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"Pine needles work well in my small operation.  They are free and 
readily available."

Yes, two  most  important points that need considering (apart from the 
production of cool smoke, too much tar and the chance that any material 
used has been contaminated with anything that is harmful to bees). Here 
in Greece many beekeepers use old hessian sacks which have been used 
for olive transportation. By the time they are ready for apiary use 
they are usually well patched after many years of service - nothing is 
thrown away here by thrifty villagers. The sacks have been washed each 
year, but evidence of oil is still apparent when the hessian is 
burning, so its best to leave the sacks out in the open for a year or 
so. I prefer to use whatever is around me - usually dry grass which is 
tightly packed packed into the furnace or dried eucalyptus leaves 
though these burn quite quickly. Best of all I prefer to use dried 
sheep or cow dung. This material burns very slowly, but sometimes can 
be the devil to get going - partly due to the fact that we have a lot 
of wind here and the flame from matches and lighters soon go out. 
Better by far to give the material a quick blast with a gas blow torch 
- most beekeepers posses one of these for scorching hives. I did get 
some cylindrical blocks of compressed sawdust made by a bee appliance 
manufacturer in Italy, they worked well, but not sure what is used to 
bind the sawdust together.
John Phipps
Greece

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