42 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Queries ajid Replies. 



Cleaning f oofl-Zinc Honey-Boards, 



Query 774. — I find that some of my 

 wood-zinc, queen-excluding honey-boards 

 become solidly "stuck up" with wax 

 and propolis. How can I best clean 

 them, and restore free passageways for 

 the bees ? — D. 



Try putting them into hot water. — M. 

 Mahin. 



I know of no royal way. Careful 

 scraping in cold weather is not hard. — 

 A. J. Cook. 



Put them in the solar wax extractor 

 for an hour or two some clear, hot day. 



— G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Dip them in boiling water, or break a 

 few open, and let the bees open what 

 more they want. — R. L. Taylor. 



Take what is commonly called a tea- 

 kettle filled with boiling water, pour the 

 water on the zinc strips, and the wax 

 will go at once. — H. D. Cutting. 



I would say, make a tool just the right 

 shape to reach all the " stuck up " parts, 

 and scrape them clean. I aai wondering 

 just how they are constructed. — James 

 Heddon. 



I do not know of any way but to 

 scratch and scrape, and keep in mind 

 the scriptural quotation: "In your 

 patience possess ye your souls." — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



I have had no experience, but I think 

 I would try to get them cold enough to 

 make the propolis brittle, and then 

 scrape them with some steel tool. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



I should scrape it off of each side with 

 9. wide chisel, and borrow my husband's 

 jack-knife and sit in a rocking chair 

 in the grape arbor and pick it out. — 

 Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Either "scrape" or use a little kero- 

 *sense to dissolve the gum, and then 

 follow with a brush and a little soap 

 suds. The bees will wage but little 

 objection. — J. P. H. Brown. 



Queen-excluders are a nuisance, and 

 we would set them aside if we were in 

 your place. Queens do not go up into 

 the supers bftener than one year in five, 

 and then it is only a few queens that do. 

 — Dadant & Son. 



Dip them in boiling water, or set 

 them in a boiler and pour very hot water 

 over them from a tea-kettle. Do not try 

 to clean with a knife, as that would 

 spoil the zinc. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I have never had any k'ouble of the 

 kind, of any consequence, but I have 

 found no easier way to clean propolis 

 and wax from honey-boards, sections, 

 etc., than to scrape them clean with a 

 smooth-edged knife. — J. E. Pond. 



I think that as good a way as any for 

 the average bee-keeper is to lay them in 

 the sun until the wax and propolis 

 melts, and then, with a chisel, or some 

 square-cornered instrument, clean them. 

 The chisel ought to be just the width to 

 fit between the slats. — Eugene Secor. 



The wood-zinc queen-excluder is never 

 badly " stuck up '" with wax and propolis, 

 when rightly managed. They are best 

 cleaned, when clogged up, by placing in 

 the sun until the wax is soft, then scrape 

 off with a suitable tool, or a piece of 

 heavy tin, sharpened to a dull edge. — 

 G. L. Tinker. 



Your experience with the wood-zinc 

 honey-board is very natural. They are 

 a mechanical exaggeration. Many im- 

 plements designed for the apiary look 

 "nice" until they are tried practically, 

 and then the want of forethought is 

 apparent enough. The uneven surface 

 of the wood-zinc excluders makes them 

 hard to clean. Cold weather is the best 

 time to scrape off propolis, as it will not 

 stick to the knife and fingers like it 

 does in hot weather. I use the plain 

 sheets of perforated zinc framed with 

 wood. They are easily and rapidly 

 cleaned. — G. W. Demaree. 



To dip them in boiling water is the 

 best way so far suggested. See what 

 Abel Gresh says about it on page 22 of 

 the Bee Journal for last week. — The 

 Editor. 



'Wlieii 'Writing a letter be sure 

 to sign it. Too often we get letters 

 with the name of the post-office, but no 

 County or State. One such came 

 recently, and we looked into the Postal 

 Guide and found there were places by 

 that name in 13 States. That order for 

 goods will have to wait until another 

 letter comes to give the proper address. 

 Be sure to stamp your letter, or it may 

 go to the dead letter office. 



