28o 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



gather, and store as surplus, the juice of 

 berries, that is, if we may believe the 

 following clipped from the Michigan, 

 Selby Herald. The article was headed 

 "A Queer Kind of Honey," and it reads 

 as follows: — 



S. Coulthard brought home from Cope- 

 mish some comb honey the cells of which 

 were filled with .a blood red fluid. He 

 says this peculiar color of hone}' was 

 caused by the bees working on red rasp- 

 berries in the absence of blossoms of any 

 kind. He has shipped several hundred 

 pounds to Chicago, which commanded 

 readv sale. 



CI.KAXING SECTIONS. 



Some Hints in ReRard to Knives, Benches, 

 and Methods. 



A few bee-keepers may have section 

 cleaning machines, but the majority of 

 them are still cleaning their sections 

 by hand; and it is well to k-now how to 

 do the work to the best advantage. Mr. 

 C. Davenport told the readers of the 

 American Bee Journal, some time ago, 

 how he managed; and, as he considers it 

 ahead of the ordinary plan, I give it be- 

 low. 



Most of those new to this work hold 

 the section in one hand while cleaning it, 

 and I even know a man who had produc- 

 ed tons of comb honey who said he knew 

 no better way. It is, however, quicker 

 and easier to clean a section if it rests on 

 a solid bench; and if much of this work is 

 to be done, two benches of diflferent 

 heights, so that one can change off and 

 work Ijoth standing up and sitting down, 

 are a great help. On top of the bench 

 tack a piece of board that is two or three 

 inches wide, four or five long, and about 

 1-6 of an inch thick. Have it back a few 

 inches from the front of the bench. 

 Stand the section on this .strip so that the 

 front projects over it a trifle, then scrape 

 up and down, not across the top. The 

 object of the thin board oil top of the 

 bench is to let the edge of the .'-•ection 

 project over it so that the knife can reach 

 clear down. Of course, the same effect 

 can be obtained by letting the section 

 project over the edge of the bench itself, 

 but if this is done there is nothing to 

 catch or stop the downward strokes of the 



knife; and this makes it harder work for 

 me. Some, though, prefer to let the sec- 

 tion project over the edge of the bench 

 itself. 



There is quite a knack about cleaning 

 sections by resting them on a bench or 

 table, but after it is acquired, one can, if 

 the sections are badly stuck up, clean at 

 least a third more than by holding them 

 loose in the left hand. 



I prefer a knife the blade of which is 

 .Stiff enough so there is no spring in it 

 wllatever. Mine are made from small 

 flat files; one edge is drawn down thin and 

 sharp, and the other is left thick, and is 

 ground square across; this edge is used 

 mostly for cleaning the edges of the sec- 

 tions. The knives are long enough so 

 they will reach clear across and clean the 

 edges of two sides at once. 



HUNTING THE HONEY BEE. 



A Graphic Description of the .Methods and 

 the Fun. 



In the Country Gentleman of June 22nd, 

 is a very readable and instructive article 

 on bee-hunting, and, as this issue of the 

 Review is a sort of special number de- 

 voted to bee-hunting, I take pleasure in 

 copying it. It was written by "G. H. D." 

 and reads as follows: — 



No one knows who our first bee-hunter 

 was, whether black bear, red Indian, or 

 white hunter, but the bear or the Indian 

 was likeliest to become such. Bruin's 

 keen nose was his guide to the prize, the 

 Indian's sharp eyes and woodcraft his, 

 and the white man improved on the 

 primitive ways by the invention of the 

 bee-box ami the science of cross lining. 



Bee-trees are sometimes found by acci- 

 dent, as when the bees, having been be- 

 guiled untimely forth by the warmth of 

 the February or March sunbeams, a,-e be- 

 numbed on exposure to the chilled outer 

 air and fall helpless and conspicuous on 

 the snow at the tree's foot; or wlien in 

 the genial days the in-going or out-com- 

 of the busv inmates betrays their home 

 to some liiniter of larger game, or search- 

 er for a particular kind or fashion of a 

 timber tree 



I have same good friends who are 

 bee-keepers, chief among them one who 

 knows eui.u^h of nature's secrets to make 

 the reputation of two or three naturalists. 

 Our bee-hunter chooses August and 



