314 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Mar. 1 



' ' By the use of one of the foundation fas- 

 teners, of which there are quite a number." 

 "Could I not put them on without a ma- 

 chine ? ' ' 



"Yes, it can be done that way; and had 

 you only one or two colonies I would do this. 

 But with your 25 or 30 colonies you do not 

 want to do the work that way. Much better 

 cut your foundation sheet by sheet at a time, 

 than fool away your time putting foundation 

 in sections without a foundation-fastener." 



"Very well. Having my sections all made 

 and with foundation in them, what next ? " 



"Put them in your section-holders, of 

 course, and then put the holders in the svi- 

 pers, when the supei^s are to be piled away 

 all ready to set on the hives at a moment's 

 notice when the honey harvest arrives next 

 June." 



"Is that all?" 



"No, not if yovi wish the best success with 

 your bees." 



"What else is there to be done with these 

 supers ? ' ' 



"How many colonies have you ? " 

 "I have 27." 



"Then you want to fix 27 supers with bait 

 sections in them." 



" What are bait sections ? " 

 ' ' These are the sections which were only 

 partly filled last season, or sections which 

 were not filled and capped over to a svifiicient 

 extent so they were salable last fall. You 

 had quite a few such, did you not ? ' ' 



" Yes. But why do you call them baits ?" 



"Well, they are not bait sections, only as 



we use them as such. Did you ever hear of 



bait, and baiting a hook when going fishing?" 



"Certainly. What boy of 17 years nas 



not?" 



"Well, as you use worms and what not as 

 bait to entice the fish to come so you can 

 catch them, so you use these partly filled 

 sections left over from the fall before, in 

 each super first put on the colonies at the 

 beginning of the harvest, to entice the bees 

 to enter the super quickly, and much sooner 

 than they would where only the foundation 

 starters are used entirely in any super. These 

 sections cause the bees to enter the supers 

 and cluster on the combs they contain, on 

 the same principle that bees will accept and 

 work on old comb long before they will build 

 comb at the beginning of any honey-flow ? ' ' 

 ' ' Oh 1 1 see now. How many of these part- 

 ly filled sections do you use in a super ? ' ' 



"Just in accord with how many partly 

 filled boxes I have. I count up the number 

 I have, then divide them by the number of 

 colonies I expect to have to work for section 

 honey the next season, when I use as many 

 as this gives me to each colony. If you can 

 have from four to twelve for each colony you 

 will be all right." 



' ' But where in the super do you put these 

 bait sections ? ' ' 



" If I have only four I put them in the 

 center of the super, as there is where the 

 bees will ' draw ' in the quickest. If eight, 

 then I put four in each of two section-hold- 

 ers, and then put these section-holders in the 



super, so that two or three section-holders of 

 sections with starters come in between them. 

 In this way I get the bees at work, not only 

 in the baits, but in the sections between the 

 baits, and all goes on swimmingly from the 

 start. ' ' 



"I think I understand now, and I will go 

 home and commence operations at once. 

 Thank you." 



QUESTIONS AND REMARKS BY VISITORS. 



One day a man saw me carrying a Daisy 

 foundation-fastener and asked: "What are 

 you going to do with that thing — make your- 

 self some sauer-kraut? " 



"I know why his bees make so much hon- 

 ey. He has a lai'ge geranium-bed that his 

 bees live on." (Will some one please quote 

 me prices on geranium honey? I wish to 

 sell only in car lots. ) 



"Say! my bees have got worms. Nearly 

 every cell has a little white worm curled up 

 in the bottom. Those that have not got 

 worms in them have little worm eggs. What 

 can I do about it? " 



Almost any physician can prescribe for 

 worms. But you need the dope — not the bees. 



A lady once asked me to explain the I'ela- 

 tive merits of the cold-blast and hot-blast 

 smokers. She bought the latter. While us- 

 ing it one day she burned a large blister on 

 her arm. Then she asked me this conun- 

 drum: 



"In principle of operation, what is the 

 difference between the two smokers?" 



I gave it up. 



"Well, one is a cold blasted smoker, while 

 the other is a blasted hot smoker." 



" Do bees die when they sting you? " 

 ' ' Yes, sir, they always die instantly. Death 

 is caused from a knock-out spat that they 

 get from my right hand." 



"But if left to themselves do they die? " 

 "If, after committing this overt act, they 

 merely uncouple from their sting, I have 

 never known one to die from that cause. 

 But here is a little conclusion that I should 

 like to jump at: When a bee tears out its 

 sting and leaves a thread attached to it, and 

 then walks off, thereby unraveling most of 

 his internal fabric, I believe we should be ex- 

 cused if we conclude with no further evidence 

 that this is not conducive to the longlivity 

 and general prosperity of the bee. 



