710 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



business if I had to run ray bees with undipped 

 wings. N. P. BooMHOwER. 



Gallupville. N. Y., Aug. 31. 



LADIES' Conversazione. 



SCRAPING SECTIONS. 



HOW EMMA WILSOX DOES IT. 



You want to know, Mr. Editor, how bee-keep- 

 ers scrape sections. As that part of the work 

 falls to my lot I have scraped a good many 

 thousands. Formerly I scraped them on the ta- 

 ble. If you set your seciiun- directly on the 

 table to be scraped, you will Hnd trouble in two 

 directions: 1. When you scrape down your sec- 

 tion your knife will strike ihe table, not allow- 

 ing you to scrape clear to the bottom of the 

 section; 3. The accumulating bee-glue will be 

 constantly in your way. So, instead of setting 

 the section directly on the table I use a block 6 

 in. long, .5 in. wide, and IJ4 in. thick. Of course, 

 any of these dimensions may be varied. With 

 this block I can rapidly scrape the edges and 

 sides of the sections, clear to the bottom, as the 

 section stands solid on the block, and the bee- 

 glue falls on the table, out of the way. Latter- 

 ly, instead of a table I use a board, usually a 

 flat hive-cover, holding the board on my lap, 

 the scraping-block on the board. I find it a 

 great improvement. Holding up the arms to 

 scrape over a table is tiresome. It is much less 

 tiresome to scrape in the lap, as the arms hang 

 in an easy position. 



WMienever too much bee-glue accumulates on 

 the board, so thei'e is danger of its falling on the 

 floor, I lift the board and dump the bee-glue 

 into a box standing neai'. For scraping I use a 

 common steel case-knifi^ kept sharp, not hold- 

 ing the knife flat against thr surface so that it 

 can cut into the wood, but, at right angles to the 

 surface being scraped. While a sharp knife is 

 desirable, a coarse rather than a fine edge Is 

 needed. It will pay well to stop and sharpen 

 the knife whenever it needs it. I like to have 

 the sections to be scraped piled in front of me 

 on the table, with the case I am filling at my 

 right hand, sufficiently raised so that I neither 

 have to stoop down nor reach up to put the sec- 

 tions in. Every little extra move counts when 

 doing a hard day's work. 



If more than one grade is to be scraped, more 

 than one case must be at hand. As each super 

 is put on the hive, a memorandum is penciled 

 on one of the central sections, giving the num- 

 ber of the hive, date of putting on. and number 

 of super put on that hive. When scraping I 

 keep a cake of scourine handy, with which to 

 remove these pencil-marks. This is easily done 

 by dampening a cloth and rubbing the marks 

 with a little of the scourine. 



If I were allowed to select my own time to 

 scrape honey, I would always select a cold day 

 when bee-glue is brittle and easily removed. It 

 is hardly possible to do as good work when the 

 bee glue is warm enough to be sticky, besides 

 being a much more tedious job. It is true, the 

 dust from the bee-glue is worse when cool and 

 brittle, affecting one very much as if he had a 

 hard cold ; and people peculiarly sensitive in 

 this direction may prefer to have warmer wea- 

 ther and take the sticky bee-glue in preference 

 to the dust; but I would rather stand the dust. 



Whatever may be the advantage of using 

 partly drawn sections left over from a previous 

 year, when it comes to the matter of scraping I 

 very much prefer those that have been on only 

 once. Sections which are left on late in the 



season are much worse to clean than those ta- 

 ken off earlier. 



The way in which sections are put into the 

 super has much to do with the amount of bee- 

 glue on them. They will be more easily clean- 

 ed if they are wedged up tight in all directions 

 so that no cracks are left. Scraping a single 

 case of sections may seem to be fun : but when 

 I have scraped 1000 or 1500 in a day it seems like 

 work, and hard work too. I don't know that 

 all of my plans are best, and hope that, in the 

 reports that come in from others, I may get 

 some hints that will make the work easier for 

 me. Emma Wilson. 



Marengo, III., Aug. 33. 



AN OPEN LETTER TO RAMBLER. 



SOME GOOD ADVICE FKOM ONE OF THE KIND- 

 HEARTED SISTERS. 



Dear Rambler :—l[^ \y\\\ be putting it in mild 

 terms to say that we enjoy immensely follow- 

 ing you to and fro in your rambles in the golden 

 State of California, through the medium of 

 Gleanings; but we always think of you as a 

 " poor lone bachelor," subjected to aches and 

 pains, difficulties and disappointments, battling 

 through life on a lonely ranch, without the ten- 

 der aid and assistance of a noble helpmeet. We 

 can not think of your lonely cabin as being a 

 home, for the organization of a home depends 

 mostly upon the gentler sex, who are especially 

 adapted to the management of the household 

 and the comfort and well-being of man. It is 

 true, wedded life may have thorns and cares; 

 but they are fruitful, while all others are dry 

 thorns. Why, my dear friend Rambler, don't 

 you know that God ordained wedded life, the 

 family, its natural laws and science? Obeying 

 these laws renders wedlock happy. It is only a 

 breach of them that causes domestic unhappi- 

 ness. Matrimony would only bring out the 

 better part of your nature, and cause you to 

 cherish and be cherished, while, on the contra- 

 ry, many good qualifications in a bachelor's life 

 are allowed to sleep a deep sleep. There are 

 plenty of industrious, methodical young women 

 over this vast land who would be very much 

 elated over the espousal of an energetic influen- 

 tial bachelor of your standing, and who would 

 be very agreeable, and make life worth living — 

 who knows how to discharge her household du- 

 ties in a quiet and easy style, without fuss or 

 dust-clouds, and without usurping authority 

 over man, or causing him to lose his freedom, 

 which some men love so much ; and if you 

 should ever be so fortunate as to captivate such 

 a one you would have no more need of brown 

 birds, squiirels, and rabbits to entertain and 

 keep you company in your lonely hours. Why, 

 bless you. matrimony need not hinder you from 

 holh'rin" and singin', or stompin' the dust off 

 your feet, or hangin' your coat on any nail you 

 choose. The dear wife would only add a charm 

 to the merriment, and, instead of entering the 

 fo.saken cabin (with a big pile of dirty dishes 

 stored away in some corner, a smutty flapjack 

 griddle, a bed flattened by many a night's rest- 

 lessness, a concrete floor as dirty as mud), you 

 would enter a snug, clean, tidy house, which 

 indeed would he a compensation for your daily 

 toil. You would have no more occasion for eat- 

 ing cold potatoes, cold pancakes, cold coffee, 

 etc. You would find a genuine art displayed in 

 getting up your repasts. Labor and toil would 

 then be linked with pleasure and happiness; 

 and the very atmosphere around your cabin 

 would be sweetened. This is no humbug. I 

 know whereof I speak. Anonymous. 



