1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



521 



handling', eight inches suits me better than eight 

 feet. 



We don't know how a bee locates his home, but 

 we know that you may have a row of hives all. 

 alike if you choose. You move one of these hives 

 four inches to one side, and the bees will alig-ht just 

 where they used to, and frequently will rise in the 

 air again to see what the trouble is. Bee-keepers 

 have to learn to save labor, and the fiirthei- apart 

 your hives ai"e, the more work it is to get your 

 honey together or to look after the bees. 



There has been a great lot of bees here wheie 

 they were unprotected. Some are swarming- out 

 for want of honey. Bees well protected wintei-f d 

 well. We lost none. Ii. C. Whitin(j. 



East Saginaw, Mich., May 22. 



Friend W., you may be right about it, but 

 I am sure I sliouUI very much dislilce to 

 liave my hives stand as close together as 

 you mention. I know you are excellent au- 

 thority, and have had yeai's of experience. 

 I have noticed what you say, that strong 

 swarms will often attract others, esi>eci<illy 

 when the young bees are having their play- 

 spell in the afternoon. When we tirst got 

 the Italians I was exceedingly worried to see 

 a lot of the yellow chaps, drawn by the roar of 

 some powerful colony, get over to the wrong 

 hive and start in as coolly as though it Wiis 

 their own home. I supposed they would all 

 be turned out, or stung to death forthwilli ; 

 but, as you say, it never seemed to do any 

 harm, further than robbing weak stocks 

 that need every bit of young blood. Now, T 

 supposed this state of affairs was very much 

 lessened by putting the hives six or eight 

 feet apart. I know it is more labor, and 

 takes more ground to have each hive so yitu 

 can walk all around it; but I decided, years 

 ago, tliMt this was the way I wanted them, 

 no matter what it cost. I am very glad 

 indeed to hear you say you have lost no 

 bees. When our old veterans succeed in 

 getting rid of foul brood, and in getting 

 ahead of our wintering losses of a few 

 years ago, the younger ones can begin to 

 take courage. Your statement, that bees 

 well protected winter well, carries a heavy 

 moral with it. 



HOW TO EMPTY THE HEDDON CBATE. 



AND SOME OTHER SENSIBLE POINTS. 



fHIS question remains unanswered on page 

 IJ96. As I remember Mr. Heddon's directions, 

 take a block long enough and wide enough to 

 barely go easily through the super; that is, 

 if your super is ISJi inches wide Inside, and 

 you use 4J4 sections, your block will be about 13 

 inches long, and something less than 4 inches wide, 

 for the tins in the bottom of the super make the 

 width less. The bottom of the block that rests 

 upon the sections must not be en- 

 tii-ely flat, but slightly concave 

 throughout its entire length, so 

 that only the outside edges shall 

 rest upon the sections. This block, 

 or " follower," I made by nailing- 

 together four pieces of common 

 board, a transverse section of 

 which is here shown. Then invert 

 the super, ami let the two ends rest on supports so 



that there shall be a clear space of 414 Inches or 

 more under the super. Placing the "follower" 

 upon one row of sections, one or more smart raps 

 with a hammer or mallet will leave the sections ly- 

 ing free. 



This plan worked very well with tne when the sec- 

 tions were fi-esh from the hive. "But after they 

 had remained in the storeroom for some time " (I 

 quote from "A Year Among the Bees"), " especia'ly 

 in cool weather, I broke too many sections in tak- 

 ing out, as a result of the necessary fall of some 

 four inches. Moreover, it would sometimes happen 

 that, on inverting the super, the sections would 

 drop out of their own accord. So, before inverting, 

 I laid a board upon the super, then inverted the two 

 together, and so arranged that the sections, when 

 Ijushed by the block, or follower, could not fall 

 more than an inch or so. When all four of the rows 

 of sections had been started to the extent of an 

 inch or so, 1 placed upon them a quadruple follow- 

 er, made by nailing a board across four single fol- 

 lowers. The sections, haviug been already started, 

 would come out without much force; so, placing 

 my chin upon the top of the quadruple follower, I 

 pulled the super otT the sections, and then lifted 

 away super and follower together, leaving the sec- 

 tions all clear. It was not a very graceful perform- 

 ance, but it was safe and effective." 



r.ET us CALL THINGS BY THEIR RIGHT NAMES. 



I called the Heddon super, above, a " crate," be- 

 cause I copied. But it is not a crate at all— not ac- 

 cording to Webster, nor, I think, according to com- 

 mon usage, although it has been too common a 

 usage among bee-keepers. The old word super is 

 correct for any receptacle for surplus placed over 

 the hive. The word rffpurfme/iMs quite often erro- 

 neously used among bee-keepers for a%>artmc)it. For 

 instance, " brood-department" is often used, and is 

 almost never if ever correct, llr, his, and him, iB 

 frequently used in speaking of a worker-bee. It is 

 uever correct. /.' may do, but should we not be ac- 

 customed at all times to say s/ie? 



HOW TO MAKE A DUMMY. 



The question is not answered on page 396. A 

 good way, and perhaps the most common way, is to 

 take an ordinai-y pine board, and cut it the size of a 

 brood-frame and nail on it a flat top-bar. This will 

 fill just the space occupied by a brood-frame. I 

 like better, however, to have the board resawed, 

 making two out of one, each one being about three- 

 eighths of an inch in thickness. With these thinner 

 dummies it is easier to adjust to a varying space; 

 and if several are to be used, the hive will be light- 

 er to lift, for four of the thin ones will All the same 

 space as three thick ones, and weigh only two- 

 thirds as much. 



AGE OF BROOD-COMBS. 



On page 396, friend Root, you say, " We should 

 never destroy them simply because they are old." I 

 have always thought so. A little while ago a writer 

 in the Ladies' Home Journal strongly advised melt- 

 ing up all combs after they were two years old. I 

 thought she didn't know what she was talking 

 about; but a few days later the British Bee Jounial 

 came, and advised renewing combs after, if I re- 

 member rightly, some five or six years' use, in- 

 stancing a case of diminutive workers raised in 

 old combs. When such an authority as Mr. Cowan 

 takes this ground, perhaps it would be wise for us 

 to reconsider the question. 



