150 



THE BEE-KEEPERS REVIEW- 



erce great difficulty in controlling the mau- 

 ayeinent of the bees through the swarming 

 season, I will give a plan I have pursued, 

 with some success, for several seasons past. 



If a colony working for box hotiey casts a 

 swarm ; I hive the swarm and i)laoe it beside, 

 or ou toi>, of the parent colony, giving it 

 a comb of brood. At evening I return the 

 q'leen, arid two d lys later remove the new 

 colony to some stand at a distance of several 

 feet. 



The return of the queen places the parent 

 stock in an abnormal condition, aud the 

 queen is allowed to destroy the cells. The 

 returning bees strengthen the colony to its 

 full working capacity ; and in the majority 

 of instances the bees decide that they have 

 fulfilled their desires, and before ^warming 

 coiditioQs and impjlses are again liable, 

 the queen is crowded for room and the 

 swarming fever is over for the season. 



The bees of the new swarm that remain 

 with the comb of brood may be strengthen- 

 ed to make a colony, or united with one that 

 is weak. 



HOWARDSVILLE, Va. 



April, 23, 18%. 



The Rauchfuss CombiEed Section Press and 

 Foundation Fastener. 



F. L. THOMPSON. 



TN the March Progressive, Mr. R. C. Aikin, 

 i after describing what seems to be an ex- 

 cellent machine, says, "The correct princi- 

 ple is to set the starter in melted wax, for 

 then the starter lias its whole strength at the 

 point of contact, and the melted wax goes 

 into the pores of the wood to stay. " After 

 putting up .500 sections with a com'nned 

 machine invented by Mr. H. Rauchfuss of 

 this State, I have been led to wonder 

 whether the foregoing is the only correct 

 principle, or, indeed the most correct one. 

 If merely the wax melted at the edge of a 

 piece of foundation is enough to hold it so 

 that it will tear every time rather than sep- 

 arate from the wood, nothing more can be 

 desired ; and this plan has the advantages 

 that foundation is savtd by melting the 

 least possible amount, that it cools instant- 

 ly, aud the titiished honey, when cut from 

 the section, will present a more delicate 

 appearenceat the top. 



There is no doubt that the Rauchfuss 

 machii e does tliis. Foundation fastened by 



it not only sticks, but will tear sooner than 

 peel or crack off. Mr. W. L. Porter last 

 year hauled several thousand sections, con- 

 taining full sheets fastened by this machine 

 to out-apiaries without one breaking down. 

 At the same time so little wax is used that 

 the foundation at the first glance appears to 

 be resting ou the wood. As to the theory, 

 the wax at the extreme edge of the founda- 

 tion is heated to a high degree, and if then 

 applied instantly to the wood, it grips the 

 fibres as completely as desired. All that is 

 needed is to give the line of contact more 

 strength tlian the rest of the sheet. To add 

 the surrounding territory is superfluous. 

 The vertical position of the foundation 

 against a guide-block in combination with 

 a strong spring which gets the hot plate 

 out of the way as quick as a flash when the 

 foot slides ofif the end of the treadle, mate- 

 rially assists this instantaneous contact in 

 the Rauchfuss machine. Previous to this, 

 just a touch to the hot plate is sufficient to 

 melt ofif enough and to heat it high enough. 

 The faster the machine is worked the better, 

 as the rigidity of the sheets favors instanta- 

 neous contact. It does not require a tem- 

 perature uncomfortable to the operator. 

 The small quantity of wax melted is cool 

 enough to support the foundation quicker 

 than the section can possibly be turned over. 

 From what has been said, it is evident 

 that the speed of this machine is equal or 

 superior to any other. The folding part 

 takes almost no extra time. In folding, 

 and in putting in both full sheets and bottom 

 starters, and putting the sections in the 

 supers, I attained a speed of 180 an hour in 

 my first attempt. With top foundation 

 alone, I suppose the speed would have been 

 nearly double. But even at this rate it was 

 a comfort to see the pile of empty supers 

 melting away, compared with their insistence 

 in holding out when under the sway of the 

 Parker foundation fastener. I am some- 

 what bulter-finf;ered anj how, ntver liavirg 

 had any practice in piece-work. An expert 

 could do far better. I did not break a 

 single section out of the .'iOO, though hither- 

 to in putting up that number I have always 

 managed to break a few. 



The machine is all metal, except the 

 guide block and treadle, very simply con- 

 structed and ought to last a lifetime. 



After this practical demonstration of the 

 utility of a combined machine, in using 

 which sections are handled but once, I fail 



