1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



217 



have an interior dimension of about 51 centimeters 

 (20 inches) loug and 6^4 inches broad. By giving 6 

 centimeters [2% inches) in height to the framework, 

 we obtain about 1' 4 inches of height which can be 

 utilized for holding liquid. That done, by the open- 

 ing of the interior wall about 4 liters (a little over a 

 gallon) per trough, or 8 liters per hive, may be 

 put in, and a good quantity will be taken by the 

 bees in a single night. 



FOOT-POWEB VS. HAND-MACHINES 



FOB PUTTING FOUNDATION IN 



SECTIONS. 



C. C. MILLER IN FAVOR OF THE CLARK. 



fN page 68, Jan. 15, is " A Correction" which I 

 think needs a correction. The last sentence 

 reads, "With regard to the relative merit of 

 the Parker and the foot-power machines, our 

 experience says that the latter work more 

 rapidly and easily, but the Parker does rather bet- 

 ter work; that is, the foundation is made to hang 

 strnighter after it leaves the machine." If, in 

 place of " foot-power," you had said " Gray," I 

 should make no objection; but as "foot-power" in- 

 cludes the Clark, your statement does not agree 

 with my experience. Having had a large experi- 

 ence with both the Parker and the Clark, I feel 

 pretty competent to compare them. It takes so 

 much strength to use the Parker, that my assistant 

 could use it only a short time without stopping. 

 Perhaps, while I am at it, 1 may as well compare 

 the three, premising that I have very little ac- 

 quaintance practically with the Gray. Although 

 the Gray may not make quite so good work as the 

 Parker, the labor is lighter, and the Clark takes 

 the least labor of the three; and besides that, it 

 makes better work than either of the others. When 

 using the Parker I was troubled by foundation oc- 

 casionally dropping out of the sections— remember, 

 I use full-sized starters— but it is a very rare thing 

 to have foundation drop out after being fastened 

 with the Clark, although such sections have been 

 trotted back and forth to out-apiaries till a good 

 many have traveled 30 miles. 



Friend Root says, that, with the Parker, "the 

 foundation is made to hang straighter after it 

 leaves the machine." I suppose that is true of the 

 Parker as compared with the Gray. The Clark ex 

 eels the Parker in this respect, in my experience. 

 Indeed, for my use I think the Clark excels in every 

 respect. Probably for friend Root the Gray is bet- 

 ter, because he uses shallow starters, and has his 

 sections tumbled promiscuously into a basket. I 

 should not want full starters subjected to such 

 treatment. Immediately on leaving the machine I 

 want my sections set upright, either in a super, or 

 preferably in a p)le ready for supering. 



I suspect that some who have tried these ma- 

 chines will wonder at my strong preference for the 

 Clark; but if they use the Clark right they will 

 cease to wonder. The Gray and Parker both de- 

 pend upon pressure with a sliding motion, to fas- 

 ten. With the Clark there is to be no sliding what- 

 ever. All that is needed is a quick swing of the 

 feet, making the presser sink the foundation into 

 the wood, and then the feet come back with a re- 

 bound, the whole performance requiring very lit- 

 tle strength. I think it would be well if friend 

 Hoot would change the instructions in his price 



list ; for if I had to use the Clark as there instructed 

 I would then probably choose between the Gray 

 and Parker. 



It remains to be said, that the chief trouble I 

 have had in using the Clark has been in using too 

 much strength, and pressing the foundation so 

 hard as to cut it entirely off, or so nearly off that it 

 was held by a very slight hold. Possibly I ought to 

 say, that, rather than too much strength, the 

 trouble was in having the foundation too warm 

 and soft. 



FAILURE OF WHITE CLOVER. 



After the severe drouth of 1887, which appeared 

 to kill out a good 6hare of the white clover, root and 

 branch, I watched with intense interest to see 

 what it would do in 1888. As the first green leaves 

 showed, there seemed promise of a fair crop; and 

 when the blossoms opened there was, without ex- 

 ception, the heaviest bloom I ever remember to 

 have seen. The disastrous season of 1887 had so 

 diminished my numbers that 1 did not average 

 more than 35 to each apiary, and, with such an ap- 

 parent harvest, and the ground so lightly stocked, 

 I confidently counted on a big yield per colony. 

 The average per colony, spring count, was not 

 quite 12 lbs. I have some doubts whether any 

 great portion of that 12 lbs. was from white clover. 

 I know that a good part of it was not, and I think 

 scarcely any of the stores for winter were from 

 that source. Is it to be, that white clover, like 

 buckwheat and some other things, will have its 

 seasons of failure to yield nectar? or is there any 

 truth in the theory of some, that white clover 

 yields no nectar the first year it blooms after com- 

 ing from the seed? Although this may be true, it 

 does not seem probable that a whole season's 

 blooming will take place, and no nectar in the 

 flowers. Or is the failure due to electrical condi- 

 tions, which is equivalent to saying that we com- 

 mon bee-keepers can't tell any thing about it? 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Miller. 



What we said on page 68 had more direct 

 reference to the Gray machine than to the 

 Clark. When we used to use the Clark we 

 fastened foundation by using pressure and 

 the rubbing motion ; but had we used pressure 

 alone, no doubt we should have had better 

 success. We are very glad to get the testi- 

 mony you give ; and, in accordance with 

 your suggestion, we have changed the di- 

 rections in our price list so as to conform to 

 your method of fastening foundation. 



PAINTED VS. UNPAINTED HIVES. 



friend doolittle gives us some valuable 

 facts in regard to the matter. 



TTo S the season of the year for painting hives is 

 9M& drawing near with us here at the North, and 

 ^P has probably already come to our brethren 

 ■**■ of the South, I thought a few words on the 

 desirability of our doing so might not be 

 amiss at this time. It will, I think, be admitted by 

 all, that hives look better and will last longer, if 

 painted, than if left unpainted; but I mistrust that 

 $15.00 a year will sustain more hives if spent for 

 lumber alone than if spent for paint and lumber; 

 yet when we take the looks into consideration, 

 probably there is little difference in favor of either, 

 providing that the bees would do as well in one as 



