764 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



ANOTHER BEE-BRUSH. 



There has been so much said in the jour- 

 nals relative to bee-brushes that I want to 

 add just a few words. It seems to me that 

 there has never been a first-class brush de- 

 scribed; and it seems to me that, when we 

 revert to a bunch of weeds, we are not mak- 

 ing much advancement, aside from the un- 

 tidiness of the apiary in having- weeds 

 growing so plentifully that we can grab up 

 a handful at every hive. We can all buy 

 the best bee-brush at any store for 10 cts. ; 

 and that is, just an ordinary' whisk-broom. 

 Tack a sheet of sandpaper on your work- 

 bench or on a board, and take hold of the 

 handle of the whisk-broom with one hand, 

 and with the other one press the end of the 

 brush down fiat on the sandpaper, and 

 then pull it across it a few times, and 

 you will have all the stiff points cut down 

 so it will be pliable and soft, and no dan 

 ger of mutilating the cappings. When 

 brushing, hold the brush flat to the comb, 

 or practically so; and if it gets daubed 

 with honey, dip it in a dish of water, and 

 it will be clean again, and the moistening 

 makes it more pliable. I have one I have 

 used for fifteen years, and it is good for as 

 many more. I always wet it before begin- 

 ning my day's work. Elias Fox. 



Hillsboro, Wis., July 9, 1903. 



[Your suggestions for making a good bee- 

 brush are excellent. We have been trying 

 the idea of " sandpapering " the broom iu 

 the manner you have described, and it 

 works like a charm. The item is worth 

 much to the bee-keepers of the country, and 

 I hope every reader of this journal will see 

 it and act accordingly.— Ed.] 



FEEDING BACK EXTRACTED HONEY. 



Having never been situated to test this 

 matter fully, I will not attempt to say that 

 any plan can be invariablj^ followed that 

 will g-ive satisfactory results; but in my feed- 

 ing experiments under various conditions I 

 have observed that bees will build comb 

 more readily, and nearer the way comb is 

 built when nectar is coming in, if not fed 

 too rapidly, and from sources that are near- 

 est approaching their gathering it from the 

 flowers. If the bees are attracted to a 

 feeding-box 100 yards or more from their 

 hive, and the entrance to this feeding-box 

 is contracted so that only so many bees can 

 pass in and out as will convey the usual 

 amount of honey gathered in a day to their 

 hive, they will probably store this honey in 

 boxes to the same advantage as though 

 gathering it from the fields. 



Again, the honey must be thinned to the 

 consistency of nectar to have it reach the 

 hive in condition normal to the industrial 

 workings carried on therein. A weight of 

 about 9 lbs. per gallon would come near the 

 consistency of nectar from the fiowers. The 

 mixture of honey and water should be of 

 equal temperature when united, or granu- 

 lation will take place after it is stored in 

 the combs, and seriously depreciate results. 

 If mixed at a little higher temperature 

 than honey gathered from the fields, there 

 is no more liability to granulation than is 

 experienced in the various qualities of hon- 

 ey as naturally brought in, provided the 

 temperatures are equal when mixture is 

 made. B. F. Averill. 



Howardsville, Va., July 21. 



[You have given us a couple of good sug- 

 gestions, friend A. If it is a fact that fed- 



E. F. PHILLIPS. 



See article on Par thenogenesis. page j6i. 



back honey can be so fed or prepared that it 

 will not granulate in the combs we shall 

 have taken one important step forward. I 

 should be glad to get reports from our sub- 

 scribers who contemplate feeding back, as 

 to the success of the plan here outlined. — 

 Ed.] 



hoffman and other self-spacing (or 

 fool-proof) frames. 

 Now, this kick is from the other side. Dr. 

 Miller says if none of the Cuban bee-keep- 

 ers will use the Hoffman frame, why not 



