1894. 



77/ A' AMERICAN BEE- KEEPER. 



147 



the section itself. It should be white 

 and spotless, a result that cannot be 

 entirely reached so long as the bees 

 have access to its outer surface in any 

 place. The under surface, in partic- 

 ular, as the section rests in the hive, 

 should be entirely covered by strips of 

 metal. Usually enamelled cloth is 

 sufficient to cover the super if it is 

 weighted tightly upon the sections. 

 Otherwise the bees will glue it to the 

 wood more or less, and leave the marks 

 of their work on the white surface, 

 Bees like tight joints, and unless such 

 are provided, proceed to fill up the 

 cracks themselves. 



Even more objectionable than these 

 marks of the bees soldering industry 

 are finger marks on the white sections. 

 Every bee-keeper knows how difficult 

 it is to keep the fingers clean while 

 handling the various sticky articles 

 necessary and a smoker at almost the 

 same time; also, how plainly and per- 

 sistently the finger marks will then 

 show up on the smooth surface. The 

 danger here increases directly as the 

 sections have thus far been kept clean 

 and spotless. Only one suggestion is 

 necessary here: be careful and don't 

 allow it, even if you have to avoid 

 touching the sections direct entirely. 

 These matters may seem trifling but 

 the results are not, for there is noth- 

 ing that will give the impression of 

 filth and inferiority more than the 

 marks of dirty fingers on the smooth 

 white boxes. People who buy honey 

 are not as a rule keepers of bees and do 

 not understand the difficulty of avoid- 

 ing this. In fact they are more than 

 likely to attribute it to unclean per- 

 sonal habits and to regard the honey 

 itself with suspicion. 



Tested And Untested. 



BY II. E. IIII.l.. 



The brace comb question now pre- 

 sents another phase " new and start- 

 ling," by the assertion of that popular 

 and most successful apiarist, G. M. 

 Doolittle, in A. B. J., that brace- 

 combs are a desirable addition to comb 

 honey arrangements, as they serve as 

 ladders for the bees to climb to the 

 supers, saving much valuable time. 

 If economy of the bees' time is so im- 

 portant, as thus implied, by the toler- 

 ance of this nuisance, why not devote 

 the winter season to driving shoe pegs 

 into the top-bars ? Save the bees' 

 time in "ladder" building. 

 — Brother Amos, in the August Bee- 

 Keeper, correcty notes the advan- 

 tages of clipped queens in controlling 

 swarms, but it is by no means safe for 

 an absent bee-keeper to depend upon 

 her returning to the hive, as she is 

 very likely to be led away from the 

 hives by the sound of the flying 

 swarm, and lost in the grass. Clipped 

 queens should be closely watched at 

 swarming time, 



— Bee-culture, it would appear, does 

 not afford a range sufficiently broad 

 for some of our American "bee 

 papers," and foreign departments are 

 being annexed, medicine, religion, 

 etc. Is fraternal interest abating in 

 bee literature, or have we reached a 

 solution of the knotty problems ? 

 — The American Bee Journal has adopt- 

 ted a new style of "make up," remo,v- 

 ing the column rule and setting the 

 matter 27 ems. 



— The boss record of the season comes 

 this year from Florida. A little over 

 550 pounds from a single colony. 

 This is but about 450 lbs. behind the 



