820 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



tion will likely make it easier to understand 

 than the description. 



JVeec/le. 



To use these tools, lay the board on some- 

 thing of a convenient height to work with- 

 out bending your back too much. Have the 

 cleated side up. Lay a frame on the board, 

 and fit the combs into the frame. Now 

 take the needle and a ball of common cotton 

 twine, such as the merchants use in tying 

 packages. Instead of threading the needle 

 in the ordinary way, simply slip the eye of 

 the needle over the twine. Now pass the 

 needle between two of the cleats and under 

 the comb and frame. Slip the needle off the 

 thread and tie over or at one corner of the 

 top-bar. Repeat this operation until the 

 combs are securely tied in. Should any of 

 the pieces of comb not reach clear down to 

 the bottom-bar you can pass the twine 

 through under, and then with the hook on 

 the needle reach down between the bottom- 



bar and the lower edge of comb and pick up 

 the twine; draw the end up and tie over the 

 top-bar. This will hold such pieces of comb 

 in place until fastened by the bees. It is 

 also well to pass one or two strands clear 

 around the bottom-bar and all when fasten- 

 ing in any such pieces, so as to keep them 

 from swinging out to one side. 



The advantage of these devices is that, 

 after the combs or pieces of comb are fitted 

 into the frame, one need not handle either 

 comb or frame until they are securely tied 

 in. Then tilt up the transferring-board 

 —frame, comb, and all — and the frame is 

 ready to hang in the new hive. 



Now, I don't want the editor to say that 

 it is much simpler and quicker to just wrap 

 the twine around the frame and all several 

 times. That plan would work all right if a 

 fellow had about six hands to work with, so 

 that he could use four hands to hold the 

 various pieces of comb in place while he is 

 wrapping the string around with the other 

 two; but who has ever seen a man with six 

 hands? 



EXTRACTOR- BRAKE. 



On page 487, May 1, you show an extract- 

 or-brake that costs only five cents. Here is 

 one just about as cheap that is not open to 

 the objection you make to the one devised 

 by Mr. C. A. Butts, and referred to above, 

 for it will not draw the crank- shaft out of 

 line. 







a.^ C^ 







SOUVENIR FROM IRELAND. SEE EDITORIAL. 



