OLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



line o£ the screw lop, and press the sides 

 and ends concave so that there Avill be no 

 dilficultv in removinf;: the bi^- cake of wax. 



The tliin tin of tlie can yields easily, and 

 only the bottom is held. Load the solar 

 with 24 pounds of wax to remelt, and you 



will be able (in this way) to take off a cake 

 of beautiful wax 22 pounds in weight. 



SKELETON BARROW. 



The Outlaw had a dig at the antiquated 

 method of Alexander's comb-bucket. T sup- 

 pose our skeleton barrow and long box 

 holding 40 combs would please him. It is 

 built of 2 x 3-ineh material, and is 6 inches 

 long — a skeleton or frame only. On tliis 

 the box rests as shown in cut. Tlie box has 

 a zinc bottom and measures 5 inches long, 

 wide enough for tlie frame to hang. Four 

 wet sacks complete the best arrangement I 

 have ever used. 



Heber, Cal. 



[This is the first of a series of two arii- 

 cles by Mr. Gray entitled Notes from the 

 Apiary. The second will be published in 

 an early number. — Ed.] 



THE STRENUOUS BUSINESS OF AFRIKANDER BEEKEEPING 



BY A. R. CLIFTON 



The bees in this country are nearly all 

 exceptions, or at any rate exhibit many 

 exceptions, and this not alone in the hands 

 of novices to which Mr. A. C. Miller attrib- 

 utes many failures. 



In temper they are m_ost variable. Many 

 people handle them without smoke or veil; 



Just beyond, three dosikeys were stung to death 



but they have been known to turn so vicious 

 that they killed the person operating. They 

 also occasionally kill fowls, dogs, and 

 horses. Three weeks ago my bees killed 

 four donkey foals which were loose in a 

 large field fenced off from the bees at a 



time of the year when they were weak in 

 numbers, and when no one was near. We 

 found the donkeys about 100 yards from 

 the hives some hours after they were stung. 

 The illustration of a Zulu servant with 

 an nx was taken on my home gToixnd, and 

 the field just visible in the background is 

 where the donkeys 

 were stung to death. 



On anotlier occasion 

 a woman asked me to 

 take her bees away be- 

 cause they had killed 

 her mule. I found the 

 three hives were in 

 paraffin-cases with 

 sacks thrown over 

 them. These bees seem- 

 ed mild-tempered, and 

 li n d e r the sacks I 

 found two snakes, 

 which T killed. 



Be.^ides their temper, 

 many other unusual 

 traits arc exhibited. 

 They are very prone 

 to start fertile work- 

 ers, and I have seen 

 eggs laid by ihem 

 and even fertile queens 

 In the latter case, how- 

 ever, the fertile workers soon disappear. 

 It is not uncommon to find from fifteen to 

 twenty such pggs in a single queen-cell. 

 On the subject of fertile workers 1 heard 



while nueen-cells 

 were in the hive. 



