472 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



-^- 



-^- 



dripping-pan, supposing that it is done by 

 some kind of press or stamp, but have never 

 seen it. Mr. Doolittle answered in Glean- 

 ings that he knew of no other way than the 

 ■old one which he has several times described. 

 Though my appara- 

 tus does not work very 

 rapidly, it does the 

 work quicker and more 

 satisfactorily than a 

 plain board ; and as it 

 may be of benefit to 

 many who use the pa- 

 per trays I will here- 

 with describe it. 



The apparatus con- 

 sists of three parts; viz. , 

 the folding-board, Fig. 

 1 ; the folding - plate, 

 Fig. 2; and two clamps. 

 Fig. 3. 



The folding-board is 

 y& in. thick, and about 

 16 in. wide and 20^4 

 in. long; cleated on the 

 under side to prevent 

 warping. (The dimen- 

 sions here given are for 

 24 - section shipping- 

 cases. ) A stick, ^gxj^^x 

 3 in., is fastened on top 

 of the board, and even 

 with its edge, at K. 

 Another stick, 3/gx3'^xl4, is fastened in the 

 same position at I. The gauge, A B, is made 

 of two pieces, each 3^ thick and 11 Ys, long. 

 A is 1 in. and B 2 in. wide. They are hinged 

 together as shown at M M, in Fig. 1. Small 

 tin hinges can be cut out of tin. Tobacco- 

 boxes with hinged covers are inexpensive, and 

 answer the purpose. They are fastened with 

 ^-inch wire nails, clinched on the under side. 

 A stick, 3^x3/^x3, is nailed on the end of B, at C. 

 The folding-plate, Fig. 2, consists of a sheet 

 of tin, D D, about 11 ^xl7>s, cut so that it will 

 fit easily into a shipping-case. The edges and 

 corners of the tin plate, as well as of the tin 

 part of the clamps, should be smoothed off 

 with a file to prevent them from cutting 

 through the paper. A ^-in. board, E, 2>% in. 

 smaller each way than the tin plate, is fasten- 

 ed to this with wire nails, clinched on the 

 upper side of the board. This leaves the tin 

 plate projecting 124^ in. all around the edges of 

 the board. A short piece of broomstick, for a 

 handle, is fastened at L by a screw, inserted 

 from the under side. A corresponding hole is 

 cut in the tin, so that the screw may be tight- 

 ened if it should get loose. 



Each clamp. Fig 3, is made of a strip of 

 tin, F F, \% in. wide and 11 >§ long, or % 

 shorter than the width of the folding-plate. 

 A strip of wood, G, yi thick, 134^ wide, and 

 not quite as long as the width of the board E, 

 is fastened with wire nails to the tin strip, 

 equidistant from both ends. On each end of 

 this strip of wood is nailed a piece of section, 

 ^ wide and 4 in. long, rounded at the inside 

 corner of the projecting end, as shown at H, 

 Fig. 3. 

 To begin with, place a sheet of paper, such 



as comes with the shipping-cases, on the fold- 

 ing-board, letting two adjoining edges rest 

 against the stops I and K. Place the folding- 

 plate on the paper, and adjust it so that the 

 paper will project evenly all around the edges 

 of the tin plate. Now lay the hinged gauge, 

 A B, against the edge of the tin plate so that 

 the further left-hand corner of the plate will 

 fit snugly into the angle at N, Fig. 1. Fasten 

 the strip A to the folding-board with 1-in. 

 wire nails, and the apparatus is ready for use. 



FOLDING. 



Lay a sheet of paper, as before, on the fold- 

 ing-board, against the stops I and K. Drop 

 the gauge B on the paper, and hold it down 

 while you put the folding-plate in position, 

 the edge of the plate resting against the gauge, 

 and into the angle at N. Place a 10-lb. weight 

 (I use a brick-shaped piece of iron set up on 

 edge) on the folding-plate, to keep it from 

 moving, and in doing so press firmly on the 

 plate to prevent it from slipping while you 

 put the weight on. As soon as the weight is 

 in position, take hold of the corner-piece C 

 and throw the gauge B back, letting it rest 

 on A. 



Now fold the two short edges of the paper 

 (at your right and left hand) over the edges 

 of the folding-plate, smoothing down the folds 

 with the thumb-nails. As soon as folded, slip 

 the clamps over the folded parts of the paper, 

 letting the strips H H grasp the edges of the 

 board E (that is nailed on the folding-plate), 

 as shown in Fig. 4, where the folding-plate is 

 indicated by dotted lines. In Fig. 4 it will 

 also be seen that the clamps are Vs in. shorter 

 at each end than the width of the folding- 

 plate. This is in order that the clamps may 

 not interfere with the folding of the long 

 edges of the paper. 



Now fold one of the long edges of the paper 

 over the tin plate, smoothing it down as be- 

 fore. Raise the folded edge of the paper to a 

 vertical position. At each end of this fold 

 you wall now have a kind of pocket formed 

 by the long fold of the paper, and a little 

 square piece projecting from under the end of 

 the clamp. For the right-hand corner stick a 

 finger of the left hand into this pocket and 

 open it. Then press the short vertical corner 

 fold down, so that it lies exactly over the long 

 edge of the tin plate. With the thumbnail of 

 the right hand make a diagonal fold, begin- 

 ning at the corner and running toward the 

 center of the folding-plate, as at O P, Fig. 4. 

 This fold will be at an exact angle of 45° with 

 the other folds. In making this diagonal fold, 

 be careful not to fold or crease that part of the 

 paper which forms the long side of the tray. 

 When the tray is finished, the folded corner 

 turns back behind the short side, and all four 

 sides will be smooth, straight, and square in 

 the corners. 



Proceed in the reverse order with the left- 

 hand corner (using the finger of the right 

 hand to open the pocket); and when this is 

 done, fold the opposite long edge of the paper 

 in the same manner. When all the folds are 

 made, open out and smooth down the long 

 folds; remove the clamps; open and smooth 



