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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



propolis, or act as a screwdriver; it will 

 also clean off the frames, split a board, 

 or any other hatchet work, while the 

 leverag'e is so strong- that an ordinary nail- 

 ed hive can be pried apart with it. It is a 

 veritable little crowbar. I would not keep 

 bees without it. This is a home-made knife, 

 the blade being- forged from an old file, and 

 tempered so that it will not break in pry- 

 ing-. 



I notice Rambler has trouble in getting- 

 his wax out of the cans. If he will set his 

 can and wax in boiling water for a minute 

 the wax will then slip out; or, if the can is 

 too big for that, lay the can on the stove and 

 turn it round and round till the wax is 

 melted on all sides, and then chuck it, when 

 the wax will slip out. 



Murphys, Cal. E. H. Schaeffle. 



A SELF-SEALING TWINE FOR HIVES IN THE 

 SPRING. 



Get some fuzzy cord and soak the same 

 with some pasty compound, and sell the 

 same for hive-sealing, and you will find a 

 sale, I think. The cord inust have a soft 

 texture, and the compound must seal air- 

 tight, but must not stick like glue. I would 

 send a sample, but have not the necessary 

 compound. Bees need air-tight quarters in 

 early spring, and when they have to gather 

 propolis it gets them into bad habits and 

 loses time. A. D. Warner. 



Warsaw, Va., Oct. 11. 



A SUGGESTION FOR WHEELBARROWS FOR 

 APIARY USE. 



In reading in Gleanings about wide tires 

 on wheelbarrows, it occurred to me to make 

 a wheel with a three-inch tire, and, instead 

 of a heavy wood rim to fill it, why not make 

 a steel shell, of the proper shape and width 

 to fill the tire, and prevent the sand loading 

 in? A shell could be made something like 

 the rims that were used on bicycle-wheels 

 for cushion tires. The shells could be very 

 thin and light, if made of good material, 

 and could be put on over a narrow wooden 

 rim. It would increase the cost a trifle, 

 but such a wheel would work well on sandy 

 soils. Geo. E. Wells. 



Roseland, N. C, Oct. 14. 



[Unless there should be a very great de- 

 mand, such a tire would be very expensive. 

 It would, as you sii}% be a good thing on 

 some sandy soils. — Ed.] 



A standing joke. 



I have a stand standing on the stand 

 where it was standing last year. I want 

 to destroy this stand and put another stand 

 in its stand, and yet the stand is good and 

 would stand for years where it is standing 

 were it not for the stock of the stand. 



Chicago, 111. J. T. Hammersmark. 



[I commit you to the tender mercies of 

 Dr. C. C. Miller. He may fire a Straw at 

 you from his Straw-stack; so, beware of 



the straw that broke the camel's back. — 

 Ed.] 



screw eyes for frame-spacers. 



I am interested in the discussion of a sim- 

 ple spacing-device for brood-frames. In- 

 stead of the staple suggested on page 890 I 

 would prefer a screw in the form of an eye 

 (hook and eye). I think this has the ad- 

 vantage of a staple. You can screw it in 

 with your fingers, and you can regulate the 

 spacing conveniently. W. S. Shepherd. 



Shaker Station, Conn., Nov. 28. 



[But you will find, if you try them, that 

 a size having the right head to bring about 

 the proper spacing would be so small it 

 would be very frail. The staple has the 

 advantage of two legs, while the eyes would 

 have only one leg, and that a screw. 

 There would be another disadvantage, in 

 that it would be a very slow job to attach 

 such spacers to frames. — Ed.] 



MOVING BEES IN WINTER. 



I have a few hives of bees I desire to 

 move about 40 feet. When would be, in 

 your judgment, the best time to do it, with 

 the least loss of bees? W. H. Kf.rk. 



Crawfordsville, Ind., Dec. 5. 



[The best way for you to move your bees 

 would be to put them in a cellar and keep 

 them over winter. When you set them out 

 next spring, set them in the new location, 

 and all will go well. If you leave them out- 

 doors, and then attempt to move them, when 

 the first warm day comes they will be like- 

 13^ to go back to their old location; while if 

 \\\&y were confined several months to the 

 cellar they would go back to their hives no 

 matter where they would be. — Ed.] 



BEES LEAVING THE HIVE BECAUSE OK 

 PAINT. 



Do any of the Gleanings family know 

 any thing about "powder paint," or a wa- 

 ter paint called "Acme," "Crown," etc.? 

 I painted two hives with it, and the bees 

 left, though there was brood in the combs. 

 The entrances were rather too large, though. 

 This paint is "not designed for roofs or 

 inside work," as the advertisement states, 

 so I thought it might be poisonous. 



Corona, Cal. W. S. Ritchie. 



[I should doubt very much whether the 

 paint had any thing to do with it. If you 

 try it on other hives next summer, I think 

 you will find the bees will stay in them 

 just the same. — Ed.] 



disappearance OF OUEENS. 



Answering S. Longmir's inquiry, page 

 715, disappearance of queens, this is caused 

 by a quick short flow and sudden cessation, 

 bringing about exact superseding condi- 

 tions. It always happens in bad 3'ears, 

 or years with man\' interruptions in the 

 hDney-flow. J. E. Chambers. 



Vigo, Texas. 



