794 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



October, 1917 



HEADS OF""GRM^^ I?PQlQ ^DIFFEREN^ 



know that there would be any objection to 

 it provided you had everything tight so 

 the gas could not escape. It might be 

 necessary to paste paper over the cracks 

 to make sure. 



The higher the temperature the greater 

 the difficulty in obtaining complete satu- 

 ration. In other words, more of the liquid 

 carbon disulphide is needed at a high 

 temperature than at a low temperature. To 

 saturate 1000 cubic feet of air at 50 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit requires 53 5/10 pounds 

 of liquid carbon disulphide; at 68 degrees, 

 77 6/10 pounds, according to figures given 

 in Farmers' Bulletin No. 799 of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture. Therefore 10 

 cubic feet of space requires at 70 degrees 

 about % of a pound of carbon disulphide 

 for complete saturation; and to make sure 

 that the eggs as well as the larvas of the 

 moths are killed the exposure should be not 

 less than twelve hours. A ten-frame comb- 

 honey super contains nearly a cubic foot of 

 space; but the honey occupies a large propor- 

 tion of that space, so it would be safe to 

 assume that a quarter of a pound is suffi- 

 cient for ten supers. 



There is little danger to a human being 

 in getting an occasional whiff of the gas, 

 altho if one were in a room where the 

 gas were very rich there would be danger. 

 When merely working around stacks of 

 supers with a dish of carbon disulphide on 

 top the danger is practically negligible. 



Eemember that this liquid is inflammable, 

 and that just as much care is necessary in 

 handling it around a fire as in handling 

 gasoline. — Ed.] 



Packing-Cases Little Mrs. Allen's discus- 

 Used in Maryland sion of the wintering 

 problem is very in- 

 teresting. Of course our winters h&re (Bal- 

 timore Co.) are very much more severe than 

 in Tennessee; nevertheless, a packing-case 

 is never ceen in this locality. My own ex- 

 lierience has not been very extensive; but 

 Mr. James merely puts on a super of leaves 

 cr chaff, and wraps the most exposed hives 

 with tar paper. I know Dr. Phillips advises 

 against black paper in winter; but I'm not 

 sure the results justify the advice. Last 

 winter was unusually cold, with high winds, 

 but Mr. James' two yards of about 160 

 colonies came thru with only one gone, and 

 that was lost because of clogged entrance. 

 The rest were strong in bees and general 

 vigor, and went right to work. 



One point in this method is important, 

 especially when the hives are not wrapped, 

 and that is, to put the super on in time for 

 the bees to seal it to the hive body before 

 cold weather. Another wrinkle which I be- 

 lieve is a big lielj) is to cover the brood- 



frames with a piece of enameled oilcloth, 

 common table oilcloth, a little smaller than 

 the entire surface of the tops of the frames, 

 first placing sticks across to give the bees a 

 passage from frame to frame. The chafl', 

 or whatever filler is used, is put in a sack or 

 other container and pushed down on the 

 cloth. Of course the enamel is placed next 

 to the bees. 



This isn 't exactly in line with the ab- 

 sorbent theory, for the moisture condenses 

 on the cloth and runs down to the bottom 

 of the hive, but the combs will be brighter 

 and the chaff dryer than when no cloth is 

 used. When the packing i^ placed directly 

 next to and above the bees, all the moisture 

 is held by absorption except what evaporates 

 from above. In a natural cavity the bees 

 propolize the ceiling of their home, and 

 whatever moisture arises condenses and runs 

 down and out at the entrance. When we 

 put an enameled cloth above the frames we 

 duplicate the natural condition, and we have 

 the same warmth preserved by the packing 

 material. • C. W. Marshall. 



Baldwin, Md. 



Bees Left All Year Enclosed you will 

 in Single Winter Case find a picture of my 

 chaff hives. I put 

 one hive in each one of these winter cases 

 and let them stay there all summer. The 

 packing is left around them, also in summer. 

 Working on the Doolittle plan I would ex- 



Berrian's winter case left on the yenr round, 



change frames instead of hives. This win- 

 ter case is maile large enough to accommo- 

 date one brood-chamber and two or three 

 sui)ers, or tiiree brood-chambers of the Mas- 

 sie type for extiacted honey, or two brood- 

 chambers of the Langstroth style. The en- 

 trance and bottom-board are better tlian 

 any other kind I have ever seen. There is 

 a woollen sliile to keep out mice in winter. 

 Highlnnd, N. Y. Victor G. Berrian. 



