DEVOTED TO I5EES ATNO HOIVEY, AND HOME INTERESTS. 



Vol. VII. 



NOVEMBER 1, 1879. 



No. 11. 



A. I. ROOT, ~) Published Monthly. (TERMS! *l.O0 Per Annum in Ad- 



Publisher and Proprietor, [ ] vance; 3 Copies for «2.50; 5 for «3.T5; 



Medina, O. ) Established in 1 873. I 10 oi more, 60c. each. Single Number, 10c. 



SCRAPS AND SKETCHES. NO. 11. 



A FEW BUZZ-SAW SCRAPS. 



t % Ffi ° tne man y inquiring- friends" who would 

 JJ J|i" J "like to know a little more about that 

 — ' home made buzz saw that was described in 

 the Nov. No. of Gleanings for 1878," I would say 

 that there remains but little more to tell; the fol- 

 lowing- "scraps" are all that I can "think of." 



Some who have attempted the construction of 

 foot-power saws have failed; one man says that it 

 would require the strength of Sampson to saw half 

 inch stuff with the saw that he made. In the con- 

 struction of foot-power machinery, one idea should 

 always be kept in view; that is, to have everything 

 run lightly and easily. If it takes all your strength 

 to run the machinery, there is no power left with 

 which to do the work. 



Be sure and have everything- made just right. 

 While making my saw, I was often tempted to say: 

 "There, I guess that will do; the bolts or screws will 

 bring that into shape." But I always resisted all 

 such temptatious, and never left any piece or part 

 until it was just right. 



The band wheel was so large, and so near the pul- 

 ley on the saw mandrel, that the belt touched only 

 a small part of the surface of the pulley; conse- 

 quently, the belt had to be run so tight, to prevent 

 it from slipping, as to cause considerable friction. 

 To remedy this, I made a small tightener, which 

 acted by means of a weight; this caused the belt to 

 wrap farther around the pulley, and enabled me to 

 run the saw with the belt quite loose. The result 

 was that the "machine" ran much easier. If your 

 belt will slip, put on just a little molasses. 



Not only keep your saws sharp, but keep them 

 ''jointed," so that the teeth will all be of a length, 

 and every tooth will cut. 



I have made hundreds of hives and thousands of 

 section boxes, with my saw, and I like it better now 

 than I did when I first made it. 



You need not pay 75c. apiece for clamps with 

 which to make section boxes. Make some wooden 

 ones; and for screws, buy some bolts at the hard- 

 ware, and get the henda pounded down flat at the 

 blacksmith shop, so that you can turn them with 

 your fingers. Of course, the nuts are to be embed- 

 ed in the wood at one end of the clamps. 



I have my saw "rigged" for dovetailing according 

 to the plan given in the March No. of Gleanings. 

 I use the rip saw, set wabbling, and it works tip top. 



Rogersville, Mich. W. Z. Hutchinson. 



HOW AN A R C SCHOLAR MANAGED. 



F^RHAPS a report from one of your ABC 

 scholars from this section of Minnesota may 

 ^^ be of interest to some of your class. In the 

 first place, I will state that I live on the prairie, and 

 have no maple or basswood. There are quite a 

 number of farmers in this county, who keep from 

 two to fifty colonies of bees, but none who make 

 bee-keeping a business, or raise queens for sale. 

 But very few use any of the modern improvements 

 that are now considered so necessary for the suc- 

 cessful management of an apiary. 



One year ago last May, I received two colonies of 

 black bees in movable frame hives. I put them on 

 their stands, supposing I had done all that was nec- 

 essary, except to supply hives for the increase. I 

 knew absolutely nothing about them. A child was 

 as rich in knowledge as to their wants and habits as 

 I was. I remained in my ignorance until about 

 August. In fact, I did not get much interested in 

 them until the honey harvest was over, which was 

 about Sept. 15th, 1878. I subscribed for Gleanings 

 and the A. B. J., and sent for Prof. Cook's "Manual" 

 and "Quinby's Mysteries in Bee Keeping," and, it is 

 needless for me to state to those who are interested 

 in the "blessed bee" that I have been in perfect 

 bliss ever since, so far as the bee question is concern- 

 ed. 



In 1878, my two colonies increased to five, and 

 gave me considerable surplus honey from golden 

 rod. In the fall, I took three colonies on a debt, in 

 old fashioned box hives. With care and close atten- 

 tion, I succeeded in wintering and springing them 

 through in good shape, without any feeding, al- 

 though it was a bad winter, even in Minnesota, in 

 some localities. As early in the spring as possible, 

 I successfully transferred the three colonies in box 

 hives to my movable frame hives. 



HOW TO ITALIANIZE AN APIARY. 



I also bought of Hon. C. F. Greening, Grand Mead- 

 ow, Minn., a nice, large colony of Italians, which 

 were received on the 19th 'of April. I bought this 

 colony for the purpose of Italianizing my eight col- 

 onies. I thought of sending to Gleanings for eight, 

 dollar queens; but, finally, after considering the 

 matter all winter, I concluded to buy a colony and 

 raise my own queens, believing the experience 

 would be worth something. It seemed to me, at the 

 time, like quite an undertaking. I did not com- 

 mence operations very early, as the spring was cold 

 and wet, but I raised, and introduced to my black 

 colonies, eight Italian queens. 



