1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



CLEARING SUPERS WITH CARBOLIZED 

 CLOTHS. 



How to Prepare and Apply. 



BY JOSEPH GRAY. 



I have used carbolized cloths in the apia- 

 ry for many years, and for such a variety of 

 purposes that I for one certainly can not 

 subscribe to the editor's statement on page 

 26, Jan. 1, "pretty in theory, bad in prac- 

 tice." I am aware that there is a difference 

 in subduing a colony of bees with the 

 smoker and the carbolized cloth; yet, right- 

 ly used, the latter becomes a valuable con- 

 venience — one that leaves both hands free 

 for work. 



PREPARING THE CLOTHS. 



Take two pieces of unbleached calico, 

 20X10. I prefer them hemmed so that 

 there will be no fraying edges to catch the 

 legs of the bee. Having these ready, take 

 a bottle of carbolic acid, flatten the cork, 

 and insert it half way into the bottle so that 

 the liquid will sprinkle out when shaken. 

 Open the cloths, laying one on top of the 

 other, and sprinkle them well. Press in 

 the cork with the cloth. Don't use the fin- 

 gers. Fold up the cloths, place in a tin 

 box, and they are ready for use. Too heav-y 

 or too light a material is not so good. 



We use a calico quilt on the hive, and 

 drop a carbolized cloth against the entrance; 

 then as we peel ofl the quilt we draw on the 

 other cloth. The first one can in turn be 

 picked up from the entrance. A third cloth 

 may be used if desired, and the first left 

 near the entrance. At this point comes an 

 important difference between the use of the 

 smoker and the carbolized cloth. With the 

 former, one has to manipulate the bellows, 

 and the effect may be seen; with the latter 

 one has nothing to do excei^t to wait, and 

 the effect can not be seen; for, as the supers 

 are covered, no robbers can enter. 



On a cold dull day the smoke will arouse 

 the drowsy bees quicker. On a hot day the 

 carbolized cloth will clear every bee out of 

 the super. I would suggest that, instead of 

 waiting for the bees to leave the super, the 

 apiarist use a second set of cloths and get the 

 next hive ready. If robbers are about, the 

 two cloths enable him to keep the su- 

 pers covered except in case of the comb 

 which is being handled. 



If an apiarist has been accustomed to 

 handling plain or unspaced frames he will 

 feel strange when handling closed-end 

 frames. The same rule will apply to the 

 smoker; for one who has always handled the 

 smoker will at first feel strange in the use 

 of the carbolized cloths; yet for many pur- 

 poses I much prefer the latter. 



In transferring from box to frame hives 

 no drumming is needed, as the carbolized 

 cloths do the work. One can start transfer- 

 ring the comb while the carbolized cloths 

 are transferring the bees. In hiving a 

 swarm, the carbolized cloth will turn the 

 bees in any direction required. In deal- 



ing with disease, no smoker need be us^d, 

 and the carbolized cloths can later be de- 

 stroyed. In spring examination no robbers 

 can enter the brood-nest, as the two carbo- 

 lized cloths cover up the remaining frames. 

 In nucleus work the carbolized cloths are 

 sufficient. When shaking bees from combs 

 on foundation inside of a hive, the cloths 

 prevent the bees boiling out on the opposite 

 side. 



The sun will evaporate the strength of the 

 solution, but a slight dampening of the 

 cloths will restore the strength of the odor. 



On a hot day every bee will be driven out 

 of the hive if the cloths are left on too long. 



Will carbolic acid taint the honey? 



Carbolized cloths will not taint the honey; 

 but there is a text-book that says, "Use a 

 feather; dip it into the carbolic acid, and 

 draw it along each top-bar. ' ' By this meth- 

 od of using carbolic acid there is certainly 

 great risk of the honey being tainted. 



Hagersville, Ont., Jan. 1. 



[Eighteen or twenty years ago we tested 

 several different schemes for using carbolic 

 acid in lieu of smoke. While the bees 

 would retreat from the odor of the drug, it 

 did not seem to have a permanent effect, 

 and they would come back. If inclined to 

 be obstreperous in the first place, they 

 would renew the attack as soon as the car- 

 bolized cloth was removed. Smoke, on the 

 other hand, with a colony of this sort, has 

 a more lasting effect — that is to say, it takes 

 them a matter of two or three minutes to 

 recover to a point where they will get back 

 into their old fighting spirit. But we are 

 frank to say that we did not try the use of 

 carbolized cloth in the manner that you de- 

 scribe. We shall be pleased to renew our 

 experiments this coming summer. In the 

 meantime, we suggest some of our readers 

 try out the instructions given by our corres- 

 pondent, Mr. Gray, and report to us the re- 

 sults. So far we do not know of anybody 

 in this country who is using carbolic acid to 

 subdue bees. If there is any such person, 

 will he please hold up his hand and tell us 

 what he knows? — Ed.] 



SWARM CONTROL WHEN PRODUCING 

 BULK COMB HONEY. 



BY J. J. WILDER. 



I should like to get a method of swarm control, 

 when running for bulk comb honey with eight- 

 frame L. hives and shallow supers. The trouble I 

 find is a lack of drawn combs in the spring. Mr. L. 

 H. Scholl's method will not do, as he uses supers 

 for a brood-nest. 



Greeneville, Tenn., Dec. 21. W. H. Beown. 



[The above letter was sent to J. J. Wilder 

 whose reply follows. — Ed.] 



My method of swarm control in the pro- 

 duction of bulk comb honey with eight- 

 frame hives and shallow extracting-supers 

 is as follows: In early spring, a few days be- 

 fore the first honey-flow, when swarming 

 may be expected, 1 vent all colonies that 

 will probably swarm by elevating the hives 



