838 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



To secure the strongest blast of air through 

 the fire-barrel, filled with all sorts of combus- 

 tible material, and, perhaps, a layer of ashes 

 and spent fuel upon the grate, it is necessary to 

 have a closed air-flue between the bellows and 

 base of the fire-barrel. Bat if we connect with 

 a metal tube, large quantities of smoke and 

 sparks will be drawn into the bellows when it 

 opens, and that will soon ruin it, besides caus- 

 ing the fire to go out unless the bellows is kept 

 in constant motion. There appear to be only 

 two ways of getting around the difficulty: Ei- 

 ther we must use a blast-tube partly or wholly 

 cut off, which does not entirely prevent smoke 

 and sparks from being drawn into the bellows. 

 and, besides, appears to weaken the blast, and 



Eermits sparks to drop upon the opei'ator or 

 ive-packiug, or we must place a valve in this 

 blast-tube, or air-flue, in such a way that it 

 will open when the bellows closes, forming with 

 the air-flue a closed passage from the bellows 

 to the fire-barrel, and then instantly close to 

 prevent smoke being drawn into the bellows. 



SECTIONAL VIEW OF CRANE SMOKER. 



An illustration of this principle is seen in the 

 diagram. Fig. 1. The slightest pressure upon 

 the bellows opeus the valve F. near the center 

 of the bellows, and. with the air-flue E, forms a 

 closed air-flue, or blasi, from the bellows to the 

 barrel. As soon as the pressure is removed, or 

 the air in the bellows exhausted, the valve in- 

 stantly closes, thus preventing any smoke from 

 entering the bellows. The valve, being closed 

 when the smoker is not in use, permits a suffi- 

 cient draft of air through the open mouth of 

 the air-flue to keep the fuel burning in good 

 shape. Tills valve is hinged at one end, and 

 plays loosely into a slot, N, Fig. 2, on either 



THE CRANE SMOlvER. 



side of the mouth of the air-flue. That no air 

 may escape arouna the valve, a piece of fle.xible 

 leather is stretched across the valve on the in- 

 side of the bellows, with a hole through it open- 

 ing into the valve. 

 The grate is so constructed, that, with the 



strong blast, I have had no trouble with ashes or 

 sparks coming down into the air-flue. The 

 diagrams make the working of this smoker so 

 plain that I need not explain further. Its ad- 

 vantages must be evident to any experienced 

 bee-keeper. It will be seen that no smoke or 

 sparks can be drawn into the bellows, nor can 

 any sparks drop or fly from the base of the fire- 

 barrel into the clothes of the operator nor into 

 the packing of the hive. 



I have not been troubled with any creosote — 

 that sticky, tarlike substance that, in most 

 smokers, runs down the sides of the smoker and 

 over your hands, not unfrequently soiling the 

 sections. Almost any kind of fuel can be burn- 

 ed in this smoker, after a fire is once started. 

 My assistant told me that he worked my smoker 

 for half an hour on nothing but green grass. I 

 would not, however, recommend grass as the 

 best fuel. This smoker does not easily get 

 choked with soot or creosote; yet, if in careless 

 hands, or from long use, the air-flue or metal 

 valve gets coated with soot it can be easily and 

 quickly taken apart and thoroughly cleaned, 

 so it will work as well as when new; and al- 

 though so easily taken apart, when put together 

 it is one of the strongest smokers made. The 

 barrel can, in a moment, be taken off when 

 worn out, and replaced with a new one. 



More important than any thing else, so far as 

 my experience goes, this smoker will throw a 

 much larger volume of smoke with far greater 

 force, with the same kind of fuel and the same 

 effort, than any other smoker. It is not always 

 necessary to use large quantities of smoke, nor 

 desirable; but when you do want it, you are 

 apt to want it very much; besides, one can 

 work much more rapidly, if he has an abun- 

 dance of smoke in reserve, than without it, and 

 time is money. 



Some lime ago I was at work opening a hive, 

 when the bees became very angry, and declared 

 war in earnest. I closed my eyes, took my 

 smoker, and gave a few puffs of smoke about 

 my person. On opening ray eyes I could not see 

 even into the hive I had open before me. so 

 dense was the smoke. In a moment more the 

 smoke drifted away and I was left to finish my 

 work without interruption, and was master of 

 the situation. 



In this section it is rare that we have much 

 honey to be gathered after basswood bloom; 

 and in a poor season, like the past, aln\ost every 

 hive has to be fed to fit them for winter. How 

 much, can be told only by careful examination, 

 as bees are mostly in large hives, and weighing 

 them is impracticable. Heretofore I have found « 

 it very difficult to look them over until cool 

 weather, on account of robbing. This year I 

 looked over a number of yards of bees; and al- 

 though the weather was warm most of the 

 time, and robbers very abundant, I lifted al- 

 most every comb in every hive without any 

 serious trouble from robbing. In fact, I worked 

 with as little fear from robbers as I usually do 

 in a good flow of honey. An assistant with a 

 good smoker in hand made robbing an unequal 

 gamt;; and after trying it for two or three hours 

 each day they would usually give it up. Per- 

 haps the' kind of fuel had something to do with 

 it. I used old cotton and bui'lan cloths that 

 had been used over the biood -frames, and 

 gnawed by the bees until wonhle.ss. I will say, 

 just here, that there is reason to believe that 

 propolis-coated rags or cloths are the very best 

 materials for smoker fuel to be had. They will 

 last longer than any thing else I have tried. 

 The smoke will tiot stain the whitest section, 

 as I have found clear wood smoke will do. It 

 has a pleasant odor, and is less offensive than 

 any other smoke; and. more important still, 

 this smoke will quiet the bees quicker and more 



