1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



633 



It is something that any 

 blacksmith can mane out of an 

 old buggy-spring or any good 

 piece ot spring steel. It must 

 not be tempered too hard or it 

 will break. Each end should be 

 flattened out while hot, and 

 brought to an edge. One end is 

 bent to a right angle, and the 

 other is left straight. The tool 

 is then taken over to an emery 

 wheel or grindstone and finished 

 up. Care should be taken to 

 have the edges straight and 

 square. 



The hooked end is ordinarily 



FIG. 3.— ANOTHER .METHOD OF USING THE HIVE- 

 TOOL WHEN PRYING FRAMES APART. 



FIG. 2.— A SIDE TWIST OF THE TOOL AFFORDS A STRONG LEV- 

 ERAGE BY WHICH THE FRAMES ARE SEPARATED 

 EASILY AND WITHOUT JAR. 



should be placed directly against the 

 palm in order that sufficient pressure 

 may be exerted to shove the other or 

 straight end between the two hive parts. 

 See illustration on page 602 of our last 

 issue. 



Either end of the tool may be used for 

 separating Hoffman frames, or, in fact, 

 any style of frame that one happens to 

 use; but our men prefer the hook end. 

 This is inserted between the frames to 

 be separated, as shown in Fig. 2, when a 

 side twist of the wrist will exert consid- 

 erable leverage, forcing apart the 

 frames very gently. But there are some 



used for scrap- 

 ing propolis or 

 wax off the 

 frames or bot- 

 tom -boards, 

 while the other 

 end (also use- 

 ful for scrap- 

 ing) is pushed 

 between the 

 two parts of 

 the hive; but 

 the drawing 

 shows the tool 

 held improper- 

 ly. The bent 

 or curved end 



FIG. 4.— THE PROPER WAY TO PRY ALL THE FRAMES OVER AT ONE OPERATION. 



who prefer to use the straight end of the tool in the 

 manner shown in Fig. 3; but the method given in 

 Fig. 2 exerts more of a leverage, and, at the same 

 time, is less liable to crush bees. 



Fig. 4 shows how the tool may be used for crowd- 

 ing ml the frames over to one side in one block, as 

 it were; or one can, if he prefers, use the plan 

 shown in Fig. 2; but it will generally be found that 

 the one shown in Fig. 4 is more convenient. In 

 Fig. 5 the curved end is used to good advantage in 

 lifting the division-board out of the hive. See also, 

 in this connection, Fig. 9. 



Some prefer a hive-tool having a narrowed end 

 like a screwdriver; but the continuous use of a 

 tool like this abrases the edges of the hives so that, 

 after a time, it leaves bruise marks and cracks, invit- 

 ing winds and storms, and robbers when they are 

 prowling about. For separating two hives heavy 

 with honey there is nothing better than a mde thin 



FIG. o.-MOW THE HOOK END IS I'SE- 



FUL IN FISHING OUT FRAMES AND 



DIVISION-BOARDS. 



