100 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1920 



HEADS OF GRAIN tt i'PQMlQ pDiFFERENT FIELDS 



tory to me. It might seem that such a bot- 

 tom-bar would be weakened by the saw-kerf, 

 but I have no trouble from the partially di- 

 vided bars breaking or splitting when pried 

 apart to receive the foundation. The frame 

 is assembled in the usual way, the corners 

 nailed, and the frames wired before the 

 bottom starter is put in; and the fact of the 

 bottom-bar being dovetailed into the bot- 

 tom end of the end-bar prevents any chance 

 of its dividing in two when opened out to 

 receive the starter. 



The adoption of this suggested saw-kerf in 

 the bottom-bar can not entail much extra 

 cost in manufacture, and would give bee- 

 keepers the option of easily inserting and 

 using bottom starters, if so desired. 



Strachur, Scotland. Arch 'd Fergusson. 



Another Pet Method By this method I have 

 of Introduction. lost only about 4 per 



cent of the queens in- 

 troduced — ■ many of them introduced into 

 strong, cross colonies and some during a 

 dearth of nectar. 



Upon receipt of queen the undesirable 

 queen is removed, and the new queen clipped 

 and transferred to a Miller cage without 

 attendants (these being destroyed). The 

 cage is then laid on top of the frames so 

 that the space between the frames runs 

 centrally lengthwise of the cage. If no su- 

 per is on the hive, a Hodgson wire escape 

 board is placed over the cage. (An inverted 

 inner cover is as good, but the wire gives 

 better opportunity to smoke gently if de- 

 sirable.) Then the covers are placed on. If 

 comb-honey supers are on, an inverted wire 

 excluder is used instead of the Hodgson. If 

 extracting supers are on, two excluders are 

 used, the lower one inverted. This ar- 

 rangement gives the bees free access to the 

 supers, and also leaves room for the bees to 

 crawl all over the cage. Twenty hours after 

 introducing, the pasteboard is removed and 

 the hive closed for five days. This method 

 has been highly successful with me. I doubt 

 if there is a better or safer way. 



Brookhaven, L. I. E. M. Barteau. 



The Fashions. — By Bill Mellvir 



(With apologies to Walt Mason.) 



I've followed the fashions and swallowed 

 my rations in beehives thru ages galore. 

 I've always been changing, but prices are 

 ranging so high I can't change any more. 

 My first hives were boxes 

 as canny as foxes, refusing 

 their real works to show. 

 When I was real busy I 

 used to get dizzy from 

 stooping to peep in below. 

 When Langstroth 's inven- 

 tion came to my attention, 

 I changed to that style like 

 a breeze. With porticos 

 nifty they looked bloomin ' 

 thrifty out under the old 

 apple trees. Simplicity fol- 

 lowed with arguments solid 

 for bottoms and covers 

 alike; their joints were all 

 beveled where propolis 

 reveled; I pried them apart 

 with a spike. Eight-fram- 

 ers then riot demanded a 

 try-out; so beehives were 

 purchased anew. They last- 

 ed a season when for some 

 strange reason the style- 

 makers panicky grew. The 

 fads of reversing, contract- 

 ing, and nursing were mak- 

 ing us tight-wadders groan. 

 The styles were so many that every cheap- 

 penny invented a hive of his own. The 

 Heddon two-section brood-chamber collec- 

 tion with thumbscrews, I chose as the best. 



For speedy contraction these gave satisfac- 

 tion, but soon they were junked with the 

 rest. And then came the Danzy, that psuedo 

 bonanza; I fell for it dead on the go. I 

 transferred that summer 

 and sweat like a plumber; 

 it cost me a bushel of 

 dough. Then came the con- 

 tentions that Langstroth 's 

 dimensions of early days 

 surely were right. I chang- 

 ed them all over from home 

 yard to Dover, to Lang- 

 stroth ten-framers at sight. 

 So then things were quiet 

 some years without riot, 

 approaching a standard at 

 last, 'l rested from fret- 

 ting, from ranting and 

 sweating o 'er fashion 's de- 

 mands in the past. But 

 lately some batty galoots 

 that are ratty are howl- 

 ing again for a change. I 

 hereby give warning that 

 changing each morning is 

 now getting out of my 

 range. 



Dame Fashion of Bee- 



dom! pray give us some 



freedom! We've slaved 



for vou now till we're poor. Our hives 



that are standard should never be slandered 



bv fashion 's decrees any more. 



Bill Mellvir. 



