1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



287 



A CONVENIENT DEVICE FOR FILLING HON- 

 EY-BOTTLES. 



Whenever I had occasion to till small re- 

 ceptacles, such as tumblers, jars, fruit-cans, 

 etc., from a square 60-lb. tin can, I al\va3-s 

 found it a most unpleasant and difficult 

 task. The g^eneral make-up of the can, its 

 straight, smooth sides with no handles or 



FIG. 1. 



projections of anj' kind, together with its 

 comparatively heavy weight when full, re- 

 quired a somewhat trick-like manipulation 

 to succeed without having more or less hon- 

 ey running down on the outside of the large 

 can or the one to be filled. A simple little 

 device which I have constructed and used 

 lately changes this heretofore anno3'ing 

 work to a pleasant pastime. 



FIG. 2. 



The accompanying illustrations give ench 

 part separate and all in combination. Fig. 

 1. frame or standard; Fig. 2, basket; Fig. 

 3, the whole in operation. 



The basket revolves or swings on a pair 

 of '4 -in. rivets, and with the can when full 

 nearh' balances, so that a very light pres- 

 sure with the left hand is sufficient to tip 



it forward until the desired stream of honey 

 is running. When the small can is full, a 

 slight backward move of the can will stop 

 the flow; and with a turning motion of the 

 right hand, the edge of the small can scrap- 

 ing the lower edge of the outlet, all the 

 dripping' hone}' is cleaned up and the job 

 done in a neat and workmanlike manner. 



FIG. 3. 



It will be noticed in Fig. 3 that the out- 

 let is on the upper side of the can. To run 

 a clear stream and prevent the honey from 

 running down the can, a portion of the con- 

 tents, perhaps two gallons, should be 

 drawn in this way. After that the basket 

 may be tipped in the opposite direction, 

 and the rest drawn.- When nearly empty, 

 the can should be taken from the basket; 

 and by holding it corner wise almost every 

 drop can be made to run out. 



La Salle, N. Y. G. C. Greiner. 



[This device is very ingenious as well as 

 simple; and for filling from the square can, 

 nothing could be handier. — Ed.] 



spiders; something about scorpions, 



FROM prof. cook. 



Mr. Root: — The " scorpio spiders" sent 

 you by a customer in South Africa, and 

 which he said he saw hanging by the nip- 

 pers of the forearm to the bee's legs, were 

 very well named by 3'our correspondent. 

 They belong to the great spider order, 

 Arac/mida, and to the scorpion group which 

 have been known b^' the name Pedi palpi, 

 because the palpi, which are really mouth 

 organs, are long, and look as though they 

 might be feet, though they are the fifth pair 

 of long organs, and none of the spider 

 group have more than eight legs. Your 

 correspondent probablj' mistook these for 

 legs, as he spoke of them as holding on by 

 their forearms. This group has also been 

 known as A}-i/iro-<iastra because their ab- 

 domen is ringed or segmented unlike all the 

 others of the- spider group. As all know, 

 the mites and true spiders have no segments 

 to the abdomen. These segmented forms 

 include the true scorpion, verj' common here 

 in California; the whip scorpion, with long 



