20 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



fed 6 or 7 ponnds of sugar syrup to each 

 colony after fruit-bloom. It was too 

 cold and wet. 



I have some of my bees in chaff hives. 

 They are the best. A neighbor gave 

 me a colony on Sept. 15, 1891, which I 

 transferred, and gave him all the honey. 

 I wintered it on sugar syrup all right, 

 and it is working strong to-day. 



Ridgeway, O., June 20, 1892. 



Tne ts Walk-Over " Foundation Fastener 



J. A. GOLDEN. 



My apparatus (the "walk-over") is 

 cheaply constructed, as follows : 



Take a board 2 feet 8 inches long, 7 

 inches wide, and saw a "boot jack" in 

 one end 3 inches wide, and as deep as 

 you like. Next take a board 18 inches 

 long, and 5 inches wide, and mortise a 

 slot 5 inches from one end, % wide, and 

 3% long crosswise of the board. On the 

 short end from the mortise nail on a 

 spacing block 3% inches long by 3% 

 inches wide, and % inch thick, close to 

 the slot. Below the slot, but even with 

 it, nail on a section shelf 5 inches wide, 

 and 2% inches long. For braces or legs 

 take strips 2 inches wide tapered to one 

 inch, the wide end halved in each side 

 of the "boot-jack." 



A 2-inch deep box shelf is put in 10 

 inches below the base of the heating- 

 plate, and a hole cut in the box to re- 

 ceive the bowl of lamp, and thus avoid 

 an accident. On the right side of the 

 lamp box is tacked a foundation box. 

 Take a strip of tin 7 inches long, 1% 

 inches at one end, and 2 inches at the 

 other, bend so as to form a spout, tack- 

 ing the narrow end on top of the further 

 end of the "boot-jack," and one edge of 

 the wide end on the front. Have under 

 the spout a small tin cup madefrom an 

 oyster-can, which receives any melted 

 wax when operating. A melted plate 

 3% inches wide, and 3 inches long, is 

 placed on top "at right angles, and held 

 in place by two screws. 



On the lower end of the short, or sec- 

 tion-board, place two hinges, and put 

 the board at its proper place by holding 

 the hinges down with one hand, and 

 moving the board back and forth on the 

 heating-plate, letting the plate rub the 

 upper side of the slot. Fasten the 

 hinges, and put in a spiral spring 5 

 inches above the hinged end of the sec- 

 tion-board ; the spring forces the sec- 

 tion-board from the heater. This com- 

 pletes the " walk-over " machine. 



To learn to operate it, one has only to 

 pickup a section with the left hand, and 

 a starter with the right hand from the 

 foundation box, placing section over the 

 spacer, with the starter on the spacer 

 near the bottom, slightly pressing with 

 each thumb on the starter, when a slight 

 push with* the hand will bring the metal 

 tongue through between the section and 

 starter. The starter is dropped on the 

 hot metal, the pressure is relaxed, the 

 spiral spring throws back the section- 

 board, the starter falls in place, and is 

 fimly fixed to the section. The spacing 

 block should be dampened occasionally, 

 to keep the starter from sticking. — Bee- 

 Keepers' Review. 



Rational Don'ts About Bee-Keening, 



C. L. STBICKLAND. 



Don't wait until a honey-flow is rap- 

 idly passing or gone, before you have 

 your bees ana surplus cases ready for 

 business, then curse the bees or profes- 

 sion for being a delusion. Be on time 

 always. 



Don't fail to cut out all excess of 

 drone comb, for drones are heavy con- 

 sumers, and bring nothing in. A few 

 hundred instead of thousands, will serve 

 a large aptary. It costs as much to 

 keep one drone as it does six workers. 

 Beware. 



Don't fail to have plenty of water, salt 

 and pure, so arranged that the bees can 

 get at it without drowning. Bees must 

 have water in their breeding season, no 

 matter what the cost is to them. Be 

 merciful unto them, always. 



Don't be rough in handling your bees, 

 for that kind of treatment will make the 

 gentlest bees oh earth cross, sooner or 

 later. Always be gentle to them. 



Don't cultivate a slack system of man- 

 agement in the apiary. It has never 

 been known to pay, but has cost the 

 keeper many dimes, and hours of fearful 

 suspense. 



Don't fail to always have plenty of 

 bees when the honey-flow is on hand. If 

 you can never do this, the less money 

 and time you waste the better for you. 



Don't think for a moment that there 

 may be no difference in the race of bees 

 for business, beauty, proliricness and 

 gentleness, as there is, and, if ignored, 

 you make a sad mistake. 



Don't under-estimate the great value 

 of good worker-combs. They are a great 

 agency in building up new colonies, ex- 

 tracting, etc. — American Homestead. 



