1030 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



is a description of a tool that I use, and con- 

 sider the best out— at any rate, away ahead 

 of a tack-puller. It is made of steel, |Xl 

 inch, 11 inches long; one end has a loop 

 widened out to about li inches, and then 

 pointed so as to form an easy handle. The 

 other end is If inches wide, and square cut 

 at the end, which is thin, and reasonably 

 sharp. 



It is used to pry open hives and supers, 

 clean off burr-combs from the top-bars of 

 frames, covers, and section-holders; also to 

 cut loose any brace-combs; as it is long and 

 thin it can be run down between the outside 

 frames and the side of hive to cut braces 

 sometimes found there. It can be run under 

 the covers and supers and given a twist to 

 loosen frames that are hanging by burr- 

 combs. Instead of a string a yard long I 

 use a rubber band about half an inch wide, 

 attached to the button at the side. It is al- 

 ways there, and does not wrap around your 

 legs as you walk, as does the long string 

 used by Mr. Fowls and others. 



Sabinal, Tex. A. G. Anderson. 



[A rubber cord that will stretch, in place 

 of a string or a chain, I feel sure is decided- 

 ly better than something of fixed length, a 

 good deal longer than need be sometimes, 

 and not long enough at others. 



The design of the hive-tool as shown above 

 is excellent; but I am not sure but it would 

 be better if the scraper end were bent at 

 right angles so that the tool could be used 

 something like a miniature hoe in scraping 

 bottom-boards, and burr-combs off from 

 brood-frames. — Ed. ] 



BURLAP OVER OR UNDER THE HONEY-BOARD? 



June 15, page 643, about Mr. Burt's plan 

 of using burlap over sections, does he place 

 the burlap over or under the honey -hoard? 

 I tried this scheme this year, placing the 

 mat over the sections and honey-board on 

 top. Result, bees propolized the mat fast 

 to the edges of all sections, and entirely too 

 much so to make it pleasant handling or nice- 

 looking sections. If the same good result 

 as to warming the super can be attained by 

 placing the mat over the honey-board, and 

 using the telescope cover, I shall adopt that 

 plan. J. A. Phillips. 



Washington, D. C. 



[The burlap should be put on top of the 

 super-cover or honey-board, and not under. 

 No wonder you got your sections all daubed 

 up with propolis.— Ed.] 



REARING CELLS IN A HIVE WHERE THERE IS 

 A LAYING QUEEN. 



Please let me know if the following plan 

 is proper: I have a colony which has an old 

 queen, and another colony which is doing 

 excellently in every way. I intend to place 

 a queen- excluding division-board between the 

 brood-frames to induce the bees to raise 

 queen-cells. When they do I intend to cut 

 out one of the cells, place it in a Titoff cage 

 until hatched, leaving it in the same colony. 



then kill the old queen in the other colony, 

 and introduce. A. B. Manett. 



San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 16. 



[It is not quite clear just how you intend 

 to proceed in the matter of requeening; but 

 if we understand you correctly you propose 

 dividing off the brood-nest in halves by 

 means of perforated zinc, and you assume 

 that queen-cells will be started in that por- 

 tion of the brood-nest from which the queen 

 is excluded. This might happen under cer- 

 tain conditions; but as a general rule you 

 would have to give this portion some graft- 

 ed cells, said cells containing young larvse 

 and royal jelly. The bees would then draw 

 out complete nine-tenths and possibly all of 

 the cells. Such a division will take care of 

 about one dozen cells usually. —Ed.] 



HOLDING transferred COMBS IN FRAMES 

 WITH RUBBER BANDS. 



In transferring comb from one size frame 

 to another, or from a box to an improved 

 hive, why not throw away the splints and 

 strings used formerly, and use medium 

 strong rubber bands? Stretch a band over 

 each end; and if the pieces of comb are 

 small one can be placed in the center of the 

 frame. In the manipulation of the frames 

 after the bees have fastened the comb to the 

 wood, press the blade of a sharp knife on 

 the bands where they cross the top-bar and 

 they will fly out of the way. Page 819. 



Nisbet, Penn. Grant Stanley. 



[Your suggestion of rubber bands is most 

 excellent, and I believe it is ahead of any 

 thing else that has ever been suggested. 

 They are now so cheap that the cost would 

 be practically nothing. After the bees have 

 got the combs fast in the frames it would 

 not even be necessary to remove the frames. 

 Just run a sharp knife over the top-bar 

 through each rubber band and they will fly 

 off the frame quicker than you can say it, 

 down on to the bottom-board. The objec- 

 tion to a string is that the bees do not al- 

 ways gnaw it away. Practically it is neces- 

 sary to remove the brood-frame, cut the 

 string, and then unwind. The suggestion of 

 the rubber band is worth considerable, and 

 I have marked it to be incorporated in our 

 A B C of Bee Culture providing it proves to 

 be satisfactory in our bee-yards. —Ed.] 



THE LEWIS WIRE SPACER FOR FRAMES, PAGE 

 549. 



I am bothered with letters from all over 

 the continent about that wire frame-spacer, 

 and would be obliged if you would state in 

 your journal that I am not making nor sell- 

 ing them. If you don't care to make them 

 they are free for anybody else to make. The 

 criticism of yours is remarkable; for if the 

 spacers are properly made there is no truth 

 in a word of it. I judge by my correspon- 

 dence that, generally, bee-keepers think as 

 I do. W. H. Lewis. 



New Westminister, B. C. 



