382 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



the original stand; but if you are careful to shake 

 into the nucleus, as advised, more bees than are 

 needed, and have considerable hatching and sealed 

 brood, you will have a nucleus that will build up 

 rapidly. It is never a good plan to close the en- 

 trance of a hive, especially in warm weather. 



Under normal conditions, with the honey-flow on 

 and a strong colony, the plan of dividing the hive 

 with a tight-fitting queen-excluder board is a' good 

 one for raising a few queens. The bees should stai't 

 queen-celks of themselves. However, if there is no 

 lioney-flow on you will not get good results in any 

 plan of queen-rearing unless you feed. It is not 

 necessary to have perforated zinc for the entrance, 

 as the queen never leaves the hive except in the cast 

 of swarming, and will not go outside of the hive to 

 get around the division-board. 



Carbon bisulphide is much better for fumigating 

 combs than .sulphur fumes. Sulphur will sometimes 

 spoil comb honey, and is not nearly as effective as 

 carbon. To use the latter, stack your supers of 

 comb honey up in your work-shop. See to it that 

 the bottom and the cracks between the supers are as 

 nearly air-tight as possible. This can be done by 

 pasting strips of paper around the cracks. Place 

 an empty super on top of all, and in it an empty 

 saucer or tin lid. Put in this receptacle about a 

 teaspoonful of carbon bisulphide for every ten su- 

 pers of honey. The gases are heavier than air, and 

 will settle down through the supers. When fumi- 

 gating with sulphur it must be placed under the 

 supers instead of on top, as the gases will rise. — 

 G. H. R.I 



be done in one-fourth the time required for pails. 

 Grass can be used for floats. 



I'nion Center, Wis. Elias Pox. 



Fruit- jar a Successful Feeder 



I believe I have a better method of feeding than 

 I have yet heard of, although it is on the pepper- 

 box order. Simply take a Mason jar — pint, quart, 

 or half-gallon, according to the amount to be fed. 

 Next take a lid, one that is of no use for sealing 

 fruit any more. Break out the glass on the inside, 

 and puncture the lid from the inside with a few 

 very small holes and the job is done. 



This feeder can be used the year round. I am 

 using one now. The can will make the hole air- 

 tight when I invert it, providing I have done a 

 good job in boring. One can use this system regard- 

 less of the hive level. I use a small block of wood 

 to cover the hole when it is not in use. The bees 

 will glue it fast and make it air-tight. 



In making this place for the feeder, take an ex- 

 tension bit, and set it so it will bore a hole just 

 large enough for the can lid to come flush with the 

 under side of the cover. I think the center of the 

 cover is best. When this is done you have a feeder 

 that is always at hand, and one that will never wear 

 nor rust out. 



Marion, Ind. L. W. Martin. 



A Cheap Milk -pan for Feeding 



When using ten-i)ouiid pails for feeding, as J. L. 

 Byeir suggests, page 194, why not invert them in a 

 tJHi pie-plate and set in a super on top of frames 

 with the oilcloth turned back? This will avoid spoil- 

 ing the pail-covers. All that is necessary is to insert 

 a thin bit of wood or a shingle nail under the outer 

 edge of the pail after it is placed on the hive, and 

 then the bees will do the rest. It will feed just as 

 fast as the feed is taken by the bees and no faster. 



I prefer, however, a cheap milk-pan that holds 

 about twelve pounds of syrup. I put a comb-honey 

 or extracting super on the hive after sliding the oil- 

 cloth back about half way ; set the pan over the 

 open space, and put into it a handful of excelsior. I 

 pour in the warm syrup just before dark, and, as a 

 rule, the pan will be dry in the morning. I remove 

 the cover and fill again if it* is necessarv. This can 



Carrying Bees out of the Cellar Early in the 

 Night. 



My plan for 2'-> years has been to carry bees from 

 the cellar in the fore part of the night. During the 

 latter part of the night they will cluster compactly, 

 and in the morning they will slowly unwind this 

 " ball," and gradually begin their cleansing flight 

 until all have been out. When the air is filled with 

 bees, it is one of the grandest sights of the season. 

 I never have that mad exciting rush that I used to 

 have when setting out in any time of daylight. There 

 is practically no drifting, even with hives only a 

 foot apart and entrances wide open or partially 

 closed. So far as setting hives on the former stand 

 is concerned to avoid mixing, there is nothing to it. 



Union Center, Wis. Elias Pox. 



Lead Pipe Dangerous 



I notice, page 20G, March 1, that E. B. Ault de- 

 sires to use a lead spiral-worm pipe to convey steam 

 through his honey-tank to prevent granulation or to 

 restore the honey from its granulated state, and the 

 editor asks if it is all right to use the lead pipe. I 

 will state that it is not all right. The acids that are 

 present in the best grades of honey are sufficient to 

 set up a chemical action with the lead that will leave 

 a lead poisoning; and when there are any acids 

 present due to improper curing of the honey, as there 

 are at times in a great amount in some honey, the 

 chemical action is multiplied in proportion to the 

 amount of acid present. I think a good grade of 

 first-class white galvanized pipe a great deal better. 



Bartlett, Tex. T. P. Robinson. 



The Avocado Pear — More About It 



The avociulci, cir " alligator " pear, is a great fruit, 

 or perhaps should be classed as a vegetable, as they 

 are eaten with a little vinegar, pepper, and salt. 



At first taste very few people like them ; but after 

 tasting a few times one seems to want more and 

 more, and doesn't seem to tire of them as with some 

 fruits. I let them hang on the tree until they are 

 ripe, then lay them away for two or three days, till 

 they begin to get soft but "not too soft;" picked 

 too green they are watery and haven't the rich nutty 

 flavor. The first avocado I ate I sprinkled a little 

 sugar over, and a few drops of vinegar, and soon 

 found them very nutritious. In Havana they retail 

 from 2 to 60 cts. each, according to size and season. 

 In New Orleans I saw large nice ones on the market 

 10 to 20 cts. each. 



Corning, Cal., Maa-ch 2. Henry Heap. 



Cement Hives in Florida 



Mr. Culljri-tli, (it 'I'ainiia, has had bees for years. 

 He had a dozen cennMit hives made last spring, and 

 transferred to them, hoping to have a good lasting 

 and serviceable hive. Only one of these colonies' is 

 alive now. They say the cement hives are too damp 

 for bees, especially in the rainy season. I should 

 hate to handle many of them, even if bees should 

 do well in them. 



Palmetto, Fla., Nov. .5. C. H. Clute. 



Timbers under Water 20 Years 



The editor's note, p. 952, Dec. 1, in relation to 

 preservation of wood is correct. I have removed 

 from lead and zinc mines timbers that I knew had 

 been placed there and had been under water 20 

 years, and they were as sound and green as when 

 put there. The bark and sap looked as though they 

 had been recently cut. 



Galena, Kan. .). P. Brumfield. 



