878 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



Carniolan-Italian stock, possibly something may 

 be done, as the Cyprian disposition is not so like- 

 ly to recur. So far as color is concerned, I've 

 had colonies of that cross, showing no trace of 

 the Carniolan blood, but they are exceedingly 

 prolific, and mostly white cappers of comb hon- 

 ey. Any cross containing much Cyprian blood 

 will likely result in at least a few colonies that 

 are perfec.t fiends to fight, and they will remem- 

 ber their encounter, and scour the neighborhood 

 for days in search of innocent victims of their 

 wrath. The best advice on Cyprian blood for 

 the average bee-keeper is, " Let Cyprians alone." 



ENTRANCES ABOVE EXCLUDERS. 



Page 839, 1907, Mr. C. W. Dayton says, "Of 

 course, it certainly is easier for the bees not to 

 have the excluders on. " Not so very much easier 

 for my bees. I have an entrance above the ex- 

 cluder, which is utilized often by a large per cent 

 of the field force. This entrance consists of a 

 Ij^-inch auger-hole with galvanized slide. I got 

 the idea from friend Hansen, whose San Diego 

 Co. "Sweetwater Apiary" was illustrated in 

 Gleanings and the A B C book some years ago. 

 Mr. Hansen values them highly. So do I. 

 dandelions. 



Page 840, 1907, that fine field of dandelions is 

 much like some of this country. Some of my 

 yards have thousands of acres of such bloom 

 within easy range. During the past two springs 

 the bees did well on them, though some years 

 they yield little nectar. In 1906 and 1907 they 

 put the bees in wonderful condition for the alfal- 

 fa flow, where they were plentiful. 



DIVISIBLE HIVES. 



The shallow-divisible-hive men (of whom I 

 was once one of the most enthusiastic) sometimes 

 say that the scarcity of lumber will be another 

 l)oint in favor of the shallow hive, as narrow 

 lumber is cheaper than wide lumber. This might 

 be a valid argument in a land where a tongued- 

 and-grooved joint is unknown, or where no man 

 ever thought of " butting " two narrow boards to- 

 gether to take the place of a wider one. I've 

 used such hives, and they are fully as serviceable 

 as any, and the joints are not even tongued and 

 grooved. Boxes of some kinds are now made 

 entirely of narrow boards, tongued and grooved, 

 or fastened with metallic stays forced into the 

 wood. 



The really few (compared to others) who pre- 

 fer the divisible brood-chamber are periodically 

 possessed of the spirit of propaganda; but the vast 

 majority who try such hives later abandon them, 

 if all that I have seen and read is any criterion. 



In many localities the man who puts a swarm 

 or a colony in a single shallow brood-nest with 

 supers above courts great loss, as the sections 

 will be ruined with pollen and no pre-uentinje is 

 ktio-wn. 



It would at leas't be charitable for the divisible- 

 brood-chamber advocates to caution beginners 

 with that hive against disaster from pollen in sec- 

 tions, as to many beginners it is a serious matter 

 to lose the sale of a few supers of honey. 



A QUICK METHOD OF CLEANING SEPARATORS. 



One of the most monotonous, tiresome, and 

 unpleasant jobs connected with large-scale comb- 

 honey production is the annual cleaning of a vast 



number of bee-gummed separators. In many lo- 

 calities the separators must be thoroughly clean- 

 ed every year or else the necessary fixtures can 

 not be crowded into a super. Another result, 

 but not at all a bad one, is that the sections will 

 hold more honey, as the propolis acts much like 



ATWATER'S METHOD OF CLEANING SEPARATORS. 



cleats on the separator. For this reason some 

 bee-keepers seldom clean their separators; but 

 when they do, then they have a job of no small 

 proportions. As no rapid and satisfactory meth- 

 od of cleaning separators has ever been given to 

 the bee-keeping public I will describe a method 

 of my own invention — a method far more rapid 

 than any that has been used in the past, and it 

 results in separators just as good as new, if you 

 wish them so. One hand is not almost worn out 

 from holding a knife, as in the old plan. 



The drawing shows the plan fully. Just 18X 

 inches apart we nail on it, at the ends, pieces of 

 section stuff '/sXlHXS inches. On these, and 

 projecting % inch inward, nail cleats '4 XI 5^X5 

 inches. This gives the cleated board complete, 

 as at A. The cleats provide recesses at D D to 

 engage the ends of the separators. 



This cleated board is mounted as at C, «iih 

 one end fast to a joist, the other supported by a 

 diagonal brace. 



B shows how the separator is to be put in place 

 by springing it so the ends just go under the re- 

 cesses at D D. It then lies flat, as shown in C. 

 Now stand at M and take the drawing-knife b/ 

 the handles. Keep the blade nearly at a right 

 angle to the separator. With very thin separators 

 you will find it necessary to do most of the clean- 

 ing from the middle to-ivard you, and from the 

 middle aivay from you, or the separator may 

 spring out of place. 



With thicker separators you may go at them 

 rough-shod. When one side is clean, turn the 

 separator over and repeat the process. Keep the 

 rece&ses clean, and brush the loose propolis off 

 the board occasionally. 



After a little you will acquire the knack, and 

 you will then find this the easiest and most rapid 

 method of cleaning separators — a method that 

 any hired help can easily master. 



Meridian, Ida. 



