7^ 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



out danger of being stuck fast by the candy ad- 

 hering to the inner wall of the hole. — Ed.] 



A SWARM-CATCHER MADE OF A BURLAP SACK. 



Take a good strong iron barrel-hoop. Sew a 

 good fertilizer-sack to the hoop, then squeeze the 

 latter to an oval shape; put in a handle, any 



length you wish. When you shake the bees in, 



give half a turn. That closes the sack, and not 



a bee can escape; then dump in front of the hive. 



Tontogany, Ohio. R. L. McColley. 



[The same general plan of a swarm-catch- 

 ing sack was shown in the earlier editions of our 

 A B C of Bee Culture, and, in fact, is still shown 

 there. See page 410 of the last edition. The 

 device is so simple that any one can make it. — 

 Ed.] 



bees and honey in utah. 



I started in last spring with five hives. From 

 these I captured seven swarms. One of the five, 

 and also one of the swarms, failed to make even 

 a pound of surplus, on account of foul brood; 

 but from the other four and their swarna I got 

 924 lbs. of nice comb honey, the most being made, 

 by swarm No. 7, which was cast May 27, which 

 made 177 lbs. The next best was 151 by swarm 

 No. 8. One of the original five swarmed four 

 times; and at the end of the season I had 113 lbs. 

 of surplus to its credit. I called it my crazy 

 hive, but there seemed to be " method in its mad- 

 ness," after all. 



Last Sunday, as Mrs. Tidd and I were return- 

 ing from the Easter service at Provo, we drove 

 right up into a mammoth swarm of bees as we 

 reached the house. We were not looking for a 

 swarm quite so early in the season, but had hives 

 ready in the event any should come. They set- 

 tled on the ground in our little pasture at the 

 roots of some cherry-sprouts. I soon had a hive 

 there, but was having some trouble getting them 

 started to go in when Mrs. Tidd said, "Why, 

 there is another swarm." 



I looked, and there, about two rods away, on 

 a weed about a foot high, was another cluster. 

 As my bees were all leaving, and clustering there 

 too, I concluded that the queen must be there, 

 and so I moved the hive over to Mrs. Tidd's 



cluster, and soon had them hived nicely, and saw 

 the queen as she went in. I want to say right 

 here that Mrs. Tidd is a great help to me in the 

 apiary, and the outdoor exercise is excellent for 

 her. 



I bought a few more stands this spring, and 

 now have 16 including the Easter swarm. It is 

 doing beautifully so far. Fruit-trees are all in 

 bloom now. C. H. Tidd. 



Provo, Utah, April 22. 



P. S. — Our Homes department, conducted by 

 you, deserves special mention, and I hope you 

 may be abundantly successful in your work of 

 reformation. 



THE DEWEY FOUNDATION-FASTENING MACHINE. 



There are now on the market a number of de- 

 vices for fastening starters, employing a hot- 

 plate; but while all have their merits the princi- 

 ple of the flat plate is subject to serious objection. 

 My device is a coverless box with a sliding ta- 

 ble. The chain is secured to a small lever clip 

 which forces the moving table forward when 

 pressure is applied to the treadle. As the table 

 slides forward or away from the operator the 

 curved plate swings forward toward the operator. 

 The section is held in position by the curved 

 spring. As the machine is closed the heater- 

 plate describes an arc, passing over and into the 

 section, and coming to rest just below the sta- 

 tionary plate. It is this position of the hot plate 

 that malces this device so distinctive. It does not 

 touch the section at any point. Neither does it 

 come in contact with any part of the machine ad- 

 jacent to the section, but is suspended free from 

 any thing that could be soiled. When the sec- 

 tion has been adjusted and the machine closed, 

 the starter is slid down the small plate until it 

 touches the hot plate; the pressure on the treadle 

 is then released; and as the hot plate recedes from 



the section the starter is pushed down until it 

 touches the section, to which it is securely and 

 centrally fastened. All dripping wax is carried 

 away from the section to the rear of the hot 

 plate, and may be collected in a dish placed at 

 the rear if desired. 



Starters are fastened so securely that the wax 

 will tear before they will start from the section. 

 Full sheets or )i-\nc\\ starters are fastened with 

 equal ease. Many have reported a speed of 500 

 starters per hour, and 600 per hour has been re- 

 ported. 



Aside from its many other desirable features, 

 no soot can soil the section or dripping wax clog 

 the machine. The small kerosene-oil lamp, us- 

 ing a no-chimney burner, produces an intensely 

 hot flame with nearly complete combustion. 



Great Barrington, Mass. D. H. Dewey. 



