1:^01 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



645 



you, press the lifter down between the brood- 

 frames and press the chisel end down. This 

 pushes the hook point under the lower edge 

 of the frame, and at the same time 



lifts the frame up, when you take , 



hold of the frame with the left hand ; 

 then move the lifter to the opposite 

 end to your right, and raise the 

 frame, which will not slip ofT. You 

 can carry the frame any place you 

 desire, or you can turn the frame 

 in any position, look for queen, eggs, 

 or brood, without any fear of drop- 

 ping the frame ; and, besides, I will 

 guarantee that no one will ever get 

 rheumatism in his thumbs or fin- 

 gers when using the lifter, no differ- 

 ence how many frames are lifted, as 

 one often does when having to lift 

 frames with thumb and fingers. 

 Again, no difference how tight a frame is 

 stuck down with propolis, the lifter will just 

 raise it without molesting a bee, besides lift- 

 ing the frames. If there are any clumps of 



separate Hoffman frames, by pushing in 2 

 inches, and giving a twist. You will see the 

 steel is left ^\ thick as far as the hook, and is 



propolis on the frame, just turn the lifter 

 end for end, bevel side up ; press the end 

 of the frame against something solid, hold- 

 ing the frame with the left hand, and with 

 the right you can shave all propolis off. 

 Catch the frame with the lifter, and replace 

 it in the hive. J. A. Golden. 



Reinersville, Ohio. 



[In the design and style of a hive-tool, 

 much depends on the kind of hive and 

 kind of frame one is using, as well as his spe- 

 cial method of working. It he has a great 

 deal of propolis in his locality, rendering it 

 necessary to scrape the top-bars as well as the 

 rabbets and other inaccessible places in the 

 hive, a tool like the one described by C. F. 

 England would be better. See description 

 just following. — Ed.] 



AN AUSTRALIAN HIVE TOOL. 



Here is a sketch of a really good hive-tool I 

 have made. Subscribers to Gleanings are 

 welcome to copy it. It is made of file steel, 1 

 inch wide, x\ thick, drawn out as in sketch. 

 The broad end will open hives, clean bits of 

 comb off the frames, clean bottom-boards, 

 cut bits of comb off the inside of hive-bodies, 

 and perhaps be handy to kill a cross bee now 

 and then. The wide edge is made nearly 

 sharp enough to cut. The sides of the tool 

 for one inch from each end are left square, as 

 they clean the side pieces of the bottom - 

 boards and tin rabbets better. The small end 

 is just right to clean the inside of the tin rab- 

 bets, or to use for a screwdriver, etc., and the 

 hook above is just perfect to lift the end of a 

 division- board or frame. It is cut just a little 

 under to form a slight hook, as it is then less 

 liable to slip. The small end is also used to 



ej^gland's i;.vk-to()L. 



manner of use. 



then gradually tapered. Perhaps ^-in. steel 

 would be heavy enough. 



Charles F. England. 

 Foxton, Australia. 



[This tool, in its general design, is one of 

 the very best I have yet seen. Any hive-tool, 

 to be really serviceable, should be of such 

 construction as to be a pry, screwdriver, hook, 

 and scraper, all combined. Mr. England has 

 come very near giving us that kind of tool — 

 perhaps nearer than any one else. If we 

 could be satisfied that this implement would 

 equal the best yet devised we would have 

 them made by the quantity, and all of them 

 drop-forgings. One of malleable iron might 

 do for a cheap article ; but something really 

 serviceable should be tool steel. — Ed.] 



HARRISON'S separators FOR PLAIN AND 

 SLOTTED SECTIONS. 

 I send you by this mail a sample of the sep- 

 arators I have been using for the past three 

 years in the production of comb honey — sep- 

 arators which I find to be quite an advantage 

 in several ways. I think I get more honey 

 per colony ; whiter ; sections better and more 

 uniformly filled ; while any thing that can be 

 said of the fence will apply to No. 1, which I 

 use with plain sections. No. 2 I use with 

 common beeway sections, open on three sides. 

 As I do not tier up, I have closed tops. No. 3 

 simply gives a beeway in connection with No. 

 1, at end or side of super to suit the user, as 

 per style and size of super, one at the 



