DECEMBER 15, 191C 



are saved the necessity of iirodncing so 

 much at a time. In this I do not ag')-ee; 

 besides it is a question whether it would not 

 be more profitable to let the bees gather 

 honey and make their own wax for cell- 

 building than to make them spend their 

 time in reducing the sides of the cells of 

 thick foundation. Furthermore, the thick 

 midrib may not be objectionable for brood- 

 comb, but is very bad when used in sec- 

 tions, or even in shallow frames when the 

 honey is to be sold as bulk comb honey. 

 Samples of comb foundation I have had 

 from Germany and Austria are little better 

 than our own product, but still tliey re- 

 main far behind that made in America, 

 and the reason for this I do not under- 

 stand. 



I wish to give some particulars about 

 my own appliances and methods, so far as 

 they differ from those usually described or 

 illustrated in Gleanings. 



BOTTOM-BOARD. 



The end-piece of my bottom-board is not 

 nailed fast but is fastened to the sides with 

 a brass hinge at one end and a hive-clamp 

 at the other. I consider the movable end 

 very convenient because I nse shallow tin 

 trays for stimulative feeding; and by throw- 

 ing open this end- 

 piece the trays may be 

 pushed in from the 

 back and filled readily 

 without disturbing the 

 bees. The robbers 

 are also less of a nui- 

 sance than when they 

 can smell the diluted 

 honey at the entrance. 



The gi^patest advan- 

 tage, however, of the 

 loose end is that it en- 

 ables me to clean the 

 floor-board in winter 

 without disturbing the 

 bees above. The sides 

 of my bottom-board 

 are about an inch high. 

 and the distance be- 

 tween the floor and the 

 bottom - bai^s of the 

 brood - frame is 2V2 

 inches, permitting a large scrajjer to pass 

 freely under them. This sciaper is made 

 of a common flat file forged to the dimen- 

 sions Vs X y2 X 8 inches, and fitted with a 

 long handle made of stout wire fastened 

 to it in the middle with a screw thread and 

 nut. I push the handle thru the entrance 

 and haul the scraper thru the hive from 

 tlie back so that all the dirt and dead 



bees will be drawn out in twj or three 

 strokes. 



By examining the refuse that I pull out I 

 am enabled to know the condition of the 

 colon}'. If I find it damji, more ventilation 

 is needed at the entrance. A large number 

 of honey crystals or wax gi'ains in the 

 sweepings sliow that the bees need water. 

 Larvae of wax-moths indicate the bees have 

 been cleaning out tlie cells for brocd-rear- 

 ing. Dead bees with extended tongues indi- 

 cate starvation, while tlie finding of a dead 

 queen shows me that I have to overhaul the 

 colony as soon as the weather will jjermit. 

 To make this kind of examination it is 

 necessary, of course, that the floor board be 

 scrui3ulously clean Avhen preparing the bees 

 for winter in the fall. 



I make the end-piece higher than the sides 

 of the bottom-board so that it extends up on 

 the back of the hive. 



ENTRANCE-BLOCK. 



I make my entrance cleats II/2 inches 

 wide, and take care that they do not fit too 

 tight, else when swollen by the rains I would 

 have too much difficultj^ in removing them. 

 If necessary I fasten them to one of the 

 sides with a small wedge. These Avedges of- 

 ten are liandv, as, for instance, in giving a 



Hamelberg's liive 

 cleat for summer. C, 

 D, back cleat opened. 



bottom. A, entrance cleat for winter. B, entrance 

 galvanizefl iron i)if< t> to close cither entrance of B. 



little super ventilation or in I'astening Alley 

 traps to the entrance. 



■ I liave a vertical saw-kerf in the block on 

 eitlier side in which I can slip a strip of gal- 

 vanized iron. When not in use this strip is 

 simply turned up in a vertical position 

 against the hive so that it will not get lost. 



For winter I u.se special entrance-blocks 

 the same dimensions as the other, but with 



