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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



hive-lifter than to lift one ten-frame shallow 

 extracting-super. My hives are in pairs. 1 can, 

 therefore, handle two colonies with one move of 

 the machine. With two or three supers on, it is 

 hard work lifting to put on another or to get at 

 the brood-nest. With the lifter I expect to lift 

 as many as four at once, swing them to one side, 

 manipulate the colony, and put on a fifth super 

 if necessary. In taking off honey with escapes, 

 I think it can be put right on to the wheelbarrow. 

 H. E. Greenwood. 

 Oshkosh, Wis., March 23. 



[This lifter embodies some good principles. 

 It represents a good deal of machinery, and 

 probably could not be used to advantage except 

 where there were more than two supers. We 

 have been making some preliminary tests with 

 devices of this sort, and find that the time taken 

 to place them and get the standard vertical is con- 

 siderable if the ground is uneven or the hives are 

 arranged in groups. Still we are of the opinion 

 that in the case of the " sky-scrapers " a device 

 of this kind can be used to very good advantage, 

 thus saving considerable strain on the back, and 

 at the same time enable one to put an empty 

 under the partly -filled supers without doing any 

 direct lifting himself. 



It is our opinion that the three legs on the 

 machine should not be attached to the upright 

 standard rigidly. They should be more in the 

 nature of a tripod with legs having a certain de- 

 gree of adjustment, thus allowing one to make 

 up for the uneven ground; for it is very impor- 

 tant that the standard or upright be vertical, 

 otherwise it will topple over when the load is put 

 on the projecting arm. — Ed.] 



HOW TO DISINFECT HONEY FROM A COLONY AF- 

 FECTED WITH FOUL BROOD. 



I have a number of colonies, I don't know how 

 many, affected with foul brood; and if I shake 

 them I shall have to wait till fall, and feed them 

 on the fall flow. Would it be safe to shake them 

 now and feed back the honey taken from them 

 after heating or boiling it? Would it be safe to 

 use partly drawn and filled section-supers from 

 over-diseased colonies? J. G. Crisler. 



Walton, Ky. 



[You can feed back the honey, taking it from 

 the hive tliat has had the disease, providing it 

 has been boiled for 20 minutes, allowed to stand 

 for two or three days, and boiled again for the 

 same length of time. In the interval the germs 

 undergo a state so that the second boiling takes 

 effect and destroys any germ life that may exist. 

 We would not advise you to put supers that have 

 been taken off from diseased colonies on to healthy 

 ones; but the honey from the diseased ones would 

 be perfectly safe to use for the table or to sell; 

 but be careful to place it where the bees will not 

 get at it and so spread the disease by robbing. 



When honey is coming in freely, don't shake 

 the combs, as it will be spilled over the ground, 

 on the hive, on tools, on clothing, and every- 

 where, At such times, brush with grass or weeds 

 and then burn whatever you use as a brush. No 

 honey should be spilled or daubed on tools from 

 a foul-broody colony, as you might thereby 

 spread the disease to other colonies. — Ed.] 



DOES IT PAY TO KEEP OVER A QUEEN THAT IS 

 POOR HER FIRST SEASON ? 



I notice some writers say that, if a queen fails 

 to lay enough eggs in a poor season to keep up 

 her colon}^ the next year (if a heavy flow comes 

 on) she may turn out to be as prolific as any 

 queen in the yard. I do not agree with this; for 

 I have invariably found that, if a queen was no 

 good in her first season as an egg-layer, she was 

 of no account the next season; therefore, if I find 

 that a young queen is practically worthless the 

 first season it is her last one, for more bad honey 

 failures come from no-account bees, caused by 

 no-account queens, than all other sources of fail- 

 ure combined. Early in the spring one can esti- 

 mate the good qualities of any queen, almost, by 

 the hustle displayed. J. A. Bearden. 



Harms, Tenn., June I. 



HANDLING QUEENS WITH CLEAN FINGERS. 



Doesn't it look reasonable and very important 

 to have perfectly clean hands, so as to be free 

 fromjany odors, etc.? Then rub the fingers and 

 thumb over wax or comb before picking up and 

 caging a queen and her attendant bees. Sense of 

 smell is very keen with bees. 



Hallowell, Me. E. P. Churchill. 



[We doubt the advisability of smearing the 

 hands with beeswax or combs, as that might in- 

 troduce the odor of another hive. Better put 

 nothing on them, and, when washing, avoid 

 scented soaps. — Ed.] 



DOES SAGE YIELD HONEY IN IDAHO AND UTAH ? 



Does sage yield honey in Idaho and Utah ? I 

 saw miles of it there, but could not learn that 

 bees get any honey from it. Fr. Holmes. 



Hillman, Mich.', May 14. 



[Possibly some of our readers can reply to this 

 question. — Ed.] 



Is it safe to introduce a queen in a hive where 

 it has been queenless for some time? 



Martinsburg, W. V. C. H. Mason. 



[It is a little risky to introduce a queen, espe- 

 cially a valuable one, in a hive that has been 

 queenless for some time. The colony may have 

 laying workers or a virgin. In either case it 

 would be practically impossible to introduce a 

 fertile queen. Before attempting to introduce 

 we would advise giving a frame of unsealed young 

 brood; and if the bees build cells therefrom it 

 would be safe to introduce, as the presence of the 

 cells would indicate that the bees were without a 

 queen. — Ed.] 



Is there honey in the second-crop clover? 

 Willink, N. Y. A. G. Sterling. 



[Some honey is secured from a second crop of 

 clover. It depends upon the season and some- 

 what upon the bees. — Ed.] 



Convention Notices. 



The Central Tennessee Bee-keepers" Association will meet at 

 he rooms of the Nashville Board of Trade on Saturday, Aug. 8. 

 J. M. BucH.\NAN, Sec'y. 



