June 1, 1899. 



americafn bee journal 



343 



that had been built the same summer, and there was no 

 trouble. 



3. No. The sticks do not necessarily touch either top- 

 bar or bottom-bar, and there are no holes to let them in. 

 The object of having: the bottom-bar in two pieces is to al- 

 low the foundation to go between the two parts. The foun- 

 dation is cut ;-2 inch wider than the inside depth of the 

 frame. That allows '4 inch at the top to g-o into a saw-kerf 

 in the top-bar, and % inch at the bottom between the two 

 parts of the bottom-bar. The foundation is cut so as to 

 make a close tit to the end-bars at each side, the frame is 

 put on the board, such as is commonly used for putting 

 foundation in frames; the foundation is slipt into the saw- 

 kerf of the top-bar, and then the second part of the bottom- 

 bar is put in place, a single small wire-nail is driven at the 

 middle to fasten the two parts of the bottom-bar together, 

 and then the remaining nail is put into each end of the bot- 

 tom-bar. Top-bars and end-bars are I's inches wide, and 

 each part of the bottom-bar 'i inch wide. That allows 's 

 inch between the two parts of the bottom-bar for the foun- 

 dation. 



4. If you put in the dry sticks, the bees will gnaw them 

 out every time. Put a little bunch of the sticks in melted 

 wax. keeping the wax where it will stay hot. At first the 

 air and moisture in the sticks will make a great frothing, 

 and you will not imbed any till all settles and becomes clear. 

 Then with a pair of tweezers, or something of the kind, lift 

 a stick out of the wax, lay it in place, and press it into the 

 foundation with a presser made of a little board about as 

 long as the sticks, or not quite so long, and about ^s inch 

 thick. The edge that presses in the sticks must he kept 

 soakt in water, so the wax will not stick to it. Five sticks 

 are used in a frame, one about an inch from each end-bar. the 

 other three at regular intervals. In rare cases I've had the 

 bees gnaw at the sticks, even when cookt in wax, but I don't 

 know why. 



5. I iiave used rather heavy foundation (.some I've had 

 on hand for a number of years), but it may be that light 

 foundation would do just as well. Certainly just as light 

 foundation can be used as if wire replaced the sticks. 



These sticks allow the combs to be built solid to the 



bottom-bar (but sometimes the bees will dig under), and I 



know of no advantage in an3' way that the wires have over 



them. — Gleanings. 



'*-•-*' 



Blacks vs. Italians as to Hardiness. 



Are Italian bees as good to stand the cold as blacks? I 

 had five colonies Italianized last j'ear, and they all died. 

 I had 15 colonies of blacks and lost one ; they were all in 

 one row in double-walled hives. A good many bees died in 

 this county the past winter. New Yokk. 



Answer. — I don't know whether Italian bees, taken as 

 a whole, differ in hardiness from blacks. It is quite likely 

 that your Italians are not as hardy as your blacks. But you 

 must rememlier that all blacks are not alike as to hardiness 

 and other qualities, and also that Italians vary. 



Pinli Comb and Honey. 



Why do bees build pink comb and store honey of the 

 same color in the brood-frames ? Some of the combs in our 

 city hives are thus colored. Maryland. 



Answer. — I don't know what plant they are working 

 on to produce such results, but it is well known that the 

 color of the honey, and to some extent the color of the comb, 

 depends upon the kind of flowers visited. 



York's Honey Almanac is a neat little 32-page pamph- 

 let especially gotten up with a view to create a demand for 

 honey among should-be consumers. Aside from the Alma- 

 nac pages, the forepart of the pamphlet was written by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, and is devoted to general information concern- 

 ing honey. The latter part consists of recipes for use in 

 cooking and as a medicine. It will be found to be a very 

 effective helper in working up a home market for honey. 

