94 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Pkh. 1. 



shown in Figs. 1 and -'. Inside the iron or steel 

 frame are centers, as at A A. By placing the 

 hand on the top of the cage it is inclined out- 

 wardly instantly, and the frame can be taken 

 out or inserted quite easily. 



The honey comes out splendidly in my ex- 

 tractor, whichever way I turn. 



I is a steel frame; C, cage; P, pivot. In this 

 extractor there is no knack or habit to acquire. 

 In placing the frame in the extractor, put the 

 hand on the top, and draw the top of the cage 

 outward; place the frame in, and the cage 

 falls back into its place by Its own gravity. 

 When each cage has been operated upon thus, 

 the extractor is ready. When the one side of 

 the comb has been thoroughly extracted, all one 

 has to do is to reverse the extractor, and the 

 four cages are reversed at one operation. There 

 is little or no jerking, nor any undue strain, as 

 in the Stanley. Four steel arms are required to 

 hold the cages, keyed on the center-shaft. 

 Nothing is required to steady the cages at the 

 lower end. I am not a" first-class draftsman, 

 but I hope I have made myself clear. 



The cut above shows top view of extractor. 

 A A A A are cages for holding frames. B B B 

 B are arms, the center being loose on the up- 

 right shaft C; but the arms turn around with 

 the cages. On turning the machine the cages 

 are brought into position as per diagram; re- 

 verse the extractor, and the cages are complete- 

 ly reversed; although each cage hangs on a piv- 

 ot at each side, the cages are self-reversing; 

 there is no jerking, as in the Stanley, nor 

 any thing to get out of order. I have a bevel 

 gear to drive it, slightly stronger than your 

 extractor. The frames are so weighty when 

 filled with honey that the teeth of the gear 

 strip or break — at least, that is my experience. 



have known frames to weigh 12 to 1.3 lbs. with 

 honey. 



Australia is a prolific country for bees and 

 bee- food. The various species of eucalypti are 

 wonderful, especially box, gray, and black. 

 More honey is procured on what is known here 

 as the "open box-plains." Here are some fig- 

 ures: 



mkssnek's bee-faum. 



Williamstown, South Australia, June isth, 

 18V)3; 2M hives produced 47 tons of honey. One 

 colony yielded 45 lbs. of honey per week, or 700 

 lbs. per season. Not far from where I am, H. 

 Peterson, Wattle Flat, N. S. W., had one hive 

 that yielded VIM lbs. ; 1<)0 hives produced 32 

 tons, sold for 38 pounds (f 135)per ton, principal- 

 ly from gray box (eucalyptus). 



Peak Hill, Australia, Oct. 17. 



[Some of your inventions, although ingen- 

 ious, are quite old in practice. I refer particu- 

 larly to Fig. 6, the position of the frames, and 

 to the reversing-gear of your extractor. The 

 former idea you will find in looking up Mr. Cow- 

 an's book, the " Bee-keeper's Guide," as devised 

 by the author, Mr. Cowan, away back in 187.). 

 But I do not wish to carry the idea that, be- 

 cause these ideas are old, they are therefore 



lacking in merit; for. indeed, the Cowan ex- 

 tractor that we are now using, and which has 

 been recently indorsed by the whole bee-keep- 

 ing world on this side of the Atlantic, was de- 

 vised some three years earlier yet. — Ed.] 



RAJflBLE 125. 

 By RamhUr. 



IN THE SANTA CKUZ MOUNTAINS. 



From the city of Santa Cruz we could see the 

 frowning peaks of the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

 We knew froiu past experience that they were 

 a toilsome barrier between us and the country 

 we wished to visit beyond. But why should we 

 question the dark canyons and the heights to 

 climb? Had we not surmounted the San Fer- 

 nando Mountains? yes, and the Santa Ynez? 

 yes, and the Santa Lucia and the Cuesta Pass? 

 yes, and they were all a memory of the past, 

 and we set our faces confidently and resolutely 

 to the surmounting of this barrier also. 



As we entered the mountainous region our 

 road led us through a series of romantic drives. 

 We followed the San Lorenzo River, and, 

 after passing an extensive tannery, with its 

 variety of bad odors, we came again into the 

 redwood belt. The smaller trees and under- 

 growth arched our winding roadway, and the 

 vistas we often caught of waterfalls, forest, 

 and mountains, rustic bridge, and wayside cab- 

 ins, made the day of travel full of pleasure. 



As we slowly toiled up the grade we passed a 

 building fenced with great care. So high was 

 the fence that we could scarcely discern the 

 buildings beyond. A mile or more beyond, 

 again another series of buildings, fenced, gates 

 locked, a forbidding sign, "No admittance." 

 We surmise, " Why all this fencing? too much 

 for poultry-ranches; too elaborate for bee- 

 ranches, for bee-ranches are not fenced in Cali- 

 fornia." Then again we came to fenced build- 

 ings; but this time we evidently come to the 

 center of operations, and blazoned to the 

 world in large letters we find the sign, 

 " Powder-works I" So here in a series of build- 

 ings, scattered for several miles along the river, 

 explosives of various kinds are manufactured. 

 The buildings are fenced against outside in- 

 truders, and located far apart, so that, if an ex- 

 plosion occurs in one building, the next, a mile 

 or more away, will be free from the blowing-up 

 contagion. The powder-works and the tan- 

 nery below called for much teaming on this 

 mountain road, and loads of wood and bark 

 were constantly met. Five horses to the wagon 

 was the rule— three abreast next the wagon, 

 and two ahead; long-drawn-out teams could 

 not be managed on these sharp curves, so the 

 horses were driven in a bunch, so to speak. 



Near Felton our redwoods became so large as 

 to be noted, and visitors are attracted from the 

 highway to visit Gen. Grant and Sherman, and 

 a few lesser lights. As we expected to see 



