466 



GLEANINGS IN Bi:E OULTUUE. 



JuifE 



with little or llo scrubbing. I think I have 

 seen carpets on porches in some of the cities, 

 laid down loosely, so as to be rolled up and 

 carried in when it rains. Will not some of 

 our lady contributors give us some sugges- 

 tions in regard to these very important mat- 

 ters? No doubt the men-folks are greatly 

 in need of reformation in this matter of 

 lessening the labor of their wives ; but I 

 am afraid it is also true that many wives, 

 through mistaken notions, overwork them- 

 selves. 



WEDGING- UP 'WIDE FItAMES. 



WM. MUTH-RASMUSSEN'S WAY. 



TN my supers I use, for the production of comb 

 (£|p houey, 7 wide frames, holding' 6 Simplicity sec- 

 ^r tions each, jiadk of the wide frames 1 place 

 ■^ a follower, or division-board, and behind this 

 is a space of from >^ to Y2 inch, averaging- % 

 inch, in which I used to insert a wedge, in order to 

 crowd the frames snugly together. The w^edgc^s 

 were, however, very imsatisfactory, as each had to 

 be fitted to its particular super, and while crowd- 

 ing the follower at the top they would often force 

 it away from the wide frame at the bottom. Some- 

 times they would, when propolized, be very diflB- 

 cult to get out, and occasionally they would slip 

 down out of reach. 



At first I thought of using screws (a la Hcddon) 

 instead of wedges; but partly from an aversion to 

 having the screw projecting outside the super, and 

 partly because I saw so many conflicting reports 

 about the desirability and i)racticability of screws, 

 I came to the conclusion that a spring of the prop- 

 er shape, strength, and clieapness was what was 

 wanted. 



MtlTH-RASMUSSEN's SUPER-SPRING AND HOOK. 



I send you by this mail such a spring, and the 

 accompanying drawings will more fully explain it. 

 The perpendicular arm, A, Fig. 1, which stands at a 

 right angle to the spring proper, serves two pur- 

 poses; viz.: 1. In inserting the spring between 

 the follower and the end of the super, and by plac- 

 ing the heel, C, of the hoolc, Fig. 3, on the perpendic- 

 ular arm, at B, the siiring is easily pushed down in- 

 to its place. 2. The perpendicular arm prevents the 

 spring from turning, when in place. To remove 

 the spring, insert the llattened point, D, of the 

 hook in the loop of the spring, at E, and pull up 

 as shown in Fig. 3. 



The hook is made of the same material as the 



spring, and is hammered flat, from C to T), so as 

 easily to enter the loop E. 



For material, I used wire from an old spring- 

 mattress. I first tried wire which had been burned, 

 but found that I could not temper the springs. 

 Wire which has not been burned answers, however, 

 admirably. The bed-spring is first straightened out 

 and cut into lengths of 8 inches. The horizontal 

 arm is then bent in a vise. Next, the point G Is 

 slightly bent at a right angle to the! horizontal arm, 

 to prevent it from catching in the wood; and then 

 the loop E is bent, partly in the vise and partly by 

 hand. Finally, by placing a piece of iron or a 

 small cold-chisel, between ths prongs of the spring, 

 and with a hammer tapping at I, the spring is 

 given the right shape. It caO be opened or cohi- 

 pressed by hand to suit different distances, if it is 

 either too large or too small; but if it has to be 

 opened much it had bettcsr be done by bending it at 

 T, as much bending at E, where the sharpest turn 

 is made, might break it at that point. 



Wm. Muth-Rasmussen. 



Independence, Cal , May 5, 1887. 



Friend M., your device is quite ingenious. 

 The only objection I can make is, that it is 

 a little complicated ; that is, yoii are obliged 

 to have these wire springs and a hook to 

 pull Ihem out with. I presume, however, a 

 common button-hook would answer just as 

 well, and these are to be found in almost ev- 

 ery household. I quite agree with you, that 

 I should not want any screws sticking out 

 of the side of the super or honey-case. The 

 springs you describe should be made by ma- 

 chinery, at a very small expense, and may 

 be they ai e the best thing that can be de- 

 vised for the purpose. Are we to under- 

 stand that one spring is ail you use to each 

 division-board? 



-^ 



HEDDON'S LETTER. 



SEPTIC DISEASES. 



T COME to Gi^EANiNOS with the above subject, 

 (df which is not only of interest to my understand- 

 W ing, but my health and life as well. I find that 

 "*■ some believe that radical impurities, in consid- 

 erable quantities, will pass down through many 

 feet of sand. I can hardly credit it. Here we dig 

 through 35 feet of sand to water. Now, if an old 

 privy-vault were six feet deep, and full, would its 

 impurities ever lead down through the remaining 

 19 feet of sand, reaching the water ? If so, how far 

 away would the well have to be, to be out of danger 

 of having its water thus tainted ? Will Prof. Cook, 

 Mr. Terry, or some one who knows, please give us 

 his experience ? 



WIDE FRAMES. 



1 have noticed the clash of views between W. H. 

 Shirley and yourself, as found on page 393, and I 

 think that friend Shirley is nearer right. For sev- 

 eral years we have used a few tin T cases, and, with 

 the exception of first cost, I find every thing favor- 

 ing the one-story wide frame, where separators are 

 to be used. AVhere no separators are desired, our 

 old-style case is so much better than all others that 

 I can not improve it, nor do I find that any one can. 

 All alterations have been found to be detrimental. 

 As you say, my break-joint slat honey-board is a 

 great protection to the sections above; but this is 

 more against brace-combs than propolis, to which 



