604 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



tor ; but I assume that the sharp side or end 

 is shoved into the entrance as far as it will 

 go, the wire cloth passing under the frames. 

 This makes it improbable that the bees 

 would suffocate, as they would have to cov- 

 er up the whole wire cloth. While they 

 might do this they probably would not. I 

 do not see why it is necessary to use the 

 tin strip as shown in the drawing. There 

 are some things that you have not fully ex- 

 plained. — Ed.] 



PLAIN SECTIONS WITHOUT FENCES. 



I herewith inclose you a cut of the separa- 

 tor I have made, and used last season on 

 several hives with the plain sections, as an 

 experiment. I find it stronger than the 

 fence. It is less apt to come apart than the 

 latter. B3' the use of foundation in full 

 sheets with this separator, the bees build 

 nice straight combs as with the fence. I 

 did not try strips for starters. 



C. J. HOFSTETTER. 



Fort Jennings, O., Apr. 11. 



Top-bar, %'s.l inch; cleats, J^'xJi inch; top-bar is cut 

 out at the bottom, and the cleats are p;essed in and 

 glued, or nailed from the top. Top-bar may be made 

 like cut, to hang in super, or flush at ends to rest on 

 tins. 



[While such a device could be used, yet 

 in a strong honey-flow the plain sections 

 would be liable to be bulged and uncrat- 

 able. In my opinion it would be very un- 

 wise to use many of them. — Ed ] 



THE BINGHAM SMOKER. 



Mr. Root: — Accept my sincere thanks for 

 your timely and kind footnotes relating to 

 Mr. Somerford's smoker remarks. Thank- 

 ing you for the proffer of space in Glean- 

 ings, I can hardly improve your footnotes. 

 As I have never received a complaining let- 

 ter about the direct-draft smokers, of course 

 I must rely entirely on the hundreds of let- 

 ters extol ing them. Many of those letters 

 are orders for another smoker, with a re- 

 mark about like this: " I have been using 

 my old smoker 19 years. It is good yet, 

 but I want another." These periods of use 

 run from 10 to 21 years. I will make this 

 proposition: If Mr. Somerfjrd will send a 

 money order for $5 I will deliver to him in 

 Cuba a four inch copper smoker, the best 

 ever made, and one that will last as long 

 as he will keep bees. Of course, this is a 

 special offer for a special smoker, the like 

 of which has never been seen. Such a smo- 

 ker at such a price would be economy as 

 against his experience. If Mr. Somerford 

 would prefer to have you see the smoker, 

 and readdress a freight, the same to Mr. 

 S., it would be satisfactory to me to send it 

 via Medina. T. F. Bingham. 



Farwell, Mich., May 23. 



A CONVENIENT HAND TOOL FOR FASTENING 

 FOUNDATION. 



I have never seen a foundation-fastener, 

 to be worked by heat, sold for a small sum. 

 I have made one for my own use, whereby 

 I can fasten foundation much better and 

 faster than by pressure. It is made of a 



piece of tin in the shape of the cut. I never 

 timed myself except once, when I fastened 

 foundation in 98 sections in 25 minutes. 

 Fold the tin at the dotted line. Fasten a 

 wooden handle on the small end of the tin, 

 and, when completed, it should resemble 

 the cut. L. Eubank. 



Guilford, Ind. 



A PRETTV APIARY IN AUSTRALIA. — SEE PAGE 



594. 



We send with this a photo of one of our 

 out-apiaries of 95 colonies near the river 

 Murry, Mildura, Australia. We trust you 

 will receive the same safe, and that you 

 will reprint it. We are sorry we can not 

 give a short article on the same, as we have 

 only just established it; but we will try to 

 send something next jear. 



Nettleton Bros. & Dean. 



Mildura, Australia, March 29. 



Can I, without injury to my bees, repaint 

 the hives? Geo. M. Phifer. 



Charlotte, N. C, March 10. 



[You can paint your hives while the bees 

 are in them, without any difficulty. I would 

 suggest, however, that the entrances be 

 painted toward night. By morning they 

 would be sufficiently dry so as not to cause 

 trouble to flying bees. We make it a rule 

 to paint our hives right in summer weather 

 after the honej'-flow. and have never dis- 

 covered any inconvenience.— Ed.] 



