^HE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



hi 



est, throw over that a piece of burlap or old 

 carpet, and crowd the cushion suusly down 

 over all, put on the winter roof, and either 

 nail or screw it down so as to be sure the 

 wind cannot remove it, and I warrant the 

 bees in that hive to come out sweet and 

 clean in the spring, and all alive, provided 

 they have had stores enough. 



When breeding commences is the time to 

 pack at the sides, as then the cluster has ex- 

 panded and the heat is sufficient to throw off 

 all damjmess. At the time the packing is 

 put at the side the cushion should be raised 

 and a thin board laid over to cover the brood 

 chamber, as now we wish to retain all the 

 heat possible so that brood rearing will pro- 

 gress very rapidly." 



I cannot agree with Mr. Pratt that it is 

 better not to protect the sides of the brood 

 nest in winter. When there is an opportu- 

 nity for the moisture to pass oflf at the top I 

 have seen no trouble from dampness. 



The Solar Wax Extractor and Honey 

 Evaporator. 



In Gleanings for Jan. l.o, is illustrated and 

 described what strikes me as the best solar 

 wax extractor of which I have seen any ac- 

 count. H. R. Boardman is the man who 

 " got it up " and from his description I copy 

 the following : — 



" The improvement consists in mounting 

 upon rockers instead of wheels, by which 

 means it can be adjusted, or turned, with 

 perfect ease. It also dispenses with the 

 chamber at the lower end, for holding the 

 wax-pan. In fact, it is little more than a 

 plain shallow box with a few modifications, 

 covered with glass, and adjusted at an in- 

 clination to the sun, for its heat. The con: bs 

 are thrown into this box, when the wax is 

 melted and runs down the inclined bottom, 

 leaving the residue. The wax can be drawn 

 off or allowed to cool, when it can be re- 

 moved. The lower end of the extractor is 

 covered, so that it leaves it in the shape of 

 A. I. Root's bread-pan feeders with sloping 

 sides, so that it really combines the wax-jjan 

 with the extractor. 



There are ventilators in each end covered 

 with wire cloth, that can V)e opened or closed 

 at pleasure, when used as an evaporator. 



I am sure that Mr. Newman does not 

 over-rate its merits. It has been a success 

 with me, not only as a wax-extractor, but for 

 evaporating and melting honey. 



It is an old chestnut, that granulating is 

 the test of purity in honey. I am using 

 honey on my table now that is clear and 

 limpid, that has been treated only by being 

 placed in this evaporator for a while at the 

 close of the honey season. This is the only 

 extracted honey I have ever been willing to 

 say I thought equal to comb honey. Isn't 

 this the secret of some of the California 

 honey not candying ? I suspect it is. 



I have had some difficulty in finding just 

 the right material for the inside, or lining. 

 Wood seems to do as well as any thing I 



have tried. It must be of narrow stuff, 

 matched, and well painted a drab color. 

 The only objection I have found to wocjd is, 

 it shrinks, from tlie constant heat it is sub- 

 ject to. Tin does nicely, but does not absorb 

 heat as does something of dark color. I 

 have tried paint on tin and iron linings, but 

 they do not hold paint as well as wood. The 

 hot wax dissolves or softens the paint, and 

 it scrapes loose in cleaning out the residue, 

 or "slum gum," as our California friends 

 say. Mr. Doolittle advises the use of Rus- 

 sia iron ; but iron will not do. I have re- 

 jected a lining of Russia iron, after giving 

 it a thorough trial, on account of its dis- 

 coloring the wax. It won't do to use iron 

 when it comes in contact with melted wax." 



Two points in the above I wish to empha- 

 size. Granulation is not a test of purity. 

 I have seen pure honey that would not gran- 

 ulate, and I have seen honey mixed with 

 twice its weight of glucose, and it did gran- 

 ulate. Never allow wax to come in contact 

 with iron. 



Contracting the Brood Nest and the Use of 

 Queen Excluders. 



Dr. Tinker tells the readers of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Keeper that : — 



"The principal of contracting the brood 

 nest at the right time in producing comb 

 honey is a measure sanctioned by the major- 

 ity of leading apiarists in this country, and 

 it is universally conceded that if the brood 

 nest is contracted to any considerable extent 

 a queen excluder is a necessity. The reason 

 why there is any difference of opinion in the 

 matter is because in certain localities no 

 contraction of the brood nest is ever advis- 

 able excepting under rare circumstances af- 

 fecting nectar secretions. There are locali- 

 ties where there is an almost continuous 

 flow throughout the season, and wherever we 

 find such localities, whether in this or any 

 other country, the most profitable bee keep- 

 ing is with large brood nests and large hives. 

 In quite a number of districts in France, it 

 is stated by Mr. Cowan, in his recent inter- 

 esting address before the British Bee Keep- 

 ers' Association, (B. B. .1., i)p. .'")18,) that 

 there is an almost continuous flow of nectar 

 from Spring to Autumn, and he found the 

 bee keejters there nearly all using Dadant's 

 and DeLayen's large hives, the latter con- 

 taining from sixteen to twenty-four brood 

 frames, about double the size of our standard 

 frames. No one in their right senses would 

 talk about contraction of the brood nest in 

 such localities, but unfortunately they are 

 few and far between in this country. Where 

 we have one such locality there are a hun- 

 dred where the season for surplus ends with 

 white clover or the basswood bloom. It is in 

 these localities, which so largely predomi- 

 nate, that we must contract the brood nest, 

 both during the honey How and during the 

 balance of the season, if we would make the 

 most of bee keeping, and whoever admits 

 the advantage of such contraction in his 



