298 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15. 



wedges being used, ^s inch at the thicker end, 

 giving 1^4^-inch entrance. But this required a 

 new lot of entrance-blocks of the same width. 

 All said, " Too many fixings to care for." To 

 obviate this difficulty a contrivance made of 

 heavy galvanized iron was attached to the 

 front of the hive, which can be kept on at all 

 times, and is handy for several purposes — in 

 closing the entrance when taking hives into 

 the cellar, closing the entrance when cold 

 days come in the spring, or any time. This 

 attachment can be used on each end of the 

 hive, and closed quickly, leaving the hive 

 raised at any height from the bottom-board 

 one desires. 



This mechanism will answer your query as 

 to the " smart Allick." A strip of galvanized 

 iron, as wide as the entrance is deep, 13 inches 

 long, with two strips of same Yz inch wide, 

 is attached to the front of the hive. The two 

 small strips y, inch wide are riveted to the 

 long strip (about 8 inches apart) at right 

 angles. The rivets are not driven hard enough 

 so but that there will be a little play. This 

 long strip is then set before the entrance of 

 the hive, and a nail is driven into the free ends 

 of the two short pieces in the hive-front. The 

 end at left hand is flush with the outside of 

 the hive, and the right-hand end with the 

 inside, so that, when moved toward the right 

 to open the entrance, the strip will not project 

 far out. The right end is bent % inch at a 

 square angle, to allow a hold to move the 

 slide. By riveting the short strips to the 

 inside of the long one they lie flat on the 

 hive, and, when nailed with a i/l-xwch nail, 

 will hold this giiard at whatever point placed. 

 To enlarge the entrance, move to the risrht. 



I have been much interested in the fence 

 discussion, having tried the Pettit system on 

 over 50 hives last season, v^dth fence and holes 

 y%. A pile of sections pressed between two 

 boards were laid off in small squares, and then 

 bored with a new yi bit, the holes dodging 

 like a checker-board. The fence was {\ be- 

 tween strips, and gave ribbed combs. The 

 holes gave perfect combs, smooth as between 

 separators of usual pattern. 



One thing against the large opening : When 

 a swarm went out it went with a whiff, like 

 the exhaust-pipe of a locomotive. I found 

 the clipped queens about three feet from the 

 entrance, and many bees too young to fly. 

 On one occasion a swarm came off that had 

 superseded the old queen ( as all were clipped 

 in spring) ; and before they had time to cluster, 

 two more shot out like a powder charge from 

 a gun, without waiting, joined the first, and 

 clustered on an out-hanging branch of a large 

 elm, .35 feet from the ground. I jarred them 

 off with a long willow pole, with a hook in its 

 end over the limb. But few reached the 

 ground, as they regained wing. Several at- 

 tempts failed; so you may conclude that a 

 stone, with rope attached, thrown over the 

 limb on which a cluster hangs, will not always 

 be effective. A mere handful may reach the 

 ground. In taking hives resting on wide bot- 

 tom strips into the cellar with this device, 

 there is no need of turning the bottom over. 

 Shut the hive with the adjustable entrance- 



slide. When in the cellar, open on both ends, 

 and cut, from a roll of ^-mesh wire, strips Xy^ 

 inches wide and 16 inches long, bent one inch 

 on each end to clasp the hive-sides. This 

 method secures plenty of air-space for dead 

 bees; also freedom from mice around the bees. 

 The cost is merely nominal per hive. Small 

 rivets, j',; x f^j long, cost per 1000 25 cts., and 

 all tinsmiths keep galvanized iron. 

 Des Moines, Iowa. 



[Yes, indeed, any one who makes a prac- 

 tice of raising a hive up on four blocks, to 

 secure better ventilation, for the purpose of 

 discouraging swarming, must "look a leedle 

 oud " when the honey-flow stops — that is, 

 providing he uses one-story colonies. A good 

 s'rong colony — a double or triple decker, such 

 as I would use and do use — I think would be 

 fully capable of holding their own. No little 

 colonies for me. 



So far as I know, all reports go to show 

 that, when the slats of a fence are spaced as 

 far apart as ]\, ridge comb honey is pretty 

 sure to be produced. I have yet to hear of an 

 instance, however, when the slats were spaced 

 as scant as ,"(,, that there was any washboard 

 surface on the honey. If there is any such 

 instance, let the brother hold up his hand, 

 and at the same time send a sample of the 

 honey and of the fence that did the work. If 

 the slats, however, were too narrow, say y^ 

 inch, I am of the opinion that, even if they 

 were spaced /^ inch, a critical eye would 

 detect a slight ridging. When we adopted 

 our form of fence we did a great deal of cor- 

 responding, asking the opinions of those who 

 had tested the fence during the years gone by; 

 and the result was that we fixed upon the 

 style that we have illustrated. — Ed.] 



THE DISK SECTION-CLEANING MACHINE. 



Conditions under which it may be Made to Work 

 Satisfactorily ; High Speed and Power Necessary. 



BY JAMES ROAT. 



In the Feb. 1st issue of GleaninGS you 

 illustrate the Aspinwall section-cleaning ma- 

 chine. I have used for the past two seasons 

 a machine somewhat like his. It was invent- 

 ed in 1895, improved in '96, and the past sea- 

 son I cleaned the bulk of my crop with it. It 

 is simply a disk a little smaller than the sheets 

 of sandpaper which are to be used on it. The 

 disk is made of two boards placed with the 

 grain of one crossing that of the other at right 

 angles, and the two firmly screwed together to 

 prevent warping. The disk is then screwed 

 on the threaded end of a shaft (the end of a 

 saw-mandrel will answer when the saw is at 

 the end of the shaft). Then revolve the disk 

 by running the shaft, and turn it perfectly 

 true with a chisel as in a lathe. Make the 

 face a trifle convex, as it will work faster in 

 removing small spots than it would if perfectly 

 flat. The disk should be run at least 3000 

 revolutions per minute, and faster would be 

 better, as the sandpaper does not clog as soon 

 when the machine is run at high speed. 



