1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



315 



In order to make this article practical I have 

 brought pen and paper over to the shop, to write as 

 I watch the work in the hands of the assistant who 

 has always had that particular work for her spe- 

 cialty. In the first place the fastener must be 

 firmly fastened to the table, so there will be no give 

 when working-. One way is to screw the fastener to 

 a board long enough to reach clear across the table, 

 and then clamp the board on the table. The clamps 

 are then easily put on or taken off at any time. A 

 board a foot wide and 18 or 20 inches long is screwed 

 or nailed on top of the fastener, as near to the op- 

 erator as may be, without interfering with the 

 working of the lever. This board will need to be 

 renewed perhaps every year, for on it are placed 

 the hot bricks to warm the foundation, and the 

 board is occasionally burned. I see Emma has her 

 brick resting on a fire shovel so as to burn the 

 board less. On the end of the board nearest the 

 operator are placed the starters in two piles. I use 

 top starters 3Y inches, and bottom starters ?4 inch. 

 If only one starter is put in each section, then one 

 pile of foundation will be enough, and a narrower 

 board will answer. The starters are placed on the 

 end of the board nearest the operator, and the 

 brick beyond. The edges of the starters nearest 

 the brick are evenly placed in the piles so as to re- 

 ceive the heat alike. The edges of the starters 

 should be heated till quite soft. Indeed, it hardly 

 matters how soft the edge is, so it is not actually 

 melted. Only one edge of the starter should be 

 warmed. Not only does it do no good, but it does 

 harm to warm the whole of the starter. Therefore 

 the instruction to lay the foundation in the sun or 

 on some warm surface is decidedly bad. 



Thirty to fifty starters are put in a pile; and 

 when all but perhaps ten of these are used up, a 

 fresh pile is put under this ten, to be warmed by 

 the time they are wanted. Some care must be taken 

 that the foundation be not melted. If it gets too 

 warm it must be moved back from the brick or 

 else the brick moved further from the foundation. 

 I use two fire-bricks, one to be heating in the stove 

 while the other is being used. They do not last 

 very long, and soapstone might do better. Still 

 better might be some arrangement heated by a 

 lamp so as to keep a steady heat all the time. The 

 beat of the brick is constantly changing, and the 

 operator must get up every now and then to 

 change bricks. 



Before being ready for work, something must be 

 had to moisten the edge of the presser block, or 

 else the foundation will stick to it. A small paint- 

 brush will do, but it takes more time, is more trou- 

 blesome, and does not do as good work as an imple- 

 ment specially made, as follows: Take a piece of 

 wood about 9 inches long, 1,V inches wide, and V 

 thick. Nail on one end of it a pad or cushion made 

 of old cotton cloth— perhaps woolen is just as good. 

 Fold the cloth into several thicknesses, making it 

 about 5 inches long and nearly Ji inch thick. Use 

 few nails. Now whittle the handle end a little nar- 

 rower, and your paddle is done. Have a bowl or 

 other vessel filled with salt water— starch water will 

 do, but I think salt is better— and in this bowl dip 

 your paddle till the pad is well soaked. Place 

 the paddle under the presser-tongue till the tongue 

 is well wet, and it may be well to let it stay in that 

 position after the day's work is done, till ready for 

 the next day's work. At the left of the operator's 

 seat stands a box 16 or 18 inches high, on which is 



placed a board of sections. The board for holding 

 these sections should be as light as may be to have 

 sutficient strength. I use some discarded queen- 

 excluders, which answer very nicely, being {s thick, 

 and having no greater thickness at the rims, and, 

 what is of som-j consequence, being 17 inches wide, 

 so as to hold four sections across. The sections on 

 this board are four tiers high, making 136 sections 

 on the board. One tier is placed on another, on the 

 break -joint principle, so as to be more secure from 

 falling. On the floor, or a little elevated, at the op- 

 erator's right, stands one or several supers filled 

 with starters, 500 of each kind in a super. On the 

 table, at her right, is placeil a board to hold the 

 sections as fast as they are filled with starters. It 

 is well to have a little projection fastened to the 

 table at this point, so the board may stand well for- 

 ward without falling off the table. The height of 

 the seat depends on the height of the table and the 

 height of the operator. My table is of such height 

 that the upper surface of the fastener on which the 

 section is placed is about 30 inches from the floor. 

 A common chair, about 16K inches high, is just 

 right for Emma, who is rather short. Although I 

 am only about two inches taller, the seat is too low 

 for me to use more than one foot comfortably. 

 Now, remember this : To do good work, and do it 

 easily, jyott must keep both feet on the treadle. So long 

 as Emma sits on the seat, she never takes either 

 foot off the treadle, even if she stops work for sev- 

 eral minutes, simply because it is entirely comfort- 

 able to keep both feet on. If you feel inclined 

 at all to use only one foot, you maybe sure that 

 your seat should be made higher, or gome other 

 change made. 



Putting in a shallow starter is a little different 

 from putting in a deep one. As I use both {}i and 

 3 V) I will describe each. 



First, the bottom, or shallow starter. The section 

 is placed on the machine, and pushed sgainst two 

 ,'j-inch wire nails, one on each side, driven in all 

 but ,V inch of their length. These nails, used as 

 stops, must be placed differently for sections of 

 different width, and must by careful trial be placed 

 just where they will allow the foundation to be put 

 in the middle of the section. With the right hand, 

 get one of the little starters and place it with both 

 hands so that the presser will take a very small 

 bite. Now give the feet a single swing forward- 

 perhaps you might call it a kick— and let the feet 

 indantly rebound to their position of rest. Don't 

 try to hold th&preescr tight down till you straight- 

 en up the foundation. You will do that just as 

 well, and a good deal easier, by letting the feet rest 

 at ease. With a thumb at each side, push the foun- 

 dation upright. You will now see the need of hav- 

 ing the foundation cold, all but one edge. If all 

 were soft you couldn't straighten it upright with a 

 single push of the thumbs. Now turn the section 

 over and get a top or large starter. Hold the starter 

 in place with both hands, give a kick, and let the 

 feet instantly come back to repose. The starter 

 was held in place by the thumb and fingers of each 

 hand, and the third and fourth fingers of each hand 

 continue to support the starter till the section is 

 turned over and the starter is pushed into its place. 

 Although the weight of the starter itself might 

 bring it to the right position, it is just as easy to let 

 it rest on the fingers and make a sure thing of it. 

 The right hand places the sections in nice order on 

 the board, ready to be picked up four at a time 



