1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



I give the tollowing expcrimont, which first 

 attracted my attention to this material, to show 

 that my claims for mineral wool are not found- 

 ed on theory alone: 



I 



MEMOKAXDUM OF A TEST OF INSULATORS MADE AT 



THE PACKING-HOUSE OF AKMOUK J'ACKING CO., 



KANSAS CITY, MO.. FKO.M JULY iuTH TO 



JULY 19th, isee. 



Tliree boxes were made, with inside measurements 

 of 18 inches square and 14 iiiclies big-h. 



Box No. 1 was insulated with himpbhtck. 



■Box \o. a was insulated with four dead-air spaces, 

 paper lined. 



Box No. 3 was insulatid with mineral wool. 2^ 

 inches thick. 



At 10 o'clock a. m., July 1.5th. there was placed in 

 each bo.x 7.5 Ihs. of ice. in one piece. At the ejid t)f 

 48 hours, and ag'aiii at the end of 96 liours, the ice 

 was weighari, with the following- results: 



Af cer 48 lioUi s. After 96 hours. 



Box No. 1. lampblack. 46X lbs. -ZtV^ l!is. 



Box No. :i, de icl-.dr spaces, 47 lbs. ~':i^.t lis. 



Bo.x No. 3. mineral wool, o'l lbs. 34'/2 lbs. 



The above test was made In the presep.Cc' of 



G. W. TouRTELLET. Sup t.. and 

 John Tho.mas, Builder. 



Mineral wool is a vitreous substance, con- 

 verted to a fibrous condition while in a melted 

 state. It is made from furnace slag, scoria, and 

 certain rocks. It presents the appearance of a 

 ma.ss of vry fine fibers Interlacing each other 

 in every direction, thus forming innumerable 

 mintite air-cells. We thus get. not one dead- 

 air space, as in double-walled hives, but mil- 

 lions of them I Mineral wood partakes of 

 the nature of glass without its brittleness. the 

 fibers being soft, pliant, and elastic. It appears 

 i)i inany colors, principally white, but often 

 gray or' yellow, and occasionally quite dark; 

 but the quality of the wool is not at all depend- 

 ent tipon or att'ected by its color. 



One of the most important qualities of min- 

 eral wood is its unequaled power to resist the 

 transmission of heat and cold. This can read- 

 ily be accounted for by the fact that it holds in 

 confinimient a greater quantity of air than any 

 other material. Air is so subtile and rapid in 

 movement, when uncouHned. and is so slow to 

 carry heat, except by its own motion, that it is 

 at once the best distributor of heat and also the 

 greatest barrier to its transmission, according 

 as it has or has not freedom to circulate. 



The substance under discussion affords an 

 efficient protection against the insidious at- 

 tacks of Jack Frost, as well as a perfect insula- 

 tion of sound. It is used in all the Pullman 

 cars for the last-named purpose. Owing to its 

 composition (an analysis showing it to be a sil- 

 icate of magnesia, lime, potash, etc.). it gives 

 no protection to animal life, doing away with 

 the mice, insects, moths, and their attendant 

 evils and disease germs. There is nothing or- 

 ganic in the material to decay or become musty, 

 or to furnish comfort and food for vermin. 



As has been said, mineral wool resists the 

 transmission of heat more completely than any 

 other material that can be used for our pur- 

 poses. It thus affords warm and dry quarters 

 during the winter months, and cool hives in 

 the torrid time of sttmmer. 



1 append t\yo tables, the first by Mr. Cole- 

 man, of the Philadelphia Society, of Glasgow, 

 and the .second from Roper's '" Handy-liook." 

 Koth are abridged. 



