1901 



GIvEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



509 



I do not deny that it is possible that long 

 tongues may be generally accompanied by 

 other good qualities, thus accounting for the 

 superiority of long tongues where no red clo- 

 ver is found ; but it seems to me more reason- 

 able to suppose that the extra gain is made on 

 flowers with tubes longer than ordinary. Why 

 should it be considered a strange thing that 

 other flowers should have tubes of the same 

 depth as red clover? It is possible that many 

 of the flowers commonly visited for nectar 

 have tubes of different lengths, some of them 

 accessible only to tongues of unusual length, 

 thus giving long tongues the advantage aside 

 from red clover. Again, a flower-tube may be 

 of such a depth that only part of its contents 

 can be reached by a tongue of ordinary length, 

 while one a little longer may drain it to the 

 bottom. 



Please don't understand that I believe that 

 length of tongue is the only thing to be con- 

 sidered. I should prefer to make selection by 

 noting the amount of stores gathered rather 

 than by measuring tongues. It is possible 

 that, among several colonies, the one with 

 longest tongues may be the poorest. One col- 

 ony may excel it because of greater diligence. 

 Another may work earlier in the day. An- 

 other may excel because of greater longevity. 

 So I think it would be unwise to depend upon 

 tongue-length alone. But I do insist that the 

 advantage of long tongues has not been prov- 

 en to be exclusively associated with red clo- 

 ver ; and it is possible — not probable, I think 

 — that the gain from other flowers with long 

 tubes may be even greater than from red clo- 

 ver. 



Marengo, 111. 



[It is true that a colony. A, with long 

 tongues, may do less execution than another 

 colony, B, with shorter tongues. But that is 

 no argument against the value of long tongues. 

 If B, because of its superior industry, does 

 better than its longer-tongued neighbor. A, 

 might it not do stilL better if it had the same 

 length of tongue as A ? The truth in a nut- 

 shell is about this : In any case where there is 

 nectar to be found in flower-tubes beyond the 

 reach of ordinary tongues, if two colonies are 

 alike in all other respects, the one with the 

 longer tongue-reach will have the advantage. 

 —Ed.] 



%%% 



FASTENING FOUNDATION IN BROOD-FRAMES 

 AND SECTIONS. 



A Unique and Simple Plan ; How to Make the 

 Tool ; How to Prevent Foundation in Brood- 

 frames from Sagging, without Wires 

 or Wooden Stays. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



I have noticed that, in most improvements 

 (or shall I say changes?) made in our fixtures, 

 the firm Gleanings represents leads, and the 

 others all follow in time. I am willing to con- 

 cede, and know, that most of these changes 

 have been real, and some of them great im- 

 provements over what they supersede. This, 

 for instance, will apply to the present styles 



of self-spacing brood - frames over the old 

 loose hanging or unspacing kind ; but I con- 

 sider a molded top-bar, or one that has a crease 

 or groove cut in the center of it to receive the 

 foundation, inferior in many ways to one that 

 is simply flat on the bottom side. It is, for 

 one thing, much more work to clean them of 

 wax and propolis if, as is always the case to a 

 greater or less extent, this has to be done aft- 

 er they have been used ; and the foundation, 

 either full sheets or starters, can be fastened 

 to a flat top far quicker and easier than it can 

 to either a molded or grooved one in the usual 

 way. 



1 will here describe my method of doing 

 this, for the principle will work with either 

 molded or grooved bars ; and starters or full 

 sheets can be fastened in sections by this plan 

 nearly as fast as with a hot-plate machine ; in 

 fact, I often use it when putting full sheets in 

 sections, although I have two machines for 

 this work. The whole apparatus costs but a 

 few cents aside from a small amount of work. 

 One of the implements required is a small in- 

 strument made on the same principle as a 

 medicine - dropper. Mine is made of a tin 

 tube about 4 inches long, and not quite Yz inch 

 in diameter. The lower end of this tube is 

 gradually tapered down to a point, so the hole 

 at the extreme end is a little less in size than 

 what it would be on an ordinary lead-pencil if 

 the lead were removed to the upper part of 

 the tube. A rubber nipple or bulb is attached, 

 and it is important to have this rubber fit over 

 the tube tight enough to exclude air. When 

 the lower end is placed in melted wax, or any 

 other liquid, with the rubber bulb compressed 

 between the thumb and finger, as soon as it is 

 allowed to expand, by air suction it draws 

 some of the liquid up into the tube. By al- 

 lowing the rubber to remain expanded the tube 

 will not leak when withdrawn, no matter what 

 position it is held in. Pressure on the rubber 

 forces the liquid out slowly or fast, just as de- 

 sired. 



For fastening the foundation in brood-frames 

 I have a board a trifle wider than a frame is 

 deep, and a little longer than the length of 

 four frames. Along one side of this board are 

 fastened four pieces that are %. inch smaller 

 than the inside measurement of the frame, 

 and these pieces are just half as thick as the 

 top-bars of the frames. It is on the same 

 principle as the piece on the Daisy foundation- 

 machine, over which the section is placed, so 

 that, when a frame is placed over one of these 

 pieces on the board, the foundation, when 

 placed inside the frame, will be held perfectly 

 true and straight, exactly in the center of the 

 frame. When used, this long board is set up 

 edgewise on a bench or table, and propped up 

 so it will lean over from the operator. A 

 frame is placed over one of these pieces, with 

 the top-bar down on the lower side next the 

 bench. On the lower side of the long board, 

 under each piece over which the frames fit, is 

 nailed a narrow strip on which the top-bar 

 rests. With the board in position a frame is 

 placed on at one end, the foundation placed 

 in, and, if I have made my description plain, 

 it will be seen that the foundation rests exact- 



