1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



69 



was perhaps two feet long, and just wide 

 enough to let the dipped sheets slide down 

 between the strips on its sides. We are 

 now using sheeting- boards, of seasoned 

 maple. They do not rough up as much as 

 basswood or white wood, with frequent use. 

 Every mill improves with use. Running 

 the rolls together tends to wear them so as 

 to fit more perfectly ; and after months of 

 use, the metal points get polished where they 

 work against each other, and the fdn. comes 

 out very much easier than at first. On first 

 trying a new mill I would take only a sheet 

 of wax, say one by two inches, and then if 

 this comes out without tearing, take a larger 

 piece, and so on. Do not try to make very 

 thin at first; but after you get used to it, 

 screw the rolls down gradually, and you will 

 soon be able to make strips wide enough for 

 sections, as thin as ten or twelve feet to the 



pound. 



.^ — I B ^ 



HONEY-HOUSE ITEMS. 



ALSO A FKW OTHEK SUGGESTIONS FROM FRIEND 

 GATES. 



^ WISH to give a few items in relation to a honey- 

 M house as I have to have it, and perhaps as the 

 most of our readers have; viz., to utilize some 

 building already built. 



A MOVABLE COMB-CLOSET. 



I build my comb-closets movable, as follows : Take 

 two planks, as wide as can be procured (mine are 18 

 in.); have strips 1x3 nailed to them, commencing 1 

 in. below the top, and put them one inch further 

 apart than the depth of the frame. Have the top 

 and bottom the same width as sides, nailed between 

 them. Let the back be nailed to top and bottom. 

 Now, the sides are as far apart as the length of two 

 top-bars and one inch. A strip 6 inches wide in front, 

 half way between the sides, holds the center - strips 

 for the ends of frames to rest on. Doors are hinged 

 to this center-strip. Heightof closet as much as can 

 be conveniently rcHched. Mine holds over 200 

 combs, and can be made in a day. 



I have shutters to the windows of honey-house, 

 and in the honey season I take out the sash and put 

 a frame in place, which has another frame with wire 

 cloth tacked to it, working inside on two pivots, so 

 I can reverse sides to it in an instant, and put any 

 bees that may be brought in, outside. I consider 

 these, viz., the comb-closets and wire reversiug 

 window, essentials. 



WORK-BOX AND SEAT COMBINED. 



I don't think the seat shown in your price list has 

 ever had half enough praise given. I could not get 

 along at all without one, and I want the drawer by 

 all means, to keep scissors, book of record, pencil, a 

 queen-cage or two, etc. I only wonder how I got 

 along without one so long as I did. 



DRILLING TOP AND BOTTOM BARS FOR WIRED 

 FRAMES. 



I have also made a machine for boring the holes in 

 the frames for wiring, that pleases me so well I wish 

 to give you a description of it. 1 took an old Wilcox 

 & Gibbs sewing-machine, an(f in place of the hook, or 

 looper, put in a piece of steel umbrella-rod filed to a 

 point, like a three-cornered saddler's needle, and 2i4 

 Inches long. This is the drill. Now, for the elide to 

 lay on top of the table and hold the sticks: 1 made it 



of a piece of plank 5 x 19, and 11-16 inch thick. The 

 top-bar of a frame is nailed to one edge of this, pro- 

 jecting above, half its width, and another flat on top 

 3 inches from this; this holds 6 top-bars or 7 bottom- 

 bars. Now we want a ratchet with notches 2?i inch- 

 es apart. It is V^ inch thick, ^ jq i/^ 



21 in. long, and li4 in. wide at 

 the ends, and ?.£ in the mid- 

 dle, like this. It has a hick- 

 ory spring to catch into it, and the slide is ready on 

 top. The bottom has two grooves cut across It, 9 in. 

 apart, Ji x % in., and two hard-wood strips the same 

 size, 7 in. long, are nailed to the table for the slide to 

 run on. This completes the who'.e. I made mine one 

 night after supper, and bored fifty strips before bed- 

 time. I can bore 100 frames in three hours, and do 

 them accurately. It is just fun. A Grover & Baker 

 sewing-machine treadle is the best. G. "W. Gates. 

 Bartlett, Tenn., Jan. 8, 1883, 



Many thanks, friend G. While I think I 

 would make your comb-closet a fixture ra- 

 ther than to have it movable, I know by ex- 

 perience it is a very good idea to have a 

 place for empty combs. — Your window- 

 screen swinging on a pivot is an old idea, 

 but it will do no harm to bring it to mind 

 as:ain. — Your bar-piercer, I am inclined to 

 think, is a valuable idea, and our experience 

 has always favored using a drill, rather 

 than an awl that does not revolve. It is 

 easier, does the work cleaner and nicer, 

 with all kinds of wood, and it seems to me 

 must be more rapid. Our machine is much 

 the same, only we have drills enough for the 

 whole bar at once. We have had much 

 trouble in getting drills that would not 

 break ; after using expensive twist drills 

 we tried knitting-needles, and finally wire 

 nails flattened at the end. and these were 

 less trouble, because they would bend before 

 breaking. I am inclined to think your um- 

 brella-wires will be just the thing. 



I*crtaliilng to Bee Cixltxire. 



We respectfiillj' solicit the aid of our friends in conducting 

 this department, and would consider it a favor to have them 

 send us all circulars that have a deceptive appearance. The 

 greatest care will be at all times maintained to prevent injustice 

 being done any one. 



F LEASE inform me if there is a patent on the 

 "Golden " bee-hive, by a Mr. Pickle, of Nash- 

 " ville, Tenn. There is a gentleman of this 

 place selling rights for the Golden in this and Mont- 

 gomery Co. I purchased one of him, and it proved a 

 total failure in the honey line. 



Lewis A. Easterly. 

 Sandy Ridge, Lowndes Co., Ala., Jan. 19, 1883, 

 If the hive proved a total failure, friend 

 E., I hardly see why you should care wheth- 

 er there is a patent on it or not. Nowadays 

 it is getting to be almost the rule, that about 

 as good an indication one can have that a 

 hive is worthless, is to know that it is pat- 

 ented. Our successful honey - producers 

 never use patented hives. You will see, by 

 looking at our back volumes, that the Gold- 

 en bee-hive has been many times reported 

 as a swindle. 



