1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1071 



found three of my stnmgest oolouies; took 

 off the covei's, put" on a queen-excluder, set 

 the weak colonies (cut down to four frames) 

 over it: put a super over them lioth, and 

 quilts over the tops and sides of the frames: 

 put on the cover, and did not look at them 

 again for over two weeks. I then found 

 them full of l^ees and l)rood. I do not know 

 where all the bees came from, but they were 

 all there, and plenty of them. 



I gave the weak ones two frames of cap- 

 ped honey, one on each side of the brood, 

 and an empty coml) outside of all: and I am 

 proud to say, thanks to Alexander, they are 

 now Ijy far the strongest in l^ees out of 38 

 colonies. They have at this date. May 19, 

 three full eight-frame hives and one extract- 

 ing-super full of Ijees and brood, and this 

 without feeding. Penn G. Snyder. 



Secane, Pa. 



THE ALEXANDER PLAN OF BUILDING UP WEAK 

 COLONIES; ANOTHER CASE OF RE- 

 PORTED SUCCESS. 



I have tried the Alexander plan of placing 

 weak colonies over strong ones with good 

 success. April 15th I placed live very weak 

 colonies over strong ones. Two of the weak 

 ones now occupy two-story hives, and the 

 other three are nearly ready for uppers. 



Two of the strong ones occupy three-story 

 hives: and the other, three two-story hives. 

 If I hadn't followed Alexander's plan the 

 weak ones would have just nicely built up 

 and got enotigh honey to winter if the season 

 had l>een favora))le in this locality. As it is 

 I shall get some surplus from them if we have 

 the honey-tiow. I hail little faith in the plan. 

 I was quite sure there would be some queen 

 killed, and sure there would be a loss of 

 brood from so many bees I'eturning to the 

 old location at the time of separating: but 

 nothing of the kind occurred. 



I want to emphasize putting weak colonies 

 over only those that are exceeilingly strong 

 — so strong that they really ought to have an 

 upper story put on. Then, unless the strain 

 of bees and the locality have a bearing I see 

 no x'easou why any bee-keeper should make 

 a failure of it. This one scheme is worth 

 dollars to me, as it has always been a puzzle 

 to get the very weak ones in shape for the 

 honey-tiow. E. W. Fox. 



Hillsboro, Wis.. June 7. 



THE ALEXANDER PLAN FOR BUILDING UP 



WEAK COLONIES A SUCCESS; HOW TO 



WAX BARRELS. 



Please let me know how to wax a barrel 

 inside to keep honey in. 



I have tried uniting by the Alexander plan 

 this spring. I had good luck. I had one 

 weak colony which I bought — a mere hand- 

 ful of bees, and one that was boiling over 

 with tees: so I thought I would try the 

 Alexander plan. This was just a few days 

 after I had put them out. Then I did not 

 look after them for two weeks. When 1 ilid 

 examine them it was nearly full of brood 

 and larvae in all stages. The 10th of May 



I was looking for the (jueen to clip her. and 

 they were preparing to swarm: so I took 

 them off and now I have two strong colonies. 

 It worked so well I tried another one with 

 equal success. It was the best scheme I 

 have seen in print yet — for me at least. 

 Otisville, Minn. ' Elof Lindgren. 



[To wax a l^arrel on the inside, proceed as 

 follows: Clean the l)arrel, then dry it out 

 thoroughly, allowing it to stand a few days 

 with the ))ung (jpen. Melt about ten pounds 

 of beeswax or paralHne. anil pour it into the 

 l)arrel ])y means of a tunnel. Quickly drive 

 the bung in. roll the l)arrel around, then 

 turn it over end for end, making sure that 

 the melted wax covers the entire inside of 

 the barrel. Loosen the bung with a ham- 

 mer: and if your work has Ijeen well done 

 the bung will tiy out with a report. Pour 

 out the surplus wax, then treat the next bar- 

 rel in the same way, but not unless the wax 

 is very hot. A barrel ought to be liquid- 

 tight withoitt using the wax. It is a ques- 

 tion whether it is good policy to use any 

 barrels not tight, and depend on the wax or 

 paraftine to make them so. 



Do not make the mistake of washing out a 

 barrel with hot water an'l then immediately 

 waxing it. All l)arrels for honey purposes 

 should be Ixjne-tlry. In that condition the 

 hoops should 1)6 driven down as far as they 

 will go. Then they may be waxed to pre- 

 vent the odor of the wood from getting into 

 the honeJ^ — Ed.] 



THE OHIO FOUL-BROOD BILL AND THE HI.S- 

 TORY OF ITS PASSAGE. 



This association has made every effort 

 since the new legislature met to make the 

 Ohio foul-brood law mandatory, which final- 

 ly ended in a grand success, due to the hard 

 work of the committee on law. of the soci- 

 ety, consisting of Mr. John H. Kroeger. Mr. 

 John Sommers. Mr. John Hoft'man. Jr.. Mr. 

 J. G. Creighton. anil Mr. C. H. W. Weber, 

 all practical bee-keepers of Hamilton County. 



The Honorable Mr. Thomas Hunt, .Senator 

 from Hamilton County, presented the bill in 

 the Senate, and it is due to this gentleman, 

 who took a deep interest in its passage, that 

 it passed the Hou.se of Representatives. 



Mr. Henry T. Hunt, a brother of the 

 Senator, and Mr. Eugene Adler, l^oth Repre- 

 sentatives of Hamilton C'ounty, in conjunc- 

 tion with their colleagues, deserve all credit 

 this association can give them for their mor- 

 al support. 



Attorney G. R. Werner, an honorable 

 member of this association, to whom every 

 respect is due from this association, revised 

 the bill in its present form, and bent every ef- 

 fort to call the attention of the Ohio law-mak- 

 ers to the necessitj' of its passage. This gen- 

 tleman, though no practical bee-keeper, takes 

 a deep interest in every thing pertaining to 

 the welfare of the bee. In fact, the day 

 may come when he will find sufficient time 

 to spare from his legal duties to keep several 

 hives of our little honey-gatherers to make a 

 thoi'ough study of the wonderful doings of 



