DECEMBER 15, 1913 



tobacco smell, seems to draw the bees to a 

 colony wliich has been dealt with in the way 

 necessary to introduce the queen, and the 

 colony naturally falls an easy prey to rob- 

 bers. This may not be the case with ordi- 

 nai-y smoke; but even if it is, it would not 

 be a serious obstacle if a new queen could 

 be made to replace the old in this way. 



THOSE LARGE SMOKERS. 



Dr. C. C. Miller, in his kindly way, rath- 

 er takes me to task for wanting a large 

 smoker. " I'd rather waste time to load up 

 two or three more times in a day than to 

 waste a good deal more in way of strength 

 by lugging around too heavy a smoker." 

 It is bad to waste any tiling. For in- 

 stance, many people eat more than they re- 

 quire. That is waste of food; and right 

 here let me offer a suggestion in connection 

 with the problem of how to reduce the cost 

 of living. It can safely be whispered to 95 

 out of 100 people that they should eat about 

 half what they do, and this will cut their 

 food bill in two, and tliis largely reduced 

 demand will likely materially reduce the 

 cost, perhaps cutting it another 50 per cent. 

 Doctors' bills, too, will be smaller. The 

 doctor who tells a patient that he overeats 

 loses his practice; hence, to work it off one 

 must take- exercise. How shall we exercise ? 

 It would not do to work if we can help it ; 

 that is an economy adapted to poor people, 

 so we (or, rather, they) take long walks; 

 or if that is too much trouble they attach 

 themselves to a club Avith a gymnasium. 



Why not let this energy be expended in 

 cari-ying about a smoker that weighs six or 

 eight ounces, or even a pound, more? Dr. 

 Miller, we judge by contrast. I have seen 

 enough of all phases of life, and you have 

 too, to know that this is correct. If I spend 

 my time in a nice office, comfortably heated, 

 I do not appreciate very higlily a heated 

 home. But send me out during a November 

 day with a team and lumber wagon, and a 

 load, and let there be a cold rain, and I will 

 gladly, when the day's work is done, find 

 refuge in a log shanty with a fire in a smoky 

 stove and a candle sticking in an empty 

 bottle. So, doctor, when you have an eight- 

 frame hive you rejoice when the honey 

 crop is light, and muscle and exertion are 

 not wasted in lifting a larger crop. Or if 

 the bees will swarm and put the rest of the 

 honey crop into another hive, that pleases 

 you. You would say, " Well, well ! This 

 saves muscular exertion : I'd rather load 

 up two or three more times," etc. One soon 

 becomes accustomed to the heavier smoker, 

 and, within reasonable bounds, thinks no 

 more of operating a smoker weighing 2 lbs. 

 or even ly^ lbs. than one weighing half a 

 pound less. 



903 



Time counts during the busy season of 

 the year. After handling twelve-frame hives, 

 an eight-frame seems like a toy ; but it is a 

 source of i^leasure to get a heavy crop, even 

 if we have to lift it and handle, and it is a 

 source of satisfaction to have an implement 

 to smoke the bees with when a gain is made 

 in the day's work. Now, I would suggest 

 that those who would like a larger smoker 

 than the one now on the market " shower " 

 Gleanings with post cards. I feel sure that 

 many beekeepers do Avant larger smokers; 

 and even if they do not it would not change 

 my view. 



Brantford, Canada. 



BEES ENTERING COMB-HONEY SUPERS 



No Trouble During a Honey-flow 



BY FRANK M'MURRAY 



Mr. J. E. Hand, Nov. 15, page 805, has 

 an interesting article on section-honey pro- 

 duction, Avhich is based upon the assumption 

 that bees have a natural dislike for work in 

 section-honey supers. 



Acting upon the generally accepted the- 

 ory that bees dislike a section-honey super 

 on account of its subdivided and crowded 

 condition, I have experimented in various 

 ways to overcome this supposed dislike. I 

 have tried four-beeway sections in connec- 

 tion Avith various forms and sizes of 

 perforations in separators, only to find that 

 in many eases my Avork Avas undone by the 

 bees closing the openings Avith Avax or pro- 

 polis, many of which were much more than 

 beeAvay size. 



My latest experiment was with slatted 

 separators, and the openings in these I 

 found entirely filled with Avax and j^ropolis 

 in most supers. 



These experiences, taken in connection 

 Avith the well-knoAvn fact that bees do not 

 hesitate to fill the small space between top- 

 bars and cover with comb and honey, if no 

 other room is provided, have forced the 

 eonA'iction upon me that the dislike of bees 

 for a section super (if any) must be ac- 

 counted for in some other Avay than its 

 croAvded and subdivided condition. 



I am a section-honey producer, and I can 

 charge none of my failures to dislike of the 

 bees for Avork in section supers; but they 

 are all chargeable, first, to a shortage of 

 nectar ; second, to excessive sAvarming. 



When nectar is plentiful, I find that nine- 

 ty per cent or more of colonies enter the 

 section supers gladly; and the remaining 

 ten per cent or less I either requeen or 

 " bait " with an unfinished super. I use 

 half-sheets of foundation at the top of 



