478 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 25, 



emotion of bravery " I daily enjoy. But as to their present 

 management — with old age stealing on me, taking nearly all 

 physical vigor out of me, except in spirit, that refuses in its 

 exhilarance to march hand in hand with waning age, I neces- 

 sarily instituted a new system of bee-keeping; that is, I Ticep 

 them, and not much more, I cease to feed them, no longer 

 give them foundation, let them enjoy the heat of the summer, 

 and the cold in the winter ad libitum, freely divide my swarms 

 to the glory of the forest. But I neglect them not in toto. To 

 maintain them in a good condition, I allow them double the 

 ration they need, and so practicable I am, that at times I 

 pile up a stack of stories, to keep them at work, to prevent 

 swarming, to make colonies strong, and to effect them to kill 

 the moth themselves. The whole affair is a sort of a self- 

 acting and self-sustaining arrangement, with only now and 

 then a touch of a master's hand — for the sake of an apiarian 

 respectability, for I have a horror of slovenliness. 



In referring to some of the back numbers of the Bee 

 Journal, you will find on record some of my bee-inventions, a 

 few of which I have materially improved, and will bear 

 further notice. In the issue of Dec. 5, and Aug. 8, 1888, the 

 rack holding my smoker is now permanently fastened to a 

 gallon tin paint-can, and, in using it, it is simply hooked to 

 the side of the hive, in a manner so that the current of air 

 will draw the smoke over the top of it. The arrangement is 

 ' very efficient. It gives no excess of smoke, the bees are 

 promptly driven down ; there is no dust, ashes and soot that 

 will soil the honey, and, what is of special value, it is auto- 

 matic, and gives free use of both hands. I have used no other 

 smoker since 1888, and wish nothing better; and as to the 

 cost of making it, we might call it the " dime smoker." To 

 regulate the ignition, use a tin cover with a wooden handle. 

 In a dead calm of air, I at times use this cover to fan the 

 smoke over the hive ; and for preliminary smoking at the en- 

 trance, if the air is not propitious, I give a few whiffs of 

 smoke with the fan. Let me privately tell you, if the bee- 

 fraternity knew the merits of this smoker, they would discard 

 all others. 



I likewise, in the same number of the Bee Journal, gave 

 my method to keep the frames of hives a proper distance 

 apart ; by driving wire nails into each end of the frame from 

 the outside. It is a very efficient plan, but it requires too 

 much tinkering ; and now I simply use the two-pointed carpet- 

 tacks. They are of the right size, and when once placed be- 

 tween the frames, will require no further attention. I have 

 to say with a heartfelt gratitude : Blessed the man that in- 

 vented the two-pointed tacks ! 



With this communication I will send you a paper where 

 the press herald me as a " great inventor." I admit the sub- 

 ject, but protest against the adjective. But I will say, of 

 many of my inventions, confined in the different departments 

 of science, there are some that don't give me uear the satis- 

 faction that I feel in the two very simple ones mentioned 

 above. Often an invention is valuable, where efficient effects 

 are brought about by simple means. Yours truly, 



Austin, Tex. G. P. Hachknberg, M. D. 



/Kn)or)Q ii)c Bee-Papers 



AMOUNT GATHERED BY BEES IN A DAY. 



According to the observations of Schachinger, a Hungari- 

 an priest, when 20,000 bees gather, in a day 8.83 ounces of 

 honey, 30,000 bees gather three times, 40,000 eight times, 

 and 50,000 twelve times as much. The data of these obser- 

 vations are not given. — Review. 



EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON BEES IN WINTER. 



That is a suggestive thought on wintering which Dr. Mil- 

 ler brings out in Gleanings. When the air in our living-rooms 

 is very impure from lack of ventilation we shiver at 70^ ; but 

 when the air is perfectly pure and crisp we feel warm at 65 '. 

 This is very probably one reason why zero harms out-door 

 bees less than 32 harms cellar bees. — E. E. Hasty, in Review. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION OF QUEEN-CELLS. 



