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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



how cheaply they can be made, as I 

 have not invested in any machinery for 

 their manufacture, and do not know 

 what they would cost ; but it is reason- 

 able to suppose, from the cheapness of 

 the material of which they are con- 

 structed, the number in a pound (80 to 

 85), and that they can be stamped out 

 very cheaply with suitable dies, that 

 they can be made and sold at a compara- 

 tively low price. I have made 10 or 12 

 pounds of them by a slow process, partly 

 by hand ; and, although they are not as 

 perfect in shape as machine-made ones 

 would be, they are nearly so. 



The spacer is constructed of No. 20^ 

 band steel, which I find is strong enough 

 for all practical purposes. The pieces 

 are cut of sufficient length to allow one 

 end to be bent inward about M inch, 

 and then outward 3/16, the projecting 

 vertical edge being cut circular. This 

 flange being circular, there are no cor- 

 ners to catch, and the frame slips into 

 its place in a surj (singly easy manner, 

 and without jar. The other end is bent 

 inward 14 inch, and then cut and turned 

 downward to the middle where it is cut 

 off, leaving a horizontal flange % inch 

 wide, and projecting 3/16 of an inch. 

 These are nailed to the end-bars at the 

 four corners of the frame, the two at 

 one end with the circular flanges point- 

 ing one way, and the two at the other 

 end pointing the other way, like two 

 persons going around the same way in a 

 circle and stopping at opposite sides : 

 they would then face in opposite direc- 

 tions. The end-bars are to be just one 

 inch wide ; and as the projections on 

 either side of the end-bars are 8/16 of 

 an inch, the spacing will be 1% from 

 center to center; but they can be made 

 to space a greater or lesser distance by 

 having different-sized dies. 



As will be seen, when these spacers 

 are affixed to the frames in the hive, the 

 projecting flanges (one being vertical 

 • and the other horizontal) cross each 

 other, thus affording the smallest possi- 

 ble contact between the frames, and 

 preventing the bees from gluing the 

 frames together ; in fact, it will be im- 

 possible for them to do so to any appre- 

 ciable extent. The horizontal flange is 

 made }4 inch wide. This allows a play 

 of the frame endwise nearly H of an 

 inch without the flanges slipping by 

 each other and becoming interlocked. 



However, I would recommend that the 

 bottom-bars be made so as to project at 

 the ends % of an inch, the ends being 

 reduced to a point, or a round-headed 

 nail be driven in, or, what I consider 



better still, a staple-tack driven into the 

 ends of the bottom-bar, projecting }i of 

 an inch, with the head vertically dis- 

 posed. This makes an excellent guide 

 to the frames, and facilitates handling 

 them; in fact, if the tee-master should 

 be so unfortunate as to get stung in the 

 face, and his eyes become closed, he 

 could still manipulate the frames with- 

 out any trouble, and get each frame in 

 its proper place. 



Any frame in the hive can be removed 

 and replaced without disturbing any of 

 the others, if the combs are straight, 

 and it is very easy to have straight 

 combs with proper spacings at fixed dis- 

 tances. Also, any frame may be turned 

 end for end, or it may be taken out and 

 shifted to any other part of the hive, 

 and the gap closed up by sliding the 

 frames along the rabbet, and it will still 

 fit. Frames may be changed from one 

 hive to another, or from the extracting- 

 super to the brood-chamber, and they 

 will always fit just where they are 

 wanted. 



For bearings at the sides of the hive, 

 use double-pointed tacks or staples, 

 preferably K or % wide, driven in and 

 allowed to project }4 of an inch. These 

 are so disposed at the corners of the 

 hive horizontally and vertically that 

 they must meet the corresponding 

 flanges of the spacers crosswise, the 

 same as the flanges meet each other. 



Crawford County, Iowa. 



[Mr. Stephens has sent us a model 

 showing his frame-spacer, which looks 

 as if it would do and be all he claims. It 

 certainly will hold the frames in exact 

 position, preventing any variation, of 

 themselves. — Editor.! 



May-Flowers an<l Mistletoe is 



the suggestive name of a book of over 250 

 pages containing selections of poetry and 

 prose for all seasons, for older boys and 

 girls, from the best writers of the day, 

 with dialogues, motion songs, and drill ex- 

 ercises for smaller children. It is suitable 

 for rhetorical exercises in the school and 

 entertainments given by church, library 

 and benevolent societies. Beautifully illus- 

 trated, and each poem or selection set in a 

 colored border. Cloth-bound; size, 8x10 

 inches; price, postpaid, only $1.00. Clubbed 

 with the Bee Journal for one year — both 

 for $1.75; or given free as a premium for 

 sending us three new subscribers to the 

 Bee Journal for a year. 



Have You Read the wonderful Pre- 

 mium offer on page 707 ? 



