138 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



Other matter. The plan used is the invention of my as- 

 sistant, and I think I can not do better than to let her tell 

 about it by copying the following article which she wrote 

 for Gleanings in Bee-Culture: 



"When we commenced work in the shop, the first 

 super I filled with the nice clean sections, I looked at the 

 T tins all covered with propolis and thought to myself, 

 'If we are to have sections unstained by propolis it will 

 never do to put them on these dirty T tins. But, oh dear ! 

 it will be an endless task to scrape them all. I can never 

 do it.' Just then a happy thought struck me. Why not 

 boil the propolis off? Sure enough, why not? 



"I repaired to the kitchen, placed the wash-boiler on 

 the stove (one we use for such work), filled it with water 

 and T tins, then went back to the shop to work, and left 

 them to boil at their own sweet will, delighted to think I 

 had slich an inspiration. In about an hour I went back 

 to the kitchen to see how my T tins were progressing. I 

 fully expected to see them all nice and clean, and was 

 most bitterly disappointed to find that they looked even 

 worse than they did when I put them in, as the propolis 

 was more evenly distributed all over them. 



"I next tried scrubbing them with a broom in the 

 boiling water, but it would not work. I meditated awhile, 

 then concluded I would try concentrated lye, providing 

 Dr. Miller did not object. I did not know what effect the 

 lye would have on the tins. He said I might try it. I 

 put the boiler back on the stove to try once more. I did 

 not feel quite so sanguine as I poured in part of a can of 

 concentrated lye. 



"I did not leave it this time, but anxiously watched 

 to see what efifect it would have. It brought it off pretty 

 well, but was not quite strong enough. I put in the rest 

 of the can of lye, and. Eureka ! the propolis disappeared 

 as if by magic. I stirred the tins witii the poker to insure 

 the lye reaching all parts of them ; then with the tongs I 



