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Vol XXXIII. 



AUGUST J, 1905. 



No. 15 



Putty-knife for a hive-tool, page 773. Is 

 it strong enough to raise a heavy super ? 



Brother Doolittle, here's a hearty vote 

 of thanks for that article, page 775. On the 

 points there discussed I've always felt shaky, 

 and before you and Mr. Muth-Rasmussen get 

 through I hope to be more solid on my feet. 



I'm afraid some beginner will be misled 

 by that paragraph about drones, p. 759, into 

 thinking that it will be "very harmful" to 

 suppress them. It should have been accom- 

 panied by the comment, "Very pretty talk, 

 only it isn't true." [I quite agree with 

 you. —Ed.] 



Ye editor has now shoved up the extra 

 cost of four-piece sections from 75 cts. to 

 $1.00 a thousand, with the extra labor of 

 putting together, p. 756. Well, that's no 

 more than four-piece sections cost years ago, 

 and the extra labor of putting together no 

 more now than then. Not going to raise 

 chunk honey yet, Mr. Editor, so there. 



I must confess to just a little fear that 

 so much caging of cells and virgins away 

 from the touch of workers may not be con- 

 ducive to the highest effectiveness of the 

 resulting queens. [Possibly; but I do not 

 believe there is any good proof yet that 

 would sustain your fears. The fact is, some 

 of these caged cells and queens subsequently 

 make remarkable records. — Ed.] 



Here's an easy way to get honey out of 

 cappings, especially for those who have a 

 small quantity: Let the honey drip out of 

 the cappings for three or four days in an 

 ordinarily dry place. That's good table 

 honey. Now take it down cellar and let it 

 continue its dripping business. At first it 



will be fairly good honey, but will get thin- 

 ner and thinner till it becomes only sweet- 

 ened water, nnd then your cappings will be 

 pretty clean. You'll have something that 

 will make good vinegar. But it won't work 

 in Colorado and other places where the cellar 

 is as dry as the attic. 



A hive-tool with a pry, a scraper, a 

 hammer, and a hook, all in one, page 756. 

 Umh, well, may be it isn't too many things 

 in one; but unless it can be added without 

 increased weight, at least the hammer 

 might be left out. [In our yard the hammer 

 feature is very highly prized. No, I would 

 not Hke to dispense with that; but it is true 

 that we may try to get too many things in 

 one tool and so spoil it. — Ed.] 



Still better than the wood screw men- 

 tioned as spacer, page 765, and taking much 

 less time to drive in, is a nail with head i 

 inch thick. Thousands of such spacers are 

 in use in Europe, but they can't be obtained 

 in this country. [We tried to get such a 

 nail in this country as you describe, but 

 could not secure them without paying a high 

 price. If we could be sure of a large de- 

 mand, then automatic machinery could be 

 built by the wire-nail people to turn out 

 nails such as you describe, at a comparative- 

 ly low price. I will investigate the matter 

 a little further, and see what we can do. — 

 Ed.] 



Just for fun I have counted the supers 

 left on the hives in the home apiary July 20, 

 after about 100 supers of finished sections 

 have been taken off. Six colonies have one 

 super each; 16 have two each; 41 have three 

 each; 28 have four each, and 3 have five 

 each. That's not so many as were on a 

 week or two ago, a few colonies at that 

 time having six supers each. [This is all 

 very interesting; but you fail to tell one 

 very important thing: How does this season 

 compare with last year? or, better still, how 

 does it compare with the average season 

 with you ? Bee-keepers seem to be reticent 

 as to whether they have a honey crop or 

 not; but I do not believe you are one of 



