JULY 15, 1914 



Dr. C. C. MiUer 



531 



;tmay 



A. i. KoOT^ instead of using saw ui' pinn- 

 ing- shears to cut off the spur of a fowl, p. 

 442, why not use the sharp cutting pincers 

 a blacksmith uses to cut off the edge of a 

 horse's hoof? 



H. Campbell sprinkles a little fine sand 

 on the second coat of paint on the entrance 

 of hives, while the paint is still wet, and 

 dusts of£ loose grains before applying the 

 last coat. In a blustering wind, hives so 

 treated lost scarcely a bee, while chilled bees 

 with their loads of pollen lay thick about 

 untreated hives. The sand allows the bees 

 to hold their own against the wind. — Brit- 

 ish Bee Journal, p. 156. 



L. W. Crovatt, p. 464, no doubt you have 

 it right, that " locality " makes a difference 

 as to painting hives as well as to other 

 things. If my hives should go as bad as you 

 paint it in a single season, I'd paint. Since 

 they are in fair condition after 25 unpainted 

 years, do you think you ought to insist on 

 my painting, provided I agree to paint after 

 I move to Georgia? [We hesitate about 

 butting into this controversy; but we beg 

 to suggest that Dr. Miller's unpainted hives, 

 if exposed to the hot sun in hot weather, 

 might have a tendency to melt down the 

 combs; but he uses a two-inch-deep entrance 

 the full width of the hive. Well, we see no 

 alternative but to let our old friend have his 

 liives unpainted. — Ed.] 



Arthur C. Miller has gotten up a hive- 

 tool that I've been using for some time. It 

 has a chisel at one end, like the Root tool, 

 but the other end is entirely different. At 

 5V2 inches from the chisel end it is 1 inch 

 wide, and then tapers down quite suddenly 

 to % inch in width, being 5-16 at the end, 

 the total length being 8 inches. At 11/4 

 inches from this small end it is bent back a 

 little more than to make a right angle. 

 When thus bent the finished tool is 6^/2 

 inches long. The hook thus made keeps it 

 from sinking down when put in the hip 

 pocket ; but I find it rather in the way there, 

 and if you're not careful it hurts your hand. 

 Miss Wilson doesn't like it so well as Dr. 

 Cheney's modification of the Root tool, but 

 I have a growing liking for Arthur C.'s tool. 

 That hook is very handy to pry frames to- 

 ward one without having to reach so far; it 

 is fine to lift out dummy or first frames and 

 is the finest thing I ever tried for cleaning 

 out tin rabbets. I should want to have one 

 if only to use for that one purpose alone. 



G. M. DooLiTTLE says, p. 368, " I have 

 never had any success in stopping swarm- 



ing througli the cutting of queen-cells after 

 the queen had laid in them and the 'broody' 

 fever had taken possession of the colony." 

 At one time I was inclined to believe killing- 

 cells didn't pay, but I changed my mind 

 after further experience, and perhaps after 

 having bred out some of the swarming dis- 

 l^osition ; for I think there are bees so much 

 given to swarming that they pay no atten- 

 tion to the killing of cells, and others so 

 little given to swarming that they are easily 

 discouraged from it. At present I believe 

 that killing cells makes a big difference in 

 the amount of honey I obtain. True, it fully 

 prevents swarming in only a minority of 

 cases, but the bigger harvest from that 

 minority pays well for the work of all. 

 Generally, after I've killed cells the first 

 time I find within ten days grubs well ad- 

 vanced again. In that case I know killing 

 cells will no do good, and other measures 

 must be taken. But so long as I find noth- 

 ing more than eggs or very small gi'ubs, I 

 keep on killing, and thus keep the swarm- 

 demon at bay. Yes, indeed, killing cells is 

 a fine thing here. 



R. F. HoLTERMAKN, I'd like to hold a 

 convention with you and Byer to discuss 

 those things on page 467. I'm puzzled to 

 know just what you mean when saying the 

 eight-frame hive " has to become a divisi- 

 ble-brood-chamber hive . . . looking up the 

 queen-cells in the upper story." In this 

 locality there is no looking for cells till 

 supers are given, at which time all are re- 

 duced to one story. You have an entrance 

 IVs deep, and I supjDose the same space 

 under bottom-bars. I'm anxious to know 

 whether bees never build down in that space. 

 I have a 2-inch s^^ace with bottom-rack; and 

 if lYs space is left above or below the rack 

 there's building. But the eases may be dif- 

 ferent. You're so ignorant you can't tell 

 what's inside by the outside. So am I — 

 can't tell a thing from the outside whether 

 a colony will swarm next day or next year. 

 But then with big ventilation there's little 

 hanging- out anyhow. But I think I'm just a 

 little smarter than you in one thing; you 

 look through your hives once a week. I get 

 along pretty well with once in ten days. [The 

 eight-frame hive is really a small hive in 

 this day and age ; and a small hive must be 

 worked in sections on the divisible-brood- 

 chamber plan. In our locality, forcing a 

 powerful colony into the lower story, and 

 into a super or two with empty supers of 

 foundation, would force swarming a gre?t 

 many times. — Ed.] 



