66 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



The wood and zinc honey-board 

 may be made to take the place 

 of Mr. Heddon's "break joint" 

 slatted honey-board, for the latter 

 does not prevent the queen from 

 staiting brood in the supers and 

 especially when running for ex- 

 tracted honey. Many suppose 

 the queen stays near her brood 

 and never surveys the supers to 

 any great extent, but in my ob- 

 servation she does, and when she 

 finds a nice lot of brood combs 

 there it is very natural she should 

 make use of them. In producing 

 comb honey, the queen is not apt 

 to start brood in the sections, if 

 the brood-chamber is large, whether 

 the "break joint" hone^'-board is 

 used or not. The use of such 

 boards is to prevent the building 

 of brace combs between the sec- 

 tion super and the brood-chamber, 

 thereby facilitating the handling 

 of the supers and keeping unpro- 

 tected sections from being soiled, 

 as the bees build few brace combs 

 above such honey-boards. 



I desire to add that 1 was not 

 only the first to construct the wood 

 and zinc honey-board but the first 

 to conceive of the idea of support- 

 ing narrow pieces of perforated 

 zinc in the manner here described. 



Neio Phila., 0. 



For the Avierican JpicuUiirist. 



THE PROPER TEMPERA- 

 TURE OF BEE CELLARS. 



A. C. TVUKELL. 



So much has been written on the 

 above subject that the heading of 

 this article will doubtless prevent 

 an impartial perusal thereof by 

 those who consider they long ere 

 this leai'ued all there is to be known 

 about Avintcring bees successfully 

 in caves or cellars. But I opine 

 many decades will elapse ere the 



"A B C" class in apiculture grad- 

 uates. 



What I am about to advocate I 

 am well aware will not meet with 

 approval from the majority of bee- 

 keepers throughout the country — 

 for my experiments (not assump- 

 tions nor mere theories) will not 

 comport with what tliey term rea- 

 son or common sense. But audi 

 alteram partem and then condemn 

 or award the full measure of praise 

 if the proof therein presented for 

 consideration sustains my asser- 

 tions. 



In the matter of temperature and 

 ventilation, I have endeavored to 

 post myself for they are the most 

 important factors — all others are of 

 minor importance, as matters over 

 which we have no control, such as 

 honey-dew, improper food ( ?), etc., 

 speculative fancies, formative hy- 

 pothesis to meet the exigency of 

 exceptional and isolated cases. 



Whenever it has been my good 

 fortune to make a discovery, seem- 

 ingly outside the usual order of 

 things, it has been the practice with 

 me to watch patiently and experi- 

 ment for at least three seasons be- 

 fore acquainting the public with 

 the result of my observations, so 

 often do pur fondest hopes and 

 brightest dreams prove to be chi- 

 merical. 



And of those composing the great 

 fraternity of beekeepers from the 

 Orient to the Occident, having 

 many a pet theory and hobb}' horse 

 to ride, when called u[)on to give 

 a "reason for the hope that is with- 

 in them," at once "trot out" exj^eri- 

 ence of longer or shorter duration, in 

 accordance with the importance of 

 the case, or amount of pressure 

 brought to bear by adherents of the 

 opi^ositQ side of the question. 



For a long time 1 was of the 

 opinion that my bee cellar was too 

 tuarm, but as so man}' of my brother 

 apiarists insisted that from 41° to 

 45° (some said 52°) was the proper 



