AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



589 



them, and probably to rejoice when they 

 have triumphed over obstacles which 

 may at first have seemed insurmount- 

 able. — Phrenological Journal. 



mm Wax-Siall Hives for NncM, 



S. F. TREGO. 



I have just found a new (?) arrange- 

 ment for melting up old combs. It is a 

 lamp nursery, such as is used in rearing 

 queens. Mine is 18x18x10 inches, in- 

 side, and is surrounded by one inch of 

 water, except the top. 



Fill the space between the walls with 

 water, remove all of the lids from the 

 stove, and put the nursery in their place, 

 then put some water in the nursery (use 

 your own judgment as to the amount), 

 and p'ile your old combs, etc., in the 

 water. Lay some slats over the top, and 

 cover with some kind of a mat to keep 

 the heat in. 



As the wax melts, put in more. Strain 

 in the usual way. Do not fill the space 

 between the walls quite full of water, or 

 it will boil over. ' Do not stop up the 

 hole where you put the water in, or you 

 will have a boiler explosion in short 

 order. 



Covering the top will hold the steam 

 on the top of the wax, and melt it much 

 faster than if the steam is not kept in, 

 but the covering must be something that 

 will let the steam escape slowly. 



This melter is much better than a 

 wash-boiler in several ways. First, it is 

 larger ; second, it heats quicker because 

 it exposes twice as much surface to the 

 fire ; third, and best, you cannot burn 

 the wax, no matter how much fire you 

 make. 



I do not know that it would pay to get 

 a boiler like this made just for melting 

 wax, but if any one wishes to try it they 

 can get a tinner to make one for $3.00 

 to $3.50. 



If you have any wax to melt — by any 

 process, except solar — do it when the 

 bees cannot fly, or they will be into it if 

 they can possibly get to it. 



I want to say that small nuclei are a 

 nuisance. In 1890 I used 19 of the 

 Pratt style until the bees absconded, 

 and, if I remember right, I got 3 queens 

 from those 19 nuclei. 



Then I reasoned that if I had some to 

 work on th^ Pratt system, with frames 

 twice as large, they would work O. K. 

 So in February, 1891, I had 200 hives 

 made tt) hold 3 frames % as large as the 

 Langstroth frame. These worked some 



better, bufi was kept busy from noon 

 until 2 p.m., hivi-ng absconding nuclei, 

 and sometimes I would put in half a 

 day trying to keep them from leaving. 



I fed them whenever there was any 

 danger of their starving, but still they 

 swarmed. Following are a few of their 

 tricks : Following the queen when she 

 flew out to mate; absconding a few hours 

 after I had shipped their queen ; ab- 

 sconding if I did not take the queen out 

 before she had all of the combs full, and 

 refusing to accept virgins — killing twice 

 as many as larger nuclei. 



I shall remodel the bodies of those 

 small hives into feeders, melt the combs, 

 and use the frames for kindling the fire. 



The next hives I have made will be 4- 

 frame Langstroth, and I claim that with 

 them I can rear more queens from a 

 certain number of colonies with less work, 

 and when Fall comes two or three of 

 these nuclei will make a colony, while 

 the small ones will not be worth uniting. 



It is a waste of bees and loss of money 

 to use these small hives. A good nucleus 

 will gather 10 to 15 pounds of honey in 

 September here, and seal it up so that it 

 makes good Winter stores. 



No man can give me any more of those 

 small hives, even if he fills them with 

 bees, provided I have to use them one 

 season. 



Swedona, Ills., Oct. 14, 1891. 



m Illinois State Fair. 



MRS. L. HARRISON. 



It has come and gone, and was a 

 grand success, the gate receipts being a 

 little more than last year. The weather 

 was cut off from the very best web ; on 

 Monday there was a very hard shower 

 which laid the dust, but the rest of the 

 week was uncommonly warm and pleas- 

 ant, creating a demand for cool drinks 

 and ices. 



Visitors were in the best of spirits, 

 and I heard -no complaints from any 

 source, with two exceptions — one was 

 with reference to what constitutes a 

 colony of bees, and the other with refer- 

 ence to helper's tickets. 



THE APIARY. 



The honey and bee exhibit was fair, 

 and the association granted abundant 

 space for its display. I think that Iowa 

 sent the largest display of comb-honey ; 

 but Illinois took the first premium for 

 the choicest comb-honey, and Iowa for 

 extracted. Mr. A. Coppin, of Wenona, 



