1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



789 



narj' bee-hives are made of, practicallj' 

 prevents all exchange of air, paint or no 

 paint, while the top of a log- gum is porous 

 and allows an exchange of air. To prove 

 the ventilating qualitj' of the log gum he 

 made the following experiment: He took a 

 roiuid piece of beech wood, 2 inches Unig, 

 and cemented a small glass funnel to each 

 end. By blowing into the end of one fun- 

 nel the air could be felt coming from the 

 end of the other, and a lighted candle could 

 be blown out without difficulty. This ex- 

 periment is pretty good proof of the porosi- 

 ty of timber, grain running lengthwise. If 

 we assume that the propolis with which all 

 old hives are thoroughly glazed and coated 

 over cracks sufficiently during winter, the 

 ventilation of the log gum would be assured. 

 Reidenbach failed to make a similar exper- 

 iment with the side of a log gum, but sim- 

 ply asserts that air does not penetrate it. It 

 would not be difficult to cement the funnels 

 to a straight board, one on each side exact- 

 ly' opposite another; then blow into the fun- 

 nel on one side and note the effect on the 

 other. If it is true that air may be forced 

 through timber with grain running length- 

 wise but not crosswise, as in ordinary lum- 

 ber, then paint can not play a very impor- 

 tant part in the wintering problem of our 

 bees, not taking into account the gluing-up 

 of the interior of hives by the bees. 



Naples, N. Y. F. Gkkini-:k. 



[I have read somewhere of similar exper- 

 iments — how one could force air from one 

 end of a log to the other; but I do not recall 

 the details. But now the question natural- 

 ly arises, "Would the propolis in the old 

 log gum crack sufficiently during winter to 

 allow of the escape of the moisture up into 

 the wood?" I should have my doubts. — 

 Ed.] 



thin and extra-thin foundation for 

 brood-nest. 

 Mr. Editor: — Having been experimenting 

 with extra-thin surplus foundation for brood- 

 combs, I am able to give an additional fact 

 in connection with this subject. This has 

 been an exceedingly warm season — day 

 after day continuing hot. The frames of 

 foundation were placed at the outside of 

 brood-chambers, and in the second story of 

 comparatively weak colonies, with hives well 

 ventilated. It required much care and at- 

 tention to produce perfect comb. In two 

 instances foundation broke from the weight 

 of bees before time to fasten it thoroughly. 

 I succeeded, however, in securing very fine 

 comb, filled and capped to the bottom-bars; 

 but I am of the opinion that, for practical 

 use, ten sheets to the pound hits the nail 

 iibout square on thehead. One colony, weak 

 in the spring, has built up 21 such extra- 

 thin frames in the surplus chamber, nicely 

 capped them, and is now filling a 32-sec- 

 ti n case of sections. The average bee- 

 keeper — farmer — would not, najs could not, 

 give the necessary time to make extra-thin 

 iiurplus a success. With nothing to do but 



care for my bees I have concluded that the 

 difference between ten sheets to the pound, 

 tmd extrii thin, does not compensate for the 

 extra care required to succeed. 



This season has not been considered ex- 

 traordinarily good here; yet many of my 

 colonies have exceeded 100 well-capped sec- 

 tions, and I hcipe some may crowd the 200 

 mark before the close. W. W. Whitney. 



Kankakee, 111., Aug. 19. 



[Your experiments practically confirm 

 our own, and I believe that your conclusion, 

 so far as it relates to the average bee-keep- 

 er and farmer, is about correct; namely, 

 that foundation as now made, running ten 

 sheets to the pound, is thin enough. At the 

 same time, if we succeed in carrying out 

 what we have in our mind's eye — an extra- 

 thin foundation, with natural bases having 

 ver3' thin delicate wires incorporated in it, 

 about an inch apart — we shall be able to 

 utilize a lighter weight of foundation, and 

 which, I believe, in the end will be cheap- 

 er, per sheet, than the heavier grades we 

 are now using; that is to saj-, it is not nec- 

 essary to use wax to get strength when a 

 much stronger article with less cost can be 

 utilized; viz., fine iron wire. The problem 

 now is, how to incorporate this delicate 

 wire, about No. 40, in the septum of natu- 

 ral-base foundation. — Ed.] 



another hive-rabbet and hand-cleat. 

 Gleanings of Aug. 15 came yesterday. 

 The hive construction used bj^Mr. Schaeffle, 

 page 680, attracted my attention. Mr. Thos. 

 Chantry, of Heckling, vS. D., told me of a 

 plan used by H. P. Robie, of South Dako- 

 ta, which (for those who will make their 

 own hives) has great merit, as it provides a 

 non-warpable rabbet and hand-hold com- 

 bined. Its construction will be apparent 

 from the cut. 



We had a fair honey ci-op from the second 

 crop of alfalfa, and bees are doing a little 

 on sweet clover and red and white clovers. 



It seems to me that Harry Howe's cap- 

 ping--box (pages 679, 680) is rather small. 

 I have one which just suits ine, 2x3 feet in 

 size. E. F. Atwater. 



Meridian, Idaho, Aug. 19. 



[This idea is a very good one — yes, it is 

 excellent; and it may be well for the man- 

 ufacturers of bee-supplies to give it consid- 

 eration. If enough of our subscribers like 



