54 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



March 



soak the other ends about a minute 

 and then set them out and fill the pan 

 with other parts and so on until I have 

 soaked as many as I wish to siet up 

 right away. I then proceed to set them 

 up in the usual way. The paint being 

 of more than the usual proportion of oil 

 will have soaked well into the tenons 

 and shoulders and for all there will 

 appear to be very little paint on them 

 when the tenons are driven together, 

 the paint will be forced ahead until 

 there is enough to make a good tight 

 joint when driven up. You will save 

 all the time this dipping process has 

 cost you when you come to paint your 

 hives, for instead of having to rub the 

 paiot into the ends and joints of the 

 tenons you can paint there as easily as 

 anywhere else. Another new kink I 

 tried last season with such satisfactory 

 results that I cannot keep it any longer, 

 even if it was only tried one season. 

 I took a tin cup of caster oil and brush 

 and went over the rabbets of my new 

 hives, rubbing all the oil into them I 

 could. I went over them three differ- 

 ent times during the spring, I also 

 soaked the projecting ends of my new 

 frames in castor oil. Very little pro- 

 polis was deposited about the ends of 

 the frames or rabbets, and what was, 

 had no m.ore tenacity than a like 

 amount of soap might have had. The 

 frames Avere always loose and could be 

 taken out even when it was quite cool 

 without the jariug snap which always 

 irritates the bees. I presume it would 

 work well on the edges of the Hoff- 

 man frame. I use the Hoffman frame 

 but it did not occur to me to try it on 

 the edges until I had the frames in 

 use. I would be pleased to have others 

 try this and see what a good thing it 

 is. 



Franklin, Pa. 



Spring Management 



W. M. BARNUM. 



The time is now here for giving the 

 the long imprisoned bees their spring 

 flight. This is nature's cleansing time. 

 As the warning zephers of spring drive 

 the ice back to its icy kingdom, all 

 nature comes forth to rejoice. The 

 wide-awake bee-keeper can assist his 

 "pets " in many ways, and lesser the 

 danger of mortality to a considerable 

 extent, by observing certain rules. 

 Hundreds of bees are lost in the snow 

 every spring, and generally within a 

 few feet of their hives, which might 

 easily be avoided if the bee-master had 

 scattered a little hay or • straw about 

 the hives. The snow upon and about 

 the hive is a good protection against 

 cold winds, but should not be allowed 

 to vielt and thus dampen the wood ; 

 this is a fruitful cause of mouldy 

 combs. The hives must be kept dry 

 and warm, or trouble brews immedi- 

 ately. If mice manifest their presence, 

 narrow the entrance down, or better 

 still, put a little wire across that will 

 premit the bees to go out and in. See 

 that the bees have an all-sufficiency 

 of good stores. More bees starve to 

 death in the spring than in the Avin- 

 ter. If the conditions are proper, very 

 little " spring dwindling " will take 

 place ; though, of course, one must 

 expect some. 



The above applies more particularly 

 to bees wintered out-doors ; bees in 

 cellars should be kept quiet for a 

 month or so yet. The only attention 

 they require is to see that the entrance 

 is kept clear of dead bees ; that they 

 have sufficient stores, and are warm, 

 dry and comfortable. It is well to tip 

 all hives slightly forward, that the 

 moisture may run out. 



Denver, Colo. 



