1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



921 



were quite enthusiastic over the many good quali- 

 ties of the Carnioians, and I found it as I expected 

 to, all pro and no con in this apiary. Mr. A. has 

 kept blacks for many years, also Italians, and now 

 he has an imported Carniolan, and has, I think, 

 a tested Carniolan in every hive. The novice 

 could scarcely disting'uish between the Car- 

 niolan and the common black or brown bee upon 

 seeing them at the hive entrance; but upon open- 

 ing the hive, their characteristics are plainly 

 shown. It was quite a novelty to the Rambler to 

 open a hive and removie frames, and find the queen, 

 without the use of either veil or smoke, and re- 

 ceive no demonstrations of ugliness. This is a 

 strong point with man j-, in favor of the race. The 

 bees also cling quietb' to the combs, evidently tak- 

 ing it as a matter of necessity that they should be 

 examined. I further learned that they are good 

 cell-builders, and are not liable to tear down cells 

 when inserted in a (jueenless hive or nucleus; in 

 fact, Mr. A. stuck them down between combs, al- 

 most in a reckless manner, it seemed to me. Mr. 

 L. thought they would cap honey more rapidly and 

 whiter than Italians; work better on buckwheat, 

 gather but little propolis, winter better, and 

 would work four miles or more from the apiary. 

 Their breeding qualitiis are well known, commenc- 

 ing in early spring and continuing until late in the 

 fall. I mentally made up my mind that this pro- 

 pensity, on the whole, is against the race. T had 

 one glimmer of con on my side; for however much 

 we desire bees up to the 30th of June, after that 

 time I consider a great amount of brood a detri- 

 ment, and, according to Mr. L., these bees kept the 

 hive well filled with brood for a great length of 

 time, and sometimes as many as seventeen frames 

 full. But if this is the only ob.iection to the race, it 

 can now be easily controlled with a H no, a di- 

 vision-board pshaw! I didn't mean that either— 



a~a— queen - excluding- honey -board hive! ha! 

 ha 1 that's it. Restrict the queen at the proper time, 

 and the Carniolans are perhaps a desirable acquisi- 

 tion. After hearing Carniolan talked several days, 

 I was worse fuddled than ever, and resolved to try 

 a tested queen, and one from Bros. A. and F^.'s yard 

 is safely reigning in one of my Italian colonies. 

 How Mr. A. sells honey on Lake George will next 

 occupy the attention of the Rambler. 



We are very glad indeed to make the 

 further acquaintance of Mr. John Andrews, 

 as well as his associate, Mr. Lockhart. It 

 needs a Rambler to go around occasionally 

 to get these silent bee-keepers to tell what 

 ideas they have worked out among them- 

 selves. We should take great pleasure in 

 going through an apiary so neat and orderly 

 kept. How can a man be otherwise than a 

 genius who is so tidy in his habits V The 

 pive cart looks as though it might answer a 

 very excellent purpose. The engraving will 

 .doubtless make its manner of construction 

 evident. On some accoimts the divisible 

 wide frame might be very desirable, but 

 won't the bees chink in proi)olis between 

 the two partsV and won't there be a line of 

 propolis left upon the sections immediately 

 beneath the division? We only make tliese 

 suggestions as possible objections. Perhaps 

 Mr. Andrews himself will tell us. We are 

 glad to hear such good reports of the Carni- 

 olans. If they have r^al merits they will in 

 time assert themselves. 



BURNS' FOUNDATION-CUTTEB. 



^^* ELOW is a sketch of a device I have made to 

 ^B cut foundation. It is the best thing I ever 

 f^ tried. It cuts very accurately, and will cut 



■^^ several sheets at the same time, and almost 

 as fast as you can Avork the knife up and 



down. I use onlv starters. 



BUKNS' FOUNDATION-THIMMKR. 



The engraving above will explain how it is made. 

 B is a block sawed through, and a hole bored 

 through from end to end to admit of a bolt, which 

 also passes through the end of the knife-blade. is 

 the knife-blade. D is a slotted post which keeps 

 the knife from swaying from side to side. A is a 

 board 3(1 inches long by 13 inches wide. 



Shellsburg, Iowa. J. A. Burns. 



Your plan will work ; but, judging from 

 such trials as we have made, we feel sure it 

 would mash the edges some. 



THE MILLER-AVAHNER FEEDER. 



HOW ANOTHEK URIEND STRUCK VERV NEARLY THE 

 SAME IDEA BEFOKE ITS ADVENT. 



& LEANINGS of Oct. 1.5 came to hand a few days 

 ago. The article on "The New Feeder," un- 

 der existing circumstances, excited more 

 than ordinary interest, and, as you will per- 

 ceive, inspired this article. To be brief, I 

 will simply state my story. 



The spring of tSH.'j, with the usual cool nights and 

 the consequent necessity of feeding my bees, caused 

 a very decided interest in the use of feeders. ''I'he 

 usual attending difficulties and objectionable fea- 

 tures of all feeders are known to all experienced 

 bee-keepers, so it is not necessary to repeat them. 

 My search was for the most desirable qualities, and 

 those were to be combined in a feeder that would 

 prevent and require the least loss of heat, thus per- 

 mitting and inciting uninterrupted passage between 

 cluster and feeder. Thorough study of the princi- 

 ples thus involved, and practical experimenting, 

 resulted in the construction of a feeder on the same 

 principle which friend Miller subsequently adopted. 

 The diagram below illustrates the idea I carried out. 



SECTION.AL VIEW OF FEEDER. 



A, reservoir; B, glass that slides. 



Several of my friends induced* me to exhibit it at 

 our State Bee-Keepers' Association, in January, 

 1886, also at the reunipn of the N. A. Bpe-^eepers' 

 AsBopiatJon held at Indianapolis, in October of the 



