1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



279 



The eye end of the screw-bar for the clamp 

 has a rounded part nearly two inches in diameter, 

 which must be countersunk into the clamp; then 

 the bar itself is 1 '4 inches thick; and for its ac- 

 commodation a hole must be bored through 

 clamp, front board, and leg. Begin by measur- 

 ing 8 inches from the top end of the clamp, and 

 find the center of the board. Then place the 

 clamp in position, taking care that the edges co- 

 incide with the pencil-marks, and (this is impor- 

 tant) that the top of the clamp project Yz inch 

 above the top of the bench. Take a '/s-inch drill 

 and bore through the clamp into the front board, 

 and thus make sure of true centering later on. 



If you are accustomed to an extension bit you 

 need no further advice about getting the width 

 of the cut; if you are not familiar, get help from 

 some one who is. 



Once the holes are drilled, and the fitments of 

 the screw all fastened in place, screw the clamp 

 up tight, taking care that the edges again meet 

 the lines as before; then with a pencil draw a line 

 flush with the top of the bench. You may also 

 prepare for the clamp-guide, which is fastened to 

 the lower end of the clamp. As this piece of 

 wood is ^4X3 inches, and needs a little room for 

 play, the hole in the clamp ought to be J4X4 

 inches. Before boring the holes you will find it 

 pays to insert between the clamp and the leg of 

 the bench a bit of wood ^ inch thick so that 

 every thing will be firm when you are boring. 

 With a ^-inch bit, drill two holes whose centers 

 are 3 inches apart, going right through the leg 

 without stopping, if your tool will permit. 



Now remove the clamp, and enlarge the holes 

 by using the chisel. Also saw the spare wood off 

 the top of the clamp, preferably at an angle so 

 that the topof the clamp shall be on a slight bevel. 



The clamp-guide needs a little work in the 

 form of holes to hold the top-bar. I like a bar 

 of iron at least half an inch thick for a pin, and 

 the holes in mine are, of courie, made for that 

 size. They are arranged alternately, in two rows, 

 a little over an inch apart, and with two inches 

 between holes in each row. The guide itself is 

 fastened to the clamp by means of a ^-inch spike 

 six inches long driven from one side. 



Put the clamp back into place and your bench 

 is almost finished, all but the back and tool-rack. 

 To make the latter, cut the ViX^s lumber into 

 •hort lengths, say \}4 inches long, about 30 in 

 all. Nail these crosswise of the 1^4 stuff at dis- 



tances of about one inch. ^Through each end 

 one, and through every fourth one, drill a hole 

 for a screw, then fasten the rack in place, about 

 an inch below the top of the back. Last of all, 

 nail the back in place. 



If you ever expect to plane the edges of long 

 boards I would advise the boring of a series oi'^s- 

 inch holes, as shown in the front board, and the 

 making of a pin like the one (B) shown in the 

 drawing. 



To hold flat lumber in place while planing, you 

 will need a bench-stop. I have tried several, but 

 have found nothing better than a couple of l%- 

 in. strong screws set about 1>4 in. apart, about two 

 inches from and parallel to the end of the bench. 

 They can be driven below the level of the surface 

 if necessary. To prevent thin and light pieces 

 moving backward when the plane is drawn back, 

 get a bit of the blade of a steel table-knife, not 

 more than two inches long, and by a tap of the 

 hammer you can sink the sharp edge into the 

 bench just enough to hold the wood tight against 

 the screws. I think you will find this bench a 

 great comfort. 



Victoria, B. C, Canada. 



SOME POINTS ON INTRODUCING. 



Introducing by Way of the Entrance. 



3Y DR. C. C. MILLER. 



A correspondent, Luther P. Fairbank, wants 

 me to answer in Gleanings questions upon some 

 points in " Forty Years Among the Bees." 



If at any time a queen is caged with her own 

 colony, the cage may be put in the center of the 

 brood-nest between two combs, down among the 

 brood at the center of the combs. To do this 

 nicely, one end of a fine wire is tied around the 

 cage, the other end being left eight or ten inches 

 long. The combs being pried apart, the cage is 

 let down between them; and while one hand 

 holds the end of the wire the other crowds the 

 frames together. Then when it is desired to take 

 out the queen, it is easy to see by the end of the 

 wire on top of the top-bars just where the cage is. 

 It is so little trouble to provision the cage that it 

 is generally provisioned, although her own bees 

 would be sure to feed the queen. 



When a laying young queen of the current 

 year's rearing is given to a colony that has been 

 treated for swarming, she may be thus put in her 

 cage between the combs. Generally, however, in 

 such a case (as well as in the introduction of any 

 queen) I merely put the cage in the entrance of 

 the hive, up against the bottom-bars. She is put 

 in " fast," that is, the bees can not get at the can- 

 dy. In two or three days the bees are let at the 

 candy. You will see that having the cage at the 

 entrance makes it easy to lake out the cage with- 

 out opening the hive; and at any hour afterward 

 I can in a minute look to see whether the queen 

 is out of the cage. Another point in favor of 

 this entrance introduction is that G. M. Doolit- 

 tle, a high authority on any question about 

 queens, says that a queen near the entrance more 

 quickly and surely makes the acquaintance of the 

 colony. 



Of course, entrance introduction will not do 

 for a nucleus or a weak colony, nor in a very 



