JULY 1, 1914 



517 



the top story on that again. I do not cover any 

 paper nor any thing else over the brood on the top 

 side of the comb, which is standing on its tail, as I 

 cdiisider this one of the wasteful phases which I 

 wish to avoid. Perhaps I am wrong in this. Like 

 Dr. C. C. Miller, " I don't know." 



Mr. Hopkins' previous article advised the use of 

 a new comb. I tried this; but it sagged so badly 

 that I lost a lot of the cells. Since then I have used 

 a fairly old brown comb, and have also stayed it by 

 wTapping wire around it. 



I tried the system of scraping the intermediate 

 rows out; but it took a lot of time, and I tried put- 

 ting the comb on just as it was. 



Perhaps this is not right, and perhaps I shall go 

 back to the old system; but I have got from 25 to 30 

 cells on each comb, and I think that is satisfactory. 

 Major Shallard. 



South Woodburn, N. S. Wales, Australia. 



A New Can for Holding Water in the Mailing-cage 



We are sending under separate cover a sample of 

 our long-distance cage with water-cans. We have 

 had no trouble in keeping the cans sealed water-tight 

 if a small amount of tallow is used with the wax. 

 We have tried the tin tubes in the cages, but found 

 on some of them it did not work unless the tube was 

 made in separate sections so that in case the cage 

 was standing on end while being sent through the 

 mail the air would get in the other end, and the 



water would all run out in a short time; so we went 

 liack to the little cans; for, no matter in what posi- 

 tion the cage may be, the water will not run out ; 

 and, in fact, when it is filled it takes a hard smash 

 to throw even a drop out. 



We are all looking for the best plan to send water 

 with) our bees ; and the only way I see is for every 

 one to give his best ideas on the subject, as the best 

 will surely have to use it. 



San Jose, Cal., Mar. 11. W. A. Barstow. 



[The use of the little tin cans as here shown will 

 be all right providing you can make them water-tight. 

 We tried these to our satisfaction, using paraflfine 

 and beeswax to make a tight seal. But the trouble 

 is, the bottles will do for a few trips ; but when 

 queens are sent out in quantities it will be found 

 that they will leak. The only thing that we ever 

 found effective is the tin tubes with corks fitting 

 tightly. Just above the cork, which should be at the 

 bottom, is a small perforation. Through this is a 

 small string that acts as a wick. To overcome the 

 objection of the bottle being wrong side up, we put 

 in two bottles, one on each side of the cage, so that, 

 no matter which way the cage stands, either side- 



wise, endwise, or flatwise, there will be one perfora- 

 tion at the bottom, or where the bees can get at the 

 water. So far this arrangement works the best of 

 any thing we have tried. Small homeopathic bottles, 

 with a slot in the cork, and a string in the slot, may 

 be used. But there must be two bottles to the cage, 

 and the ends reversed so that all the bees can get 

 water at the slot in one of the bottles. Care must be 

 taken not to make the slots in the corks too large. 

 They should be no larger than will admit a common 

 string without pinching it. Unless a string is used 

 the water will leak out too fast. — Ed.] 



What is to Blame for the Great Mortality of Queens 

 Mailed in New Zealand? 



I notice that you have gone back to the water- 

 bottle for mailing queens. Since I started beekeep- 

 ing some years ago I have spent money on imported 

 queens, all of which have arrived dead. The last 

 I got were posted to a ship's purser at San Francis- 

 co, and he kept them in his cabin and posted them 

 on to me at Auckland. He wrote and said they 

 ceased to show signs of life after they left Papeete, 

 where they had a few days of hot weather. Years 

 ago beekeepers could depend on getting over 50 per 

 cent of queens alive; but I think they had water in 

 those days. 



Mr. Isaac Hopkins, late Grovernment Apiarist, is 

 always putting the present-day mortality down to the 

 fact that the larvre are transferred. I am tired now 

 of sending money for dead queens. For the New 

 Zealand post, to save delay, they should be marked 

 " queen bee, not dutiable." 



Dewauchelle, N. Z., Feb. 12. W. B. Bray. 



[The loss in sending queens to New Zealand, we 

 do not think, is any greater to-day than it was twen- 

 ty years ago. Only a small percentage of the queens 

 ever went through alive, and that percentage was 

 and is so small as to be discouraging. We are in 

 hopes, however, that the new water-bottle scheme as 

 explained in the preceding footnote will solve the 

 problem to a great extent. We hope to conduct some 

 exhaustive experiments with water-bottles this sum- 

 mer, trying out some cheap queens or merely bees. 

 But experience has proved that the candy must be 

 soft, and that the water-bottles must be so construct- 

 ed that they will not leak en route. — Ed.] 



How and When I Make Use of Smoke 



When I have to examine a hive thoroughly by 

 taking out all the frames or to shake off the bees 

 from combs, or to unite bees of two or more colonies 

 early in the spring or late in the fall, I find it neces- 

 sary to administer a few puffs of smoke from the top 

 of the frames only. Using smoke from the entrance 

 being unnecessarily distressing to the bees, I never 

 do it. 



During the honey season I do not make use of 

 smoke, and often go without a veil. In midsummer, 

 from July to September inclusive, when the tempera- 

 ture is high, say from 80 to 90 P., which differs 

 little from that of the hive, the propolis turns soft, 

 and the bees do not mind the exposure, and do not 

 get irritated except when they are very roughly han- 

 dled (manipulated), or under inconvenient circum- 

 stances such as robbing, etc. 



Nicosia, Cyprus, Sept. 5. M. S. Dervishian. 



[Ordinarily it is not necessary to use smoke at the 

 entrance. A little puff over the tops of the frames 

 during the middle hours of the day will be quite 

 sufficient. If there is any occasion for opening hives 

 on a chilly day in early morning or late in the 

 evening, or at night, smoke should be used at the 

 entrance, and a liberal amount over the tops of the 

 frames. In fact, when one has to work with bees 

 when it is a little dark he will find it necessary to 

 use considerable smoke Little and often is better 

 than to use a large amount and then stop. — Ed.] 