The subject of artificial incubation of queen-cells is very 

 old. Under the heading of "Lamp Nursery," in the old edi- 

 tions of our "A B C " book, away back in 1878-79, there are 

 full particulars on this subject ; but there are very few queen- 

 breeders, if any, who now use artificial heat for hatching 

 cells. What are known as "hatchers" — a series of queen- 

 cages put down between the frames, or on top of them, over a 



powerful colony— is preferred. These little cages contain a 

 single cell ; and the heat arising from the cluster is sufficient 

 to hatch them. Of course, the natural heat of the colony is 

 far superior, more regular, and better in every way, than any- 

 thing that can be supplied by artificial means. — Gleanings. 



CRIMSON CLOVER AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



Crimson clover, sown the middle of August on the writer's 

 experiment plot, commenced blooming the first of May and 

 ripened its seed early in June. For four weeks the honey-bees 

 hummed joyously over its beautiful blossoms. Wherever it 

 can be grown, crimson clover is a honey-plant of great value. 

 It is the first of all the clovers to bloom. Where the bee- 

 keeper has white clover or Alsike clover, he can add one 

 month, at least, to the length of the honey harvest by a field 

 of crimson clover. — Farm and Fireside. 



GETTING RID OF ANTS. 



To get rid of the small ants, find their nest if possible. 

 Make a hole through the center of the nest with a crowbar, 

 and pour in about half an ounce of bisulphide of carbon, 

 which you can get at your drug-store. Quickly cover the hole 

 and it will destroy the nest, ants and all, but it will not kill 

 vegetation. If you cannot find the nest, put a little molasses 

 on a board, poisoned with strychnine, or some other poison. 

 Put this in a place where only the ants themselves can get at 

 the sweet. This will kill them as they make their visits ; but 

 of course the better way is to get at their nests. — Gleanings. 



DAMPENING SECTIONS FOR FOLDING. 



Sections, from being kept in a dry place, become so brittle 

 that many of them break in folding. The best remedy is to 

 put them in a damp cellar a few days before folding them. If 

 there is not time for this the usual practice . is to wet the 

 grooves. S. E. Miller, in the Progressive condemns this plan, 

 as it causes the sides of the grooves to swell, thus increasing 

 the strain on the part that bends. He recommends the laying 

 of a dozen or more sections on a table, the grooves being 

 turned down, then with clear water and a small brush wet 

 them just back of the grooves. The sections can then be piled 

 up and another lot laid down and wet. My remedy would be 

 to use four-piece sections. — Review. 



CERESIN FOUNDATION. 



It is generally supposed that this country is at the head 

 in matters of adulteration, but I doubt whether any firm in 

 this country makes a practice of manufacturing foundation 

 from anything but genuine beeswax, and certainly they would 

 not advertise foundation of any other kind. Here's something 

 from Karl Mathey, in Gleanings : 



I reproduce the following, simply to show that foundation 

 made from ceresin is publicly sold iu Germany : 



" The undersigned firm offer ceresin foundation in their 

 price-list, together with that made from pure wax, on the fol- 

 lowing grounds : 



" 1. The amount of beeswax produced, when compared 

 with that of honey, is very insignificant, being scarcely 5 per 

 cent, of the latter. 



" 2. The cheaper foundation made of ceresin, whether the 

 extractor be used or not, and be the honey harvest never so 

 good, is decidedly conducive to an increase in the net amount 

 of honey produced as compared with the use of foundation 

 made from pure beeswax. 



" 8. The price of beeswax must fall more and more — that 

 is, come nearer to that of ceresin, and that is only a question 

 of time — or else the use of ceresin and other kinds of wax will 

 become more and more common. But if it does become 

 cheaper, then the use of ceresin for foundation will be discon- 

 tinued. 



"4. No man, either officer of the law or a private citizen, 

 can control or hinder any one of the thousands of bee-keepers 

 of Austro-Hungary in the use of ceresin foundation, whenever 

 and wherever he pleases, whether it be made by means of a 

 plaster-Paris or wax mold." Baron Rothschuetz. 



Weixelburg, Austria. 



Xlie BIcEvoy Poul Brood Xreatment is 



given in Dr. Howard's pamphlet on " Foul Brood ; Its Natural 

 History and Rational Treatment." It is the latest publication 

 on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 

 Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 

 —both for $1.10. 



