Jiiiu', 1015 



American Vee Journal 



where scraping need not disturb it be- 

 fore the section is put together. 



I might mention that I find it pays 

 for me to sign many of my letters 



EAT BONNEY HONEY, 



Buck Grove, Iowa. 



Frame Nailing Devices 



BY J. L. BVER. 



WHILE no one will question the 

 fact that beekeeping in common 

 with other pursuits is making, 

 and has been making progress, some 

 of the so-called new inventions are 

 either not new or are not as good as 

 some methods that were practiced 

 many years ago. This is particularly 

 true in regard to devices for holding 

 frames for nailing, in a solid position, 

 and at the same time permitting accu- 

 rate and rapid work. 



At our last convention a good friend 

 of mine illustrated by actual practice 

 a device put out by a well known au- 

 thor in the United States. The method, 

 while practical enough in so far as be- 

 ing able to do the job, was neverthe- 

 less almost universally condemned by 

 those present as being too intricate 

 and slow a process to justify its use 

 when simpler methods would do the 

 work quicker and with less trouble. 



The illustrations herewith given, 

 are taken from photographs of a device 

 made by mygreat uncle, deceased some 

 20 years. It was made by him over 40 

 years ago, and is still giving good ser- 

 vice in the hands of a son-in-law. We 

 use a similar one, but of much neater 

 construction, made by my grandfather 

 about the same time, but as mine hap- 

 pened to be stored away for the winter 

 in an upper room of an out-building, I 

 walked a half mile and took a picture 



of the machine shown. As will be seen 

 by the illustrations, the device is made 

 of inch lumber and stands on four ends 

 in an upright position, the legs on each 

 side being about '-i feet apart at the bot- 

 tom while they join at the top. These 

 supports are of strips 1 inch by 2, but 

 can be made as strong as desired. 

 When built, the device is high enough 

 to admit of a man standing in front 

 and working in a comfortable position. 

 No. 1 shows front view. The square 

 block at the top should be the exact 

 size of the frame to be nailed up, and 

 is simply an inch board nailed fast to 

 the front frame, which consists of inch 

 lumber. 



In placing in frame for nailing, the 

 top-bar is laid flat inspace between this 

 block and board beneath, the end-bars 

 are put in place, and the bottom-bar is 

 also put in position on top of this 



Front View. Device for Holding Frames 

 FOR Nailing 



Rear View, Device for Holding Frames 



ON the SiJUARE FOR NAILING 



block. The foot lever, projecting at 

 right side of the machine, shown near 

 bottom, is first raised with the foot to 

 allow pieces of frame to be placed as 

 described. Once in place, the lever is 

 jammed down with the foot, and the 

 small blocks marked with a cross 

 move down and firmly hold frame on 

 the square while nailing is done. Small 

 crosses lower down indicate nail box, 

 with various nails required, there be- 

 ing three compartments in the one 

 illustrated. 



A glance at the rear view of the de- 

 vice, shows the construction which is 

 very simple. The two pieces at the 

 top are fastened to the small blocks 

 marked with a cross on Ihe opposite 

 side, with wooden pins. They connect 

 at the bottom with upright made, in 

 this case, of a heavy piece of corrugated 

 iron. The way it is fastened to the 

 foot lever is easily seen, and any one 

 with a few rough pieces of lumber and 

 the tools ordinarily found around any 

 work shop, could construct a similar 



machine in a half day at the most. 



If the front block at the top is made 

 exactly on the square, and is the cor- 

 rect size of the frame, the nailed frame 

 will be exactly square even if nailed by 

 the greenest operator. This is one of 

 the great advantages of this simple ar- 

 rangement, in that unskilled labor can 

 be employed and at the same time 

 accurate work will be accomplished. 

 As to quick work, it is surprising how 

 large a number of completed frames 

 can be turned out by a quick mover in 

 a very short time. With slight varia- 

 tions, this machine may be constructed 

 so as to allow the operator to be seated 

 while at work, and in no way interfere 

 with its efficiency. I have seen a good 

 many devices for holding frames to be 

 nailed, but we must yet see something 

 better than ever, before abandoning 

 our " old reliable." 



Markham, Ont. 



A Letter from Canada 



BY MORLEY PETTIT. 



THINK I find every number of the 

 American Bee Jou 

 better than the last. The May num- 



American Bee Journal a little bit 



ber, which has just come to hand, is 

 particularly interesting. I feel like 

 making a few comments upon some of 

 its features. After admiring the beauti- 

 ful cover picture of blossoms on which 

 unfortunately I could not discover any 

 bees working, the next thing that at- 

 tracted my attention was Dr. Miller's 

 editorial on " Beekeeping in Canada." 



We are finding again this first week 

 of May, the value of the extra protec- 

 tion which outdoor wintered bees have 

 during the spring, or which is given to 

 bees taken from the cellar according 

 to our experiment, No. 4. During the 

 latter part of April we had temperatures 

 ranging between 80 and 90 degrees for 

 several days. With plenty of stores, 

 plenty of pollen and some honey com- 

 ing in. it will easily be seen how the 

 brood-nest would be expanded under 

 those conditions of temperature. There 

 was then a sudden drop of 20 to 30 de- 

 grees, followed by a decline of the 

 thermometer until a few nights we 

 were afraid of frost, and frosty nights 

 are almost certain to come between 

 now and settled warm weather. 



Of course, cellar-wintered bees were 

 all out on tbe summer stands some 

 time before this hot weather came, and 

 when one drives through the countrv 

 and sees these colonies in single-walledl 

 hives with frequently just a thin board 

 cover, standing out in exposed places, 

 one does not need to be a prophet to 

 know how the brood is suffering and 

 what a set-back those colonies are get- 

 ting. On the other hand, colonies 

 which are warmly packed would not 

 feel the cold so much at the present 

 time. In other words, the packing pre- 

 vents the extreme changes and allows 

 the steady and lairly rapid develop- 

 ment of the colonies under the e.\- 

 tremes of temperature to which they 

 are subject in this country. 



In reply to Dr. Miller's last para- 

 graph, where he wonders if Mr. Pettit 

 would make his affidavit that among 

 the 284t) colonies reported black bees 

 there are 100 sure enough simon-pure 

 blacks. I think there would be a 



