798 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ihat seeks, and loves to labor for, the 

 welfare of others. 



There is another thought that presents 

 itself to me that might be of some help 

 in building and keeping alive our asso- 

 ciation, and that is to get the statistics 

 of as many of the bee-keepers of the 

 State as possible, to publish in the 

 reports of its meetings. This might 

 have a tendency to draw them out to our 

 gatherings, and, being represented in 

 the transactions of the association, they 

 would feel somewhat of a responsibility 

 for its welfare.— i^cad at the Missouri 

 Convention. 



Independence, Mo. 



CoBstrnctlou aiift Use of Qneeii-Eicluilers, 



DR. G. L. TINKER. 



It appears from an article on page 

 737, that Mr. James Heddon is very 

 much concerned about the ideas of Dr. 

 Tinker on the wood-zinc queen-excluder, 

 and its proper construction. 



I believe this is not the first time that 

 we have been given to understand that 

 the experience of Mr. Heddon is more 

 valuable and trustworthy than that of 

 other men in our ranks. My many years 

 of careful experience in the use of the 

 queen-excluder, on probably as extensive 

 a scale as Mr, Heddon has practiced, 

 count for nothing in his estimation, and 

 so he proposes to do away with Dr. 

 Tinker's idea that the queen-excluder 

 should be so constructed as to provide 

 ample passageway and ventilation for 

 supers ! 



How much of this is grounded in 

 reliable experiment, and how much in 

 sheer opposition, will appear to the 

 reader from his reckless statement that 

 "two rows of queen-excluding holes, the 

 length of the Langstroth hive, between 

 the brood and surplus apartments, are 

 enough for the largest colony of bees in 

 the busiest season of the year." 



Mr. Heddon should, and probably 

 does, know that two rows of queen- 

 excluding holes in the center of a hive 

 packed with bees, at this time of the 

 year, will give neither proper ventilation 

 nor ample passageway ; and, further- 

 more, the bee-keeper who would trust 

 such an arrangement in getting a crop 

 of honey does not live at Dowagiac, 

 Mich., nor at any other place. 



But Mr. Heddon gives us to understand 

 that his two rows of holes " facilitate and 

 encourage bees to enter and rapidly 

 carry on work in the surplus apartment." 



That kind of assertion (for I believe it 

 to be simply that, and nothing more) 

 may serve his purpose with a few, in 

 doing away with my idea of the necessary 

 requisites of a practical queen-excluder, 

 but I believe the many will reject his 

 assertion, as I do, as being wholly 

 unworthy of confidence. 



Again, there is a " serious objection," 

 says Mr. Heddon, to the use of two- 

 rowed zinc, as advised by me, as it will 

 cause " brace-combs and glue," owing to 

 the one-half inch spaces between the 

 slats. Yet he has insisted, almost dog- 

 matically, in the late discussion on burr- 

 combs, that top-bars % of an inch wide, 

 that require one- half inch spacing, are 

 attended with less burr-combs than any 

 other width of top-bar ! 



Now, Mr. Heddon assumed that he 

 knew all about brace-combs, and he, no 

 doubt, expected his dictatorial assertions 

 to * wind up the discussion, like the 

 springing of a steel trap. But they did 

 not. On the contrary, the outcome of 

 that discussion showed that of those who 

 wrote on the subject, not one knew so 

 little about brace and burr-combs, and how 

 to prevent them, as our over-solicitous 

 friend, James Heddon ! 



There was only one remedy — his 

 break-joint honey-board ; yet the discus- 

 sion showed that there were a number 

 of remedies, more or less effectual, while 

 his break-joint affair was no remedy at 

 all. Still, he is anxious that the break- 

 joint principle "be preserved," though 

 it was stated in a late issue of Gleanings, 

 that there was no longer a demand for 

 his slatted honey-board. It has seen its 

 day, and so this pet and particular 

 hobby of his is about to pass out of use. 

 'Tis sad ! 



As to my wood-zinc queen-excluder, 

 made up with two-rowed zinc, I will say 

 this, that when properly used it is rare 

 that burr-combs, in any considerable 

 quantity, are ever attached to it ; and 

 as for propolis, it is no worse upon two- 

 rowed than upon one-rowed zinc. 



CLEANING OFF THE PROPOLIS. 



They are best cleaned by laying them 

 in the hot sunshine until the propolis is 

 soft ; then, with a narrow piece of steel, 

 drawn to a thin edge, and made slightly 

 dull, the propolis is easily removed. 

 There may be a difference in localities 

 about the amount of propolis used, but 

 in this locality, where the round end 

 perforations are used (w^hich are far less 

 liable to be clogged up with propolis), 

 they may be used at least two whole 

 seasons, from June to October, without 

 cleaning. When laid away for the 



