70 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



Clark, allows one to send the smoke with more force, 

 but, as already mentioned, shortens the life of the smoker, 

 because the bellows become foul with smoke. The Crane 

 has the advantage of the full strength of blast without 

 the weakening of the cut-off, and works in perfection for 

 a long time. Still, in the course of time, the metal valve 

 becomes dirty, and it must be cleaned. Fortunately the 

 part containing the valve can be taken off, allowing all 

 to be made just as clean as when new. It takes quite a 

 bit of time to do this, but it is time wxll spent, and one 

 cleaning a year, even with heavy use, is sufficient. Those 

 who do not care for so strong a blast will prefer a 

 Bingham, Cornell, or other smoker with a cut-off, never 

 needing to be cleaned, while those who like the strong 

 blast will be willing to spend the time occasionally clean- 

 ing the Crane. The 'latest Root smokers are the favorite 

 of all. 



CLEATS ON SMOKERS. 



Using a smoker all day long is a hard thing on the 

 muscles that work the bellows, and the stiff er the spring 

 of the bellows the more tiresome the work. But unless 

 the spring be quite stiff, the smoker will drop out of the 

 hand when the grasp is relaxed so as to allow the bellows 

 to open. I think it was W. L. Coggshall who suggested 

 little cleats on the smoker, and these cleats have given 

 great satisfaction. They are merely strips of wood one- 

 fourth inch by one-eighth, extending across the upper 

 end of each bellows-board and half way down the sides 

 (Fig. 80). The sharp edges of the cleats cling to the 

 fingers, allowing the spring to be — I don't know just how 

 much weaker, but I should guess only half as strong as 

 without the cleats. Most of the latest smokers are now 

 made so that no cleats are needed. 



SMOKER-FUEL. 



It is a matter of much importance to have plenty of 

 the right fuel and lighting material. Time is precious 



