394 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



and they did not build the cells out ag-ain. 

 But when the comb was not moldy the bees 

 did not disturb it at all. C. K. Carter. 

 Eagle Grove, Iowa. 



[If the bees had needed more room they 

 would have built out those gnawed-down 

 combs; and if they have not done so al- 

 ready they will do so yet when the honey 

 season opens up. — Ed.] 



cept, perchance, the few times when he goes- 

 into the cellar to make examinations. — Ed.] 



GOOD WINTERING IN A DAMP WET CELLAR; 

 VENTILATION, DAMPNESS, AND TEM- 

 PERATURE CONSIDERED. 



I took my bees out of the cellar March 20, 

 and find them in fine condition — only one 

 dead colony out of 183. The bees are bright 

 and healthy, and in remarkably good con- 

 dition. I am a firm believer in taking bees 

 from the cellar as early as possible, the 

 benefit of which I have proven by my own 

 experience in the past. The condition of 

 my cellar was such that almost any one 

 would condemn it for the purpose of winter- 

 ing bees; but notwithstanding I never had 

 bees winter better, either outdoors or in the 

 cellar. My cellar is built in a clay bank 

 with about three feet of dirt over it, and 

 this dirt is covered with a shingled roof. 

 It is 8 ft. wide, 28 ft. long, and 6>2 ft. high, 

 with two doors in place of where Doolittle 

 has four. The past winter, it has been ex- 

 ceedingly damp, with some water actually 

 standing on the cellar bottom. It has al- 

 ways been said that one of the most essen- 

 tial conditions of cellar wintering is that it 

 be practically dry; but I have just wintered 

 my bees in fine condition with the reverse 

 condition. It would also be considered that 

 I put almost too many bees in a cellar of 

 th.it size. The cellar is provided with two 

 ventilators — one that opens at the bottom of 

 the cellar, admitting fresh air, and the other 

 opening at the ceiling-, and both go directly 

 up through the roof, with cap at the top to 

 prevent light from entering. This cellar 

 has maintained almost an even temperature 

 all winter. The thermometer registered 

 just 52° all winter, until just before I took 

 them out, when it went up several degrees. 

 The stores which the bees wintered on were 

 largely fall honey, although there was more 

 or less clover honey in most of the hives. 



I have come to the conclusion that so much 

 dampness in a cellar is not so disastrous 

 after all, if the temperature and other con- 

 ditions are all right; and I write this that 

 others may draw their conclusions. 



Marion, Mich. R. S. Chapin. 



[I think it is generally conceded that a 

 cellar may be reeking with dampness, and 

 yet give good results in wintering, provided 

 other requisite conditions are present. One 

 of those conditions is uniform temperature, 

 and a reasonable amount of fresh air; but 

 our friend Doolittle, who has had a good 

 many years of experience, and ought to 

 know, believes that, with uniform tempera- 

 ture, ventilation is not essential, for his 

 cellar is kept closed from fall to spring, ex- 



QUESTIONS REGARDING THE PRODUCTION 

 OF COMB HONEV. 



1. Is it better to remove supers, or the 

 honey from them as they fill, and replace 

 them, or to add other supers, thus tiering 

 up? 



2. For comb honey, is it proper to use full 

 sheets of foundation? 



3. Does the foundation mar the taste of 

 comb honey? T. F. Rawlins. 



Elk Creek, Cal. 



[1. A good deal will depend on whether 

 you have many supers to remove. If the 

 season is very slow it may be advisable 

 to take off the filled sections one by one, 

 substituting empty sections in their place. 

 But in large apiaries it is the usual prac- 

 tice to remove the whole super. If the su- 

 per is not quite filled, and honey is coming 

 in well, raise it up and put an empty super 

 under it. If the season is toward its close, 

 put the new super on top. 



2. If you wish to get the most honey in a 

 given time, we would advise using full 

 sheets of foundation. 



3. No. But combs built off from founda- 

 tion have a slight midrib that bee-keepers 

 can detect or notice if they think of it; but 

 the general consuming public never thinks 

 of it, and won't if we don't call their at- 

 tention to it. — Ed. ] 



SOMEE USEFUL devices; a handy scraper; 



A UNIQUE foundation- CUTTER. 



The enclosed sketches are my own ideas, 

 and I use them successfullj'. I have not 

 seen anything in Gleanings or elsewhere 

 that can do what each one of the tools here 

 shown can do in the same time. No. 1 is a 

 hive and bottom-board scraper. It is a 

 piece of glass cut in shape as shown, with 

 a piece of hard wood for handle, with saw- 

 kerf in to hold the glass. It beats any 

 kind of steel blade. I use its sharp end 

 for scraping sections also. 



No. 2 is my instantaneous foundation cut- 

 ter. It cuts a pound of wax into any size, 

 sheet, or starter, or both, at the same time, 

 absolutely true. Any child can operate it 

 by placing the sheets of wax on the block 

 of wood, pulling down the frame. The cut- 

 ting is done by the wires. The block is 

 hard wood, with saw-kerfs in to correspond 

 with the wire that cuts the wax. The dot- 

 ted line around the table or block is a rim 

 for the cutter-bar to rest on when down to 

 prevent breaking wires. The wires are on 

 a loop-shaped hook with thumb-screws for 

 tightening wires. 



The frame is made with a groove all around, 

 and the wires are set to correspond with 

 the grooves in the block; for whatever size 

 the operator wishes strips for starters in 

 brood-frames can be cut also, if desired. 

 The frame is made by bolting two pieces of 

 steel together, leaving space all around for 



