1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



179 



In repairing- old frames it would be better 

 to use a small screw in place of the small 

 nail at the bottom when the latter could not 

 be clinched tig-ht on account of combs in the 

 frames. This ower fastening- so far down 

 on the end-bar is where the extra strength 

 would be obtained. 

 Harvey, 111. 



[Your hive-tool is quite similar to others 

 that have been shown in our columns from 

 time to time. 



Your cast metal frame-hanger I consider 

 to be something- of more than ordinary 

 merit. Indeed, I am not sure but that it is 

 the best metal spacer that has been so far 

 suggested. I respectfully call Dr. Miller's 

 attention to it as being something- in the 

 line of a HoEFm in frame that can not be 

 propolized to an extentastorender it difficult 

 to handle. It can be applied to any Irame 

 in use (Hoffman or unspaced L.) by cutting 

 off the top bar projections as you sugtrest. 

 It could also be used with the regular Hoff- 

 man frames interchangeably. Perhaps a 

 trial of the frame might change my good 

 opinion of it.— Ed.] 



FUMIQATING COMBS. 



Long'tongued Bees in Germany; a Swarm in the 

 Open Air. 



BY F. GKKINER. 



Bisulphide of carbon has long- been used 

 by the American people for the destruction 

 of vermin of various character. Bee keep- 

 ers h ive employed it to kill wax-moth and 

 their brood, thus protecting combs and comb 

 honey. As it is used here, the chemical is 

 allowed to evaporate, which process pro- 

 duces an explosive gas. I have not dared 

 to make use of it inside of buildings. Dr. 

 Brunnich makes use of the sulphide of car- 

 bon in a different way. He says in Scliweiz. 

 Bienenzeitung: " Sulphide of carbon is a 

 liquid which burns easily, and produces 

 sulphur fumes, as it can not be accomplish- 

 ed by burning sulphur. The liquid burns 

 slowly with a small flame, producing little 

 danger of damaging the combs hanging di- 

 rectly over the burning liquid, which leaves 

 no residue. Any one having used this 

 chemical will never go back to burning sul- 

 phur." 



A bee- keeping brother across the water 

 is very much enthused over the long-tongued 

 yellow queens from America. He says in 

 Bienen Vater, "After reading so much 

 about the redskins I made up my mind to 

 send for the wonder. The cost, I cared lit- 

 tle about; it was to be a test case. Well, 

 the queen came directly from America, a 

 splendid animal. Never in my life had I 

 seen so large and beautiful a queen. After 

 some difficulty she was safely introduced. 

 During the first few days she laid but few 

 eggs; but after a few weeks' time she be- 

 gan to do business. I was delighted to find 

 the brood-combs in due time look like solid 



boards, not a cell being skipped. Soon 

 young bees began to emerge. They were 

 slightly lighter in color than the queen, 

 and beautiful to behold. According to the 

 American method I reared 19 line large 

 queen-cells, which nearly all produced very 

 fine queens. 



Bienen I'ater, Austria, brings an inter- 

 esting description and picture of a swarm 

 of bees with comb structure built under a 

 sort of cover, but not protected b}- hive- 

 walls. The picture was taken during the 

 first year of its existence. It has been win- 



AN OPEN AIR HIVE. 



tered through several seasons by being pro- 

 tected by a large rough box being set over 

 the whole. The owner, Herr Simmich, 

 says, " I have made some interesting obser- 

 vation with my free hanging swarm. It has 

 been surprising to me to see what a small 

 cluster the quite populous colony had con- 

 tracted to during the colder days, with 

 the thernTDmeter down to 26°. Bending the 

 combs carefully apart at this time one 

 could easily satisfy himself of a fact which 

 is still doubted by some; viz., that bees in 

 winter will occupy every empty cell inside 

 the cluster. I also observed that bees are 

 constantly in motion, those from the periph- 

 ery changing to the inside. 

 Naples, N. Y. 



[I notice that you use the terms " bisul- 

 phide of carbon" and "sulphide of car- 

 bon." From the fact that j-ou refer to Dr. 

 Brunnich in connection with the sulphide of 

 carbon, one is almost led to believe there is 

 a distinction between the two. I am in- 

 formed by one of our druggists that bisul- 

 phide, disulphide, and sulphide of carbon 

 are all synonymous; but that the last-men- 

 tioned name is almost gone out of use. But 

 I never detected any sulphur fumes with bi- 



