1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



137 



perfectly dark and dry, sandy bottom, at the en- 

 trance double doors, and in the room directly above 

 I have a stove, with fire night and daj*. A stovepipe 

 inches from the bottom of the cell.tr, connects 

 witn the stovepipe above, with a constant rush of air 

 passing up it. Another ventilator from the outside 

 conducts air from the outer world into the cellar, 

 which has a regulator to shut off the air when I wish. 

 The bees wore put in the cellar Nov. 15th, and have 

 been dry and quiet up to this date, Feb. 2d. They 

 were perfectly dry when put in the cellar. In this 

 room hangs a thermometer that has indicated be- 

 tween 35 and 42 degrees above zero. 



D. Alcctt. 

 Broadbead, Green Co., Wis., Feb. 2, 1881. 



I presume you know, friend A., that the 

 plan yon give is almost, if not quite, exactly 

 as I have described it in the A ]3 C for cellar 

 Avintering. We have many reports like yours; 

 but occasionally we have reports, too, of the 

 bees coming out and flying all over the cel- 

 lar, when, to all appearance, the circum- 

 stances were exactly the same. That tliose 

 who failed to winter safely in the way you 

 mention fail in doing so now, would seem to 

 indicate a disease, or some new state of af- 

 fairs. Were winters all like tlie present one 

 here, I should feel a great deal more like ad- 

 vocating cellar wintering. It may be that 

 unwholesome stores will account for the 

 troubles in wintering in such cellars as yours. 



HONEY FROM SKUNK CABBAGE, ETC. 



I wintered my bees in the open air— just enough 

 cover on them to keep them dry. They are all in 

 good condition, and working finely to-day. The 

 black, or highland willow, is now in bloom; it is 

 about two weeks earlier than usual. The skunk 

 cabbage will be in bloom by the first of February. 

 It is the king of all flowers in its season. The hon- 

 ey from this plant is highly recommended for all 

 kinds of colds, cough, and lung diseases. I have 

 used it in my family for eight years, and know it to 

 be good. The honey is very white and thick, with 

 excellent flavor. I use a great deal of honey in my 

 familj', and haven't paid a doctor's bill for eight 

 years. Do you know any thing about skunk cab- 

 bage? W. E. MCWiLLI. 



Collins, Benton Co., Oreg., Jan. 19, 1881. 



I do not. more than it has been several 

 times mentioned as a honey-plant. 



PERFORATED SEPARATORS, DITISION -BOARDS, ETC. 



I see from Gleanings of January, p. 10, that you 

 and some of your correspondents are experiment- 

 ing on perforated metal for separators. I am of the 

 opinion, that where division-boards are used in the 

 body of the hive, wood is preferable to metal. I find 

 that if a number of saw-kerfs are made in the divi- 

 sion-board 3-16 of an inch wide, that it will allow the 

 worker bees to pass, and yet exclude the queens and 

 drones. The division-boards should be put into the 

 hives with the ends to the sides of the hive, so that 

 the boards, swelling from the dampness and heat of 

 the bees, will not tighten against the sides of the 

 hive. I would make the number of saw-kerfs that 

 I wanted, cut in about "3 of the length from one end, 

 or part of them may be made from each end; then 

 nailing on the end sawed from, a small strip to keep 

 them in place or from springing. A number of 

 boards could be sawed at once, either by setting a 

 ripper so coarse as to make a slit 3-10 of an inch, or 



by making your circular saw to run wabbling. I do 

 not think that round holes (especially through met- 

 al) made small enough to exclude the queens and 

 drones will ever answer the purpose; for the work- 

 er bees, in passing, would rake the pollen from their 

 legs. If I understand Mr. Jones aright, his plan was 

 to use his separator onlj- in the body of the hive; 

 and the one he had in Toronto last fall at the Indus- 

 trial Exhibition was of the full width of the inside 

 of the hives. W. B. Terry. 



Keswick, Ontario, Jan. 18, 1881. 



frames without bottom -b.\rs. and side -bars 

 only part way down. 



Now, about my way of building frames: I do not 

 know that other folks' bees build their combs as 

 mine do. I have used the Langstroth hive, and I 

 noticed that there was considerable space in the 

 hive that the bees could not use, and, in my way of 

 thinking, this space was even worse than useless, 

 if possible. My bees build their comb, attaching 

 them to the frames about half way down, then leav- 

 ing the space between the comb and frame that 

 they naturally leave between the comb and hive in 

 common box hives. Now, I make my frames with 

 top-piece as usual, and side-pieces ]& in. thick reach- 

 ing down about half way. I have used a tin brace 

 from side-piece to top-bar, but I think your metal 

 corners are better. The bees attach their comb to 

 said side-pieces down as far as they go, and then 

 leave about the same space between the comb and 

 hive down and across the bottom that they would in- 

 side the frame. You see, T am saving the space out- 

 side of frame, and the thickness of frame, which 

 space, I think, is a disadvadtage to the bees in more 

 ways than one; and I also think the combs areas 

 movable as when built in frames. D. S. Rall. 



South Cabot, W^ash. Co., Vt., Jan. 29, 1881. 



Your idea is not an old one, friend II., and 

 it no doubt would have been adopted long 

 ago were it not that the bees will occasional- 

 ly build out such combs and attach them to 

 the hives, so as to be any thing but movable 

 frames, when we have a good yield of honey. 

 Of the truth of this you can easily satisfy 

 yourself. In transferring from box hives, 

 you will find almost, if not quite, every old 

 hive will have the combs securely attached 

 to the sides of the hive, and sometimes bot- 

 tom-board also. Tour combs are as you 

 state, because your bees have probably never 

 been through a great yield of honey, with 

 but a limited space to store it in. Another 

 tlung : when handling such combs full and 

 heavy with honey, in very warm weather, 

 they are almost sure to break out of the 

 frames. It is also very inconvenient to lay 

 down such a comb without its receiving in- 

 j ury , or being constantly liable to it. I would 

 suggest, that the side-bars be made light and 

 the bottom-bars thin, and then, by fdn. or 

 transferring,* make the bees extend their 

 combs clear up to the wood all around. By 

 this means we save the waste room in a hive 

 as you mention, do we not ? 



FROM "OUR ABC CHILD." 



The cold weather has let up at last, and bees are 

 flying finely to-day. Ev^ery one of my 24 are extra 

 strong, and examination shows brood in all stages; 

 and, strange to say, while the thermometer was 40° 

 below zero, and I anxious for fear of their freezing, 



