1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



33 



robbers commence to steal 

 from them, how mad they will 

 get! and we are almost sure 

 to get stung. We can do any 

 kind of work with them when 

 using a cage, but it must be 

 so tight that the robbers have 

 to stay outside; and, no mat- 

 ter how much of a roar they 

 make outside, all will be i]uiet 

 inside, even when very little 

 smoke is used. \'ery often, 

 with no smoke at all, we can 

 do all the work we wantto, 

 and as leisurely as desired. 



The cage is very handy in 

 queen - rearing, both in han- 

 dling the old stocks and going 

 through the nuclei and mating 

 boxes. I set the cage central- 

 ly in the mating-yard, pick up 

 the boxes one after another, 

 take them inside the cage, and, 

 after closing the door, I am 

 alone with the little colony 

 without any robbers to make 

 me or the bees nervous. 



The cage I use is made very 

 much like the one shown on p. 1261, Oct.^15, 

 only it is somewhat larger. I made mine in 

 four panels. The two for ends are 3)4 f^et 

 wide and 5 feet 8 inches high. Each panel has 

 two posts, and two girts sit two inches from the 

 ends of the posts. Then there are two sides 5 

 feet 6 inches wide, and the same height as the 

 ends with girts at top and bottom, the same as the 

 ends. All are held together with ten-penny fin- 

 ishing nails, one at each joint or four to each 

 panel. There is a door that takes up half of one 

 side, made in the same manner, only the girts or 

 cross-pieces at top and bottom are set close to 

 the ends of the side pieces of the door. There 

 is a middle post which the door swings on. 

 Two-inch butts allow the door to swing, and a 

 small hook fastens it shut so it will stay shut and 



HENRY M. TWINING DEMONSTRATING BEFORE THE PHILADEL- 

 PHIA bee-keepers'. ASSOCIATION. 



not be swinging when we step inside. I take 

 hold of the two] small bars that run along the 

 sides, and carry the cage easily about the yard. 

 A top part is made in much the same manner, 

 and all is covered with wire cloth; but 1 do not 

 use it very much, as I find it is not needed in 

 general work; if one were transferring, cutting 

 out combs, or cleaning up an old neglected 

 swarm then it would be all right to put it on, and 

 be sure all is tight around the bottom. 



I used J^-inch boards ripped up 1>^ wide, and 

 the four panels are bolted together at the corners 

 with rV"''^- bolts, so I can take it apart and house 

 it when the season is over. 



The whole thing is easy to make, and is inex- 

 pensive; and that is not all. It is not heavy to 

 handle, and it is just as light to work, in as it is 



without it. 

 This cage will 

 not blow over 

 as easily as one 

 made of cloth 

 netting, and is 

 much more du- 

 rable, 

 loamosa, Cal. 

 [We use large 

 cages as well as 

 small ones at 

 allof ourqueen- 

 rearing yards. 

 Indeed, we re- 

 gard them as 

 i ndispensable 

 during the rob- 

 bing season. 



For the pro- 

 duction of hon- 

 ey they are not 

 so necessary. 

 Most bee-keep- 

 ers do without. 

 —Ed.] 



AN INTERESTING MOMENT IN PRACTICAL DEMONSTRAl 



