396 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



died, then you have a big argument in your 

 favor. But here again you miss the one point 

 of locality slightly. In the West, Colorado 

 and California, where honey is produced in so 

 much larger quantities, and larger amounts 

 per colony, and so far from the best markets, 

 honey is cheaper than in the East. We must 

 not forget the relative difference in prices. 

 Mr. Aikin goes on the assumption that honey 

 must compete with ordinary sugars or people 

 will not use it. He says his locality, at least, 

 will not take it if they can buy other sweets 

 cheaper ; but if your market will pay you 

 your extra price you have a right to get it, 

 and would be foolish if you did not ; for your 

 honey, as you put it up, is doubtless worth all 

 you ask for it as compared with some goods 

 that are sold in the same markets. By the 

 way, did you notice Dr. Miller's Straw where 

 he speaks about what Muth did in the candied- 

 honey line? — Ed.] 



ANGLE TINS TO SUPPORT SECTION-HOLDERS 

 AND SECTIONS INSTEAD OF FLAT TINS. 

 On page 54, Jan. 15, Mr. W. B. Ranson calls 

 attention to the fact that the flat tin that sup- 

 ports the section-holders was "too frail." 

 I had the same objection to it, 

 and also another one: Very 

 often, when I went to pry the 

 super loose from the hive, the 

 screwdriver end of my scra- 

 per would pry the tin partly 

 off. I found a way to avoid 

 both objections. I have some 

 galvanized iron (steel) cut 

 into strips 12 in. X 1 in. 

 Then in a folder, bend over 

 one edge % in-i inside mea- 

 sure, so as to make a right 

 angle, thus: I The lower 

 inside edge i of the end 

 of the super — should b e 

 cut out all the way across be- 

 tween the lock corners one 

 inch wide and j'g inch deep. 

 The L shaped strips can then 

 be nailed in, the under side 

 ;just eve?i with the lower edge 

 of the super. See sketch en- 

 closed. The iron should be 



/D, •' ^^ galvanized, otherwise it will 



'^ rust. No. 26 iron was the 



thickness that suited me best. Something 

 thinner ivould answer, but I wanted to be 

 very sure it wouldn't bend down under the 

 weight of honey. 



If the strips are put on as I have described 

 — under side even with the lower edge of the 

 super — then the bottom-bars of the section - 

 holders will be raised above the lower edge of 

 the super by the thickness of the iron used in 

 making the strips. But that is no objection, 

 as the bottom-bars are sure to sag that much 

 through the middle. 



The rabbet could be a little less than 1 in. 

 wide, but it shouldn't be less than -^ deep, 

 even if the sheet iron isn't that thick. The 

 reason is, that the strips — with the ordinary 

 tinner's folder — can't be bent so as to form 

 an exactly square corner ; i. e., it will be 



_..i 



rounding at the point of the bevel instead of 

 a sharp square corner. By having the rabbet 

 a little deeper than the thickness of the sheet 

 iron used, the rounding corner doesn't touch 

 the bottom-bar of the section-holder, and so, 

 of course, can't raise that out of position as it 

 -might otherwise. John S. Callbreath. 

 Glen Spey, N. Y., Mar. 5. 



[We have considered the advisability of 

 using angle irons, or angle tins, in place of 

 flat tins to support section-holders. In the 

 first place, there is the objection of the ex- 

 pense ; and then no one can really be sure 

 that it will be any stronger. Our flat tins are 

 all heavier now, and we do not believe that 

 such would give any trouble. And, again, 

 angle tins could not be used with the super 

 for 4X plain sections. If you will look at the 

 drawings of this super you will see the reason 

 why. There is no doubt that the flat tins of a 

 year or two ago were a little too light ; but as 

 they are now made we are of the opinion that 

 they will obviate the difficulties of the past. 



This idea, however, of using angle tins is 

 very good ; and if there should be demand 

 enough for them we could supply them.— Ed.] 



HOW to find the queen ; general di- 

 rections FOR beginners. 



Will you please tell me how to find the 

 queen in a full colony of bees? I am think- 

 ing of putting in some other queens after a 

 while. Grant Bailey. 



Smith River, Cal., Apr. 9. 



[If the bees are Italians, queens can usually 

 be found at least on the third or fourth frame 

 taken out of the hive. A practical bee-keeper 

 will first pull out the center frame, and look 

 for freshly laid eggs. Failing to find these he 

 will take out another frame from another por- 

 tion of the brood-nest If he finds the eggs, 

 then he has reasonable assurance that the 

 queen is somewhere in this part of the hive. 

 He looks the frame over carefully, and, failing 

 to find her, he takes out the next one, each 

 time following in the wake of the eggs. While 

 it is no sure rule that the presence of freshly 

 laid eggs in any portion of the brood-nest is 

 evidence that the queen is in that part of the 

 hive, yet, generally speaking, she will be 

 found near them. If, for instance, I have 

 found no fresh eggs in the center frame, and 

 none in the next frame that I may have out 

 on one side of the brood-nest, then I take the 

 opposite side till I find the eggs. But suppose 

 I have found them, and I do not find the 

 queen. Well, it sometimes happens that a 

 queen will suddenly leave a large fresh patch 

 of eggs in one portion of the brood nest, and 

 then go clear across the whole hive to the oth- 

 er side, and begin operations there. 



It not infrequently happens that one has to 

 look over every frame, not once but twice. If 

 she is not found on the frames then she may 

 be on the bottom-board or inside of the hive. 

 If the bees are black, and the queen of the 

 same race, she will be more than likely to be 

 in a bunch of scrambling bees in one corner 

 of the hive. 



If the queen is not found at the first or 



