1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



331 



only the blossom ends of the branches. It is not eas- 

 ily cured for hay. It is very ssippy; and, before it 

 cures, the leaves all drop off, leaving only the stem. 



I have a piece of svreet corn and pumpkins grrowiny 

 now in an old peach-orchard. The ground was very 

 poor, and for three years it has been covered with 

 sweet clover. I removed the old stalks that grew the 

 preceding year, and plowed it May 16. The clover 

 was then 15 inches high, and three horses could scarce- 

 ly turn it. It lay until June 31, when I marked and 

 planted it. The sod rotted completely, and the corn 

 proved the best I ever grew. M. S. Bond. 



PROTECTION FOR SUPERS. 



A Double Dead-air Spaced Cover; How to 



Get More Wax from a Swiss Extractor : 



Moving Bees in Hives with 



Open Entrances. 



BY GEORGE SHIBER. 



I have read with interest the discussion in 

 regard to warm supers in raising section 

 honey. From experiences I have had along 

 this line I am inclined to the opinion that 

 warm supers are the thing. A few years ago I 

 made some covers like the cut. It was made, 

 as you will see, to telescope over the top of 

 an eight-frame bive or super, telescoping 

 over the top of the hive and projecting down 

 the sides and all around about five inches. 

 It was covered over with cheese-cloth, and 

 then painted several coats of white lead. A 

 warm cover, or protection of this kind for 

 super, would, of course, be more noticeable 

 during a poor season. Such a season we had 

 here this past summer. The few hives on 

 which I used this cover were a surprise over 

 those with single-board covers. At first I 

 thought the queens were out of the ordinary; 

 but r gave this theory up, as I had a number 

 of queens just as well reared in other hives, 

 and of the same blood; so I am satisfied that 

 it was the warmer supers, caused by the bet- 

 ter protection provided by the covers. 



Now, the question comes up, "Would it 

 not be better to have this dead-air-space fill- 

 ed with chaff or sawdust, making the same 

 1^ inches, or perhaps 2 inches deep ? " I con- 



SHIBER'S DEAD-AIR-SPACKD COVER. 



sider, however, that the projecting rim of 5 

 inches below the hive is of prime importance. 

 Alainly, of course, the most protection should 

 l)e on the top of the hive. 



Mr. Pettit, of Canada, has long been an 

 advocate of a chaff cushion over the super of 



sections; and when the sections are taken off, 

 the cushion goes on top of the frames — in 

 short, as I understand him, the cushion is 

 left at the top of the hive the year round, and 

 that is where most of the heat radiates from 

 a colony of bees— by way of the cover, if it 

 is of one thickness of board. I wonder who 

 and how many are using chaff cushions over 

 the super, or other protection. It seems we 

 might all profit by hearing of the different 

 plans. 



A SIMPLE WAX-PRESS. 



There is a little kink I practice in render- 

 ing old and Islack combs. I used the Swiss 

 extractor; and after all the wax had run out 

 possible from the extractor the refuse was 

 dumped, steaming hot, into a burlap sack, 

 the sack being tied up close to the slumgum. 



The bag was then held by one person, and 

 another applied the pressure. While under 

 pressure, just about as much wax was squeez- 

 ed out as came from the extractor, and the 

 pressure was obtained very cheaply. Two 

 sticks were nailed together at one end by a 

 leather hinge, the other ends used as handles, 

 when a mighty pressure could be brought to 

 bear on the hot refuse. The one who held 

 the sack kept twisting, and the squeezer kept 

 squeezing, so to speak:. 



MOVING BEES IN HIVES WITH OPEN EN- 

 TRANCES. 



I note what is said editorially in Sept. 1st 

 Gleanings about moving bees with the en- 

 trance open. Last spring I bought four col- 

 onies of hybrids in big barn-like chaff hives, 

 and they filled the wagon-box. The bees 

 were very cross, so I subdued them with a 

 large quantity of smoke. You would think 

 that they would not offer an attack, but they 

 did — the most savage kind of assault. One 

 hive sprang open a crack large enough for 

 bees to get out. Probably 25 got into the 

 air before I plugged the hole up. -The ma- 

 jority of bees, though, I think, could be haul- 

 ed with open entrances, but not all. In 

 moving bees, have a can of soft raud (very 

 soft), and if a crack or other opening is seen, 

 a handful is thrown in, and it is sealed up tight 

 and very (juickly. If you have never tried 

 mud for this purpose, try it and you will be 

 pleased. Have it fairly thin, about like 

 common mortar. 



Randolph, N. Y. 



