134 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feh. 15. 



His apiary was. however, about as tidy as the 

 average run of bee-yards where there is much 

 work done. We have noticed that these gilt- 

 edged apiaries are the ones that do not bring in 

 a large amount of surplus cash. 



While in the Bay State apiary we did not talk • 

 so fast and get so absorbed as to fail to notice a 

 very pleasant feature in the apiary. Two wee 

 bits of granddaughters were upon his lap or fol- 

 lowing his steps when at a safe distance from 

 the bees. They were indulged with sauce- 

 plates, and spoons and honey: and while we 

 were talking bees, the honey was distributed in 

 various directions. Bro. A. is positive in his 

 views, and believes his method of (lueen-rearing 

 is the method. His claim, that queens should 

 be reared from the egg, though not much dis- 

 cussed at the time, liad the effect of setting the 

 Rambler to thinking about the matter, and the 

 results of our cogitations will be given in our 

 next. Ramblek. 



[Now, look here, old friend: while we are 

 greatly rejoiced at this pleasant glimpse of 

 friend'Alley's place of abode, when you tell us 

 you "ran downstairs" on Bunker Hill monu- 

 ment we think yon are getting decidedly in the 

 way of skipping along almost too fast. I have 

 been up and down those "stairs," as you call 

 them, myself, and I did not feel very much like 

 running. In fact, I sat down and blowed sev- 

 eral times between the top and bottom. I am 

 very glad if you can see friend Alley's ranch 

 from the top: but when I was there I did not 

 know of friend Alley's place nor about bees 

 either. In my next visit I will be sure to hunt 

 him up — yes, even if he does, as I have heard, 

 manage to get a good deal of tobacco out of the 

 way. While we are in the open air, I suppose I 

 should not mind it very mucli. That idea of a 

 plantain leaf for closing an entrance is certain- 

 ly unique. By the way, didn't I have a little 

 hand in that discovery ? You know I told you 

 that Dr. Miller threw some green leaves on the 

 top of any hive tiiat needed attention. If they 

 forget to I'emove the leaves when they go away, 

 the leaves dry up and blow away. In any case, 

 they know at a glance (by the looks of the 

 leaves) about how long ago the mark was made. 

 Now, then, if we wish to close an entrance, say 

 for a few hours, a green leaf will till the bill. 

 In regard to introducing a queen by just letting 

 her loose, I suppose some of you know yon can- 

 do this at almost any time, about three times 

 out of four. When honey is coming briskly, 

 and the colony has been queenless long enough 

 to start queen-cells, we can do it certainly nine 

 times out of ten. I hope friend Alley will ex- 

 cuse me for remonstrating against brushing the 

 bees off on the grass. Brnsh them into a hive, 

 give them a comb or two, and some sort of 

 queen, and let them be happy while they live. 

 Keep them, like the old horse, for the good they 

 liave done. We do not like your reflections on 

 gilt-edged apiaries, exactly, friend R. It is 

 true, there are apiaries where the gilt-edged 

 feature is carried to extremes. I have seen some 

 of them myself — some of those professional men, 

 for instance, who have lots of money. A real 

 nice attractive apiary wants to be the woi'k of 

 somebody who has to scratch and scrape, just 

 a little, to make both ends meet. This will 

 keep out of sight superfluities (just for show), 

 and yet have things neat and in order, arranged 

 so as to give the greatest facilities for rapid 

 work. I am very glad of that glim])se you give 

 of the twins. We would not have missed them 

 for any thing. By the way, we wonder how 

 mmiy of the veterans have arrived at the dig- 

 nity of being called "grandpa" by some little 

 "new edition." Friend Alley, we lift our cap and 

 extend our congratulations.] 



HOW TO BIND A VOLUME OF GLEANINGS. 



PLAIN DIIIECTIONS, AND HOW TO DO IT SUB- 

 STANTIALLY AND NEATLY. 



I have just finished binding the last volume 

 of GLEANiN<is: and the thought comes to my 

 mind, "What do its ten thousand readers do 

 with the back numbers'?" To many of them it 

 is no doubt as interesting, entertaining, and 

 instructive, as it is to me: and I wonder how 

 many preserve them as carefully as I do, and 

 how they do it. Some, no doubt, take them to 

 a book-binder, have them bound substantially, 

 and then give thcun a good corner of the book- 

 case or library. Another way is to lay them 

 aside, on a shelf, or in a drawer, where they 

 will be handy to re-read, or "for reference. But 

 we all know what becomes of unbound journals 

 and magazines — or. rather, we don't know. 

 They are mislaid, borrowed, and never retui'ued 

 —disappear mysteriously during some house- 

 cleaning raid, or are carried out of sight and out 

 of mind to the garret oi- lumb(>r room. Another 

 method, iiiy way, and so I think it a good one. 

 is to bind them in tough paper covers at home: 

 and, with your permission. I will tell your read- 

 ers how to do it neatly, cheai)ly, and well. 



You will need some brass wii'e, as heavy as or 

 a little heavier than a stout pin; a hammer, an 

 awl, a tile, or a pair of snips to cut the wire: 

 pliers to bend it: paste, and some heavy tough 

 paper. 



Gleanings is ten inches long. Get a piece of 

 soft wood that length, an inch or more wide, 

 and a quarter of an inch thick. An inch and a 

 half from the end, and one-fourth inch from 

 the edge, make a hole through this stick with 

 a small gimlet, or with the awl: and, a half- 

 inch further on, another. Make a like pair at 

 the othei' end, and another pair at the middle. 

 Now take the cover and advertising pages, and 

 the little wires tiiat hold the leaves together, 

 from the issue for Dec. 1."). Lay it, last jjage 

 up, on a soft board: lay the stick on it, the edge 

 with the holes in it parallel with the back of 

 the magazine: and, putting the awl in the holes 

 in the stick, punch similar holes in the paper. 

 Lay it off, last page down, and treat Dec. 1st in 

 the" same manner, and so on to July 1st. Twelve 

 numbers make a handy volume to bind or to 

 read. Now cut three pieces of the wire, three oi' 

 four inches long, and bend them in the shape of 

 a double-pointed tack, the points half an inch 

 apart and an inch and a half long. Cut two 

 pieces of the heavy paper about '7}4x\.0}4; and, 

 three-fourths of an inch from one edge, punch 

 holes like those in th(^ journals. Put the bent 

 wires in the holes in one piece, and lay it on the 

 table, wire points up. Then take the issue for 

 Dec. 1.5th and put the wires thi'ough the holes 

 in it, and so on until you have as many num- 

 bers as you wish to bind in one volume. Put 

 the other piece of heavy paper on top of these, 

 and hammer the whole down ai'ound the wii-es. 



Don't be afraid to strike hard: get it solid, 

 and then cut the wires down to within one- 

 fourth inch of the book, and clinch them, bend- 

 ing the points toward each other. Now paste 

 the extra half-inch of the covers over the back 

 of the book, first one: and when that sticks 

 well, the other: and across the back, and ex- 

 tending an inch or two on the covers, paste a 

 strip of thin linen. Take the cover pages of 

 Gleanings for July 1st, and cut off the last 

 leaf close to tlu^ pi'iiit. and another cover cut 

 close to the print of the lirst page, and paste 

 these over all. putting on the back cover first. 

 Now i)ut it under a press of some kind until 

 dry: then if you want to trim the edges, and 

 can't get to some printing-office where they 

 always have machines to do this work, clamp 



