912 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



feving from one or more stings soothes by 

 helping to reduce the cougesticm or fever to 

 the paits incident to the svvellmg. — Ed.] 



VENTILATED BOTTOM-BOARDS. 



I notice in one of Dr. Miller's Straws, p. 

 1556, 19013, Dec. 15th issue, in speaking of a 

 hive-foundation he objects to Mr. Stanley's 

 on account of the moisture that gathers be- 

 tween the hive- bottom and the foundation 

 causing rot. I have used the same thing and 

 find the same objection, and it is more no- 

 ticeable with us, for we never move our hives 

 —they remain on the stands all the year. 



In order to avoid the objection I make a 

 different foundation as follows: I use a 2X4: 

 at each end, as long as the hive is wide. On 

 top of these I fasten a IXS at each end. 

 These lX3's I cut 30 inches long, which 

 makes a foundation (5 inches longer than my 

 hive-bottom. I now take a piece of boaid 

 wide enough to till in between the two pieces 



of 1X3, and 6 inches long. Fasten one end 

 of it to the 2X4, the other to a small strip 

 fastened under the lX3's as per the illustra- 

 tion. Now, by setting this foundation on the 

 smooth ground many a load of honey will 

 be saved that would be lost if the hive were 

 so arranged that a nearly worn-out bee could 

 not climb from the ground to the hive. I 

 tind they will frequently fall in front of the 

 hive with a heavy load of honey, and wings 

 worn out, but still able to walk. 

 Weaverville, Cal. C. H. Newell. 



HOW TO PUT IN FOUNDATION ON HOT DAYS. 



Last summer was very hot here, the ther- 

 mometer standing at 90 to 95 almost all 

 through our best honey season. It was al- 

 most impossible to fasten thin foundation in 

 the sections, so I cut as many as I wished 

 that day and placed them in cold water, tak- 

 ing them out as wanted. It worked like a 

 charm. The water stiffens up the founda- 

 tion. I use the Daisy foundation-fastener. 



Junction City, Oreg. J. E. Barnum. 



[This is a happy suggestion. We do not 

 remember to have seen it suggested before. 

 —Ed.] 



CLIPPING QUEENS. 



Your advice, page 392, March 15th, to prac- 

 tice clippintr dritnes before trying on queens 

 is good, but 1 am afraid that, if a begin t.er 

 should wait until drones hatch, he would be 

 unalilc to find her. 



Bethel, Wis. Rudolph McChesney. 



[Where there are several colonies, a few 

 drones are almost sure to be present in some 

 hive in early spring. If the beginner bus 

 only one hive, let him practice picking uj) 

 worker bees by the wings. True he may 

 get stung before he acquires the knack; but 

 this will be far better than maiming or kill- 

 ing a queen before he learns the art of clip- 

 ping a bee or a drone. — Ed.] 



BEES CARRYING OUT CANDIED HONEY; FOL- 

 LOWERS TOO LIGHT. 



1. Did you ever notice your bees carrying 

 candied honey out of the hive'/ I have two 

 colonies that are busily engaged in carrying 

 out the honey, which is in the form of small 

 round granules. 



2. I have so much trouble in prying out 

 division- boards that I think they should be 

 made heavier or of some stx'onger material. 



Erskine, Minn. J. A. Brandt. 



[When the candied honey becomes dry 

 and hard, particularly if it is too cool or cokl 

 for the bees to go after water, they will often 

 do this. In such cases give a feeder of wa- 

 ter on top of the frames or in the hive where 

 the bees can get at it. 



Perhaps you have some of the old-style 

 followers made of lighter material; or per- 

 haps you allow the follower to come up tight 

 against the side of the hive where the bees 

 can glue it fast. It should always be placed 

 in contact with the frame next to it with a 

 bee-space between it and the side of the hive. 

 When so placed your trouble will largely 

 disappear. — Ed.] 



THE HIVE-CAlvRIER VALUABLE ALSO AS A 

 COMB-CARRIEK. 



The method of carrying bees out of the 

 cellar at the Home of the Honey-bees, as il- 

 lustrated on page 557, April 15th issue, was 

 used by my brother and myself in 1880. We 

 made the frame for carrying frames of hon- 

 ey into the extracting-house, and, when 

 empty, back to the hives. For this purpose 

 it is the ideal way until robbers take to it. 

 ■Then a wire screen all over and under, with 

 the top made in a frame with hinges, is all 

 that is required to baffle the robbers. We 

 also carried hives and wood on it, and other 

 things that are to be removed. 



Levita, Texas. J. W. Guyton, M. D. 



UNCAPPING-KNIVES WITH SCALLOPED EDGES. 



I would suggest making those uncapping- 

 kuives, page 937, with hcalloped edge, like 

 those scalloped bread-knives. I have been 

 using one of the latter for several years, and 

 think they work well, using the same either 

 with a drawing or sawing motion. 



St. Louis, Mo. Herman Betke. 



