hole. With careful driv- 

 ing there are few sudden jars forward or back- 

 ward, even when there are hills. In an expe- 

 rience of over 20 years I have moved a great 

 many bees on wagons, distances varying from 

 a few miles to over 25, and with very little in- 

 jury to bees or combs. Formerly I thought it 

 necessary to fasten loose hanging frames in 

 hives, but soon found even that unnecessary, 

 unless the combs had been handled and brace- 

 combs broken a short time before the moving. 

 In moving bees on cars the worst strain is 

 endwise of the car, in starting and stopping, 

 and the combs should be lengthwise of the 

 car. 



On page 869 the old subject of preparing 

 syrup is referred to. Is it not possible that 

 the inexperienced may be misled by such di- 

 rections ? In most localities there is more or 

 less honey gathered from fall flowers, and in 

 most cases it is not possible to tell how much 



