486 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1. 



crop is small; and now that glucose is barred 

 out, the consumption is double that of former 

 seasons. 



TAKING OFF SECTIONS. 



Smoke excites the bees, and causes them to 

 uncap the honey, as does any rough handling. 

 I find the following method works nicely: Ear- 

 ly in the morning pry up the super containing 

 the sections, doing it as gently as possible; 

 move along to the next hive; and when you 

 have three or four loose, go back to the first 

 hive, where the bees have quieted down, and 

 quickly raise the comb super; slip on the bee- 

 escape board, and replace the super. The bees 

 are slow to move early in the morning; and if 

 care is taken in prying up the super, giving 

 them time to quiet down, and skill used in slip- 

 ping on the escape, the bees will not become 

 excited, no caps will be cut, and the bees will 

 work out as nicely as though they had been 

 driven wild with smoke, and remain gentle. 



PRIMING SECTIONS. 



By reference to old articles of mine I think 

 you will find that I used both a bottom and 

 lower corner starter. With me the bottom 



are unnecessarily heavy. A steel fire-box and 

 a perforated cover are all that is required, 

 which, with a tin bellows, would decrease the 

 weight a half. 

 Murphy's, Cal. 



[We formerly made extractors with the 

 groove in the bottom where the gate enters the 

 can. After we changed to our present plan we 

 found that it is not only cheaper, but bee- 

 keepers appreciate it. The directions that go 

 with the machine are to screw it down so the 

 honey-gate will be directly over the bunghole 

 of the barrel or other receptacle. It is not de- 

 signed to let the honey accumulate in the can. 

 When that is desired we make deeper cans and 

 raise the bearing up a few inches. Of course, 

 we have to charge extra for such change. The 

 great difficulty with the old grooved bottom 

 was in cleaning. With the present plain bot- 

 tom slanting toward the honey-gate, every por- 

 tion of it is " getatable." 



The Crane smoker will not go out, usually, if 

 you get it well going in the first place, and use 

 the right kind of fuel. The Corneil, however, 

 seems to have the preference nowadays; and 

 while it does not give as strong a blast it will 

 never go out as long as there is fuel to burn 

 and of the right sort. We prefer the stringy 

 sawdust that comes from making the hand- 

 holes in hives. Planer-shavings answer nearly 



starter had a bad habit of curling over. The 

 corner starter seemed to work for a time, but 

 In the end I found there were more of them 

 gnawed out by the bees than there were left 

 standing, so I left both bottom and corner 

 starters out. At present I use a strip down 

 both sides, and a triangular piece in the center. 



BEE -SMOKER. 



I found my Crane smoker had a bad habit of 

 being out just when I needed it badly. To 

 remedy this I punched a %-inch hole in the 

 front, just above the floor, and covered this 

 with a piece of finely punctured tin. Now when 

 I get the smoker going it keeps a going. For 

 convenience in handling I have a strap nailed 

 across the top, with suflQcient room under it to 

 slip the hand in. I find the strap comes in very 

 nicely in going to and fro in the apiary after 

 combs when extracting, as with it I can hang 

 it on to the handle of the barrow, and it always 

 keeps right side up. The body of the bellows 

 should be of tin to make it lighter. Smokers 



as well. Small sticks of stovewood we have 

 used some, but very much urefer the loose ma- 

 terial, as it gives a denser smoke.— Ed.] 



THE NEW DRAWN FOUNDATION IN ENG- 

 LAND. 



APIS DORSATA, BY ONE ^VHO HAS SEEN THEM 

 IN THEIR NATIVE HOME. 



By F. W. L. Sladen. 



Mr. Root:— I am in receipt of your letters 

 of May 1st and 17th. The sample package of 

 foundation, containing a small piece of the 

 new drawn comb, also came safely to hand. 

 With regard to the drawn comb, I congratulate 

 you on your marvelous achievement, which 

 must ever stand out in bee-history as a record 

 of advance. I think the new drawn comb will 

 prove particularly useful in the rapid harvest- 

 ing of honey, and also for the prevention of 

 "pop-holes," which are frequently nibbled 



