554 



gl:eanings in bee culture. 



June 1 



not less than lyi inches above the bottom- 

 bar, with the others spaced to suit. Buck- 

 ling is usually between the two lower wires; 

 and raising- the lower wire will obviate its 

 buckling there by giving a weight of bees 

 below the lower wire while drawing out 

 the foundation. Newton Dotson. 



Summersville, W. Va., Jan. 14. 



[All things considered, we prefer our- 

 selves this plan. — Ed.] 



CYPRESS AS A HIVE MATERIAL. 



I want to tell j'ou that j'ou are much mis- 

 taken when 3'ou think white pine the most 

 suitable lumber for hives, page 436. We 

 have cypress here in plenty, and I think it 

 is pretty generally distributed everywhere, 

 or at least as much so as white pine. Cy- 

 press is superior to pine, at least in our 

 Southern States. I have some hives in use 

 made 18 years ago, and which have been in 

 use ever since, and are in good condition, 

 and have never been painted except once. 

 They have only a square or box joint. You 

 can buy cypress, clear boards, here at the 

 mill for $20 to $25 per 1000, rough. I make 

 my hives and frames from it. It is soft, and 

 doesn't split if the right size of nails is 

 used, or no more than white pine. 



Here is what the Kretchmer Mfg. Co., of 

 Red Oak, Iowa, says: " A few facts why 

 cypress is the best lumber. It will last 

 longer than any other. It is the only wood 

 impervious to acid. It does not shrink nor 

 swell like other wood. It does not warp 

 nor twist when exposed. It has not the 

 knots and defects found in other lumber. 

 It is lighter; hence less freight." 



I can indorse the above, and hope you 

 will give this excellent hive material a fair 

 showing. I haven't any cypn ss to sell, but 

 can send you a sample of our southern cy- 

 press. It may be different from what you 

 used to make sash-frames of. 



Pearson, Ga. G. B. Crum. 



[Cypress as a hive material is all right, 

 and under many conditions may be better 

 than white pine, but under others is not as 

 good. "When I spoke of pine as being the 

 better of the two, I meant at the price. Cy- 

 press in the region of most of the bee -hive 

 factories would cost considerably more than 

 white pine. The freight on it from the 

 South to the North would make it quite 

 prohibitive for bee-hive work; and even in 

 your locality, while it seems plentiful, the 

 aggregate supply would be very limited for 

 general purposes. — Ed.] 



FRESH PAINT TO STOP ROBBING; RUBEROID 

 FOR HIVE- COVERS. 



I have a remedy that never fails me for 

 robbing. I take a paint- brush and dip it 

 in a bucket of paint, and draw it across 

 the alighting-board, and sometimes paint 

 the front end of the hive. This may be an 

 old remedy with some, but I don't remem- 

 ber seeing it in print. 



I was interested in what Dr. Miller had 

 to say in regard to ruberoid for hive covers. 

 I have had three years' experience with it, 

 not for covers, but for the deck on top of my 

 house, and three porches, which are covered 

 with it. It makes a perfect roof — no odor 

 after »the first season. It must be put on a 

 solid smooth surface, as any vibration will 

 cut it out. The weight is about the same 

 as building paper of the same thickness. 



Whiteside, Mo. S. W. Smiley. 



[Fresh paint to stop robbing would prob- 

 ably do very well if the robbing had not 

 progressed too far. Bees dislike carbolic 

 acid about as much as any thing; and I 

 have noticed that mild cases of robbing can 

 be stopped by smearing the entrances with 

 such solution; but nothing, apparently, will 

 stop it when the bees get to going to such 

 an extent that those in the rear crowd those 

 in front on to an offensive substance like 

 paint or carbolic acid. After all, the best 

 cure by all odds is the old-fashioned one of 

 prevention — keeping the entrances of the 

 right size, so that the inmates of the hive 

 can make a proper defense in the first 

 place. — Ed ] 



SAPOLIO FOR REMOVING PROPOLIS. 



Did you ever try sapolio for removing 

 propolis from the hands? Just rub a cake 

 over yovxr hands, and the propolis will dis- 

 appt ar as by magic. It has just enough 

 grit in it to remove the dirt, and it will 

 make a lather too. It is better than lava 

 soap for the purpose. S. G. Kilgore. 



London, Ohio. 



[I never tried it, but I am sure it would 

 work. I do know that lava soap is excel- 

 lent for taking off propolis. — Ed.] 



TWO QUEENS IN ONE CELL. 



As I was cutting out queen- cells from a 

 hive last summer I found one cell that had 

 two queens in it. They were white in color, 

 and I judged they would ha'ch in two or 

 three days. Both were perfectly developed 

 queens in a cell capped over. Did you 

 ever hear of a case like it before? 



Knoxville, Iowa. John R. Millard. 



[Has any one of our readers seen any 

 thing like this before? — Ed.] 



HONEY NOT GRANULATING IN SEVERE COLD. 



On page 181 Mr. J. F. Orishaw speaks of 

 honey not granulating in severe cold. I 

 had the same experience this winter for 

 about two months, but in the last two weeks 

 we have had mild weather, and the honey 

 is granulating now. 



M. W. Harrington. 



Williamsburg, la., March 7. 



[Your experience is quite in line with 

 our own and that of a number of others who 

 have reported on this question during the 

 last three or four months. — Ed] 



