1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



315 



close at hand. A small corn broom or 

 whisk was dipped into the water and 

 swished or thrown over the surface of 

 the combs, they being held at an angle 

 of about 45° during the operation. As 

 soon as thoroughly tilled they were set 

 side by side in the uncapping can, 

 when it was filled with water so as to 

 completely cover the combs, the same 

 being held in position by having a 

 board and large stone placed thereon, 

 and allowed to remain thus for 3G or 

 48 hours or more if desired. 

 . The above method has been prac- 

 ticed by myself in the past, but a 

 more expeditious and much more 

 satisfactory plan has been used of late, 

 and any one having the advantage of 

 a town or city water works system I 

 would certainly recommend its utiliza- 

 tion for such a purpose. The mode of 

 procedure in this case is the same as 

 just outlined up to the time of the 

 applying of the water to the surface 

 of the combs, but instead of whisking 

 it into them a nozzel is attached to the 

 water works hose, capable of throwing 

 a tine stream or spray, that will cover 

 the surface of the combs five or six 

 inches in diameter, every cell inside 

 of that compass being thoroughly 

 drenched to the septum with such 

 force as in some instances to throw 

 out the dried pellets of pollen Avhich 

 are sometimes seen in such combs, al- 

 most instanter ; the filling and mash- 

 ing out of a whole comb being accom- 

 plished in a very few seconds. 



The same method in regard to the 

 saturating of the solid pollen is carried 

 out with all combs not thoroughly 

 cleansed by the first spraying, and in 

 48 hours the stream or spray is again 

 brought into requisition, this time, 

 > however, before the combs have been 



revolved in the extractor, as the stream 

 when directed onto the water soaked 

 combs, forces anything and everything 

 contained in them to make a hasty re- 

 treat leaving all as clean and sweet as 

 if ne\v. . 



. Nothing now remains but to give 

 the cleansed combs a few turns in the 

 extractor to get rid of the remain- 

 ing water they may contain. A wire- 

 cloth screen, such as is used when ship-, 

 ping or removing bees to " fields anew." 

 is now laid on two pieces of 2x4 scant- 

 ling and the hives containing seven 

 combs in each and perfectly spaced, 

 are tiered five or six stories high with 

 another screen on top so that a cur- 

 rent of air can pass through and 

 thoroughly dry them. 



The above plan was so satisfactory 

 that 1 was almost sorry when it was 

 finished, indeed my son who assisted 

 me in the work (he being an awfully 

 lazy fellow, like myself), remarked 

 that he never saw me like to boss a job 

 so well before. You know I could 

 sit down to it while he had to stand 

 up and run the extractor. - 



I will conclude by saying that the 

 combs treated as stated were all wired 

 brood-combs, four years old or therea- 

 bout, but I see no reason why, with 

 care, unwired combs could not be 

 treated in like manner. For cleans- 

 ing combs containing small quantities 

 of sour honey which sometimes accum- 

 ulates if left too long unoccupied by 

 the bees, as they were last season (I 

 not having swarms to hive them on), 

 the spray is a capital way of making 

 them sweet and clean and also for 

 cleaning the basket of the ex?- 

 tractor . 

 , Stratford, Ont. 



