1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



101 



as good as the above, only folding twice, is 

 furnished for 25c 



SCALES FOR WEIGHING. 



These come right along with a rule, and a 

 family without any kind of a thing to weigh 

 with is liable to be imposed upon constantly, 

 in selling as well as buying. When I carried 

 one of the above little scales home and told 

 my wife we were going to sell them for only 

 ten cents, she gave me another good scolding 

 for asking anybody to make so nice and 

 handy a household implement for such a ri- 

 diculous price. Everybody said they could 

 not be accurate, but we gave them careful 

 tests, and not one has been found untruth- 

 ful. They weigh 24 lbs. by I lb. gradua- 

 tions, but you can come within a . i lb., by 

 looking carefully. I much prefer them to 

 the 50c pocket scale that has been advertised 

 so much. 



FIVE CEXT SCISSORS. 



Somebody from California sent for a pair 

 of these, remarking that they must be pew- 

 ter. Pewter would be altogether too expen- 

 sive. They are made of the chilled cast-iron. 

 Cast-iron and steel are shown, by modern 

 science, to vary but little- in composition, 

 and, in the aits', we not only now cast steel 

 into molds as we do iron, but we make cast- 

 iron very nearly imitate steel. Send for a 

 pair of these scissors, and see whether they 

 are not like steel. I confess, when I first 

 saw them, I was much surprised to see them 

 really finely finished. I had expected some- 

 thing like the cheap iron goods we used to 

 get from Germany ; but these are of Ameri- 

 can make, and finished in black japan, so as 

 to look as if they might be worth 50c, instead 

 of 5. We have them both with round points, 

 so they can lie carried in the pocket, or giv- 

 en to the baby for a plaything, and with the 

 usual sharp points used by ladies. They are 

 made of two sizes, and the large ones are 

 just as cheap as the small. For 10c, you can 

 get a good sized pair of shears made in the 

 same way. My w ife*s sister says she has 

 been using a pah*, and that they seem to do 

 just as good service as any shears. I will 

 tell you one trouble with them. Do you 

 know why many edged tools are made of 

 iron and faced with steel, instead of being 

 all steelV If made all of steel, they would be 

 in danger of breaking during the 'tempering 

 process, as well as ever afterward, but bj 

 having all except the cutting edges made of 

 soft iron, the steel is held from snapping as 

 it might otherwise do. Well these cheap 

 scissors and shears are all hard, and con- 

 sequently brittle, and I have seen them 

 break in pieces like glass, when simply drop- 



ped on the floor. Well, suppose they do; 

 they cost so little you can get a half dozen 

 pair, and when one breaks go to the drawer 

 and get another. 1 can get you very nice, 

 steel faced shears, of good size, for 50c, but 

 I have not yet been able to get any real steel 

 shears for the 25c. counter. We have some 

 steel scissors for 25c, but they are very 

 small, and sold at a close profit. An excel- 

 lent pair of pruning shears, having iron 

 handles and line steel cutting surfaces, is 

 made for 50c. 



PLIERS FOB BEE-KEEPERS. 



I have been so accustomed to having pli- 

 ers within easy reach all my life, that I 

 scarcely know what to do without them. 

 Last night, in our electrical experiments 

 with my class of boys, I wanted to bend a 

 loop on some copper wire. I sung out to my 

 wife in another room, 



"Sue, have you no pliers in the house?" 



"None at all." 



"Have you never had any?" 



"Never." 



"Why, 1 low in the world Jo you get along?" 



I got the wire bent, but I hurt my lingers 

 and teeth, and took a, long time to do it'be- 

 sides. For several years I have been look- 

 ing for some good pliers, for a low price, say 

 25c, and I have just found them. See ; 



FLIERS FOR REE KEEPERS. 



Either of the above, flat nose or round 

 nose, can be sold for 25c They are 4 inches 

 long, of good steel, and are extremely Avell 

 made for the money. 



Cutting pliers are always verv expensive, 

 and are almost always being broken besides. 

 A very pretty tool for cutting wire has lately 

 been invented, and, as it combines with it li 

 most excellent flat nosed plier, I should think 

 it quite an acquisition, were it not for the 

 price. 



WIRE SHEARS AND PLIERS COMBINED. 



These are 43 inches long, of excellent steel 

 and temper, and beautifully finished. They 

 are patented, and the inventor, for that reas- 

 on, holds them so high that I can not possi- 

 bly sell them for less than 75c each. If he 

 would throw away his patent and sell them 



