THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



The Pettit Honey Strainer. 



It will be remembered tnat Mr. S. T. 

 Pettit, of Canada, illustrated and de- 

 scribed a strainer last spring. It was a 

 round vessel of wire cloth, with a flat 

 bottom, placed inside of a vessel of tin, 

 with a space between the walls of the 

 two vessels. The inside of the wire cloth 

 vessel was lined with cheese cloth. One 

 advantage of this strainer was that a 

 large portion of its straining sur.'ace was 

 perpendicular. Mr. Pettit has since made 

 some improvements in his strainer, the 

 most decided of which are the double, 

 vertical, cross-strainers in the bottom. 

 Perhaps there is no more graphic way 

 of describing this feature than to say 

 that the bottom of the inside, wire cloth 

 vessel has deep wrinkles in its upper 

 surface. There are three of these 

 wrinkles or double folds, and they are 

 five inches deep; the side walls being 

 one-half inch apart. As the wire cloth 

 basket is 15 inches square, these cross- 

 sections add over three square feet to 

 the straining surface; and at a point 

 where the pressure is greatest. This 

 feature is decidedly novel, original and 

 valuable. As the strainer is now made 

 square instead of round, and is eight 

 and one- half inches deep, there are eight 

 square feet of straining surface; and, as 

 already mentioned, nearly all of it (6 '2 

 feet) is vertical. The strainer holds 

 about a bushel. The outside box is of 

 tin, 16 inches square and 10 inches deep. 



There is a large gate at the bottom of 

 the tin can, but this is not shown in the 

 accompanying engraving— simply the 

 hole where the gate is to be placed. Of 

 course, the inside is lined with cheese 

 cloth; that is, a piece of cloth of the right 

 size is laid in the strainer and nicely 

 folded or fitted to all of the inner parts. 

 Cheese cloth varies in weight and 

 texture, and care should be taken in its 

 selection. No handles are shown in the 

 cut, but they might be added to the 

 strainer to make it more convenient in 

 handling. 



Winter Bee Keeping. 



When all things go well in the summer, 

 there is nothing that a bee keeper en- 

 joys more than bee keeping; but little 

 has been said of the joys of winter bee 

 keeping. Perhaps some of you think 

 there are none. I know there are sorrows 

 in winter bee keeping, when the bees are 

 not wintering well, but, when all goes 

 well, there are deep delights to the man 

 who has a mind for such things. Come 

 with me to my bee cellar, up in the edge of 

 the woods. What's the temperature 

 outside? Twelve degrees above zero. 

 I'll unlock the little door in the gable end 

 of the roof. We crawl in, but can't stand 

 upright, as the roof is too low. The dry, 

 planer shavings and sawdust that cover 



