1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



821 



Take two pieces of hard wood, IfXi, by 

 15 inches long. Four inches from one end 

 cut out of the side of each piece about J of 

 a circle, corresponding to the size of the 

 crank-shaft of your extractor. Fasten these 

 together at the ends, having the notches cut 

 out, with two pieces of heavy tin or ordinary 

 tin doubled in the following manner: Lay 

 the two pieces down with the notches oppo- 

 site, and about | inch apart. Lay one piece 

 of tin over and one under, close to the end. 



These pieces of tin should be about IJ by 

 3^ inches. Drive two or three Ij-inch nails 

 through one piece of wood and both pieces 

 of tin. Through the other piece drive a 

 single heavy nail, and clinch all. This 

 forms a kind of hinge which permits of 

 opening and closing the jaws of the brake. 

 Round off the outer side of one of the arms 

 or handles to make a convenient place to lay 

 the hand on. Now slip this over the crank- 

 shaft, allowing the two notches to engage 

 the shaft, and the outer end of the lower 

 arm to rest on the rim of the extractor-can. 

 Speed up the machine; and when you want 

 to stop, simply lay your left hand on the top 

 arm or handle of the brake, and bear down. 

 This brake will act, no matter which way 

 the shaft is turning. It is open to only one 

 objection, and that is, it operates on the 

 crank- shaft instead of the shaft that carries 

 the reel, and thereby creates a certain strain 

 on the gearing. This strain, however, is 

 not serious if the brake is not applied too 

 severely — that is, thrown on too suddenly. 

 Have one of the men in your shop make one 

 of these brakes, and try it on an extractor. 

 I think you will decide it is a simple, cheap, 

 and useful device. 



Bluffton, Mo. 



[Your ideas are good, but I still think it 

 would be best to wind the string round and 

 round the frame, for, in my opinion at least, 

 it rarely pays to transfer small pieces of 

 brood — better save time by throwing away 

 the corners or small pieces. But, even if it 

 were desirable to use the small pieces, I do 

 not see why the string need be cut and tied 

 at every turn. Why not unwind enough for 

 a frame, and then, with the needle, thread 

 the string round and round the comb in the 

 way which you described, but drawing up 

 the slack each time so that the "stitches" 

 will be kept tight? Of course, when the 

 weather is not so warm as to make the 



combs soft, no string at all is necessary if 

 the cards of comb be cut so large as to fit 

 the frame snugly. 



After trying your brake for an extractor, 

 I will say that it seems to be a complete suc- 

 cess. For those who desire a brake on their 

 two-frame extractors, I know of nothing 

 better in the shape of a home-made device. 

 It requires considerable pressure, however, 

 owing to the comparatively small amount of 

 friction surface; and it might be well, there- 

 for, to make the upper stick a few inches 

 longer than the lower one, so that the pres- 

 sure may be applied by means of a foot 

 treadle attached to it by means of a strap or 

 rope. The hinge, as described, is hardly 

 strong enough. I see no reason why the two 

 pieces should ever be opened wide, and in 

 my opinion, therefore, it would be better to 

 nail the tin firmly to both pieces. Better 

 still, use only one piece of tin, and nail it 

 first on the top of the upper stick, carrying 

 it down around the ends, and finally nail it 

 on the bottom of the under stick. Or a 

 quarter-inch hole might be bored through 

 the two sticks, and a carriage-bolt used to 

 hold the two ends together. — Ed.] 



"eJ^ 





m^ 



GRADING HONEY. 



" Say, Doolittle, I am a beginner at bee- 

 keeping, having secured my first section 

 honey this year, and I want you to tell me 

 just how to grade it so I can get the best 

 price for it in the markets." 



' ' I am glad to know that you are anxious 

 to secure the best price for your honey, 

 through a proper grading of the same, and 

 otherwise. If all were thus anxious, much 

 of the honey that, now finds market in such 

 shape that only ruinous prices are obtained, 

 to the damaging of prices for that which is 

 put up in good style by the enterprising api- 

 arist, would not thus go upon the market, 

 and the bee fraternity as a whole would be 

 much better off." 



"Thank you. But perhaps no credit 

 should be given me, for it was only selfish- 

 ness on my part that prompted the desire to 

 put my honey up in the best shape possible, 

 the reason being that I believed by so doing 

 I could secure better returns to myself. I 

 had not thought that such a course would 

 help others in the bee business; but since 

 you speak of the matter I am led to believe 

 that even such selfishness as this might re- 

 dound to the advantage of the whole." 



"Certainly it would. But let us to your 

 questions. What was it that you especially 

 wished to know in this grading matter?" 



"I want you to tell me just what to put 



