1004 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



44/ 



ed only 23 lbs., and I concluded that feed- 

 ing should not be delayed. There were a 

 few cockroaches visible on the frames; but 

 the floor was as clean as could be desired. 

 The strange thing to my mind is, why did 

 the cockroaches thrive so in the strong hive? 

 Could it be that they sheltered themselves 

 behind the division-board? for in bungling 

 the queen business I couldn't put back the 

 board in that hive. 



Austin D. Wolff. 



[Under date of March 8, Mr. Wolfe 

 adds:] 



A little further light causes me to exon- 

 erate the cockroaches, and charge the mis- 

 chief elsewhere. As I looked over the 

 frames taken from that hive which was all 

 "chawed up" (and this was done some 

 days after the damage was discovered), the 

 bottom strip of one of the frames was found 

 gnawed in the shape indicated in the mar- 

 gin. I suppose field-mice took up their 

 abode in the hive during the winter, and 

 escaped without being seen after I had 

 moved the hive to town. 



Yesterday I observed that the soft maples 

 are in blossom, and the air is vocal with 

 the hum of bees. The two hives which I 

 saved are at work finely, and there is a 

 cloud of whitened bees ever the pan of min- 

 gled rye and graham flour with which I 

 baited them a day or two ago. 



My aged acquaintance, Ed Lanbelin 

 (better known in this vicinity as "French 

 Joe "), said to me not long ago as I sat in 

 his honey- house, "An' Root, you can trade 

 wid heem; I tell you, dat is one hones' man. 

 Eef I buy an' sen' heem two cent too much, 

 he sen' me postage stamp back." I was 

 glad to hear the endorsement from the old 

 fellow, 76 years old, but far from the king- 

 dom. Austin D. Wolfe. 



Parkville, Mo. 



[Your second letter full}' exonerates the 

 cockroaches, and places the blame where it 

 probably belongs — on the field-mice. The 

 former are often referred to by our sub- 

 scribers, but I do not remember to have 

 seen any report where they did any serious 

 damage; but mice, when they get into a 

 hive, will soon work havoc with the combs. 

 They like nothing better than a good warm 

 hive to nest in. 



Our artist has made your gnawed comb 

 look as if it were made of a pine board. 

 The reader will have to imagine that it is 

 a real comb. — Ed.] 



IMBEDDING WIRES WITH A NOTCHED NAIL- 

 POINT PREVENTING FOUNDATION FROM 

 BUCKLING. 



For imbedding wires in foundation I use 

 an eight-penny wire nail with a notch filed 

 in the point. I lay the nail on the stove 

 while I fix the foundation in the top bar, 

 and then lay the frame over a piece of board 

 the size of the sheet cf foundation so the 

 wax lies flat and the wires touch it all 

 along. Then I run the nail along the wires. 



pressing them in a little. I worked in the 

 kitchen evenings, and with the heat of the 

 room and table-lamp the foundation was 

 warm and limber. I never had any founda- 

 tion buckle in the least. My neighbor work- 

 ed in his cold barn, and his sheets buckled 

 all out of shape. N. A. Sparhawk. 



Melrose, Mass., April 4. 



[This same plan has been before advo- 

 cated, but no heat was applied to the nail. 

 The heat will, no doubt, improve the quali- 

 ty of the work. — Ed.] 



FOUR BY FIVE PLAIN OR 4 '4 BEEWAY SEC- 

 TIONS; FRAMES WITH TOP AND BOT- 

 TOM BARS OF THE SAME WIDTH. 



Dr. C. C. Miller: — As I expect to stai t 

 an out-apiary soon, and, not being satisfied 

 with the section that I am using, because 

 of its being an odd size, I shall be highly 

 pleased to have your advice as to which to 

 adopt. I am thinking of using the plain 

 1:^8 X4X3, with cleated separators (not 

 fences), as I think there may be something 

 in Mr. Dibbern's objection to them on page 

 184. I believe that you or I could glue the 

 cleats to 500 separators in a day by making 

 suitable forms for the work. If I don't use 

 the above plain section, my next choice 

 would be the universal standard, the bee- 

 way, 4'4X4'4:xi%. Either of these will 

 always be found in stock, and therefore 

 cheaper than odd things like sections to 

 nail, and quicker to put together. I noticed 

 in your Straws that your present choice cf 

 a brood frame would be an unspaced hang- 

 ing frame with top, end, and bottom bars 

 all IfV wide. I can see excellent reason 

 for that width in the top and end bars, 

 which is, no burr pinning the brood-frames 

 to the sections above nor to the ends of the 

 hive, which the bees will do when the end- 

 bars are only % ; but I beg to ask your rea- 

 son for making the bottom-bars that width. 

 Please place yourself as free to adopt any 

 style of brood- frame, brood-chamber, and 

 section you choose, and advise as to your 

 choice. D. C. Coleman. 



Leavenworth, Kan., Feb. 22. 



[Dr. Miller replies:] 



You are certainlj' wise to avoid odd goods. 

 As to preference for style of section, c nsult 

 your market. If one kind sells for a higher 

 price than the other, that has heavy weight. 

 If market for each is the same, ]i ou will do 

 well before entirely abandoning your pres- 

 ent odd st} le to try both kinds side by side 

 on a small scale, and see whether you can 

 secure more pounds of honey with one than 

 with the other, or the same e umber of pounds 

 more easily with one than with the other. 



It must be that I did not express myself 

 clearl} if I made the impression that I pre- 

 ferred unspaced hanging frames. I would 

 not for a minute think of doing without au- 

 tomatic spacers for both side and end spac- 

 ing. 



I hesitated long before departing so far 

 from the established fashion as to use a 



