1108 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C^ULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



unally opposite, it might do so. But the 

 middle fasteuing with us seemed to give )>et- 

 tei" residts with the bottoms as they rim.- Ed.] 

 At the risk of being accused of lack of 

 conservatism I must confess that I no longer 

 reverse bottom-boards as described by Doo- 

 little. p. 1069. Instead or that I have a two- 

 inch space under the hive all the year round, 

 keeping it filled with a rack of sticks during 

 the working season — good deal easier to put 

 in the rack and pull it out again than t(j lift 

 the hives spring anil fall so as to reverse bot- 

 tom-boai"ds. It also saves drawing the sta- 

 ples and driving them again. [I have seen 

 this arrangement of Dr. Miller's, and must 

 confess it is a decided improvement over the 

 old way of reversing the bottom-board. It 

 saves some heavy lifting and a good deal of 

 time, becaiise there are no fastenings between 

 the bottom and hive-body to loosen. — Ed.] 



Our cow had a large proportion of sweet 

 clover in her pasture, and paid little atten- 

 tion to it. Then came the terri))le drouth, 

 leaving pasture grounds as brown as in win- 

 ter, and she made good use of the sweet clo- 

 ver. The point is, that sweet clover remains 

 green and tloui'ishing when other forage- 

 plants dry lip. [Your experience has been 

 duplicated time and time again; and yet 

 there are road commissioners and town coun- 

 cils that, I suppose, will continue to cut down 

 sweet clover because they class it as "a nox- 

 ious weed."' 



That reminds me that the Southwestern 

 Ohio and the Hamilton County Bee-keepers' 

 Association has reiiuested all the railroads 

 leading into Cincinnati not to cut the sweet 

 clover, because of its value as a forage for 

 Ijees. I understand the big roads are com- 

 plying with this re(|uest, with the result that 

 the amount of sweet-clover honey for the 

 liee-keepers along the said roads has been 

 materially increased thereby. See Editorial. 

 —Ed.] 



Here's a plan to shake bees otf coml)s 

 that is used here with much satisfaction: 

 Take hokl of one end of the top-bar, with 

 the bottom-bar pointing forward: swing the 

 frame forward, and when six inches or more 

 above the grounil let it fall, the lowest end 

 of the top-l)ai" striking the ground in such 

 position that the center of the comb shall be 

 vertically al)ove the point that strikes the 

 ground. We have used it with very light 

 and with very heavy combs without any 

 breaking. If done just right you can clear 

 almost every bee off with one stroke. [I do 

 not quite understand whether you actually 

 let go of the frame when you let it strike on 

 the end of the top-bar or not. I judge not: 

 for if the frame were actually released it 

 would fall on its side, crushing l)ees anil 

 mashing the face of the comb. As I under- 

 stand it, you grasp one corner of the frame 

 and allow it to swing, pendulum-like, with 

 the exception that the other end of the pen- 

 dulum on the down stroke hits the ground a 

 sharp l)low. The moment the bees are dis- 

 lodged the frame is lifted from the ground. 



It strikes me that this is worth ilhisti'ating. 



and I am sending you a special camera with 

 the request that your women-folks show this 

 swinging-pendulum act of jarring bees off 

 the combs in three or four diffei'ent positions 

 while you do the swinging. There is noth- 

 ing like showing a thing, you know, to un- 

 derstand it fully. — Ed.] 



"In i\ioving bees. I had a hive burst open, 

 and bees filled the air like a swarm, but did 

 not disturb either myself or horse." says J. 

 D. Coles, p. 1008. I had a hive burst open 

 while being hauled to the Wilson apiary, and 

 had the severest case of stinging I ever had 

 in my life. [Both experiences have Ijeen du- 

 plicated l)y others: and I suspect it would 

 be wise to err on the safe side iiy making 

 the fastenings very secure, for one can never 

 tell Avhat a big "thank you, ma'am" in the 

 road may do. On the other hand, I surmise 

 that hives with entrances that are not cJ(isc(f, 

 where the bees can pass in and out, may 

 not cause nearly as much "commotion." 

 When a hive is overcrowded with bees, and 

 liees are struggling to get oiit, suffering from 

 a want of ventilation — well, when such a 

 hive breaks open, the bees rush out like shot 

 from a gun. Bees that have been struggling 

 to escape, when suddenly liberated are al- 

 most sure to attack every thing in sight. 



This whole (juestion of moving bees with 

 closed or open entrances is one that will in- 

 volve a variety of experiences. 



If bees can be moved in an automobile, as 

 shown elsewhere in .this issue, I should say 

 it would be wise alwaj^s to leave the en- 

 trances open — for strong colonies at least. 

 This will eliminate all possilile danger of 

 suft'oi^ation, injury to brooil, and, if any par- 

 ticular colony s/iould become "obstreperous, '' 

 it would do no particular harm to the apia- 

 rist, who could, if necessary, wear a veil and 

 have a smoker handy. Taking it all in all, 

 it will he wise, for the beginner at least, 

 when moving bees, to cover the whole top 

 with wire cloth, and then make the fasten- 

 ings so secure there can l)e no possibility of 

 the bees being suddenly Ulcerated. — PjD.] 



The Editor of the Bee-kcejjcrs' Review 

 says: "After frames have been in use a few 

 months they must be pried loose before they 

 can be handled, regardless of how they are 

 supported: but the ainoitnt of strength need- 

 ed to loosen them is not very great. It re- 

 quires no more time and no luore apjyreeia- 

 h/e ett'ort to loosen frames supported upon 

 plain w^ooilen rabbets than it does those on 

 tin rabbets: hence I see no gain in using the 

 latter." I don't know whether Mr. Hutch- 

 inson is talking about loose-hanging frames, 

 Hoffman, or what: and I suppose the kind 

 of frame makes a difference. My experience 

 with tin raljbets. not a small one. has been 

 chielly with the Miller frame, and here's the 

 way the matter stands "in this locality:'' 

 The glue affects the moving of the frame Imt 

 little until it is tilled from the liottom of the 

 rabl)et up to the top-bar. and it re(|uires a 

 good deal more than a few months to do 

 that. If the rabbet is cleaned out once in 

 three years the average amount of effort to 