 We furnish them, postpaid, at these prices : A sample for 

 a stamp ; 25 copies for 50 cents ; 50 for 70 cents ; 100 for 

 $1.25 ; 250 for $2.75 ; 500 for S4.50. For 25 cents extra we 

 will print your name and address on the front page, when 

 ordering 100 or more copies at these prices. 



Blocking Up in a Hot Climate. — In Gleanings, J. K. 

 Hill, of Texas, says he has been troubled every year until 

 the past year with combs melting down in hives standing 

 in the sun, there being a '2-inch entrance the whole width 

 of the hive. Last year he put a Js-inch block under each 

 corner of his hives and never lost a comb. Only 2 swarms , 

 came from 125 colonies, whereas in previous years swarm- 

 ing had been very troublesome. 



How Should Frames Run ?— At the Ontario convention 

 the great majority preferred what is called the "cold sys- 

 tem," with the frames running toward the entrance. One 

 reason was that the hive could be tipt forward so water 

 would run off, also so that late honey for winter would be 

 stored at the back end, and Mr. Hall wanted the back end 

 of the hive at least four inches higher than the front, so 

 that it would be warmer. — Canadian Bee Journal. 



When to Put on Sections.~In the Canadian Bee Jour- 

 nal objection is made to leaving colonies without sections 

 till after the harvest has commenced, thereby inducing the 

 bees to swarm, and it is also objected that in some cases 

 mischief is done by putting them on before the light honey 

 comes, having dark honey in the center of a section. Some 

 advise putting on extracting-combs to catch the first flow 

 of dark honey, then giving .sections when the light flow 

 starts. 



To Keep Pollen Out of the Extracting=Super was dis- 

 cust at the Brantford convention reported in the Canadian 

 Bee Journal. One way was to keep the queen out of the 

 extracting-super, but it is not so clear just what was meant 

 by Mr. Armstrong saying, " The queen will not be able to 

 go thru the excluders loaded with pollen." Mr. Atkinson 

 thought there would be no trouble if two stories were al- 

 lowed for brood. Mr. Alpaugh thinks there is 'less trouble 

 if the super combs are well drawn out. 



As to Amalgamation, Stenog, the gleaner of "Pick- 

 ings " in Gleanings, says : 



"Touching the union of the 'Association' and the 

 'Union,' Mr. York well says, • The door is open for the 

 Union to come into the Association whenever it decides to 

 cast in its lot.' That's it. One of the associations must 

 simply cease to exist, and its members be incorporated in 

 the other. Those who are trying to unite certain other or- 

 ganizations nowadays would do well to read Mr. York's 

 words. The only way is to find the best, and annihilate 

 the others by disbanding in favor of the better." 



Handling Hoffman Frames. The editor of Gleanings 

 refers to an article in American Bee Journal for April 6, by 

 C. Davenport, whom he styles " one of the most practical 

 writers in all beedom," and commends the tool by which 

 Mr. Davenport handles his frames so well. One feature 

 that was not mentioned, is that of handling two or three 

 frames at a time, whereas with loose-hanging frames each 

 frame must be lifted out separately. Mr. Root thinks this 

 an important matter. He disagrees with Mr. Davenport as 

 to the edges of the end-bars, preferring the V edge to the 

 plain. 



Large Frame Hives vs. Two»Story Hives. A. N. Dra- 

 per discusses the matter in Gleanings. He quotes Lang- 

 stroth Revised as saying that the Ouinby frame is too long 

 and the Langstroth "too shallow, advising beginners to use 

 a frame as long as the Langstroth and as deep as the 

 Quinby. After having handled as many as 200 colonies in 

 Langstroth frames three stories, and afterward trying the 

 large hives and frames, and especially noting the difference 

 in wintering-, he is a strong advocate of the large frame. 

 Mr. Draper challenges Editor Root to make the experiment 

 of having 30 or 40 ten-frame hives the same as the Lang- 

 stroth, only with frames 2's inches deeper, agreeing to pay 

 the expense of making them if after three years' trial the 

 editor is not pleased with them. 



