THE AMERICA]^ BEE JOURNAL. 



241 



robber bees, and many stay home for 

 this purpose who would otherwise be- 

 come honey gatherers. 



2. Accessible surplus department.— 

 Let our bees be ever so strong, if the 

 depository for the surplus comb honey 

 be not accessible, the bees will be loth 

 to enter it. To work and transform 

 the wax (a secretion of their bodies) 

 into the wondrously-formed honey 

 comb, requires a heat of at least 85 

 degrees. 



3. Use of "starters" or comb foun- 

 dation.— "Starters'' are simply pieces 

 of nice natural comb fastened with 

 melted wax to the top of the box. In 

 the absence of combs,comb foundation 

 may be fastened to the top, in the 

 same manner. The use of it can be 

 relied upon to increase the yield of 

 honey from at least 25 to 50 per cent. 

 It encourages bees to commence work 

 in the boxes, and saves them a vast 

 amount of work in comb building. 



4. Ri<jht management at the right 

 time.— Many who keep bees make a 

 great mistake in putting on boxes 

 long before it is expedient to do so. 

 Wait until the clover bloom is just 

 ready to open, and then beware of 

 putting on too many at once. Mean- 

 while keep all openings in the honey 

 board well closed and the cap filled 

 with dry leaves, cliafE or cut straw, to 

 prevent loss of heat from the breeding 

 department. 



Galena, Md. 



For the American Bee JoumeJ. 



Putting Foundation in Sections. 



M. C. SMITH. 



The accompanying engraving shows 

 a machine for putting in full sheets of 

 foundation in section boxes, which I 

 made in March, 1881. I used it last 



season to put in over 3,000 full sheets, 

 vfith entire success. The table which 

 holds the pot, is made of tin, cut 7 

 Inches square ; the edge is turned over 

 and pressed down to give strength. 

 The legs are cut out of tin, m inches 

 wide ; the edges turned over and 

 pressed down, and long enough to 

 raise the table i?4 inch above the lamp, 

 to prevent smoking. Any lamp will 

 do to melt the wax. The pots are gill 

 cups, with oil can spouts attached, as 

 shown in the cut. A common oil can, 

 with handle, will do as well as the 

 pots. The block, to the left, is to 

 hold the foundation in the centre of 

 the section, while being fastened, and 



is made of ^ inch board, 8 inches 

 long, by 6 inches wide. No. 2, cut to 

 lit inside of the section, and of the 

 right thickness to hold the founda- 

 tion in the centre. Fasten Ko. 2 in 

 the centre of Ko. 1. Cut the founda- 

 tion to fit without warping ; place it 

 in the section on No. 2 ; hold the block 

 in the left liand, in such a manner as 

 to allow the drop of wax to run down 

 along the section and the edge of the 

 foundation. From 1 to 3 drops will 

 fasten it on both sides and top. Leave 

 the foundation i^ of an inch from the 

 bottom of tlie section. Goto your tin- 

 smith with the above description ; he 

 will make the tin work, lamp and all, 

 for less than 75 cents ; you can make 

 the wood work yourselves. 



This is the way I put foundation in 

 brood frames by a Press. VVlien the 

 wax is ready, dip the board in the 

 wax once ; now you liave two thin 

 sheets. Lay one on the dies ; on this 

 put the wired frame ; now lay on the 

 other sheet, close the die book, and 

 press the two sheets in one. By this 

 plan you press the wire into the cen- 

 tre of the foundation. By this method 

 the wire will not cut the foundation. 



Last season I prepared between 300 

 and 400 frames, as described, and the 

 bees built every one out into as beau- 

 tiful combs as I ever saw. You can 

 hive a bushel of bees on these frames 

 with success, every time. 



Starkville. N. Y. 



For the American Bee Juumal. 



Saunders Co., Nebraska, Convention. 



The Saunders County, Nebraska, 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, met April 

 28. 1883. The fact that a large amount 

 of honey was being imported into this 

 State was stated as an argument for 

 a greater effort toward home produc- 

 tion. To this was coupled the state- 

 ment that 200 colonies to the square 

 mile could not gather all the honey. 



A report of members on wintering 

 showed 252 colonies put into winter 

 quarters. Out of that number 48 col- 

 onies perished. Many apiaries were 

 not represented. 



There has been a heavy loss of bees 

 during the winter in this county- 

 some largely engaged in the pursuit 

 losing from' half to two-thirds of their 

 colonies. C. C. Turney, Pres. 



J. J. BuRTCH, Sec. 



Wilxni and Wiom. 



Convention for Northern Iowa. 



There seems to be a number of bee- 

 keepers in tlie northern counties of 

 Iowa. Why could not a meeting be 

 held at some central point on the C. 

 M. & St. P. R'y. V How many vote 

 ayeV J. G. Bennett. 



Emmetsburg, Iowa, April 27, 1883. 



Special Notice.— We will, hereafter, 

 supply the Weekly Bee Journal 

 for 1883 and Cook's Manual in cloth 

 for 12.75, or the Monthly and Manual 

 in cloth for |1.75. As this offer will 

 soon be witlidrawn, those who desire 

 it should send for the book at once. 



ANSWERS BY 



James Heddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



When to Paelf Bees for Winter. 



Will Mr. James Heddon please an- 

 swer the following queries in the 

 Bee Journal : What is the best 

 time for packing or preparing bees for 

 winter V What is your opinion in re- 

 gard to packing them in the forepart 

 of December, in such a winter as last 

 winter has been V I would like the 

 opinions of as many leading bee-keep- 

 ers as possible on those queries. 



Bristolville, O. J. S. Barb. 



Answer. — I have never yet been 

 able to prove satisfactorily to myself, 

 that very early packing was a benefit. 

 By all means, I should aim to pack my 

 bees at such a date that they would 

 have a good chance to fly several 

 times, and the first, immediately after 

 the packing, and get thoroughly ac- 

 quainted witli their new quarters. I 

 have maintained for years that I do 

 not get any advantage from late breed- 

 ing, and I do not want any undue 

 early breeding either. 



Wired Frames. 



Please answer tlie following ques- 

 tions in the Bee Journal : 



1. In wired frames what size of top 

 bar do you use, and which is the best 

 way to punch holes in them V 



2. How many wires for a Langs- 

 troth frame, and how near to the end 

 ijars should tlie first wire be V 



3. How near should foundation fill 

 the frames V 



4. Is it not a difficult job, even with 

 Given's wiring frame or machine, to 

 get the wire just right, so that the end 

 bars just so go in? 



5. Should the wire be stretched 

 tight, or must some allowance be 

 made for it to give, when the die 

 book is closed, so that it will not 

 break V H. W. Funk. 



Bloomington, 111. 



Answers.— 1. I use a top bar %x%, 

 and bore them on a boring machine 

 that bores all the holes, in about ten 

 bars per minute. 



2. I use only eight wires per frame, 

 and I use them all vertically. The 

 end ones should not be further than % 

 inch from the end bar. 



3. I maintain, against Mr. Root and 

 others, that it is better and safer 

 against all bulging, that there be a 

 space of Js i"ch between the founda- 

 tion and each end bar, and U to % at 

 the bottom. Heat expands the wax 

 sheets. 



4. I use the Given press for all wir- 

 ing, and with the lye process, I al- 

 ways make up ail my frames com- 



