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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



have bepn more. Do you think this was the 

 reason for their swarming? 



Highland, Mich. Don Mills. 



[You had enough perforated zinc, I should 

 say. I am unable to explain why your ex- 

 periment was a failure except as it was con- 

 ducted on too small a scale, for "one swal- 

 low does not make a summer." If ydu will 

 try it again on a larger scale, using more 

 colonies, and following Mr. Alexander im- 

 plicitly, you will, in all probability, get the 

 same result he does. —Ed.] 



AN UNCAPPING-ROLLER. 



The roller which I am sending you I use 

 for opening the cappings on combs, when 

 giving colonies a frame with honey for stim- 

 ulating in the spring. When rolling over 

 the combs the sharp points of the roller 



press just a little hole through the cappings, 

 enough for the bees to start on. When us- 

 ing the uncapping-knife fo remove the cap- 

 pings it often leaves the' frame in a rather 

 smeary condition. C. H. W. Weber. 



Cincinnati, 0. 



[This tool is advertised in nearly all of the 

 bee-supply catalogs of Germany. Whether 

 it is used for actual uncapping purposes I 

 do not know; but with honey as thick as 

 we find in most localities in the United 

 States a mere perforation through the cap- 

 ping would not be large enough. The combs 

 would have to be revolved at a very high 

 rate of speed— high enough to crush them. 

 I am inclined to the opinion that the tool is 

 used a good deal as Mr. Weber states above, 

 for the purpose of stimulating only. —Ed.] 



Townsend plan in June 1st Gleanings, 

 would not the bees build comb to upright 

 cleats of fences next to the frame? Would 

 it not be a good plan to remove the middle 

 cleats of the fences next to the frame? 

 Vassar, Mich. R. D. Chappell. 



[Yes, there would be danger of the bees 

 building their combs up against the post of 

 the fence next adjoining. In that case, per- 

 haps it would be best to remove those up- 

 rights, or, in other words, use a one-sided 

 fence— the plain side to the extracting-comb 

 and the bee-spaced side to the plain sec- 

 tions.— Ed.] 



WINTERING BEES IN VENTILATED FROST- 

 PROOF BUILDING. 



I have read the discussions about inside 

 wintering of bees. We put ours into winter 

 quarters the 17th of November, and I set 

 them out the 18th of March- 149 out of 152 

 coming out in fine condition, there being 

 two of them marked "doubtful " when they 

 were put in. I winter in a frost-proof 

 building run entirely by ventilators. They 

 are in total darkness, and an average tem- 

 perature of 44 degrees. I tried a few in 

 the cellar, but they were not in nearly as 

 good condition. The bees dwindled away 

 worse, and the combs are somewhat moldy. 

 We have not given our bees a midwinter 

 flight in ten years. Chas. F. Lashier. 



Lestershire, N. Y., May 15. 



BEES BUILDING COMB TO UPRIGHT CLEATS 

 ON THE FENCE. 



In using shallow extracting-frames in su- 

 pers with plain sections and fences, as per 



STRONGER DIVISION-BOARDS. 



I have noticed considerable said in Glean- 

 ings about division-boards and followers not 

 being strong enough. I have some made of 

 three-ply stuff, such as chair-bottoms are 

 made of, and I find them very substantial. 

 I think if you will try it you will find they 

 will not break, and will stay in place, and 

 they are not expensive. 



F. H. Braynier, M. D. 



West Pawlet, Vt. 



[Division-boards made of the material 

 described would be somewhat expensive. 

 We are now making a division-board that is 

 fully two or three times as strong as the 

 ones we turned out last season, and at the 

 same cost. —Ed.] 



bee louse. 



In watching my bees as they come out of 

 the hive on to the alighting-board, I notice 

 some of them shaking and clawing at their 

 backs. I thought at first it was paralysis, 

 but I find on a close examination that there 

 is a big red louse just under the wings on 

 the back of the thorax. I should like to 

 know if there is any way of getting rid of 

 this pest. Andrew B. Judson. 



Escondido, Calif. 



[The insect that you find on the backs of 

 your bees is what is known as Braula coecus. 

 They never do any serious damage that we 

 have ever been able to discover. They are 

 found only in warm climates. — Ed.] 



