418 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



not only hold inserted patches in their places, 

 but also hold the comb in the center of the 

 frame. This is a very desirable and impor- 

 tant feature of the movable frame. If the 

 combs are all true and centered, all manipu- 

 lations that require taking out or inserting 

 combs are a pleasure. Any bulging out on 

 one side or the other is liable to rub against 

 the next comb, or, what is still worse, 

 against the bees that may be in the way; 

 and the consequence is generally an infuriat- 

 ed lot of bees to attack the operator. 



The illustrations make it all plain. Fig. 1 

 represents a large piece of comb fastened 

 in its place with two pairs of sticks. One 

 of the hooks is shown as it appears when 



Fig. 2. 



finished, and the other is left as it leaves the 

 form. It also shows the form as seen from 

 above. This is simply a hard-wood block 

 with three corresponding iron pins driven into 

 it. In cutting the wires I use a pair of tin- 

 ners' shears, and cut eight or ten rings at a 

 time; and if the pins in the form stand plumb 

 and true, three or four or even more hooks 

 can be bent at once. 



Fig. 2 shows a patched comb, the opening 

 between comb and bottom-bar being filled 

 out, and a piece of drone comb in the corner 

 taken out and replaced with worker comb. 

 Properly shaped forks or clasps are below 

 the comb. 



With a supply of these little traps on 

 hand, transferring as well as patching up 

 can be rapidly done. To remove them, after 

 the bees have done the mending and fasten- 

 ed every thing to suit their own notion, is 

 also a short job. When taking off the sticks 

 a little caution is advisable to prevent possi- 

 ble loss of queens. The best way to do this 

 is to hold the frame with the left hand by 

 one corner near the ground in front of the 

 hive, then remove the hooks by unbending 

 the long prong, and with a rolling motion 

 loosen the sticks and drop them carefully on 

 the ground. When the colonies are very 

 populous, as they generally are when such 

 operations are performed, the combs are 

 thickly covered with bees, and it is a com- 

 mon occurrence that little lumps of bees 

 drop from the combs or adhere to the sticks; 

 and, as the queen is liable to be among them, 

 dropping near the entrance in front of her 

 hive enables her to find her way into it. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



[We used to recommend practically both 

 of these methods; but after winding com- 



mon white string one or more times around 

 a comb according to the number of pieces 

 we concluded it was cheaper and better, 

 with the additional advantage that, if we 

 forget to remove the string after the combs 

 were welded together, the bees would do it 

 for us. Our transferring-clasps, instead of 

 being made of wire were narrow strips of tin 

 bent in the same U shape. The wire would 

 cover up less of the comb surface, and, per- 

 haps, would be better. — Ed.] 



MICE IN THE APIARY. 



How to Destroy Them Easily. 



BY W. L. PORTER. 



In the thirty years that I have been in the 

 bee business mice have been a great nui- 

 sance, besides causing a good deal of de- 

 struction; and in all this time I have never 

 been able to find a remedy that was just 

 satisfactory until about two years ago. I 

 have tried bee-tight houses, and poisons of 

 different kinds, and even the faithful old 

 cat. They all had their merits in checking 

 the nuisaitce, but still I was always suffer- 

 ing more or less with their destructiveness. 

 I have made several bee and mouse tight 

 buildings, and would, though not knowing it, 

 carry the mice in hives where the bees had 

 died out. After they get into the building 

 they will gnaw out, and ever afterward have 

 a free passage in and out. When the next 

 summer came I usually found both combs 

 and supers much damaged. I have tried to 

 poison them by putting strychnine in meal ; 

 and while it would kill some it never com- 

 pletely routed them. I have also soaked 

 wheat in strychnine, with the same failure. 



Two years ago I hit upon a formula that 

 was effectual. It has been worth so much to 

 me I feel that some of the readers of 

 Gleanings may have had the same trouble, 

 and would like to know how to get rid of the 

 nuisance. I have been preparing a batch of 

 poison to-day. The formula is, take J gallon 

 of wheat. To this I add | ounce of strych- 

 nine, 2 pints of water, and a pint of honey. 

 I first pound the crystals of strychnine on 

 a flatiron, then put it in the water and bring 

 to a boil; then add the honey. Pour the so- 

 lution over the wheat and stir well. Boil 

 the mixture for 30 minutes. To this I add 

 two large tablespoonfuls of flour made into 

 a paste before putting it into the wheat. I 

 put in the paste so the wheat will adhere. I 

 then put the mass in pans, smoothed out so 

 it will be about half an inch thick. When it 

 dries it will be in a hard cake. The honey 

 and paste make it so the mice are very fond 

 of it. 



I find by keeping a piece of this poison in 

 the store buildings which I have at my api- 

 aries I can keep combs and sections without 

 being disturbed, and a piece of the poison in 

 an empty hive will do away with those that 

 mieht disturb the hives in cold weather. 



We have a species of wild mice in Colo- 

 rado which are very peculiar in their habits. 



