Block for Frame Making. 



Wilmington, N. C, Sept. 10, 1878. 

 Please give a cut of something to 

 make frames on — something to assist 

 in making and holding them together 

 while nailing, &c. — with instructions 

 for use. 



' What does Prof. Cook use over his 

 framesV Would it pay me to buy a foot 

 power saw to luake 100 to 150 hives V 

 R. C. Taylor. 



Prof. Cook uses a quilt over his 

 frames, made of i;nbleaclied factory, 

 enclosing a thick layer of cotton- bat- 

 ting, hemmed about the edges and 

 quilted. 



We hardly believe it will pay to buy a 

 saw for making 150 hives, but it would 

 be a convenience. Your pine will make 

 good hives. 



Prof. Cook uses a block, like the one 

 shown by the accompanying engraving, 



Prof. Cook's Block for Frame-Making. 



for frame making, and describes it 

 thus, in his new Manual : 



Take a rectangular board eleven and 

 a quarter by tliirteenand a half inches. 

 On both ends of one face of this, nail 

 hard-wood pieces (e, e) one inch square 

 and eleven inches long, so that one end 

 ( c/, (/ ) shall lack one-fourth inch of 

 reaching the edge of the board. On 

 the other face of the board, nail a strip 

 (c) four inches wide and eleven and a 

 quarter inches long, at right-angles to 

 it, and in such position that the ends 

 shall just reach to the edges of the 

 board. Midway between the one inch 

 square pieces, screw on another hard- 

 wood strii) (cZ) one inch square and four 

 inches long, parallel with and three- 

 fourths of an inch from the edge. To 

 the .bottom of this, screw a semi-oval 



piece of hoop-steel [b, b), which shall 

 bend around and press against the 

 square strips. The ends of this should 

 not reach quite to the bottom of the 

 board. Near the ends of this spring, 

 fasten, by rivets, an inch strap (a), 

 which shall be straight when riveted. 

 These dimensions are for frames eleven 

 inches square, inside measvu-e, and must 

 be varied for other sizes. To use this 

 block, we crowd the end-bars of our 

 frames between the steel springs [b, b) 

 and the square strips (e, e); then lay on 

 our top-bar and nail, after which we 

 invert the block and nail the bottom-bar 

 as we did tlie top-bar. Now press down 

 on the strap (a), which will loosen the 

 frame, when it may be removed all 

 complete and true. Such a guage, not 

 only insures perfect frames, but 

 demands that every piece shall be cut 

 with great accuracy. Some such 

 arrangement should always be used in 

 making the frames. 



California Honey Product. 



When it is considered there were 

 no bees in California till after 

 tlie American occupation, the pro- 

 gress since made in honey raising 

 may be set down as something mar- 

 vellous. There are few valley 

 countries in which the business is 

 not prosecuted to some extent, but 

 San Diego takes the lead, and has 

 acquired a reputation for her annual 

 honey product which reaches this side 

 of the Rock}^ Mountains. The Sau 

 Diego Union says: 



Notwithstanding the fears which 

 have been expressed of a short honey 

 crop, caused by the backwardness of 

 the season and unusual cloudiness 

 prevailing in May and June, Mr. 

 Harbison informed us that he now 

 expected to produce altogether from 

 his various apiaries quite as large a 

 crop as the largest he ever produced 

 heretofore, which was over one 

 hundred tons — the largest amount 

 produced by any one man in the 

 world in a single year. 



1^ Friend O. Clute has removed 

 from Keokuk to Iowa City, Iowa, and 

 all his correspondents should hereafter 

 address him there. 



