.Tui.v. 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



425 



space equal to the diameter of the hoop. 

 In this way the honey can drain freely. 



The hoops are built of beech strips, % 

 thick and about 1'/^ inches wide, spaced 3/16 

 inch apart. Welded iron bands of 3/16 x 

 1%-inch material enclose the staves which 

 are riveted to them. The hoops themselves 

 are 15 inches high and about 18 inches in 

 diameter. Each hoop has a false bottom, as 

 shown in Fig. 4, which telescopes slightly 

 into the bottom, as indicated in the drawing. 

 The outside diameter of the false bottom is 

 a little less than the outside diameter of 

 the hoop, to permit the blocks to be placed 

 underneath and give space for the cheese 

 to be pressed out of the hooji. A loose fol- 

 lower covers the cappings for each pressing. 



The frame is built of ash. Fig. 1 is a side 

 view of the press, showing the receiver, the 

 three hoops, the screw, the hopper to uncap 

 into, also the sharp points for the end-bars 

 to rest on while the combs are being uncap- 

 ped. 



The screw itself should be 1^/^ inches, or 

 114 inches in diameter, 4 threads to the inch, 

 with a hand wheel on the upper end having 

 four projections so that a lever can be used 

 between them for securing great pressure. 

 A %-inch bolt on each side of the cross- 

 beads runs down thru the frame to give add- 

 ed tensile strength. 



It has occurred to me that by having ex- 

 tra hoops the outfit would also make an ex- 

 cellent wax press for melting and rendering 

 the cappings later on into solid wax, or for 

 rendering old combs, the 'extra hoop to be 

 used for melted wax only and never for 

 pressing the honey out of cappings. 



Brantford, Can. 



Fig. 4. End view. The other two " lioops " are 



supposed to he back of tlie one under the screw 



shown in front. 



CLOSING OF THE SEASON 



Various Important '■Problems to be 



Considered in Connection with July 



'Management 



By Belva M. Demuth 



IX our locality 

 the month of 

 July brings 

 the close of the 

 honey flow. 

 Sometimes it 

 closes abruptly 

 early in the 

 month, while 

 other years it 



niay continue thruout the greater portion of 

 the month, decreasing toward the end so 

 that the final closing is indistinct. 



If the date of the close of the honey flow 

 could be definitely foretold, the proper 

 management for comb honey at this time 

 would be less difficult. It would then be 

 possible to begin a concentration of the 

 work in the supers at such a time that there 

 would be few if any unfinished sections at 

 the close of the season. If the honey flow 

 should close abruptly before expected, the 

 plan which I outlined last month in rapidly 

 expanding the work in the sujjers might re- 

 sult in many poorly filled, as well as many 

 unfinished sections. In such cases it would 



have been better 

 if all the work 

 had been crowd- 

 ed into fewer su- 

 pers; but, by be- 

 ing ready at any 

 moment quickly 

 to concentrate 

 the work in the 

 supers, loss in 

 this way may usually be avoided. For this 

 reason we anxiously watch the character of 

 the work the bees are doing and the ad- 

 vancement of the clover. If, when a new 

 super is given, the bees begin work in only 

 a part of the sections instead of taking pos- 

 session of the entire super and starting 

 work in all of the sections, we take this as 

 a signal to quit adding the new super below 

 those already begun and to begin placing 

 them on top, if more are added. 



Concentration of Super Work. 



At the first indications of the waning of 



the honey flow there is a radical change in 



the disposition of the supers. The problem 



now is to reduce the number of supers per 



