1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



87 



small cold-frame, set it in the apiary, with a 

 good slant to the sun ; put in some boards for 

 bottom ; set in some pans of rotten wood, and 

 put on the sash. In a short time I had some 

 fuel as dry as need be. By this plan it dries 

 when the sun shines, and is kept dry at night 

 with no watching. 



Of course, as the dry is used out it should be 

 replaced with more to be dried. If one could 

 afford it, one of those Boardman wax-extractors 

 would be just the thing. 



Salem, N. Y. Eari, Y. Safford. 



DOOLITTLE FEEDER. 



On page 895 of Gleanings you describe the 

 Doolittle division-board feeder. Does not this 

 feeder drown the bees ? There seems to be 

 nothing about it to prevent this; and in pour- 

 ing in the syrup, wouldn't there be a number 

 of bees in the bottom that would be covered ? 

 I should think it would be an improvement to 

 have the hole near the end of the top-bar. 

 Cloth would not have to be pushed back so 

 far. John F. Hennessy. 



Ballston Spa, N. Y., Dec. 14. 



[There is no danger of the bees drowning in 

 a feeder like the Doolittle. The sides of the 

 feeder are so close to each other that the bees 

 can easily reach the sides and crawl out in 

 case they should fall into the feeder. The ma- 

 jority of hives have the quilts running the 

 other way; but, of course, in making the feed- 

 ers one can bore the holes near the end. This 

 is the very best small feeder I know of. — Ed.] 



REFORMED spelling WITH A VENGEANCE. 



There has been much in the journals lately 

 on the subject of reformed spelling. I am 

 sorry that Dr. Millerseems to be somewhat op- 

 posed to it, for, though it will be like parting 

 from an old and esteemed friend for me to 

 adopt any other method of spelling phthisic, 

 beaux, etc., yet I believe it will save much 

 weai and tear on the coming generation to 

 leave out some of the superfluous letters. By 

 the way, I should like to ask if Dr. Miller, 

 Mr. A. I. Root, Mr. York, or any of the other 

 brethren, have ever eaten any ghoughphth- 

 eightteeaux. If not, I should like to have 

 the pleasure of cooking some for them if they 

 will make us a visit. Mrs. R. C. Aikin. 



Loveland, Col., Nov. 23. 



[Well, now, Mrs. Aikin, I did call upon you, 

 but you did not give me even a taste of ghough 

 — shades of the reformed spellers ! My, oh 

 my ! I can not pronounce it, much less spell 

 it offhand. On paper it looks as though it 

 might be something tremendous. — Ed.] 



PLAIN SECTIONS INDORSED. 



Plain sections and fences are the thing, and 

 will forge to the front. I produced as well- 

 filled sections this year as possible, having 

 several cases filled and capped to the wood of 

 the sections. I raised my first lot of queens 

 by the Doolittle method. They were all fine 

 large ones. 



I have 84 colonies at present, and look for 

 better wintering than last year, and a better 



honey crop also, though I did fairly well on 

 sweet clover and aster last year, having har- 

 vested one ton from 57, spring count, some 

 being mere nuclei from severe winter, and 

 many having worthless queens, which I have 

 learned to replace. R. C. HugenTobler. 

 Miami, Ohio. 



NIVER ON GLUED SECTIONS ; HOW TO TEST 

 THE STRENGTH OF SECTIONS. 



A little matter in Gleanings (Holtermann's 

 article, p. 924) attracted my attention. How 

 is he going to put up four-piece sections with 

 the foundation put on to the top piece before 

 ramming them together? By the way, I had 

 some experience with the one-piece stuck-to- 

 gether-without-glue section last fall, and my 

 opinion is that I prefer a section to hold honey 

 — not honey-to-hold-section affair. A thought 

 struck me right here, how to test the strength 

 of a section. I cut the comb out of one, tied a 

 string through one corner, and hooked the 

 spring balance through it ; tied another string 

 to a basket and through the opposite diagonal 

 corner of the section, then put in coal until the 

 weight pulled the section to pieces. That sec- 

 tion was dovetailed at the corners only 1}^ inch- 

 es wide, but it took 4}4 pounds of basket 

 and coal to do the trick. S. A. NiVER. 



Groton, N. Y., Jan. 8. 



MICE IN HIVES. 



I got three hives of bees late in the fall, and 

 there is something cutting the combs in small 

 pieces. Can you tell me what it is, and a j:re- 

 ventive for it? Could I rehive them this 

 winter? T. W. Vaughan. 



Kittanning Point, Penn., Dec. 28, 1899. 



[From what you say above I should be in- 

 clined to believe that mice were getting into 

 your hives, for they do make sad havoc in the 

 colonies. The entrance should be narrow 

 enough to just admit bees ; or if 2 inches deep, 

 coarse wire cloth should be tacked over. Wire 

 cloth should be just coarse enough to let bees 

 pass through it, and yet keep out the "var- 

 mints. " 



The mice, being fond of the combs and hon- 

 ey, seem to take special delight in burrowing 

 up into the packing and getting the benefit of 

 the warmth of the clusters. Like some folks 

 they like soft warm quarters with plenty to 

 eat.— Ed.] 



LYE FOR CLEANING SEPARATORS. 



I?r. Miller : — You made the statement in 

 Gleanings some time ago that you were 

 using lye to clean separators. Do you still 

 use it ? does it give satisfaction ? or does it 

 roughen or eat the wood ? I want to use plain 

 sections and fences ; but cleaning the fences 

 by hand is a serious matter. Do you think 

 they can be properly cleaned by the lye plan? 



Ono, Wis., Nov. 30. W. H. Young. 



[Dr. Miller replies :] 



I think just as much as ever of concentrated 

 lye for cleaning T tins, and I think it would 

 be excellent for tin =eparators. but I never 

 tried cleaning zfOf?^ separators with it. I tried 



