1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



247 



A FOOT-SCRAPER AND MUD-BRUSH. 



SOMETHING TO PREVENT THESE MEN PROM GOING 

 THROUGH THE HOUSE WITH MUDDY FEET. 



f^HE accompanying engraving sliows a 

 l'' handy foot-scraper and mnd- brush, 

 ■> devised by one of our bee-keepers. 

 ' Mr. E. P. Churchill. It would be a 

 great saving to carpels, as well as 

 something conducive to the good nature of 

 the housewife. It is a little strange, but it 

 is nevertheless a fact, I believe, that in a 

 great many homes the men and boys are 

 never overscrupulous about cleaning their 

 feet before entering the house. But they 

 have a shadow of excuse ; and that is, that 

 it is often not convenient ; and as the sod 

 near the doorway is soft and muddy, noth- 

 ing will l)e gained by scraping the feet on 

 spongy soil, and so the male members track 

 through the house, much to the discomfort 

 of the mother and wife. The device below 

 figured is quite ingenious ; and, as our friend 

 Churchij] says, it can be made of material 

 found around almost every home. The 

 engraving below is almost self-explaining. 



CHURCIlll.L h FOOT SCRAPER AND MUD BRUSH. 



Friend liixi' :— Knowing you are in tor utilizing 

 all lhing-8, and making: little things count, I geud 

 you my idea of using two articles that have been a 

 waste so many years. I have studied much on it, 

 and I can say I am pleased every time I come to the 

 door. A number have caught the fever and are 

 using old brroma and scythes as foot-cleaners. 

 There arc other uses lor the broom. It can be 

 fastened up in the stable, to clean shovels on. I 

 have one, and it tills a big gap as it were. Cut the 

 handle off 1.5 to W inches from the brush, and round 

 out a piece of four-inch joist a little for the handle 

 next to the brush to rest on; then nail a strip of 

 tin or leather over it, and one near the lower end, 

 the end to be chamfered off to fit the boarding. 



The brush should set a little quartering from the 

 boarding, so as we stand to draw the shovel across 

 it we shall be clear of the wall of the stable; and it's 

 only fun to clean a tool on it. The end of the broom 

 should be about :5>e feet high, or according to the 

 person using it. For cleaning roots in the cellar, 

 fasten the handli' of a broom (after being cut off 

 the proper lengtlu in the corner of a box. With a 

 bo.Y large enough ;o stand tirmly, one can clean 

 turnips and other lonts quickly and much better 

 than with a knife, and no waste of trimmings 

 either. I think old brooms are worth as much for 

 these uses as when new to sweep, so the usual 

 waste is saved, and we are pleased besides. I pre- 

 sume in time we may use them to clean other 

 things, such as extracting-knives. I love to make 

 improvements in all little things. 

 Hallowell, Me. E. P. Churchill. 



We are sure it pays in dollars and cents 

 to have a foot-cleaner, something as repre- 

 sented below. Your wife will tell you that 

 the mud and dust grind into the carpet and 

 wear it out prematurely, and carpets cost 

 money. With little expense, such as friend 

 Churchill suggests, you can save a great 

 deal in floor wear. The old scythe will doubt- 

 less have to be bent in the shape illustrat- 

 ed, and the holes bored at your nearest 

 blacksmith-shop. For the broom, instead 

 of using a heavy piece of tin, while about it 

 I would have tlie blacksmith make a lug out 

 of i iron, bent in the shape shown in the 

 engraving. Although friend Churchill does 

 not say so, I should judge that the broom 

 has been sliced off to make an even brush. 

 At our house we have not only foot-scrapers 

 such as we keep on our live-cent counter, 

 but a matting whose upper surface is thick- 

 ly set with luistles. After tlie greater por- 

 tion of the mud has been scraped off on the 

 foot-scrapers, llie slioe bottoms can be wip- 

 ed clean. In time these mats will become 

 dusty and clotted somewhat with dry mud. 

 They can then be taken out and whipped 

 with a stick, after which they will be nearly 

 as clean as ever. These mats cost 50 cents 

 each, and answer the purpose perfectly. 

 Friend Churchiirs brush, however, has tlie 

 advantage of cheapness as well as the fact 

 that it is adapted to cleaning vegetables, 

 etc. 



STOCKING THE FIELD. 



HONEY FROM THE ASTER, BLUE THISTLE, ETC. 



'T^DITOR GLEANINGS:-Mr. Freeborn's letter 

 E^i in your issue for March 1, 1888, throws valu- 

 I*' V able light upon this subject. The fact that 

 '*^ such results can be attained with such large 

 numbers is valuable, as is the fact stated by 

 Mr. France, about his large product, and that it was 

 done in so short a time. Can not Geo. Grimm give 

 us some light upon this subject? We all know that 

 the season is the one potent factor, and that there 

 arc times when the secretion of nectar in every 

 good locality seems to be illimitable; and then in 

 such a season as 1887 the best localities fail. In such 

 a season as the past one, what is the relative differ- 

 ence in the average results between large and small 

 apiaries, in like good localities'i' As bearing upon 

 this, J can say that 90 colonies, spring count, pro- 



