1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



135 



the morning and again toward night, the 

 amount actually stored was almost imper- 

 ceptible. The probabilities are that the 

 conditions in our locality are not favorable 

 for much secretion of nectar from the plant. 

 -Ed.] 



doolittle's hive; is there any advantage 

 in cubical shape? punic bees. 



Would you please give a description of the 

 bee-hive, with dimensions, used by Mr. 

 Doolittle? also the favorable and unfavorable 

 points of it from your point of view? Would 

 you also give your views of a divisible hive 

 with the brood-nest about a cube in form, 

 aside from the inconvenience of non-stand- 

 ard size for supplies? 



Have the Punic bees any advantage over 

 the Italians? F. B. Hill. 



Sioux Falls, S. D., Jan. 4. 



[Mr. Doolittle, up till within a few years 

 back, used almost exclusively the Gallup 

 hive, the frame of which was llj square out- 

 side measure. This would make the inside 

 of the hive approximately 12 inches in the 

 clear. But in more recent years Mr. Doo- 

 little bought an out-apiary consisting of 

 Langstroth hives; and if 1 am correct it is 

 now his opinion that beginners had better 

 adopt that hive because of its being stand- 

 ard. There is no special advantage in a cu- 

 bical shape over the Langstroth, except per- 

 haps in a few locahties for wintering. Simi- 

 larly I would not advise a divisible brood- 

 nest in the shape of a cube, and a cube is 

 not adapted for comb-honey production be- 

 cause of the small amount of section room. 

 The Langstroth hive, for example, allows of 

 a large amount of super space on top of the 

 brood-nest; and in these days, when comb 

 honey is produced so much, this is quite an 

 advantage. 



We tested the so-called Punic bees a few 

 years ago. We did not discover that they 

 had any quality that was in any way superi- 

 or to any of the bees in this country. They 

 were fearful propolizers, bad about stinging, 

 and in my opinion they were not even as 

 good bees for general use as the common 

 blacks of this country. They were very 

 much inferior to Italians; and from reports 

 I have read of them since, I should not think 

 any one would be wise in introducing them 

 into his yard. A few Punic drones might 

 make a bad mix-up in the stock that could 

 not easily be eradicated. — Ed.] 



THE "lightning" NAILER; HOW TO SE- 

 CURE NO-DRIP CLEATS. 



In the winter of 1904 I was nailing no-drip 

 strips into 15-lb. shipping-cases. The cases 

 were so short that I had difficulty in getting 

 my tack-hammer into them in a position 

 where it could be used to any advantage; 

 and after getting several painful raps on my 

 numb fingers (for my shop wasn't very 

 warm) I decided that there must be some 

 better way of doing the work. 



After casting about in my mind for a time 

 for a suitable instrument I made the tool 



shown in the cut. It is about 8 inches long 

 over all, and consists of two parts, a wooden 

 handle and a magnetized steel shank with a 

 smooth flattened end to which the head of 

 the tack adheres. I have used this tool the 

 past season, and it has proved itself to be 

 the very thing wanted, doing its work si- 

 lently and pounding no fingers. 



Besides being very useful for nailing down 

 no-drip sticks it is the best thing that I have 

 found yet for putting foundation in frames, 

 for with it the tightening-strip can be forced 

 down, and small nails thrust into it without 

 tearing and breaking the foundation as one 

 frequently does with a hammer. 



SMITH'S LIGHTNING NAILER. 



In use, the tool is grasped in the right 

 hand by the handle (something like a screw- 

 driver), and the end of the shank is brought 

 in contact with one of the tacks, which 

 should previously be scattered about on the 

 top of the bench; then with the left hand 

 hold the point of the instrument steady to 

 prevent the tack from toppling over, and 

 thrust down with the right, which firmly 

 seats the tack in the wood. 



The tacks should be scattered enough so 

 that not more than one will be attracted to 

 the magnet at a time, and the tool held firm 

 and true, with both hands, when pressing in 

 a tack, to prevent it from toppling over. 



I claim for it the following advantages: 



1. It is noiseless. One can work in Ijhe 

 kitchen, or anywhere for that matter, with 

 no annoyance to other people. 



2. It will do the work quicker, picking up 

 the tack, which is always a difficult job with 

 the smnll nails used for this purpose, and 