I hardly need say, tliat I have no interest in 

 writing this, further than to offer something 

 that is at once cheap and efficient to the bee- 



heat-conducting power of materials: 



Mineral woal, ------- ino 



HairfeU. -.--.-. in 



Cotton wool, ------- 122 



Sheep's wool, ------ i^g 



.Savdust, ------- 163 



Wood and aii--space, ----- 2so 



non-conducting properties of different m.\- 



teri.als of even thickness: 



Black .slate, ------ ino 



Soft chalk, - 4Sto.-6 



Sawdu.st. - - - - - - 17 to 20 



Fine asbestos in thread, - - - - 13 to 15 



Mineral wool, exti'a, . - . - 8 to 13 



Haw silk. - - - - - - - 8 to 13 



Ice. - - - 



keeping fratiM-nity for the uses and purposes 

 mentioned. The ordinary mineral wool weighs 

 14 lbs. per cubic foot: IJ Ihs. jjcr sijuare foot. 1 

 inch thick. It sells at *1.:2.5 per 100 lbs. Select 

 wool weighs 10 lbs. per cubic foot : fS lbs. per 

 square foot, one inch thick, and sells at >=2 [jer 

 100 lbs. Of the latter grade. 140 lbs. packed 18 

 cases of the dimensions given in this paper. 

 Thei-e is an extra gi-ade of the wool, wliich 

 weighs lbs. per cubic foot: K. lb. per square 

 foot, one inch thick, the price of which is S3. 50 

 per 100 lbs. The foregoing prices are for siuall 

 lots. The packing could be employed luore 

 economically by packing the broodrchamber 

 only. The packing in my cases is at the tt>p of 

 the'added super. Samples of the wool may be 

 obtained by writing to the Western Mineral 

 Wool Co.. at Cleveland, Chicago, or St. Louis. 



HOW TO ESTIMATE. 



After a rough calculation of the number of 

 cubic feet of space;|to be filled, find the weight 

 of ordindry required, by tuultiplying by 14, and 

 the weight of extra and selected w ool by multi- 

 plying by 6 or 10, according to the grade to be 

 used. J. 15. Exes. ^l. D. 



Connellsville. Pa.. Ajiril ti. ISUl. 



SIZES OF FRAMES, AGAIN. 



SHOt'LP TIIEKE BE TWO STANDARD FRAME.S 



I read with interest the article on sizes and 

 styles of fi-ames, by W. T. Stewart, and your 

 comments on the same. I believe there should 

 be two standard fraiues in use— one for the 

 production of comb, and one for the production 

 of extracted honey. ^Vhy ? Because, for the 

 best result, we need, for the production of comb 

 honey, a small frame: for extracted honey, a 

 large one is bc^tter. One fi-ame will not answer 

 satisfactorily for both purposes. I use the 

 crosswise L. frame, and believe it to be as good 

 as any in tise for the production of comb honey. 

 I have tried different sizes of frames, and they 

 suit me the best. They are lighter and better 

 to handle than the lengthwise frame. The 

 queen fills the comb better with brood. Yon 

 can shake bees off from the comb quicker 

 and better, with less danger of racking the 

 frame or breaking the comb— especially the 

 latter — in very warm weather. The hive en- 

 trance is at the side, where I believe it should 

 be. You say the trouble with the crosswise 

 frame is. it" does not hold comb enough. If 

 working for extracted honey yon are right. 

 Neither does the lengthwise frame. If working 

 for cotnb honey it holds plenty, and the length- 

 wise holds too much comb. It is true, with the 

 crosswise we have more frara(>s to handle: but, 

 being lighter, we can handle them more rapid- 

 ly. The lengthwise frame is heavy and awk- 

 ward to handle, unsuitable for the producer of 

 comb honey. Perhaps two-thirds of those us- 

 ing it never used any other; and perhaps most 

 of them, if they once used the crosswise frame, 

 would use it in prefeicnce to the lengthwi.se. 

 Whv is it that tin' nuijority of the large honey- 

 producers do not use the lengthwise frame? 

 Because it is not Miitabh> for either the comb or 

 extracted honey producer. Here is Mr. A. He 

 produces comb honey. He uses the hive and 

 frame best adapted for the production of comb 



