7 02 



queen to go above. With a sharp thin 

 knife, when the combs were warm, so they 

 would not be brittle, the portion that had 

 been used by the queen was cut out and 

 rendered into beeswax, as were also the old 

 black combs mentioned before. See illus- 

 tration, next issue. After being trimmed, 

 the combs in each extracting-super were 

 one-tlurd to one-half cut away. These 

 were probably about as good as full sheets 

 of foundation in these supers, so we saved 

 some expense (and, we think, some time) 

 by this method. 



' The next season these upper stories con- 

 taining frames partly filled with comb were 

 given to the bees promiscuously with ap- 

 parently no bad effects. Of course the bees 

 were not diseased very badly, for we start- 

 ed the treatment in time. 

 Eemus, Mich. 



A PUSH-IN-COMB INTRODUCING-CAGE AND 

 SHIPPING-CASE COMBINED 



BY A. V. SMAIiL 



The first queen I bought came in a Ben- 

 ton cage, and I tried to introduce her to a 

 full colony according to the directions on 

 the cage. She was rejected; the bees built 

 cells, and reared a queen of their owni. This 

 was in June. In August I purchased an- 

 other, and she too was rejected. 



The next year I raised several queens 

 from swarm cells built in one of my good 

 colonies, and had no trouble in introducing 

 them with the push-in-comb cage. 



This matter of getting the queen on to 

 the comb while she is being introduced has 

 some important advantages. She more 

 readily and more thoroughly acquires the 

 colony odor; she and her attendants have 

 access to the natural stores, ar.cl she pre- 

 pares to lay and usually deposits a few 

 eggs before she is released. The colony is 

 very excei)tional that will kill a queen that 

 is depositing eggs in their own combs. 



My push-in-the-comb shipping-cage is an 

 firdiiiary Benton cage with the wood cut 

 clear though in the two circular compart- 

 ments occupied by the bees. The back of 

 the cage is provided with a light tin slide. 

 This forms a bottom for the bee compart- 

 ment during shipment. The front of the 

 cage is covered with a piece of screen 

 wire extending down beyond the sides and 

 end of the block half an inch or more. 

 When this ]:avt of the wire is pushed into 

 the comb, the back or bottom of the cage is 

 brought in contact with the comb surface. 

 Then after the tin slide has been carefully 

 withdrawn, the queen finds herself on the 



GLEAXIXGS IN BEE CULTURE 



comb surface, but can not esca] e from the 

 cage until the candy has been eaten away 

 by the bee, of the hive in the usual way. 



After the tin slide has been withdrawn, 

 a little ]>iece of screen wire is pushed intr 

 the comb at the end of the block from 

 which the slide was withdrawn. This pre- 

 vents the bees from working their way be- 

 tween the cage and comb surface and liber- 

 ating the queen too soon. 



^wsvyv^^svs'^^ 



During shipment the part of the screen 



used lo push in the comb is folded down 

 on the back of the cage, and the cage is 

 covered by a light cardboard carton pro- 

 vided with two or three air-holes next to 

 the screen for ventilation. 



I am now using a push-in-comb cagewitli 

 a spool tacked on one side as shown in thi' 

 illustration. The spool is filled with queen 

 cage candy, and the bees can liberate the 

 queen by eating out the candy instead of 

 tunneling under. I like this better than 

 any otlier introducing-cage I have tried. 



North Topeka, Kans. 



A Suggestion in Regard to the Miller Record 

 System 



The new record system, on page 656, Oct. 15, is 

 a good and time-saving method. The author mentions 

 that the apiary has 200 colonies, but provided for 

 only 199. Could he not put ten colonies in his first 

 group by using to 9 inclusive, and make the 

 apiary of 200 colonies complete on 20 cards? 



Lititz, Pa. L. G. Schultz. 



[We see no reason why this suggestion should not 

 be practical. The first row would then have ten 

 hives in it, like all of the other rows. The first hive 

 in each row would then be numbered 0, 10, 20, 30, 

 etc. — Ed.] 



