806 



THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



■where it can be had in a moment. A 

 great many times the oil-can or the 

 tallow will enable yOu to use a hand- 

 saw so as to do the work in half the 

 time it would if you had not used it. 

 With steam-engines, and machinery 

 for hive-making, oil is a necessity ; 

 and those who neglect to have it 

 handy, will sooner or later have to 

 pay heavy bills for repairs that a few 

 drops of oil might have saved. 



Nails and screws of different sizes 

 should also be kept where you can put 

 your hand on them quickly. Whether 

 you are a bee-keeper or not, you need 

 screw-drivers and adjustable wrenches 

 ■where any of the children can get 

 them in an instant, if you tell them 

 the tools are wanted in a hurry. And, 

 my friends, as you value the future 

 happiness and comfort of those 

 children, teach them to be sure these 

 things are put back in their jjlaces as 

 soon as you are done using them, if 

 you should forget it yourself. A girl 

 five years old can easily save the time 

 of a man and a team, may be, by 

 knowing where to find a wrench or an 

 oil-can ; and the little girl will get it, 

 and put it back, quicker than a big 

 man could. That is one reason why I 

 like little girls, and little boys too, 

 because they can help such a "big 

 lot," when they get into the way of 

 helping, and when their papas make 

 friends with them. I wonder how 

 many of the papas to whom I am 

 talking to-day are in the habit of 

 making friends with the " little 

 chicks " at home. Why, if you do 

 not, you lose half the pleasure of suc- 

 cess in business. When a big crop of 

 honey comes, and the prospect is be- 

 fore you of being able to iiay off debts 

 that have worried you, what a rare 

 pleasure it is to be able to tell the 

 children about it when you tell 

 mamma, and have them rejoice and 

 clap their liands too I 



Mrs. Harrison referred to a remark 

 made in Mr. Root's essay, on wearing 

 gloves wlien handling bees. She found 

 that gloves were necessary, but rub- 

 ber ones did not work well, they were 

 too close, and caused inconvenient 

 sweating. She used a species of fine 

 clotli. She cuts the tips of the fingers 

 off, which allows the perspiration to 

 escape,and makes them more comfort 

 able and durable. 



Bev. W. F. Clarke said that rubber 

 gloves did not last long, the honey 

 and propolis soon rot the material. 

 He luid experimented largely with 

 gloves, and preferred two kinds, tlie 

 one a harvest glove, largely used in 

 Canada, and made of sheep-skin ; 

 these were very cheap, costing from 

 30 to 40 cents. ]5ut he preferred a 

 glove, or rather a gauntlet, made of 

 two separate materials— the inside a 

 species of (Canton flannel, a fluffy ma- 

 terial, and the outside, a species of 

 fine linen, very glossy. Such a glove 

 Is thick enough to prevent the point 

 of the sting reaching tlie flesh, and 

 the beauty of it is that when these 

 gloves are on you can dip your hands 

 in water which keeps you cool, and 

 causes the bees to fly as soon as they 

 alight on the glove, for they are dainty 

 and do not like to wet their feet. 



Mrs. Harrison— I do not think that 

 the lining is needed. 



J. B. Hall— Wear smooth clothing, 

 singe the hairs from the hands and 

 wrists, and but few stings will be. re- 

 ceived. 



Rev. L. L. Langstroth— Bees dislike 

 to alight upon a cold surface ; have 

 dishes of ice water in the yard, and 

 occasionally plunge the hands into the 

 water when the bees are cross. 



Prof. Cook— I think that a nervous, 

 irritable person may be more likely 

 to be stung ; aside from this, I do not 

 think that bees are any "respecters 

 of persons." I question if sweat of 

 horses is objectionable to bees. If a 

 horse is severely stung, cover it with 

 blankets wet with cold water. 



Mrs. Temple, of Mich!gan,said that 

 she could handle bees any way she 

 wished, and they scarcely ever stung 

 her. When they did, she suffered no 

 particular inconvenience. She did 

 not mind a bee-sting more than a 

 mosquito-sting. 



Mr. Heddon was in favor of wearing 

 veils, but would not recommend 

 gloves. They were very much in the 

 way. He did not think there was the 

 difference in people that Mr. Clarke 

 would make out, some being bee-loved 

 and others bee-hated. He thought 

 that the difference was only in the 

 actions and behavior of people when 

 among bees. 



