M.w. 1017 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CMM; T U R E 



351 





FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



sliort time they are out as a complete answer 

 to tlie law of reproduction. 



After issuiiiii', tbe bees of the swarm take 

 up their work in the new quarters where, as 

 nature evidently intended, the abode sliould 

 be supplied at once witli the requisite amount 

 of comb for the needs of the colony. Tliere- 

 foi*e we find that tbe supreme effort of the 

 bees is bent in that direction, and at no 

 other time is there displayed such zeal for 

 comb-building'. 



The requisite amount of comb having 

 been completed with sufficient stores to 

 carry the bees thru the dormant state of 

 winter, breeding slowly wanes as the floAvers 

 fail. There is no tendencj- to build again in 

 the established colony. The be|3S ibreed 

 and gather honey to till the comb provided; 

 but when it is necessary to build more 

 comb, nature has ordained that the bees 

 b? inclined to build in new quarters, as the 

 W(u-k of the established unit in tliat line 

 seems to have been accomplished. 



Redlands, Cal. P. C. Chadwtck. 



To be continued 



My Folder and Foundation-fastener 



The illustrations show my section-folder 

 and foundation-fastener. Most of my 

 friends think it a commercial possibility, 

 but I do not, for it could not be made to 

 sell for the price of 

 other machines, and, be- 

 sides, beekeepers are a 

 " hard - headed bunch " 

 (I'm a beekeeper my- 

 self), and had rather get 

 along with what they 

 already know how to 

 use. When putting up 

 sections with this ma- 

 chine the operator sits 

 close to it on the lamp 

 side. The sheets of 

 super foundation are cut 

 into four equal parts. 

 For the first section a 

 piece a half-inch wide is 

 cut off one of the equal 

 ])arts mentioned and this 

 is thrown aside. This 

 leaves the piece the right 

 size for the top starter. 

 A section is picked up. 

 V cut up. placed under 

 the centering-block B. One side is bent up 

 with tlie left hand and two sides with the 

 right liand, and di'awn into tlie form. The 



I'igiil ].('(hil being pi:shed down by the foot 

 brings the hot plate into the section. This 

 is adjusted so that it strikes the section at 

 the iJoint where the foundation is to be 

 fastened. The foundation is then ])la('ed 

 against the centering-block and pushed down 

 on the hot plate. The pedal is then released 

 and the hot plate springs back, the founda- 

 tion being pushed down on to the side of the 

 section and fastened. 



The fourth side of the section, which is 

 the lower side when in the super, is now 

 bent down and the corners forced together 

 with the hand lever. 



The section is then pushed out of the foi*m 

 and reversed with the handle on tbe block 

 and brought back into the form. A large 

 piece of foundation is fastened to the bottom 

 in the same manner. Raising the right i)edal 

 with the foot raises the hinged table sup- 

 porting the hot plate. When this comes up 

 one-half inch (this may be adjusted from 

 one-quarter to three-quarters of an in^h) 

 the leg' E springs under and holds it in 

 that position. The pedal is then pu.^Iied 

 down, Avhich brings the hot plate in jiosi- 

 tion half an inch above the bottom of the 

 section, cutting the foundation off at that 

 jjoint. The section is taken in the thumb 

 and finger of the left hand at the top, and 

 the left pedal pushed down with the lell 

 foot. This removes the centering-block, 

 pushes the section out of the top of tlie 



form, and trips the ledge iiolding the hot 

 plate so that a spring- may bring it down 

 to its first position ready for the next 



