820 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



combs .and one of brood in the top hive, directly 

 above the exposed brood below, the queen readily 

 visits the upper hive for laying, and is shut off 

 from the box hive bv an excluder. In 21 days the 

 box is removed, and the upper story takes its place. 

 Cleves, O. R. C. Hi:gb;ntobl,ee. 



A $1.00 Wax-press. 



Hook a common bran-sack by the corners and 

 middle, at ends on each hook. Put in boiling wax, 

 about C quarts solid matter. Turn the crank rap- 

 idly. There is no holding, and no tuckins. Turn 



as tight as possible ; then with a pair of sticks tied 

 together at one end press any part not quite dry. 



With cheap Cuban labor I find this far better than 

 either the Hatch or Hershiser press. 



Henadura, Cuba. M. C. Engle. 



A Marvelous Record in Catching Stray 

 Swarrns 



I have noticed the article on page 473, June 15, 

 on catching stray swarms, by my father, J. M. 

 Kinzie. About 12 years ago, when I lived in 

 Michigan, I read in Gleanings about a man in 

 California who had lost almost all his bees, and had 

 piled up forty hives with empty frames in them, 

 and in the fall he had caught 17 stray swarms that 

 took possession of them. My brother and I started 

 out then to catch stray swarms. First we used old 

 boxes, boring holes in them and setting them in 

 trees ; but when we got them home we always had a 

 job to transfer the brood into frames. On this ac- 

 count we are now using eight-frame hives, or boxes 

 that will hold eight to ten frames, and number them 

 and mark the number in a book, together with the 

 location. Trees are the best to put boxes in. 



The entrances should be the same as in a hive. 

 I use only starters, one-half to one inch wide. I 

 formerly used one comb ; but I stopped that, as the 

 moths get in, and thjn it does not look good to the 

 stray swarm. Furthermore, if a comb is used, there 

 is more danger of foul brood breaking out again in 

 case the swarm came from a diseased colony. 



We locate these boxes along the streets and roads 

 where people are passing, putting them 20 to 35 

 feet high. I set out 175 boxes this year, and 

 caught 133 swarms so far this year, and have taken 

 over 3500 pounds of honey from them. 



I have 260 colonies all together, and I don't let 

 my old colonies swarm. I get what increase I want 

 by catching stray swarms. I own three lots in 

 Arlington. Tliere are two tall pine-trees in front 

 of the house, and so far this year I have caught 

 14 swarms in them and 14 last year. 



Arlington, Cal. Chas. S. Kinzie. 



What is a Standard Hive? 



The different bee-supply manufacturers say that 

 they manufacture hives of standard size, and that 

 leads the beekeeper to think that the hives and 

 brood-frames will interchange in hives of different 

 makes. I have used hundreds of hives made by one 

 concern, and about 1600 hives by another. I find 

 that the long top-bars for hives of one make are 

 too long for the other hives. I have cut off many 

 of the top-bars before they would go into the hives 

 in question. 



The unbound queen-excluders made by one firm 

 for eight-frame hives are too long for the hives of 

 the other make, and one end stays on top of the 

 hive instead of going in on top of the brood-frames; 

 and the one end being up, it kills the bees under 

 the one end of the extracting-frames. 



I am not sure if the outside of the hive is the 

 same size; but the thin part of the end at the top 

 is thicker on the one make than on the other. I 

 never measured the hives, and it may be only the 

 thickness at the top of the end of the hive; but this 

 makes it bad for the beekeeper who has hives made 

 by diflferent companies. Now. if the manufacturers 

 could have made the supplies to exactly the same 

 measure it would have been much better for the 

 beekeepers. The short lop-bars of the one make work 

 well in the other hives ; but only the longer top-bars 

 will not go into the other hives. 



A Subscriber. 



A Crop of Fine Honey in Maine, by an 

 ABC Scholar. 



I have had a prosperous year with my bees, and 

 shall have 1000 to 1500 lbs. from 30 colonies. I will 

 send you today by prepaid express a sample of my 

 honey. Will you please let me hear from you as to 

 what you think of it as regards flavor, etc. ? This I 

 send you as a gift, as I learned my A B C of bee- 

 keeping from you, and hope that you may be spared 

 many years, even though you do not take an active 

 part in the work as formerly. 



Oakfield, Maine, Sept. 3. R. E. Timoney. 



The honey mentioned above is of such fine quality 

 that we wrote regarding it. Below is the reply: 



The main honey crop is the common white clover ; 

 al^o in the summer the odor of the alsike clover from 

 the fields is very noticeable. There is but little 

 basswood in the woods around here ; but raspberry 

 and fireweed furnish honey from the burnt-over 

 places in the forest. Yes, I have a good market at 

 from 17 to 20 cents ptr lb. right at my door, for all 

 I can produce. People do not like or buy extracted 

 honey in this section. 



Oakfield, Maine, Sept. 17. R. E. Timoney. 



iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

 What is Honey? 



BY GRACE ALLEN 



" Let US see what honey is," the solemn scholar said. 

 Took his test-tubes and his books, bent his mighty 



head ; 

 " Levidose and dextrose, moisture, too, and ath ;" 

 While he wrote his formula, how the bees did flash! 



"I know what honey is ! " a little maiden cried; 

 " On every jolly little bee a fairy sits astride; 

 Straight ahead to fairyland he guides the jolly bee. 

 Waves his wand, and honey comes, and they bring 

 it back to me ! " 



Riotously radiant, a million million bees 



Flash across the meadows to the blossoms and the 



trees ; 

 Claim the blossom-spirits in the perfume and the 



sweet. 

 Honey is the heaven where these flower-spirits meet I 



