1164 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



period they are left until later ; but they are 

 always unpacked before the clover flow. 



The work of packing and unpacking is 

 lightened very much by having the perma- 

 nent nailed sides of the packing-case no 

 wider than the depth of the hive. After 

 the hive is set in the case, a board the depth 

 of the jDacking is set on top of each side, 

 kept in position by three " stakes " which 

 extend down just inside of the case wall. 

 The joint between the two parts is beveled 

 to shed water. There is five inches of pack- 

 ing at the sides and ends of the hives, and 

 about 8 inches on top. The extension- 

 boards are not nailed to the case; and dur- 

 ing the summer they can be laid inside of 

 the case to which they belong. I must con- 

 fess that I consider this plan decidedly 

 superior to the full-depth case that I use. 



Both summer and winter Mr. Bainard 

 uses a honey-board % inch thick. In the 

 preparation for winter he breaks the propo- 

 lis joint after the bees are packed. The 

 only cover he has in summer over tlie honey- 

 board is an inverted " pan " made of gal- 

 vanized iron for shedding water. This pan 

 is put over the hive in the case, with about 

 4 inches of packing below and 4 above. A 

 gap of several inches is left at the backs of 

 the hives. Mr. Bainard claims without any 

 hesitation that in this way no moisture col- 

 lects under the metal covers. 



WEIGHING AND FEEDING. 



The hives are weighed as they are packed ; 

 and when necessary the bees are fed after 

 weighing, the time for this being as near 

 Oct. 1 as convenient. 



In melting sugar Mr. Bainard heats the 

 syrup, puts in the sugar, and uses a stick 

 with a suction contrivance at the end which 

 moves the sugar on the bottom of the tank 

 and soon dissolves it. This stick is what is 

 called in Canada a " Manitoba washer." In 

 my estimation the plan of feeding the bees 

 after packing is correct. 



LEVER FOR LOOSENING SUPERS. 



Mr. Bainard has shown considerable me- 

 chanical ingenuity in designing a clamp or 

 lever for catching one side of the hive or 

 super below and the other side of the super 

 above. When the lever is moved, the super 

 above and the hive or super below are 

 wrenched in opposite directions and loosen- 

 ed. He uses this device Avhen examining 

 the colony or when putting on escape- 

 boards. 



HIVE-LIFTER. 



If I am not mistaken I am the father of 

 a hive-lifter myself — one of the first pub- 

 lished ; but — well, it took too long to use it, 

 even if it lightened the work. I could ad- 



just myself as a lifter to the hive more 

 rapidly than I could locate the contrivance; 

 and iihysical energy in a rush did not count 

 for much. But Mr. Bainard has not only 

 designed a lifter but he has used it. It is 

 simple, saves a lot of heavy lifting, and 

 perhaps he is not in quite as big a hurry as 

 I am. It is made as light as efficiency will 

 allow, weighing only 23 lbs., and it will sup- 

 port 200 lbs. The supers can be raised high 



Bainard's hive-lifter in use raising supers. 



enough to permit an examination of the 

 brood-chamber underneath. The lifting-de- 

 vice has four legs, and has in connection 

 therewith and at the top a part like an old 

 windlass on a well. The shaft is made of 

 five-inch gas-pipe. The super is clamped or 

 clasjDed at the ends, and works best if there 

 is a cleat ; but it can be made to fit into the 

 hand-holds generally found. 



IMBEDDING-WIRES. 



The wires are imbedded in the founda- 

 tion by means of electricity. 



POINTS IN MANAGEMENT. 



Mr. Bainard has found that a small en- 

 trance to a hive, giving insufficient ventila- 

 tion to the colony, irritates the bees. This 

 first came prominently to his attention in 

 an outyai'd when for experiment the % x 3- 

 inch bridges, in front of the winter-packed 

 hives, were not removed when unpacking. 

 The object in leaving so small an entrance 

 was to see if the bees would go more readily 

 into the supers. The weather turned very 

 hot about that time, and the bees became 

 cross, and remained so for quite a time af- 

 terward. After-experience confirmed this. 

 This quite agrees with mv own experience 

 when moving bees during hot weather. 



