1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



359 



ing, as you say, by their necks ; but we can 

 not understand why the brood-nest should 

 be above the honey-board. The new per- 

 forated zinc which we send out will exclude 

 queens. Some of the zinc which we sent 

 out two or three years ago was a little de- 

 fective, some of the dies having been 

 rlaked; but this we remedied by making 

 new dies and building a new machine. It 

 is possible that you have some of this old 

 zinc ; but we venture to say that you would 

 have no trouble with our new zinc. If, in 

 your next order, you will refer to this page 

 in Gleanings, we will send you ten new 

 zinc queen-excluding honey-boards, wood- 

 bound. We shall be pleased then to have 

 you report to us after trying it. Please re- 

 member that there are a great many good 

 bee-keepers — some quite extensive ones 

 too— who use and advocate perforated zinc. 



LARGE OR SMALL BROOD-CHAMBERS. 



I will crack Mr. S. A. Shuck's nut, in Gleanings 

 of April 1, page 259. Your frames were too shallow 

 for their length. A natural, good-sized brood-nest, 

 embraces a sphere of about 10 inches in diameter; 

 so if your frames were 10 x 10 or 11 x 11, you would 

 have had better success. I have used 10 x 10 frames 

 for several years, and like them very well; but for 

 a more northern latitude I think they would be 

 rather small, and think 11 x 11 the better size, or, 

 say, the Gallup size, HJi x 11^4, as that is already 

 largely in use, 1 think. J. C. Melcher. 



O'Quinn, Tex., Apr. 10, 1889. 



If your object were to raise bees, without 

 any regard to getting surplus honey in sec- 

 tions, no doubt a square frame would be 

 best ; but I think a perfectly round one, in 

 the form of a barrel-hoop, would be better 

 still ; but if the bee-keeper wants to get 

 every drop of honey possible into the sec- 

 tions, and does not care particularly for in- 

 crease, then I feel satisfied that he wants a 

 frame something like the one that father 

 Langstroth gave us years ago— a frame that 

 will permit the section boxes to come down 

 quite close to the heart of the brood-nest. 

 Some of the friends want them even shallow- 

 er than the Langstroth frame. The great 

 bee-keeping world seems to have so settled 

 down to something like the Langstroth 

 frame, especially where we want comb hon- 

 ey, that I think we might as well accept it 

 as the standard. 



supersedure; and is there any previous indi- 

 cation OF IT? 



1. How can you tell when Dees are going to super- 

 sede their queen? 2. If a worker bee— an imperfect 

 female loses its sting after using it, and its life, 

 why does not a queen a perfect female share the 

 same fate under similar circumstances? 



Atlanta, Ga., April 8, 1889. T. E. Hanbury. 



1. We do not know of any way to tell pos- 

 itively when bees are about to supersede 

 their queen ; but as a rule we may say that 

 queen-cells started at some other season 

 than swarming time rather indicate it. And 

 if at the same time the queen does not seem 

 to be producing very much brood, then we 

 have every reason to think she 's about to 

 be superseded. It is my opinion, however, 

 that queens are often superseded when 

 there is no apparent reason. 2. Worker bees, 



when they sting each other, do not general- 

 ly lose their stings. The queen rarely ever 

 stings a human being ; almost the only occa- 

 sion when she uses her weapon is to sting a 

 rival. If the worker bee does not lose its 

 sting when it stings one of its fellows, it is 

 not at all likely that the queen would lose 

 her sting when she uses it upon another 

 queen. 



SETTING SAWS ; HOW TO DO IT AND HOW NOT TO 

 DO IT. 



I noticed in Gleanings for Feb. 15, an article by 

 William Young, inquiring how to set a circular 

 saw. Now, if he takes my advice he will use the 

 spread and spring set. Spread the teeth just 

 enough to keep the tooth full width, or a little 

 wider, as the saw will run lighter. Do not set them 

 with a hammer, as it will reduce the width of the 

 teeth, and it is liable to break them off. Spring 

 them by some other means. Joint your saw 

 carefully, and set evenly. When you file, you 

 want to file by ear; that is, get your ear used to it, 

 and you will get it right every time. This is my 

 way of doing it. I have been a sawyer for 20 years, 

 and have all kinds of saws. B. Baker. 



Elyria, O., Mar. 1, 1889. 



Your letter was shown to our foreman, 

 Mr. Warner, and he says what you say is 

 entirely orthodox. 



pfeTEg Tip Queried 



We solicit for this department short items and questions of 

 a practical nature; but all QUESTiONS.it accompanied by oth- 

 er matter, must be put upon a separate slip of paper with 

 name and address. 



FLOATING APIARIES ON THE NILE. 



f OUR remark at the bottom of "Floating Api- 

 aries in Egypt" quite amused me, about 

 your idea of the man in the stern smoking 

 his pipe. You should see the Arabs assem- 

 ble together and lie down flat on their 

 bellies, smoking or gaming, the laziest set of peo- 

 ple; but the hives on the boat are European 

 shaped, while I don't think they have any of the 

 kind, but as described in the article, and then there 

 were certainly much more than eight. 



Ph. J. Baldensperger. 

 Jaffa, Syria, March :12, 1889. 



TO FOLD DRY ONE-PIECE SECTIONS. 



I see considerable advice on bow to fold sections 

 without breaking when dry. There is no use to 

 carry them into the cellar over night to dampen. 

 Edge them up on a board and pour hot water 

 through the grooves; let them lie for 15 minutes. 

 Your readers will succeed every time, without 

 breaking them. M. B. Bekgey. 



Souderton, Pa., Mar. 28, 1889. 



EXTRACTING.IN CALIFORNIA. 



One hundred miles from here, in California, they 

 are extracting, but I do not think they get quite 

 such tine white honey there, nor of the same flavor. 

 Our harvest will not commence until June, al- 

 though the bees are quite busy now on the blos- 

 soms, and lots of brood in the hives. I don't know 

 how I shall like the supers, but will let you know 

 which I prefer, in the fall. E. A. Moore, 



Keno, Nev., Apr. 3, 1889. 



