1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



407 



0UR 0WN ^PI^RY. 



CONDUCTBD BY ERNEST B. ROOT' 



NO FOUL BROOD. AND LOTS OP^ HONEY. 



fHE boys are still keeping close watch 

 of the bees. Our apiaries liave been 

 thoroughly examined, and still no 

 foul brood, although there are great 

 quantities of brood in every hive, in 

 all stages. 



We have been having splendid weather for 

 bees during the last two weeks. Pollen 

 came in quite profusely from the maples, 

 and honey from fruit-bloom to such an ex- 

 tent as to Crowd the queens, and cause burr- 

 combs to be built in some cases on top of 

 the frames. I have been testing recently 

 the honey from different hives. I do it this 

 way: I punch my finger into the combs here 

 and there ; and, like a child who lias sud- 

 denly discovered some molasses, I plunge 

 the daubed finger into my mouth. I could 

 detect distinctly the apple-bloom, and the 

 flavor to me was very pleasant, even though 

 unripe. It was so thin and watery that 

 when the combs were tipped horizontally it 

 would run out. In other combs I could de- 

 tect the pungent flavor of peach-blossom, 

 something as we And in the meat of the 

 peach-stone. At this time of the year, I do 

 not think that I ever saw more honey in the 

 hives. 



SHEET-ZINC WOOD-BOUND IIONEY-BOARDS. 



As promised elsewhere in tiiis issue, in 

 our answer to Mr. Heddon, I herewith give 

 engravings of the' honey-boards in|question. 



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brp:ak-.toint sheet/jnc honey-boards. 

 You will observe tliat tliey are simply a 

 sheet of zinc, i inch smaller all around than 

 the inside dimensions of the Simplicity hive. 

 The lower engraving on the right hand shows 

 how the zinc is .'^lid into the saw-kerfs made 

 in each of the side and end pieces. These 

 pieces are nailed together at the corners with 



2 U-in. nails. To further strengthen them, 

 a I wire nail is so driven into the side pieces 

 as to pass through the edge of the zinc in the 

 saw-kerf. Three of these nails are driven 

 into each side — two at each corner and one 

 in the middle. The latter adds very materi- 

 ally to the stiffness of the honey-board 

 through the middle, while the other two will 

 of necessity hold the side pieces securely to 

 the end pieces. 1 omitted to remark, in pass- 

 ing, that the li-inch wire nails, which are 

 driven through the ends of the side pieces 

 into the end strips should be so driven that 

 their points will be nearer together than 

 their heads when imbedded in the wood. 

 We find when the honey-board is so con- 

 structed it is very rigid indeed— much strong- 

 er than any other honey-board in use; in 

 fact, you can not possibly rack them by pull- 

 ing the opposite corners toward each other. 

 Two of the honey-boards, you will observe, 

 have no transverse stiffening. In the break- 

 joint boards the blank zinc between the per- 

 forations renders such stiffening unnecessa- 

 ry. The lower honey-board, with the ordi- 

 nary perforated zinc, requires a stiffener. 

 This consists of a V-shaped strip of wood in 

 length equal to the width of the honey-board 

 between the sides. This strip is held in posi- 

 tion by a wire nail passing through the side 

 into the ends. Some do not regard the break- 

 joint feature as of any importance, and 

 hence will prefer a larger number of perfor- 

 ations, in order that the bees may the more 

 readily pass from the brood-nest to the sur- 

 plus apartment. Wliether there is any 

 thing in this, I am not prepared to say from 

 experience ; but I should not suppose it 

 would make any very great difference. 



MAKING A sheet-zinc HONEY-BOARD 

 BREAK-JOINT. 



The uppermost cut on the right shows a 

 break -joint honey-board adapted to the spac- 

 ing of frames H'inches from center to cen- 

 ter. A great many apiarists use nine frames 

 in ten-frame Simplicity hives; and nine 

 frames will make a spacing of U inches from 

 center to center. Others, again, and per- 

 haps a majority, will prefer to space the 

 frames If inches from center to center; this 

 is the spacing allowed for in a ten-frame 

 Simplicity hive. The uppermost honey- 

 board on the left is spaced with that idea in 

 view. You will observe that, instead of a 

 double row of holes, and then a space, and 

 so on continuously, as in the other honey- 

 board, that there are first a single row of 

 holes, a space, two sets of double rows of 

 holes, a space, and a single row, and so on 

 througliout. You may wonder somewhat at 

 this; but the cutting of our die originally 

 necessitated it. We found we could not al- 

 ternate a single row of holes, or even a 

 double row of holes, with blanks between, 

 so as to break joint, with frames placed be- 

 low If inches from center to center. 



PRACTICAL WOKKINOS OK THE HONEY- 

 BOARD. 



That such honey-boards will work, and 

 give entire satisfaction, we demonstrated 

 last summer in the Hyde apiary, to our 

 full satisfaction. A plain sheet of zinc will 

 not do unless quarter-inch strips are put 



