1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



41? 



so small weights. To avoid springing-, under con- 

 tinued heavy weight, two suitable wedges are slip- 

 ped under the beam on one side, when the scale is 

 to be left. The indentation at a is where the beam 

 turns on the trunnion. The letters b b b b mark lit- 

 tle shallow boxes, made by first nailing a strip of tin 

 upon the bar at that point, to give a firm bottom, 

 and then nailing on four bits of %x% wood. The 

 centre of the box, b, is just two feet from the centre 

 of the indentation o. The screws, c c, catch the os- 

 cillations of the leaves of the scale just as those of 

 Fig. 1 catch the oscillations of the beam. The two 

 leaves of the scale are each two feet square, an*d se- 

 cured from warping by cleats underneath and by 

 being nailed at the ends to three inch strips of board 

 in the style of a little boy's home-made sled. They 

 do not interfere with anything below as the lower 

 parts of the scale are much narrower than the 

 leaves. A plain line is marked across the exact cen- 

 tre of the leaf for convenience in placing the 

 weights. 



The adjustment of the leaves is shown in Fig. 3. 

 The invention of the implement is mainly in this. If 

 we lay a board on each end of the carrier, we can 

 weigh things, after a fashion ; but in ordinary hands 

 the reading would be very inaccurate. Reasonable 

 accuracy is secured by mounting each leaf upon cen- 

 tre points, and placing the burden and the weights 

 so that the leaves themselves will oscillate. Refer- 

 ring now to Fig. 3, a is the end of one bar of the car- 

 rier or double beam; b is one leaf ; c and 7i arc pro- 

 jecting screws; d is a button which turns on a 

 screw put in the edge of the leaf; e is a centre 

 point; and / is the tin-bottomed box. A narrow 

 cleat, marked #, is put under the leaf, mainly to 

 make a firmer hold for the centre point. When the 

 button d is turned up, the leaf will rock downward 

 until it touches the end of the screw h. Whatever is 

 weighed on the scale must be so placed that it will 

 rock either way with a mere touch. Then the but- 

 ton is turned back to its place, and the leaf, bearing 

 at once on the outer screws, the centre points, and 

 the button, is immovable while the weight is ascer- 

 tained. In weighing a hive these buttons only need 

 be turned occasionally. Don't pry up a hive when 

 it gets out of turn, but keep a brick lying on the top 

 of it which can be moved to make the adjustment. 

 As to the weights, the big ones once adjusted remain 

 on the scale. The small ones if laid directly on the 

 centre line of the leaf will be right without any fur- 

 ther care. The centre points, e, are made by cut- 

 ting off a twenty-penny nail, and filing down the 

 head of it; after which it is diiven deep enough to 

 be firm. 



SECTION OF ONE LEAF AND END OF BEAM. 



With a scale of this sort, of course the weights 

 have to be pound for pound with the burden. 

 Square boxes of % inch lumber are made of suitable 

 Size, and filled to correct weight with gravel and 

 small boulders. I use three sizes, Ii. r > lb., 10 lb. and 5 

 lb. They will absorb some water in a storm but in 

 so doing they will keep debt and credit with the 

 hive, which will also absorb water. Pound, half 

 pound, and quarter pound weights are also used. 

 These are little muslin baa* of gravel. Ounce 



weights are bits cut from a bar of lead, and whittled 

 down to correct weight. The trunnions should be 

 oiled, and every thing made as smooth as practica- 

 ble; yet, quite likely, when first set up it may not 

 turn very easily. If so use a shift-weight. This is 

 not to be counted in adding up the weight, but is 

 used simply to make the thing turn. It should be 

 some object different from the weights, weighing 

 just enough to suit the scale; a weight which can be 

 found by trying. We will say the correct weight 

 is on, but the scale does not go down on account of 

 the rigidity of things. The shift-weight is now add- 

 ed anf) the scale goes down. It does not rise again 

 upon the removal of the shift, but rises when the 

 shift is placed on the opposite scale. When my 

 scale was first made I used a shift of three ounces, I 

 think. It has since been so that a scale would sink 

 with one ot the ounce weights, and rise on its re- 

 moval. 



It is scarcely needful (in talking to so large aclass 

 of boys) to say that the whole thing, weights and all, 

 should be neatly painted, and be so arranged as to 

 be a respectable fixture of the apiary and not a 

 scare-crow. I omitted to say in the proper place 

 that the bars should be of hard wood, well seasoned. 

 In winter time the same scale can be used to weigh 

 the porkers, and the bags of grain, and for all the 

 uses of a farm scale. E. E. Hasty. 



Richards, Lucas Co., Ohio. 



Many thanks, friend Hasty. Your idea is 

 novel, and at least to me new ; and, although 

 I think it will be greatly improved, perhaps 

 as soon as it comes before our readers, we 

 owe you a vote of thanks for the ideas it 

 suggests. I should like it much better, if it 

 showed the weight at a glance, without be- 

 ing obliged to try it with weights ; but, as 

 the arrangement is so much cheaper than 

 the dial scales, I presume we can put up 

 with so slight an inconvenience. Besides, 

 the dial scales leave the hive swinging about 

 in the wind unpleasantly, unless we have 

 guy wires constantly attached, which render 

 it inconvenient to open the hive often. I 

 would wish the suspended hive to be cer- 

 tainly as easy of access as any other, for if 

 we are getting honey we wish to know what 

 kind of honey, and what it is from, and I am 

 always trying my tasting test, whenever I 

 lind honey coming in unexpectedly. Per- 

 haps it may help our readers to get a clear 

 idea of friend Hasty's plan, to remark that, 

 if the hive were simply set on one end of a 

 board, and the weights on the other, we 

 should be obliged not only to put the 

 weights in one exact spot but the bees would 

 have to put their honey in the same place in 

 the hive, to give us accurate weights. Friend 

 Hasty remedies this by having the platform 

 that holds the hive, as well as the one that 

 holds the weights, rest on pivots. Suspen- 

 sion, of course, would do as well as pivots ; 

 but then we would have inconvenient arms 

 in the way, besides leaving things to be 

 swung about by the winds. After making 

 one like the above, to be sure you take in 

 all the points, let us see who will make the 

 next substantial improvement. 



