1213 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



A CONCRETE CELLAK WITHOUT A DRAIN. 



My bee-cellar is under the dwellicg-house, 

 which is 20X^0. I put in a concrete lioor, 

 about 8 in. thick, and concrete walls 3 ft. 

 high, 4 in. thick inside the stone foundation. 

 This was sufficient to keep out the water. 

 Before I put in the concrete there was usual- 

 ly about 2 ft. of water in the cellar in the 

 winter months Now I have a cellar that is 

 dry, and lots of moisture outside the walls, 

 and the bees get all the moisture needed. 



January came in mild here, taking away 

 all the snow. On the 6th the bees which were 

 packed outside had a fly; and, although it 

 was like a summer day, the cellar stood at 

 44 degrees. Before the snow went, the cel- 

 lar stood at 4(5, so you will see that the wa- 

 ter that came around the walls lowered the 

 temperature 2 degrees just at a time when it 

 was most needed. If I were building anoth- 

 er cellar I would have it exactly the same as 

 this one. Chris. Grimoldby. 



Owen Sound, Ont. 



A CAN FEEDER ATTACHED TO THE BACK OF 

 A HIVE. 



I have been using a bee-feeder which I 

 like better than the Alexander, for three or 

 four reasons. They are much easier to put 

 on; rain does not till them up with water; 

 easier to take off if a swarm issues and you 

 have to move the hive, and they do not in- 



CORK 



cite robbing like the others. I have been ex- 

 perimenting some by feeding from 60 of these 

 and 50 of Alexander's. I can feed at any 

 time of day with these, and all goes well; 

 but by the time I have put the feed in 15 or 

 20 of the other the apiary is in an uproar. I 

 made mine from cast-off asparagus-cans, 

 which hold about a quart before the hole is 

 cut. To use them, bore a |-inch hole in the 



rear end of the hive or super, and drive a 

 small nail nearly up, just above the hole, to 

 hang feeder on. These holes are very con- 

 venient to have for mating queens on the 

 Alexander plan, and also for ventilation on 

 hot days. I keep corks in them when not in 

 use, of course. Feeders made like this should 

 be coated inside with paraffine, propolis, or 

 wax, so the bees can crawl up and out with- 

 out slipping If made of zinc, like the ex- 

 cluders, they ought to last a lifetime. If ex- 

 celsior is used in these feeders no waxing or 

 float is necessary. D. R. Keyes. 



Montgomery, Ala. 



[We illustrated a feeder on much the same 

 principle a couple of years ago. One objec- 

 tion to metal feeders is their coolness, espe- 

 cially when put outdoors. A feeder of this 

 kind could not be used in chilly or cold 

 weather, as the bees would not go into it. 



Beeswax would be better than paraftine, as 

 it wovild not present as slippery, not to say 

 oily, surface as parafline. — Ed.] 



SECTIONAL HIVES; THE HEDDON PATTERN 

 CSED FOR TWENTY YEARS. 



I have used the Ileddon hive for 20 years 

 with 20 to 60 colonies. I have used the Dan- 

 zenbaker hive one year, but as yet I don't 

 like it as well as the Heddon, as I often close 

 the Danzenbaker without putting back all 

 parts, springs, wedges, and division- board or 

 follower. The Heddon has no loose pieces 

 to look after, and I think it is a No. 1 hive 

 for some things. If you wish combs drawn 

 out before the honey-flow starts for sections 

 to be put on, just raise up one section of the 

 hive and place a new section between with 

 full sheets of foundation, and see how soon 

 thev will be built out into combs; and if you 

 wish increase I don't know of a better hive, 

 as a set of these new drawn-out combs and 

 a section of the old hive make a swarm soon 

 ready for work. In most cases it could be 

 done without moving a frame; but I like to 

 know which hive the queen is in, and give 

 the queenless colony a choice cell or a frame 

 of eggs from my best queen. 



I think J. E. Hand's articles should have 

 started a little sooner. S. Heath. 



Tidal, Pa., May 30. 



MtSTAH HONEY BEE. v 



No one's makin' speeches , 



Cept de honey-bee; 

 De principles he teaches 



Sounds right sensible to me. 

 He says: " Keep lookin' fo' de sweets 



Dat's growin' eb'rywhere; 

 An' if some no-'count weeds you meets, 



Pass on an' don't you care." 



As he comes a-bringin' 



De goods f 'um roun' de farm, 

 He says: " A little singin' 



Ain g winter do no harm; 

 I tells you, lots of us would get 



Mo' joy f'um life if we 

 Kep' follerin' de sample set 



By Mistah Honey Bee. 



— Washington Star. 



