1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



619 



so ; but when we come to consider absolute 

 proof, we may well look to our bearings. The 

 only authority who seems to touch directly on 

 this mooted question is Cheshire. On page 597 

 of his " Bees and Bee-keeping," Vol. II., in 

 reference to pollen, he says : 



It is gathered by bees, most generally, simultaneous- 

 ly with honey, and, although usually carried back to 

 the pollen basket of the ihird pair of legs, when on 

 the wing, it may be duly stored without flying, as I 

 have often noticed when bees gather from some com- 

 posite flowers, such as single dahlias. 



There, friend B., you have so good an au- 

 thority as Cheshire to support your views. But 

 even Cheshire has been found to be by no 

 means infallible on several little points, and 

 even he may be wrong. — Ed] 



FI.AX AS A HONEY PLANT ; HOW TO MAKE 

 A SCRAPING KNIFE. 

 Allow me to call your attention to flax as a 

 honey-plant. There are several hundred acres 

 close to me, just in bloom, and it furnishes the 

 principal crop, except goldenrod, in the fall. 

 My bees swarmed on the 23d of June. One 

 colony came out on the 17th, ]8lh, and 20th, 

 and did not cluster, but went back into the 

 hive, and at last cime out and was hived on 

 the 23d. I have one super nearly full, and 

 one about half. I have at present only 3 col- 

 onies. I use a knife which I use for scraping 



sections. It is made of a common case-knife. 



Break off the end so it will be square, then 



grind it with a notch in the end as in diagram. 



Marshall, Minn. jESSE Jennings. 



[A scraping-knife similar to what you show 

 has been illustrated in our columns before. 

 The principle of it is all right. — Ed.] 



ROUND SUPER springs ; WHO FIRST IN- 

 VENTED THEM ? 



In Gleanings for 1887, page 466, you will 

 find a description and illustration of my super 

 spring. On page 543 is something further on 

 the same subject. While Mr. W. D. Wright 

 (page 475, current volume) and others may 

 have preceded me in the invention of such, I 

 believe that I was first in giving the super 

 spring to the public. I care, however, very 

 little for priority. The main thing is that any 

 spring which accomplishes the desired result 

 is away ahead of any wedge. The (so-called) 

 wedge, which I have seen in supers ff your 

 make, is no wedge at all, but a plain strip of 

 wood of equal thickness at both ends. Mr. 

 Wright's spring has the advantage over mine 

 that it is simpler in construction, and easier 

 to make. It can also be made to go into a 

 narrower space than mine. If I did not al- 

 ready have a full supply of my own I would 

 adopt Mr. Wright's pattern. 



cleaning porter bee-escapes. 



Some time ago I discovered that my Porter 



escapes were all clogged with propolis to such 



an extent that the two brass springs within 



could not move at all. I took the escapes (of 



which I have 25 in use) out of the boards and 

 boiled them in concentrated lye. Rinse in 

 cold running water. They are now clean, and 

 as good as new. I got the idea from reading 

 Dr. Miller's way of cleaning T tins. This 

 may be of assistance to some one. 



Wm. Muth-RaThmussen. 

 Independence, Cal., July 6. 



[Turning back to our June issue for 1887 I 

 find a description and illustration of round su- 

 per-springs by Wm. Muth-Rasmussen. These 

 springs are a little different in construction 

 from any thing that has heretofore been 

 shown ; but they were made of round wire, 

 and so constructed that the tension of the wire 

 would cause a pressure on the sections in the 



super ; but Mr. Wright says he introduced his 

 springs in the spring of 1883, so that he pre- 

 cedes Mr. R. by about four years. But I sus- 

 pect we shall have to give the credit for the 

 basic principle to Capt. J E. Hetherington. 

 He first conceived the idea of squeezing up 

 sections in the super by means of a continuous 

 and yielding pressure brought about by steel 

 springs. 



It is very seldom that so much propolis is 

 gathered that the Porter bee-escape would be 

 clogged in the manner described. Mr R. 

 must have left them on the hive for a consid- 

 erable length of time ; for usually they are not 

 supposed to be over the bees for more than 24 

 hours ; but in case they do become waxed or 

 daubed with bee-glue, then Rasmussen's 

 scheme of cleaning, or Dr. Miller's, rather, is 

 the one to use. — Ed.] 



BELGIAN hares and BEES GOING WELL 



together. 

 I wish to say in connection with your edi- 

 torial note on page 446, that I have tried the 

 combination of "bees and Belgian hares." 

 They work together. Hares are more easily 

 raised than chickens (I have all three), and 

 are very healthy and hardy if kept in clea7i 

 quarters, and fed sensibly and regularly, and 

 healthy stock were gotten at the start. Your 

 advice about a beginner going cautiously at 

 first is very good. A trio (one buck and two 

 does ) is enough to get a good start, and they 

 will increase about as fast as the beginner's 

 knowledge of their care and needs does. Also 

 there are now quite a number of books and 



