JUNE 15, 1916 



Of course I uncap after the sections are 

 clamped in the holder. 



To extract honey from unfinished sections 

 I had the blacksmith make me four clamps 

 from a 14-iiich iron rod, as per sketch. Sec- 

 tions are placed in the section-holder, a 

 clamp fastened over the top of the holder 

 by means of the thumbscrew. After uncap- 

 ping where required, the clamped section- 



holder was then placed in the extractor with 

 the thumbscrew down to avoid coming in 

 contact with the upper part of the extractor 

 while in operation. I found this little device 

 satisfactory in every way, and take pleasure 

 in passing the idea on to any beekeeper to 

 whom it may be useful. 



W. L. Palframan. 

 Niagara on the Lake, Out. 



The Super-spring Fixes It. 



Doolittle says, p. 796, that if the super is 

 the least bit too broad for the mass of sec- 

 tions "we have a space to be filled with 

 propolis, very much at the expense of the 

 appearance of the sections when ready for 

 market." Does he mean if there are curved 

 lines? If all lines are straight, will not the 

 super-springs prevent any open space for 

 propolis anywhere in the breadth except 

 around the springs themselves outside of the 

 last fence? What is a super-spring for? 



Steven T. Byington. 



Ballard Vale, Mass., Oct. 14. 



[Doolittle evidently meant that if the 

 super was too large the sections would be 

 only loosely in contact, with the result that 

 bee-glue would be chinked in between the 

 spaces. Usually it is advisable to have the 

 super large enough to admit wedges and a 

 follower-board or springs — preferably the 

 last named. When the sections are closely 

 squeezed together there will not be much 

 bee-glue deposited between the contact 

 edges, for the simple reason there is no room 

 for it. The very purpose of super-spring 

 wedges or thumbscrews is to minimize ac- 

 cumulations of propolis. — Ed.] 



Is Melilotus indica a good honey -plant? 



Marion, N. C. W. B. Bailey. 



[Melilotus indica is a honey-plant, but an 

 annual sweet clover, used largely for a cover 

 crop in orchards. It grows readily, but is 

 not as good a honey-plant as Melilotus of- 

 ficinalis or Melilotus alba. — Ed.] 



Limitations of Express Shipments of Bees. 



Having no foul-brood law and no inspec- 

 tor in this state, would I be allowed to sell 

 pound packages of bees? I note Massachu- 

 setts will not allow shipments into that 

 state; but how about New York, Pennsyl- 

 vania, and Ontario? 



From what you know, which do you con- 

 sider the best counties in Indiana for keep- 

 ing bees? Is there any good location in the 

 southern part of the state? L. H. Eobey. 



Worthington, W. V., May 10. 



[There is no reason why you could not 

 ship bees in pound packages anywhere ex- 

 cept in Massachusetts, and even there you 

 can ship them providing you get permission 

 or have them inspected on arrival; but the 

 trouble is, bees in pound packages cannot 

 stand it to be held until they could be in- 

 spected, and we do not know how it would 

 be possible to determine whether they had 

 disease in such packages. 



We could not advise you as to the best 

 locality in Indiana; but we would advise you 

 to write to Geo. S. Demuth, care of Bureau 

 of Entomology, Washington, D. C. He was 

 formerly inspector of Indiana, and we think 

 he knows the state very thoroly. — Ed.] 



Why Queens Hatch without Wings. 

 I am sending you a sample queen, a virgin, 

 hatched out today, and she has no wings. 

 Half of the queens I have reared this spring 

 have been deformed in this way. I never 

 saw as many crijjpled young queens in my 

 life, and I don't see what is the cause of it 

 unless it is the cool weather. 



Roanoke, Va., May 27. Henry S. Bohon. • 

 [When bees or queens hatch without wings 

 the trouble can usually be traced to too 

 much heat or too much cold at a period when 

 the wings are forming. Sometimes the moth- 

 worm has something to do with it; but in 

 your case we should infer that the bees had 

 withdrawn from the place where the young 

 queen was confined in the cell, and she be- 

 came chilled during a period of her growth, 

 with the result that her wings failed to 

 develop. An examination of the cage seems 

 to show that she is also defective in her legs. 

 We believe you will probably find quite a 

 difference after warm weather comes on, and 

 especially if you have your cells reared in 

 very strong colonies in double-walled hives. 

 We do not use single-walled hives for the 

 building of our cells. We have two-story • 

 powerful colonies in double-walled hives. — 

 Ed.] 



A Correction 



Allow me to correct some errors which 

 crept into your editorial of May 1 entitled 

 "Our Foreign Exchanges." First, you have 

 made an error of names. It is not Ulrich 

 Gubler who has died, but Ulrich Kramer, as 

 you will see by referring to Gleanings for 

 1915. The former is the retired editor of 

 the Bulletin d 'Apiculture pour la Suisse 

 Romande, and is very much alive. At least 



