1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



8H9 



as can be proven by rollinjf some into foniula- 

 tion. It will be fonnd that they will use it 

 the same .is wax. Join your honey-board to 

 your hive-body and seal the tvo hermetically 

 with paraffine, and your bees will certainly 

 use no propolis. LvK L. Esenhowkr. 



Reading, Pa., Nov. 25. 



[We have tried foundation made with paraf- 

 fine and of pure 'beeswax. While the bees 

 will accept the former, it is very evident that 

 they prefer the latter. If you put the two 

 side by side j'ou will see the difference. 



With regard to tight sealing, I believe my- 

 self Dr. Miller lost sight of this point in his 

 test of paralTine paper. If used at all it must 

 be cushioned down tight on the sections, oth- 

 erwise it will be worse than useless. I am no 

 '■ stickler " for paraffine paper, for, personally, 

 1 should prefer the bee-space over the sections, 

 and the cover sealed down wnth propolis; but 

 when the paper is used it should be applied as 

 directed. — Ed.] 



USE OF PARAFFINE PAPER ON SECTIONS DE- 

 FENDED; GETTING PRIZE HONEY. 



On page 7.S4, Oct. 15, is an article by F. L. 

 Thompson in which he condemns paraffine 

 paper in covering sections in supers; and as 

 Mr. Danzenbaker is invited to reply, and he 

 seems to be playing clam to the music, I will 

 say that, in my 15 years' experience in bee- 

 keeping, and two seasons' experience with 

 paraffine paper, with some 200 colonies of 

 bees, for cumb honey, I find a saving of sever- 

 al dollars, both in labor in cleaning sections, 

 and better prices fur honey produced by the 

 use of the paper; and as I raise honey for the 

 money, that is why I prefer to use the Dan- 

 zenbaker section and paraffine paper in con- 

 nection with his hive. Mr. Thompson says it 

 was the combination of the paraffine paper 

 with some other things that produced that 

 prize honey, and that those other things are 

 far more important. Of course, he is right so 

 far as the honey goes, as honey gathered from 

 buckwheat or other flowers that make black 

 honey would not be prize honey, even with 

 the use of the paper. But the paraffine paper 

 will prevent propolis, to a great extent, in the 

 eniire super, as it retains the heat; and it is a 

 well known fact that, the more heat there is 

 in the super — natural heat — the less propolis. 

 A proof of that fact is, as the season advances, 

 and the weather gets cooler, the more they 

 use. 



The object of the paper is to retain the heat; 

 and to fit snug on the sections I fit the paraf- 

 fine paper and thin boards on the supers in the 

 honey-house, and then take them out to the 

 yard, and I have none of that fuss that Mr. 

 Thomp.son speaks of. I would use it, even if I 

 had to throw it away after once using it. The 

 cost is small compared with the amount of la- 

 bor saved in scraping sections. If Mr. Thom- 

 son has his bees in a good location, and will 

 use the one bee-way Danzenbaker section and 

 cleated separator wnth the paraffine he will 

 have no trouble in getting prize honey. 



S. D. Mathews. 



Hamilton, N. C, Nov. 17. 



[If it is certainly true that there is less pro- 

 polis when there is an air-tight sealing over 

 the sections, then we mu.st give more attention 

 to that point. Who will corroborate or say it 

 is not true ? Let's have a lot of responses to 

 this point. — Ed.] 



THAT HOOK ON THE SMOKER ; A PO.SSIBLE 

 IMPROVEMENT. 



Say, Mr. Editor, that hook idea of W. L. 

 Coggshall's, figured on page 779 is good; but 

 just put the hook on the front of the barrel,, 

 as we have use<l it for the last ten years, and 

 see how handy it is to hang on the side of the 

 hive so that smoke can blow across the frame.s. 

 and keep bees quiet while manipulating. If 

 put on the back of the bellows, as figured, it 

 is necessary to turn the .smoker around to have 

 it in the right position for use. Doubtless you 

 recollect occasions when having the smoker 

 just ready to grab with one hand was a great 

 satisfaction. We have used the hook this way 

 on the old B. & H. smoker, and also on the 

 new Crane. In the latter case it is simply a 

 stout piece of hoop iron riveted on the barrel 

 above the guard. 



Two California Cranks. 



Los Angeles, Cal., Nov. 22. 



[I don't know but you are right. I'll try 

 one that way to see how it works and looks. 

 Yes, there are times when one wants a smoker 

 and " wants it awful bad ; " and I have seen 

 times when a second of time in grabbing a 

 smoker would save a dozen stings. To be 

 obliged to fumble alter it, not knowing exact- 

 ly where it is when it is wanted for instant 

 use, is aggravating. But say, it just occurs to 

 me that, if hooks were put on the fire-cup it- 

 self when the smoker w-as hooked on, the hive 

 would be scorched and perhaps set on fire. — 

 Ed.] 



BEES GN.\WING out bottom STARTERS. 



I see in American Bee Journal, page 72(), 

 an item in regard to furnishing beeswax to 

 bees, with remarks by Dr. Miller and the edi- 

 tor of Gleanings pro and con. I used foun- 

 dation in the honey-boxes this year, putting 

 in nearly full sheets with bottom starters. 

 The bees worked all right during the heavy 

 honey-flow, and filled the boxes from top to 

 bottom, doing very nice work indeed. But in 

 the late harvest the bees took out the bottom 

 starters or strips of foundation and stopped 

 the combs where the top sheets of foundation 

 ended. I suppose, as Dr. Miller says, they put 

 the wax in the propolis, but I am not old 

 enough in the bee business yet to say where 

 the wax went to. Wm. H. EagerTY. 



Cuba, Kansas, Nov. 27. 



[Putting " wax into propolis " — I don't un- 

 derstand you. I hardly think they would 

 convert one into the other. — Ed.] 



A SPRAINED ANKLE ; THOSE PLAIN SECTIONS. 



Gleanings for Nov. 15 tells us of your 

 passing here on that spurt just before coasting 

 into vSyracuse. Isn't it fun? I want to tell 

 you some of mj- experience with a wheel, that 



