762 



AMERICAN BEE • JOURNAL. 



Samples of perforated zinc are 

 received from Dr. G. L. Tinker. He has 

 built a new automatic perforator for 

 making the perforations, which operates 

 more rapidly, but does just as accurate 

 and smooth work as his old one. The 

 workmanship is superb, the perforations 

 are exact, the metal is thin and smooth, 

 and the closeness of the holes allows no 

 waste of surface. The Doctor remarks 

 thus in a recent letter : 



My zinc works entirely satisfactorily on 

 the new swarmers, and I do not see how 

 it can be improved. It is, in fact, perfect. 

 But I greatly prefer the two-rowed zinc 

 in the wood-zinc combination for queen- 

 excluders in hives. 



The honey-flow is now on, and a fine 

 one it is. Swarming will engage the 

 attention of bee-keepers here for some 

 weeks. G. L. Tinker. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 the exact size of the perforations in the 



zinc as made by Dr. Tinker on his new 

 automatic perforator. He is justly 

 entitled to the praise he is getting from 

 all the bee-periodicals for the excellence 

 of his work on his specialties. 



Importiiis: Bees.— The following 

 particulars concerning the importation 

 of bees, written by a firm of bee-keepers 

 in Massachusetts, will give some idea of 

 the perplexities attending the getting of 

 bees from Europe : 



Our bees came from Italy by express, 

 via Havre. They passed through the 

 hands of the forfeign express company, 

 Baldwin Bros. & Co., 53 Broadway, New 



York. We were notified by mail from 

 Havre, by an agent there, of the name of 

 the steamer by which they were sent, 

 giving ample time to write to New York 

 and order them hurried through C. O. D. 

 They, however, experienced considerable 

 delay, and a multitude of small charges. 

 The American agent also sent full 

 notice to the local express company to 

 collect the whole bill. 



The shipment was billed packages 



— — dollars each, duty being charged on 

 the importers' bill. 



So many queens died cti route that we 

 instructed the agents to send the sub- 

 stitutes by mail, expecting to pay the 

 same duty on them. We have just 

 written to the Treasury Department to 

 learn how much red-tape and official 

 nonsense we may expect in this case. 

 The queens may, and probably will, 

 perish before they are received, but some 

 satisfactory arrangement may be made 

 as a result of the recent agitations. Our 

 queens were 19 days en route. * * * 



Xransferring:.— George W. Cook, 

 of Latty, Ohio, sends us the following 

 question: 



On page 32 of his book, entitled 

 "Success in Bee-Culture," Mr. Heddon 

 says, under the head of " Modern 

 Transferring :" "I run them together 

 as I would one colony in two parts." 

 That is the second drive. Will he please 

 explain the process through the Bee 

 Journal ? 



Mr. Heddon, at our request, responds 

 thus : 



I am unable to describe the operation 

 more clearly than has been done in the 

 book. The second drive is poured right 

 at the entrance of the hive containing 

 the first drive, " as one colony in two 

 parts," for they are all from one queen, 

 and still retain about the same scent. 



We Club the American Bee Journal 

 and the Illustrated Home Journal, one 

 year for $1.35. Both of these and 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture, for one year, 

 for $2.15. 



Bees do not appear to work much on 

 any plant until it has been blossoming 

 some time. 



