i8y0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



495 



It seems to me the pawnbroker might be 

 and ought to be a very good Samaritan. 

 But just think of the estimation in which he 

 is held. ' His very name is a shir and a re- 

 proach. The world seems to think it is a 

 disgrace to be seen going into such a place 

 as a pawn-shop, and a still greater disgrace 

 to keep such an establishment. It really 

 seems that the world means to have us un- 

 derstand that anybody ought to be ashamed 

 of himself who gets into such straits as to 

 have to pawn his possessions. But, dear 

 friends, how about the homeless and the 

 friendless, the sick and the suffering, and 

 the widows ? Perhaps the world will say 

 that it is everybody's business to stay where 

 they are known, and to have friends, and 

 that everybody who is fairly deserving does 

 have friends who will stand between them 

 and want in the time of need. This may 

 be so ; but the whole matter is a sad one to 

 me. Let those who so severely censure the 

 money-lenders remember that lending mon- 

 ey is hard, severe work— work that wears 

 and tears on the mind and body. It is easy 

 to lend; but I tell you, my friends, it is hard 

 to get your money hack. AVe ought to 

 know something about it, with all our book- 

 keepers and clerks to look after the little 

 dribs as well as the big ones ; to look after 

 the continual stream of losses that would 

 break us down financially if we did not al- 

 most flght for our own. I have sometimes 

 wondered whether the good friends did not 

 think we were hard, cold, and unfeeling. 

 If they do, please read over again the arti- 

 cle on page 841, 1889. Now, dear friend A., 

 do not, I beg of you, think this little ser- 

 mon hard and unfeeling. It has been writ- 

 ten with the kindest feelings toward erring 

 humanity I ever had in my life. I do know 

 that it is terribly hard to sell corn at IS cts. 

 a bushel. May God grant that the time 

 may come wlien some of these very poor 

 people we have been talking about shall 

 have the opportunity of buying the corn, 

 providing it rrmst be sold at such an insig- 

 nificant price. 



AN ATTACHMENT FOR CATCHING GRASS FROM A 

 LAWN-MOWER. 



I send you a sketch of an apron for a lawn-mow- 

 er, which I made last summer, and found it did 

 very satisfactory work. It keeps the grass from 

 falling on the ground, and so saves the necessity 

 of raking it up; and while raking is not very pleas- 

 ant work, it also takes time, and it leaves the lawn 

 with a ragged appearance. It may be made as 

 follows: 



Get a piece of heavy steel wire, about six feet 

 long, and two strips of pine, 1x54 inch— one 18, and 

 the other 20 inches long. Also two thinner strips 

 the length of the knives on the mower. Lay the 

 first two strips down on the edge, with the shorter 

 one at the right hand, and then nail the thin gtrips 

 down on top. Bend the wire, and fasten it on top 

 of the framework, with either staples or small wire, 

 leaving about 4 inches at each end for a hook. The 

 wire shoula project further toward the left hand, 

 as the knives throw the grass that way. The other 

 side should not reach beyond the wheel, as it would 

 be in the way of running close to trees or buildings. 

 The hooks are made long, so that there may be a 

 chaWce for fastening them, after passing around 



the roller bearings, thus holding it firmly in place. 

 The front ends of the runners should be rounded, 

 so they will not catch in the'grass. Fasten stout 

 strings to the back of the runners, long enough to 

 tie to the handles. Now cover over all with 

 enameled cloth, with the enameled side up, atid 

 hem the edges under. Hook on to the machine, 

 fasten securely, and tie the strings to the handles, 

 80 the back of the apron will just clear the ground, 

 and it is ready for business. Unless the grass is 

 quite tall it will run quite a while without being 

 emptied; th^n it maybe shoved off in a pile in a 

 convenient place, and afterward gathered up. The 

 weight of the extra load is scarcely noticeable, and I 

 think any one who uses a lawn-mower will find it a 

 saving, both in time and labor. I have not found it 

 necessary to have a curtain around the sides, as 

 but little will fiy over unless it is very windy. 

 F.^rina, 111., Apr. 25. D. M. Andrews. 



FOUR-HANDED ITALIANS; WHERE THEY CAME FROM. 



Friend Root: — In reply ito your inquiry on page 

 378, May 1.5, 1890, 1 would say that, in the fall of 1882, 

 I bought of G. M. Doolittle a select tested queen of 

 the golden Italian strain, with which I was greatly 

 pleased on account of the gentleness of worker 

 progeny; but in the spring following I lost this 

 queen by uniting a colony of black (German) bees 

 with the Italians. Next spring I ordered from 

 friend Doolittle another of his best select tested 

 queens, and from this one I got my present strain 

 of four-banded golden Italians. It is true, as 

 friend Doolittle will tell you, that I have greatly 

 improved them in that beautiful golden color, and 

 I have established a strain of Italians producing 

 uniform red drones, and at the game time 1 have 

 tried to keep them up to his standard for gen- 

 tleness and honey-gathering. How I have succeed- 

 ed in my efforts in. this direction, many of my pat- 

 rons can testify. I don't claim them to be better 

 honey-gatherers than the imported Italians, but 

 that they are equal to them in this respect, and 

 much more gentle to handle than any other bees I 

 have ever tried; and as friend Doolittle said some 

 time since in Gleanings, "If we can combine 

 beauty with the other good qualities of the Italians, 

 are we not a step in advance?" To get these bees 

 up to the present standard I have devoted six or 

 seven years; and for this labor I feel amply repaid, 

 both in dollars and the satisfaction of knowing 

 that, with the continued assistance of friend Doo- 

 little, 1 have greatly improved the ordinary Italian 

 Itjee. L. C. Hearn. 



Frenchvllle, W. Va., May 20. 1890. 



ANOTHER PLAN OF HORIZONTAL WIRING. 



I herew ith give my way of wiring frames, which 

 I have used for some years. You will notice that it 

 is on the same principle of tension as the one given 

 by E. D. Keeney, in May 15th Gleanings. I first 

 stretch the wire four times across the frame 

 through the end-bars, then draw tight, and fasten. 

 I then take a piece of wire and wrap it once around 

 the center of top wire, then around each one be- 

 low in succession, holding with the other hand in 

 such a way as to draw each toward the center, giv- 

 ing them all the tension they will bear. 



Economy, Ind. A. G. Mendenhall. 



I had studied out your plan, friend M., 

 and was aboUt to give it to the readers of 

 Gleanings as a superior method when 



