1422 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15 



My honey crop could have been doubled by 

 simply requeening the entire outfit of some 

 ■350 colonies. This was not through the fault 

 ■of the writer, however. The spring months 

 were vei'y unfavorable for such work, and 

 for queen-rearing, and a serious illness pre- 

 vented the requeening this fall; but the proof 

 of the good queens has been so convincing 

 that preparations are already begun for 

 queen-rearing as early as this may he prac- 

 tical next spring, to be followed by a whole- 

 sale requeening of all my apiaries. Begin- 

 ning with all new queens it will be easier to 

 • ■ keep track ' ' of their ' ' doing, ' ' and the im- 

 provement of stock will follow through both 

 selection and breeding. 



A HANDY HIVE-TOOL. 



For several seasons I have used a stout 

 pruning-knife with a "hawk- bill" blade as 

 a hive-tool in my apiaries, and have found 

 it to be the most satisfactory and handiest 

 tool for the greatest variety of purposes of 

 all the many tools tried. 



The entire length of the pruning-knife is 

 about 8 inches, and it is very stout in its 

 make-up. The blade is made of good steel, 

 and retains a sharp edge, while the back of 

 the blade is about \ inch thick. These knives 

 are advertised with other horticultural tools, 

 and can be obtained of most of the large 

 hardware stores. The blade of the knife 

 above is made of one continuous piece of 

 steel. Mr. W. H. Laws, of Beeville, Texas, 

 used a knife similar to this while I visited 

 him several years ago. His knife was not as 

 heavy, and the blade was made pocket-knife 

 style, and could be closed. This made it 

 handier to carry in the pocket; but the ob- 

 jection was that prying hives and frames 

 caused the blade to work loose in its ' ' joints. 

 This weak point, in addition to being moi'e 

 expensive also, makes the knife without the 

 joint, and the consequent lower price, a more 

 satisfactory hive-tool. It can be carried in 

 the hip pocket with ease, having the handle 

 downward; in fact, the hip-pocket is the most 

 handy ' ' hive-tool bag ' ' I know of — the most 

 convenient in reach at all times. 



This knife is excellent for prying hives, 

 frames, and any thing else apart; also for 

 opening boxes or taking off covers or bot- 

 toms that have been nailed on. It is sharp, 

 and can be used for cutting at any time, the 

 same edge being used for scraping frames, 

 etc. It is also the handiest small tool for 

 cutting away weeds in front of the enti'ances 

 of the hives. A few slashes at the same time 

 the few puffs of smoke preparatory to open- 

 ing the hive are given, leave a clean door- 

 yard — something more essential during a 

 honey-flow than most of the craft might sup- 

 pose. For cutting or hacking off limbs of 

 trees that are in tne way, this pruning-knife 



works finely — just what it was originally in- 

 tended for. Nailing can be done with the 

 blade, its weight permitting of driving even 

 large nails. The back end of the handle is 

 rather flat, round, and smooth, and is used 

 in emergencies for fastening foundation in 

 frames, especially when such has accidental- 

 ly torn loose in handling, or when pulled off 

 by the weightr of the bees. 



"CHEAP AS dirt" bottom-boards. 



Preparing for another season means get- 

 ting new supplies as well as having the bees 

 in good shape. Bottom-boai'ds of different 

 styles have been given a fair tr".il in my 

 yards; and in preparing for the establishment 

 of several new out-yards this winter the bot- 

 tom-board question is uppermost in my mind 

 just now. I want to fix up one of the yards 

 with dirt floors. These are used by S. T. 

 Gilbert, near Uvalde, Texas, and please me. 

 A rim is made of common rough three-inch 

 stuff, just the outside dimensions of the 

 hives in use. The end of these rims intend- 

 ed for the front of the hive is enough lower 

 at the top to allow an entrance; that is, the 

 l)ack end and side pieces are nailed together 

 with their top and bottom edges flush, while 

 the front end pieces are lowered about \ inch, 

 so it extends beyond the lower edge of the rest 

 of the rim. In this way the same three-inch 

 lumber can be used throughout, saving the 

 dressing-down for entrances, as the rims are 

 slightly sunk into the gi'ouml when in use. 

 When in place where the hives ai'e to stand 

 the rims are leveled off and then filled near- 

 ly to the top with loose diy soil. This is 

 packed down firmly by means of a wide 

 board fitting inside the rim. and tamped upon 

 with a heavy tamper uutil the surface of the 

 soil is even with the front edge of the rim 

 forming the entrance to the hive. vSome ■ 

 more loose dirt can now he thrown in front 

 of this stand, and tamped down to make a 

 sloping "alighting-board" to the entrance. 



This photo shows one of Mr. Gilbert's 

 yards with dirt floors. One of the rims can 



