4fi0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1. 



comb honey to experiment on a plan of mine: 

 but after getting it ready we found our home 

 market would have to have it, so we could not 

 ship to the city: and foi' fear we have no honey 

 next season, and that there is a point in the 

 right direction, I offer it to the public, if it is 

 new. 



A CHEAP METHOD OF PrTTlN(T UP SEfTIOXS 

 FOK MARKET. 



We take two tins, }i inch wide, 13 long, bent 

 to a V shape, as at A in drawing, and nail them 

 with one X wire nail to the bottom corners of a 

 board, 4I4X414X1..'. Between the two L tins we 

 place a paper 4I4 wide, and long enough to cover 

 the openings of the 1,^:; -in. sections. On this we 

 place 7 sections, then a'nother paper, then nail on 

 two more tins. The paper covers the slotted bee- 

 ways. We now take hold of the crate, slide it 

 pai'tly over the edge of the table, wrap a strong 

 string around, two inches from the open end, 

 and tie tightly. We next set the crate on the 

 wood end, bend over the 13^-inch projections of 

 the papers, slip in a 4i^x4J;^ glass, hold the same 

 with one hand, and. with a pair of pincers, 

 close the i^-inch tin projections over the glass, 

 and it is done. 



With practice, the speed that these may be 

 put together with, sections scraped, and the 

 rest in the flat, is enormous. These beautiful 

 crates are to be wrapped in paper and packed 

 with hay in large crates, as given in Glean- 

 ings some time back, thus arriving nice and 

 clean. The index section should be no better 

 than the rest, so that the commission man will 

 not need to open them. F. S. Comstock. 



North Manchester. Ind., March Ki. 



[We have sold customers, for several years 

 back. L tins for putting up sections in the 

 manner you desci'ibe. although you have 

 brought the method a little nearer perfection 

 than any one else has done so far, I believe. 

 You omitted to say that the L tins should have 

 a V-shaped piece taken out of one end. This 

 will allow the ends to fold over the glass side. 

 I should like to have a report from others who 

 have tried the same plan— how well they ship. 

 and how well they are accepted by the trade as 

 well as by consumeis direct.] E. R. 



PAPEE FOR HIVE-COVERS. 



FAV'S CEIEING-MANILEA IN SUCCESSFUE USE 

 FOR YEARS ALONGSinE OF TIN. 



Much interest is evinced lately in the matter 

 of light, cheap, water-proof hive-covers. Tin 

 is objected to, both on account of cost and the 

 trouble of getting paint to adhere to it. Why 

 has no one suggested and experimented with 

 paper? Much has been done with this material, 

 and in a diversity of ways, in recent years, 

 all the way from its use in the shape of the 

 most delicate pocket handkerchief, to its con- 

 struction into boats and cai'-wheels. 



More than ten years ago I saw an advertise- 

 ment in Home and Farm, of C. J. Fay's ceiling 

 felt, or manilla. Camden, N. J.: and having a 



ceiling from which the plaster was falling, I 

 purchased and applied this paper according to 

 his directions, to the surface of rough, uneven, 

 split laths, from which the plaster was remov- 

 ed, as best it could be. but still leaving a very 

 dusty, unpromising surface for the application 

 of wet paper and paste. The job. however, 

 surprised every one; and the ceiling of that 

 I'oom to-day, after more than ten years, is as 

 smooth and perfect as when new. I have since 

 used it in otiier work, and it has invariably 

 given satisfaction. 



But. to come nearer to the point. Several 

 years ago, early in my bee-keeping experience 

 (tliose days when I almost had a bee roll-call at 

 night to see whether any of my precious Ital- 

 ians were missing, and the danger of a leak in 

 their hives would keep me awake at night), my 

 Simplicity covers cracked in the sun. and began 

 to leak. So far I had purchased no tin: and, 

 having some pieces of Fay"s manilla at hand. I 

 fitted it to the covers just as you do your tin, 

 except that it was first made wet and pliant, 

 then pasted on, and tacked around the cornei'S 

 and sides. After it was dry it was painted two 

 coats, and since that day it has had the same 

 treatment the tin covers have had, and you 

 would have to look very closely to detect these 

 covers from the tin ones. They have never 

 leaked, and, so far as I can see. are as satisfac- 

 tory as the others. 



Now, this is what this manufacturer sells as 

 inside, or ceiling felt: he makes a roofing-felt 

 of still better material, all ready painted, for 

 roofing houses: and I have thought that this 

 latter could be used, not only for the purpose 

 above named, but also, perhaps, in making Er- 

 nest's light cases for outdoor wintering: then, 

 if the cases could be so constructed as to nest 

 together when not in use, by having the shape 

 somewhat like some of your honey-buckets, or 

 even like a house-roof, it might prove quite 

 an acquisition in your climate. But as I am 

 totally unfamiliar with this branch of bee- 

 keeping I will venture only a suggestion as to 

 the above material. T am sure it is of very 

 lasting and weather-resisting character. I 

 think the firm is now W. F. Fay it Co.. Camden, 

 New Jersey. The cost of ceiling-manilla is one 

 cent per square foot. I inclose a bit of the ceil- 

 ing, such as I used. 



TO STICK ISABELS TO TIN. 



I have been, like many otiiers, annoyed by 

 having labels come off after using even such 

 glue as cement for mending china, etc. In pre- 

 paring a lot of one-gallon cans for shipment a 

 few days since, the thought occurred, why not 

 try the plan used in making starters stick to 

 sections? I then rubbed the shiny tin surface 

 briskly with a piece of wax till it began to stii-k, 

 then i)ut on tlie label with common mucilage, 

 and it seemed to have the desired effect. I 

 shall try this further: and if it answers it will 

 do away with the necessity of having on hand 

 always a certain kind of glue. 



We have been having a fine lioney-flow in 

 April and ten days in May— say twenty days — 

 yielding .36 lbs. surplus extracted, very bright, 

 nice lioney, per hive. It is coming in slower 

 now, but so thick ii will hardly run. 



•'BEACKBERRY acid"" RECIPE. 



To 12 lbs. of berries put 2 quarts of boiling 

 water. Let it stand 48 hours; then put it into 

 a jelly-bag to drip. Do not squeeze. To that 

 quantity of juice, put .t oz. of tartaric acid. To 

 each pint of juice put lij lbs. of white sugar. 

 Let it stand until all the sugar is dissolved, 

 then bottle. 



For a drink like lemonade, pour a small quan- 

 tity into a tumbler, adding water to suit the 



