Juii-Y, 1922 a L F, A N T N OS IN l< K K C U L T U R K 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



447 





to "cool off." At 5 p. ni. we put a que§n 

 into each cage and return tlieni to the cel- 

 lar until morning. The cages go out in the 

 lirst mail. I believe this method will allow 

 me to double my output without seriously 

 increasing my work. Each queen has 12 

 hours rest without jolts, and so far I have 

 received two letters saying how chipper my 

 (|ueens were on arrival. 1 am well satisfied. 

 Of course, I may be inventing an old plan 

 over again, but F don 't think so. 



I note in Gleanings, the American Bee 

 Journal and the Bee World that further im- 

 portation of bees and queens into the United 

 States and Canada is now forbidden. And 

 not a day too soon. With Acn rains iroo(U 

 identified in Switzerland, and probably in 

 France, it is only a question of time until 

 the mite is generally distributed over 

 Europe. I myself have refused several 

 queen orders from America since learning of 

 the discovery of the mite on the continent. 

 * * * * tried to place an order, and I re- 

 fused it with two reasons given: (1) that 

 better Italian stock can be had in Anterica 

 than in Italy; (2) that the importation of 

 queens should be stopped before bees in 

 America begin to crawl. I certainly am 

 glad that the danger has been reduced now, 

 as all breeders here might not be as inter- 

 ested in American beekeeping as I am. 



Skipwith Cannell. 

 Aux Sieyes, par Digne, Basses-Alpes, France. 



[The above is a part of a letter to Dr. E. 

 F. Phillips, which he kindly forwarded on 

 account of its value to queen-breeders at 

 this time. — Editor.] 



AN IMPROVED ROBBER CLOTH 



How to [ Make and Use this Important Device. 

 Use of Wet Cloths in Swarming 



I often wonder whether beekeepers as a 

 rule fully appreciate the value of a robber 

 cloth when working in the apiary. Also 

 tlie use of a wet rag or cloth at times. 



In the A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture a 

 robber cloth is described as follows: 



Take about a square yard of .sheeting or cotton 

 clotli. If the hives are small less will do. Lay 

 one of the edges on a piece of lath, about the 

 lenerth of the hive. Lay a similar piece of lath 

 on top of it. Drive wire nails through and clinch. 

 Treat the opposite side the same way. 



Now, isn't that rather large and un- 

 wieldy? I prefer the cloth to be two or 

 three inches broader than the width of the 

 hive and about two inches longer than the 

 length of the hive. This makes it more con- 

 venient to handle than if larger and is suf- 

 ficiently large for the purpose. 



I bind the two edges between two pieces 

 of light % X % stuff which should be no 

 longer than the hive. This allows the free, 

 uiil)ound ends to lap down over the upper 

 edges of the hive ends. 



It is well to liave three or more of these 

 and a half dozen would not be amiss, for if 

 you happen to have two hives uncovered at 

 once, which often happens, it is much handier 

 to use a cloth than to have to put on the 

 regular cover and then have to remove it 

 again. If robbers are present I use two 

 cloths over the hive I am working with. The 

 first one is rolled back as the consecutive 

 frames are taken out, and the other one is 

 used to follow up and cover the combs that 

 have been examined so that it is only neces- 



Showinjj the improved robber cloth jis applied 

 on a super. 



sary to have a small portion of the tops of 

 the frames exposed, and this need be only 

 while removing or replacing a comb. 1 have 

 a light box in which eight frames will hang 

 the same as in the hive. 



It has a bail made of a piece of broom 

 Iiandle and two pieces of about M; x 1-inch 

 .stuff. Tiie ends of these are nailed to the 

 end of the piece of broom handle and other 

 ends of them have a nail driven through 

 them and into the box near tlie top center of 

 the box ends. This allows of tlie baii Vjein^' 

 turned down out of the way, when it is not 

 used as a handle. For a cover for this box 

 I use one of the robber cloths, which is 

 much lighter and handier than any tight 

 cover that could be devised. 



I nearly always use the cloth or cloths 

 over a hive when manipulating,- even if rob- 

 bers are not abroad, for the bees in the hive 

 are easier to keep under control than with- 

 out it. Even with a very gentle colony there 

 are usually just a few vicious bees that are 

 ready to pop out suddenly and sting. 



If the cloths are wet or dampened it is 

 better, for then they lie closer to the hive 

 edges and if there is wind blowing they will 

 not flop around so badly. To make them 

 still more efficient it is not a bad idea to 

 sprinkle the cloths with a 10 per cent solu- 

 tion of carbolic acid. 



I also find a wet cloth large enough to roll 

 or fold up and close a hive entrance quite a 

 convenience. In swarming time it is well to 

 have a few of these lying around handy 

 and even a few smaller rags. If swarms 

 come out faster' than they can be cared for, 

 just grab a wet rag and cram it into the en- 

 trance. This will not kill or injure many 

 bees, and it will give time to take care of 

 the swarms already cut. If the weather is 



