19(>3. THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 243 



tiou, or ou full combs prepared to After the experience of this aud past 

 swai'ru. Without au exact record I seasons, I am satisfied that most of tne 

 could see no difference In results, ex- changes made In hives and fixtures 

 cept that swarming was more certain- are, to say the least, 111 advised, 

 ly controlled by hiving on starters, but Boise, Idaho, Sept. 21, 1903. 

 to offset this, a little drone comb was 



^"i"*m, ., ^, , ^w THE "FLORIDA" BEE BRUSH. 



2. The Aikm method gave satisfac- 

 tory results with a minimum of labor, 



except in those cases (rather too nu- Something of the History, and Circumstances 

 merous) where the queen cell failed to Which Led to the Discovery of a New 

 hatch, or tlie queens were lost before . Apiarian Tool that Has Elicited Much 

 they began laying. I shall try to rem- Favorable Comment. 



edy this, in part, by giving a virgin in (j^^rs. Sarah A. Smith.) 



place of a cell. 



3. The Barber plan: Colonies so TN MY bee-keeping life two of the 

 started were very slow to begin work I most disagreeable things I have 

 In the sections, loafed and prepared to met with in my work have been, 

 swarm and had to be shaken or un- 1st. The lack of something with which 

 queened. Where the extracting super to brush bees from their combs, and, 

 was taken off soon after the bees be- 2nd. Short-eared frames. 



gan work, the results were a little In reading my bee journals I have 

 better, but, as the Barber method does always been on the lookout to learn 

 not control swarming (in fact, often how others did the work. Dr. Miller's 

 induces it, as any brood, above the plan of hitting the top with his fist 

 sections, is almost sure to have queen- was tried and, with me, found wanting; 

 cells started on it) I shall make because my fist did not have enough 

 but little use of it in the future. Sec- power. I also shook the frame with 

 tions were also stained and discolor- a good quick jerk. If the bees were 

 ed, and dark combs built in almost old, most of them came off as did also 

 every case, due, no doubt, to the old a great deal of unsealed honey; but if 

 combs. they were young, they nearly all re- 



in regard to the styles of sections mained. Besides it was very hard woric 

 and supers, really there was very little for me, as I have very little strength, 

 difference in either quantity or qual- l read about Dr. :Miller's handful of 

 ity of the comb honey secured, though grass, but our grass is not as nice to 

 the plain sections are easier to scrape pull a handful, as that in the North, 

 and cheaper. Burr combs were fre- Weeds also had their tui*u,- and In my 

 quently attached to fences or wood home apiary there was one Icind that 

 separators and comb surfaces, though i could use, but in the other four 

 none of the usually accepted causes places there was nothing I could pull 

 of such work seemed to be present, up or break off, and. being a woman. 

 The tin separators were remarkably I never carry a knife. Sometimes the 

 free from such comb connections. The other member of the firm would ask 

 wide frame supers produced the clean- if there was anything he could do to 

 est sections, but required a little more help. The answer was sure to be: 

 time in manipulation, nor can they be '"Do cut me something to use for a 

 so easily and rapidly inspected. I l)rush." I know I have wasted more 

 shall use more T supers. time, and, what is more valuiible. pa- 



Forced swactas were hived in 8- tience, in trying to get the bees from 

 frame L hives, shallow Heddon hives, their combs than in any other way. 

 an-d a hive only slightly shallower than I had a Coggshall brush, but. like 

 the Danzy with results slightly in fa- other people, have found il too stiff, 

 vor of the shallow hives, though they and it caught and crippled too many 

 usually need some help in the way of Ijees. 



wintei- stores. Even the shallow kives My idea about handling l)ees right 

 failed, in most cases, to keep the brood is to kill, and what is worse, cripple 

 to the top-bars during the honey flow, just as few as possible. I have taken 

 while before the flow there was no -the crossest of bees and in a short 

 difficulty in getting brood to the top time could handle them without a 

 bars of the L frames. sting. In the beginning they would just 



