924 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



t)EC. lo. 



Then she tried a corn-starch pudding. " It's 

 a supreme success." came the report: and then 

 with unusual enthusiasm she recounted some 

 of the things in which the new mat would be 

 such a help. 



Now, I feel sure that, when you get one, you 

 will thank me for calling your attention to it, 

 and your wife will be very thankful. I shall 

 send for a number to give as Christmas presents 

 to friends, and I hope friend Root has a large 

 stock, and that Christmas may take them all. 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Mii.lek. 

 ^ I ^ 



TIN COMB. 



RESULTS OF EXPEKIMENTS IN THIS LINE IN 

 GERMANY. 



We give below a free translation of what C. 

 J. H. Gravenhorst says on the above subject, in 

 his journal, lllustrierte Bienenzeitung : 



Concerning the tin comb of Mr. J. Steigel, of 

 Pernersdorf, near Jetzelsdorf, Lower Austria, 

 we made a brief reference in Vol. 11, and are 

 to-day in condition to inform our readers fur- 

 ther. The next thing to do to make this comb 

 profitable to the bee-keeper is, so the inventor 

 informs us in a letter, to render it as acceptable 

 to the bees as the natural comb. At best we 

 should beware of cells only 15 mm. deep (§ of 

 an inch), when the bees require tho.se that are 

 from 25 to 27. In the latter respect they should 

 be comparable with the natural product. These 

 combs remain absolutely broodless, are fully as 

 light as natural comb, and actually surpass the 

 latter in durability. Furthe»', the inventor 

 says, they are the best swarm-regulator. Steigel 

 wants a s-trong colony with only as much nat- 

 ural comb in the brood-nest as the bees need 

 for rearing colonies up to the requisite strength; 

 otherwise he gives them tin comb alone. 



That such combs will be as strong as common 

 combs in extracting, nobody will doubt. Mr. 

 Steigel is also of the opinion that, with tin 

 combs, the hitherto non-extractible heath hon- 

 ey can be taken out. Such honey always tears 

 wax comb in extracting. If that proves to be 

 the case, tin comb for bee-keepers who harvest 

 heath honey will be of great value. Suppose, 

 however, that, in spite of this, the heath honey 

 should remain fast in the comb, then the hopes 

 of the inventor will not be realized. 



He thinks he can, without difficulty, construct 

 a coDib whose middle wall can simply be with- 

 drawn, so that the cells will then form a hex- 

 agonal network. Perhaps one might replace 

 the cells with double bottoms, the first of which 

 is perforated, the second covering the first, but 

 which can be removed at extracting time. We 

 must confess, however, that we have no faith 

 in this idea. Attempts to extract heath honey 

 from the Steigel combs have hitherto been 

 found impracticable — at least, no reports have 

 as yet reached us. Very likely the present year 

 has been unfavorable thereto. 



For more than ten or fifteen years the Ameri- 

 cans have tried, with various materials, includ- 

 ing tin, to make foundation. But all such at- 

 tempts have been failures. But perhaps the 

 American tin used was not prepared in the 

 same manner that the Steigel was, and so was 

 less available. In regard to the preparation of 

 his tin comb, Mr. Steigel reports to us the fol- 

 lowing: 



Tin strips, of the finest zinc-tin, No. 1, as wide as 

 the cells :ire to be deep, are shoved through a small 

 cogrg-ed-roUer work. They receive thereby the shape 

 shown in the cut. These cell-strips, so prepared, 

 are now cut with common shears, lour or six at a 

 time, in pieces as long as the comb is to be broad, 

 and laid together, thiis forming cells, two of which 



are shown. Now begins tlie putting togetlier of the 

 comb on a board as laige as tlie required size of tlie 

 comb. On tliis lioard tlie stiiiis are now ))ut up 

 edgewise, after the edges of eontact are fastened 

 together. After a short time the finished comb is 



Edtre of tin >trip as it leaves the cog-woiTcT 



raised from tlie board, and then follows tlie wax 

 bath. The bottomless comb is dipped twice in melt- 

 ed wax— the fli'st time entirely, and the second time 

 only a millimeter, so that, Oa the surface of the 

 wax, a thicker layer will form, which, when neces- 

 sary, the bees can use to d.aw the cell out to its 

 full length. Tlie comb now receives a bottom, serv- 

 ing as a middle wall. Now take u slieet of tin, some 

 five or six millimeters larger than the comb is, and 

 bend, by means of two strips of wood, the edge of 

 the tin over so as to form a shallow dish. Tliis is to 

 be placed on a warm stove, spread over with wax, 

 and the comb laid on it. In this way the one-sided 

 comb is made ready. Two one-sided combs will form 

 a two-sided one. The combs are fastened in the 

 frames with little pegs. The placing of the tin 

 • combs goes on so rapidly that one person can make 

 40 or 50 a day. 



Mr. Steigel has prepared, at different times, 

 in liis primitive way. cells of full depth, made 

 of pure wax. As with the, strips of tin, he 

 places his strips of wax together. But these 

 are not manipulated with the rollwork, as 

 shown above, but with an apparatus similar to 

 the Ritsche wax-press. The strips of prepared 

 wax are immediately placed in a frame, and 

 separated by means of a partition of tin, glass, 

 or wax. Although this manufacture of comb 

 with cells full depth might be carried on easily 

 and satisfactorily, yet Mr. Steigel will make no 

 more, of wax, for sale, as it does not pay. Fre- 

 quently such comb, before using, is, from some 

 unforeseen reason, found to be useless; and 

 especially is this found to be the case in trying 

 to ship it. The finished comb can be most ad- 

 vantageously made at home by the bee-keeper 

 himself; and where he wishes to do so, he can 

 get the necessary press of Mr. S. 



•SOMETHING MORE ABOUT THE MATILIJA 

 CANYON. 



ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF THE WONDERFUL RE- 

 GION WHERE THE HOT SPRINGS HOLD 

 FORTH. 



The accompanying engravings were sent us 

 shortly after my return from California last 

 spring; but we were having !-o many California 

 views just then we decided not to use them un- 

 til a little later. With the two pictures comes 

 the following description: 



A. I. Root :~J mail you with this a view of my 

 apiary, also a view of the canyon looking up and 

 westward from it. It is located in the Matilija 

 Canyon, four miles above the hot springs you visit- 

 ed. If you had continued your trip that far you 

 would have been well repaid. There are several 

 hot springs one mile below. They are much hotter, 

 and afl'ord move water, than the lower ones. They 

 are not so accessible, therefore not as well known, 

 but are even superior to them for the cure of 

 rheumatism and similar ailments. 



The mountain liack of the apiary is a most beauti- 

 ful one. It is as higli as or higher thautlieones near 

 the lower springs, and is covered from base to sum- 

 mit with an even growtli of evei'green chapparal. 

 The California lilac [CeautithiiK Tli!iisifloni.'<} predom- 

 inates. It presentsa beautiful siglit wlieii in bloom. 

 It commences to bloom at the foot of the mountain, 

 and a zone of blue extends upward day by day till 

 the summit is readied. Only a small portion of the 

 apiary is shown in the view, as I have 320 colonies. 

 Tlie range does not yield phenominal crops, but we 

 seldom have an entire failure, and it luis, perhaps, 

 during the past four years, made as large an aver- 

 age as any apiary in the county. J. J. Kapf. 



Ventura, Cal., March 1. 



