Tb 



e (5)ee- 



eepeps' JHeViecu. 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to i\\e Interests of Hoqey Producers. 

 $L00 A YEAR. 



W. Z.HOTCHirlSOrl, EditoP & Pfop. 



VOL, VH, FLINT, MICHIGAN, MAR, 10. 1894. NO, 3, 



Work at IVEioliigan's 



Experimental 



Apiary. 



K. L. TAYLOK, APIAKIST. 



SMOKERS ; BEE ESCAPES ; BRACE AND BURR 



COMBS ; CLEANSING WAX WITH ACIDS. 



Sometimes this poser meets the tester. 

 When both are best which is "bester?" 



(^MOKERS for 

 \S use in apia- 

 ries to aid in the 

 control of the 

 bees are rightly 

 considered a 

 [)rime necessity. 

 They are made in 

 great variety by 

 a iiumber of man- 

 ufacturers. Sev- 

 eral tusts have 

 been made by 

 different persons of the comparative powers 

 of the " blasts " of some of the larger ones 

 but it occurred to me that perhaps that point 

 is not the most important one to be consid- 

 ered for the reason that for all practical 

 purposes the blast of any of the well known 

 smokers is strong enough, — in fact the use 

 of a very strong blast is very seldom desira- 

 ble. I think the points that should have 

 precedence in determining the value of a 

 smoker are : the degree of freedom from 



choking up, and durability and convenience 

 in using, and these points can best be de- 

 cided by practical use in the apiary. To 

 compare in this way the two smokers that 

 have perhaps the highest repute of any, viz., 

 the Crane and the Bingham, I procured one 

 of each of the largest size and put them to 

 use in the apiary during the entire busy sea- 

 son. 



So far as difficulty with soot was concern- 

 ed neither one seemed to have any decided 

 advantage — either being entirely satisfactory 

 when proper fuel is used. The fuel should 

 be wood absolutely dry and but little de- 

 cayed ; if fuel containing much dampness is 

 used soot will collect sufficiently to cause 

 some annoyance. 



As to durability ono season is not sufficient 

 to enable one to form a judgment. Barring 

 accidents, the leather used in making the 

 bellows is in an otherwise first-class smoker 

 the first part to fail, so that in such case the 

 one in which the best leather is used would 

 generally prove to be the most durable. In 

 the two smokers in question the leather used 

 appears so far to be equally good. 



In point of convenience my assistant de- 

 cided that the Bingham had a decided ad- 

 vantage and in my judgement his decision 

 was ri^'ht. The wire liandle for opening the 

 fire box in the Bingham was found more ef- 

 fectual in securing the hand from burning 

 in the operation of refilling, for the cap of 

 the Crane, though lined with asbestos, would 

 often become much too hot to be grasped by 

 the hand with impunity ; but more impor- 



