ISifJ 



GLEANINGS IN HEE CULTURE. 



581 



tln'PtMS cvciy reasdii in its favor: aiul we liavo 

 IK) lioiibi tliat. w lion the pidpcr iciiicsmtatidns 

 uri' inaiir Itv ili<' propi-r persons, tlic otlicials of 

 the postal (IcpaiiMit'hts ol ilic various povcrn- 

 nuMils will be very iilad lo inako sncli regula- 

 tions as will admit of inailin}; (pieen-hecs. . 



We presnnn' the reascii wliy (ii.KAXiNGS No. 

 5 failed to I'eai'li our i'orii«;p()ii(|ent was on ac- 

 count of the fact that copies of ouf journal are 

 occasionally lost in the mails in going so great 

 u distance. \\\' have mailed anotlier copy, and 

 trust there will he lu) more missing links in the 

 chain.! 



OLD THINGS FOR NEW USES. 



C. -V. K.VrCH DESCRIBES .SOME USEFUL IIO.ME- 

 MADK TOOLS FOR USI^ IN THE APL\1{V. 



We are all more or less Inclined to try new 

 things that look plausible; but how maiiytimes 

 do we want to try things that are old. for the 

 same reason I Out' predecessors may not have 

 l)een quite up to ns in point of smartness; but 

 somehow as I gel older I am inclined to have 

 more respect for them and iheir ways. 



One of the old things that has proved u,«eful 

 to me is the old-siyle level. It has the merit of 



16 IN. 



being cheap: and any one rea-^^onably handy 

 with" saw and square can mak(! it. and it 

 does its work well. Mine is made of a piece of 

 ■:i\l2 plank: li5 in. is about the proper length. 

 To lev(»l lip hive-stands, set it on a bottom- 

 boaid on the stand, and block uj^ under until 

 the line falls naturally paralhd with the mark 

 on the plank. Any bit of hutd, or even an old 

 burr, will do for the plumb-bob. Bore a hole in 

 one corner to hang it up by when not in use. 



l.ANGSTIJOTH HKUSH. 



I have tried all styles of brushes known to 

 the fraternity, from a turkey feather to a bunch 

 of asparagus tops. and. all things considered. I 

 like the one father Langstroth described in 



end, and, after separating the rope into strands, 

 force them down inm the opening left by the 

 two saw-kerfs: dri\e three oi' four wire nails 

 through anfl clinch light, and it is done, except 

 that the rope will need to be wet and straight- 

 ened. I have two or three, so when one is 

 daubed another is ready. To clean, put it in 

 warm water, and whirl as if it were a top you 

 were going to spin. The same motion when 

 out of the water will throw the brush all out 

 straight, and get rid of surplus moistui'e. only 

 it is apt to riy into your face or on your clothes; 

 but if it is not dirty water this will do no harm. 

 Lay them down to dry. It works best while 

 yet damp. 



SP()Ki:-SH.\VE. 



I have found that your straight iron spoke- 

 shave beats any thing yet tried for putting 

 dipping-boards in shape after the ends, sides, 

 and corners get rough by use. It will "bite" 

 on a board that is so wet that a common plane 

 will not touch; and where it is too cros.s-grained 

 to work well with any other tool, by holding it 

 so as to run cornerwise you can do a good job 

 with the spoke- shave. Of course, it must be 

 kept quite sharo to do this. I would not be 

 without one, for this use only, for twice your 

 price. 



SCUAI'EK. 



This is an old tool with some new features. I 

 got mine from Harry Lathrop, our State secre- 

 tary; and for cleaning up hives, crates, frames, 

 or lor cleaning otr the dirt from the bottom of 

 cakes of wax. it beats all. I think if Dr. M. 

 would try one he would go and bury that clumsy 

 hatchet of his for ever; but I presume he is 

 wedded to his idols, so don't tell this to him, 

 but consider it strict y conlidential. 



5haVe. 



his book years ago best of all. Two pieces 

 of half-inch rope, in. long, and a piece of 

 broom-handle 8 in. long, is all that is need- 

 ed. Make two saw-kerfs, as close together 

 as you can conveniently, 3 in. deep from one 



Fig. 1 differs from the scraper you. sell, in hav- 

 ing two right-angled corners, which are quite 

 important in getting into the corners of a liive 

 and cleaning out the rabbet where wooden rab- 

 bets are used. A common mowing-machine 

 "section " just fills the bill for one. and any 

 blacksmith can do the rest. The shape of the 

 handle is also important: ^^'-inch oval iron is 

 best to make it of. If there are many wood- 

 zinc honey-boards to clean, it will pay to file 

 one of the square corners so as to just fit be- 

 tween the wooden strips— see Fig. :.'. 



CLEANING OFF WAX AND PHOPOLIS FROM TIN. 



Has any one tried boiling water and one of 

 your cheap scrubbing-brushes, with plenty of 

 soft soap, to lake off wax and propolis from tin? 

 If not. let him try and see how it will melt and 

 disappear as if by magic. I have no doubt the 



