814 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



a good fit ag-ain. The Crane has the addi- 

 tional fault of the valve, which I consider 

 of no particular benefit; but when well 

 crusted with creosote it becomes a nuisance 

 indeed. Its position and manner of fasten- 

 ing make it a bad job at cleaning, and few 

 people would fool with it. 



The Bingham "Smoke Engine" I con- 

 sider the best smoker on the market, but, 

 notwithstanding his claim of its being />er- 

 fed, it is far from that stage, and can be 

 improved very materiallj'. In the first 

 place, in the smokers of Mr. Bingham's 

 manufacture the spring- that holds the bel- 

 lows valve in place is too poorly fastened, 

 being put on with only a small tack. This 

 tack should be of copper, and go clear 

 through the back of the bellows to clinch 

 there, or else the spring should be fasten- 

 ed with a screw. It takes about two weeks 

 of work in a hot California sun to so dry 

 the wood that the tack falls out; and I can 

 assure you it is not a pleasant task to take 

 that bellows to pieces just to fit a little 

 measley tack. 



Another fault with this smoker is that the 

 barrel is too short. It should extend at 

 least two inches above the top of the bel- 

 lows. In lighting, especially if a squirt of 

 coal oil is used to start the fuel, the blaze 

 whips around on the bellows-top, scorching 

 the leather and the wood also. Two inches 

 more of tin would stop that; and, by the 

 way, the Crane and Cornell smokers could 



profit by two inches more of tin also, and 

 for the same reason. 



Most folks set their smokers on the ground 

 when not using them. I find that all smo- 

 kers examined have the leather worn ofT, or 

 nearly so, from the bottom of the bellows. 

 Two large round-headed nails, one on each 

 side of the bottom, would save many a 

 leaky bellows, and render its life much 

 longer. 



I discovered these things one at a time; 

 and when my last smoker was about gone 

 up I built one, a description of which will 

 be plain by consulting the cuts. 



I took the Bingham as a general pattern, 

 but made the bellows 9x6. The barrel I 

 made of common stovepipe iron, 4x 10, with 

 the perforated grate riveted in place, one 

 inch from the bottom. The bottom, or ash- 

 cup, is, as the picture shows, cup-shaped, 

 detachable, and telescopes inside the bar- 

 rel. The snout is made like the Crane, but 

 detachable, no hinge, and has a one-inch 

 opening in the top. Now, if the cut is ex 

 amined the blast-pipe from the bellows and 

 the hole in the barrel are seen to be not in 

 the middle, but are placed considerably on 

 one side. The action of the blast is not 

 only to blow plenty of smoke out of the top, 

 but, forming a sort of vortex inside the ash- 

 pan, no ashes ever accumulate there, but 

 are blown out of the blast-hole, and at 

 right angles with the pipe, so none is ever 

 blown back into the bellows, as sometimes 



THE CROSS SMOKER DISSECTED. 