G. M. Doolittle was satisfied that 

 there was a real difference in different 

 persons as to liability to being stung. 

 He had a visit from a gentleman who 

 said that bees never stung him, and 

 Mr. D. acted so as to irritate the bees. 

 They stung him (Mr. D.) very freely, 

 but never touched the visitor. 



James Heddon— I have seen nothing 

 to indicate that bees are more likely 

 to sting one person than another. 



Rev. L. L. Langstroth said that the 

 poison of a bee-sting was very viru- 

 lent in tlie case of some, while others 

 did not mind it at all. At one time 

 of his life he was very susceptible to 

 bee-virus, and. dreaded being stung ; 

 but, after having been laid aside from 

 bee-keeping for some time, and cau- 

 tiously resuming, he found to his 

 great surprise and pleasure that he 

 had become so inoculated with the 

 poison that he scarcely felt any pain 

 whatever. 



Mr. Boardman brought up another 

 point in the essay — " Excellence or 

 Cheapness"— as it respects section- 

 boxes. He said that much might be 

 done to preserve our honey-flora, by 

 using something else than" basswood 

 for sections. He never uses bass- 

 wood ; honey stains it, so does water. 



J. 13. Hall— I use and prefer white 

 spruce. It is hard, and the honey 

 does not soak into it. 



James Heddon — I do not use bass- 

 wood. 



Rev. L. L. Langstroth — Upon the 

 subject of the essay read, I would say 

 that excellency is cheapness. 



Mr. John Vandervort, of Laceyville, 

 Pa., then read the following on 



COJin FOUNDATION. 



To go back to the origin of comb 

 foundation and trace its history 

 would be a waste of time in repeating 



what is familiar to all practical bee- 

 keepers. The best and most practical 

 use of foundation is what we need to 

 know. By the use of wired frames 

 for the brood-chamber, I have ob- 

 tained better results from foundation 

 6 square feet per pound than I form- 

 erly did with 3 square feet to the 

 pound. 



There has been a great deal said 

 and written on the different kinds of 

 foundation, and many tests have 

 been made that, in my opinion, proved 

 nothing. I have made mills or every 

 style in the market (except the Pel- 

 ham); 1 have made foundation on 

 them ; and I have tested all the differ- 

 ent styles of foundation in the hives, 

 and even my bees would not give my 

 pet theories any preference, so far as 

 acceptance -n-as concerned. When it 

 was all made at one time, from the 

 same lot of wax, and used at the 

 same time, it would all be accepted 

 alike ; but if made of different lots of 

 wax, and at different times, they 

 would show a decided preference for 

 the purest and softest wax, and the 

 newest made. 



My experience in the use of comb 

 foundation for surplus differs from 

 many, in the amount of wax that 

 should be used. Many claim that 8 

 to 10 square feet to the pound is light 

 enough ; but I contend that it should 

 not be heavier than 12 square feet per 

 pound. Comb drawn from foundation 

 is much tougher than the natural 

 comb, and for this reason we should 

 use as little wax as possible in the 

 surplus honey. I find by repeated 

 experiments that I can get as much 

 honey from the light as from the 

 heavy foundation, and I receive no 

 complaints from my customers about 

 " fish-bone." 



D. A. Jones— I have had " fish- 

 bone " in one part of a case and not 

 in another. One trouble is, the sec- 

 tions are put on too soon, ahd the bees 

 run over the foundation, and " fool " 

 with it, and it becomes hard before 

 they attempt to draw it out. 



Thos. Pierce — I agree with Mr. 

 Jones. 



Geo. E. Hilton— I also agree, and 

 would further say that when only a 

 " starter " is used, I am more apt to 

 find " fish-bone " in the upper part of 

 the section, which does not occur 

 when the section is filled full of 

 foundation. 



N. W. McLain asked, " What shall 

 we do with old foundation V" 



J. C. Van Ueusen— Melt it up and 

 make it over ; or if you do not wish 

 to do this, soak it in warm water 

 before using it. 



C. P. Dadant— I have used founda- 

 tion 3 years old in the brood-nest, and 

 could see no difference between, it 

 and new foundation. It> placed out- 

 side the brood nest, or where the bees 

 do not cluster upon it readily, it will 

 probably not be used so soon as would 

 new. 



Dr. A. B. Mason— I agree with Mr. 

 Dadant. 



A. E. Manum— I have tried founda- 

 tion of different ages, from one year 

 to five years old, and could see uo 

 difference. 



