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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



very liable to chill the brood; and even if 

 that vpill not be the case your bees will have 

 a larger space to heat up, besides the heat 

 that is lost in opening- the hive, so they will 

 expend energy which is more valuable for 

 other purposes at that time of the year. 



Second, ease and rapidity of feeding. It 

 is as easy to feed with it as with an en- 

 trance feeder, and much more easy to wash, 

 while it is much easier to feed with it than 

 when you must use a super to feed. We 

 have the feeders in quart, half-gallon, and 

 gallon sizes, so we can give a colony enough 

 in one feed. The bees will empty a feeder 

 out in about 24 hours. This makes feeding 

 very rapid work. 



Third, the feed is voluntary; and if the 

 feeder is well made it is impossible for bees 

 or hive to get soiled with honey. 



Fourth, if a weather-cover is used it will 

 not attract robbers as some feeders do. 



Now, some of you will say, " But I would 

 not have a hole in the cover." Well, let 

 me say that I would want the holes in the 

 covers, and a good cork in each, even if 

 there were no such a thing as feeders. If 

 you have a two-inch hole with a good cork 

 'in it, long enough so that you can take hold 

 with ease, you will find it handy to intro- 

 duce queens from shipping-cages. All you 

 have to do is to remove the wire so that a 

 part of the candy is free; lay the cage on 

 the hole with the candy side down, and set 

 a bowl over the cage, and you will find the 

 hole very handy. If you want to look into 

 the hive without disturbing the colony, 

 through that hole you can see if a super is 

 full, etc. 



In some climates it would be advisable to 

 use a weather-cover over the other cover. 

 Our weather- covers are about four inches 

 over the cover on the sides, and six in the 

 middle. , For the cover we use galvanized 

 iron. We formerly used roofing tin; but in 

 the long run galvanized iron is cheaper. In 

 each gable we have a l>2-inch ventilator- 

 hole, as marked in cut. I think that, if 

 such weather-covers were more used, it 

 would do away with the cover trouble that 

 we hear so much about. Hugo Koehler. 



Marshallville, O., Apr. 16. 



COTTONWOOD FOR SECTIONS. 



In reply to yours of a recent date, I will 

 say that the wahoo here grow to about 3 

 ft. in diameter, but usually run from about 

 12 to 30 inches. They grow in nearly all 

 swamps here, and also on the hills to some 

 extent, from one to as many in some places 

 as six or eight to the acre in woodland. 

 There are a few of them that have a black 

 heart — average about one to six trees; but 

 most of them are all sap, either white or of 

 a pinkish shade. They continue to bloom 

 about June 20, and last for about two 

 weeks, and have always produced some 

 honey except during rainy seasons, when 

 the bees had no opportunity to gather the 

 honey. There may be 400 or 500 trees 

 within a mile of my house. A sample of 



bloom is sent. I noticed some pieces of 

 timber that were split out last October and 

 November, but they seem to be white yet 

 after taking off the outside. My opinion 

 was that the wood would remain white if 

 cut any time when sap was down, or any 

 time after leaves shed. 



Have you ever tried cottonwood for sec- 

 tions? I should like to know for certain 

 whether timber cut here any time will stain 

 or not in dry weather. W." C. Naftee. 



Naftee, Ala., May 27, 1903. 



[Cottonwood might answer, but it would 

 cost here about the same price as bass- 

 wood, and would not be as tough. — Ed.] 



CARPET GRASS — THE USE OF A SPRAY-PUMP 

 IN THE APIARY. 



Noting the interest that was manifested 

 in the carpet grass of California, we se- 

 cured, last January, from J. H. Erich, of 

 Nicolaus, Cal., roots of this plant, and set 

 them out here. They grew readily; but 

 now that it is in bloom, we find it is exact- 

 ly identical with the Lippia nodiflora, 

 which occurs along every sandy bank and 

 water-course in Central Texas. Its growth 

 can hardly be designated as luxuriant; and 

 as to the blossoms, the bees will not go near 

 them when nectar is available from any 

 other source. As a honey- producer in this 

 locality it is absolutely worthless. Even 

 in the dry summer of 1902, when nothing 

 else was in bloom, only an occasional bee 

 could be found visiting the lippia-blooms, 

 Hnd no increase in the amount of honey in 

 the hives could be detected whatever. 



A small spray-pump is one of the most 

 convenient appliances we have found for 

 use about the apiarj'. The one we have 

 used for several months is a small one with 

 a capacity of about three gallons. It is 

 run b}' compressed air. In the central 

 p-irt of the reservoir is an air-pump which 

 forces air into the water-chamber, and the 

 resulting pressure will keep up a good 

 spray for several minutes. The entire 

 thing is light and compact, and can be 

 readily picked up and carried wherever 

 needed. As a "settler" for swarms it is 

 a dandy, as it will throw either a fine or 

 coarse spray as desired; or by removing 

 the nozzle it will throw a small stream to a 

 height of twenty feet. It is also just the 

 thing to quiet robbers. A strong spray 

 directed on the attacked colony knocks the 

 robbers right and left; and by the time they 

 get dried off again they have lost all notion 

 of robbing. A few repetitions of the treat- 

 ment at intervals of ten minutes will stop 

 the most obstinate case of robbing, especial- 

 ly if a few drops of carbolic acid be placed 

 in the water. 



For filling combs with syrup for feeding, 

 the sprayer is filled with the S3'rup., the 

 empty comb set up over a pail or pan, and 

 the syrup thrown on to it with a fine spray. 

 The small drops readily enter the cells, al- 

 lowing the air to escape, and the result is 

 a neatly filled comb with very little muss. 



