274 



GLEANINGS m BEE CULTURE. 



June 



men must know that willows furnish both pollen 

 and honey. I return sample, which 1 presume will 

 still grow. W. J. Beal. 



ASPEN-TREE AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



I this day took the privilege to send you by mail a 

 bloom from a tree that grows in our village, which 

 is a stranger to us in this part of the country. It 

 blooms a week ahead of the maple or alder, and the 

 bees are A'ery fond of it. When in full bloom it 

 looks at a distance as if it were in full leaf ; and on 

 a fair day the l>ees are there by the thousands, and 

 when there comes a puff of wind enough to blow the 

 bees out, it looks as if a swarm were settling there, 

 and there are hundreds on the ground gathering 

 up their loads. It lasts for two or three weeks. 

 There is no one around here who knows the name 

 of the tree, or where it came from. We have sever- 

 al other yoimg trees which have some bloom on 

 them this year. They are a very quick growth, and 

 make a nice shade tree. If 3 ou are acquainted with 

 the tree, I should like very much to know the name 

 of it. I have never seen it mentioned by any writer 

 on the bee or bee pasture. I think it is a tree that 

 ought to receive attention by all whr» take an inter- 

 est in bees, for it certainly is a great yielder of pol- 

 len. We have no basswood in this part of the 

 country. If you have none of the kind, let me 

 know, and I will send you a few cions next fall. 



W.M. T. HlI.TON. 



B.irnesvillc, Md., April 18, 1881. 



Thanks, friend II. We have a tree here 

 that I think is at least pretty near the same. 

 It does not, however, bear lioney more than 

 about a week, as it is so early the weather is 

 often unfavorable for the bees to work on it. 

 "We call it aspen, sometimes " <iuaking asp," 

 from the peculiarity the leaves have of being 

 always in motion. "To be more sure, Ave sent 

 the specimens to Prof. Beal, and here is his 

 reply : — 



This is Popiilun grandid<.ntata, large-toothed aspen, 

 a tree conunon in the Northern States. In size and 

 vigor it is midway lietween the common small aspen 

 and the Cottonwood. W. J. Beal. 



Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich. 



WINDING THE WATERBURYT ItVATCH. 



W NOTICE you advertise the Waterbury watch 

 ji||_ for sale. 1 have one, and I can indorse every 

 word you state in its praise, as to cheapness and 

 accuracy. I have carried mine 15 months nearly. 

 As for its durability, time alone can tell. In regard 

 to winding It up: The long spring so annoyed me for 

 a few days, I decided that I would not submit to 

 such tedious work twice a day. as the little book re- 

 (^ommends for giving the best results. T soon hit on 

 awoodenkey to fit the winding-stem, audit works to 

 a charm. I can wind up now in 10 seconds, and I 

 wind only once in 24 hours at that ! If the spring ev- 

 er weakens enough to interfere with correct time- 

 keeping, I shall then wind the watch twice a day. 

 The key looks like this 

 sketch. Any one handy 

 with a penknife can make 

 one in a few minutes 

 The length of the crank, or " half-stroke, " is about 

 ?8 of an inch; for careless people it should be less 

 (as that length gives abundant power), to prevent 

 danger from breaking the stop-work. The thickness 



of the wood should be about 'j of an inch. I prefer 

 hickory, but any hard wood will do. For the handle, 

 I use a % in. wire nail, driving in till the length suits 

 my thumb and fore-linger; then I cut off the sur- 

 plus end of the nail, and file smooth. The length I 

 prefer is M inch above the wood. I suggest that 

 you try one of these " keys " for your personal use, 

 and let me know how you like them. They can be 

 carried in the vest pocket safely. There is no 

 patent on them that I am aware of. The idea is orig- 

 inal with me. After a little practice you can tell to 

 a grain's weight when your watch is nearly wound 

 up without letting the stop-work " fetch upallstand- 

 ing." Previous to this practice, you can count the 

 revolutions (about 110 to 135 after the watch has run 

 24 hours.) The keyhole should be make tapering, so 

 that the key fits snugly and no more. If made too 

 tight, it may strain tlie spindle on which the cap 

 rests. If you consider it a good thing, let the people 

 know it. I ha\e had my watch vary as little as 2 

 minutes a week for several weeks in succession. 



New York City, May 4, 1881. Zophar Mills, Jr. 



Thanks, friend M. I do not think the 

 springs will ever weaken, for they are made 

 of the best tempered steel, and are, for aught 

 I know, equal to the springs put in the most 

 expensive watches. 1 hartlly think I should 

 care for your crank for my own personal use, 

 as I always wind my watch when taking it 

 from my pocket, to look at the time. I have 

 learned to do this " automatically," and 

 therefore I have a watch that is always 

 wound. In fact, it is the lirst watch I ever 

 carried that did not annoy me by running 

 down. Our girls who make a business of 

 winding the watches daily to regulate them, 

 use a pine stick, about a foot long or more, 

 and by laying the winding pendant on the 

 edge of the table, and moving the stick 

 lengthwise over it, as the watch is also 

 moved along, they are "spun up," as it 

 were in a twinkling. As the Waterbury 

 Company are proverbial for making wonder- 

 fully ingenious devices for a very small 

 amount of money, perhaps they will get out 

 some little "cranks" for about a nickel 

 apiece. I will send them this. These 

 watches are coming into general us(? at a 

 wonderful rate. 



THE NEW INOrSTRV ; AVORK FOR BEE- 

 KEEPERS. 



THE GREAT CALL FOR BEES BY THE BOUND. 



i|pi|,WING to the great demand for bees to 

 IJ) till the empty hives consequent upon 

 ^"^ the great losses all over our land dur- 

 ing the past winter, I am reluctantly obliged 

 to say that our prices for bees by the pound, 

 during the months of May and June for 

 this year will still be the same as April 

 piices; viz., $^2.00 per lb. I shall be very glad 

 indeed to have others take tliis trade, and re- 

 lieve me sufficiently so that I may commence 

 at once to ])repare my bees for the coming 

 winter. Of course, you know it looks bad 

 for an editor of a bee journal, and a teacher 

 of bee culture, to fail in wintering as I did 

 last winter. Were it not for this latter 

 point, I might sell off all my bees by the 

 pound, and buy more in the spring, and thus 

 avoid wintering; but how then should I 



