THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



231 



2.1 think 6 lbs. would sow an acre. 



3. Cost of seed from $2 to $10, according 

 to variety. 



4. It grows well through dry weather; 

 better in wet. Does well on all kinds of 

 soil. After it blooms— July 1st— bees work 

 on it till late in autumn.— A. J. Cook.] 



VAN DEUSEN'S bee FEEDERS. 



"Mr. Editor: I want to get a good bee 

 feeder, and think 1 should like the Van 

 Deusen. Can you not describe it in the 

 Journal, as no doubt many others would 

 like to get such a description as well as 

 me?" John R. Gossage. 



[The present season has shown the neces- 

 sity of feeding, in order to save colonies 

 that would have perished without it. So 

 much cold and wet weather this spring pre- 

 vented bees from gathering sufficient to live 

 on. 



The following cuts show the manner of 

 filling and bees feeding from the under side. 



C. C. Van Deusen thus describes his feed- 

 ers and their operation : 



A tin can of any desired capacity is made. 

 This is furnished with a perforated tin 

 cover, and a rim pi-ojecting about 3^ inch, 

 which forms a shallow chamber for the 

 bees to occupy while removing the feed. 



An air tight connection is made between 

 the can and perforated cover by means of a 

 small strip of rubber, applied in a very 

 simple manner. The feed is poured into 

 the can, and the feeder quickly inverted 

 and set over an open hole in the top of the 

 hive, or directly on the frames. This brings 

 the perforated surface on the under side, 

 very close to the bees and in the best pos- 

 sible place for them to reach and remove 

 the feed without leaving the cluster. 



It may be set on wire-cloth and the bees 

 will readily reach through and remove the 

 feed when so used. 



It does not ventilate the hive, and can be 

 used at any season of the year. Any quan- 

 tity of feed, from a spoonful to the full 

 capacity of the feeder, may be furnished to 

 the bees at a time. 



It works equally well with thick honey or 

 very thin syrup. 



Is easily opened and closed, requiring but 

 a moment to fill it— a great saving of time 

 over many of the ordinary modes of feed- 

 ing. 



It is adapted to any style of hive in use, 

 and, if properly sealed, there is no chance 

 for any waste of feed, as the atmospheric 

 pressure will prevent any escape of feed 

 except as taken by the bees. 



Sheboygan Co., Wis., June 16, 1877.— "I 

 now have 22 colonies of blacks and 5 Itali- 

 ans. They are doing finely; they are in 

 Hart hives. I wish to Italianize all of the 

 blacks. When would you recoinmend do- 

 ing it? Would you recommend trying to 

 raise the queens or would it be best to buy 

 them? My idea was to let them go just as 

 they are until after the honey season, and 

 then insei-t Italian queens. Would it be 

 best to put them in now ? It looks like a 

 big job tor me to raise and fertilize Italian 

 queens with so many black bees. 



"I divided several colonies; after 8 or 10 

 days they gave new swarms; some from 

 the old hive and some from the new. Did 

 they make queen cells after I divided them, 

 or were they already formed, and if so, 

 ought I to have destroyed them? 



Jonathan Stoddard. 



L This is a good time to Italianize. It 

 would be best to purchase some queens, as 

 new blood is a good thing for the apiary. 

 You must have overlooked the queen cells 

 when dividing. It saves time to give both 

 colonies a queen, if you have it, destroying 

 all the queen cells. If you have no extra 

 queens, destroy all but one queen cell in 

 the queen] ess colony. You would find a 

 good manual of the apiary very convenient 

 to consult at all times.— Ed.] 



Additions to our Museum.— And now 

 comes Novice with his two-story hive, ar- 

 ranged for comb honey in small sectional 

 frames; chaff division board, feeder, trans- 

 ferring clasps, queen cage, cheese cloth, 

 iron block for frame making, etc., — all of 

 which will be interesting to our visitors. 



John R. Lee, of Oxford, O., has sent us 

 one of his hives. It has 10 deep frames 

 with the bottom bar in the shape of a V, 

 and 9 shallow frames on top for surplus, 

 with close top bars. Everything that drops 

 runs out on the inclined plane bottom. 



Kratzer Bros. & Stauber, whose hive — the 

 Concord— is advertised in the Journal, 

 have placed one in our otiice for criticism 

 and inspection. It is a two-story, double- 

 walled hive, with several new features, and 

 attracts attention among our visitors. 



Friend Bingham has sent us his new $1. 

 smoker. It is just like the 

 $1.50 one, only smaller; 

 and is suitable for those 

 having but two or three 

 hives. The accompanying 

 cut gives a good idea of all 

 his smokers. He also 

 makes a larger size, for 

 those having large apiaries. 

 It is sent for $2.00. The 

 dollar one is put up for 

 mailing and sent post-paid 

 for $1.25. 



