1887 



(JLEANINGS IN JiEK Ct'LTUilE. 



223 



whole length of the crato. I use two flat strips of 

 tin, '2 inch wide, sanio Icnjirth of T's, nailed on to 

 bottom of ends of cnite, ])rojecting- inside 'a inch. 

 I have fi4 swarius with this arrangement, and 33 

 with the combined crate and 10 frames, but I like 

 the 8-frame and the T super far better. 

 Watertown. N. V., Feb. »'l, 1S87. Jav Dimick. 



THE T SUPEK— A SUOGESTION. 



lam making a T super for the L. hive, so that I 

 can bring the two outside rows of sections to the 

 center of the brood-frames, b.\' making the supers 

 six inches wide inside (according to size or width of 

 section), or one -half the width of the hive. By 

 changing sides with supers this brings the outside 

 rows in the center. It is a great drawback to have 

 the two outside rows of sections unfinished, which 

 has for a long time kept my mind and eye open for 

 something to solve the problem. I think 1 have 

 found it. I shall give it a thorough trial this sea- 

 sou. Any person can make this and use it, or give 

 It a trial, and report. Will Ellis. 



St. Davids, Ont., Can. 



JSIany thanks, friend Ellis. Your idea of 

 tnining the outside rovAS of sections in the 

 T super so that they come over the ceitter 

 of the brood-nest is ingenious. The only 

 difficidty 1 see in the way, is the additional 

 expense. I am not sure that the advantages 

 from changing the outside rows of sections 

 in the T super, as >oa describe, will pay for 

 the extra cost. You know we want to pro- 

 duce our honey with the least outlay of 

 money possible. The bee-keeper who pro- 

 duces honey at a minimum cost is the one 

 destined to make the most clear gain. You 

 notice that the T super, which we illus- 

 trated on page ].')(). is made just as cheap 

 as an>- thing can possibly be made— simply 

 an outside shell, and the T and L tins. 



1T.\L1ANS, HYBRIDS, AND BLACKS. 



We purchased 15 colonies last spring at an auc- 

 tion. Three were pure Italians, five pure blacks (as 

 you call them), and the rest hybrids. We increased 

 them to 55 and took a little over 20(H) lbs. of surplus, 

 140(1 of comb, and 600 of extracted; but, as usual 

 with me, the hybrids were ahead in the amount of 

 honey gathered; the blacks came out next, and the 

 Italians were far behind. The Italians are, with 

 me. poor comb-builders. They will make too much 

 drone comb, and put too much honey in the brood- 

 chamber; and as I use only starters, either above 

 or below, these two faults would outweigh, with me, 

 even if they did make a little more honey. My 

 blacks are much the most pleasant bees to handle; 

 but with me a black (jueen and an Italian drone 

 produce the best-natured bees I have ever handled, 

 and they are the best workers. Indeed, I never had 

 any trouble with cross bees in my old apiary until I 

 purchased Italian queens, and yet my bees were 

 nearly half yellow by means of my neighbors' Ital- 

 ian drones. From what 1 read in the papers, and 

 from my own experience, I conclude that there 

 must be a great ditt'erence in the native bees of 

 America, called "blacks." H. V. Train. 



Mauston. Wis., Feb., 1887. 



AVHAT .MADE THE BEES SO CROSS ? 



I should like to know what made bees so cross in 

 1886. I had three stands of Italians, and they got so 

 cross that I could not handle them at all. I went to 



take some honey in the month of Jtily, and they 

 tried to sting me to death. They even left the hive 

 and went to the barn, which was three; rods from 

 the hive, and got on rpy hogs, and I had to go and 

 get my hogs out of the pen and i)Ut them ill the 

 barn, or they would have been killed. 



Henry Bogakdus. 

 La Fontaine, Ind., Feb. lii, 1887. 



Friend B., I can not suggest any reason, 

 but that the bees had suddenly ceased to 

 tind honey in the lields. As a general thing, 

 they are gathering honey in most localities 

 during July. Toward the close of the 

 month the basswood often fails quite sud- 

 denly ; then the bees, instead of lieing 

 full of honey, are loating around the hive, 

 comparatively empty and cross; and at such 

 times you sjibuld not attempt to take their 

 honey, or do any thing with them. Take 

 the honey away before the yield has closed 

 up, and you will find them peaceable and 

 gentle. Even a colony of full-blood Ital- 

 ians, when they get stirred up at about this 

 season of the year, will sometimes leave the 

 hive, and almost chase one off from the 

 premises. 



THE BINGHAM SMOKER, AND HOW TO USE IT. 



With this I mail you a "Doctor" smoker, such as 

 1 have learned to consult when in need. It is not 

 likely that you will like it at first. Artemas Ward 

 said, thai "habit is a bad habit." It will, however, 

 perhaps, win its way to a good practice after be- 

 coming familiar with its patients. It will recjuire 

 lots of wood, and. in turn for this trouble, will al- 

 low you to slowly send a vast volume of smoke just 

 over the hive in which you wish to find a (jueen, so 

 slowly and so carefully as not to startle the bees, 

 yet so ample as to give them a realizing sense of 

 who their master is. This controllable feature 1 

 think you will learn to like. 



Probably why I like so much smoke in the air 

 about me is, that the bees have much respect for 

 me, when so surrounded. This fact, no doulit, you 

 have fully and well learned. I never use a bee- 

 veil, as it is such a burden, and renders bee-work so 

 tiresome. \et it probabl.v is a fact, that we use 

 more smoke in our apiary than is used in any other, 

 of a similar size, in the U. S. 



We are able to work fast, as we do not have 

 to "subdue" bees (as filling the hive with smoke 

 is called, etc.); so much smoke in the air answers 

 just as well, and we think much better, and saves 

 more time than the stovewood costs. Vou will 

 find maple and ironwood the best fuel for easy 

 use. When you wish to quit work for the night, a 

 gallon jai- or crock partly full of water will be a 

 good safe i)lace to put the coals the smoker may 

 contain —one thing you will sometimes find handy 

 when all the smoke is gone from the coals. Hot air 

 is as good as smoke for the control of bees. 



Abronia, Mich., .March 1, 1887. T. F. IJin(!Ha.m. 



Y'oui" smoker was received, and it cei tain- 

 ly is well and substantially made. There 

 seems to be nothing in its construction that 

 will " play out'" soon. As you suggest, and 

 I think, too. owing to habit, I did not like it 

 (piite as well as the (Mark on tirst trial in the 

 apiary this spring, but perhaps after I have 

 tested it more thoroughly this summer 1 

 shall change my ojiinion somewhat. 



Eknest. 



