Gl.KANINGS TN BEE CULTURE 



of carbonate of I'upper. This 26'^ Baumt' 

 ammonia will squirt when the glass stopper 

 is first taken out; therefore do not have 

 your eye over it or you will wish you were 

 only stung' uj^ by bees instead. Probably, 

 to get the stopper out, you will have to take 

 a twist of paper oi cloth wet in hot water 

 and hold it around the neck of the bottle a 

 minute or so, which will doubtless make the 

 squirt still more certain to come. When 

 you get it open, put in the copper and stir 

 with a wire or stick. It will dissolve as 

 easily as salt in water. Use one part of this 

 solution to 270 of water. If you work on a 

 very small scale, use two level teaspoonfuls 

 to a quart, or two tablespoonfuls to a gal- 

 lon. The stock solution will keep perfectly 

 if you keep it in a cool place in the glass- 

 stoppered bottle in which the ammonia was 

 bought. Don't be scared by reading that it 

 won't keep. 



When one needs lo use an arsenical spray 



on jilanls wliich he does i^ot need to have 

 the hers visiting at present, as in the case of 

 those Colorado orehardists who sprayed the 

 trees under which the clover was growing, 

 I think he ought to mix with the spray 

 enough tobacco tea (or any strong-smelling 

 nicotine insecticide) to make the sprayed 

 foliage smell of tobacco till the sprayed 

 flowers have had time to fade. That will 

 warn off the bees, or I am mistaken. And 

 at the same time it will, if strong enough, 

 kill the plant-lice on the sprayed trees. 



I was surprised to read about bees gath- 

 ering blight-green pollen from swamp- 

 milkweed. I thought milkweed pollen grew 

 in such shape as not to be useful to bees. 

 Is it certain that it was milkweed and not 

 some other milky-] uiced plant such as dog- 

 bane? One sort of dogbane is called "hon- 

 ey-plant" according to the botany. 



Ualhud ^'ale, Mass. 



NOTES FEOM GERMANY 



img Foiradatiom and Fagtteinilinig il iim Fraeies 



BY J. E. HEBERLE^ B. S. 



The article by H H. Root in the Nov. 

 15th issue, page 799, is very interesting. 

 The illustrations are so clear, that a bee- 

 keeper who has had only a few lessor, s in 

 English may easil.y understand it. 



I use no grooves with wedges to hold the 

 foundation. I solder it on the top-bar with 

 melted wax. If the wax is warm enough it 

 will hold as much weight as the foundation 

 will stand, but will not stick well if it is too 

 v'ool. It should be just warm enough so 

 that it won't melt the foundation. 



I use a board about ^4 irx"'! smaller than 

 the inside of the frame, and thick enough 

 to hold the foundation in the middle of the 

 top-bar. On the two long sides of the board 

 is nailed a thin lath a little longer than the 

 frame, and extending about half an inch 

 over the sides. The foundation is laid on 

 the board and the wired frame upon it, care 

 being taken that the sheet touch the top-bar 

 the entire length. Board and frame are 

 firmly held in the left hand with the top-bar 

 down, and so inclined that the melted wax 

 poured in the upper corner will run down 

 rapidly. It is better not to pour too much 

 wax on one place as there is danger of the 

 foundation melting at that point. Keep the 

 wax constantly pouring out in a thin stream. 

 We have a handy alcohol-lamp, with a 

 spoon that can be removed, which is used 

 to melt and pour the wax on the top-bar. 



When the spoon is removed, the wire-im- 

 bedder may be heated on the flame. 



Alcohol for industrial purposes is very 

 cheap — about 35 ets. a gallon — while that 

 for consumption costs about $2.70 per gal- 

 lon. These are retail prices. The strengtli 

 of each is about 96 per cent. The only dif- 

 ference is that, to the alcohol for burning, 

 etc., a small quantity of piridine is added 

 to make it unfit for consumption. It makes 

 a good heat, and is clean. Alcohol is used 

 for burning in the kitchen stove during tlie 

 summer months. 



After one side of the foundation is fast- 

 ened, the board is removed and the frame 

 is held in the left hand in such a position 

 that with tlie right hand the melted wax can 

 be poured on as before. The lamp is al- 

 loAved to burn, and the flame is regulated to 

 suit. Lamp and spoon are used as one 

 piece. The spoon is removed Avhen wiring 

 foundalion. and the imbedder put in its 

 place. The one I use has V-shaped grooves 

 in the teeth so the wheel can't slip so read- 

 ily. Between the handle and the center of 

 I lie wheel, there is an extra-heavy metal 

 part that heljis to keep the teeth at tlie 

 desired teniperatine. 



WATER FOi; BEES. 



Oerniau bee-journals mention the neces- 

 sity of providing water for bees where 



