1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



15 



when it has finished its sheet of zinc it stops 

 of its own " accord," waiting for some one to 

 give it another sheet. I hardly need say the 

 Tinker zinc has earned for itself a reputation 

 that is world-wide. 



Dr. Tinker sees only one danger — fire. We 

 have taken every precaution possible. We 

 have a fire-pump, the capacity of which is 

 equal to any city fire engine; 500 feet of hose, 

 hose-carts, hose-couplers, and all other tools 

 necessary to fight fire with fire. In addition 

 to this we have automatic Grinnell sprinklers 

 all over the establishment, so that, if a fire 

 should start anywhere, the sprinkler-valves 

 will open automatically and put out the fire 

 at the start, or hold it in check till help ar- 

 rives. As if this were not enough, we have a 

 watchman who patrols the plant nights and 

 Sundays; and to make sure that he makes his 

 beats at regular intervals he is checked off by 

 an electric time-detector. If there is any ir- 

 regularity, or he is off for a little time, the 

 clock will show it. In fact, it tells ju-.t where 

 he has been all night, and the exact time at 

 each station. But this is not all. The whole 

 property is insured in some of the strongest 

 fire companies in the world ; and these com- 

 panies send inspectors to look over our plant 

 about every sixty dj} s. If floors are not slick- 

 ed up ; if greasy waste or any thing of the 

 sort is allowed to accumulate, we are prompt- 

 ly notified, and ordered to make the necessary 

 changes. Yet, in spite of alt this, we may 

 have a fire. But we do not propose to if we 

 can help it. 



A year ago last October the freight depot, 

 immediately in front of our works, caught fire 

 from sparks from a locomotive. Before our 

 local fire company with the fire-engine could 

 have got ihere the building would have been a 

 mass of flames; but almost as soon as the fire 

 was discovered we had a stream from our own 

 fire-pump playing on it. As a result, but lit- 

 tle damage was done. — Ed.] 



SHALLOW SUPERS, AND KILLING BEES ; UOW 

 TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



Question. — I have as many colonies of bees 

 as I care to keep. I produce comb honey only; 

 and as there is no call for bees in this locality 

 I think of trying ihe following plan: I will 

 hive the swarms in shallow extracting-supers 

 so as to compel the bees to put most of the 

 honey in the sections. Then in the fall I will 

 kill the bees in these shallow supers, and ren- 

 der the brood-combs into wax. What do you 

 think of the above plan ? Will it be necessary 

 to put queen-excluders over these shallow 

 hives to keep the queen from going into the 

 sections? Please answer in next Gleanings, 

 if possible, as I want to prepare for next sea- 

 son, during this winter. 



Atiswer. — Before proceeding to the general 

 subject, I wish to say that the desire of our 

 questioner to prepare for the coming honey 

 season, during the winter months, is a com- 

 mendable one. If more of our bee-keepers 

 and novices in apiculture were built on the 

 same plan, there would be fewer failures vdth 

 those entering our pursuit, more first-class 

 TC'/iite honey obtained, instead of so much 

 dark, and suppl3'-dealers would be kept busy 

 all the year round, instead of being rushed 

 during May and June, so as to be obliged to 

 run night and day, and then lie partially or 

 wholly idle the rest of the year. I wonder 

 how many apiarists have noted that the call 

 for No. 1 and fancy white honey is atruays 

 good, with the usual ''short supply''' nearly 

 always quoted for the same, while dark and 

 inferior honey is slow of sale, often accumu- 

 lating on the market till it becomes a drug, or 

 breaks down the market entirely. And I won- 

 der if it has ever entered the heads of bee- 

 keepers that the delay of preparing for the 

 season till the season was upon them was one 

 of the prime reasons for dark honey being put 

 upon the market instead of fancy white. Thus 

 year by year bee-keepers are Ic sing money and 

 ruining the markets by being always behind 

 in preparing for the season, and most of them 

 seem to be ignorant regarding the true state of 

 affairs. They are some like the old woman 

 whose husband was ill. She sent for the doc- 

 tor, who came, and, after a careful diagnosis 

 of the case, said to the old lady, " I will send 

 him some medicine, which must be taken in a 

 recumbent posture." After he had gone the 

 old woman sat down, greatly puzzled. '' A re- 

 cumbent posture — a recumbent posture ! " she 

 kept repeating; " I haven't got one." At last 

 she thought, ' ' I will go and see if old Mrs. 

 Smith has got one to lend me." Accordingly 

 she went and s^id to her neighbor: " Have you 

 a recumbent posture to lend me to put some 

 medicine in?" Mrs. vSmith, who was as ig- 

 norant ashtr friend (without being willing to 

 admit it), replied: "I had one, but, to tell 

 the truth, I have lost it." Rub yourselves 

 awake a little, brother bee-keepers and see if 

 you have not been in a " recumbent posture " 

 quite long enough along the line of late prep- 

 aration for the honey season. But, to return 

 to the main point. 



Yes, it will be necessary to use a qvieen-ex- 

 cluder in hiving a good or large swarm in a 

 shallow super, as our questioner proposes — es- 

 pecially if he uses sections filled with founda- 

 tion, and hives the swarms on empty frames, 

 as what he says would indicate he expects to 

 do. But if the plan is tarried out just as it is 

 outlined, why "render the brood-combs into 

 wax " ? It would seem like folly to make the 

 bees build those shallow frames full of comb 

 each year, or fill them with foundation, for 

 the fun of making them into wax year after 

 year. I often think bee-keepers are as igno- 

 rant regarding the value of good straight 

 combs as they are regarding being prepared 

 for the season. Such combs are as good as 

 money in the bank, and I would allow no one 

 to melt up the surplus combs I have, even if 

 he would give me twice the number of .square 



