PROPOLIS 
685 
gathered. But it is almost impossible to 
keep the sections entirely free from it. The 
sections should be so packed in the supers 
as to leave few crevices and no more sur¬ 
face than necessary accessible to the bees. 
The outside of the sections may be covered 
entirely by. using holders having the top' 
and bottom of the same width as the section 
frames. Propolis may be readily removed 
from the boxes, and partially from the 
surface of the combs, with sandpaper. 
The quantity of propolis brought into 
the hive depends partly upon the race of 
bees, and partly upon the location. Cau¬ 
casian bees use propolis much more freely 
than Italian races, and may nearly close 
the entrance to the hive with pillars or 
buttresses, between which are left spaces 
so narrow that only one bee can pass at a 
time. In Colorado the narrow-leaved cot¬ 
tonwood ( Populus angustifolia) furnishes 
so large an amount of propolis that a grove 
of these trees near an apiary is an objec¬ 
tion. The gum is a bright reddish color, 
and exudes on the buds in such large quan¬ 
tities that a bee can obtain several loads 
from a single bud. The bees continue to 
gather this gummy substance long after the 
'leaves have fallen. 
In the East the buds of the balsam pop¬ 
lar ( Populus balsamifera) are believed to 
be one of the chief sources of propolis. 
The larger buds usually have on the ends 
small drops of yellow gum. Bees gather 
the gum with their mandibles, and it is 
packed and carried in the pollen baskets 
in the same way as pollen. In its removal 
within the hive the bee is said to be aided 
by other workers. Huber placed some 
branches of a wild poplar tree before the 
hives of his apiary, and the bees alighted 
on them and removed the gum with their 
mandibles in threads, which were loaded 
first on one hind leg and then on the 
other. 
At Banning, California, and Tacoma, 
Washington, propolis has been reported to 
produce an eruption similar to that caused 
by poison ivy. Poison ivy (Rhus Toxico- 
dendvon) and poison oak (Rhus divevsi- 
loba) are found in both States and are fre¬ 
quently visited by bees for nectar. Prob¬ 
ably also propolis was brought into the 
hives from these shrubs. The burning and 
intense irritation caused in such cases may 
be entirely relieved by two or three appli¬ 
cations of sweet spirits of niter. 
While propolis may be gathered at any 
time during the summer, it is gathered 
most largely in the fall, when the bee’s in¬ 
stinct impels it to prepare for cold weath¬ 
er. During the honey flow very little if 
any propolis is brought in. In the absence 
of a natural supply of propolis bees may 
gather a supply from the parts of old 
hives, where it has been softened by the 
heat of midsummer. Dadant relates that 
in the vicinity of Matamoras, Mexico, 
where propolis seemed to be scarce, lie saw 
bees collecting green paint from window 
blinds and pitch from the rigging of a ves¬ 
sel in the harbor. Bees are attracted by 
the smell of varnish and will alight on a 
newly varnished object in large numbers. 
The superstition, formerly prevalent, that 
bees, in sorrow for the death of the bee¬ 
keeper, would follow his body to the grave, 
probably gained credence, from instances 
where bees were seen working on the var¬ 
nish of the coffin. 
A small quantity of propolis may be re¬ 
moved from glass with alcohol. Frames 
and separators may be wholly or partly 
cleaned by dipping in a wash-boiler filled 
with boiling water and lye. While the 
separators will come out entirely clean, it 
is usually necessary to scrape the wooden 
frames. With a large boiler many frames 
and separators may be cleaned at one 
time; supers and hives may also be cleaned 
in the same way. Propolis may be pre¬ 
vented from sticking to the fingers by the 
use of vaseline, or oil, or a pair of light 
cotton gloves. It can easily be removed 
from the hands with alcohol, gasoline, and 
lye. 
Propolis was known to the ancient Ro¬ 
mans and is described by Virgil in the 
fourth book of the Georgies. Surprising¬ 
ly little progress has been made' in our 
knowledge of the origin of this resin since 
those early times. Many modern books on 
bee culture refer to it very briefly, and 
compared with the collection of pollen rel¬ 
atively few observations have been made. 
As recently as 1911 an article was pub¬ 
lished in which it was asserted that the be- 
