96 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



June 



queer names out of your "Beekeeping 

 World" or else translate them. Some 

 of we uns can't speak 'em nohow. I 

 was near about used up by a lot of 

 those pesky Syrians and the May num- 

 ber of your paper pretty nearly finished 

 me. Latterly I've thought a right smart 

 about starting a paper of my own but 

 opine competition (such as it is) is 

 strenuous enough for you now. 



What a spread the "Review'' is mak- 

 ing. The November number opens with 

 a photo of a great yield of honey from 

 black bees. Now for a lot of ads of 

 "Choice Black Queens from select 

 mothers, etc, etc." First thing Brother 

 Hutchinson knows he'll be charged 

 with starting a black bee fad. In the 

 same magazine your lively Tennesseean 

 and that enthusiast of Cuba, N. Y., are 

 having a merry-go-round about hered- 

 ity, etc., Honors at present on the side 

 of he of Cuba. Fun for the onlookers 

 and I surmise 'twill be valuable to them 

 bye and bye. 'Pears to me that some of 

 the writers on heredity are unaware 

 that the subject has progressed since 

 Darwin's time. Don't interfere. Only 

 just watch how quietly they will steal 

 away when Mr. S. begins to let out the 

 latest knowledge on the subject. As I 

 have once before quoted: "What's the 

 use of knowing things when so much 

 we know ain't so?" 



Gleanings for December i has an 

 editorial stating that they are going to 

 discuss cellar wintering again. Oh 

 dear! Say, why don't you suggest that 

 before they do that they collect facts 

 on which to base the discussions? That 

 they put self registering thermometers 

 and hygrometers into about 25 dififer- 

 ent cellars. That they collect memo- 

 randa -of every observable detail of 

 every colony in those cellars and up to 

 the time they are dead or ready for 

 supers? Then begin the discussion. 

 Glad we don't have to fuss with any 

 such fixins. 



?Iope the New Year will bring you 

 what you want. Can't give you any 

 better wishes than that. 



Yours as ever, 



John Hardscrabble. 



The world's largest and most suc- 

 cessful a: arists are subscribers to The 

 American Bee-Keeper. Perhaps more 

 would be large and successful if they 

 •■vere subscribers. 



Fastening Foundation in Sections. 



(By G. F. Herman.) 



THERE are not a few bee-keepers 

 who are seeking diligently for 

 a good and satisfactory method 

 to do this work. It is both perplexing 

 and unprofitable to have a number of 

 starters tumble down in the midst of a 

 honey flow. It is very essential to have 

 the work done thoroughly so that 

 when the bees cluster on the founda- 

 tion and begin comb building it will 

 sustain their weight. I will try to de- 

 scribe a method which has given me 

 very good results, it is so simple that 

 anyone trying it, even the first time, 

 will succeed fairly well. 



On account of doing business in New 

 York city this winter, I had gotten very 

 much behind with my preparatory bee 

 work, so my wife volunteered to fold 

 the sections and put in the starters, al- 

 though she has had no experience 

 whatever in this line she soon became 

 familiar with the work and did it as 

 good as I myself could have done it. 



In order to get the bees to build their 

 combs nice and straight in the sections, 

 the starters must be put in the middle 

 of the sections. For this purpose we 

 use a board with four blocks nailed on 

 to it, 7-8 of an inch thick by 3 and 7-8 

 inches square. This size is for the 

 standard section which holds about one 

 pound of honey. We then pick up four 

 sections at one time and place them 

 over the four blocks. The sections 

 being on their edge, lay in the one- 

 inch starters, or full sheets, just as pre- 

 ferred. The blocks bring the starters 

 just midway in the sections. We n^xt 

 dip our piece of tin into the heated 

 wax and touch the starter and sections 

 at the uniting point, holding the 

 starter in place with the left hand, 

 withdrawing the piece of tin instantly, 

 as it only requires a touch and the 

 work is done. If full sheets are used we 

 dip twice, touching the top and one 

 side, and leaving one side and the bot- 

 tom loose for expansion. 



The size of the piece of tin used in 

 the operation is three and six-eighths 

 by five inches with a perfectly straight 

 edge. The receptacle to hold the heat- 

 ed wax is a small sardine box two and 

 three-quarters by four inches, kept 

 about one-third filled with wax and 

 placed over a small hand lafnp with ? 



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