DECEMBER 15, 1914 



999 



Apparatus for Setting Wedges in Top-bars 



I believe I have an improvement on tlie ordinary 

 method of putting in wedges. My work-bench is 

 about two feet wide, and the wedge-setting apparatus 

 is about the middle of it, so I have plenty of roon 

 to work in front of it. 



In using it I start the wedge at the left end, draw 

 my right hand along, thus starting the wedge in the 

 groove its full length. This leaves one hand at each 

 end of the frame. It is lifted over the part of the 

 machine that projects above the bench, and is pulled 

 up square against uprights. One quick pressure on 

 the foot lever then forces the wedge home. The 



weight lifts the wedge-driver up as soon as the lever 

 is released. It should be so hung that it rests upon 

 the foot-lever when it has raised the driver about 

 two inches. 



The driver should be about half an inch shorter 

 than the Inside of the brood-frame so as to work 

 easily. 



This device is very easily made, and its use leaves 

 both hands free to hold the frame. 



Hobart, Ind. Joseph M. Mundell. 



to have extraordinary ability to find their old hive 

 even though the latter be shifted to a new location. 

 —Ed.] 



Bee-Stings for the Cure of Alcoholism; Will 

 Combs Placed Crosswise in a Super Pre- 

 vent a Queen from Laying therein? 



The following item from L'Apiculteur can hardly 

 fail to interest the readers of Gi^eanings : 



"The physicians of a London hospital have recent- 

 lyi hy pure accident, discovered bee-stings to be 

 efficacious in the treatment of alcoholism. Five men, 

 of whom four were inveterate alcoholics, were treat- 

 ed at this hospital for 

 chronic rheumatism by bee- 

 stings. Besides a great im- 

 provement in the state of 

 the patients, the physicians 

 observed with astonishment 

 that the treatment had done 

 still more — it had caused 

 them to lose the taste for 

 alcohol. After leaving the 

 hospital the very sight of 

 alcohol nauseated them, 

 and for several months 

 none of them have touched 

 the bottle." 



In a back number of 

 L'ApicvUeur it is stated 

 positively that the queen 

 will not lay in the super if 

 the super combs run cross- 

 wise the brood-frames. 



F. L. Pollock. 

 Stoufifville, Ont. 

 [There must be some 

 mistake somewhere, as we 

 do not believe that any 

 reputable bee journal like 

 L' Apicultexir would make 

 or allow a statement to be 

 made in their columns that 

 a queen will not lay in a 

 super with the combs running crosswise of those 

 in the brood-nest. At all events, it is not true. 

 Queens will seldom lay in a comb-honey super, no 

 matter how the sections are placed with reference to 

 the combs in the brood-nest. In an extracting-super 

 the queen will go above if she is crowded below, no 

 matter how the combs are above. 



The statement of the effect of bee-stings on alco- 

 holism is interesting and valuable if true. Does any 

 one on this side of the great pond know? — Ed.] 



Willow-herb with a White Blossom 



I should like to ask you concerning a plant grow- 

 ing here in the burnt-over districts of northeast 

 Minnesota^ which seems to resemble in every way but 

 one the willow-herb described in the ABO book. 

 The one differing characteristic is that this plant 

 has a white blossom instead of pink. What is it? 

 Another question: 



When I divided swarms last summer, changing 

 the position of the old hive and putting a new one 

 on the old stand, why did the old bees not return to 

 the old locality instead of nearly all, as it seemed, 

 staying in the old hive, thus leaving the new colony 

 very weak ? 



Markville, Minn., July 31. Frank A. Grace. 



[Undoubtedly the plant you mention is the willow- 

 herb, for very often the blossoms are white instead 

 of pink. 



Probably your old colony was not far enough 

 away from the new hive on the old stand so that 

 the bees found it and returned to it instead of re- 

 maining on the old stand with the new colony. It 

 depends somewhat upon the bees, some bees seeming 



Is it Feasible to Send Bees in Carlots in Cold 

 Winter Weather? 



Knowing that you have had a great deal of expe- 

 rience in shipping bees I should like to know if it 

 would be safe to ship a carload of bees, say about 

 Christmas, from northern Iowa to northern Minne- 

 sota, a distance of about 350 miles. 



Lime Springs, la. O. S. Feankson. 



[We see no reason why you should not be able to 

 ship your bees at the time stated. We have moved 

 bees by sled in the very coldest winter weather, and 

 found that those bees came out in the spring in fine 

 condition. We see no reason why you could not 

 move them by rail just as well. There will be no 

 danger of the bees suffocating if it is cold; and, in 

 fact, it is our opinion that bees will go through 

 better in cold weather than during hot. 



In Gleanings for June 1 and the July 15th 

 numbers you will find the plan that we used in mov- 

 ing bees south and back again. While it is not 

 quite the same as we use now, it would work very 

 well for a small number of colonies. One thing to 



