1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



583 



visit I intend ynu shall make Mr. Jump a visit also, 

 as I am sure you will be well repaid. 



We next went to the npiary of Mr. Fowl3, where 

 his hives are arranged in a he.xag -n, in a neat, tasty 

 manner, according to the directions given in the 

 ABC. His hives are chaff, and, from all appearanc- 

 es, seem to be well equipped for winter. Mr. Fowls' 

 enthusiasm really inspired me anew on the subject 

 of apiculture. I found, also, that he was well read 

 on subjects perlaiiiing both tobees and agriculmre. 



We next went to Amherst, a town about 9 miles 

 from Oberlin. After some inquiry we found where 

 Mr. Hopkins lived. By the way, he is not only a bee- 

 keeper, Ijut quite an extensive fruitgrower. He has 

 about 70 c lonies, all in the American hive, such as 

 were once in our old apiary. After having shown 

 us his methods of putting his bees into winter 

 quarters, he invited us to take a look over his fruit 

 farm, consisting of 80 acres, all devoted, if I am cor- 

 rect, to his favorite pursuit. He showed us a straw- 

 berry patch of about an acre. The plants were set 

 out in May, and when I was there the ground was 

 just one heavy mass of strawberry leaves, so that it 

 seemed impossible for weeds togrow. According to 

 my notion it was in about as fine a condition as one 

 could ask. Then he showed us his peach orchard, 

 which was one of the grandest sights I have seen in 

 the shape of an orchard. It really made me feel en- 

 thusiastic on the subject for once. I am sure that 

 you would have enjoyed that visit too, had you been 

 there, as Mr. Hopkins explained his ditrcr<^nt meth- 

 ods of fruit-growing, which I know would have been 

 very interesting to you. Mr. Hopkins made me 

 partially promise to bring you out there some time, 

 especially during p^ach or strawberry harvest. Dur- 

 ing supper I was asked a number of questions rela- 

 tive to the journal, etc. Among them was, Who la 

 Merrybanks? and whether he wei e a lictitious char- 

 acter; and if not, how long he had been in that busi- 

 ness. He said he thought it was rather strange that, 

 if Merrybanks were a true character, he should 

 make such rapid advancement; and. also, since he 

 was almost a dunce, should turn out to be a smart 

 business man. 



You remember Mr. Hopkins' little girl wrote in 

 the May number of the Juvenile about the death of 

 her little sister. There are several '" blue eyes" in 

 the family yet; one just about Caddie's age. This 

 made me long to see that young " Cad," but she will 

 have to wait till Christmas. 



Well, it, is about time for me to study now, so I 

 shall have to close. E. R. Root. 



Oberlin. O., Nov. 13. 1883. 



Our friends will notice that the above was 

 not intended for piint, and. in fact, it was 

 only after argninjr tlie case that I obtained 

 it. I wished it, chiefly because it gives one 

 a vivid idea of the good that raav be gained 

 by both parties in these friendly calls, by 

 the mutnal interchange of ideas. It occurs 

 to me just now, to mention that friend 

 Fowles has a novel i)ackage for extracted 

 honey, in the shape of a glass pitcher hold- 

 ing i gallon. He sells these in the city for 

 $1.00 each, honey and all; and from the 

 number of pitchers we are selling him. I 

 think he is doing quite a trade in honey by 

 the " pitcher full." hpeaking of taxidumy 

 and the strawberry bed reminds me of how 

 often bee-men are given to excelling in some 

 such specialty. Are we not, as a class, a 

 Tather jii'ogressive people? 



TABLES FOR CIRCITLAR SA^VS, FOR 

 HIVF-ITIAKINO. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT HAND AND FOOT POWER 

 8AAVS. 



"X^^yf IIILE a foot-power saw does very well 



for making, say 100 or even more 

 -^ -' hives a year for one's own use in his 

 own apiary, when it comes to making hives 

 for his neighbors, or perhaps to ship oif to 

 distant customers, almost every one soon 

 finds it too laborious to be pleasant. It is 

 true, he can hire help; but I believe it is 

 generally a pretty hard matter to find help 

 with the necessary enthusiasm to be willing 

 to tread a buzz-saw many hours in the day. 

 The owner of the bees will do it, I know, and 

 thrive on it, for that matter, especially when 

 lighting his way to making a start in the 

 world : but most people duj'ing this present 

 age will very soon want to bring in the aid 

 of steam, or something else, to do the work 

 of bone and muscle. 



Now, it is almost always suggested by a 

 new hand, that steam or other power be ap- 

 ])lied to the foot or hand power machine. 

 This can be done, It is true ; bnt as a rule it 

 does not in the end prove satisfactory, for 

 the reason that all foot-power machines are 

 of necessity made just as light $nd easy run- 

 ning as they can be consistently, and are 

 therefore not calculated for much more strain 

 than the power of a man. If you put on a 

 horse-power or two thev will quickly wear 

 out, or break down. What you want to 

 stand a horse or steam-engine, is something 

 like the cut below. 



BUZZ-SAW TABLE FOR HIATE-MAKINQ BY POWER. 



The table is made of 4x4 hard-wood scant- 

 ling, say maple or ash. The sticks are sized, 

 and the '•'•wind" taken out of them, and 

 then tlie whole is put together with mortise 

 and tenon, an<l tiien drawn up tight with lag 

 screws I in. in diameter, by in. long. The 

 tnble is 48 in. wide, and 42 in. long. It is 

 made of hard-wood boards securely screwed 

 fast to four bars of hard wood about 2x2. A 

 bar is placed at each end, and the other two 

 at equal distances under the middle. The 

 table-top is hung on hinges at the further 

 end as it stands in the cut, and at the end 

 nearest us, in the picture, it rests on hinged 

 strips, resting in mortises, as shown, bet- 

 screws fasten the table at any desired height. 

 Strips of iron should be let into the wood 

 where the points of the set-screws strike, or 

 the wood will soon be injured and mashed 



